When A Mage Revolts

For a priest who had such a strong faith, coming as a messenger to the territory of the mages, and even having to lower his voice to discuss a compromise with them concerning a weighty issue… This sort of a mental process was very hard to imagine. Benjamin was also very curious as to whether such a person would struggle in his heart, and whether there would be any dissatisfaction held against Grant.

Their faith… Was it really unshakeable?

However, the priest’s expression changed as he said unhesitantly, "Claude Lithur was disrespectful to God. His Highness the Pope had to endure the pain and sentenced him to death. It is the highest respect one can afford to God."

"Then… Don’t you know about the stake burning in the capital and the gigantic water ball?" Benjamin did not give up, and continued to speak, "Your current pope had almost been burnt at the stake for sleeping with a man, but ended up getting me to be his scapegoat. Are you able to accept such a pope?"

"It is all the temptation of the devil. His Highness the Pope had been bewitched by scoundrels and had made a one-time mistake. Right now, he has been cleansed of all sins, and has received the anointing of God."

Benjamin shook his head speechlessly.

Such god-damned stubbornness…

Seeing the cold face of the priest, it was very difficult for him to guess the thoughts that were going on in these people’s minds. Yet, without a doubt, their loyalty towards Grant was very difficult to shake.

As for those unfaithful fellows… About half a month ago, they had probably been gotten rid off, along with the Fulner family.

"Murdering his father and his elders, committing a crime… This pope of yours is really something," Benjamin knew that there was no way he could cause this priest to waver, and so, with some sarcastic words, he waved his hand, signaling for the other person to leave.

He could continue to shame him, but what would that achieve?

Speaking to this fellow was like water off a duck’s back; his faith was almost unmovable, and it was impossible for Benjamin to pass the key back to the Church. And so, there was no point in allowing this conversation to continue any longer.

It was still a fresh sight to see a priest humbling himself to bargain with a mage, but he was starting to get bored of it.

"Director Benjamin, you must understand how many disasters you are bringing upon yourself by doing this…" The priest took a deep breath; as his inducement had failed, he began to use threats.

Except that Benjamin could not be bothered listening to him anymore.

"Get out."

A huge draft of water vapor along with a surge of violent wind pushed the priest and threw him out of the doorway of the director’s office.

The priest fell hard on the floor, looking extremely embarrassed. And by the time he lifted up his head, the doors to the director’s office had been closed up by magic; the intention to expel his visitor was very apparent.

At that moment, there was a surge of extreme fury on his face as though he was about to tear his face apart and storm back into Benjamin’s office with a spell. He clenched the fists under his sleeves tightly and almost started to chant.

But… In the end, he did not do so.

With a face full of grievance, the priest left the Academy of Magic resentfully. Benjamin kept his sights on him, and only pulled back when the priest left Academy.

If the priest had dared to pull anything, Benjamin would have ended him right there and then.

And so, the first, and possibly the last peaceful negotiation between the Church and the Academy of Magic, ended in a humiliating manner. Benjamin walked over to the window and took a deep breath, feeling mysteriously comfortable.

Once upon a time, he could only scurry about between the various nations, wandering about the lines of life and death. But now, he had the power to bargain with the Church on an equal footing.

That giant could not do much but pay him some respect.

Such an achievement excited his emotions quite a bit. However, he calmed down very quickly and noted that the Church was very likely to come up with something big next.

Like what the priest had mentioned before, there were spies hidden in every country…

To be honest, the sealing of the Church’s infiltration had become the number one priority in every country. However, their infiltration had never ceased. Just last week, Benjamin had heard about how Icor had found a secret location for missionary work and had captured tens of personnel who had been involved. However, the most important people, the two priests, had vanished without a trace.

This was a sign. If the Church was a disease, then this was the careless cough of a person before the flu. The missionary spot was very small, and the influenced people were not more than twenty or thirty, but… The significance behind this was not something that the leaders in every nation should take lightly.

Now that the Church had cleaned up the internal mess, they were going to rebuild themselves.

Furthermore, with the key in Benjamin’s hands, who knew what they could be up to?

And so, after the meeting, Varys was quickly summoned to the director’s office.

"What’s up?" He nodded at Benjamin, asking, "The visitor just now… Was definitely very unexpected. If he had not gone through a stringent check, I would not have let him in."

Benjamin, however, shook his head.

"No, what I want to talk about now has nothing to do with him," He lowered his head, and was silent for a moment before saying, "Don’t you think that we should build an army that belongs to us?"

Hearing this, Varys had on a startled expression: "This… Why have you thought of this?"

"Firstly, the momentum of the academy’s business is pretty good, we should be able to pay off all our debts to the countries, and have a considerably steady income. This is the foundation for the building of the army," Benjamin drummed his fingers against the surface of the table, speaking slowly, "Secondly, the Church is ready to cause troubles at any time. If they suddenly send their troops out, we may not be able to defend against the great battalion that comes from the crusade of the Kingdom of Helius by just relying on the other three countries.

"But our academy is an international organization, independent of the countries, we should not be involved in the fight between the nations," Varys furrowed his eyebrows. "To build an army, what would the King of Carretas think? What would General Stuart of Ferelden think? I’m afraid that there would be an internal mess here even before the Church attacks."

"I understand," Benjamin nodded, saying, "So… We can only proceed with this matter secretly."

"An army of ten thousand people, how can that be kept a secret?"

Benjamin shook his head, however, explaining, "We don’t have to build a battalion in its usual sense. We would not be able to maintain too many people anyway. A special team of a few thousand people, I feel that’s pretty good. A backbone force that can go against the Church at crucial times."

"But… A few thousand people?"

Varys did not finish his sentence, but his facial expression had made it clear what he meant, In a battle between mages and priests, a team of a few thousand people was really unable to be effective in any way.

Nevertheless, Benjamin had a soft smile.

"That is an outdated perspective on war. Very soon, everything will change according to innovation," He spoke slowly, "You will see, in the future, a scene such as this— an army of a few thousand commoners who can also beat up the battalion of priests."