When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

#515 - Holy Oil and Magic

After dealing with the trivial matters of the Holy Proclamation Hall, Horn rested for ten minutes before setting off again for the Lubyanka Monastery.

After more than half a year of research, the Cheka(契卡: Soviet secret police) had finally successfully developed the first batch of holy oil.

Sitting in the carriage, Horn watched as the walls of the Lubyanka Monastery on the mound grew closer and closer, and the several holy musket cavalrymen next to him were so nervous that they couldn't speak.

Horn couldn't help but find it amusing that, in the eyes of most Jeanne d'Arcburgers, Lubyanka was clearly demonized.

"Your Excellency," René said with a meticulous bow to Horn as he got out of the car, "please follow me."

"What is the quality of the produced holy oil?"

"It's very strange, I'll take you to see and you'll understand." Regarding the legitimacy of the Salvation Army, René didn't say much.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, René kept him in suspense, leading Horn and his party through the monastery's courtyard garden.

Following René into the attic, there were several large pots and tables filled with copper alchemical instruments.

On the ground were two large boxes, filled with jars of holy oil.

The production process of these holy oils is very simple, which is to pour a lump of holy oil into holy water, and then chant scriptures to it every day.

After a month or two, the holy water will gradually become muddy, and then a layer of solidified white grease will condense on the surface of the water.

Mixing these white greases with herbs can create the key props for using all divine arts and blessings - holy oil.

Horn once suspected that holy oil was the source of divine power, but there was no evidence to prove it.

Regarding the source of divine power, not only Horn, but the monks had no clue.

They knew how to do it, but not why, as long as they followed the book, applied holy oil, and performed the ritual, they could use the blessing.

The special thing about this extraordinary power is that there is almost no physical sensation.

For example, witches can directly feel the existence of magic power and use magic power to construct spells.

For example, knights can clearly feel the rhythm of their muscles and breathing, which has allowed them to create countless extraordinary martial arts.

But monks can't, most of their divine blessings are obtained by the exhaustive method.

They rely on literal rituals and recitations, never having a direct experience, so they cannot invent and innovate.

The holy light and echoes in the scriptures can only be imagined.

What Horn felt most absurd was that these monks and priests hardly needed any training to transform from mortals into extraordinary beings.

Wizards need to meditate, knights need to train, and monks don't even need to drink potions.

Entering the monastery, reciting scriptures every day for seven or eight years, and practicing familiar rituals, they can use blessings.

As the familiarity with the rituals and age increases, the power will naturally increase.

Breathing exercises still require training, but monasteries only rely on reading.

Speaking of reciting the Gospels, many priests also recite the Gospels every day, and there is not much difference between churches and monasteries, but priests cannot use the divine arts of blessing.

Many devout nobles and fanatics are more active in reciting and copying the 《Gospel》 than monks, but they have not been seen to gain the power of blessing.

It's as if there is an identity recognition system that can filter out strange things like Horn.

Horn initially believed that the criteria for this "identity recognition system" were faith and piety, but thinking about the actions of those monks and priests, he felt it wasn't.

After testing many times without success, he suspended this waste of manpower and resources.

Anyway, the current monasteries can stably produce monks, so it's good enough.

After giving up the research on divine arts for about half a year, until Ludwig mentioned a secret during a chat, he regained his interest in blessings.

This secret is very simple.

If monks leave the monastery, even if they maintain the same pious life as before, the power of blessing will not disappear, but it will not increase either.

So monks always move around the monastery and never leave the monastery too far, especially those monks who have mastered extraordinary power.

With new clues, Horn planned to send people to investigate, secretly conduct characteristic investigations and statistics on the monasteries in the territory, and even build a monastery himself, trying to train a batch of his own.

However, he first wanted to test whether the monasteries occupied by their group of "heretics of the Holy Path" could still be used?

"It can be used, but it can't be used."

"Why don't you explain it more clearly?"

René beckoned to a timid monk, who used to be the liturgical priest of the Lubyanka Monastery and was very familiar with the production of holy oil.

"We are following the original method in every step, and these Cheka(契卡: Soviet secret police) lords can testify," the old monk rubbed his messy hair, "but the holy oil produced is getting worse and worse, the first two batches were still usable, but the third and fourth batches are almost unusable."

"Take me to see." Horn strode towards the direction of the big pot.

Arriving at the edge of the pot, a A grass-like shape -shaped cross was immersed in the water, and several monks were sitting around the pot, constantly chanting words.

Clearly there was no fire source or heat below, but small bubbles were constantly emerging from the pot.

Looking at the bubbling pot, Horn's brow furrowed tightly.

Could it be that the monastery can really recognize who lives inside?

Horn looked at the big pot for a long time, and then checked around, but still had no clue. The process was too cumbersome, and he was not sure whether it was really as magical as the monks said.

"Go back and get four small monasteries, use the controlled variable method I mentioned before, and investigate carefully to see where the problem is."

………………

After visiting the holy oil production at the Gulag Monastery, Horn returned to Jeanne d'Arcburg, just in time to catch Catherine's boat leaving.

Laborers carrying goods came and went in front of the pier, and the night watchmen formed a human wall in front of the trestle.

Standing at the pier, Catherine, carrying a Jeanne d'Arcburg-made briefcase, turned around: "It's okay to send me here, thank you for taking the time to see me off."

"You're so formal, it feels like an old man saying goodbye to a child." Horn replied with a smile.

Catherine's smile froze, and she immediately retorted fiercely: "After all, I have to look down at you every time, it's hard not to think of you as a junior."

"……There's no point in you saying that." Horn denied somewhat exasperatedly.

In this era, his height of 1.7 meters is not short, and is considered tall among ordinary men.

It's just that apart from Silov, all of these witches are tall and lanky, which makes him look short.

"Okay." Catherine glanced at the rising sails, "I should go."

"The affairs of Rapid Falls City are all up to you." With a smile gone, Horn waved goodbye to Catherine, who was standing at the end of the trestle.

"Don't worry, I will definitely not disappoint you." Catherine also waved her hand, turned and walked towards the boat.

But just as Catherine's boots landed on the boat, an ear-piercing sound came from far and near.

"Doo doo doo——"

This sharp whistle made Horn and Catherine stunned at the same time. They looked at the river, but saw a shuttle-shaped boat shuttling back and forth between the barges.

The waves stirred up almost capsized the boat several times, but the boat still managed to reach the shore.

A moment later, several pale-faced Salvation Army war monks climbed ashore before they could rest.

They ran towards the stables, and after running seven or eight steps, someone pointed to Horn's side in surprise and shouted: "Your Excellency is over there, no need to run."

What's going on? Horn frowned. Could it be that Prince Condé launched an attack?

"What's going on?" Horn greeted those people, while Catherine followed closely.

The black-clothed, black-hatted military monk straightened the hat on his head: "Your Excellency, urgent news from Rapid Falls City, three days ago, the Abbot of Brago Monastery, Ludwig, was assassinated by unknown persons."

"What?!"

Horn's surprised exclamation coincided with the sound of Catherine's briefcase falling to the ground.