The witch thought I am a Demon God
Chapter 980 - 502_2

Chapter 980: Chapter 502_2

Oyo III saw two Knights escorting a horse-drawn iron cage, inside which was a very strange-looking woman with three heads.

Oyo III waved his hand, "This... I won’t be needing your kindness. When I was about to seize the imperial throne, I had a witch prophesy for me. She said I would fail in a way I couldn’t imagine. I beheaded her on the spot to show that I didn’t believe in prophecy and that man is the master of his fate. Later, indeed, I obtained the throne."

"From this, one can see that knowing the future is not necessarily a good thing, and these prophecies may not even be true. In short, I don’t like dealing with such things. My good brother, there are other matters at hand that I plan to discuss with you."

Immediately, Oyo III recounted the problems he was facing to Duke Gugel.

Duke Gugel’s face froze upon hearing this. "Damn that Ivita, so cunning. No wonder I felt something was amiss the moment I stepped into your military camp."

"You ask me because you already have an idea in your heart."

"I think that in your youth, you would have followed your original intentions. Are you the kind of person who compromises? If it were for compromise, would you have wanted this imperial throne in the first place?"

Oyo III shuddered.

Indeed.

The reason he originally wanted the imperial throne was not only because of problems with the succession that ignited his ambition.

It was also because he realized that he kept failing in the power struggle between imperial authority and divine authority. He was eager to obtain the strongest secular power within the Magic Black Forest to fight against that divine authority.

He gave up a great deal of power when he ascended the throne because he knew it was temporary, and that later, he would have the opportunity to seize it back.

Now, as he was gradually regaining imperial power, the members of the Alsace Family had returned, intent on taking his throne.

Naturally, he was unwilling.

"I understand now." Oyo III said to the two generals beside him, "Convey my orders to the entire army, tell them, the Creator was originally immortal, yet ignorant people wish to use perishable objects to symbolize the Creator."

"There are no saints or Holy Mothers in this world, only the intangible Creator."

"The Creator is formless. Representing order, civilization, and the true, good, and beautiful, all that is wonderful is the Creator, while even those who pray daily, but whose hearts are not beautiful, are only praying to Demons and evil."

"But as long as one’s heart is beautiful, even if the names they pray to daily are those of Demons and the lords of the void, they are, in fact, praying to the Creator."

"Faith is sincerely heartfelt after all."

"Sacred objects are but temptations that interfere with our devout faith. Now we must return to the path of devoutness of the old faith; we must destroy all idolatry. Wasn’t the suffering of the children of the Lord of All Things for their worship of the golden calf enough to make clear in our hearts that any form of idol worship is a desecration of the Lord?"

"Therefore, call upon all Soldiers to publicly burn those so-called sacred objects."

Both generals were dumbfounded.

They of course knew that what Oyo III said was indeed the original fundamentalist theory, but whether these theories could still be applied after thousands of years of development, or whether people could still believe in them, was not easy to say.

Even The Church had not been strict enough to forbid the worship of saints and sacred objects.

But Duke Gugel loudly praised, "This is the Emperor I have in mind. The Emperor is the supreme authority, the Emperor’s spirituality should indeed be second only to the Pope, all the election of bishops should be subject to the Emperor’s review, the Emperor is the highest representative of God on earth. You go ahead and do it, and if any treacherous courtier dares to oppose your ideas, let me tear him to pieces with my own hands."

"If the old idolatry can’t be stopped, then I will use killing to stop the killing!"

...

Ivita, noticing this scene from a mountaintop, furrowed his brow. He had not expected that because of Duke Gugel, the effect would be better than he had imagined.

Duke Gugel was more extreme and more fanatical in his faith than Oyo III.

Faith was easily susceptible to schism.

And the schism playing out right before her eyes occurred right in front of Ivita.

"Duke Gugel of the Gugel Duchy, the younger brother of Oyo III..." Ivita said, "He’s a problem."

Ivita employed the Twilight Realm to penetrate Duke Gugel’s past and fate, seeking to uncover from the link between the past and destiny whose side the duke truly was on.

However, her gaze was obstructed by the universal Law: sacred and another somewhat familiar force.

"So that’s it, a tacit admission of guilt," Ivita retracted the Twilight Realm, having sensed a power similar to that which emanated from Pinocchio, and now it seemed to resemble the Law of Frank. "The mastermind behind Pinocchio is deliberately spreading nationalism."

"Considering Duke Gugel’s life values, he may not necessarily be his person, but is definitely his pawn, unwittingly helping him in certain matters."

Ivita said with a headache, "Who exactly is this person? The Druids are still in the midst of a revitalization; forget it, I have enough problems of my own, why bother pondering others?"

...

Within the military camp, as a bonfire to burn sacred objects ignited, soldiers had varying attitudes—some felt it was appropriate, while others were uncomfortable.

If the worship of sacred objects was wrong, did that mean the sacred objects in the churches throughout their homeland and the Indulgences sold by The Church were also wrong?

Some among them began to question their lives, while others felt The Emperor’s actions were excessive.

Even those who publicly questioned The Emperor’s words were ruthlessly beheaded by Duke Gugel.

An unusual atmosphere once again pervaded the entire camp.

Moreover, this time Oyo III could not use slaughter to quell the dissatisfaction of the troops, for it was their very acts of persecution against heretics that began to shake the soldiers.

Duke Gugel, observing this scene, said to Oyo III, "Your Majesty, the evil trend of sacred object worship, it seems, has truly taken root deep in people’s hearts, not unrelated to the misguided leadership of successive Popes of The Church."

"But no matter, you are about to use this unprecedented victory over the Alsace Kingdom to build prestige and curb this idol-worshipping culture."

Oyo III said, "Things not yet in hand are not worth discussing."

"I was planning to delay here until Ivita could no longer sit still, but now it seems as if it’s my side that can’t wait any longer."

Duke Gugel licked his lips, eyes shining brightly. "Then let’s start the war immediately."

Oyo III shook his head. "There’s still something missing right now, before starting the war, we need a reason to go to war. A moral high ground."

"So... send ten soldiers to patrol the disputed area between the Lorin Duchy and the Alsace Kingdom for several days. The troops of Alsace will surely be unable to resist attacking. As long as they strike and kill my soldiers, I will have a reason to send troops, and this reason will also be very solid, beyond criticism."

"The ten soldiers can be chosen from among those who like the worship of idols, the heretical. Hmph, these damned heretics better die and go to Hell."

Duke Gugel let out a hearty laugh. "Brother, it’s been a few years, and you are somewhat different from what I imagined. Alright, we’ll do as you say."

...

Ivita observed that many soldiers within the camp were already showing dissatisfaction with The Emperor, and if she could use the Complete Transformation Skill to enter the camp, it wouldn’t be long before a rebellion erupted.

Regrettably, Oyo III had long since heightened security, and the patrolling soldiers were very strict; any unfamiliar soldier entering would raise suspicion.

"Oyo III seems unwilling to wait any longer, wanting to prevent any changes later on. He probably feels that I might not be dragged into the quagmire of war with the Kingdom of Frank as he anticipated," Ivita turned and left.