Education
Although she knew her husband was hiding something from her, Tiff’s mistress still listened to him. Tiff had great power backing him, which caused her to feel slightly afraid.
With the ability to forcefully snatch something from the northern nobility, he wasn’t someone she could spy on.
“Let’s go to the village office!” After she left, Tiff brought his soldiers to a building near to the village.
This was the village office, the building Tiff provided for public use. He could take orphans in here, many of which were refugees. It made him look like a benevolent man.
These kids were so young they couldn’t work, and they were destined to die of hunger quickly. Usually, nobody outside of the churches would take them in, and the disaster in the north had created an uncountable number of them. The few churches alone wouldn’t be able to take them all in.
A black-robed person with a silver mask was standing in front of the village office’s wooden door. The moment he saw this person, he greeted him without hesitation.
If anyone else saw the viscount calling someone ‘Master,’ they would definitely gape in shock. Someone with the authority to have a viscount bend the knee in a bow was a great noble, at least a marquis!
However, the knights behind Tiff did not even blink as they did the same, “Master!”
Most of them were trusted aides that had personally battled with Leylin before. There were also a number of subdued devil worshippers, so they obviously knew who Leylin was.
“You’re doing well, Tiff!”
The person who had arrived here was obviously Leylin. Through the astounding speed at which Shade City had moved in the spatial turbulence, he arrived in the north quickly and arrived at his base.
From all he had seen and heard on the way, he was rather pleased with Tiff’s recent work.
“Everything is going as per Master’s instructions…” Tiff answered humbly.
“Let’s enter together! I want to see what you’ve achieved…”
Leylin waved his arms, entering the office with Tiff.
On the way, there were children, teachers and nannies around bowing towards Tiff. By the looks of it, he had amassed a great reputation.
In private, Tiff continued to transmit to Leylin, “In order to avoid the priests and reduce expenditure, we only have five village offices like this. We’ve taken in almost a thousand children, and the average age is from 9 to 12, which is the prime time to educate them…”
Tiff now brought Leylin to a window, through which many yellow wooden desks and chairs could be seen. Tens of young girls listened attentively as a scholar taught. There were simple letterings on the black board, which meant this was a class to teach them how to read. This scene immediately had Leylin recalling the schools in his previous world.
“In addition, after seeing that we’re giving them an education, some peasants have gotten their children to come and listen as well. I’ve agreed to that…”
Leylin listened closely, nodding occasionally as he saw the glint in the children’s eyes within the classroom. That was hope!
“After studying for a while, the children who are believed to have the aptitude and perseverence will enter the higher-grade…”
Tiff brought Leylin deeper into the office. Nearby, Leylin could sense undulations from powerful beings monitoring the area, which meant security was tight.
“Divine studies… is a class about the gods. Here, I would like to introduce you all to a god, whose godly name is Kukulkan…”
……
“Praying and meditation are compulsory courses for priests…”
The things being taught here were somewhat immoral, which was why the students were all orphans who had been trialled and would stay here. They used something like primary school education as a model.
The scholars who passed down the information all wore black uniforms, and there was something about their aura that was contradictory to their roles.
After seeing Leylin, they immediately trembled and made to greet him, but Leylin waved his arms to stop them.
Exactly. These people who were instructing children with aptitude to become priests had all been devil followers, and had high priest rankings!
With Tiff’s help, Leylin had long since subdued all followers of gluttony in the north.
He then did a round of selections and allowed only those who had gone through several trials and were truly loyal to nurture the future reliable priests!
Yes, all of those village offices and the education provided was all a pretense! In actuality, this was about selecting children and nurturing numerous priests. These would be the people providing Leylin with energy to become a god!
Something like this was far too sensitive, which was why Leylin had no intentions of doing this in the outer seas on his own territories. Here, there was no issue.
Firstly, due to the invasion of the orcs in the north, many refugees had lost their homes. The situation was very complicated and could be said to be a disaster. That had resulted in a large number of orphans, and turned into the best natural circumstances for Leylin.
Tiff being a Legend, those teaching the advanced parts being devil followers Leylin had subdued and the place where all this happened being Tiff’s land, Leylin could do anything and create layers of seals that made it difficult for information to spread.
Most importantly, even if discovered, Leylin could just abandon this place. He could just cut off all ties easily, but there would be no damage to his foundation!
By the looks of it, Tiff was doing very well.
“We’re limited by the qualified teachers we have as well as secrecy. This is the limits of what we can do…”
Tiff looked a little ashamed, evidently because he was unable to do more for the feathered serpent god, Kukulkan.
“That’s alright. You’re already doing very well…”
For the gods, the faith from priests was an essential part. They were beings that would be the prime mode of communication with followers, which was why they were very important. Outstanding priests had to be learned scholars and even needed to have some grace. Whether it was the peasants at the bottom of the hierarchy or nobles who were all about poise, they needed to be able to deal with all these people well.
These were all seeds!
Once the church stopped being in the shadows and came to the light, the other students might not become priests, but they could also be workers at the church. They would be the core strength of the church.
In this age, it was not so easy to have elites who possessed knowledge. If loyalty was required as well, then there was no way but to nurture them the whole way.
The inverted image of the Targaryen appeared in Leylin’s eyes, causing Tiff to kneel reverently.
“My divine class has been expanding and is beginning to touch upon the domain of slaughtering. The prayers should also change slightly, including information to do with killing…”
Leylin now looked very much like a oracle, like some powerful being had possessed him.
“Understood, my master! You are the stars in the sky, and the serpent of the world that will devour everything. Murder shall be your sharpest sword…”
Tiff had lived for many years after all, and with just a moment, he managed to come up with a prayer.
This was obviously something temporary. There would need to be divine scholars and high-ranked priests to discuss and refine it, before leaving it to Leylin to make a decision.
After all, this was something important and could even change a god’s factiond domain, as well as the start of a godly war.
However, Leylin was now doing something very sneaky anyway, so he couldn’t really care less.
“Mm, notify me once everything’s confirmed. Also, prepare a quiet room for me and then summarise all the information gathered regarding the north…”
“Understood!”
Tiff respectfully withdrew, though his eyes now showed his excitement, “Is he finally making a move?”
He had always been the most enthusiastic about expanding the feathered god, Kukulkan’s organisation.
While he had tried his best to hide it, taking in a thousand children and providing them with the chance at an education was astounding. With some hidden context, the nobles of the north were now fearful.
In the shadows, there was already a powerful resistance both in the shadows and in the open. Tiff knew that it was impossible if he wanted to expand here. The only method would be to force the way through!
Leylin’s actions pointed to making a huge ruckus, which caused the hot-bloodedness in Tiff to rise.
……
“Hm, looks like the orc empire and werecreature tribes reconciled…”
Tiff moved quickly. After enjoying a great dinner that was made with the style of the north, Leylin quietly skimmed through intel regarding the north in his study room with the rays from magic lights.
With the A.I. Chip’s help, he could read the documents incredibly quickly. With a slight glance, he could practically read ten lines and did not need any rest.
It was only after he put down the last piece of parchment that Leylin closed his eyes slightly, the information forming a network and showing him what had happened after he left vividly.
The largest change to the north was obviously the orc empire, formed from the remains of the Silverymoon Alliance.
Under Emperor Saladin’s lead, the orcs stepped into the human’s northern district that their ancestors never had the ability to do, and formed an empire of their own. Saladin’s reputation amongst the orcs shot through the roof, and he could possibly become a god.
While the orc empire worked hard, the orc gods had also obtained immense benefits, especially the orc god Gruumsh. It was said that he had advanced in the path of the greater gods, and there were a few other orc gods who had increased their rank, becoming a lesser god to an intermediate god, which boosted the orc gods’ strength by a large extent.
On the other hand, the resistance that the orc gods had also increased.
Not only did the greater gods, Weave Goddess and Tyr become their arch enemies, there were also the human gods who believed that the orcs were powerful enough that they needed to be kept under control.