Chapter 198: Reading Changes Destinies

A trap?

Joseph was stunned. This was basically a clear indication.

The meaning behind Boss Lin’s words was probably to remind them that although it was the time to act, they shouldn’t let their guard down because there were hidden traps waiting for them ahead.

Originally, Joseph and the rest were sure of certain victory and hence weren’t overly cautious of the Church of the Dome.

After all, their recent operations had been very successful. The Sun’s Faith was like a spark that wasn't powerful but had a shocking appeal that gradually grew into a raging fire.

After swaying the public opinion and going on the offensive, the Church of the Dome tripped over their own feet in panic. The upper echelons who had closed themselves off for no reason coupled with the exposure of many hidden scandals over the years had resulted in great internal pressure on the verge of erupting.

It could be said that the Church of the Dome was in a state of turmoil and unrest.

Recently, the church had made a bad move. Some fanatics from certain parishes were instigated by the Third Apostle to lobby in the streets. It was only intended as opposing preaching to get those whose faith had wavered to return to the Moon’s embrace.

Unexpectedly, while these fanatics were out lobbying in the streets, so too were those wavering followers who wanted an explanation from the Church of the Dome. Intense words were exchanged and a confrontation between the two groups occurred.

The verbal conflict turned physical and eventually led to bloodshed.

The pressure on the Church of the Dome was so great that the Third Parish's Church closed temporarily and stopped accepting prayers and confessions from followers, as well as interviews and inquiries from people on the outside.

However, the crux was the assassination of the Third Apostle, who was a headless corpse by the time he was found.

This, of course, was all part of Vincent’s scheme. Enhanced by the sun, Athena, a female warrior hailing from an ancient tribe, had executed the killing, and though her methods were a little crude, the results were effective.

The believers of the Third Parish were simply dumbfounded, and the Church of the Dome’s stance of avoiding unsettled their followers, splitting the two factions. As a result, an entire parish fell apart.

The situation in the other parishes were just as bad, just that there were still apostles in place.

On the other hand, the Sun’s Faith grew as rampant as weeds, with followers multiplying rapidly. Believers of the Church of the Dome, who were lost in this confusing period, were absorbed into the Sun’s Faith.

This was because one of Vincent's key teachings was the "Sun and Moon having the same source" theory, which preached that the power of the moon and the power of the sun were one and the same. So if anyone believed in the moon, they could also believe in the sun.

This was basically the perfect excuse to openly poach followers.

He had yet to say that the power of the moon was actually from the sun, but followers with some degree of educational background could fill it in on their own and would believe it without any doubts as believers had witnessed the Sun’s Faith displaying both the power of the moon and the sun.

Vincent didn’t mention his apostasy either. If someone brought it up, he would just smile and keep his silence, leaving the other party to imagine the truth.

Also, since the power of the moon demonstrated by Mu’en was of a higher level, one by one believers began to speculate that Vincent’s so-called “apostasy” was actually an internal plot hatched by the Church of the Dome.

Despite the Church of the Dome’s clergy having done some bad things, there were some good followers that remained faithful when they found out all about this, and in order to preserve their hope and belief in the true moon, they sent Vincent away for that reason.

Now that conflicts broke out and the new faith was finally established, the original Church of the Dome was just like an empty shell. And now, it just so happened that the remnants of belief these supporters had in their hearts coincided with the new faith!

They were willing to believe that the Church of the Dome was just being reborn in this way and weren’t actually concealing the corruption just like they saw it!

Of course, what played the key role here was Vincent’s image of being a good man.

With the evidence that Cherry brought to Claude, once it was made public, the Church of the Dome would surely fall without any chance of a comeback regardless.

But now, Boss Lin’s words alerted Joseph.

Don’t let your guard down!

The Church of the Dome was about to make its second sacrifice, and they were also preparing for their final offensive. It was likely that they were now deliberately showing their weakness while actually concentrating their efforts on setting a huge trap waiting for them.

_ Support us at hosted novel _

Given the power of the Church of theDome, the entire edifice shouldn’t have been falling so quickly, and any effort on their part to control the situation would have made it much tougher for Vincent’s faction.

But the Church of the Dome had opted for languid actions to create the illusion of incompetence.

This meant that they were likely staking it all on one roll of the dice and placing their all on the day of the sacrifice, so these losses basically meant nothing now…

Engaging with the Church of the Dome with this current mindset would inevitably lead to negligence and taking the enemy lightly.

Joseph felt as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water as he was taught yet another lesson.

_ Support us at hosted novel _

He couldn’t help but lament. I really gain something new each time I visit the bookstore, whether in terms of power or whatsoever!

This is only to be expected of Boss Lin!

He walked into the middle of the bookstore and sat at the counter with an enlightened look on his face.

“If it’s a trap of Boss Lin’s, I’ll gladly endure it.”

“...” Lin Jie got goosebumps all over as he sensed the ‘tenderness’ in the way Joseph looked at him.

Don’t tell me this uncle has reached his empty nester phase as well? Perhaps after falling out with Wilde for two years, he can no longer contain his loneliness… And is trying to find a new close friend again.

He was very much a normal, overbearing man when he first came to the bookstore but is now showing his true nature.

According to Mu’en, Claude was constantly grumbling that his extra work was all dumped on him by Joseph and he had to work overtime every day. He was still an upright and kind knight a few years ago, but now swindling funds had become a habit since and he too was a crafty fox now.

All of it was thanks to his teacher’s good example.

But deep down, Lin Jie really wanted to say that while a teacher leads the way, the practice still depends on the individual…

Lin Jie’s gaze was suddenly drawn to Joseph’s hand. The last time he went back, this arm had been empty, but now it was newly ‘regrown.’ It was no longer a mechanical arm but an imitation prosthetic that didn’t look that much different from a normal one.

“Your new arm looks great.”

Joseph chuckled and clenched his fist, declaring, “It’s all thanks to Lady Moon!”

He now followed those believers in calling Mu’en “Lady Moon.” After the previous battle had ended, Mu’en had directly used the Moon’s power to restore his arm and this made Joseph very grateful.

Huh?

What does this have to do with Mu’en?

Lin Jie was stumped by this remark.

He then recalled that young student Mu’en’s had an abnormal learning ability that was constantly developing during this period of time.

She couldn’t have unlocked some sort of biology skill tree, could she?

Although this had nothing to do with him, it didn’t stop him from hawking his bookstore wares either.

With a dry smile, Lin Jie said, “That is how knowledge changes destinies, so to speak. That child just listened to me and read more books in order to get to this level.

“Speaking of, I feel that you have to read more books at the current stage you are at. I have a feeling that you came to get another book this time, am I right?”