Chapter 551: The Pirates
On the vast and endless sea, three warships clearly styled in the design of the Church were cutting through the waves under the sun, while in the middle of them was an ordinary ship flying the Church’s flag, advancing forward under the protection of the three warships.
On the deck of the guarded ship, Vania, dressed in a white nun’s outfit, was standing in the sea breeze, gazing at the expansive ocean in the distance, a hint of nostalgia appearing on her face.
“After resting for so long… we are finally setting off again. This time, the target will be the land that Akka has guided me to. What will I encounter there?”
As she watched the white seagulls flying at low altitude alongside the ship, the white nun pondered to herself. At that moment, a man in a Church military uniform approached Vania and spoke to her.
“Nun Vania, the sea ahead is windy and the waves are rough. It’s somewhat dangerous for you to be standing on deck; you should quickly go back to your cabin to rest. You will need to reserve your energy for activities after we reach Moncala.”
Looking at the white nun before him, Gaspare advised. Vania turned her head and gently replied.
“Thank you for your concern, Cleric Gaspare. I will just stand here for a while and return shortly… by the way, how is your injury recovering? If you still feel unwell, do not push yourself to carry out duties with an injury.”
“Thanks to Nun Vania, my injuries have stabilized quite a bit; there’s no major issue with me working. Ha, if it weren’t for those brutes from the Tribunal, we would have fully recovered by now. Their attacks are even harsher than those of the heretics.”
As he spoke, Gaspare rubbed his arm, feeling the lingering pain from his injuries. Remembering those days on the Fiery Trial, feelings of injustice welled up in him. At this time, Vania wisely interjected.
“Thanks to everyone holding onto the truth when I was falsely accused and maintaining our hearts amidst suffering, I have had the chance to clear my name and regain my innocence…”
“That’s nothing. Those blasphemous brutes are beyond human decency. Should we give them what they want? We’ve all fought our way through the chaos in Adus against the heretics; it isn’t easy to yield to the darkness within the Holy Church. I’ve always believed that there are principles within the Church, and true believers will not be defeated by conspiracy. In the end, Nun Vania, you brought us redemption…”
Gaspare spoke with righteous fervor, while Vania humbly responded.
“That’s nothing. I didn’t do much; what saved us was the Church’s inherent justice and the Lord’s protection…”
Seeing Vania’s sincere expression, Gaspare nodded. Then he seemed to recall something and continued.
“Actually, while I was tormented by those brutes on the Fiery Trial, I felt that many times, although the torture looked terrifying, it wasn’t as painful as I had imagined when applied to my body. Those days of interrogation were difficult, but it wasn’t to the point where I couldn’t endure… I think perhaps the Lord saw our injustice and secretly granted us strength to protect us. Maybe the Lord set this up as a test for us. If so, I hope we have successfully passed this trial…”
Gazing at the rolling waves of the sea, Gaspare expressed his thoughts reverently, and upon hearing this, Vania couldn’t help but pause, thinking that indeed, it was the Lord’s protection—but this Lord was not one of the Three Saints, rather it was Akka, and it was Miss Dorothy, one of Akka’s apostles, who protected them, aided by the Puppet Marks Vania secretly left within their bodies.
“Yes… if we remain devoutly loyal to the Lord, He will surely not abandon us…”
Vania reflected, and then, following the atmosphere, offered a small prayer. Seeing Vania’s demeanor, Gaspare also took a moment to pray in place. After finishing the prayer, he looked at Vania and spoke.
“By the way, Nun Vania, I want to ask you something. Why did you choose to conduct your first pilgrimage in a place like Moncala? Although on the surface it is illuminated by the Lord’s light, the hidden depravity is well known. This is a dangerous place…”
With a serious expression, Gaspare said to Vania, who replied in a devout tone.
“It is precisely because Moncala has dark corners that cannot be illuminated by ordinary light that it is worthy of being the target of the pilgrimage. The purpose of the Holy Relic pilgrimage is to let those who are on the edge of the Lord’s grace feel His calling through the brilliance of the Holy Relic, isn’t it? Therefore, I believe Moncala is truly a place worth going to. If we just stick to comfort and security, then this pilgrimage loses its meaning. May the Lord bless our journey.”
Addressing the vast ocean once more, Vania earnestly prayed. Listening to her words, Gaspare couldn’t help but be moved by Vania’s piety. He silently admired her firm faith and reaffirmed his determination to diligently carry out his protective duties.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side of the expansive Conquer Sea, on yet another endless ocean, a medium-sized cruise ship with a black and white exterior was sailing across the surface, its enormous hull cutting through the waves under the sun, leaving a long wake headed in the direction of the east.
On the spacious rear deck of the cruise ship, many well-dressed tourists enjoyed the sea breeze while admiring the ocean. Fixed to the deck, some were leisurely dining at tables, while more leisurely guests gathered at the railings, engaging in sea fishing with their own fishing rods, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers.
On one of the seats at the rear deck, Dorothy, dressed in a light knee-length dress, wearing a sun hat and sandals, sat there, casually enjoying the surrounding scenery while eating fruits from the table in front of her. Occasional glances at the newspaper in her hand, which featured the latest news on the renowned young Church figure, Nun Vania. The news reported that Nun Vania, becoming the custodian of the Holy Relic, was beginning her pilgrimage, with her initial target being Moncala.
“Nun Vania becomes the custodian of the Holy Relic, choosing the gambling city of Moncala for her first pilgrimage, hoping to spread blessings in the land of desire.”
“Once a city of pirates, it will welcome the Holy Relic pilgrimage for the first time; will the Holy Relic’s brilliance pacify the restless sinful cravings?”
“Nun Vania’s pilgrimage target showcases her determination to spread the Lord’s calling to all places; under the Lord’s shine, there are no margins…”
Dorothy’s gaze swept over the newspaper’s reports and evaluations of Vania’s actions, her eyes lingering repeatedly on the name of Moncala, and after finishing the oddly shaped tropical fruit she held, she closed the newspaper, sighing within.
“Moncala… it appears the impression of this place isn’t very good in mainstream society. It’s no wonder that the reaction in the newspaper was stronger than expected after Vania chose this as her first pilgrimage.”
After contemplating this, Dorothy picked up a banana, peeled it, and began to eat slowly. As she ate, she reflected on the information she had gathered about Moncala, much of which she learned from Beverly, involving the Extraordinary and the secretive.
Moncala is an island city located on the eastern side of the Conquer Sea, an independent free trade port, yet while it is a trade port, it does not lie on the main trading routes between the Main Continent and Northern Ufeiga; rather, it is somewhat off the main route. Even so, it remains one of the most prosperous trade ports in the Conquer Sea region.
The reason for this is that Moncala is the largest gray zone in the Conquer Sea, a hub for many Extraordinary businesses, and the largest casino in the entire Conquer Sea area, a legal city of gamblers.
Speaking of Moncala, one must mention its founder, the Great Pirate Edward Gibbs. Four hundred years ago, the arrogant King Leo of Iwig, supported by the Placenta Sect, erupted into the Turbid War with the Sacred Summit Church and the nations defending the faith. This battlefield originated in Iwig, later spreading to the foot of the Sacred Summit and the entire Conquer Sea region. Due to the war, the order of the Conquer Sea collapsed, giving rise to numerous pirates.
After suppressing the arrogant King Leo and his allies, the Sacred Summit Church hurriedly began addressing the rampant issue of pirates in the Conquer Sea. However, they found that this was not a problem that could be resolved quickly; in a sense, it was even more troublesome than the Turbid War itself.
Initially, the Church allied with other naval powers of the Main Continent, dispatching fleets of strong men to strike down each of the formidable pirates. In a short time, they sent away most of the notorious pirates. However, there were no signs of stopping pirate activities over the Conquer Sea; numerous small-scale pirates continued to roam, and these groups of small pirates, which often might not even be Extraordinary beings, constituted the major source of pirate disasters in the Conquer Sea. They accounted for over eighty percent of all pirates, and no matter how much the Church’s naval powers tried to deal with them, they could not grasp the situation, expending a lot of human and material resources and spiritual energy. Although they won almost every battle, they couldn’t solve the problem.
Later, the Church analyzed the reasons and discovered that many of the pirates in the Conquer Sea stemmed from the common people of the defeated nations who feared the Church’s extreme policies following the Turbid War. As the Abyss Cult, primarily based in the Placenta Sect, spread widely in Iwig and surrounding countries, the Church executed cruel purges during the war, burning down heretic cities and slaughtering many heretics, among whom there were numerous innocent victims. This caused many populations from the several countries to flee in fear of the Church’s military reach. A significant portion of them did not truly convert to heresy but rather feared being implicated, hence they fled. The numbers of such people surpassed by far the scale of King Leo’s army during the Turbid War.
These countless war refugees streamed onto the islands of the Conquer Sea and Northern Ufeiga to escape the purges. To survive, many directly turned into pirates, a grouping comprised of former soldiers from defeated countries, old nobility, and refugees, who together with original pirates turned the entire Conquer Sea upside down. The pirates plundered merchant ships and attacked the coasts, and numerous pirate activities even caused a temporary halt to normal trade between Northern Ufeiga and the Main Continent. The chaos enveloping the entire Conquer Sea was ignited by the Turbid War but did not end with the cessation of fighting; rather, it intensified.
Additionally, in order to prevent the Placenta Sect from making a resurgence in the defeated nations post-Turbid War, the Church implemented strict religious controls over several countries after the war. Numerous tribunals were erected in these nations, with heretical judges roaming the streets, arresting ordinary people on baseless charges. Several nations descended into a century of religious terror. During this time, countless individuals chose to escape to sea to avoid the terrifying religious persecution, and these individuals became a continuous source of strength for the pirates.
The Abyss Cult, which had suffered defeat during the war, also found opportunities in the rampant piratical activities. They began to connect with various pirate leaders and representatives of refugees, secretly recruiting them, leveraging their powerful capabilities at sea to inform pirate leaders of the positions of Church strongmen and warships, providing cover even by hiding their movements in the ocean currents.
With the operations of the Abyss Cult and cooperation from other factions of the Placenta Sect, the pirate leaders gradually became resilient against the Church and the nations of the Main Continent’s onslaught. They began to grow stronger, even giving rise to formidable pirates with Red Tier captains.
The era of pirates finally came to an end due to a policy shift within the Church. Witnessing that the Placenta Sect might see a resurgence through the pirates, the Church began reflecting on its policy issues. The hardline judges, who had dominated the Church and held the discourse, had long been unable to resolve the pirate and Placenta problems, giving the Savior Faction an opportunity. The Savior Faction seized this moment to exert their influence, and with the Pope returning from above, they defeated the judges in the Grand Synod, gaining the dominant power over the issues surrounding the pirates.
Subsequently, the Savior Faction influenced the Church to abolish the long-standing policies of religious terror that had oppressed Iwig and other defeated nations, dismantling numerous tribunals and releasing many suspected individuals from prisons, granting amnesty to three hundred thousand in a short time. They operated a declaration of amnesty and announced to all pirates and communities in the Conquer Sea that as long as they returned to the faith of the Three Saints, they could cleanse themselves and their ancestors of heretical crimes and would receive forgiveness provided they were willing to repent, irrespective of how serious the heresy.
Once this amnesty was announced, the immediate effect was evident: the foundation for the existence of pirates in the Conquer Sea was swiftly dismantled. No longer were there religious refugees fleeing from Iwig and other countries, and countless “sinners” drifting on the islands of Northern Ufeiga and the Conquer Sea hastened to return home. After all, for most people, they just wanted to find a place where they could survive.
After undermining the base of support for the pirates, the Church, led by the Savior Faction, then began to apply a mix of rewards and punishments to deal with the other pirate leaders. Through a strategy of sowing discord, they managed to incite tensions between them and the Abyss Cult, eventually offering amnesty to some while besieging others, ultimately eliminating all pirate forces in the Conquer Sea on the surface.
Although the Turbid War only lasted a few years, its impact was profound. From the onset of the war during the tenth century to the end of the twelfth century, the Conquer Sea and the world’s oceans remained under the tumultuous age of piracy for centuries. Ultimately, with adjustments in the Church’s policies, the era of pirates was declared over.
The last of the prominent pirates to receive amnesty was Edward Gibbs, and Moncala was once a stronghold of this great pirate, a carefully constructed pirate city. After being granted amnesty, this pirate city began to change with the times.
