Undeniably, the Holy City's actions were somewhat unexpected. Before others could react, Gwendolyn immediately jumped up, loudly and dissatisfied, voicing her strong opposition.
"This is unacceptable! The Cresthaven Papal Dominion is recklessly intervening militarily, disregarding international implications. This is the empire's internal affair - they don't need your so-called assistance!"
While the previous Pope Cysper had ruled the True Church for thousands of years, in recent centuries they had rarely involved themselves in human wars. However, the newly elected Pope, who had just taken office, was now breaking long-standing traditions by actively intervening in another country's conflict - a decision that would appear unwise to anyone.
Harold was not angered by her outburst. He eloquently justified the military intervention using familiar rhetoric, then subtly changed his tone with a pointed reminder. "Moreover, isn't the resistance's strength insufficient to defend against attacks from the imperial capital? You should understand the importance of reinforcements better than anyone! I'm here to discuss this matter with local lords, so can you truly refuse the Pope's goodwill on behalf of the empire?"
Though his tone remained respectful, his words left Gwendolyn speechless. She wasn't even an imperial citizen and had just been persuading me and Nicola to help - she hardly had the standing to prevent others from getting involved.
Unexpectedly, Cyrae stepped forward with a question. "From what I know, the Cresthaven Papal Dominion has deployed most of its military forces to defend against monsters in the northern Barren Lands. How do you have the capacity to get involved in Ilandra Dominion's affairs?"
Having heard much about this world from Cyra previously, she noticed some inconsistencies and couldn't help but seek clarification.
"Oh, it's 'Saint Angel'..." Harold, who hadn't previously noticed her, mistook Cyrae for Cyra. He candidly admitted, "Indeed, the Pope had already considered this issue and specially dispatched four seats of the 'Star Glory Knight Order' to supplement the mission. They should already be on their way to the imperial capital."
"Star Glory Knight Order!"
This immediately sparked discussions among the surrounding elven villagers. The True Church's most powerful and renowned combat division was the Star Glory Knight Order. Reportedly, they had twelve seats, each led by a guardian knight of at least sixth-rank strength. Each guardian knight commanded attendants, monks, logistics personnel, and soldiers - their total scale comparable to a regular military legion.
The Star Glory Knight Order was most famous for assisting the previous Pope Cysper in eliminating numerous opposing religious groups over long years. However, in recent centuries, as the church's primary enemies became the rising monsters in the north, the order began focusing on guarding the Holy City and protecting the Pope, rarely appearing elsewhere.
Because of this, despite the Holy City's geographical proximity to the Barren Lands being closer than the Astralrealm Kingdom, it had historically rarely suffered monster invasions. The new Pope dispatching four seats at once was indeed somewhat risky and a significant investment.
"In summary, our church has taken full responsibility for defeating Reider. So please, Angel, do not worry further and simply wait patiently for good news," Harold said confidently.
Given his pressing matters and limited time, after expressing his intentions, Harold didn't linger. He bid farewell with his entourage and continued towards Sifur city.
"Feliciana, we must not let the True Church's plot succeed! The best solution now is to eliminate Reider before their reinforcements arrive and end the empire's internal conflict as soon as possible!"
Unexpectedly, the moment Harold left, Gwendolyn urgently pleaded with me, seemingly having anticipated the outcome of Harold's meeting with the Sebastian family. Since Nicola was unmovable, she had turned to me.
"Why would it be a plot? Isn't it good that the True Church is offering help?"
I felt somewhat puzzled. While Gwendolyn and many angels seemed unfriendly towards the True Church, this level of hostility seemed excessive.
Firstly, I believed I had some credibility regarding the True Church. Recalling our difficult journey to the Holy City and finally meeting Pope Cysper - though many mysterious aspects remained unresolved - his accompanying us to Parristol and ultimately sacrificing himself to save Cyra suggested that he and the True Church were not as terrible as rumors implied.
However, Gwendolyn, as a thousands-of-years-old Elder, was not shallow like other angels. Her distrust of the True Church was based on her own reasoning, and she even presented evidence suggesting the church might be secretly collaborating with monsters:
"Multiple records show that in the past few years, the Cresthaven Papal Dominion has secretly transported at least ten supply convoys to the northern Barren Lands border region. All convoys went but never returned, with unknown cargo and unclear purpose!"
These records were actually military reconnaissance reports, but this time they originated from the imperial side rather than the angel clan.
Gwendolyn obtained these imperial military reports thanks to the power vacuum caused by Reider's sudden escape. Altima, the daughter of the Sifur lord with good relations with former royal princess Katarina, had her family seize part of the national intelligence network's command during the empire's intense negotiations with the Earth government.
While Katarina initially decentralized these powers to help local lord families monitor Earth's military movements, it inadvertently allowed Altima and the Sebastian family's head maid access to previously high-level confidential information, including details about the Cresthaven Papal Dominion.
Transporting supplies to monster-controlled areas was potentially significant. The convoy directions seemed to point towards uninhabited regions with few monsters or humans. Initially, due to the small number of convoys, everyone's analysis aligned with imperial intelligence - considering it possibly individual actions within the True Church, not warranting serious attention.
However, since my and Adrian's return through the space portal, reports related to the Cresthaven Papal Dominion had suddenly increased. In recent weeks, the number and scale of convoys to the Barren Lands had been constantly and dramatically increasing, sometimes multiplying several times over.
This could no longer be explained as a coincidence. All information suggested these large-scale convoy shipments were likely official actions, yet the True Church had never publicly disclosed related measures - an attitude that appeared highly suspicious, explaining Gwendolyn's resolute opposition.
"Isn't this a bit of an overreaction? Though it seems connected to the True Church, maybe they're just trying to expand their defensive infrastructure during monster internal conflicts?"
However, concluding that the traditionally light-aligned True Church was collaborating with monsters based on such limited evidence seemed far-fetched. I recalled recent reports about a new force on the Dark Continent attempting to reorganize monster powers. Combined with imperial reconnaissance reports detailing the convoys' cargo of primarily construction materials and minerals, I considered another possibility.
"Building defenses doesn't require such secrecy, and certainly not for several years!" Gwendolyn disagreed.
In her view, all church changes began shortly after the papal succession a few months ago. The new Pope Eminem became her primary suspect. She promptly presented another supposed piece of evidence: "Recently, churches across the continent received the Holy City's highest directive, roughly requiring membership expansion and local formation of guard battalions. This is clearly military buildup, preparing for future warfare! I suspect the True Church's fundamental approach is changing internally, so we absolutely cannot allow their next plot to succeed - starting with this imperial civil war!"