Chapter 333: The Plans of the Church of the Three Glorious Gods

Since it was now the other party who needed him, the shrewd Wayne naturally wouldn’t rush to express his own stance. Instead, he would wait for Andrew to ask for his help before reluctantly agreeing, thereby securing more practical benefits for their church.
Although Wayne wasn’t as dedicated to his priestly duties as some of his peers—whose ranks had already reached Gold, while he had only just reached the peak of Silver—he was highly skilled in worldly affairs. Otherwise, the higher-ups wouldn’t have assigned him, a former field team leader, to handle this negotiation and persuasion task.
So, he spoke calmly, “Prince Andrew, I wonder what brings you to see me?”
Watching Wayne feign ignorance, Andrew inwardly cursed him as a cunning old fox!
Though anxious, he knew he couldn’t show it. If he gave the other party an excuse, he would have to yield more benefits. So he could only respond step by step, avoiding any signs of urgency and certainly not taking the initiative to ask for help!
“Nothing important. I just wanted to discuss the return journey with Mr. Wayne. Given your church’s intelligence capabilities, I’m sure you’ve already obtained the necessary information!”
Wayne nodded without changing his expression.
“Since I’ve already lost this struggle before it even began, the previous agreement with your side is void. I wonder, Mr. Wayne, whether you’ll return home with me by ship or part ways now?”
Andrew’s strategy of retreating to advance impressed Wayne. Truly the son of a prince—despite his humble maternal background, his success showed his strength.
But Wayne wasn’t about to give up so easily, nor could he push this prince too hard, as that would harm their plans.
So Wayne first showed a bit of goodwill, saying with an enigmatic expression, “Prince Andrew, are you giving up so easily? You still have at least two alternatives!”
Sure enough, after the other party spoke first, Andrew’s expression softened slightly. He accepted Wayne’s words and asked in slight surprise, “Oh? What alternatives? Please enlighten me, Mr. Wayne!”
In truth, Andrew knew exactly what Wayne was planning, as well as the ultimate goal of the Church of the Three Glorious Gods in sending envoys to win him over and even helping him ascend to the throne—nothing but coveting their vast lands in Celt!

Today, as the belief systems in the human kingdoms on the continent have reached saturation, the Northern Lands, which have never been completely isolated from the continent, have become new targets for the God Churches. Compared to the uninhabited areas of the continent, which are either dangerous or barren and unsuitable for development, their fertile land in Celt has undoubtedly caught the attention of various forces on the continent. Nearly a thousand years ago, the two major families, the Celts and the Ansel, fled to the remote, cold Northern Lands to avoid unnecessary losses. At that time, many forces on the continent mocked them for willingly giving up the fertile central and southern regions of the continent in favor of living in uninhabited wastelands. Later, the two families managed to establish a foothold in the Northern Lands and became self-governing rulers over lands as large as entire kingdoms. Although the forces on the continent were envious, they could only secretly admire them due to their previous attitude, resorting to derogatory comments like saying the grapes were sour because they couldn’t have them. Moreover, due to the barriers of the Twin Dragon Swamps and the Elemental Wastelands, the only connection between the Northern Lands and the continent was by sea or land, giving the two families time to develop. Finally, five hundred years ago, the Celt family declared the establishment of a kingdom. The Ansel family, adhering to the traditions of the Banai Empire, did not participate in power struggles but instead supported the Celt family as a royal house. At that time, the continent had not yet recognized the status of the Celt royal house; of course, the Celts, being their own rulers, didn’t care about the feelings of other kingdoms. It wasn’t until Great Restorer Celt VII ascended the throne and boldly expanded the kingdom that the branches of the former Banai Empire, led by Yulin and Gadré, were the first to formally establish diplomatic relations with Celt, recognizing its international status. At this point, the Agricultural Goddess Church also reached out, as the Agricultural Goddess was a gentle, neutral deity with a loose organizational structure whose teachings would not hinder royal power. Thus, King Celt VII chose to connect with the kingdoms on the continent and brought in the Agricultural Goddess Church to cultivate land extensively, increasing food production and leading to rapid population growth—from 100,000 people three hundred years ago to nearly five times that number today—a precedent unseen in the history of the main world.

In the previous years, the Church of the Three Glorious Gods had sent envoys to contact him on several occasions. Andrew, who came from a Celtic royal family, naturally knew the rules of his family. So although he had received some help from the Church of the Three Glorious Gods, he had his own principles and never compromised on the issue of missionary rights. After all, even if he became king, he didn’t want other forces to interfere in his kingdom and divide its power.

It should be noted that the Church of the Three Glorious Gods, especially that of the Lord of Dawn, was not like those moderate, neutral divine churches that adopted a system of separation between religious and political powers, with the church not interfering in politics. Their Church of the Three Glorious Gods vigorously promoted the theory of divine right to rule, even controlling the appointment and dismissal of kings, nobles, and officials—something that a long-established human kingdom like Celtic could not accept.

Just looking at the current situation of the Land of Dawn, which was the first to fall for those religious fanatics’ deception and adopt the worship of the Three Glorious Gods, made it unacceptable to everyone—from the royal families and nobility to the lower-ranking officials and most commoners.

The religious regulations in the Land of Dawn seemed extremely harsh to outsiders. Even the slightest disagreement could be labeled heresy or blasphemy. In mild cases, one would lose all property and become a lowly poor person; in severe cases, one might spend a lifetime in dark, cramped prisons or even be burned at the stake!

Even the nobility in that country lived in constant fear, worried that any mistake might anger the church, leading to the destruction of their family fortunes and hereditary titles built over centuries through their own actions!

It was precisely because of the Church of the Three Glorious Gods’ strict belief hierarchy that kingdoms like Gadré and Nylin resisted it so much and prohibited it from preaching within their territories.

Andrew didn’t know if there were other neutral true gods behind this, but he knew that if he agreed to their demands for missionary rights, he might be overthrown by the nobles within just three months of ascending to the throne!