Chapter 49: The Elves’ Reform, Narujia’s Courage, The Ambition of the Alese Kingdom (part 1)

Late at night, the bishop conference called by Bishop Stephen was as noisy as a marketplace.

Each bishop was fiercely arguing for their own interests. Their luxurious robes were heaving dramatically as if they were about to explode with pleas, the veins on their necks bulging and faces reddened like monkey’s buttocks, and a few had even reached the point where they had to release divine magic to calm themselves down.

As the leader of the bishops, Archbishop Peter naturally appeared calm and composed.

After letting everyone argue for a while, he raised his hand to signal for silence and asked Bishop Stephen three questions.

“Regarding the church’s benefits, Stephen, as the initiator, takes a twenty percent share, the other bishops together take thirty percent, and Archbishop Peter himself takes fifty percent. Does he have any objections?”

“No, no objections,” Bishop Stephen hurriedly shook his head, “but I hope the thirty percent for the other bishops can be discussed amongst themselves.”

The conference room almost turned back into a marketplace again, but thanks to Archbishop Peter asking the second question, everyone calmed down once more.

“I will personally promote monster fighting or, in other words, the gambling industry at the next round table conference, allowing it to flourish throughout the Roman Empire. But why must we use precious monsters? Can’t we use humans, horses, or even card flipping and dice rolling instead?”

Bishop Stephen pondered for a moment and said it “It should be feasible,” but he quickly added, “With my wisdom, I can’t imagine how other methods would operate. I urge the Archbishop to reconsider.”

This was actually an attempt to shift responsibility. After all, Bishop Stephen was very clear that he couldn’t expand the industry any further.

Rather than boasting and then taking on a burden he couldn’t bear, it was better to earn less so that both sides could benefit.

Archbishop Peter was somewhat disappointed, but he still asked the third question.

“Such a large-scale industry will inevitably be questioned by the penitents. In that case, how should we explain it to the Holy Lady?”

This good question silenced everyone. They looked at each other, eventually shaking their heads and saying, “There’s no way around. She must be kept praying underground.”

After all, with almost all internal and external channels of information cut off, Cecilia couldn’t possibly be aware of what was happening in the outside world.

Moreover, Archbishop Peter did not wish for the Holy Lady to realize the splendor of Saint Peter’s Cathedral. He nearly cut off all possible channels for passing messages to the her and her sect of penitents, just to prevent the Holy Lady from noticing any abnormalities on the surface.

She was a troublesome woman. Though she seemed foolish, short-sighted, and reclusive in her behavior, she was the Holy Lady of the Church of Light, the Favored of God in the eyes of the God of Light.

As long as she still harbored faith in the God of Light in her heart, she would not lose His favor, nor would she be affected by any divine magic from the Church of Light. She could always demonstrate the authority of the God of Light to gain the faith of the believers.

This was the Holy Lady of the Church of Light. Powerful and beautiful, but fortunately, she was adorably foolish due to personal feelings and self-isolation. This was really too good.

Therefore, Archbishop Peter must deceive her who was penitently praying underground.

Bishop Stephen also understood the seriousness of the issue. 

After pondering for a moment, he righteously said, “How can this be considered making money? This is considering the hearts of the faithful who have labored year after year. They are merely entertaining their minds and spirits by giving each other penitential words as gifts among the faithful, how could this lead to their families being broken and destitute?”

In the Church, penitential words must be purchased with money. They essentially had no value at all, and the cheapest penitential words might even just have a few handwritten sentences, nothing more.

But Stephen’s ingenious idea had combined the Church’s monster fighting industry with penitential words, forming a very legal explanation that the Holy Lady would absolutely not see any issue with.

Was it wrong for the faithful to buy penitential words for their blessings? 

Of course not. It was a legitimate expense for themselves and their families, right?

Then, was it wrong for the faithful to use penitential words for monsters fighting bets among themselves?

Of course not. After all, monsters were not humans but livestock, and the faithful did not trade with currency. The exchange of penitential words, which were very important to each other among the faithful through entertainment, what could be more beautiful than this?

Then, was there any problem for the Church?

Of course, there was no problem.

After all, the money the faithful spend on penitential words would come from their own pockets.

And to speak of it again.

When the time came, the penitential words for the monsters fighting that could be exchanged among each other would be priced at 10 silver coins. Conversely, if penitential words were exchanged for cash, they could take a ten percent tax, allowing the faithful to exchange one penitential word for only 9 silver coins.

Looking at it this way, for the Church, to say there was no problem was an understatement. Archbishop Peter couldn’t wish for more problems that bring money like a strong wind.

The bishops applauded Bishop Stephen’s cleverness.

***

Meanwhile, in the capital of Caparia, the Sky Garden of Fingal, Yang Hao and the others, who had already returned, did not rest but were discussing the other possibilities of the elven specialty industry in the Green Courtyard.

The reason was that on the way back, Yang Hao had Arthur compile the core design of the weakened steam factory, and then Yang Hao spontaneously suggested, “If possible, why not try to combine the steam factory with the oak tree factory?”

Yang Hao considered this a somewhat risky but highly feasible plan, while Arthur, while being affectionate with his wife Viya whom he ran into, and greeting a dozen elven females with envious glares not far away, hurried back to Yang Hao’s side to say, “It’s not possible.”

At that time, Yang Hao was not sure if Arthur came along using work as an excuse just to avoid women for the day, or if he genuinely had ideas.

In any case, they argued all the way, and the argument continued into the Green Courtyard, tumultuous yet harmonious.

Out of necessity, he had to use his authority as the Regent to borrow a meeting room. 

‘Since you want to argue, then I’ll argue with you to reach a conclusion.’

Subsequently, the superior and the subordinate, under the watchful eyes of Narujia, who hesitated to speak, and the nun, who stared with dead fish eyes, argued from dinner time well into the night.

Each side presented their views, with proposed plans having their own advantages and disadvantages, seemingly useful yet conflicting with each other.

To put it in simple terms, it was like the debate between salty tofu pudding and sweet tofu pudding.

Yang Hao’s idea was that if the steam factory could be combined with the oak tree factory, then the industrial output of the Elven Kingdom would be elevated by several levels. This would provide crucial productivity for the upcoming societal transformation of the elves and better prepare them for the impending war pressures.

The downside was that the oak trees themselves might wither at a faster pace due to the damage brought by the steam factory.

But Yang Hao believed this to be a necessary and understandable sacrifice. 

Arthur’s opposition lay exactly here.

As someone who had lived in the Elven Kingdom for quite some time as an outsider, Arthur understood the importance of the oak trees to elves more than Yang Hao did.

By now, he also knew that arguing with Yang Hao over which method would bring more productivity was futile. Indeed, the productivity from combining steam factories with oak trees would absolutely surpass that of the oak tree factories alone.

So, he chose another point of attack. The relationship between elves and the Elven Forest was even closer than that between human fetuses and their mothers.

“Your Majesty, this is like asking a woman to castrate her father who is over fifty years old, or her child who was born just two days ago.”

Arthur was straightforward, and only Yang Hao could tolerate his way of speaking.

“Elves value oak trees very, very, very much. Let me repeat, they value oak trees very much. I understand you’re still thinking from a human perspective. But honestly, a leap in productivity is not important to the elves. What they care about more is whether they can coexist harmoniously with the Elven Forest, my lord.”

“But what about the upcoming war? Arthur, let’s be frank with each other. The Elven Kingdom needs to withstand the assault from the Diocese to preserve the Elven Forest. Shouldn’t it be understandable to make some sacrifices to preserve the Elven Forest?”

“I know. But the problem is, the elves’ stubbornness, their affection for oak trees.”

“Sigh.”

Once they touched upon the elves’ stubbornness and emotions, both men found themselves at a loss for solutions. 

At this moment, they both deflated. Exhausted, they exchanged weary looks. Eventually, Yang Hao took out his pen and crossed out his Steam Oak Factory proposal, saying bitterly, “So, it seems we can only win by quantity. But, do you think we can grow so many oak tree factories in a short time?”

Arthur also shook his head with a bitter expression, “Probably not. But I think sometimes we don’t necessarily need the factories to produce the highest quality consumables, right? After all, they are just consumables, similar to safety measures, it’s not like we can use them and then wash and dry them for reuse.”

“No, you can reduce the quality of entertainment products, but for military supplies, we absolutely cannot neglect quality.”

“In that case…”

Chirping and chattering, chirping and chattering.

Sister Teresa glanced at the door, which had opened at some unknown time, and found that the two men were so immersed in their heated work debate that they hadn’t even noticed Fen’s personal visit.

She sighed, stood up under Narujia’s gaze, then directly stood behind Yang Hao and cast a calming spell on him.

In the moment of silence that followed, she lifted the divine magic and, while pressing on Yang Hao’s head, made him turn to look at Fen, who had been smiling at the door.

“Men, when you’re working, you should pay attention to what’s happening outside, shouldn’t you?”

Sister Teresa’s gritted teeth only made Yang Hao greet Fen in a daze.

Mr. Arthur was more surprised, hurrying to give his respects.

Fen had no complaints against them. She simply walked nonchalantly to the chair on Yang Hao’s right side and sat down. This action not only irritated Teresa, who had chosen to sit at the back to not disturb the men’s work but also brought two important pieces of news to everyone.

Firstly, the goods from the first trade with Isugard were being transported overnight at the fastest speed. If there were no accidents, those new rifles, muzzleloaders, and accompanying ammunition would arrive in Fingel by tomorrow.

“These items seem very delicate, or perhaps we misjudged. To avoid damage, we had to opt for land transportation.”

Fen smiled as she watched Teresa, puffing with anger, pull her chair next to Yang Hao on his left side and also somewhat awkwardly pulled the listening chieftain tribe to her left.

“At that time, I will have the elven scholars cooperate with your work. However, Your Majesty, there is a matter from the elven council that might be urgent for you.”

“Oh?”

“Some of the older elves wish for you to present convincing evidence during the council meeting. Please believe that they have no ill intentions. These elders, who have lived through the demonic calamity war, are just still nostalgic about our former alliance of brothers.”

In simple terms, it meant that a portion of the older elves were quite skeptical about whether Yang Hao truly possessed the capability. A doubt that Yang Hao found understandable and had grown accustomed to.

It was similar to a chef who specializes in Cantonese cuisine taking the lead chef position at a Sichuan cuisine restaurant. The local Sichuan chefs might doubt whether the newcomer from Guangdong could properly make Mapo Tofu.

Yang Hao was the human Regent of the Roman Empire, and while he was very capable, it didn’t mean those abilities were applicable to the lands of the elves.

So, they hoped Yang Hao could demonstrate abilities that were applicable to elven lands and provide evidence.

It was essentially a group of stubborn elders, with a stern attitude, hoping that the younger generation would bring pleasant surprises.

As long as Yang Hao could present evidence that would benefit the elves significantly, these old hardheads would fully cooperate and support, unlike the Roman Round Table Council, which verbally agreed but was internally fragmented.

“So, are you truly confident that you can present the most valuable and impactful actual evidence at the council? I mean… with those rifles?”

Fen was curious about Yang Hao’s confidence.

“Can those weapons you referred to as guns truly bring about a revolution for the elves? Please forgive my ignorance, but I have never seen a weapon called a gun.”

Faced with Fen’s confusion, the two men present exchanged glances and unanimously responded, “It is destined to be a groundbreaking shock, definitely bringing countless changes to the world of elves.”

This was a confident conclusion drawn after thoroughly understanding the conventional weapons used by elves.

Whether it was Arthur or Yang Hao, they both understood that when elves used longbows, they actually prioritized not the rate of fire but the range and power, along with carrying as many arrows as possible.

This was quite understandable. Compared to shortbows, which had a faster rate of fire but shorter range, elves preferred longbows for their ability to shoot far and accurately.

This was not only derived from practical combat experience, where the greater the distance, the safer one’s situation, but also because, given the elves’ sparse population, they must provide the best protection for their lives.

No matter how much armor one wore, there would always be weak spots that enemies could penetrate. However, if one could attack the enemy from beyond their range and then immediately move positions after each shot, it ensured one’s safety while causing maximum panic to the enemy.

Under such tactical thinking, even if elves needed two minutes to prepare their draw, the longbow remained a favorite weapon of every elf. With its long range and high accuracy, it was an equipment perfectly crafted for elves, leaving no room for improvement.

The new-style rifles from Isugard represented a completely new, destined-to-be fervently adored by elves, type of weapon.

From Yang Hao’s experience, this type of breech-loading firearm, more advanced than the steam-powered rifles of the Roman Empire, should be more precise and have a longer range.

Especially after carefully considering that early bolt-action rifles could ensure lethality at a distance of eight hundred meters, he was even more confident in his conclusion.

Not to mention, elves had a much stronger physical constitution than humans. If the existing caliber of the guns did not meet the elves’ needs for range, then increasing the caliber, adding more charge, or even directly enchanting the bullets were all viable ways to meet the demand.

However, the direction of development still needed to wait until the rifles were delivered for precise disassembly, and imitation, and for elves to have actual experience before a final conclusion could be made.

Moreover, the production of bullets inevitably required some localization modifications.

The Roman Empire’s previous steam rifles fired steel balls with high-pressure gas cylinders. For the elves, perhaps they needed to start with various magical minerals.

Hmm…

Seeing everyone getting lively again, and even with Fen’s participation, the fervor surpassed what it was before.

But the little nun Teresa suddenly noticed the odd Narujia’s behavior beside her. She seemed to have something to say but ended up timidly holding back her words.