Chapter 761: Chapter 77: The Soaring Value of Manan Faith and the Crimson Pearl
Su Li couldn’t help but show a pleased smile; this Radiant Competition Festival truly has a significant impact, bringing unexpected benefits in various unforeseen aspects. He could imagine hundreds to thousands of Knights and their servants stuck in Blue Mirror Territory, inexplicably trapped for a long time, their rage eventually exploding, causing massive chaos in Blue Mirror Territory. Faced with such a group of people who only speak violence and not reason, Baron Grant is probably having a tough time.
Melly Ramsey didn’t want to say much about this, after all, with her pride, it was impossible for her to inquire about information from those lower-class merchants, so in her view, wherever she went, it was smooth sailing, we are all-clear ah!
So she directly said, "Do I have to thank these rude Knights?"
President Roger shrugged: "You have to know that rudeness is a characteristic of Knights, sometimes this temperament can also bring some advantages."
"Enough! I don’t want to discuss this anymore; let’s talk about cooperation instead." Saying this, she turned to look at Su Li and asked, "I suppose the Bauhinia Knight doesn’t have any objections to our Manan believers, right?"
"Are you a follower of Manan?" Su Li raised an eyebrow; he recalled that Zoe Ramsey, Melly Ramsey’s sister and the head of the Ramsey family, was a staunch follower of Lanode.
Although surprised, he smiled and said, "Of course, I am very welcoming to followers of Manan. I believe the conflict between me and Baron Grant is merely geopolitical, unrelated to church faith."
Just like although we are arch-enemies, it doesn’t prevent me from having a good relationship with his wife, occasionally having frank, in-depth, and generously accepting exchanges!
Melly Ramsey, with a conspicuous sense of pride, said, "That’s why the family specifically sent me as the leader to Hesse Territory. I heard the Bauhinia Knight has plenty of Light-Scaled Fish for trading?"
Speaking of business, Su Li immediately became serious and said, "That’s right, this is also one of the most important collaborations I hope to achieve with your Ramsey family. It’s also a key reason for initially requesting your fleet to come. I hope you can transport these Light-Scaled Fish."
Melly Ramsey proudly replied, "Then you have indeed found the right person. The Manan faith holds a crucial position in old-world shipping and trade; many once ambitious rulers have suffered setbacks because they did not give this belief the proper respect. Although the faith’s enemies believe that the Manan sect abuses its status as the guardian of the seas to control access to the seas for ransom, stifling trade, everyone has to pay the demanded tithe—otherwise, they would incur Manan’s wrath. But at Marle Castle, the power of the Manan sect is exceptionally strong; our Ramsey family and the Great Cathedral possess enormous political power."
Of course, conversely, within the Empire, the power of the Manan sect is relatively smaller, as the Empire does not have much contact with maritime trade, only vital to certain provinces. Nevertheless, in some places, this sect is still greatly respected, especially between the Empire’s southwestern provinces and the sea, where people rely heavily on trade brought by rivers; and along the storm-ravaged northern coast, locals risk their lives earning a living on the Claw Sea.
Though Manan is capricious and inherently violent, when he protects humans, his power is equally strong. During the last Undead Legion invasion, endless Monsters swept through the southwestern provinces of the Empire, destroying coastal churches, slaughtering worshipers and Priests. But during this disaster, a miracle is said to have happened—Skattem’s Manan Church miraculously escaped the wrath of the evil Monsters, as Manan created a massive storm to cover the city, forcing the incoming army to change routes and head inland.
Newly converted believers and clergy members, being refugees, mixed together, filling the Skattem Church with thunderous prayers. The sect has no religious allies but also no enemies—except the Shark God Stronfels, for whom Manan has no mercy for the sect members. As long as other religions’ Priests give the sea the proper respect—of course, also pay the appropriate tithe to the Church—Manan has no conflicts with them.
The Shalya Church’s relationship with the Manan faith is relatively poor because Shalya’s female Priests believe that Manan is so greedy, and even one could say, ravenous! Sacrificing to the Sea God is like throwing gold and silver treasures into a bottomless pit. The sea is so vast for a reason—it’s Manan’s stomach, eternally hungry.
At this moment, Melly Ramsey, like the Divine Spirit she worships, is filled with extreme greed and thirst for wealth. After proudly introducing, she asked, "Bauhinia Knight, how many Light-Scaled Fish do you have in your Territory?"
"I can take you to have a detailed look." Su Li wasn’t sure of the number either; with the vitality of this spring, the Territory is expanding in all aspects, with significant growth in various wealth.
Lake Reiflin is no exception, and the numbers of Light-Scaled Fish and Storm Dragon Head Eel have probably had considerable changes.
Since neither President Roger nor Melly Ramsey had a Griffin mount, Su Li rode a majestic Warhorse·Bloodmane with them, galloping towards Lake Reiflin.
