Chapter 69: Fifty-eight This is a necessary sacrifice
“God’s power is not infinite.”
Standing under the statue of the Rhein God, Bishop Corey said calmly, making Herry behind him feel a chill run down his spine at the “desecration.”
“Lord Bishop,” Herry, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, said with a forced smile, “no matter how you put it, your words are quite shocking.”
“Don’t react like that, old friend,” Bishop Corey turned calmly to face Herry, “It’s just the two of us here, and certain well-known facts need not be concealed under such circumstances.”
“Your recent statement isn’t exactly well-known,” Herry sighed softly, “but I get your point, and this issue…”
He looked up at the statue of the Rhein God behind Corey.
...
“It’s indeed becoming more severe.”
Hearing Herry’s response, Bishop Corey nodded in satisfaction and then stepped forward slowly. “The fact that you can face this reality already sets you far apart from most people, at least far ahead of those old fossils in the other Three Great Churches. They are always unwilling to face reality, believing that the Lord’s power is endless, yet they never calm down and take a good look. Rhein, relying solely on the Lord’s power, is no different from when the Church was established a hundred years ago, but the other churches differ.”
Corey walked up to Herry and stood beside him.
And Herry understood Corey’s intent. Previously, as Corey stood under the statue of Rhein, he appeared as the first man beneath God and someone that he, the Great Priest, had to look up to.
But now, Corey was standing beside him, making them appear to be on the same stance and level.
Corey hoped Herry would let down his guard and speak more boldly.
So, after a moment of consideration, Herry spoke, “It’s not necessarily that the Lord’s power is limited. We can’t guess the extent of the Lord’s power. We can only say that the power bestowed upon us is limited. Perhaps the Lord thought the power given at the origins was sufficient, but…”
He couldn’t continue.
For to proceed would imply their Lord was neither omniscient nor omnipotent.
Such words, he, as a Great Priest, absolutely dared not utter, and could only say so much.
But even so, Corey was quite satisfied.
“Regardless of whether the Lord had some additional considerations at the time,” Corey said lightly, “the fact is, this power is no longer adequate. The entirety of Rhein’s power is built upon the Lord’s divine might. Because we have a stronger ‘Divine Blessing’ model than other churches, allowing us to utilize the Lord’s power better, we were the most powerful presence in this land when the church was first established. Back then, we had four archbishops and tens of thousands of Rhein Knights, but what about now? How many years have passed, and we still have only these, stagnating for centuries.”
Herry didn’t speak, but he knew Corey was right.
In this world, mortal power could never surpass that of divine beings, not to mention, mortal power couldn’t even harm the divine.
The divine are unaffected by worldly schemes—except for that being, unknown whether god or human.
Thus, it also signified that whether it’s a church or an individual, the more proficiently one could use God’s power, the stronger one would become. Herein lies Rhein’s advantage over other denominations: the origin believers have the deepest connection with Rhein, and Rhein’s “Divine Blessing” model offers a deeper “tie” with the divine, granting access to more powerful and stable divine power.
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With this advantage, Rhein swiftly became the strongest force during the tumultuous years.
But as Corey stated, while Rhein’s strength lies in this divine power, so does its weakness. The portion of power bestowed by God is limited; a new bishop cannot emerge before an existing bishop falls, and a new Knight Master cannot rise before a Knight Master passes.
“The once dominant Rhein Knights now seem like stones scattered into the sea, so sparse they’re nearly invisible,” Corey remarked, “This is no longer the chaotic era of old. As developed habitats expand, the populations under each church’s domain grow too. Everywhere is progressing, evolving, except Rhein. Our unchanged power can’t protect our current achievements, leaving us to deploy only one or two low-rank priests to administer the frontier areas, but even that is insufficient…”
Corey paused, then looked into Herry’s eyes.
“We even have to adopt some special measures and methods to curb our own development.”
Herry fell silent for a while before saying, “Those are necessary sacrifices, and they will return to the embrace of Rhein.”
“Perhaps, but you know I didn’t come to hear that,” Corey said, waving his hand impatiently. “It doesn’t matter whether sacrifices are made or not, but we shouldn’t be the only ones making them. The power of God is limited, and this fact isn’t unique to my Lord; every supreme being is the same. However, none of the other Three Great Churches, nor those four worms in the gutter, face these limitations.”
Herry responded, “But their development isn’t fast either. Everyone is unable to break free from these restrictions.”
“They may not be fast, but we have already become stagnant, even regressing,” Corey said intently, locking his gaze with Herry. “They have found strategies to cope, but we haven’t, which is unacceptable. We need some power and means beyond the divine.”
Hearing this, Herry subconsciously looked towards Corey’s left eye, although he quickly averted his gaze, it was noticed by Corey.
However, Corey didn’t seem to mind, merely stating lightly, “Yes, that’s one of the additional powers.”
Herry hesitated, “But the power of the Corpse Blocks cannot be replicated, and it’s even more limited than the power of the Gods.”
“That’s why I said it’s one of them,” Corey said. “No one would want to replicate the power of Visas, and our Lord would not allow it. But we could at least learn from others.”
“…Are you referring to Lyra?”
“Yes, they want my help in dealing with that fellow,” Corey said with a light laugh. “And the price I asked for … is that person’s corpse.”
Herry was stunned, “They agreed?”
“They didn’t want to agree, but it was clear they truly wanted that fellow dead, so they nodded,” Corey explained. “Lyra has been researching how to maximize their God’s power for quite some time, and with great success. We will soon know what secrets those mechanical bodies hold.”
Herry frowned slightly, “Then, when exactly?”
“Tonight at nine,” Corey said, looking up at the gradually setting sun. “Right here.”
“Right here?” Herry was very surprised.
“Yes, so make sure you move the knights away by then; I will be here alone since, after all, this is a deal between me and them, not between Rhein and Lyra.”
“…But will he really come? Isn’t this clearly a trap?”
“He will come,” Corey stated calmly. “I’ve seen his file, he was once the hero of Lyra. If they send him here to die, he will truly come.”
Herry was silent for a long while, then reluctantly nodded, “I understand, but … ”
“What?”
“Ulu is still in this city, isn’t he?” Herry said. “What if he also comes looking for you at this time?”
Corey calmly interrupted Herry, smiling,
“Wouldn’t that be even better?”