Chapter 342: Nobles of Greenwood

Due to the rampant devastation caused by the Fishmen and Dark Creatures—

Afterward, Bishop Jeven relocated the remaining population entirely. Thus, despite being known as one of the Marquisates with the most expansive lands, the territory was extremely resource-poor. Most of its terrain was hilly and unfit for normal cultivation.

Moreover, with the territory of the Original Sin Cultists blocking the west, merchant caravans from York Territory had to detour through the Northland to reach Wallace Territory via the Diocese of Rod.

Of course, that was only the surface reason. In truth—

A merchant who once traveled from the Diocese of Rod to Wallace Territory for basic food trade casually revealed that it was Captain of the City Guards Jared, under Bishop Jeven, who had told them: the Diocese of Rod—despite its vast lands—lacked many essential materials. Hence, merchants who came there would certainly find the prices more than satisfactory.

At least, compared to Wallace Territory, the Diocese of Rod was far wealthier.

And this same merchant “accidentally” revealed again that it was Jared who had instructed them to “accidentally” pass this information along to Marquis Severus.

Such an almost face-slapping provocation nearly made Severus grab his Holy Relic, rally his knights, and storm into the Diocese of Rod to “revive the glorious traditions of nobility.”

Although Wallace Territory was poor, its lands were vast. Given time, it was destined to become prosperous!

Besides, in all of Greenwood, the Diocese of Rod was only slightly wealthier than Wallace Territory. What meaning was there in such mockery?

However, when that same merchant later mentioned that Rod City had already installed the latest Magic Cannons, Severus had no choice but to swallow his rage.

Yet Wallace Territory still needed to establish contact with York Territory, the center of Greenwood. Therefore, under the persuasion of Priest Dominic, Severus reluctantly made a trip to Rod City. There, in the Great Cathedral of Rod, he displayed piety by personally cleaning the cathedral and praying for an entire day before returning to his lands.

Since then, merchants had begun bringing in essential and cheap goods to Wallace Territory periodically. Severus’s own trade caravans were even granted safe passage through the Diocese of Rod—no longer suffering from customs taxes or confiscation of goods.

Still, Severus had no wish to deal with that fool Richard.

And Bishop Marl, who managed affairs in Adrian Territory, was even more overbearing. Severus was required to fast and pray inside Adrian Cathedral for three days without food or water—and even formally apply for Wallace Territory to be placed under Adrian Diocese—before his caravans would be allowed to pass freely.

Fasting for three days didn’t bother Severus. What truly vexed him was the latter demand—annexing his territory into Adrian Diocese.

That, Severus would never accept. He was still planning to one day promote Priest Dominic within his domain to the position of bishop.

All the nobles of Greenwood could see clearly: every independent diocese was not only wealthy but powerful—capable of utterly dominating nobles without dioceses of their own. Of course, that was without even using Holy Relics.

But when one considered how many Holy Relics the Church possessed—and the Magic Cannons developed by the monasteries—Severus began to feel that even the Holy Relic once granted to him by King Pegira offered little sense of security.

The reason for all this naturally lay with the bishops of the Church.

Beyond their own personal strength, most of York Territory’s resources were prioritized for bishops. Take the Magic Cannons, for example—each capable of blasting apart an entire hill. Only bishops were permitted to purchase such weapons.

“This weapon is far too powerful; only merciful bishops may wield it.”

—That was the monastery’s official statement.

As for whether bishops were truly merciful… wedged between the Diocese of Rod and Diocese of Adrian, Severus could only sigh: “Merciful indeed. They even allow me to breathe the air of Greenwood—could they be any kinder?”

And yet, for that very reason, Severus longed for Wallace Territory to become an independent diocese.

After all, Magic Cannons were far more effective than Holy Relics.

Even the Holy Relic once bestowed upon him by King Pegira had begun showing signs of corruption. He suffered daily pain and could only sleep peacefully after receiving purification rites from Priest Dominic.

According to Dominic, a bishop could completely dispel the corruption.

Jeven and Marl were both bishops—but Severus was certain those two would exploit his suffering to force his submission.

Hence, rather than bow to them, Severus resolved to develop his own territory swiftly. Once Priest Dominic became a bishop, the problem would be solved.

The Church of the Sanctuary had an explicit decree: to establish a bishopric, one needed a population of at least sixty thousand and a main city.

After that, either a noble could recommend a priest to be appointed bishop, or the Church would make the appointment directly.

Though Wallace Territory had only six thousand people—far from sixty thousand—it had reached that number in merely two years, growing from six hundred.

Most of those initial six hundred were Severus’s kin and those of his vassal nobles, with only a small portion being refugees they had taken in.

Priest Dominic told him that once the chaos in the Northland subsided, they could resume slave trading and attract refugees. Counting children, they could reach sixty thousand within twelve years.

Sixty thousand souls! Such a vast land! Before serving as King Pegira’s Personal Guard, Severus had come from a non-knightly family. Yet in seven more years, he would become a true marquis—with land, people, and prosperity.

Severus trusted Priest Dominic. After all, the current progress of Wallace Territory owed much to the priest’s efforts.

He fully agreed with what other nobles often said at private gatherings:

“The priests of the Church of the Sanctuary are truly reliable.”

“Even the most cautious noble can fully trust a priest appointed as advisor.”

Just like Marquis Richard Adrian and Marquis Gregor Doyle: one spent his days leading his Oath Knights to provoke other nobles, while the other led his Doyle Knights to hunt in the Woodlands. Both had entirely entrusted their territories to their bishops.

Under the careful management of their respective bishops, both territories had become exceptionally prosperous despite their lords’ frequent absences. Each had built a main city rivaling even York City, and both marquises commanded more than fifty direct knights—Marquis Doyle’s Doyle Knight Order boasting as many as eighty-three.

And that didn’t even count the knights serving under their vassal nobles.

Though these knights were merely Tier Four Knights certified by the Warrior Guild—not true landed knights—their combat prowess was undeniable.

Just thinking that those two foolish marquises could muster over a hundred fully armored knights made Severus’s scalp tingle.

In the past, such military power had belonged only to Grand Dukes.

Nobles understood nobles—and Severus and others were convinced that Richard and Gregor’s newfound strength was at least ninety percent due to their bishops.

Thus, when Severus cautiously sought Priest Dominic’s counsel and received the blunt advice to engage in slave trade, he promptly appointed the priest as his official advisor.

Slave trading was frowned upon by the Church, yet Priest Dominic showed no disapproval—he even helped Severus negotiate prices personally.

Afterward, Dominic led the few commoners of the territory to cultivate wastelands, pursue self-sufficiency, raise livestock, increase food supply, fish at sea, and plan the marquis’s every coin with precision.

As for Severus and the other martial nobles—either stay out of the way or follow instructions.

Severus deeply felt the practicality of having a Church priest as aide.

The only drawback was Dominic’s stubborn adherence to certain Church prohibitions, placing some restrictions on Severus and his vassals.

Still, since most of them were not of noble birth, they willingly bowed their heads in exchange for the prosperity Dominic brought.

As for the hidden truth behind it all—

At one noble gathering, a drunken viscount had blurted out that during the Eastern Crusade, the Church had deliberately set up many nobles to die—so that common-born knights like Severus could be promoted, thereby weakening noble authority.

After all, how could men like Severus, born of no noble blood, comprehend the true power the old nobility once held?

That same viscount later “accidentally” fell to the ground that night—and was found split into seven pieces.

Severus had no idea who did it. Nor did the six other marquises—his fellow former King Pegira’s Guards.

Later, the viscount’s lands fell into chaos over succession disputes, prompting the Senate to intervene, demoting the viscount’s heirs and reducing the title to barony, along with the land.

After that incident, no noble dared drink too much at their gatherings.

Severus didn’t concern himself with such matters. All he knew was that he was now a marquis—one with the largest territory in all of Greenwood. Though not yet wealthy, according to Priest Dominic, once the entire land was cultivated, its productivity could sustain two hundred thousand people.

For someone of common birth like Severus, that was enough. He was only thirty-six years old, and the monastery estimated that Great Knights like him could easily live to seventy.

Severus believed that before his death, he would surely witness the full prosperity of his domain.

And he firmly believed—

With Priest Dominic’s guidance, he would achieve it.

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