Chapter 1069: Chapter 1012: Priest Xie Li, Wake Up!

The dock at Merlin Town is not a magnificent stone-built port, just a few rough wooden walkways extending into the river.

The heavy fir planks creak and sway in the water, covered in slippery green moss.

The supporting wooden piles are driven deep into the river mud, enveloped in barnacles and streaks of stains left by the rising and falling water levels.

Usually, this small dock is rarely visited, often only wild birds land.

If you want someone to help load and unload goods, you have to hire them temporarily from nearby villages.

However, at this moment, after the call that the ship has arrived, not only refugees but also townspeople wearing mismatched linen shirts and thin wool garments rushed over.

Refugees cursed, "It’s not even your ship, what are you pushing for?"

Yet, the crowd still surged towards the dock, even unintentionally pushing a dozen people into the river.

It wasn’t until a few Night Watchers emerged from the court that order was maintained.

Dragged by the crowd towards the port, Sani lowered his head and spoke to Wolin, "Do you think we should carry out the original plan?"

Wolin was initially bewildered, his expression shifting uncertainly for a moment before he clenched his teeth and said, "Let’s still go to Falan; this Holy Alliance is just a transit station..."

Before Wolin could finish speaking, the crowd erupted in cheers, drowning out the rest of his words.

He looked up and observed, "What’s all the uproar about?"

At this moment, a man in a white shirt under a thin wool vest, with a half-shoulder swordsman’s cloak draped over his shoulder, nimbly jumped off the deck.

Behind him was a frail youth, his eyes swollen from crying.

With his arm around the youth’s shoulder, the man walked up to the crowd, waved enthusiastically, and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I have good news to announce. You’ll soon read it in the Advisory Council’s gazette.

After two years and seven months of reasoned debate, the trial of Gree’s patricide case has concluded.

Thanks to the efforts of myself, Falkovar, and many other representatives from the Advisory Council, we proved that this good lad is innocent!

As for the truth of the matter, I suspect it involves a certain prominent local family, but I won’t name names..."

"The Winterhal family!" a townsperson shouted indignantly.

"No, no, don’t make wild guesses." Falkovar raised his voice to clarify for the Winterhals, nodding in the direction of the voice.

Listening to Falkovar announcing the case, Huyuren next to him began to chuckle gleefully, "The Night Watch Hall in the neighboring village is in big trouble now."

"Why?" Anselm couldn’t resist asking despite not wanting to see his gloating expression.

"We all know it, don’t we? Gree wouldn’t harm a mouse, let alone kill his father?

It was someone from the Winterhal family who accidentally killed his father, and then tried to cover it up by framing Gree.

Gree had over a dozen people provide alibis, but the Night Watch there still prosecuted.

What does this prove?

Look at the military police walking off the ship, they must be going to have a word with that Night Watcher-In-Charge."

Actually, this case is far more complex than Huyuren’s words suggest, with new and old local forces clashing repeatedly.

In various places, Priests-in-Charge fought over water resources, finances, judicial matters, and then battled local families over people and laws.

This case resulted from the Priestly Order’s legal disputes with the local families.

It almost escalated to the ry Court Barracks’ Supreme Court, where Horn would decide personally.

But fortunately, it was ultimately concluded in the high court with a joint hearing by the Judgement Court, Judgement Court, and Purification Court.

"A noble kills a commoner, and they need a trial? Why not just bury them by the roadside? And the noble lost the case?"

Wolin felt that in three days in the Thousand River Valley, he’d seen more astonishing things than he had in the past three years.

"It’s not noble." Huyuren corrected, "They were once noble, but now they are commoners."

"What good is stripping them of their noble titles?" Wolin gestured anxiously, "They’re still nobles."

"What gibberish are you talking about?" Huyuren scratched his head.

Actually, Xie Li could understand some of what Wolin was saying, but as a rope maker, he was tongue-tied and bad at expressing himself.

In essence, he was saying that stripping noble titles and fiefs was useless because they held significant local sway.

Nobles long controlled knowledge, military, and administrative resources, and these hierarchies aren’t dismantled quickly.

The Holy Alliance Government can’t do anything without their consent; they remain nobles, don’t they?

After Xie Li "translated," Huyuren finally understood, though he remained skeptical and disdainful:

"That’s true, but they’re not as exaggerated as you make them out to be."

In the Holy Alliance, with many feudal powers and agricultural privileges dismantled, significant properties have fragmented.

The current "nobles" are mostly wealthy folks with wide social influence.

What was once reserved for Barons and Knights, "Mr.," has been classified as a respectful term for ordinary adults in the "Saint Alliance Dictionary."

"Your Excellency" refers to elders, while "Your Majesty" and "Your Holiness" are reserved exclusively for the Saintess and Pope.

With gradual influences from truth newspapers, plays, and minstrels, the hierarchy enforced by noble force has gradually been undermined.

Even someone like Huyuren, a common farmer, feels less intimidated by the nobles.

This rather frightens Xie Li, a nation formed by those unafraid of nobles and gods.

Yet thinking about Horn’s tactics, he couldn’t help but applaud.

Horn seems to allow these old nobles to exist, letting their influence spread across the regions.

But in reality, he’s gradually weakening noble families’ influence through the three-tier court system.

No need for specific targeting; as long as this judicial system operates effectively, it will gradually diminish noble influence.

If this continues, in time as the older generation passes, local nobles’ foundations will be eradicated.

No wonder many local noble families are striving to transform.

As for emigrating to other countries, it’s not even possible; in 1449, Horn pushed through the "Property Transfer Act" amid chaos.

Transferring assets above 5,000 pounds to foreign countries incurs a 75% tax.

Watching Falkovar being lauded by the crowd amid flowers and applause, Sani’s gaze was entirely captivated.

"Who is that? A local master artisan? Or a member of the Town Hall?"

"No, he’s a local representative; he sells furniture as his main job and is a member of the fencing club."

"Can we be representatives?" Wolin felt silly for asking, realizing immigrants like them wouldn’t have that right.

"Of course you can."

Unbeknownst to them, Halifax stood behind them and spoke warmly to Sani, "You can run in the future."

"Surely there are conditions." Sani spoke dully but accurately.

"Of course there are conditions, but they’re not as hard as you think." Halifax held up three fingers.

"First, you need to be a voter yourself, meaning literate, adult, registered as a resident, with a three-year tax record.

Second, you’ll have to pass the Order’s review and communal guarantee, proving you have no criminal record and aren’t a spy.

Finally, you’ll need to save some money and have enough free time to handle daily responsibilities as a representative."

These conditions don’t seem hard to meet, and these representatives even have a role in judicial correction.

This way, they’d never have to face what happened in Eagle’s Claw Bay again... Even if their opponent is a noble, they’d have public support.

Will they have such an environment in Falan, though?

Sani gave Wolin a look, and the two brothers knew tacitly what it meant.

"Or work in Xiaochi City, save for two years before running away?"

While the brothers quietly conspired, Halifax apologetically addressed the group, "I have bad news."

Everyone turned their attention to him, and Halifax spoke remorsefully and heavily.

"Due to a sugar route dispute, two ships collided; the rest are fine, but yours sunk.

Your luggage is being salvaged, but not everything might be recovered; the current’s quite strong. Regardless, Ludwig Relief Association will cover all losses..."

"Boom—"

"Hey, Priest Xie Li? Priest Xie Li, what’s wrong? Priest Xie Li, wake up! Priest—"

"Quick, call a doctor; Priest has no heartbeat!"