For the people of Karkhalan, this winter was a mixed feeling of joy and worry.
When they first heard that Tarkus City had fallen, many people were anxious, afraid that something unexpected would happen.
However, what happened next made them feel at ease.
The appearance and assurance of the War Temple, Eye of Truth, and Emerald Green Temple made these people gradually relax. In their opinion, since the Temple was willing to help the Freedom Army, it meant that their actions were justified.
Therefore, they didn't need to worry so much. Moreover, with the arrival of the two Temples, they also needed to build their own temples and churches, which required a large amount of materials.
At this time, the merchants also started to move further. Previously, they weren't willing to go to Tarkus, not only because they were cautious about getting involved in the war, but also because of Doant's policy of squeezing the merchants, causing them to be unable to earn much money.
However, now that the entire Karkhalan City was under the control of the "Freedom Army", and the order was still stable, they even received the recognition and support of the Temple. Therefore, the merchants would naturally flock over immediately. Other than hoping to earn more profits, they also hoped to take this opportunity to build a good relationship with the three Temples.
Ever since the incident in Tarkus City spread throughout the Eagle Plateau, almost all the merchants with brains were clear that the Soros Family was finished this time.
If the previous incident with Alexander could be said to be an exception, then the fact that Doant colluded with necromancers to turn the entire city into undead creatures couldn't be justified no matter what.
As the largest family force in the southern part of the Eagle Plateau, the Soros Family had colluded with evil cultists and undead creatures time and time again. Moreover, everyone knew about it. Under such circumstances, who could expect the Soros Family to stop?
Not only did the small families gradually withdraw from the Southern Alliance led by Soros, but even the merchants almost immediately cut off relations with the Soros Family. They weren't willing to bear the name of trading with the evil cultists, which wasn't a good reputation.
As for the anger of the Soros Family?
Hehe, as long as one wasn't a fool, they could see that when spring came and the snow melted, the Soros Family was doomed.
The Northern Alliance led by the Parkwood Family wouldn't let them go, and the Holy Church wouldn't let them go either.
What was there to worry about for someone who was about to die?
It was precisely because of this that many merchant groups sent representatives to Tarkus. On one hand, it was to express their goodwill to the three Holy Churches, and on the other hand, it was to express their stance to the Church of Holy Light — My Lord, we've already severed all ties with those evil cultists. We have nothing to do with them anymore, so please don't come looking for trouble with us!
Under such circumstances, the days of the Soros Family became more and more difficult. No merchants were willing to do business with them, and the civilians began to flee the cities under their control.
What was worse was that the Soros Family didn't dare to stop them, because the Holy Knights were watching them closely. If anything happened, the Holy Knights might start a fight with the noble's private army.
There were even cases of Holy Knights casting a Detection Spell on the private soldiers after the battle, and then directly capturing them back to the Templar's prison!
They had already started arresting people without authorization!
Of course, the Soros Family wouldn't directly confront the Holy Church for the sake of their lackeys. In fact, they wouldn't dare to.
But without the protection of their master, the watchdogs naturally didn't dare to bark anymore. For a time, the Soros Family's influence in their territory was greatly reduced.
"This is an opportunity for us!"
Standing in front of the table and looking at the map, Jenn inserted the dagger in his hand into the table.
"I suggest that we take this opportunity to expand our manpower and launch an attack before spring arrives. We must take over the Soros Family's territory as much as possible!
Everyone is worried that the city they live in will become the second Tarkus. If we can take this opportunity to take more territory, it will be a good thing for us. "
"Is there a need to be so anxious?"
Oldman scratched his head in response to Jenn's words.
Although he was no longer the simple Militia Captain after such a long time, he had to admit that sometimes he couldn't keep up with Jenn's way of thinking.
"Why don't we wait until spring?
The roads are blocked by heavy snow, and it's hard to travel in every place … "
"Didn't the merchants walk through the same path?
Besides, it's precisely because it's hard to travel now that we need to launch an attack. "
Jenn said and waved his hand.
"You have to look at everything from two perspectives, Oldman. Indeed, the current weather isn't conducive for the mobilization of troops.
But this means that even if we attack Soros' territory, it will be difficult for him to mobilize reinforcements!
And we have the support of the three Temples!
Don't look down on the Divine Arts, Oldman. If you have the support of the Divine Arts, you won't feel cold even if you take off all your clothes and swim in the Gelo River outside, let alone the freezing snow plains.
Now that the Temple is on our side, the Soros Family's rear is empty, and the heavy snow has also hindered their mobilization of troops.
Moreover, the people in Soros' territory have long developed a fear of such things. If it were in the past, they might not accept us as' mobs'. But now, we have the support and recognition of the Temple, so it's much easier for them to accept us. You are also aware of this point, right? "
"That's true …"
Oldman nodded thoughtfully after hearing Jenn's words.
In fact, he had a deep feeling about this. When they first occupied Tarkus, the other regions of Karkhalan didn't have a good attitude towards this rebel army.
Some regions even refused to come into contact with the envoys they sent.
But after the three Temples appeared in Tarkus and publicly declared their support for the 'National Freedom Army', the forces that Oldman didn't have a good attitude towards immediately changed their attitude. One by one, they eagerly came to his door to curry favor with him.
As for the local people of Karkhalan, who had been guarding against them like bandits when they saw them before, their hostility towards them was not as deep now.
There were even some who were willing to work under them and started to work for the 'National Freedom Army'.
"More importantly, we must act before the Northern Alliance.
Oldman, you should be able to see that this time, the Soros Family is completely dead. Once spring arrives, the Northern Alliance will march in, and the Southern Alliance led by the Soros Family will definitely be defeated.
And at that time, it won't be our turn to eat the meat and drink the soup.
In the past, I didn't advise you to do this because we were too weak. Just dealing with Karkhalan alone was already a little difficult.
But now that we have the Temple as our backing, we have to expand our territory. "
At this point, Jenn raised his head and looked at Oldman.
"Oldman, to achieve our dreams, a barren piece of land isn't enough. We must build a country.
And a country requires a large amount of land and people.
Right now, we are lacking these. The Soros Family's territory is our only possible target.
Because of the Church of Holy Church's support, the Northern Alliance definitely won't dare to attack us.
Thus, we must take advantage of the decisive battle between the north and the south to launch an attack from the Soros Family's rear. We will eat as much as we can!
In terms of maintaining law and order, we can do as we said before and delegate the authority to the various churches and Holy Knights.
Thus, we won't need to waste too much energy. But if we don't take advantage of this opportunity to act, when the Northern Alliance's army arrives, we can only guard Karkhalan and be the local tyrant. "
In reality, the Church of Holy Church was indeed interested in the 'democratization process' that Jenn suggested. Letting the Holy Knights maintain law and order was something that the nobles would never choose.
This was because it would greatly increase the status of the Gods in the hearts of the commoners, which would be detrimental to their rule.
However, the method that Jenn suggested could greatly weaken the deterrence of the ruling class and prevent them from doing as they pleased.
After all, the Gods of the Klein Continent weren't imaginary. If you dared to secretly collude with the Church of Holy Church to oppress the commoners, the Gods might just send a bolt of lightning down and strike you to death.
The power structure was restricted by the Temple, and the Temple was naturally restricted by the Gods. If they could really succeed, then this would become a rather perfect structure.
Not only would this increase the Church of Holy Church's influence and develop their believers, but it would also allow the Church of Holy Church to stand above the nobles. This was why the Church of Holy Church was so interested in Jenn's suggestion.
After all, the Church of Holy Church was actually quite displeased with the nobles. If one thought about it carefully, it wasn't that strange. The Holy Clergy were the servants of the Gods, so they were naturally a cut above the others. And the noble Holy Clergy had no choice but to smile at the nobles just because they donated more money to them. How could the servants of the Gods be willing to accept this?
Of course, Jenn was also clear that the internal power struggle in the Holy Empire was just as intense. For the Church of Holy Church, this plan might even be useful in resolving the internal conflicts in the Holy Empire.
So, Karkhalan was actually their 'experimental field.' They wanted to observe and evaluate everything that happened in Karkhalan to confirm if this' democratization process' was really useful.
If it was useful, then the Church of Holy Church would naturally do their best to promote it.
After all, this was also beneficial to them.
Because of this, Jenn was sure that the Church of Holy Church would definitely support them in conquering the Soros family's territory. After all, the larger the territory of the 'National Freedom Army,' the stronger the Church of Holy Church would be.
Not to mention that this wasn't an invasion, but rather, it was to liberate the citizens who suffered from tyranny from the hands of an evil dictator. With such a righteous cause, what else could the Church of Holy Church say?
"Okay, I understand."
Hearing Jenn's words, Oldman thought for a moment and nodded firmly.
"I will organize the army. As for Miss Nadia and the Church of Holy Church, I will leave it to you, James."
"No problem, leave it to me."
Saying until here, Jenn smiled and looked at Oldman.
"But Oldman, you should also pull yourself together. As the commander of the National Freedom Army, you can't just let me do everything, right? If one day I'm gone, what will you do?
Go home and cry?
How pitiful, you don't even have a harbor. "
"What inauspicious words are you saying."
Hearing until here, Oldman glared at Jenn.
"Don't you also not have a lover?
Shut up and do your work. Don't talk nonsense. If you're really worried about this, you should find yourself a lover. "
"You're right."
Hearing Oldman's words, Jenn narrowed his eyes and reached out to touch his chin.
Then, a glint flashed in his eyes.
"It's time for me to enjoy my reward."
Then, he muttered to himself in a barely audible voice.