Chapter 67: Expanding the Army
"This is quite remarkable," said Corleon.
"Indeed, it is remarkable, but performing the ritual imposes a burden on the scholar; the more advanced the ritual, the greater the burden," said Nyx.
"The Enlightenment ritual is designated by us as a fundamental ritual with no apparent side effects, but it still requires the scholar to recite throughout the night without sleep, and the one being enlightened must also sleep through the entire night."
"At the very least, for an old man like me, staying awake all night would cost me half my life."
"Of course, if the priest requires it, I can enlighten Brother George at any time."
He was already aware of George's situation and had proactively offered to enlighten George, but Corleon had declined.
"Brother George will be enlightened when the Lord's gospel descends," said Corleon.
"The Lord's gospel can achieve such a thing?" Nyx was somewhat surprised.
Enlightenment, aside from some extremely special mysteries, even magicians wishing to enlighten someone must 'borrow' the scholars' rituals.
"Although some people in the territory always spread rumors that I am the illegitimate child of some great noble, I know myself that I am just an ordinary orphan abandoned here by my parents," said Corleon.
"I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize, I bear no resentment. I think this might also be a trial given to me by the Lord, just like the trial given to George," Corleon said with a smile.
"So, the priest's literacy is due to hearing the Lord's gospel?" Nyx paused, then continued, "Although I don't know to what extent the Lord can achieve."
"But I need to remind the priest."
"Please go ahead."
"Some of these curses are purely shackles, while others have certain benefits," said Nyx.
"The simplest example is the bloodline curse of the nobles, which makes it difficult for them to have offspring, but each of their normally born descendants is more outstanding than ordinary people. This is also the reward brought by the curse."
"Because of this, most nobles who know about the bloodline curse are unwilling to lose this curse, even considering it as proof of their innate nobility, a kind of blessing."
Corleon understood Nyx's meaning.
"Scholars believe that curses are divided into two types: one is purely a curse, and the other is like the bloodline curse, which has both gains and losses."
"Of course, if it's just enlightenment, there won't be any problems."
"If the Lord's gospel can truly enlighten people, perhaps the priest will receive the scholars' gratitude."
Nyx specifically pointed this out at the end.
"Would scholars who have mastered enlightenment be willing to share this specialty?" Corleon asked.
"Oh, priest, it's not only people like you who maintain kindness towards everything," Nyx said with a smile.
"For scholars, we desire more like-minded individuals. What we seek is merely to find the truth of the future."
"And enlightenment, to us, is just something that wastes our time but must be done."
"Does the priest know the mortality rate of scholars?"
Nyx's laughter became hearty.
"It's ninety percent. Every scholar, before becoming a scholar, will be asked a question by their mentor."
"After becoming a scholar, you might sleep tonight and not wake up the next day. Even so, do you still want to become a scholar?"
"Priest, this world is very dangerous, far more dangerous than it appears, so we need to be more cautious."
"This is the answer obtained by scholars who died one after another with their lives."
Corleon understood why Nyx was so persistent.
"The Lord will protect you," he said, drawing a cross on his chest.
"Haha." Nyx just laughed and did not respond.
The two fell into silence.
Corleon admired the scholars' courage to face death and also understood why, when he wanted to add curse removal to the Baptism, he was warned by the Revelation.
Corleon glanced at Nyx, who was lost in memories.
Last night, Corleon felt that Nyx's priestly commandment had been activated, but it was still very weak and unable to use the corresponding power.
The boundary of faith is very vague.
Corleon only divided believers into several levels based on his observations of believers and the light orb during this period: general believers, shallow believers, true believers, devout believers, fanatical believers, and saints.
The standard for general believers is like Terry; whether one is a believer depends entirely on whether one needs to become a believer.
The standard for shallow believers is to read through the Holy Scriptures, agree with the Lord's words in the Scriptures, and believe that there indeed exists such a 'Lord,' but their understanding of this Lord is based on their own interpretation.
At the level of shallow believers, it's enough to activate the commandments, but the effect is extremely minimal.
Agamemnon and Nyx are shallow believers.
They agree with the words in the Scriptures, but in their hearts, they don't believe that there truly exists a Lord who exists in the past, present, and future.
However, Corleon believes that once the sanctuary is built, Agamemnon will become a true believer who believes that such a Lord truly exists.
"...It's my brother. He's very strong. Including yesterday, he has already defeated five opponents. He must be the number one warrior!" Ando's voice brought the two, who were lost in thought, back to reality.
Looking in the direction of the voice, it was Ando and Melia walking towards the church.
"Yes, he is indeed your brother, and just like you, both are brainless," said Melia.
"Brains are not as important as muscles."
"Then let me put it another way: you two are both idiots."
"Are you insulting me?!" Ando was angry, but thinking of how he was pinned to the ground by Melia during a fair duel yesterday and couldn't break free, he only dared to be angry.
"Hmph." Melia snorted, but upon seeing Nyx's stern face, she immediately shrank back.
"Ando, Melia, weren't you watching the martial arts competition?" Corleon asked first.
"Priest." Hearing the voice, Ando quickly greeted.
"Administrator Piero temporarily announced that the lord has issued an order to recruit soldiers. After that, those participating in the martial arts competition dispersed," said Melia.
"I think they were afraid of my brother. My brother has already defeated five challengers!" Ando raised his head.
Interrupted, Melia was somewhat dissatisfied, but after glancing at Nyx, she continued.
"...This time, the lord wants to expand the number of soldiers to eight hundred. This number is already close to the limit of York Territory, so they all went back to wait for news."
Those who have the courage to compete are mostly supported by small families behind them.
Those who survive in the wild by eating fruits can't compete with those who eat meat every day.
"So with no one left, today's martial arts competition is suspended."
Expanding the army.
Corleon and Nyx looked at each other, seeing the seriousness in each other's eyes.
"Since the martial arts competition is suspended, you two should go back and help Cicero first, but don't disturb Agamemnon. He is busy with important matters now," said Corleon.
"Yes, priest." The two responded, then relaxed their steps and jogged towards the church.
Watching the two leave, Nyx said, "This is not right."
"The population of York Territory is more than thirty thousand. Even counting the vagrants and hidden population, it's only forty thousand, and this was before the necromancer incident."
"Now, even if the lord's order has brought out most of the vagrants and hidden people, it's still less than thirty-five thousand."
"Excluding the private soldiers of those knights and small landlords, the lord's expansion to eight hundred soldiers has already somewhat exceeded the support standard for standing soldiers."
Having governed York Territory for more than ten years, he is extremely familiar with the situation in York Territory.
"Unless a war is about to happen," said Corleon.
"And it's a very large-scale war," Nyx frowned tightly.