After the early meeting at the imperial court, Thomas Six-Toes couldn’t wait to intercept his old friend outside the hall: "Old Hagelberry, hold on a moment."
"I don’t have a friend like you, you damn freak with six toes. What did you just make me say? Do you want to get me killed?" Old Hagelberry glared at him, and although the old man was fierce, Thomas felt relieved—this old man from the Hagelberry family had a sharp tongue but a soft heart, so if he could talk , he probably didn’t take it to heart.
So, Thomas hugged the old man’s leg tightly: "Please, Old Hagelberry, I want to know how you got this grandson-in-law. I’ve indeed heard about Lord Malin from my kinsmen, but those are mostly artisan’s tales. I never imagined he would be such a... dangerous High Priest."
"Are you scared?" The old man from the Hagelberry family laughed loudly, patting Thomas’s bald head.
Alright, the old man has forgiven himself!
Thomas was overjoyed and let go of the leg he was clinging to: "Seriously, when he said he’d burn all three families at the stake, I was shocked. I thought the kid was too kind-hearted. Little did I expect his intent to kill to be so strong. Truly terrifying."
The half-human struggled to regain the expression he had when he was frightened.
"He is the most powerful High Priest of the Church of the Goddess of Harvest. Think about it, as a High Priest, if you’re too kind, imagine the criticism you’d face," said Sergei, the military representative who had walked over. He took out a cigarette case and offered a smoke to both Thomas and Hagelberry: "To be honest, with the recent incident involving the former Minister of Finance, our accounting team will undergo the strictest scrutiny. If they’re implicated too, then they’re really doomed."
"Will the military execute those involved?" The words of General Sergei put Thomas on alert, because frankly, he was truly frightened by Malin’s speech. Before today, the Northern Kingdom had never witnessed such a spectacle, let alone a half-human like Thomas—the world of half-humans never had such treacherous scenes.
Although Lord Malin’s proposition was ultimately halted, his bloodthirsty remarks still scared many nobles.
But as Old Hagelberry and General Sergei said, as a High Priest, without a strong heart and thunderous methods, his every word and action would only bring shame to the Church and faith.
Thinking about it this way, every word and action of Lord Malin was infused with the most convincing power—he represented the Church, the Deity. He was a High Priest who needed to show a tough stance. His kindness was for the innocent and the allies, and his wrath would ignite all Chaos and enemies.
Perhaps that’s why Lord Malin seemed a bit sullen in the last part of the meeting.
"Yes, speaking of which, actually, our military and the Church have many similarities. Our generals and the Church’s High Priests both need to possess strong spirits and the ability to execute thunderous methods. And the kindness of Lord Malin that you mentioned, I think he is truly very kind to comrades who stand with him in the same trench... Perhaps, that’s also why Lord Malin is so beloved by the soldiers on the front lines, because if our front-line commanders consume the same soup and the same sand-mixed black bread as the soldiers, then the soldiers will follow them wholeheartedly."
It seemed General Sergei also had a deep understanding of this, but speaking of the sand-mixed black bread, Thomas still wanted to ask: "Where did these black bread come from?"
"It’s the supplies that were brought in through Major Ross from the logistics department. The guy responsible for making the bread has been arrested by our military for supplying inferior goods. He is a relative of the Major," General Sergei answered.
"What about Major Ross then?" Old Hagelberry asked.
"The Atonement Camp could use a young man with ideas like his," General Sergei said with a laugh and then added: "Colonel Jin from the General Staff pleaded for him out of routine, but the Marshal refused his plea."
"Colonel Jin from the Winston family really doesn’t value his own life, he’s not going to be sent to the Atonement Camp as well, is he?" Thomas asked—Colonel Jin from the Winston family was a weirdo in the army, he would plead for anyone who got in trouble, an all-round smooth operator. Although it might seem like he was forming cliques for selfish interest, since he was good to everyone, it didn’t really provoke such thoughts.
"No, that guy can plead for anyone, the Marshals have long been used to it, although they still scolded him this time, and he admitted his wrong later," General Sergei replied: "Lord Malin is currently the best ally recognized by our military. His support has spared many of our soldiers from the threat of death, which is very important. You know, every day there are thousands of soldiers who are saved from dying of disease because of the No. 2 Holy Water he provided. This has impacted the morale of the frontline soldiers. In yesterday’s frontline battles, not a single deserter appeared among all frontline troops, which was unimaginable in the past."
"Malin is indeed a hero by any standard, his every deed is so considerate of the soldiers, and his past military achievements also speak volumes," said Hagelberry.