Chapter 431 Witch or Saint? That is the question.

The Franks are still planning to use the Savior Army as their agent, but the Savior Army is extremely busy.

After all, Horn fought a quick battle this time, from Black Mountain Castle to Xiaochi City and then to Rapids City. It was such a fast battle, but he didn't have time to finish it.

After all, capturing a major city does not mean taking over the entire county.

For example, the northwestern part of Kasha County is still under the control of the church, while the two townships in the north of Lower River County are still in the hands of the church.

The Salvation Army did not continue to advance, but chose to rest.

The first is that the several towns in the north of Lower River County are densely populated with castles. If the knights decide to defend the city, elite infantry like Horn will not be able to withstand the consumption.

The red dragon breath that could be used for siege had been almost completely consumed, and Horn only had a dozen or so left. Together with the remaining ones in the Rapids City warehouse, there were only a little over twenty left.

You have to use this sparingly, otherwise if Prince Kongdai comes, it’s hard to say whether the ordinary fireball crossbow will be effective.

The second reason was that Horn was delayed by the ruins of Rapids City. After all, this was the capital city of Lower River County and one of the only two imperial free cities in the Thousand Valley.

This place is home to the most elite population in the entire Lower River County, including all kinds of craftsmen, literates, clerks, accountants, notaries, and so on.

In the absence of further territorial expansion,
So Horn needed to control Rapid City first, and then integrate the two townships in Lower River County, establishing basic rule before discussing other things.

So the first step after the war is to resettle the refugees.

The Saviors were experienced in this matter, having practiced it many times in Longsand County and even on Autumn Dusk Island.

The routines are all the same: troops move in, warehouses are opened to release grain, household registration is organized, work is used as relief, cities are cleaned up, gangsters and scoundrels are cracked down on, etc.

In just five days, most of the dilapidated tiles and rubble in Rapids City were cleared away, and all kinds of dead bodies were either burned or transported outside the city for burial.

Collective funerals presided over by priests were held one after another, and the prisoners of war were classified into different categories. Most of the nobles and guards were locked up to be used to control the local noble power.

The lowest-level peasant soldiers were given a few dinars for travel expenses so that they could return home as soon as possible.

Some citizens have already moved back into their original homes, but nearly one-third still have to set up tents or sleep in other people's yards.

You know, the port area accommodates a population of more than 10,000 people. In the previous war, the port area was the first to be destroyed.

Rapid City is a city that grew up wildly without any urban planning, so the wooden structures seem to be stacked layer by layer.

It was fine before, but after the Red Dragon's Breath fire, flames spread one after another, burning down half of the city. Later, the knights entered the city and set fire again, causing it to burn again.

In addition to the fighting and the vine wall, most of the inner city of Rapid City was burned down.

This is one of the two major problems that bother the citizens of Rapid City: it will take a long time before the houses are built, so where should they live?
Moreover, a large number of workshops were burned down in the fire, and they had no funds to rebuild them. Even if they could be rebuilt, it would still take a long time, which meant that a large number of craftsmen were unemployed.

Business activities in the entire Rapids City, including the nearby Rapids City economic circle, came to a complete standstill.

The second problem that troubles the citizens of Rapid City is the witch Catherine of Magdeburg.

By the fountain in the official residence square, the stone statue that once gushed out clear spring water was smashed to pieces by the rising blood-sucking vines. Among the wounds on the ground, there was only one hole that was still leaking a stream of clear water from time to time, as if it was full of urine.

Dozens of corpses were hung on the flagpole at the edge of the square. They were either soldiers and knights who looted in the city, or citizens and merchants who betrayed the city.

The Salvation Army has always been cruel to traitors, and when they hold public trials every night, they often drag local citizens into the proceedings.

Many traitors and knights were beaten to death on the stage by the citizens who rushed onto the stage. Blood, foam, feces and urine were all over the ground in red, white, yellow and green.

Citizens carrying shovels, hammers and brooms walked around the square, covering the exposed loose loess and leveling the broken tiles bit by bit.

Using a shovel to dig a piece of finger out from the gap in the floor tiles, a young citizen stood up by pounding his waist, looked at the charred city in front of him, and sat down listlessly on the edge of the fountain platform.

"Venitien! You are resting again. Why don't you work for a while and move some floor tiles?" The middle-aged porter team leader Montrowa was furious when he saw the young man.

"I just finished, what's wrong with taking a break? You're so annoying."

Monrova frowned as he looked at the depressed young man in front of him, feeling something was wrong.

Yesterday, this young man with an accounting background was working happily. What happened today?

Handing the broom to someone else, Monroy sat down next to Venetian: "What's wrong with you? Something was wrong this morning."

Looking at the people who were still cleaning around him, Monroy leaned over and lowered his voice: "I heard that the Salvation Army wants to publicly try Catherine's administration. Is that true?" Monroy looked at him blankly: "Who told you that?"

"That's what people on the street say. It's said that a priest from the Salvation Army let it slip," Venetian described vividly. "They want to put Catherine on trial based on the opinions of the whole city, but..."

"But what? What did they say?" Montroy became curious.

You know, the entire Rapid City citizens have very complicated feelings about Catherine.

On the one hand, they admired and were grateful to this businesswoman who led them to wealth, but on the other hand, they found it hard to accept that she was a witch.

However, the story of him feeding the vampire vines and trying to sacrifice himself to save the people in the city continued to ferment and spread widely during these five days.

During this period, the citizens gradually split into three factions. The radicals demanded the expulsion of Catherine and re-election of the ruling party, while the Catherine faction demanded that Catherine continue to govern.

Of course, there are the most ostrich-like people like Montroy, who don't listen or ask, and pretend to know nothing.

"They said that the conservatives of the Salvation Army felt that the radicals in Grand Rapids were too conservative and decided to sentence Catherine to death by burning at the stake in a public trial..."

"What a joke!" Montroy jumped up suddenly.

If Catherine was expelled to Black Snake Bay, Monroy would feel guilty but could still accept it. However, if the Savior Army wanted to burn Catherine to death, Monroy would never allow it.

Catherine is not only the leader who leads Rapid City to prosperity, but also their savior. Putting aside her identity as a witch, her character is absolutely noble.

If this happened to an ordinary believer, he could possibly be canonized after death, but why did he get burned to death by the Salvation Army?

"What else?" A rogue citizen raised his head, as if he had heard the conversation between the two. "Shouldn't the witch be burned to death? I think she deserves to die."

Monrova was controlled by the words of the bruised and swollen scoundrel for four or five seconds. This man who was not good at speaking immediately rolled up his sleeves and strode towards the scoundrel.

"Hey, hey, you're going to use violence since you can't win the argument?" The scoundrel immediately pointed at Monroy and cursed.

"What kind of logic are you talking about? Lady Catherine saved everyone in the city. Does she deserve to die?" Grabbing Montroy's arm, Venetian was so angry that his face turned red, and he cursed at the man.

"That's not something I know. I just know that she is a witch, and witches should be burned to death. She will kill everyone in the city."

"She saved the whole city!"

“The Lord says that those who do not know how to be grateful are not worthy of living in this world.”

The other citizens who were listening could not help but gather around and attack the scoundrel.

"I am ungrateful, so what? Keep the witch. The church is coming. Do you want to be slaughtered again?"

Everything was going well at first, but when the rogue changed the subject to the church and the previous war, many missionaries who were already filled with anger during the war could no longer hold it in.

The citizens who were originally carrying floor tiles and cleaning the streets gathered together, pointing at the scoundrel and shouting at him.

The scoundrel was outnumbered, and the gossip cultivated by the common people made those around him who were cursing him very angry, but they could do nothing about it.

After several verbal battles, even though the Savior Army had issued an order prohibiting fighting, five or six citizens could not help but yell and pounce on the scoundrel.

"What? What are you going to do?"

The fight did not last long. The crusaders who came upon hearing the noise pulled the men apart with flails in their hands. After understanding what had happened, they dragged the scoundrel away.

"I told you not to fight! I'll spare you this time. I'll talk to your captain later."

Before leaving, the scoundrel, whose face was covered in blood, was still shouting:
"Just wait, we will sign a joint letter demanding that Catherine be burned to death, you ungodly believers, just wait!"

Looking at the scoundrel being dragged away, while feeling happy, both Venetian and Monroy had a flash of anger and guilt in their eyes.

Catherine nearly died trying to save Rapids City, and it was already very tormenting for these citizens to expel her for their own benefit.

But they wanted to burn Catherine who had managed to survive, and this touched the bottom line of these citizens.

The most terrifying thing is that the Savior Army doesn’t know much about Rapid City after all. Most of these scoundrels are criminals who were previously punished by Catherine. If the Savior Army really believes what they say, it will be really bad.

"How about we write a joint letter as well?"

(End of this chapter)