The Uprising in the Horns Bay
Translator: Cinder Translations
...
"Printing?"
Both Marianna and Nathan were hearing this term for the first time.
"Yes, printing. I never imagined that books could be created this way. In the past, scribes had to transcribe every word, and mistakes were common. But now, with this machine, one can replace hundreds of scribes, and it's all accurate," Edward exclaimed excitedly. "When they entered the workshop to get the books, Sanel saw from a distance that they were applying a liquid that seemed like ink to a flat engraved plate and then laying a piece of paper on top. After that, they pulled down a top plate to press down onto the engraved characters, and the paper ended up with clear text. Just think about how much faster this operation is compared to transcribing word by word, and as long as the engraved text on the plate is correct, there's no need to worry about typos. It's such a clever method."
Seeing his enthusiasm, Nathan frowned. "Edward, I acknowledge that this method is ingenious, but I must remind you that you are a spellcaster. You shouldn't be so excited over trivial matters of mortals."
Edward shook his head. "Nathan, that's just prejudice. We shouldn't be confined to the idea of whether something belongs to spellcasters or mortals; it's enough that it's useful."
"Humph!" Nathan scoffed, dismissing Edward's perspective.
"Nathan, Edward makes a valid point. You are being too arrogant. Imagine if we could apply this concept to the creation of scrolls. That would be a monumental breakthrough!" Marianna scolded him.
"Uh... making scrolls isn't just about putting down words," Nathan replied, unwilling to concede to his mother's criticism.
Marianna waved her hand. "Enough; this isn't the time to argue about that. We need to distribute this batch of books quickly to the coastal towns. Edward, keep a close watch on this."
"Yes, Madam Marianna. We have already established highly effective... distributors in key towns, so you can rest assured," Edward promised her.
The lady turned to her son. "What's happening with the church?"
Nathan grinned mischievously. "Haha, right now, the church is probably feeling as if they're sitting on a bed of needles."
...
In a spacious, well-lit hall, many people sat solemnly around a large conference table.
Archbishop Elvis sat at the head of the table with a grim expression.
On his left sat individuals in clerical robes, while on his right were those dressed in luxurious attire typical of secular nobility.
"Archbishop!"
The closest clergyman to Elvis spoke with a worried expression. "Out of twenty coastal states, five still have uncertain attitudes. The other fifteen have clearly begun to oppose us. If we don't take strong measures soon, the Bay Church will lose control over the coastal region forever."
After hearing this, Elvis slammed his hand down on the armrest of his chair. "These foolish heretics! The Lord of Light will surely bring down divine punishment!"
How did the situation evolve to this point?
Ever since the first "throwing out of the window" incident occurred, other cities quickly followed suit, leading to a series of similar events.
Elvis had ordered the churches to submit ninety percent of the tithe collected to the headquarters of the Bay Church in Collins, but out of the twenty coastal states, only three complied.
The churches in other areas were not disobeying the archbishop's orders but were delaying the transfer of taxes indefinitely due to the intense local public sentiment.
In summary, the archbishop's intentions had fallen through.
Since the beginning of this year, a more serious situation arose when a book titled "Chronicles of Injustice" began to circulate quietly in the Bay.
Elvis had come into contact with this book, but after reading only two pages, he was so furious that he trembled all over!
Blasphemy!
Blasphemy!
This filthy thing was a downright blasphemous work.
He immediately ordered the entire Bay to ban this book and mobilized all his power to investigate who wrote it.
The pursuit of the book's impact was approaching a witch hunt level; under such high pressure, numerous "authors" were identified. Elvis executed the most suspicious individuals without trial and imprisoned the rest.
The church's method of banning books was to burn them, just like the witches.
However, not only was this book burned, but the book burning also affected many others. If a book was reported to contain any criticism or dissatisfaction with the church, or even just implied criticism, it would also be added to the banned list.
As the ban continued, the list grew longer.
The streets and alleys of various towns in the Bay were filled with ashes from the burned books.
Some extreme religious followers even called on believers to keep only one copy of the "Holy Scriptures" at home, burning all other books.
They believed that a single "Holy Scripture" was sufficient to meet the spiritual needs of the people, and any further spiritual exploration was a shameful decline and a sign of wavering faith.
The Bay Church began to interfere increasingly in the lives of ordinary people.
The previous witch hunt had already seriously impacted the economy and people's livelihoods, and now more and more restrictions piled on, pushing the grievances of the people of the Bay to the breaking point.
People began to question the legitimacy of the Bay Church and whether this organization could represent the authority of the Lord of Light on earth.
Even so, "Chronicles of Injustice" continued to emerge, and its content was updating; the later versions contained even more "rich" material!
This drove Archbishop Elvis mad, and he continuously ordered increased efforts.
Under such severe pressure, a backlash finally occurred: the independent region of Messiah erupted into rebellion.
As the clergy burned a batch of banned books and announced punishments for book owners, a rotten egg struck one of the clergy members who was loudly preaching.
The church knights immediately drew their swords, ordering the person who threw the egg to step forward and accept punishment.
However, that egg and the knights' order seemed to ignite the discontent of the crowd like a fuse.
A large number of stones, rotten vegetables, and other trash were hurled at the clergy.
The enraged church knights resorted to violence during the conflict, resulting in bloodshed.
The conflict quickly escalated into a full-blown riot, which even the local lord couldn't suppress. Churches in various regions were attacked, and all clergy members in Messiah were vastly outnumbered by the surging crowd. Many were injured or killed, while the survivors were taken prisoner.
Some clergy members, terrified, swore allegiance first to their city rather than the Bay Church before being released, while those who remained loyal to the Bay Church were ruthlessly expelled after being beaten.
(End of the Chapter)
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