Chapter 141: Kayan’s Manifesto, the Kingdom in Turmoil
While Nolan and his companions celebrated the birth of the newly formed “Coldsteel Pride” and prepared for the coming campaign against Demont, a storm was quietly brewing across the entire southern region of the kingdom, with Coldsteel City at its center.
The manifesto written by Kayan spread through the south like wildfire.
No one outside knew where it originated, but every Brotherhood member in Veli City knew that one evening their boss had received a letter so shocking that the usually cold and steady-handed man had nearly dropped it on the spot.
Veli City, tavern “Boar’s Ribs.”
Located in the southern commoner district, it was a favorite haunt of laborers and mercenaries. Cheap ale and vulgar jokes were eternal staples there.
Behind that worldly disguise, however, lay an all-pervasive network of intelligence and rumors.
The Brotherhood’s local overseer in Veli City, code-named “Bartender” and owner of the tavern itself, absentmindedly polished a cup as his thoughts remained fixed on the letter he had received late one night not long ago.
The letter had come from Vivi.
That sharp and capable girl had once been the most profitable ace under his command. The former number one Nightingale of Veli City. There was no signature on the envelope, but it carried Vivi’s unique cipher, the code Brotherhood members used to verify identities and contact their handlers.
The moment he saw it, he remembered that exquisitely crafted Lloyd Mark and the mysterious young man from before. The seal of the King of the Gray World, the “Crow Prince,” could not possibly be forged.
Despite meeting him only once, the young man’s bearing had completely overwhelmed him, and he had immediately concluded that this was the Brotherhood’s elusive second-in-command.
Even now, “Bartender” still felt Vivi had stumbled into unbelievable fortune. She had dared lay hands on that lord back then, yet not only had she survived, she had even caught his eye. Wasn’t this exactly what it meant to climb a great tree and soar to the heavens in a single step?
The contents of the letter were simple. Attached was a manifesto, along with instructions to use every channel the Brotherhood possessed in the region to spread it across the entire Province of Veli and throughout the south as quickly as possible.
At the end of the letter, it was explicitly stated that this was the will of “that lord.”
That alone was enough. “Bartender” did not dare show the slightest negligence.
The contents appeared unrelated to the Brotherhood’s operations, and he had no idea what the purpose behind it was, but he neither dared speculate nor ask questions. He only knew that anything that lord wished to accomplish had to be done.
Thus, a manifesto exposing Archduke Demont for colluding with the Shiva Empire, inviting wolves into the kingdom, and betraying the faith of the Mother Goddess was plastered everywhere and passed from mouth to mouth, spreading like a virus.
***
“Let the kingdom bear witness!
In the name of the Radiance of Sethis and the Sacred Covenant of the Living, we expose the cancer rooted deep within the land beneath the crown. Archduke Demont and his son, Baron Haus, have used their authority as sacrifice to invite the corpses of Shiva to trample the lands of the living! Such betrayal of noble duty, such defiance of the Mother Goddess’ doctrine that ‘the living come first,’ such blasphemy against the kingdom and its blood feud with the undead shall be abandoned by both heaven and earth alike!
The kingdom’s Pioneer Knight Nolan, sword in hand and under the witness of Mandala War hero Hank Corot, slew the great villain Haus upon the grounds of his crimes and proclaimed his treachery with irrefutable evidence: the Demont family colludes with the undead, Black Knights march across the kingdom’s wilderness, and sleepless skeletons hide within Coldsteel’s dungeons! The Demont family was once devout through generations, yet now their glorious bloodline has fallen into the abyss. The sins of betraying both faith and kingdom can never be absolved. In the name of the Temple of the Mother Goddess, I strip them of their place among the faithful and condemn them as heretics!
From this moment onward, the disciples of Sethis shall wield holy flame to cleanse this corruption. Let all who bear swords join us in severing these rotten branches. Let all who keep the faith lend their prayers to fuel the fires of judgment!
— Kayan, Priest of the Temple of the Mother Goddess”
***
From drunkards in taverns to merchants in the marketplace and farmers in the fields, public opinion exploded overnight.
In the Veli Province especially, a land long ravaged by undead incursions and once the main battlefield of the Mandala War, the people’s hatred and fury toward Archduke Demont instantly reached its peak.
After a hard day’s labor, the greatest entertainment people had at night was gathering in taverns and cursing Demont with flying spit and boiling rage.
“Colluding with the undead? How dare he?! His ancestors must be exploding in their graves!”
“And he calls himself a devout follower of the Mother Goddess? Bah! A man like that should be tied to a stake and purified for seven days and seven nights!”
“How many people died in Veli Province? My own brother was killed by those damned skeletons! Demont! I curse you to have sons born without assholes!”
The flames of anger spread wildly among the people.
And the ruler of Veli Province, Archduke Veli, saw the manifesto as well.
This archduke, who carried the temperament of an artist, was known among the kingdom’s nobility as “the nice old man,” though it was hardly meant as praise.
The moment he noticed Kayan’s name, panic overtook him completely. He wanted to offend no one and feared offending everyone. Without delay, he hurriedly summoned the head of the Mother Goddess Temple in Veli City, Bishop Herman of the Blue Robes.
“Your Grace Bishop! Your Grace Bishop! Something terrible has happened!”
Sweat covered Archduke Veli’s carefully maintained face. The moment Herman entered the reception room, he shouted at him, forgetting even the most basic aristocratic etiquette.
Bishop Herman glanced at the distraught archduke and frowned slightly. “Your Excellency, what has frightened you so badly?”
“The manifesto! That manifesto!” Archduke Veli slapped a copied sheet onto the table. “What it says here… is it true?” Breathing heavily, he pointed at the signature. “This Kayan! I remember him. Wasn’t he a priest from our Veli City temple?! What are we supposed to do now? If Mr. Demont finds out, won’t he think I’m involved too? Won’t he believe this represents my position?”
Looking at the panic-stricken man before him, Herman’s eyes filled with deep helplessness and contempt.
The archduke’s concern was not that Demont Province, the center of the coming storm, bordered Veli Province. What worried him was merely that the author of the manifesto came from his own territory.
The bishop remained silent. His gaze fell upon the sacred tree emblem embroidered in gold thread at the cuff of his blue bishop’s robe, and complicated emotions churned within him.
Kayan…
Archduke Veli still did not know that the order expelling Kayan had come directly from Herman himself.
That young man had once been praised as the temple’s greatest genius and considered a candidate to succeed the archbishop, only to be personally cast out by Herman. Even now, he still remembered that on the day Kayan was expelled, the light in his eyes had not dimmed. Instead, it had burned even brighter.
And this Pioneer Knight Nolan mentioned in the manifesto… was he that shabby mercenary who had once faced him without arrogance or fear?
Herman could not understand what had driven Kayan to follow that man’s path. Could it truly have been the will of the Mother Goddess?
After all, Herman himself had suffered torment these past days.
The accusations in the manifesto were as severe as possible, and the signature “Kayan, Priest of the Temple of the Mother Goddess” had effectively placed the entire temple in direct opposition to a ruling archduke.
Demont was colluding with the Undead Empire. Undead forces were infiltrating the lands of the Elfin Kingdom without resistance.
The “mad ravings” Kayan once spoke of, warning that the Shiva Empire was preparing for full-scale invasion, now seemed to be coming true step by step.
And Rowan, the commander of the Holy Knight Order who had once been Kayan’s closest friend before becoming his bitter enemy, had grown taciturn after Kayan’s departure. He strengthened perimeter patrols, abolished every harsh regulation targeting Kayan, and dragged anyone who dared speak ill of him before his face onto the training grounds for brutal punishment under all manner of excuses.
Could it really be that he had been wrong? Had his arrogance and short-sightedness caused the temple to lose a truly devout and loyal genius priest, one genuinely favored by the Mother Goddess?
Herman stared at the words “disciples of Sethis” in the manifesto, his heart filled with bitterness.
Even after being expelled from the temple, Kayan still regarded himself as one of the faithful.
Such conviction. Such sincerity…
Did Herman himself still dare claim he walked beneath the Mother Goddess’s light?
Seeing Herman remain silent for so long, Archduke Veli grew even more anxious, convinced he had touched upon the truth. “It’s over, it’s over… what are we supposed to do now? If Mr. Demont gets angry and cuts off Veli’s iron ore supply…” Like a headless fly, he paced frantically around the room while muttering to himself.
“Your Excellency.”
At last, Bishop Herman could no longer endure it and finally spoke.
Archduke Veli immediately stopped rambling and looked at him eagerly.
“Calm yourself. Kayan was previously expelled from the Mother Goddess Temple of Veli City for defying his superiors and assaulting the commander of the Templar Knight Order with a group. His actions and words have nothing to do with this diocese, and naturally have nothing to do with you either. Your worries are somewhat excessive.”
Hearing this, the burden weighing on Archduke Veli’s heart instantly vanished. Relief flooded his face. His legs gave out, and he collapsed into a chair while clutching his chest and gasping for breath. “Whew… good, good…”
Watching his pathetic display, Herman snorted coldly to himself.
The kingdom’s founding hero, “Old Stubborn” Veli, had ruled with iron blood and decisive action. He had personally requested to guard the kingdom’s border against the Undead Empire. Herman wondered what that legendary man would think if he saw how weak his descendants had become.
Archduke Veli had always been a neutralist. Or rather, his cowardly nature made him afraid of offending any ruling archduke, despite being one himself. Even commoners could smell the gunpowder of impending upheaval in the kingdom, yet this man who sat in high office still worried only about damaging relationships with his peers.
The bishop sighed and rose to his feet. “Your Excellency, I believe what you should concern yourself with now is making proper military preparations. The Southern Legion has been quiet for far too long. If that ill-intentioned empire truly comes prepared, our current state will not be enough to face it.”
“M-military? Weren’t we talking about Demont…?”
Ignoring him entirely, Herman continued, “Since the beginning of this year, the number of incursions along the Veli border has already surpassed the total of the previous three years combined. Archduke Demont’s collusion may be a sign. Those ‘Sleepless Ones’ may not have fallen silent as everyone believes. And furthermore…”
Herman reached the doorway, paused, and spoke without turning around.
“As far as I know, the primary iron mining regions of Demont Province are now under the control of the ‘rebels.’ If you still wish to secure iron supplies, the person you negotiate with may have to change. In fact, I have a vague feeling… Demont Province is about to change masters.”
With that, he ignored the shocked gasps behind him and walked away.
Kayan…
If what he spoke of truly was the Mother Goddess’s divine revelation—
then the temple, too, had to begin preparing.