On the boundless expanse of the vast ocean, three warships clearly of the Church's style were cutting through the waves under the sunlight. In the middle of the three warships was an ordinary vessel flying the Church's flag, sailing forward under the escort of the three warships.
On the deck of the escorted vessel, Vanya, dressed in a white Sister's habit, stood in the blowing sea breeze, gazing at the distant vast ocean, a hint of emotion surfacing in her expression.
'After resting for so long... I'm finally setting off again. This time, the destination will be the land Aka guided me to. What will I encounter there?'
Looking at the white seagulls flying level with the ship at low altitude, the white Sister pondered this in her heart. Just then, a man in a Church military uniform walked up to Vanya and spoke to her.
"Sister Vanya, the sea ahead is rough with strong winds and high waves. It's a bit dangerous for you to stand on the deck. Please return to your cabin to rest. You need to conserve your energy for the activities after arriving at Moncarlo."
Looking at the white Sister before him, Gaspare Priest spoke persuasively, while Vanya turned her head and spoke softly.
"Thank you for your concern, Gaspare Priest. I'll just stand here for a while and go back soon... By the way, how are your injuries recovering? If you still feel unwell, don't force yourself to be on duty with injuries."
"Thanks to Sister Vanya, my injuries have almost stabilized. Being on duty for a bit is no big deal. Haha, if it weren't for those beasts from the Judge, we would have fully recovered by now. They were even more ruthless than those otherworld."
Saying this, Gaspare rubbed his arm, feeling the lingering pain from his injuries. Even now, when he recalled those few days on the Fire Punishment, resentment surged in his heart, and at this moment, Vanya also spoke in due course.
"Thanks to all of you who upheld the truth when I was framed and maintained your original intentions through torture, I had the chance to clear my name and regain my innocence..."
"It's nothing. Those blasphemous beasts don't act like humans. How could we let them have their way? Everyone here fought against the otherworld in Adus. It's not that easy to succumb to the darkness within this saint church. I have always believed that justice exists within the saint church, and true devout believers will not be defeated by schemes. As expected, Sister Vanya, you ultimately brought us redemption..."
Gaspare said righteously, while Vanya replied humbly.
"It's nothing. I didn't do much. What saved us is the inherent justice of the saint church, the Lord's protection..."
Looking at Vanya's devout narration, Gaspare nodded. Then, as if remembering something else, he continued to speak.
"Actually, when I was being tortured by those beasts on the Fire Punishment, I felt that many times the torture, although it looked terrifying, wasn't as painful as expected when applied to my body. Although those few days of interrogation were difficult and uncomfortable, it wasn't to the point of being completely unbearable and unable to endure... I think this might really be the Lord seeing our unjust suffering and secretly bestowing strength to protect us. Perhaps the Lord set this as a test for us. If that's the case, I hope we have successfully passed this test..."
Looking at the surging sea, Gaspare's expression also became devout as he spoke. Upon hearing Gaspare's words, Vanya's heart skipped a beat, and then she thought that this was indeed the Lord's protection, but this Lord was not the Three Saints, but Aka. It was Miss Dorothy, one of Aka's Apostle, who protected them through the puppet marks Vanya had secretly left in their bodies.
"Yes... if we have always been devoutly loyal to the Lord, the Lord will surely not abandon us..."
Vanya said with emotion, and then followed the atmosphere with a small prayer. Seeing Vanya, Gaspare also prayed for a while where he stood. After the prayer ended, he looked at Vanya and spoke.
"By the way, Sister Vanya, there's one more thing I want to ask you. Why did you choose a place like Moncarlo for your first pilgrimage? Although it appears to be a region illuminated by the Lord's light, its hidden depravity is well-known. It's a dangerous place..."
With a solemn expression, Gaspare said to Vanya, while Vanya continued to speak in a devout tone.
"It is precisely because Moncarlo has dark corners that ordinary light cannot reach that it is worthy of being a pilgrimage destination. The meaning of the Holy Object pilgrimage, isn't it to use the radiance of the Holy Object to allow those on the fringes of the Lord's grace to also feel the Lord's call? For this very reason, Moncarlo is where I believe is truly worth going. If we are content with stability and comfort, then this Holy Object pilgrimage has no meaning. May the Lord protect our journey."
Facing the vast sea, Vanya prayed devoutly again. Listening to Vanya's words, Gaspare beside her couldn't help but be moved by Vanya's piety. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart that Sister Vanya's faith was truly deep, and he strengthened his resolve to do a good job of guarding her.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the vast Conquest Sea, also on a boundless ocean, a medium-sized cruise ship that was entirely black and white was navigating the sea. The huge hull cut through the waves under the sunlight, leaving a long wake as it sailed towards the east.
On the wide stern deck of the cruise ship, many well-dressed passengers were enjoying the sea breeze while admiring the ocean. Some people were leisurely dining at the tables fixed on the deck. Some more leisurely tourists gathered at the side of the ship, fishing from the high railing with their own fishing rods, surrounded by a group of onlookers.
Sitting in a seat on the stern deck was Dorothy, wearing a light, knee-length dress, a sun hat, and sandals. She was leisurely enjoying the surrounding scenery while eating the fruit on the table in front of her. While eating the fruit, her eyes occasionally turned to the newspaper in her hand. The newspaper published the latest news about Sister Vanya, a well-known young figure in the Church who had been popular recently. The newspaper reported that Sister Vanya had begun her pilgrimage as a Holy Object Custodian, and her initial pilgrimage destination was named Moncarlo.
"Sister Vanya becomes a Holy Object guardian, chooses the casino city of Moncarlo for her first pilgrimage, aiming to spread blessings to the land of desire."
"The former pirate city will welcome its first Holy Object pilgrimage. Can the radiance of the Holy Object soothe the restless sinful desires?"
"Sister Vanya's initial pilgrimage destination demonstrates the determination to spread the Lord's call to all places. Under the Lord's glory, there are no fringes..."
Dorothy's eyes scanned the reports and evaluations of Vanya's actions in the newspaper before her, her gaze lingering repeatedly on the name of the city Moncarlo. Then, after finishing the somewhat strangely shaped tropical fruit she held, she closed the newspaper and sighed, thinking to herself.
'Moncarlo... It seems the impression of this place in mainstream society is not very good. No wonder the reaction in the newspapers was a bit stronger than expected after Vanya chose it as her first pilgrimage destination.'
After contemplating, Dorothy picked up a banana, peeled it, and slowly ate it. While eating, Dorothy began to recall the information she had collected about Moncarlo. Much of this information was obtained from Beverly and involved the Extraordinary and the hidden.
Moncarlo is an island city located on the eastern side of the Conquest Sea. It is an independent free trade port, but although it is a trade port, it is not on the main shipping routes between the Main Continent and North Wu. On the contrary, it is a bit far from the main routes. But even so, it is still one of the most prosperous trade ports in the Conquest Sea region.
The reason is that Moncarlo is the largest gray area in the Conquest Sea, a transit point for many Extraordinary businesses, and the largest casino in the entire ringConquest Sea region, a legal city of gamblers.
Speaking of Moncarlo, one must mention its founder, the great pirate Edward. Gibbs. Four hundred years ago, Rio, the Arrogant King of Iweig, supported by the Fetal Garment Cult, erupted the Turbid Current War with the Holy Proximity Mountain Church and the nations protecting the faith. This war originated in Iweig, then expanded to the foot of Holy Mountain and even the entire Conquest Sea region. The war led to the collapse of order throughout the ringConquest Sea, giving rise to a large number of pirates.
After suppressing Rio, the Arrogant King, and his allies, the Holy Proximity Mountain Church immediately began to deal with the rampant pirate problem in the Conquest Sea, but they found that this problem could not be solved in a short time. In a sense, it was even more troublesome than the Turbid Current War itself.
Initially, the Church, in conjunction with other naval powers on the Main Continent, dispatched fleets and strong individuals to strike at the great pirates with Extraordinary powers one by one, quickly eliminating most of the prominent pirates. However, pirate activity in the Conquest Sea showed no signs of stopping. A large number of small-scale pirates were still roaming everywhere. These countless small pirate groups, whose leaders might not even be Extraordinary, were the main source of pirate disasters in the Conquest Sea. They accounted for over eighty percent of all pirates. The navies of the great Church nations could not suppress these small pirates, expending a large amount of manpower, material resources, and Spirituality. Although they won almost every battle, they just couldn't solve the problem.
Later, the Church analyzed the reasons and found that the source of the large number of pirates in the Conquest Sea was the civilians from the defeated nations of the Turbid Current War who feared the Church's extreme policies. Due to the widespread dissemination of the Fetal Garment Cult, mainly the Sea Abyss, in Iweig and surrounding countries, the Church carried out brutal purification orders during the war. Heretical cities were burned one by one, and a large number of heretics were massacred, many of whom were innocently implicated. This caused a large number of people from several countries to flee in fear of the Church's military might. A large portion of these people did not truly believe in the otherworld, but were worried about being implicated, so they fled with them. The number of these people was far greater than the size of Rio, the Arrogant King's army during the Turbid Current War.
These countless war refugees, in order to escape purification, flocked to the islands in the Conquest Sea and North Wu. For survival, a considerable number of them directly became pirates. These pirate groups, composed of former soldiers from defeated nations, old nobles, and refugees, together with the native pirates, turned the entire Conquest Sea region upside down. Pirates plundered merchant ships and attacked coastal areas. A large amount of pirate activity even interrupted normal trade between North Wu and the Main Continent for a time. This chaos, which enveloped the entire ringConquest Sea, originated from the Turbid Current War, but did not end with the end of the Turbid Current War. Instead, it showed signs of escalating.
In addition, in order to prevent the Fetal Garment Cult from resurfacing in the defeated nations of the Turbid Current, the Church imposed strict religious control on several countries after the war. A large number of Judge were established in several countries, and otherworld inquisitors traveled through the streets and alleys, arbitrarily arresting ordinary people on trumped-up charges. Several countries fell into an era of religious terror that lasted for a hundred years. During this period, countless people chose to flee overseas to escape the horrific religious persecution, and these people also became a constant source of new recruits for the pirates.
The defeated Sea Abyss Church in the war also found an opportunity in this rampant pirate activity. They began to extensively contact the major pirate leaders and refugee representatives, secretly recruiting them. They also used their powerful abilities at sea to warn the major pirate leaders of the locations of Church strong individuals and warships, cover for them, and even use currents to hide them.
Under the operation of the Sea Abyss Church and the cooperation of other branches of the Placenta, the pirate leaders gradually became not completely without resistance against the Church and the encirclement of the countries on the Main Continent. They also began to gradually grow stronger, and even produced great pirates with Scarlet level Captains.
The end of the pirate era was still due to the Church's policy adjustments. Seeing that the Placenta might rise again through pirates, the Church finally began to reflect on its policy problems. The hardline Judge faction, which had been dominant in the Church and held the right to speak, gave an opportunity to the Redemption Faction due to its long-term inability to solve the pirate and Placenta problems. The Redemption Faction seized this opportunity to exert its influence, taking advantage of the Pope's return from the upper realm to defeat the Judge faction at the Great Cardinal Council and gain dominance over the pirate issue.
Afterward, the Redemption Faction influenced the Church to abolish the terrifying religious policies that had long shrouded Iweig and other defeated nations of the Turbid Current, dismantled numerous Judge, and released a large number of suspected criminals from prisons. In a short period, over three hundred thousand people were pardoned. They also worked to have the Church issue an amnesty, declaring to all pirates and settlements in the Conquest Sea that as long as they returned to the faith of the Three Saints now, they could wash away the sin of apostasy of themselves and their ancestors, and past offenses would not be pursued. As long as they were willing to repent, even the great sin of apostasy could be pardoned.
As soon as this amnesty was announced, it had an immediate effect. The basis for the existence of pirates in the Conquest Sea was immediately destroyed. There were no more religious refugees fleeing from Iweig and other countries. Countless thousands of "sinners" drifting in North Wu and the islands of the Conquest Sea set off to return to their homes. After all, for most people, they just wanted to find a safe place to live and survive.
After destroying the source of the pirates' troops, the Church, led by the Save the World Faction, began to use both carrots and sticks against the other major pirate leaders. Through divisive tactics, they successfully provoked conflicts between them and the Sea Abyss Church. Finally, they offered amnesty to some and besieged others, ultimately eliminating the pirate forces in the Conquest Sea on the surface.
Although the Turbid Current War only lasted for a few years, its impact was extremely far-reaching. From the 10th century to the end of the 12th century of the Saint Calendar, which began with the Turbid Current War, the Conquest Sea and even the world's oceans were in a pirate era rampant with pirates. Finally, under the Church's policy adjustments, the pirate era was declared to have ended.
And the great pirate who was finally granted amnesty was Edward. Gibbs, and Moncarlo was once the stronghold of this great pirate, a pirate city meticulously built. After being granted amnesty, this pirate city also began to change with the times.