Embers of Embers

Chapter 418 Fanatic Believers
"Destroy the evangelical church? Kill all faith?"
Lawrence looked at Corey and he couldn't help but laugh.
"What's wrong? Is there anything funny?" Corey asked.
"I just find it interesting. I heard them say that before I came, you were actually responsible for the development of Orthodoxy. Miguel talked about beliefs and doctrines, but he was not good at these. He was just a The poor man whose mind is confused by power, and you don't mention it, give him all the credit...
Are you weakening your presence? "
Lawrence fiddled with the mask, feeling for a moment that Corey was a little hopeless.
"It's so interesting, Corey Ferre, you are probably the most contradictory person I have ever seen. You talk about being patriotic and loving Gaulnaro, but you also think that no matter who can be the king, even if it is... You don’t care about a monster like me.
All you did was to destroy faith, but you yourself are the founder of faith. "
Lawrence stood up and looked at the long table below in the darkness.
People were eating, cheering, and praying. He saw Huao, who was gobbling up food and not forgetting to make the sign of the cross while eating. This was probably taught to him by the girl next to him.
Looking away, the others' reactions were similar to his. They thanked God for the food. Although they didn't know each other, they greeted each other and unknowingly began to pray together.
"You're doing better than Miguel. That guy can't do anything but repeat the doctrine over and over again... But what's the use of these people's beliefs?"
Lawrence asked, somewhat confused as to why Curry went to such lengths to win over these people's faith.
"What's wrong?" Corey asked.
"I think the beliefs of these people are worthless," Lawrence said. "They are poor people, the bottom of society, rats in the sewers...
I'm curious what you want their faith to do?They can’t bring economics, they can’t bring votes, they can’t even have influence…”
"Have you heard the story of the Mad King?"
Corey still looked calm. This guy seemed to have only two expressions: smile and calm, as if he was wearing a mask.
"I heard that the Mad King betrayed his faith and was killed on the throne by the people."
Lawrence seemed to have thought of what Curry wanted to tell, and he continued.
"You want to use these people and make them 'the people'. This is impossible, Curry. These people don't have that kind of courage. They are a group of wild dogs whose spines have been broken by reality. They can't even take such a cheap sacrament." Fill them with gratitude.”
"No, you don't understand such people, Dean Lawrence, but I do."
Corey also looked at these people with Lawrence, his eyes showing a look of nostalgia.
"You're right. I'm a somewhat contradictory person. I want to destroy faith, but I have to use faith to achieve my goal. In fact, I don't object to this. In the end, this thing is just a tool to control people's hearts."
"Just like the secret blood, we usurp power from the blood of demons, but fight against the demons themselves," Lawrence smiled at Corey, "It seems to be another story of a brave dragon-slayer who turns into an evil dragon. Are you interested in telling me?"
"Actually, you can tell, right?"
Corey did not rush to answer, but instead asked Lawrence.
Lawrence nodded, he said.
"Yes, you are a believer, a true fanatic. You understand religion extremely well. Only in this way can you develop Orthodoxy into what it is today in Naloni, Gaul."
"But what happened? To make a fanatic become so disgusted with religion and faith."
Corey was silent. He was trying to recall the memories that he had abandoned. He turned over the yellowed pages and tried hard to find traces of them.
"That was a long time ago. I was born in a family that believes in the evangelical church. The family's financial situation is very bad. We often don't have enough to eat. It's common to go hungry for several days in a row."
Corey took a long breath, letting the stale air out of his mouth.
"I was what you said at that time, a wild dog whose spine was broken by reality. I often wandered near the church, praying for Holy Communion, but even though it was Holy Communion, it was just some leftovers. It's just something down there.
Life was very bad, but my parents taught me faith since I was a child. Even if I couldn't eat sometimes, I still had to spend money to make offerings to the gods. That was the most valuable thing in the family. Such a big gold-plated statue was polished to a shine. "
Corey said, stretching out his hand and making a gesture about the size of one finger.
“I was raised by faith, and my parents said that as believers we should do good deeds, and God will notice us sooner or later, and from then on the bad days will be over.
I have been looking forward to that day and doing good deeds for that day. I hope to live in an airtight house and eat clean food..."
There was some commotion below, and for some reason Huao cried bitterly. He ate the food cleanly, and the plate was as good as new. He cried and prayed at the same time.
Corey looked at Huao with a smile on his calm face.
"In order not to starve to death, I became a soldier. Although it was very hard, at least I was responsible for the food. I paid with sweat and blood. I climbed up little by little. I thought that my good deeds were finally rewarded. I will let My parents had a good life, but when I joined the Iron Law Bureau, they asked me to give up my faith.
This was really a great blasphemy. I refused decisively and was even prepared to be killed. I quit the army and returned to my long-lost home, ready to tell my parents that I was worthy of God’s gift, but I What I saw when I got home were two bodies. "
Liya patted Hu Ao and comforted him. People around him rushed up to care for him. In a trance, they were like a family.
After an unknown number of years, Hu Ao's good deeds were finally rewarded, but Curly did not.
"I'm not sure how they died, but they might have died of starvation. After all, it wasn't long after the Glorious War ended and everyone couldn't eat. Their bodies were as thin as dry wood, and the gold-plated statue was just like dry wood. Place it in front of the corpse and just watch it quietly.
The gold-plated statue was quite valuable and could at least be exchanged for a few meals, but they never thought about it from beginning to end. "
Curry looked away, and turned to Lawrence's neutral face, which was expressionless.
"This is the gift given by God, Rebbe. At that moment, I suddenly realized that there is no God in this world, there are just a group of self-deceiving guys.
I felt angry about my faith. I felt like a fool for attributing something that I had worked hard to obtain as a gift from God. I also felt ridiculous about the death of my parents. Even after they died, they were still expecting those illusory things. "
"So you became the director of the Iron Law Bureau, and now you control faith."
Lawrence looked at Corey. A rare third emotion appeared on this guy's face, anger.
"No, this is different. The God of the evangelical church never responds to people, but Orthodoxy is different. I am different. The 'God' of Orthodoxy is real, and we will respond to the call of believers."
Corey stared at the crowd below.
"How many people like this do you think there are in Nalo, Gaul?"
He continued without waiting for Lawrence's response.
"I've read the population review report. Poor people like this make up the vast majority of Gaulnaro, but you can't see them. Everyone living in the city can't see them. People like this can only survive. In those remote and backward places, even if you come to the city, you can only commit yourself to the damp darkness."
His voice became passionate, like a speech.
"I have been such a person, Lawrence, so I know very well that as long as a little kindness, just a little kindness can buy these people, they are easier to absorb than those picky and superior people. group.”
"So what? They're always worthless."
Lawrence asked indifferently. In his opinion, these people were not even worth using.
"That's why I said, you don't understand people like me at all."
Corey laughed, and he laughed very distressedly. No one understood this kind of crowd from beginning to end.
"They have been tortured by reality for who knows how long. It has been so long that they have become numb and cannot feel the pain. But if you give them the 'poison' of happiness at this time, do you think they will refuse?"
asked Currie, and in his eyes, the mysterious Lawrence became ridiculous.
"Yes, even if they know that there is a price, so what? The cruelest thing is not to endure the darkness, but to be locked in the darkness forever after seeing the light.
We are the light in their eyes, their god if God does not exist, our kindness to the world if it does not. "
"so what?"
Lawrence still didn't understand what Corey said.
"So? Such gatherings are happening everywhere in Gaulnaro. We have invested a lot of money to help these poor people. Compared with the superior evangelical church, we are the ones who can really save them, even if they are not For faith, for this timed food, they also need our presence and this beam of light.
But what happens when this light disappears? "
Currie explained to Lawrence the actions he would prepare next.
"On the day when Pope Michael ascends the throne, we will cause a conflict between the Evangelical Church and the Orthodox Church. The fanatics of the Evangelical Church will attack the venue, and there may be bloody incidents, but this is not important. The Orthodox Church will follow up The supply of Holy Communion was gradually eliminated over time, and the reason for all this will be attributed to the suppression of the evangelical church.
We will turn them into an angry crowd little by little. Don't think that these people can't influence anything. You must know that they occupy the vast majority of this country. They are the real silent majority. "
"Death of the Mad King."
Lawrence said coldly.
"Yes, the death of the mad king. The Iron Law Bureau is very good at this kind of thing. We will control public opinion and turn the evangelical church into a mad king bit by bit until it is completely spurned and killed by the anger of the masses."
Corey refilled his glass and continued.
“Do you think the palace of Nalo in Gaul was really so easily stormed by angry people?
In fact, it was not the people who really killed the mad king, but other noble ministers. This madman wanted to veto everything of the Evangelical Church, which touched the interests of those people. The soldiers opened the door, and the guards could not hear him. shouted, and the ministers laughed at his grave.
But this time is different, this is a perfect opportunity. "
Corey did not continue, but said something else to Lawrence.
"You just used the secret blood to bewitch the king, right? He has been in bed for too long, so long that he is extremely afraid of death. Even if it is a gift from the devil, he will accept it without hesitation."
Lawrence neither admitted nor denied it.
"You don't want to know the nature of this power."
“I didn’t want to know, I just wanted to know that it was a good enough tool to use.”
Currie continued.
"Steam technology continues to develop. For the first time in thousands of years of history, science has defeated religion. The Evangelical Church is divided internally and has suffered heavy losses. It has no time to take care of us. The Orthodox Church has the support of the Iron Law Bureau and the royal family, and you lead Blood-infused technology created the choir..."
There was thunder in his voice, and it overlapped with the reciting voice of the priest below him in a trance. He recited it like the words of a god.
"This is a rare opportunity. We will use the people as a disguise and act in the name of justice. No one can stop us. This is like a torrent of collapse. Those who stand in the way can only be mercilessly swallowed up."
"It sounds like a revolution, a religious revolution."
It has to be said that Lawrence was shocked by Curley's crazy words. Curley was far crazier than Lawrence thought.
"Isn't it? We are the righteous party, Dean Lawrence, and we are for a better country."
Corey drank the wine in his glass.
“No one will go hungry, holiness will no longer be hypocritical, and kindness will be rewarded.”
"We are the ones who are just."
Corey affirmed again.
"Stealing the country, manipulating beliefs, and setting off waves...this will kill many, many people," Lawrence said.
"I know, but this is nothing compared to what I want to do," Curry continued to talk about his crazy idea, "When the Orthodox Church dominates Nalo in Gaul, the Orthodox Church will have a kingdom. As a support, we will launch the Eastern Expedition when we are at our strongest."
"East Expedition?"
"Yes, the Eastern Crusade, the holy crusade against heretics, I think you will also like to do this, right? Our interests are the same, Dean Lawrence."
Corey was completely immersed in it.
"I will fight to the holy Cathedral of Saint-Naro, where I will prove my faith."
"Prove faith?"
"Yes."
Curry replied with a smile.
"I will destroy God's most beloved land, turn it into a hell on earth, and do the most blasphemous things to God. I will prove that God is hypocritical and does not exist. But if God appears, show me God has sent down punishment, so before I die, I want to ask why God never responds to the call of believers."
"What do you think? Dean Lawrence."
Lawrence replied sincerely.
"It's great, it's crazy, and it's worth it. I also want to know if there is such a thing as God."
I thought about everything I saw in the Temple of Stasis, what the Evangelical Church was hiding, and what kind of existence the so-called Silent Ones were.
"Even if you don't suggest this, I will return to the Cathedral of Saint-Naro sooner or later," Lawrence seemed hesitant, "But aren't you afraid of me? Curry, you can't imagine how powerful the secret blood is. horrible."
"What are you afraid of? Are you controlled by some unknown power?"
Corey slowly opened his collar, revealing the pale and old skin underneath, and then Lawrence suddenly remembered that he had never known Corey's age.
"I can't afford it anymore, Dean. I don't care about those things. I just hope to see the Evangelical Church destroyed by fire before I die. That's enough, even if I make a deal with the devil."
"So do we reach a consensus?" Corey asked.
Lawrence took a deep look at this somewhat crazy man, picked up the wine glass and bumped it with his.
(End of this chapter)