The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 280 - 21: Transfer of Rights

Chapter 280: Chapter 21: Transfer of Rights

Philip’s proud head now silently hung down, and after a long silence, his gaze drifted across the faces of both men, finally fixing on the other: "It is an honor for our Homer region that the Church of Light holds us in such high esteem. May I know what kind of support the Homer region can offer to the Church?"

The relationship between the Church of Light and Duke Philip has never been good, and many years ago the two even became adversaries over some matters. If it hadn’t been for someone mediating back then, who knows how much their relationship would have deteriorated. Although there are still a certain number of Mages of the Church of Light within his own Mage Corps, over the years, Philip has been intentionally reducing his dependence on the Church of Light, instead recruiting Mages from other places. This made the Church of Light even more suspicious of the religious policies in the Homer region, fearing that the Homer region might be the first to lift restrictions within the Kingdom of Nicosia against Dark Class religions, adopting even more relaxed or completely open policies, which is undoubtedly unacceptable to the Church of Light.

"Your Grace, I think you may have some deep misunderstandings about our Church of Light. Let’s not dwell on who was right or wrong in the past. It has been so long since that incident, and both the Kingdom’s Privy Council and Archbishop Jazair have mediated between us, so that matter should have been resolved. However, I have found that Your Grace still holds certain biases against our Church of Light. For example, in the appointment of personnel in the Mage Corps, Your Grace would rather spend a huge sum of money and effort to hire from abroad than invite Mages or Priests from our Church of Light to join the Homer Mage Corps. But personally, I believe that these are within Your Grace’s right, and I do not wish to comment further. However, as for the Kingdom’s religious national policy, banning the appearance of Dark Forces within the Kingdom’s territory is a unanimous agreement reached by all regions of the Kingdom, including Homer, and our Church of Light. If we allow Dark Forces to spread within our own territories, the consequences will be unprecedentedly severe. Once the evil Dark Forces gain control over the people’s thoughts and faith, the whole continent will be shrouded in a storm of blood and carnage. I imagine Your Grace should be aware of the suffering that the common people endured during the Dark Empire’s reign hundreds of years ago. Think of those sinister Necromancers, Soul Wizards, and Dark Sorcerers coming with all kinds of undead creatures, anomalies, and Magical Beasts. Think of the honest folk becoming mad by the invasion of these radical and shadowy thoughts. What would the world become? I believe any Lord with a sense of justice and responsibility for the people of his territory would not wish to see this phenomenon occur. Of course, Duke Philip would not want to see it either!"

The speaker is also an influential person in the entire Homer region, the Chief Mage of the Homer Mage Corps, and a significant missionary sent by the Church of Light to the Homer region. Of course, his main duty is not to preach—that is the job of the Priests and Clerics—his responsibility is first to ensure the absolute status of the Church of Light in the region, second to prevent and eradicate the presence of Dark Forces in the region, and third to assist the secular Lords in maintaining their rule, with the first point being his main duty. It can be said that since Onassis became the Chief Mage of the Homer Mage Corps, the relationship between the Church of Light and the rulers of the Homer region had grown much more harmonious. The Bishop in charge of the region also carried out the Church’s intentions, on one hand, downplaying the struggle for secular power to avoid direct conflict with the upper echelons of Homer, and on the other hand, actively extending their influence beyond Cyprus, trying to maintain the Church of Light’s control in the region this way.

"We have always hoped that Homer could become a model region in the Kingdom. After all, Homer is one of the most important regions in the Kingdom of Nicosia. Seeing the relationship between the Central Kingdom and Homer get to this point, our Church of Light is also deeply concerned. The beastmen are eyeing us greedily from the North, yet the Kingdom might erupt into conflict under such circumstances, which I believe is not what any side wishes to see. Therefore, we hope that both the Central Kingdom and Homer can be more rational and pragmatic, not letting some economic interest conflicts get out of hand. Taking a step back may lead to a clearer and broader perspective. Our Church of Light is also willing to mediate for Your Grace, to prevent the escalation of this conflict."

Facing these somewhat long-winded preachings of Priest Onassis, Philip’s expression remained unchanged, while internally he felt immense contempt. If this man’s Magical Skills and level could be described as first-class, with no one in his own Mage Corps able to match him, yet his character was not as pure and righteous as his sanctimonious appearance suggested. This man was quite good at disguise, and he approached others with honeyed words but a heart full of daggers, often deceiving people with his sincere and friendly demeanor. However, for someone like Philip, who had spent a lifetime entrenched in schemes and statecraft, these tricks were not enough to fool his senses.

The Church of Light constantly speaks of saving the lost faith of the continent’s people by guiding them to atone and promote goodness, but in reality, they are implementing their doctrines under the guise of extending the Church’s power and influence. This is something Philip had long noticed, which is why he resolutely cut ties with the Church of Light, using that past opportunity to make them tone down their actions. But he also knew that the Church of Light truly had deep roots among the continent’s civilians, and that completely disassociating with them would cause many troubles in his own rule. Mutual dependence and exploitation while simultaneously suppressing and pushing each other away – this is probably the contradictory relationship between the powers of various regions on the continent and the Church of Light. When the needs of one side exceed those of the other, one of them becomes the mainstream, until a certain point is reached and a transformation occurs.

"Mr. Onassis, as you said, the conflicts between me and the Church of Light are a thing of the past. Mr. Onassis and Bishop Bella have cooperated quite well with me in Homer, and I must say I am very satisfied with that. However, the current situation indeed has the potential to upset the already unstable situation of the Kingdom. His Majesty the King has been misled by some sycophants and is under some misunderstandings and prejudices regarding us, the Great Lords. I have communicated this with Duke Zellin myself. Although Homer is my territory, it is also the land of His Majesty the King, and Homer has never had any other misintentions. But I personally feel very regretful and worried about some hurtful actions taken recently by the Kingdom against Homer. The situation around the Kingdom is also extremely grave, with the threat from the Northern Beastmen being particularly serious. At such times, we should have stood united to overcome the difficulties, and it saddens me to see these developments. If the Church could do some beneficial work at this time to help ease the tensions between the Central Kingdom and Homer, I would be very grateful."

Seemingly weighing his words, Philip paused before adding, "Although the spread and development of the Church of Light in Homer are quite vigorous, I believe there is still room for improvement and further promotion. On this point, I am very willing to negotiate with the Church, and Homer is also keen to further facilitate the spread of the Church of Light."

Finally, a satisfied smile appeared on the corners of Onassis’s mouth. Although it was hard for ordinary people to discern any clear meaning in Philip’s words, for someone in tacit understanding like himself, this was already an indirect compromise. The Church of Light’s missionary work in the Homer region faced many restrictions, even more so than some other neutral sects, which was a source of great dissatisfaction for the Church. Gaining a breakthrough in Homer could have a positive influence on surrounding areas, such as the Galle Region.

"Your Grace, I believe that through discussion and communication, the Church of Light and Homer can indeed find more common ground. As for the central part of the Kingdom, I also believe that His Majesty the King, after careful consideration, will see the current situation more clearly and make a choice that is advantageous to both sides."

As they raised their coffee cups, the rich, dark brown liquid released a fragrant aroma. Philip and Onassis’s gazes met, and both involuntarily narrowed their eyes. At many times, both parties had to rely on each other for support—to thrive together or to suffer together. Yet, it seemed there were irreconcilable conflicts in their fundamental interests, a strange phenomenon that would persist and sometimes become even more apparent.

"Mr. Onassis, I’ve heard there are signs of Dark Forces emerging in Caucasus—have you heard about it? This is not a good sign. Although Caucasus is under my jurisdiction, I must admit to the reality that my influence and control over that somewhat remote land are quite limited. I’ve also heard that Bishop Bella sent Pastor Gustav there to preach. Wouldn’t they be aware of this? Please take this matter seriously. I’ve heard that Judges of the Tribunal have been touring the Kingdom recently. If you feel that your powers are insufficient to uncover the truth, it might be worthwhile to bring up this issue with them. Some problems are best resolved while they’re still in the Bud Stage."

The measured words of Philip sent a chill through Onassis. In fact, the Caucasus had already drawn considerable attention from the Church of Light. There were frequent activities by Great Mysterium Devotees in Caucasus, and there were rumors that the Caucasus Lord might be involved in the death of Miron Mage of Versailles. Furthermore, the glowing praise from Church of Light missionaries for that Lord made it all the more puzzling why the Archbishop had not made a definitive statement about the situation in Caucasus. This, alongside two senior Thunderhorse Knights who remained in Caucasus without contacting them, left Onassis somewhat at a loss as to what was so exceptional about the son of Finance Minister Ramla that made Duke Philip so wary—enough to even consider leveraging the Church’s power to suppress or eliminate the other party?

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