From the death of the king to the lifting of the ban, a series of policies were issued to all parts of Frieden, and it took several days.
However, as one of the important cities in Freden, Riley City obviously does not need that long. The announcement was posted on street signs early the next morning. There are almost no colorful clothes in the city, and black flags are planted at the door of every house, fluttering in the wind.
Frieden is a young nation. Although they had just experienced the sudden death of the old king and the division of the empire not long ago, a new country was established and the first king died in his prime. This was still sad news for the people.
Because of this, most people didn't notice that there were suddenly more priests coming and going on the street.
They held heavy books in their hands and wore solemn robes, which suited the atmosphere of national mourning. They did not go around looking for anyone to talk to and preach, but gradually gathered in front of the former branch of the Masters and Freemasons, not knowing what they were busy with.
The Mages and Freemasons in Freden no longer exist, and all their original strongholds and branches have been sealed off at this moment. As for what those places will be used for after they are sealed off... It's probably pretty clear just by looking at the workers and priests surrounding them.
They were going to convert those places into churches.
"Sir, are those people the priests of the church?"
At the corner of the street, several mages were hiding there, sticking their heads out, observing the scene secretly. Among them, Tony asked with a somewhat nervous look.
Benjamin sighed and nodded in response to the question.
Who would have thought
Killing the king, spreading rumors... In the beginning, all Benjamin did was to slow down the church's plan to control Freden. However, the church’s decisiveness is beyond imagination. Forced by rumors and pressure from all parties, they simply went with the flow and destroyed Aldrich and the entire Freemasonry. They also used this opportunity to move themselves from behind the scenes of Freden to the front.
Last night, when he heard the news from the assassin, he was still a little unbelievable. But until this morning, when news came from Xuedi City and announcements were plastered all over the streets, he had no choice but to believe it.
"Teacher Benjamin, why do you feel that... we have helped them instead?"
At that time, Benjamin had a wry smile on his face when faced with the questions from his mages.
What can he do
He was also helpless.
However, if you think about it carefully, this move by the church seems to be a desperate counterattack. But in fact, it was more like a hasty act of breaking one's arms - although they threw the entire Freemasonry into a pit and burned them to death, and lifted the ban, how could they make the entire Freeden truly accept the church? On this issue, they were completely unprepared.
In this country, mages still have a certain foundation. Without suppressing the mages, the decree came out of nowhere, without any public opinion foreshadowing. Even if there are various reasonable excuses, the mages will definitely rebound violently.
Therefore, everything Benjamin did still had an impact on the church's plan.
Looking at the haste of these people building churches, you can tell that the church is definitely being forced into a hurry. They had no reason to issue a decree banning mages, so they had no choice but to force it out, build churches, and then forcefully proselytize, openly confronting the local mages.
This is much easier to deal with.
At this moment, Benjamin already had some countermeasures in mind.
—At the very least, these people can’t even hope to complete the church in front of them within thirty years.
"Sir, we can't let them preach in the city like this."
"Don't worry." Benjamin nodded and said, "It's so easy to preach. I won't let them succeed."
Although it is not advisable to directly conflict with the church, there are still some methods to hinder their preaching.
In this case, the "crow" can play a greater role than they imagined.
Of course, these are all battles over details and will continue, but they may not affect the overall situation. More importantly, how to take advantage of the coming backlash from mages.
Thinking of this, Benjamin patted several mages on the shoulders and led them away from here.
Half a day later.
"Master Benjamin, you are absolutely right! The church has really taken action."
In a remote house in the city, Master Finch met Benjamin secretly. As soon as he entered the door, he showed an eager expression and said so.
Benjamin just smiled and said nothing.
"...Master Benjamin, when I rejected your request before, I was indeed too arbitrary." Upon seeing this, Finch was silent for a moment, his expression a little deflated, but he immediately turned around and said, "However, the church has already bullied us. We definitely have to do something!”
Benjamin nodded when he heard this.
However, he still did not speak. He just took out the "Declaration of Free Magic" and put it on the table casually with a nonchalant look.
“…”
Master Finch's face looked a little ugly.
“Do we have to release this thing?”
Benjamin nodded.
Master Finch sighed and said: "Okay... The enemy is now. Since you are so persistent, I will believe you for once. Whether it is Riley City or the entire Freden, I have some connections. As long as you Print it and I guarantee that this book will be seen in every corner of the country.”
After hearing this, Benjamin finally showed a satisfied smile and said:
"Then please, Your Excellency."
From a certain perspective, the church's actions could be considered a big favor to him.
At least, these mages in Freden have never seen the power of the church before, and they take it a bit seriously. Now that we do this, the mages will begin to take this matter seriously, and Benjamin's actions will be more recognized.
"By the way, Master Benjamin." The pamphlet under Finch suddenly spoke again, "Are you planning to go to Xuedi City? This morning, several mages related to the palace have already set off to persuade Her Royal Highness the Queen withdraws that decree."
Benjamin frowned: "Persuade the queen?"
Master Finch nodded and said: "Yes, some mages know the officials of the palace and have some connections in Xuedi City. Some of them have met with Her Royal Highness the Queen. They feel that this decree is very unreasonable and plan to go to the palace to petition."
"Are you crazy? Call them back quickly." Benjamin shook his head, showing an absurd look on his face, "The palace has been completely controlled by the church, and the queen must not be able to help herself. At least a quarter of the territory in Freden The military power of some is directly controlled by the church, and the others are still wavering, but the church can probably control them as long as it orders from the queen."
At this point, Benjamin paused for a moment, then continued: "In this case, if you go there, you will die."
Master Finch was also in a daze.
"Is it that serious?"
Benjamin nodded speechlessly.
"But... they should have arrived by now."
When Benjamin heard this, he sighed and said helplessly: "Then you can start to mourn for them now."
It’s like this if you haven’t experienced political struggle. You’re extremely naive. The decree has been issued, but you still think that the royal family is not under control. Do you think that if you go to petition, you can "persuad" the queen to come back
The church wishes there were more mages like this. They took it all.