Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest
Chapter 177 - 14: The Reason for Witch Hunting

Chapter 177: Chapter 14: The Reason for Witch Hunting

Any organization, at the beginning of its birth, no matter what its original intent may be, has only two ultimate goals.

One is survival.

The other is development.

There’s not much to say about survival, the emphasis is on development.

The development of religion means spreading faith and attracting believers.

But in the fantasy world, the extraordinary class that receives the greatest impact is actually the divine authority organization.

The Pope’s power comes from the All Gods, and the Church’s monasteries are spread across the land.

But this doesn’t change the fact that extraordinary power is also in the hands of others.

As the Church proselytizes and its word increases, it means the King and the Nobles’ power is diminished, and their profits reduced, which naturally will lead to their discontent and opposition.

Proselytizing is proselytizing, but not all the cake in the plate can go to you, otherwise, what will we eat?

This is a game.

In the process of finding a balance point, the system of tithe gradually took shape; the Nobles had to pay one-tenth of their output to the Church.

But other than that, forget it.

Especially since the Conqueror established the Black Iron Kingdom, and contained the Church’s main force within the Divine Mysterious realm.

The Church Court could hardly move, at most they could engage in small-scale warfare.

The tithe system has no standard, varying from place to place; some pay more, others less. Some Nobles are at odds with the Church like fire and water, while some Nobles believe in the Gods of the Church, willing to pay more, and their offspring may become Priests or enter the Monastery.

But as long as the Grand Duke Fury’s army is still blockading Divine Mysterious, the Church cannot act recklessly.

"You can say that, in such times, there will always be many blasphemers emerging. But humanity needs a haven."

Galin said softly,

"You can’t deny, if there were no Gods, then to whom should we pray? There must be a subject, right? He can be the Heavenly Father, Sovereign, God... I believe in Them, not to live without hope, and not to fall into the endless netherworld after death; not to see eternal life tormented without redemption; not to let the spirit lack support, and not to let the mind fall into the Abyss..."

Roman, sitting on the bench, interjected, "Do you think the Church is the light of humanity?"

After a moment of thought, Galin nodded.

"It is now. I mean, it is now!"

Roman wasn’t angered by this; what he wanted to bring down was the entire backward era, and the Church Court was just one part of it.

Trash should just lay in the rubbish heap.

He actually doesn’t oppose the Gods, on the condition that they don’t get in the way; an entity that can’t influence the human world, caring about it means he has lost.

But as for the current foul-smelling environment, Galin was not wrong.

He saw things more clearly than anyone.

Religion can enhance societal stability.

The power of faith is terrifying and for humanity, indispensable.

You say the Gods are meaningless, okay.

But the Church being meaningless, that is not acceptable.

Even though the latter is also dross, at the very least it can provide a spiritual refuge.

"You should know, because of the war in the North, the Church is now very sensitive to Witches. And Grand Duke Riptide probably doesn’t have the strength to protect you now." Galin stared into Roman’s eyes.

But he only saw a pair of fearless crimson eyes.

The young Lord extended his index finger, pointing to the sky.

"Ten thousand men." Roman raised his chin, "The Church Court now, at the very least, must organize an army of ten thousand to have a chance to completely annihilate my forces. If I don’t die, the Pope won’t be able to rest easy for the rest of his life, because I will start over, and the next time, I will be even more cautious."

Galin was silent.

I tell you the Church’s influence is far-reaching, and you ask how many Divisions can they send?

"Do you know how long it takes to prepare for an army of ten thousand men to fight?" Roman met his gaze,

"Half a month? A month? Fine, let it be an example of military speed then. I’ll give the Pope ten days, his army needs to cross a thousand miles, how long will that take? Two months enough? Do you think he’s capable of that?"

"The ’Silver Moon Battle’... It’s not like you’re the first person in history to have such a thought," Galin muttered.

The fact is, nobles who foster witches aren’t limited to Roman alone, certain other nobles also engage in clandestine deals with witches, relying on witch power to execute their unmentionable and sneaky plots.

A hundred years ago, the Lord of Silver Moon Domain received assistance from a witch and consequently opposed the Church.

But that influential noble underestimated the Church’s influence, and when he raised his banner of opposition, he was horrified to discover it wasn’t the Church he was facing.

The Pope didn’t even need to rally his troops; neighbors who once knew him well attacked his domain in a coordinated effort.

It was solely because the Pope legitimized such actions, claiming the Lord of Silver Moon Domain had fallen under witch control, descended into the abyss, and other lords were free to plunder the Silver Moon Domain without fearing divine punishment from All Gods.

The Silver Moon Lord found himself abandoned by his allies, besieged on all sides, holding out in his castle for years until his supplies and ammunitions ran out, and his descendants were exiled, vanishing without a trace.

The undercurrents and struggles for interests were complex and couldn’t just be described in a few words.

"Some things require taking advantage of the right timing and conditions," Roman scoffed lightly.

Didn’t he come to this remote and desolate place precisely to secure development time?

If his fief had been in the heartland of the Duke Domain, there would’ve been no chance of developing at this speed.

There were too many hindrances; even altering the labor model would attract the gaze of the Grand Duke Riptide, and once the matter escalated to the Black Iron King, there was no turning back.

He’d rather develop virgin land than stay in the Duke Domain.

If he still cared about the King of Divine Mystery and the Pope, then wouldn’t his efforts have been in vain?

Even if those two really knew he was fostering witches, so what?

He’d dare to rob even his neighbors; if the Pope dared to incite the surrounding nobles to attack him, he’d have no qualms about beating them all.

A bunch of stinky fish and rotten shrimp, dare to fight him?

"Come help me, Galin. You are devout, but you should also be wise. I like smart people, I despise fools."

"I can’t teach Gwivelle... at most, I can only teach some basic knowledge," Galin said helplessly.

"Then come and see what you think of this girl?" Roman beckoned.

Sanna sat obediently on his thigh, looking curiously at Galin.

The Hermit quickly grasped Roman’s intention; he was first silent, then the corners of his eyes twitched, and his face and beard kept shaking as if a mouse had scurried into an old, smelly boot.

"When did she awaken?" he asked.

"Just recently, about twenty days ago."

"Any changes in her body?"

Sanna reported truthfully her changes: she slept well, woke up very hungry, and her body was getting stronger.

"That’s good, that’s good..." Galin nodded incessantly, like a closed-mouthed gourd.

Roman frowned. "Don’t brush me off. I need a proper explanation for this!"

"Isn’t my promise enough?" Galin looked a bit distressed, then turned to Sanna and asked, "Did you awaken because of Gwivelle?"

"I... I don’t know..."

"That must be it, otherwise it’s too much of a coincidence. Conditions for a witch’s awakening are very strict; potential needs to be stimulated, and sometimes an external force is needed. Most witches die without ever knowing they had spellcasting potential."

At this point, Galin had stopped pretending.

Roman suspected he was privy to this knowledge, and his heart stirred at the information.

"Is there a way to ’manufacture’ more witches?"

"If the Pope knew about your thoughts, he would definitely go to all lengths to destroy you." Galin was all too aware of Roman’s dangerousness now.

"I swear! — Your idea is more horrifying than the sin of blasphemy."

"It’s really not possible?" Roman frowned.

He felt there must be a way, but it clearly wasn’t commonplace; otherwise, witches would be everywhere.

"It’s not that it’s impossible. All women have the potential to become witches, just as all men have the potential to become wizards. Perhaps because babies are nourished longer in the wombs of witches, their born descendants might inherit certain diluted traits, but the cost for a witch to bear children is simply weakened power — some believe what they birth are not human at all, but potential demons. Now you understand why the Church Court conducts witch hunts, don’t you?"