Chapter 23: I Shall Initiate a War of Conquest
"I don't understand your meaning," said Corleon.
"Don't be nervous, I come with goodwill," Pegiraov's voice was unhurried.
"But Priest Corleon, are you sure you want to discuss these matters under the Lord's Throne?"
At this moment, Pegiraov seemed even more devout than Corleon.
Corleon hesitated slightly but still bowed slightly and gestured with his hand.
"Please follow me."
Corleon led Pegiraov to a side room used for storing miscellaneous items, keeping his eyes on the other.
Pegiraov paid no attention to the narrowness and messiness of the place, casually sitting on a wooden box.
The naturally exuded aura made Corleon feel as if he were in a royal palace, meeting a noble emperor, even in this storeroom.
Taking a deep breath to shake off such thoughts, Corleon spoke solemnly.
"Of course, I desire what you mentioned—a larger church, more servants of the Lord, so that the Lord's glory can be admired by more believers—but this is not permitted by the lord."
"You may only have one priest and one attendant; your church must be enclosed and sturdy, not needing to be beautiful or spacious, because during wartime, the church is to become a fortress for the garrison."
"You are to comfort the hearts of the people, to perform funerals for the dead, to ensure that there are no more orphans in my territory."
"This is what you should do because you do not engage in production, and this is also the gospel the lord grants you; you should be thankful for this every day."
"If you do not want the gospel I give you, then you will receive a visit from knights, and you will become commoners who labor all day."
Corleon recited the words he had heard from the old priest; these were the lord's decrees regarding the church.
He had never thought to touch the red line of the lord's decrees; he had never thought to test whether his body or a knight's sword was sharper.
"He is afraid, he is terrified; he needs the existence of the church because people need faith; he fears the existence of the church because faith can erupt with a power that terrifies him," Pegiraov said calmly.
"Therefore, he allows the existence of the church, and therefore, he limits the development of the church."
"Helvin is old now; I still remember when I traveled to York Town, I saw him from afar—like a lion, wearing sturdy armor, holding a sharp longsword, riding on a strong horse."
"Warriors cheered for his bravery, and women swooned for his charm."
"At that time, he was a brave man; he feared no challenge."
"But now he is old; he is afraid; he doesn't even dare to raise a flag and declare a conquest against me."
"He even used the excuse that his daughter was insulted to send a pitiful knight to test me."
"Priest Corleon, do you know, I have only one child, and he is now thirty-two years old; he is a dull person. When he was twenty, I married him to the most beautiful girl, but five years passed, and his wife was still a virgin."
"I love him; I can endure his dullness, but I cannot accept that he has no offspring, so I obtained a magical potion made from the essence of a dragon."
"I hoped he could truly grow up."
"I had his beautiful wife set aside her reserve and take the initiative to please him. After three years of this, he finally had a child."
"His beautiful wife couldn't endure such a life and left him, returning to her hometown."
"But he didn't feel sad about it; those three years made him afraid of being with women, so his wife's departure made him especially happy."
"He had long been disgusted with such a life, but because I, his father, wanted him to do so, he silently endured for three years."
"And such a child of mine was slandered by Helvin as having offended his Mary."
"Priest Corleon, do you know, his Mary is almost forty, and her body is three times the size of my child."
"She has had seven husbands, each of whom died in bed, their internal organs crushed out."
"He is insulting me; he is insulting the honor of the Lundex Family," said Pegiraov, his voice filled with anger.
This was the first time Corleon felt Pegiraov's emotional fluctuation; he felt his legs go numb, his heart as if tightly gripped, the air solidifying, making it hard to breathe, a feeling of suffocation.
He was afraid; even the small bits of information about the nobility revealed in Pegiraov's words did not alleviate his fear.
Corleon seemed to perceive his body's instinctive reactions from a third-person perspective.
"Apologies, Priest Corleon, my anger made me lose composure," Pegiraov's voice pulled Corleon's thoughts back.
"...Being slandered and insulted, anger is justified," Corleon subconsciously exhaled, his throat moving slightly as he spoke.
"Yes, I am very angry, extremely angry, so I have decided to make Helvin pay the price," Pegiraov said seriously, looking into his eyes.
"But the war has already ended, and you have signed a ceasefire treaty in York Town," Corleon said cautiously.
"Ended? Yes, of course, it's ended, and I even gave him five thousand gold coins and a full suit of plate armor as war reparations," Pegiraov said, even smiling.
Corleon was shocked by this compensation.
Not because of the money.
Although five thousand gold coins is a lot, compared to the full plate armor, it's nothing; this is something that money can't necessarily buy.
Full plate armor is not the armor that Knight Borien wore as a knight, but a full set of plate armor forged from hundred-times-refined steel, paired with fine internal chainmail and the innermost tough beast leather armor; this three-in-one constitutes a full suit of plate armor.
The lightest full plate armor weighs over a hundred pounds; ordinary knights cannot wear it for long-term combat.
Moreover, the most precious aspect of full plate armor is the enchantments by mages, which can protect the knight inside and reduce damage from magic.
If among the knights from York Territory who went to crusade against the necromancer, there had been one wearing such a full suit of plate armor, there would never have been a situation where three knights died.
A knight wearing full plate armor alone could slaughter four necromancers.
"Yes, a full suit of plate armor; if Priest Corleon is interested, I can give you one later," Pegiraov said nonchalantly, seeing Corleon's expression.
His tone was as relaxed as giving away a piece of bread.
"No, please forgive me for refusing; this is too precious," Corleon said.
"Alright, if Priest Corleon needs it later, feel free to tell me," Pegiraov didn't insist and returned to the topic of war.
"Although a ceasefire agreement has been signed, that was just the war between York Territory and the Lundex Territory."
"And soon, I will launch a war of conquest against York Territory," Pegiraov said lightly, without a trace of emotional fluctuation.
Upon hearing this, Corleon's first reaction was a bit of confusion.
A lord saying he would proactively launch a war against a viscount—anyone hearing this would think the person was crazy.
But looking at the other's calm expression, recalling the fear that froze his body just from the other's anger, and the casual offer of a full suit of plate armor...