237: Chapter 237 One Month Later! The Church of the Dawn of the North Retreats South!

One month later.

Gino City, Dawn Cathedral.

The autumn wind blew through the sycamore trees in front of the cathedral, scattering golden leaves across the ground and spinning them in circles across the flagstone plaza.

Deep within the cathedral.

A private prayer room, closed to the public.

The murals on the walls depicted the scene of the dawn dispelling darkness, with golden light pouring down from the clouds, reducing demons to ash within its radiance.

In the center of the prayer room was a long table covered with a pristine white tablecloth, with several high-ranking clergy members seated on both sides.

At the head of the long table sat an elderly man dressed in deep red episcopal robes.

He was the highest-ranking official of the Gino County diocese.

Cardinal Cole Randall.

He looked around at everyone present, then spoke and asked:

"How is the current collection of faith power going?"

Upon hearing this, Chief Priest Adrian, who was sitting to his left, raised his head and answered with a grave expression:

"Reporting to the Bishop, the total amount of faith power collected... has dropped to less than one-tenth of the same period in previous years."

"Furthermore, even this less than one-tenth of faith power has become impure and chaotic, mixed with a large amount of impurities eroded by the power of the Red Moon."

"Two novice priests have developed symptoms of mild mental disorder due to contact with the contaminated faith power. They have currently been quarantined for observation."

As his voice fell, several suppressed gasps sounded in the prayer room.

An elderly chief deacon muttered in a low voice: "Has it reached this extent already..."

Bishop Cole remained silent upon hearing this.

His gaze fell upon the holy flame on the table, watching the slightly flickering flame as if he were pondering something.

A moment later, he spoke slowly:

"Half a day ago, the College of Cardinals in the Imperial Capital officially issued an order. All churches in the North will withdraw from the North in succession, including us."

He paused, then said in a deep voice:

"One week from now, all churches in Gino County will officially close, and all clergy members will withdraw south with the team."

As his voice fell, the prayer room fell into a dead silence, and no one spoke.

In fact, the high-ranking clergy members present had already vaguely guessed this result from the Church of Dawn's recent series of actions.

When the Holy See began to secretly move away holy relics, transfer archives, and send Temple Knights to the south in batches, they had already realized that this day would come sooner or later.

But when it truly arrived, that heavy feeling was still unbearable.

The faith power of all believers in the North had already been contaminated by the power of the Red Moon.

This was an irreversible fact.

The cultivation of clergy members relied heavily on faith power, and the purity of that faith power was crucial.

If they continued to stay in the North, they would either decline in strength due to a lack of pure faith power or gradually fall into corruption after absorbing the contaminated faith power.

Neither outcome was what the Church of Dawn wanted.

The silence lasted for a long time.

Finally, a young priest sitting at the end of the table could not help but speak, his voice trembling slightly:

"Bishop, what will happen to those believers?"

"They still do not know the truth about the Red Moon... If we just withdraw like this, they..."

Bishop Cole did not answer upon hearing this, but only said softly: "Go back and prepare."

The young priest saw this, opened his mouth, but eventually lowered his head and said nothing more.

Everyone stood up one after another, bowed to him, and filed out.

The sound of footsteps faded in the corridor, and finally, only Bishop Cole remained sitting at the long table alone.

He looked down at the holy flame.

The crimson at the edge of the flame seemed to have expanded a little more.

He reached out and gently pinched out the wick.

The prayer room fell into complete darkness.

"May the Dawn guide us..."

...

The next day.

The church held a rare meeting for all clergy members, and Bishop Cole officially announced the decision to withdraw to clergy members of all levels in public.

Once the news was out, there was an uproar in the church.

Many young clergy members and grassroots monks showed expressions of disbelief.

Most of them were locals of the North.

Their parents, siblings, and friends and family all lived on this land.

They were born in the North, grew up in the North, and served the Goddess of Dawn in the North.

Now, they were being told that they had to abandon this land and withdraw south?

Someone could not help but stand up and ask:

"Bishop, what about our families? Our parents, our siblings, they are all still in the North! We cannot just abandon them like this!"

Bishop Cole stood before the altar, his expression calm.

He looked at the agitated young monk, was silent for a moment, and then said:

"This is an order personally issued by the College of Cardinals, and there is no room for negotiation."

"All clergy members must complete the withdrawal within the specified time."

"As for your families, the Holy See will provide each clergy member with spots for three relatives to accompany them."

Speaking of this, he paused:

"Of course, you may also choose to stay voluntarily..."

The young monk saw this, opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but seeing Bishop Cole's calm and ripple-less eyes, he understood—

This was not a negotiation that could be bargained over, but an order that had already been set in stone.

He fell silent, slowly lowered his head, and his shoulders trembled slightly.

After the meeting, the clergy members walked out of the cathedral hall in twos and threes.

Everyone wore a complex expression on their face.

Some were bewildered, some were indignant, some were numb, and some were silently shedding tears.

But no one spoke up to question it again.

Because they all knew the current situation in the North.

The main hall soon emptied.

Bishop Cole watched those departing figures, remaining motionless.

For a long time, he turned around and said to Chief Priest Adrian, who was still standing to the side:

"Notify Count Golden Flame."

His voice was calm, but carried a hint of imperceptible exhaustion.

"Invite him over for a talk."

...

The Church of Dawn's decision inevitably spread within a short half-day.

The expressions on the merchants' faces changed from disbelief to panic.

The Church of Dawn's withdrawal meant that the protective magic array of the Church of Dawn would stop operating. What this meant in the current North went without saying.

Some rushed straight to their warehouses, preparing to move their assets to the south before the situation completely spiraled out of control.

At the same time, the major nobles in the city immediately convened family meetings.

Some began to contact relatives in the south.

The departure of the Hawke family from Ice Lake City was already a signal, and now, the Church of Dawn's withdrawal was an even clearer declaration.

They did not know why the situation had developed this way, but they knew it was time to make a choice.

Before long, this shock had spread to every corner of the city.

The taverns were crowded with commoners discussing the matter.

Some were loudly arguing about whether to follow and leave, some were whispering curses at the Church of Dawn's heartlessness, others were silently drinking their sorrows away, and some had flickering gazes...