After the pre-war meeting, Elwood did not rest. Instead, he hurriedly rushed to the gate. Guard Captain Milodić was already waiting for him there.
"Your Majesty, the parade route has been chosen, and the carriages and personnel are in place."
"Very good, then let's begin." Elwood nodded.
Recently, some people in Saint Massa City had been in a state of panic. The magic crystal recording the battle in Setta City had somehow flowed here. Coupled with the brazen declaration of war by the Lionheart Empire and the fact that Lionheart VII was targeting Saint Massa City, all of this made the residents living here feel like a dark cloud was looming over their heads.
Therefore, Elwood had no choice but to do something. This afternoon, he walked out of the Palace of Charity, stood on the golden crown of the carriage, and came to the street, facing hundreds of thousands of terrified believers.
Looking at the dense crowd of believers on the road, a kind smile appeared on Elwood's face, and he slowly said, "I know you are afraid, afraid of the arrival of the night, afraid that barbarism will tear apart civilization, and evil will replace justice … Yes, in a sense, your worries are not wrong. We are now going through an extremely difficult war, and there are 220,000 imperial invaders standing at our doorstep. While I am speaking, perhaps another village will be slaughtered and looted by them."
The carriage stopped in the middle of the road, and Elwood alighted amidst the exclamations of the crowd. Ignoring the dissuasion of the guard beside him, he walked to the crowd, took the hand of a little girl, and softly said, "Child, do you have relatives outside the city?"
The little girl nodded, tears welling up in her eyes.
"My aunt lives in Sugar Village. She is a good person, and every time she comes to see me, she will bring a lot of delicious food. Grandpa Pope, will those imperial invaders kill her?" The girl's voice was filled with sobs.
"I don't know, child, I don't know. Sometimes, the gods give us tests, and that is to make us stronger and more humble." Elwood squatted down and took out a handkerchief to wipe the tears from the corner of the girl's eyes. "But I think I do owe you an apology. In fact, not only you …" The old man stood up and turned his gaze to the others. "I owe all of you an apology. As the guardian of the Holy Alliance, I failed to protect your family and compatriots, allowing the enemy to set foot on our land. This is my greatest negligence."
After saying that, Elwood took off the crown on his head and bowed deeply to the crowd. It was unknown who took the lead, but the believers on the street knelt on the ground.
"After making such a big mistake, I really don't have the face to continue sitting in this position." The old man paused for a moment. "However, given the current situation we are in, I need to continue to fulfill my duty and unite everyone to resist the invaders from the Empire. Therefore, I can only continue to command this war as a sinner."
"It's not your fault, Your Majesty. It's those barbaric Empire people!" Someone shouted. "They launched a despicable sneak attack! We must make them pay the price!!! "Before his voice faded away, many people echoed in agreement.
"The Reinhart family is a bunch of butchers! We must fight back and let them know how powerful our allies are!!! "
Elwood was very satisfied with the people's high morale at this time. He gestured for the crowd to be quiet and then continued, "Our army has built a strong line of defense on the path of the invaders. Our warriors will be there to give those Empire people a head-on blow. With the blessing of the gods, we will definitely win this war, so what worries me is not military matters." Elwood's tone changed. "I know that these days, you must have heard some … terrible rumors, like the whispers of the devil in the ears of humans. My children, have you ever had doubts? Have you ever doubted your own faith? But as a wise man once said, invaders will never admit that they are invaders. They will try their best to beautify their barbaric behavior. All of these lies and slander only have one goal — to divide us. They know very well how strong we are when we are united. They fear us, so they use such despicable means. But as long as the faith in our hearts is strong enough, their plot will not succeed. "
The old man's tone was sonorous and powerful. After a brief silence, the crowd burst into cheers. The cheers swept through the entire city like waves in a very short time. The believers shouted the names of the gods as if they had gained strength and courage from it.
Elwood maintained the radiance and smile on his face. At the same time, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that after this public speech, at least the troubles in Saint Massa City had been resolved. As long as the foundation was stabilized, the next problem was how to win this war.
Speaking of which, Elwood also had to thank Reinhardt VII. If the latter had not brazenly launched a war against the Holy Alliance, it would not have been easy to win back the gradually losing hearts of the people. Now, not only had Elwood found a way to explain those rumors, but he could also use this war to divert the public's attention. After that, as long as he sent people to spread the atrocities of the Empire's invaders, naturally, no one would believe the previous rumors.
If necessary, Elwood did not even mind sending people from the Court of Heresy to disguise themselves as Empire soldiers to slaughter one or two villages. Well, it would be best to choose Sugar Village that the little girl mentioned just now to maximize the people's hatred toward the Empire.
Elwood was a little distracted. He was still thinking about how to better use this public opinion to change the Church's passive position after the Setta City incident, but he did not notice that the surroundings had suddenly quietened down.
"Your Majesty, if you really want everyone to unite, why don't you tell them the truth? We have lost all contact with the gods a few months ago, haven't we?" Bishop Wenger walked out of the crowd.
The crowd burst into an uproar. For a long time, the Temple had always regarded itself as the spokesperson of the gods in the human world. But now, according to Bishop Wenger, the Church could no longer get any information from the gods. Had the gods really abandoned humans?
Elwood was shocked and angry at the same time. He did not expect Wenger to stand up at this time. If it were someone else, Elwood could still use his identity as the Pope to suppress the other party, but Wenger was the leader of the former anti-Vernal V forces and had high prestige among the people. So although Elwood was angry, he suppressed the anger in his chest and said in a gentle tone, "Bishop Wenger, I know you have always been dissatisfied with not becoming the Pope, but if there's anything, we can talk about it in private. The most important thing right now is to fight against the invaders."
Elwood was hinting to Wenger that as long as he stopped now, he could give the latter some compensation. Anyway, he was also preparing to clean up the remaining forces left behind by Van 'er V, and when the time came, there would be many vacancies. It was not impossible to give Wenger the position of a Cardinal.
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