After carefully examining the documents and finding nothing amiss, the bishop hands them back to Orak.

  He eyes the group suspiciously. “How did you come through here? Why not enter from the south via Rushing River? Or the north through the Sweet Mountain Range?”

  Orak bows respectfully. “We’re from the Kingdom of Vorry. There was a misunderstanding with Golden Capital in Ika. They refused to let us enter from the north. The southern route through Rushing River isn’t suitable either, due to our conflict with the Kingdom of Ika. We’re not skilled in naval warfare, so if something unexpected happens, we’d struggle to respond in time.”

  The bishop chuckles. “You’re still too young. You underestimate the Holy Spirit Church. No one dares block our requests.”

  Orak doesn’t argue. The bishop’s confidence comes from his position within the Western Federation.

  In the eastern kingdoms, ignorance breeds boldness. Many people are willing to risk everything for wealth and status.

  The bishop then leads them to the church’s residence behind the cathedral.

  In nd-scarce Tule City, the Church occupies over ten thousand square meters.

  That’s just the church and its ancilry buildings. It is where the clergy live and work.

  Nearby lies an even rger area housing the Holy Spirit Church’s armed forces stationed here.

  Over two hundred combat personnel are based there, most of them Church knights, along with some priests and Divine Mages.

  “Church knights” is a general term here; not all hold knightly rank.

  Of the roughly two hundred, only thirty are actual knights; the rest are knight apprentices or squires.

  Leading this force are two advanced knight s, a Battle Knight and a Knight Commander.

  Even so, such a military presence leaves Henwell awestruck.

  Two advanced knights, thirty knights, and over a hundred elite squires.

  Among the continent’s noble houses, even a typical viscount might not command such a force.

  And this is just the Holy Spirit Church’s daily garrison in a remote city-state.

  From this glimpse, Henwell senses just how formidable the Church’s power is within the Western Federation.

  More importantly, this is merely a branch of the Holy Spirit Church on the Forgotten Continent.

  He can barely imagine the depth of resources at the Church’s headquarters on the Abundant Continent.

  This realization makes Henwell even more cautious.

  Facing such a colossal power, he dares not let his guard down for a moment.

  Henwell clearly remembers that Newwood’s main purpose in coming here was to divert the Holy Spirit Church’s attention.

  If Newwood hadn’t stirred things up, and that old bastard Amir hadn’t exaggerated the story, there was a chance Archbishop Atwood might have come to Peace Haven for a look.

  If that happened, Henwell would be finished.

  Although the Holy Spirit Church hasn’t targeted him yet and even shows some favor, Henwell still considers them a potential major enemy.

  After settling everyone in, the bishop personally dines with Henwell and Orak.

  During the meal, the bishop—named Pernas—subtly tries to win them over, especially Henwell, the Grand Knight.

  Only then does Henwell realize what the Iron Knight Bridge badge he received from the church actually signifies.

  This Holy Cross Star badge is only worn by Iron Knights.

  Because Pernas saw Henwell wearing this badge and being so young, he suspected Henwell and his group were impostors.

  Within the Western Federation, every Iron Knight of the Holy Spirit Church is well-known.

  There’s no record of Henwell among them, let alone someone so young.

  The badge Henwell wears now is a gift from the church headquarters’ archbishop and high-ranking knights.

  That says a lot.

  Most obviously, it means Henwell has great potential to become an Iron Knight.

  Such a young talent is someone even the city’s resident church bishop would want to court.

  Especially since Henwell is favored by Archbishop Atwood.

  In the future, Pernas might be able to leverage Henwell to gain favor with the higher-ups.

  Henwell is also clever; he uses his youthful image to create an illusion for Pernas.

  He lets him believe Henwell is just a lucky minor noble lord. After all, Henwell really is a noble lord.

  From Pernas’s perspective, Henwell has some modest wealth and controls a decent territory.

  This pce is so far west that news from the east rarely reaches here.

  The Western Federation mainly focuses on royal families and the super-rich nobles.

  They might have heard of Peace Haven, but don’t know much about it.

  Especially someone like Pernas, a Holy Spirit Church member who clearly doesn’t care about continental nobles.

  Henwell is surprisingly young to already hold the title of Grand Knight, which leaves Pernas thoroughly impressed.

  What Pernas can’t imagine is that Henwell’s true renown in the East isn’t for his personal combat skills.

  It’s for the vast territory and army under his command, as well as his cunning political maneuvers.

  Even more unreal to Pernas is that a knight lord could control tens of thousands of square kilometers and command nearly a hundred thousand elite troops.

  Henwell enjoys pying the fool, listening as the bishop boasts about the Western Federation’s situation.

  But this sly fox knows exactly what Pernas is doing—trying to win him over for more support, hoping to get recalled to the Federation’s headquarters.

  Henwell can’t help but reflect: as long as there are people, there’s desire; as long as there are people, there’s conflict.

  Even under the watch of so-called gods, humans still scheme and compete.

  For Henwell, this is actually good news.

  He fears fanatical zealots more than greedy or arrogant ones. Stubborn, brainless zealots are the real troublemakers.

  From Pernas’s stories, Henwell gains a rough understanding of the Western Federation.

  As its name suggests, the Western Federation is a coalition of multiple city-states.

  Only seventeen city-states hold real power, divided into northern and southern factions.

  The southern faction is backed by the Groias Empire, consisting of nine city-states with fiercely strong armies.

  Each city-state commands a legion that ranks just below the continent’s elite but above average forces.

  To put it simply, their strength rivals Fabio’s Iron Wall Legion.

  Additionally, the south fields a 6,000-strong knight order and a 15,000-strong elite corps known as the Bulwark Guardians.

  The northern faction is controlled by the Holy Spirit Church, with eight city-states.

  Their military strength is comparable, though they ck such rge knight orders.

  The Church’s Guardian Knight Order numbers only 2,000, but their skill and equipment surpass the Empire’s knights.

  Moreover, the Church commands a 10,000-strong Shining Spear legion, even stronger than the Empire’s elite corps.

  Though the Church controls fewer city-states, it holds the Federation’s core—the Guardian City.