Chapter 865: The First Issue of the Truth News
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Thus, the Kingdom of Helius went through another week of secret turbulence.
After the death of the King, there was a nationwide mourning. The contradictions of the previous days seemed to vanish during this time; everyone became amicable, and the Church joined hands with the nobles to organize a funeral on a grand scale. Although there was nobody, they still buried the robes the King had worn in the past, erecting the tomb next to the Queen’s.
However, in the shadows, things unbeknownst to the people were slowly brewing.
For example... If one were to pay careful attention to the Academy of Magic, thousands of miles away, one would discover that the merry atmosphere of the academy had slowly become quiet. Many students and teachers had begun setting off to carry out their tasks, but no one knew where they had gone to fulfill their duties.
Also, in the midst of the people in the Kingdom of Helius, covered up by the grieving atmosphere, there was a rumor intensifying, and a name that was spreading wider and wider: ’Black Nightmare Society’.
The people have heard that it was a people’s organization which had truly protected His Majesty the King, and although it had been through a few sieges by the Church, it had grown stronger and bigger instead. Furthermore, the death of His Majesty was not completely what the Church had announced it to be.
No one knew what the truth was, but the people were slowly realizing that something was going to happen. The Kingdom of Helius had suddenly calmed down, but under the surface of the water, there might be an even more shocking explosion being prepared.
Silence, silence... Everyone seemed to be waiting for the turning point. Many felt, somehow, that the fuse had been set. Now, all that was needed was an opportunity.
One week later, the opportunity came.
"Her Highness the Princess... wants to inherit the throne?"
When most of the people saw this announcement for the first time, their first reaction was of dumbfoundedness. Their thoughts were not about conspiracy theories involving the Church, nor being ruled by a puppet, but rather... to allow a child who could barely speak be the ruler over the kingdom, was the Kingdom of Helius doomed?
As a matter of fact, most of the people did not comprehend the issues related to the core of authoritative power. Furthermore, when a monarch who was completely beyond their acceptance ascended the throne, no one would be fully confident in them.
All they felt was that their kingdom was truly finished.
Because of that, in the evening of the day the announcement had been released, the kingdom became rife with riots. It happened especially in the villages, where there was even a situation in which an entire village ran off to become bandits. Thus, the calm surface of the water was completely broken.
As for the Truth News, it stepped up onto the stage of history right at this time.
"What right does Her Highness the Princess have to ascend the throne? The secret behind the successive deaths of His Majesty the King and Her Highness the Queen... All the secrets you’ve been wanting to know, strictly confidential news from the capital, come quick and take a look!"
"The Kingdom of Helius has reached a critical juncture, do you still know nothing? Come and get your copy of the Truth News, all about the Church’s true colors, what on earth they’ve been doing, the rise and fall of the kingdom is in your hands!"
Numerous small guerilla selling squads suddenly appeared throughout the kingdom. Their faces were generally covered, carrying baskets and walking along the streets, selling newspapers loudly. They immediately attracted the attention of many. These were also typically people who were exceptionally familiar with the local areas; the moment a priest of a guard came near, they would immediately slip into a nearby small alley, disappearing without a trace.
Through the contact made while buying the newspapers, the people came to know that these were the members of the Black Nightmare Society.
Very quickly, with all sort of hot topics composed together, the Truth News sold well. Even citizens who were close to the Church were unable to suppress their curiosity and procured handwritten copies. As for the content of the newspaper, it had caused massive ripples in the midst of the people.
The tragedies of the Church’s persecution against the innocent, the truth behind the King’s death, the internal struggle for power in the capital... These were matters that had been sealed up so tightly that it had been impossible for the people to come into contact with them, but right then, everything was being exposed all at once before the masses. The people were slowly beginning to realize that there were many deep and heavy sins buried behind the word ’Church’.
Not a single individual amongst the people were not aghast.
"It’s dinner time, such a hearty meal! So... tonight, let me lead everyone into prayer, okay?"
"...Dear child, it’s not necessary."
"Why? Big sister has recited the prayers yesterday and the day before yesterday. Dad, can’t you trust me with even this? I’ve memorized it a long time ago, I won’t get a single word wrong."
"No, it’s not that, it’s... From now on, we no longer pray."
Before the dining table, on the bed, outside the churches... Similar occurrences played out again and again. The news of the Princess’ ascension to the throne, as well as the Truth News, have overcome the faith in the hearts of numerous people. As the most ordinary, common folk, they had not walked onto the streets to protest, nor had they run to the churches to create graffiti. They simply... did not believe anymore.
Of course, with things having progressed to this, the Church would definitely not just stand by and watch.
On the morning of the second day the Truth News had been published, the government had listed it as a banned book, and the punishment for those who had possession was death. However, although it was such a serious law, it did not stop the newspaper from spreading. The members of the Black Nightmare Society covered their faces to sell them, and the people covered their faces as well, to buy them. The truth circulated, bit by bit, in the shady streets.
Furthermore, the ascension of the Princess to the throne was a huge deal, involving a huge amount of energy; not to mention the rise of bandits everywhere in the Kingdom of Helius, with an increase in the number of troublemakers. Very soon, the Church was completely out of manpower to initiate searches and captures throughout the kingdom and completely ban the Truth News.
In approximately three days’ time, they had only caught five members of the newspaper selling guerilla squads. When they tried to use memory searches to drag out the others, they discovered that the internal system of the Black Nightmare Society had suddenly become tightly secretive. Every grassroot member knew very little information; they could investigate absolutely nothing by capturing a few newspaper sellers.
Because of that, all they could do was to curb, slightly, the massive distribution of the Truth News. They had no way to completely suppress it.
"The traffic of members in churches everywhere has lessened by half again. If this keeps up, we won’t even have enough people for the daily morning prayers. We need to catch all of those newspaper selling guys!"
In St. Peter’s Cathedral, a priest was clutching newspapers from various places as he conversed with an old bishop. His face was full of worry.
However, the bishop’s expression looked even more worried than his.
"Who wouldn’t want to catch them? But... we can only do that if we have the manpower!"
"Why is there no one? How about the royal army? What on earth is His Highness the Pope doing? All we have to do is send out the royal army and the Holy Knights, then those people would definitely not dare to be as arrogant as they are now."
"The royal army... has already been sent out."
The priest was greatly shocked. "Sent out? What have they been sent out for?"
"To crack down on the rebel army," the face of the bishop looked so ugly that it was as though he had just stepped into a pile of dog feces, "news of this is still being hushed up, so you don’t know, but in these few days, there have been at least six groups of rebels appearing in the country, numbering between five thousand to ten thousand people. We’ve even lost contact with some of the cities and towns further away from here."
Hearing that, the priest could not help but be stunned. Coming back to his senses, his entire face had turned a bit grayish.
"Rebel army... Aren’t they just a bunch of disorderly mobs? How can they cause so much trouble that it’s come to this?"
"We had thought the same, at first," the bishop took a deep breath, constraining his voice as he spoke, "but who would have guessed... that there would be many powerful mages hidden in those disorderly mobs!"