Volume 2: Funeral Song of Crows Chapter 2 Flags
"Regarding the incident of the eighth Holy Spirit's manifestation a week ago, after repeated confirmation and verification by our priest group, its authenticity has been confirmed. It has now been recorded in the history of the church and will be written into the Silver Book as a permanent record in the future."
Said the old Patriarch Adrian.
Hearing this, Albert perked up. He adjusted his sitting posture slightly and sat upright.
Albert's intuition told him that this was the highlight of the day.
Including why the regular Senate meeting on the 30th of each month has to be held in advance, and why so many politicians and ambassadors from various provinces of the empire are attending the meeting today.
All because of this incident.
"According to the records, this is the seventeenth recorded divine manifestation since the ascension of Terra I, but the scope and extent of its impact are unprecedented. Records of divine manifestations have appeared throughout the Riel Empire, and even from the Daemon Continent and Ava Continent, and even from the Osis Ruins expedition team, there are reports of divine manifestations."
The Patriarch put the icon back around his neck and continued:
"It can be said that this is the greatest manifestation of God since the ascension of Terra I, and its content is also a sign of the Holy Spirit's impending wrath as recorded in the Revelation... This matter is of great importance, so the priests began interpreting the manifestation a week ago, and now we have a preliminary conclusion..."
So that’s how it is. Have you finally made up your mind to give an official, unified statement on this incident?
Albert didn't feel so surprised to hear this.
The apparition of the holy image a week ago caused panic in the entire Platinum City. It was said that the imperial guards were dispatched overnight that night, and an entire dungeon was filled with people who spread the rumor that "judgment is coming."
The aftermath was even more far-reaching.
Originally, Platinum City was the birthplace of the Holy Spirit Church and also the faith center of the entire continent. The traditional church itself had a subtle element of suppression towards the Eighth Church.
Although the church of the Eighth Order, Kane-Rail Church, was allowed to open, in a sense, this was a symbol of the Holy Spirit Church's recognition of the legitimacy of the Riel royal family. Therefore, this church was basically only used for prayers and sacraments by the Riel royal family and was rarely open to the public.
After the apparition of the holy image, Cain-Rail Church was surrounded by crowds of people almost every day. Countless people tried to enter the church holding the cracked holy image in their hands, wanting to see if the golden statue inside the church was also cracked.
Of course, some more outrageous rumors are also spreading.
For example, the statue of the Holy Spirit would shed tears and utter golden words floating in the air, which were filled with a list of corrupt officials in Platinum City. Or the statue would leave the base in the middle of the night and transform into a man in a black robe to ask about the current situation of the empire on the street.
Of course, most of these rumors came from the pub, from the mouths of people who were so drunk that they didn't know their own last names. Although they spoke in a serious manner, no one could provide any evidence.
Queen Irene immediately ordered the people of the Platinum Circle to set up an expulsion barrier in front of the church. Most of the people who came to make a pilgrimage or wanted to find out what was going on would be irritated by the barrier and have snot and tears streaming down their faces as soon as they approached. They would then be caught by the nearby guards and fined twenty gold riels on the spot.
Then, all the taverns or other entertainment venues in Platinum City received relevant orders through their respective channels, strictly prohibiting the discussion of those rumors in public.
With this thundering measure, the Platinum City government at least temporarily suppressed the turmoil on the surface.
But it is only superficial and temporary.
It is impossible to take into account how many people in the dark want to use this manifestation of the Holy Spirit to achieve their own goals.
If this matter is allowed to continue to ferment and rumors are allowed to spread secretly, it will eventually be exploited by people with ulterior motives, causing the situation to get out of control on a large scale.
However, blindly relying on forceful suppression will only backfire in the end. What the Church and the Empire really need to do now is to use this divine revelation to guide the situation and firmly seize the initiative and right of interpretation of the matter in their own hands.
It is better to say that the manifestation of the Holy Spirit is a banner.
This idea suddenly popped into Albert's mind.
As long as the icon does not speak out his orders himself, the ultimate right of interpretation lies in the hands of the imperial officials.
So what kind of decision will they make when they hold high this banner?
"...Based on the time of the manifestation, the final interpretation of the priests is that this is the Eighth Holy Spirit's expression of anger towards the land of Ava that rejected the Star Law, rejected the glory of the Holy Spirit Church, and had no respect for the Riel Empire. It also issued a final ultimatum for them to unconditionally submit to the Empire."
As soon as the Patriarch said this, everyone's eyes turned to Queen Irene.
If this is the interpretation direction, then this must be what that person meant.
Ava refers to the archipelago located southwest of the Vic continent, which is the home of all elves. It is also the origin of the first wizard organization, the Takma Cult, and more specifically, the origin of the concept of magic.
But for the Riel Empire, this place has a more important historical significance.
It was the only place where Terra I's great conquest failed during the Unification War eight hundred years ago. Two hundred Imperial warships sank in the violent storm of the Broken Sea during the Battle of Drifting, and Terra I himself almost died here.
In the more than 800 years since the founding of the Riel Empire, several emperors have tried to conquer Ava Continent to complete the great cause that the founding emperor had not completed. However, they either retreated after seeing the unpredictable storms of the Broken Sea, or suffered tragic failures after losing most of their troops in the forced crossing of the sea .
Until now, Ava Continent still stays outside the rule of the Empire with the natural barrier of the Broken Sea. It neither obeys the Star Law nor recognizes the existence of the Eighth Holy Spirit and the rule of the Riel Royal Family over the Vic Continent. They practice the classical magic system of Takma and advocate the most heretical "Pan-magic Big Bang Creation Model", rejecting the teachings of the Holy Spirit.
And now if we were to interpret this divine manifestation in this direction...
The Patriarch sat down, and Speaker York cleared his throat and said:
"Then the next motion, which is also the last motion of today's Senate meeting, was proposed by Queen Irene and I will read it on her behalf - a proposal on the preliminary preparations for the expedition to Ava..."
Just when everyone was attracted by the content of this proposal, Albert suddenly realized a problem.
This is the last motion...
Why is it that at such a high-level meeting today, there is talk about what happened in Blackwater Province some time ago - whether it was the short-lived and quickly subsided undead crisis, the disappearance of the Duke of Thorns and the sudden death of the Stranger Lighthouse keeper, as well as the master magic caster named Vincent who announced that he would become the temporary leader of the entire Blackwater Province - why has no one mentioned these things?
Not even a word was mentioned.
