Chapter 220 – Radiance Church[1]

An occupation, but isolated by all. This meant it would have no way to continue its existence and was destined to perish. An occupation needed to be inherited; what it needed were the people. This was the most important part, the people. Unfortunately, no one favored the occupation, so no one could continue it. An occupation that loses its inheritance is similar to a clan that loses its inheritance. Sooner or later, it would perish.

This was the reason why Maru was so serious about the matter. The inheritance of black magicians would be broken if no one was willing to become one. With regards to black magicians, this wasn’t good news.

Maru said, “Since this situation occurred, we immediately began to investigate. These rumors didn’t appear on the continent for no reason at all. It’s certain that some people were specifically aiming for this. After careful investigations, we found that the ones behind these rumors and promoting it amongst the people came from Radiance Church.”

To be honest, this answer wasn’t out of Zhao Hai’s expectations. On the continent, black magicians had been isolated, yet light magicians earned a great deal of respect. The reason for this status was their extermination of black magicians everywhere.

If these rumors were said to be unrelated to light magicians, then no one would believe it. Yet, for those in power, this issue didn’t harm them. Radiance Church’s religious doctrine stated that the commoners shouldn’t bitterly stand against their rulers and stay in their status quo. The reasoning given by Radiance Church’s religious doctrine was that by going against them, you would suffer hards.h.i.+p and wouldn’t even be able to enter heaven after death.

What is heaven? n.o.body has seen it, but the Radiance Church’s religious doctrine states that it is a world of beauty. It is a place where people didn’t need to do anything, yet would be able to eat good food and wear extravagant clothes.

Without a doubt, such a doctrine was favored by those in charge and wouldn’t be opposed by many who ruled countries. As such, Radiance Church missionary work went unimpeded and they continually suppressed the black magicians while also taking an uncaring att.i.tude to everything else.

Maru looked at Zhao Hai and found that he didn’t look that surprised. He smiled bitterly as he ridiculed himself. He’d observed that these people already knew of this issue. Zhao Hai and the others looked as though they’d already guessed this before while those on Maru’s side had spent so long to come to such a conclusion.

Maru smiled bitterly and said, “It was due to this insight that the black magicians set up their own organization, the Black Magician Alliance. There are two main purposes for this organization. First is to oppose the Radiance Church. The second is to pa.s.s down the magical techniques of black magicians.”

Zhao Hai nodded and looked Maru in the eye. “So this is the reason you looked for me? To have me join the Black Magician Alliance because I am a black magician?”

Maru nodded. “Yes, it is because you are also a black magician. A black magician like you will certainly be hunted down by the Radiance Church. Some time ago, Garan[2] had tried to harm you. It was actually the Radiance Church that sent him to deal with you. Furthermore, you still do not know how strong the Radiance Church is. Their power is a great deal stronger than what was displayed back then.”

Zhao Hai and the others looked at Maru, who also looked back at them. “You may not believe it, but right now, many small duchies are currently being directly controlled by the Radiance Church,” Maru said with a cold voice. “Furthermore, Southern King Boric is a Protector Knight[3] of the Radiance Church and was also ordered to deal with you. So aside from Carlo, this was definitely due to the Radiance Church.”

This was contrary to what Zhao Hai and everyone else antic.i.p.ated. They didn’t think that the powerful and influential Southern King Boric would willingly become a Protector Knight of Radiance Church. This truly surprised them.

Maru looked at Zhao Hai and said, “Don’t be so surprised. Radiance Church is composed of three divisions. First are the various archbishops headed by the Pope. Next are the Protector Knights of the Round Table Knight Order[4]. The last division are those who follow the teachings of suffering monks and make up the Monk Order[5], and the three groups are relatively independent of one another.

“The main task of the Pope is to manage the daily operations of the church. The Round Table Knight Order protects the church while the Monk Order’s main duties const.i.tute missionary work.”

Zhao Hai and the others listened quietly. Hearing such a detailed explanation from Maru showed that they hadn’t been investigating Radiance Church for only a few days. It seemed like the phrase, “the person you understand the most is your enemy,” wasn’t wrong.

Maru continued, “Although the Pope manages the daily operations of Radiance Church, he doesn’t have the power to control the Round Table Knight Order, nor the Monk Order. The knights within the Round Table Knight Order of Radiance Church are in fact made up of members that are powerful figures of various countries. The ident.i.ty of each individual isn’t simple and they manage the Round Table Knight Order, which is similar to managing the entirety of the church’s armed forces.

“The Pope, in addition to managing the daily affairs of his archbishops, also controls some of the church’s outside powers, such as a few a.s.sa.s.sin organizations and mercenary groups. Compared to these two, the Monk Order seems relatively weaker, but could be considered Radiance Church’s most devout followers. They generally wear coa.r.s.e clothing and travel for a long period of time around the continent in order to spread the teachings of the Radiance Church. As they do so, they heal people of their illnesses and do not possess riches. They do not hunt for their food, but instead rely on charity. The Monk Order is composed of magicians, but since the church is getting more and more rich, fewer individuals are willing to become suffering monks. There are only a few true suffering monks left.”

After telling them of such, Maru couldn’t help but reveal a color of admiration. It was clear that he had a high level of approval of those suffering monks. It was sad, however, that they were now enemies of the Radiance Church.

This was the first time Zhao Hai had heard of such self-torture as an occupation. It sounded relatively similar to what he knew of monks, but they were also different. They sounded a great deal stronger than regular monks.

Maru sighed. “If the Radiance Church could be like those suffering monks, then the continent would be very lucky. What a pity. Nowadays, only a few of those magicians could endure such hards.h.i.+p and become a suffering monk. Right now, the Radiance Church is controlled by the Pope and the Round Table Knight Order. They resort to finding ways of increasing and enhancing the status of the Radiance Church in the hearts of the people on the continent. They are hanging onto the laws of the land in order to make money. They are greedier than merchants and have a darker heart than politicians[6].”

Maru clenched his teeth as he said this. It was obvious that the suppression of the black magicians had been led by the Pope and the Round Table Knight Order.

Maru calmed down and looked at Zhao Hai, saying, “You may not believe it, but previously, the Immortal Mercenary Group that had attacked Laura was controlled by the Radiance Church. It was also the same with Garan[7], and those three black magicians that had been hired to attack you. The ones behind the scenes is the Radiance Church. No one knows of this, however. On the outside, the Radiance Church shows a benevolent and compa.s.sionate appearance, but are actually secretly partic.i.p.ating in evil deeds comparable with devils.”

Zhao Hai and the others were shocked. This news, for them, was truly too shocking[8]. They had no way of knowing who had commissioned the Immortal Mercenary Group. They never thought that such shadowy killing organizations like this had links with the Radiance Church. Moreover, Maru knowing this information meant that they’d carried out a detailed investigation. It seemed that the Black Magician Alliance wouldn’t be a good crop[9].

Maru watched Zhao Hai’s face and smiled faintly. “These issues are matters we investigated clearly. If we didn’t have such strength, then we wouldn’t be able to match up against Radiance Church. The reason why they pitted Boric against you was, first, because they wanted to get their hands on your Taoyuan products. The second reason was because you are a black magician. They are afraid that you’ll join the Black Magician Alliance. If you did so, then with your financial support, the Black Magician Alliance would become a greater threat to them.”

Zhao Hai and Laura were both surprised for a moment. The two of them couldn’t help but look at one another. Although Maru’s words meant nothing on the surface, Zhao Hai had actually deciphered the fact that the Black Magician Alliance was lacking in finances.

They weren’t fools. Maru could give such a confidential performance because he had a reason. At first, Zhao Hai didn’t know what it was. Now, however, he understood. To put it bluntly, they needed him for his money.

Maru saw their expressions and immediately knew what they were thinking. With a righteous air, he said, “Please, Mister Zhao Hai, don’t misunderstand. I invited you to join the Black Magician Alliance not because of your money. As an organization, we, the Black Magician Alliance, do not have distinctions between upper and lower ranks. The alliance does not have a leader, but an Elders a.s.sembly. The Elders a.s.sembly will not order its magician members. If they want a magician to do something, then they would first listen to the magician’s opinion on the matter.

“This time, the main reason we are asking Mister to join the Black Magician Alliance is simply because you are a black magician. Aside from those controlled by the Radiance Church, we invite all black magicians to join the alliance.”

Zhao Hai nodded and said, “After joining the alliance, we will I need to do?

As soon as Maru heard what Zhao Hai said, he knew this matter had pa.s.sed through open doors. Thus, he immediately said, “There are no excessive requirements, just two. First, since it’s difficult to meet all the magicians in the alliance, members should lend a hand to each other when they can. The second is to collect any information on the Radiance Church and deal with them however possible on one’s own. These two are the only requirements.”

Zhao Hai nodded and said, “What can the alliance provide me then? Of course, I don’t mean in the financial aspect, but what can they provide me in other aspects?”

Maru smiled slightly. “Of course there will be benefits. The alliance can provide you with information and intelligence. We can also provide you with manpower to help you. Naturally, the manpower provided will require a cost to be handed to the alliance. Furthermore, you will need to commission every person you take in.”

Notes:

-This chapter was MTL’ed. Please leave a comment for constructive criticisms and advice. Thanks.

-Please support the author if you love this novel.

-Please check out the Editor’s footnotes, thanks.

Footnotes:

[1] 光明教会 – Guāngmíng jiàohuì. Light/Bright/Clear light. Church. I wanted to keep this separate from Light Magicians—光明魔法师—since the church doesn’t really house only Light Magicians. As such, Radiance Church. Light Church is also generic sounding… ↩

[2] The RAW said Zhao Jia, but he shouldn’t know Zhao Hai changed the guy’s name to Zhao Jia… Or that he has a light magician undead… ↩

[3] 护教骑士 – Hù jiào qíshì. Protect/Guard (护). Religious (教). Knight (骑士). If people want, it can also be Guard Paladin or something, but that sounds too impressive… Guardian Knight would also have been a choice… but Guardian is 衛士, and 士 means knight/warrior, so it’s weird, kinda. ↩

[4] What a mouthful. 圆桌骑士会 – Yuánzhuō qíshì huì. 圆桌 = Round Table. 骑士 = Knights. 会 = Conference/a.s.sociation/Society. ↩

[5] This was a difficult one. 行者会 – Xíngzhě huì. The 会 is the same as above, but the first two 行者 were so confusing… I asked another TL and they said 行者 can mean monk, so I just went with it… ↩

[6] Don’t ask. There seems to be politicians in this world ruled by a rather strict cla.s.s system… ↩

[7] Again, he uses Zhao Jia… ↩

[8] It’s also a common cliche nowadays. ↩

[9] Farming idiom I don’t get.