Chapter 481: Spreading Far and Wide

A new war had begun.

If it were the old Gipli—naive, inexperienced, and stuck hustling in some rural adventurer’s tavern—she probably wouldn’t have grasped the full weight of that statement. But the Gipli of now understood instantly just how monumental the task ahead of her truly was.

If her voice could really reach every corner of the Southern Territory.

If the information before her could truly be delivered into the eyes and ears of every single person.

Then… the dark days for the Holy Light Church would be over.

The Church’s extremist actions hadn’t appeared overnight. Their long-standing campaign of crushing heresy and oppressing common folk had only grown more brutal in recent years. Yet countless ordinary people had silently endured it all, some even resigned to it as if it were normal. It was as if the people were blind to their own suffering, incapable of resistance. But Gipli, once one of those ordinary people herself, knew better.

The populace was numb, yes, but not without thought. They had simply grown accustomed to submission—not because they liked it, but because their access to information was limited and their knowledge scarce. They couldn’t see the Church’s dark truths clearly, nor could they imagine any other way of life. Most importantly, no voice had ever spoken up for the common people’s perspective.

After the initial rush of excitement faded, Gipli raised a concern. “Sir, this information could indeed deal a heavy blow to the Holy Light Church, but the god of the Holy Light still has many sincere followers in the South. Many civilians truly believe in the Light. What about them…?”

“That’s exactly why I’m not aiming to destroy the Holy Light itself—only the Church,” Gawain nodded firmly. “For those devout followers, I will still give them the Light. Soon, I’ll arrange for you to meet with the new High Priest of the Holy Light, Priest Leight. You’ll get to understand what the true faith of the Cecil people should look like.”

“High Priest… Leight?” Gipli blinked in surprise. “That priest?”

“Yes, but he’s no longer just a priest,” Gawain smiled, already anticipating Gipli’s reaction when she saw the White Knights currently being outfitted and trained in the territory. “Miss Gipli, you’ve been away too long. The changes here will exceed anything you can imagine. Go see it with your own eyes.”

With that, the witch Gipli left. The audience chamber was left with only Gawain and Betty, who was quietly daydreaming while holding a large teapot. After a moment’s thought, Gawain turned to the little maid who was still dazed. “Go fetch Rebecca.”

The maid snapped awake. “Yes, sir!”

No sooner had Betty left than the door swung open, and a lively voice called out from the entrance: “Ancestor! You called for me?!”

“Yes, I wanted to ask you something…” Gawain replied, turning his head toward the door—and then burst out in surprise. “You finally set the house on fire?”

He stared dumbfounded at his little great-granddaughter—half her face was smudged black with soot, and her upper clothes and hands were covered in ash. She looked like she’d just blown up the entire Arcane Research Institute.

Gawain still remembered the last time Rebecca showed up looking like this—she nearly blew up a lab. That scatterbrained girl had tried to sculpt a life-sized statue of the Ancestor out of fireballs, but the fireball exploded when she was shaping the left leg… Gawain still wasn’t sure whether to be amazed by her thought process or by the fact she managed to get three-quarters done before the explosion.

Did this girl grow up playing with fireballs like they were clay?

Rebecca, hearing the old man’s words, stuck out her tongue sheepishly. “Well… I was in the kitchen just now…”

“What were you doing in the kitchen?” Gawain blinked. “Sneaking food and accidentally falling into the stove?”

Rebecca put her hands on her hips, completely unapologetic. “I was making you bone broth!”

Gawain was even more confused. “Bone broth? Why?”

“Aunt Hetty said you’re getting old and your bones aren’t so good anymore,” Rebecca blurted out, betraying her aunt without a second thought—then realized, “Oh, she told me not to tell you that. But I thought if I cooked for you myself, you’d be happy!”

Gawain: “??”

What a mess!

Even with his experience as a traveler and satellite expert, Gawain couldn’t figure out what was going on inside the heads of his great-great-great… great-granddaughters. Rebecca’s head had been caught in the city gate once, but now Hetty was just making things worse…

At least now he vaguely understood whose idea it was to have him drink bone broth every night recently.

Surprised though he was, Gawain knew this wild child was just trying to show she cared—even if her usual clumsiness ruined everything. So he swallowed his exasperation and tried to stay calm. “Alright, I get your intention, but next time don’t be so reckless. Where’s the soup?”

“It smelled so good I couldn’t resist.”

Gawain: “…”

That didn’t seem to have much to do with good intentions…

After holding back his frustration and maintaining a stern expression, Gawain forced the conversation back to what he originally wanted to discuss. “Enough of that—what I really wanted to ask was about the implementation of the Arcane Network broadcast system. How far can we cover with the magic signal now?”

Rebecca wiped her face and reported seriously, “Along the cross-axis centered on the Kant territory, we’ve built the backbone network using arcane relay towers. The magic network in the four newly established cities is connected to this backbone, achieving basic coverage. Additionally, in the satellite towns along the cross-axis, we’ve ensured at least one broadcast terminal per town, and they’ve passed trial runs.”

After a pause, she added awkwardly, “Areas outside the cross-axis haven’t been covered yet. On one hand, the construction teams can’t keep up due to limited manpower and resources. On the other, those remote areas have scattered populations and unmerged villages, making the cost of laying the network and installing broadcast facilities too high. Also, the production capacity of the broadcast terminals is an issue—the new factory for making them has only half its production lines approved so far…”

The problems caused by overexpansion had existed from the start and were still brewing. The limited manpower, resources, and factory capacity in the Cecil industrial zone constrained the spread of new technology in the South and restricted infrastructure development.

Fortunately, Gawain’s ongoing efforts to merge villages and relocate populations were progressing smoothly. As people concentrated in developed areas, the bottlenecks in construction and production could be somewhat eased. Given Rebecca’s report, Gawain was actually quite satisfied.

“Arrange another broadcast system warm-up and test within three days—it’s almost time for it to go live.”

The Arcane Network broadcast system had always been one of Gawain’s most valued projects. But its complexity and high infrastructure demands meant it required a longer testing and refinement period than other arcane industrial products. Since the Battle of Firemoon Rock Fortress, when Gawain conducted the first “trial broadcast,” the system had been undergoing a long and difficult process of adjustment and testing. Meanwhile, the network communication system developed alongside it was also steadily improving.

And now, the system was finally ready to be put to use.

Gawain had carefully considered what the first official broadcast should be. He decided that a media offensive against the remnants of the Holy Light Church in the South was the best choice. At first, he hadn’t planned to use the Intelligence Bureau for this task; instead, he wanted Priest Leight, a professional preacher, to take the stage. When people’s faith was in crisis and the corrupt Church was going astray, the first White Knight in human history had risen as an icon to save the fading Holy Light faith. Just imagining that scenario thrilled him.

But then Amber recommended someone even more suitable: Gipli, who was eloquent and skilled at dealing with all kinds of people.

He still remembered Amber’s rare and insightful comment: “If you want to use words to strike your opponent, a smooth talker is more effective than someone blunt and honest.”

In other words, when it comes to throwing mud, you can’t be squeamish.

Gawain agreed wholeheartedly. Although the Holy Light Church’s deeds were already filthy enough that no mud needed to be thrown, Gipli was still better suited than Leight to be a professional “news anchor.”

Of course, by Gawain’s standards, Gipli still didn’t fully meet his requirements. He wanted to build a “media” platform—a highly efficient, wide-reaching system to spread information to the masses. That required more than just eloquence. But there was no broadcasting school in this world; real professionals had to be trained from scratch.

With her new assignment, Rebecca left happily.

It was only a matter of time before the fully operational Arcane Network broadcast system would reveal its unparalleled power.

Yet the system was still imperfect. Its limited coverage area and daily operating hours constrained its effectiveness. So beyond the broadcast system, the main force in striking the Holy Light Church would still be Gawain’s original plan: newspapers, leaflets, pamphlets, and traveling lecturers in remote areas.

He glanced at the “photos” from Luan City on the table, then ordered them to be sent to Gawain Orlando.

Soon, the intelligence and images from within Luan City would be transformed into tens of thousands of newspapers and pamphlets, accompanied by commentary designed to resonate with the people and reveal the truth. Using the Arcane Network’s file transmission system, these would be printed simultaneously in Cecil’s capital and the four new industrial cities. Carried by postal couriers traveling throughout the Southern Territory, these materials capable of shaking the Holy Light Church’s foundations would be rapidly disseminated across the entire principality.

Before the priests in Luan City made a desperate last stand, Gawain would not send a single soldier into the city. Even the recent military blockade lines would be kept at least five miles outside the city walls.

He would not attack because he knew perfectly well that the priests were waiting for his assault. Every cannon blast from his arcane artillery would only add more martyrs to the Church’s cause.

But those priests would never get that chance. Instead, they would face a different kind of “attack”—one that would strip them of any claim to “holiness.”

In the end, they would not be driven out by Cecil’s guns and cannons, but by the furious will of the people.

When that day came, the Holy Light Church’s influence in the South would finally be eradicated.

(End of chapter)