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The Church’s retaliation was faster than anyone had imagined.

On the morning of the paper distribution, troops of soldiers investigated every newspaper stand – acting as if they were hunting a mass murderer. With the City of Snow as their base, they expanded their investigation outward. Every house was ransacked, and if a Free Mage paper was spotted, an appointed priest would show up for a "talk".

At this point, politicians were shaking in their boots. Many kept their doors closed with the excuse of having suddenly come down with a disease. They could predict that a storm was coming.

The impact of the newspaper was dramatically reduced due to how fast the church reacted. The majority of the people had yet feast their eyes on the paper and before it was cut off. They would never know what was written inside.

Because there weren’t any stationed troops in the remote areas that were further away from the City of Snow, the ban only reached them later. This gave Benjamin’s paper-selling subordinates enough time to evacuate.

"The soldiers have just arrived. They destroyed all the papers we hid in the newspaper stand."

Back in Rayleigh City, Varys entered Benjamin’s room and reported.

Benjamin nodded.

He thought that the Church would continue to shrink into its shell, but it seemed that they were not willing to tolerate it any longer.

He knew that the Church would eventually take precautions to avoid being on the bad side of the public at all cost. Benjamin was well prepared for their reaction.

Honestly speaking, the Church reacted very quickly. However, it did not matter - it was like tossing a pebble into a pond. No matter how fast one could retrieve the pebble, the ripples have already started spreading outward. There was nothing anybody could do to stop it.

Those who had already seen the papers now witness with their own eyes the validity of paper’s content. The armed forces belonged to the royal family and not the Church. But now, soldiers were sent out in droves to protect the Church. This was enough proof that the Church was in control of the palace.

The Church was still amid garnering power and influence over the political scene in Fereldan. This move was fatal to them.

"Do we have enough spare papers?"

Benjamin asked as he snapped back to reality.

"Yeah, there is enough. We still have tens of thousands ready to be distributed later!" Varys smiled.

They looked relaxed and didn’t seem at all affected by the Church’s actions. The Church sending soldiers to confiscate the newspapers was a downright predictable move.

"That’s great." Benjamin nodded, "Issue the order: Tonight, have all the mages proceed to the next step. If the church wants to destroy our papers, we’ll let them destroy as many copies as they like."

He had seen this coming from a mile away, which is why he had pre-ordered sixty thousand copies to be printed.

Varys responded, "I understand."

Varys nodded and left. Benjamin took a deep breath and turned to look at the quiet street outside his window. He let out a cold smirk.

What the Church has done could no longer be reversed. If they dared to murder those petition mages, then they should have been ready to face the consequences.

Benjamin would grab onto this one matter for dear life and blow it out of proportion.

The Church was still not aware of how dangerous gossip was.

Before long, it was evening. To the majority of Fereldan, it had not been a peaceful day. The commoners were in a daze, confused about what was going on, while the higher-ranking officials were living cautiously, afraid that they may be accidentally dragged into this mess.

However, a group of officials who had read the papers and understood the gravity of what was going on secretly gathered in a small village outside of the City of Snow.

"Sir Mikel, I thought you were with the Church... I’m surprised to see you here. Your acting was impeccable and even Bishop Victor trusts you."

"You flatter me. Aren’t you the same? If I didn’t see you here today, I would have still gone on thinking that you were Bishop Victor’s right-hand man."

In a dark room, a few high-ranking officials gathered together and exchanged words with one another on their circumstance.

Mikel sighed.

But of course... the ones who were gathered here right now were the slickest of the slick.

The usual, straight old fellows would be the Church’s first target. Because of this, they had either relocated or taken cover somewhere secret. Because of this, they wouldn’t be able to take part in this gathering.

"Sir Pace, are you absolutely sure that no one here today is a spy?"

Somebody asked sheepishly.

Mikel heard this and looked over with concern.

This was indeed an important question. If they were discovered by the bishop, they would be done for.

"Don’t worry, I have contacted everyone here with great caution." Prime minister Pace, who was the organizer of this gathering, stroked his long white beard and said, "If I was any less cautious, there would be more than five of us here."

Mikel nodded in agreement. That was certainly true.

The prime minister could not be where he was today without his cautiousness; it was his most distinctive trait.

"Right, let’s cut all the crap now." Prime Minister Pace sat down and panned the room, "I have already verified the things said in the paper. Those mages were indeed murdered. There are witnesses who saw them approach the palace before the date they were reported missing."

Everyone went silent upon hearing the news.

They didn’t seem too surprised. It looked like they had all individually confirmed the incident.

"I also know that under normal circumstances, everyone here would like to act on their own. But, the Church will not give us this luxury." The prime minister continued, "Right now, the only reason we are alive is because they need us to help suppress the rebelling officials. Once they have full control over Fereldan, then we are of no more use to them."

"It is exactly as you have said, sir." Mikel sighed and nodded.

They weren’t actually all that patriotic, it’s just that if this were to continue, they wouldn’t be able to protect their own luxurious lifestyle. The mansion in the city, their vast acres of land... all of that would be stripped away the second the church deems them disposable.

They too had heard of what happened to the nobles in the Kingdom of Helius.

All the officials nodded in agreement to the prime minister’s words.

"We cannot sit and watch this go on any longer." The prime minister slammed the table fiercely, "Those old stubborn mules, we have fought with them all our lives but now... it is time we stood up for ourselves and stop Bishop Victor from continuing with his tyrannical acts."

The officials nodded and murmured their agreement.

"If we have come to an agreement... Sir Mikel, you know Mage Benjamin, right?" The prime minister suddenly turned to look at Mikel, "I have heard of his name from the bishop and I have come to realize that this mage was their biggest fear. He is also the person who published the papers."

Mikel was a little surprised but remained calm.

"You must get in contact with him." The prime minister said seriously, "If we wish to cast the Church out, we will require his help."