Gospel of Blood

Chapter 61: Rose Society's Crisis

As the largest religious force in the Myria world, the Holy Court has two extraordinary teams famous across the continent.

The first one, there is a large number of them, with bases spread across cities and even major villages, managed by local churches. They are responsible for cleansing sinister demons and protecting ordinary people in their Demon Hunter Headquarters.

Their status is somewhat similar to the police officers in the past dynasties of China.

The formal members of the Demon Hunter Headquarters are called Demon Hunter.

More often than not, demon hunters bring a sense of safety, justice, and reassurance to ordinary people, rather than fear.

Of course, demon hunters have a higher degree of freedom than the clerics of the church. Many of them also engage in some freelance work or wander around like freelance mercenaries, which is tolerated by the church.

The second one, independent of the Holy Court and the secular churches, is the Inquisition managed directly by the country authorities.

Different from the Demon Hunters, the Inquisition has its own independent management system from top to bottom and has headquarters in major cities in various countries, responsible for supervising the branches of church districts and judging heresy and evil forces.

Their status is somewhat similar to the Imperial Guards in the history of China.

Compared to the relatively friendly demon hunters, who are even considered as one of life's ideals by many children dreaming of becoming knights, the reputation of the Judgment knights is much worse among the secular population. Even many local church clerics shudder at the mention of them.

The average strength of the Judgment knights is stronger than that of the demon hunters, and although their numbers are fewer, each one of them is a fanatic, showing no mercy to sinners, heretics, and evil forces.

Faith fanatics, neurotics, bloodthirsty maniacs, the church's henchmen, cruel, bloody, ruthless... These are the labels they bear in the eyes of the world.

Judgment knights... Only recognize faith!

The Inquisition is usually not active and has a low profile. But once they are mobilized, it means something significant has happened, and someone is in big trouble.

And the result each time is either a high-ranking priest toppled from power, or a big noble family being destroyed, or even an underground secret cult being completely wiped out...

Charlotte, who has already caught up on knowledge related to the Holy Court, quickly recalled relevant information about the Inquisition and immediately stood up from her seat.

"Don't panic, take it slow. What's going on exactly? Why is Rose Society being targeted by the Inquisition? And how many Judgment knights are mobilized?"

Charlotte asked seriously.

"Not too many, I looked from afar. There are probably more than twenty Judgment knights in red clothes, and judging by their badges, the highest should be Second-Tier Silver Moon, and there are several of them."

Casimodo said quickly.

"No Third-Tier Blazing Sun?"

Charlotte was somewhat surprised.

According to the records in the books, when the Judgment knights are mobilized, they usually go all out.

As far as she knew, the highest-ranked Judgment knight stationed in the Borde Duchy was Third-Tier Blazing Sun, just like the Duke and High Priest.

"Not all Judgment knights are mobilized... It means the situation hasn't reached the point of no return..."

She said, then asked again.

"What exactly happened? Why did the Inquisition target Rose Society? Rose Society is just an underground gang, even if they need to be managed, it should be the local lords who do it!"

However, this time, Casimodo seemed somewhat at a loss, clearly unable to answer this question.

"I don't know... I just saw the Judgment Knights' team heading aggressively toward the outer city district. Along the way, they directly sealed off a Rose Society shop in the western city district and arrested all the shop assistants."

Casimodo said.

"And... I also saw some people in gray clothes, they were likely from the Religious Inquisition Troops!"

Religious Inquisition Troops...

Charlotte's expression became serious.

The Religious Inquisition Troops were secular forces directly under the Inquisition, composed of both extraordinary individuals and ordinary people.

In the church's literature, they are an ancient tradition left over from the history of the Holy Court. When the Holy Court was conquering the continent, they were the main force in the holy wars.

At that time, they had a grandiose title, known as the Holy Legion, disciplined and powerful.

Of course, now that the Holy Court is the undisputed overlord of the Myria world, and the Holy Legion has lost its meaning, it has been reorganized into local Religious Inquisition Troops.

The Religious Inquisition Troops are nominally under the command of the Judgment Knights and assist them in their work.

However, in practice, the Religious Inquisition Troops need the unanimous consent of the Judgment Knights and the local church officials to mobilize, so they usually keep a low profile.

In other words, even the High Priest agrees with the actions against Rose Society.

"Casimodo, quickly contact Frank and the others, let them transfer to the Castell Manor as soon as possible. For those too far away, find a place to hide quickly, don't get caught up in this mess!"

"Also... inform Rose Society, those who can evacuate, evacuate as soon as possible!"

Charlotte said seriously.

Since even Rose Society's shops have been sealed off, it is very likely that the Inquisition intends to eradicate Rose Society entirely.

For the peripheral personnel sheltered by Old Frank and others, it is very likely that they are also within the scope of the crackdown!

The girl paced in the study, thinking, and continued.

"Sebastian hasn't sent any news... I wonder if it's related to this."

"The good thing is that the Judgment knights will only target the extraordinary individuals; Frank and the others should only face the arrest of the Religious Inquisition Troops..."

"Bring some of our family uniforms! Let them change into them! Now everyone in the Borde Duchy knows that we are under the protection of the church. Even if it is the Religious Inquisition Troops, they dare not act recklessly!"

Charlotte thought for a moment and said.

However, upon hearing the girl's words, Casimodo's face turned pale.

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He gritted his teeth and said.

"No... we can't bring the family uniforms. We can only transfer them over as quietly as possible..."

"If the Religious Inquisition Troops see our uniforms, the family might also suffer!"

Charlotte frowned.

"Why? Would they dare to act against nobles protected by the church? Even if they have been reorganized, they used to be disciplined and proud Holy Legion!"

Casimodo hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to explain to the girl, but it was the black cat Nice who suddenly jumped in from outside the window and said seriously.

"They definitely would."

"Because... they are no longer the Holy Legion you know from the church records."

"In fact... the current Religious Inquisition Troops have a much worse reputation than the Inquisition and the Judgment knights. They have tarnished their names."

Charlotte was slightly stunned by Nice's words, then her expression became serious.

"How so?"

Nice sighed lightly.

"Anything can become corrupt and decayed one day, and so did the Holy Legion..."

"They used to be the proudest holy war legion of the Holy Court, but after being reorganized into local Inquisition troops, many people lost their goals and motivation, choosing to leave the troops. The reduction in personnel in the Inquisition troops became more severe..."

"Later, in order to maintain combat effectiveness, Nero IV, the thirteenth Pope of the Holy Court, reformed the local Inquisition troops, announcing that they could recruit sinners willing to repent into the troops."

"These were a group of people without freedom, who signed soul contracts, and were also cannon fodder, a group of prisoners, criminals, and even former cultists who voluntarily joined the organization to escape religious judgment!"

"Their joining greatly increased the combat effectiveness of the Religious Inquisition Troops, even surpassing the period of the Holy Legion. But what followed was deteriorating discipline..."

"Now, the local Inquisition troops are like a group of religious slaves, with no human rights in the eyes of the Judgment knights, and the final outcome is only death in religious judgment time and time again..."

"These people, when they go crazy, are more unrestrained and detestable lunatics than the Judgment knights!"

Listening to Nice's words, Charlotte's expression changed.

The boys and girls haven't returned yet, and they may have encountered the local Religious Inquisition Troops.

"Prepare the carriage for me, I want to go to the cathedral immediately to see the High Priest!"

The girl made a decision immediately.

"Yes, miss..."

Casimodo bowed and then hurriedly ran out of the study.

"I thought you would decide to go to the outer city district immediately."

Nice said unexpectedly, jumping to Charlotte's side.

"I'm not that foolish."

Charlotte glanced at it and rang the bell to summon the maids to change her clothes for the trip.

She was extremely worried about the boys and girls and Frank and the others. But she knew that the more urgent the situation, the more she should stay calm.

If she rushes to the outer city district now without understanding anything, not only will she not be able to solve the problem, but she may also put herself in danger.

She had to start with the church.

Although the High Priest does not have direct jurisdiction over the Judgment knights, as the highest holy figure of the Holy Court in the Borde Duchy, he still has a say in the divine judgment of local groups.

Moreover, the High Priest also has a certain degree of control over the local Religious Inquisition Troops!

The High Priest's tenure as the chief priest also requires Castel's help, it's just a matter of spending more gold tana, as long as she is willing to spend the money, Charlotte is confident that she can persuade him to stop the divine judgment of the Inquisition.

Thinking about it, she took out a stack of parchment from the desk and put it into her arms.

"What's this?"

Nice poked its head out.

Charlotte glanced at it.

"Materials prepared to whitewash Rose Society. I originally wanted to wait until later to use them more fully, but it seems... I have to use them early now."

Since she had decided to accept Sebastian as the steward, Charlotte had already considered how to whitewash an underground gang, Rose Society.

She was, after all, a noble, and Rose Society was a gang. Mixing the two together openly would be unacceptable and could become a weapon for other nobles to attack her.

She had been sorting out these things in her spare time these days, but fortunately, Rose Society was somewhat capable. Although there was a lot of mess behind them, they had also done many good deeds, so they were somewhat ambiguous.

The technique of using the 'Spring and Autumn Period' style to whitewash the Rose Society was not difficult for keyboard warriors in her past life. (Explanation at the bottom)

This trip to see the High Priest is a good opportunity to handle this matter, and solve it once and for all!

Under the service of the maids, Charlotte changed into suitable clothes for the trip and specifically chose a holy white dress. Then, she boarded the prepared carriage.

"Meow! I'm going too!"

Nice called out and also jumped onto the carriage.

Charlotte glanced at it and did not stop it. Although this guy is unreliable, in terms of understanding the church, no one in the manor can compare to it. Bringing it along might yield unexpected gains.

The carriage drove off, carrying a girl and a cat, quickly towards the cathedral in the eastern city district...

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The "Spring and Autumn Period" refers to a historical text from ancient China, traditionally attributed to Confucius, which chronicles events in the state of Lu from 722 to 481 BCE. It's known for its concise, objective style of recording historical events and is often cited as a model of historical writing. Using the "Spring and Autumn Period style" in this context likely means adopting a similarly objective and factual approach to documenting the activities of the Rose Society, akin to how events were recorded in the ancient text.