Lower Water Moon, March 20th.
"Colorless Serenity" Inn.
The massive figure of Kuro lay prone at Minori's feet, occasionally wagging its tail. Even lying down, its head was completely above the table.
Two black chair legs were exposed in the air, exuding a cold gleam.
The atmosphere in the room was somewhat quiet.
Minori had one hand on the back of Kuro's neck, gently rubbing its thick, black fur, while the other hand rested on his leg.
His face wore a thoughtful expression.
Opposite Minori sat three figures.
Pabel, one of the Nine Colors of the Holy Kingdom, a golden-haired young man in light armor, and a priest wearing a water-blue holy seal.
"I'm sorry, although I know 'Martial King' Go Gin, I'm not as familiar with him as you might think," Minori shook his head, breaking the silence in the room with a soft voice.
"However, according to rumors, 'Martial King' Go Gin's departure from the empire is greatly related to you, Sir Minori."
The priest placed his hands crossed flat on the table, opening his mouth with a hint of respect.
As a member of the temple's "Priest Corps," he had never been particularly fond of the Adventurers Guild and adventurers. However, the person in front of him was not only powerful but also a priest who believed in the gods.
Facing a powerful faith-based magic chanter, the priest naturally had to maintain respect.
"This matter has been blown out of proportion, making it seem like there are many hidden secrets," Minori said somewhat helplessly, explaining softly: "In fact, the whole thing is not that complicated. 'Martial King' Go Gin initially joined the empire's arena to become stronger."
"It's just that the battles in the arena could no longer make him stronger. I mentioned to him that in the 'Abelion Hills,' there exist demi-human powerhouses known as the 'powerful demi-humans.'"
"I just didn't expect 'Martial King' Go Gin to actually leave the empire, and because of this, I received a bounty from His Majesty the 'Blood Emperor.'"
Minori sighed, opening his mouth in a complaining tone: "He's really stingy."
These words caused Pabel and the priest to exchange a subconscious glance, without making any response.
His Majesty the "Blood Emperor" was, after all, the king of a country. As an adventurer, Minori might be able to evaluate him without too many concerns.
But they represented the Holy Kingdom, and for whatever reason, they could not arbitrarily evaluate the king of another country. This was not only impolite but could even involve serious diplomatic issues.
The golden-haired youth beside him suddenly clenched his fist, suppressing his emotions as he said: "Is this the reason why 'Martial King' Go Gin appeared in the Abelion Hills—?"
"Roberts," Pabel reached out and placed his hand on Roberts' shoulder.
Minori looked at the three, a puzzled expression on his face.
"So, what exactly happened?"
"Is it related to Martial King' Go Gin?" Minori asked.
"Minori, you don't know how much trouble this 'Martial King' Go Gin has brought us."
Thinking of the events that had occurred during this period, a rare hint of anger appeared on Pabel's cold and steady face.
Those messages could be concealed from ordinary people, but not from him. He was also a member of the nobility, but he felt anger and sorrow towards those fools who dared to trade with the demi-humans!
Pabel had an urge to open the heads of those pig-like guys to see what exactly was inside the heads of these wastes.
"Regarding 'Martial King' Go Gin, there is one more thing we need to ask," the priest suddenly interrupted Pabel, opening his mouth seriously.
Minori's eyes flashed.
It seemed that "Black" Pabel, the highest-ranking of the three, was not the leader, but rather this priest.
"is this Kelarts guy?"
The thought flashed through Minori's mind, and he nodded without changing his expression.
The priest asked with a mixture of true and false information, obviously intentionally concealing some information, especially about the situation in the Abelion Hills.
Minori naturally pretended not to know, and after a brief thought: "From what I understand, Go Gin's character would indeed do such a thing."
"Although he is a demi-human, he is a warrior with a noble spirit. I am very sure of that."
Speaking of this, Minori gazed at the priest opposite him: "Of course, there is another possibility."
"What?" The priest's spirit was shaken.
"Do it on purpose," Minori replied.
Pabel and the priest exchanged another glance, their expressions becoming a bit more solemn. This was the same as their previous speculation.
The situation in the Abelion Hills might be more complicated than they had originally anticipated.
"Sir Minori, I know you have many doubts, so we would like to invite you—" the priest looked at Minori earnestly.
According to Lord Kelart's meaning, if "Martial King" Go Gin really let Roberts go on purpose, then he must be sending them some kind of message.
They needed to contact "Martial King" Go Gin as soon as possible to further determine the situation in the Abelion Hills.
The united demi-human races were too great a threat!
"I refuse," Minori said directly to the priest.
The priest's expression was somewhat stiff.
Pabel was not surprised. He glanced at the priest with his sharp, slender eyes, secretly thinking: "Too impatient."
"I don't mind providing you with some information."
"But the three of you must not forget that I am an adventurer and have no interest in participating in some of your Holy Kingdom's plans."
Minori paused the hand stroking Kuro, opening his mouth seriously: "Of course, if you need our 'Free Will' to provide some assistance, then please first issue a request at the Adventurers Guild."
These words made the priest somewhat ashamed, realizing the inappropriateness of his words just now.
"I will report this matter to the higher-ups," Pabel said in a timely manner, his attitude very serious.
"Free Will" was not an ordinary adventurer team. Although their current rating was "Gold," all aspects of the information indicated that this was an adventurer team with "Mithril" level strength.
It could be called a "national-level" force, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that it was proof of a country's foundation.
Just wanting to invite such an adventurer team to assist with a few words was not only looking down on the other party but also a kind of alternative ignorance.
"I personally apologize to you, Sir Minori," the priest stood up and bowed.
A moment later, Pabel and the three left together.
"I didn't expect that the Holy Kingdom would start planning to enter the hills for the second time so soon?" Minori said thoughtfully.
This time the purpose was obviously more clear.
Minori picked up a book called "Biography of the Holy Kingdom of Lobel" on the table and flipped through it. It contained some of the Holy Kingdom's history, anecdotes, and legends, which could better understand the Holy Kingdom.
Currently, the grain trade between the hilly area and the Holy Kingdom was completely cut off. Holy Queen Calca's thunderous action in conjunction with the temple allowed Minori to witness a "crackdown" firsthand.
A large number of nobles were "invited" to the Holy King's Capital. Except for a portion of the nobles who resisted and were dealt with by the Holy Knights, most of the nobles were not in any mortal danger.
This does not represent forgiveness.
On the contrary, these nobles were all stripped of their titles, which is more painful than killing them.
Moreover, according to the information collected by the Verdant Witch, despite such a major event, there was no unrest among the nobility, and no rumors of "nobles trading with demi-humans" circulated among the common people.
"Dealing only with nobles of the Earl level is to stabilize the situation. Given the national conditions of the Holy Kingdom, all forces will try their best to prevent the matter of 'trading with demi-humans' from spreading, otherwise it will inevitably cause turmoil throughout the country."
Minori flipped through the book in his hand, his face thoughtful: "The territories left behind by those nobles who have been stripped of their titles can not only strengthen the royal power, but also a piece of fat meat placed in plain sight."
Through this matter, Minori suddenly realized that all the unfavorable situations were developing in a direction that was beneficial to Holy Queen Calca.
This ruthless method should be the work of that confidante consultant, Kelart, the highest priest of the Holy Kingdom's temple.
Faced with the cessation of the grain trade, Minori was relaxed and not worried at all. This was completely expected, even longer than he initially anticipated.
The entire "grain trade" period has lasted for two months, from late January to late March.
The large injection of resources from both the Northern and Southern Holy Kingdoms has allowed Minori to accumulate a large amount of food reserves.
The amount is so large that it is somewhat incalculable.
In short, it is enough to easily carry out the "breeding plan" in the Tob Forest and the Abelion Hills.
"The only thing that can truly be called a 'resource' in my hands right now is the Tier 10 blank scrolls, and I've already saved up 65 of them."
Minori sighed softly as he thought of the tools in his hand that could truly be put to use. Tier 10 magic scrolls are created one by one by him using "Papermaking Technique".
Slane Theocracy's Discovery
At the same time, while the Holy Kingdom was shaken by the complex situation in the Abelion Hills, the Slane Theocracy, located to the east and adjacent to the hilly area, also discovered the anomalies in the hills.
Deep within the Theocracy, in a sacred, holy room enshrining six statues of gods, six figures of varying ages, but all over 40 years old, were holding various cleaning tools, cleaning this room that was already spotless and free of dust.
Each person had a solemn expression, each doing their own cleaning work. There was not a sound in the room, only the faint sounds of breathing and cleaning.
The individuals all wore tall hats and similar priestly robes, although the colors adorning their clothes varied slightly.
The identities of these six people are not simple.
Red corresponds to the Fire God Officer Chief - Bernice Nagya Santini.
Cyan corresponds to the Water God Officer Chief - Sheyne Ding Delan Guelph.
Green corresponds to the Wind God Officer Chief - Dominic Ire Baddosh.
Brown represents the Earth God Officer Chief - Raymond Zarg Laurent.
White represents the Light God Officer Chief - Ion Gasner Delacroix.
The last one, the Dark God Officer Chief - Maximilian Aurelio Laguerre.
The Slane Theocracy is different from the other countries of mankind. It is a country with a very strong religious atmosphere, the most similar to which is the Holy Kingdom.
However, even the Holy Kingdom is ruled with the "Holy King" as the apex, cooperating with the temple forces, rather than like the Slane Theocracy, which completely rules the country in a religious form.
Because of this, the political power is not complicated. The highest positions are the Supreme God Officer Chief and the Six Great God Officer Chiefs.
Below them are the three institution directors (Judicial, Legislative, Administrative) and the six Shrine Maidens.
As the six people with the most supreme status in a country, it is very incredible to personally clean, in other countries, because this kind of trivial matter can be completely left to servants to do.
Each of the six God Officer Chiefs cleaned the room extremely neatly. With the abilities of the six, using the first-tier "Clean" magic would be enough to clean the entire room.
No one would do that, because it is a blasphemy against God.
It took a good while to clean it thoroughly.
"Thank God!"
The six God Officer Chiefs bowed to the statues in unison, burying their heads deeply. After waiting for a moment, they slowly stood up.
The group came to the round table in the room together and sat down slowly. There was also an empty chair, which was the position of the Supreme God Officer Chief. This topic did not require the Supreme God Officer Chief to come forward today.
"Then the meeting begins."
Wind God Officer Chief Dominic spoke first. He was the master of ceremonies for the meeting today.
This is an old man who looks gentle on the outside. He used to be a member of the "Sunlight Scripture." With his current image, no one would think that he once eliminated countless alien races.
I don't know how many demi-humans and heteromorphic species died at the hands of this person.
As a staunch follower of the "Human Supremacy" doctrine, eliminating all alien races in the world is the lifelong pursuit of Wind God Officer Chief Dominic.
"According to an unexpected discovery from Thousand Leagues Astrologer, the Abelion Hills seem to have an unexpected situation."
As soon as the words "Abelion Hills" were mentioned, Wind God Officer Chief Dominic's mellow image disappeared, and his tone revealed a sense of gunpowder.
The many alien races in the hilly area are clearly in front of him, but they have never been eliminated. He has long been annoyed.
If the former God Officer Chiefs had not forbidden him from taking major actions, he would have led the "Sunlight Scripture" into the Abelion Hills long ago.
"Anomalies? Is something wrong?" Fire God Officer Chief Bernice asked.
This is the only female among the six God Officer Chiefs. Her figure gives people a sense of roundness, her face is very kind, and her whole body exudes a sense of peace.
The hilly area has many powerful demi-human tribes, and the "powerful demi-humans" are even demi-human powerhouses who have entered the Hero realm.
Even the Slane Theocracy needs to treat this power seriously and cautiously. In the eyes of the God Officer Chiefs, it is enough to keep the hills in chaos.