naaapseattle #666 - Secret Party Registration Act
#666 - Secret Party Registration Act
“Oh, Mr. Butler, I have admired you for so long. Although I am a man, who says a man can't love another man?”
“Yes, I love you too.”
“This… perhaps I have come at the wrong time.”
“No, Sir Knight, your timing is perfect.”
In the next second, three bloody heads impaled on a spear collided face to face, the cultist holding the spear even pulling out the tongues of the three heads, flinging them haphazardly at each other.
“Hahahaha—”
“My turn to play, move aside.”
Seated around the fireplace and chestnut table, the cultists roared with laughter, slapping their greasy palms on the oily tabletop, spilling beer from their cups all over the table.
The once quiet and elegant knight's hall was now filled with over a hundred cultists.
They were draped in bright robes, tied with colorful headscarves, and wore bone beads around their necks. Some had even taken off their shirts, revealing chests covered in tattoos.
They sat on chairs, hugging their knees or cross-legged, loudly clamoring and shouting, the stench of bad breath, smoke, sweat, and alcohol mixing together and assaulting the nostrils.
The tapestries on the walls had long been replaced with the flags of the Black Serpent Bay cults—spiderweb-like hexagonal war flags, with bizarre mystical symbols beside them.
The crooked silver candlesticks were almost broken in two in the scramble, and the cult leaders stepped barefoot on the table, grabbing bread and lamb chops with their bare hands.
Only when the master of ceremonies stood at the door and shouted, “His Excellency, Hoen Garral, grandson of the Savior's Army; Rouann III (Lourles), leader of the Rouann Party; Ms. Jeanne, the Lightning Witch; and Mr. Solan, President of the Shadow Society, have arrived!” did the crowd gradually quiet down.
A group of cultists, as if frozen in place, all turned their heads, staring intently at the door.
Hoen, wearing a high-collared navy-blue embroidered jacket, appeared at the door, a gentle smile on his face, waving and greeting the cult leaders present.
Perhaps because the lingering power of the bombardment of Fraser Castle in the past few days had not dissipated, many people did not even dare to breathe loudly, simply lowering their heads and whispering.
In the solemn atmosphere, Hoen did not feel uncomfortable, naturally striding towards the main seat.
However, just as he was halfway there, a cultist suddenly shouted at Hoen, “Papa!”
In this brief moment of silence, the sudden “Papa!” was like a spark falling on a haystack, instantly igniting the atmosphere of the entire hall.
Many cultists burst into laughter, some even shouting “Papa,” “Mama,” and “Grandpa's child” after him, while others cheered Hoen's name.
Solan couldn't help but cover his face, while Lourles continued to smoke his pipe with an experienced air, flapping his short legs towards his seat.
Jeanne, on the other hand, looked at these strange people with curiosity and amusement.
Reaching the main seat, Hoen sat down without hesitation, raising the wine glass in his hand: “Well, I am most pleased that we have captured Fraser Castle today. Come, let me propose a toast first.”
With that, Hoen tilted his head and drank the beer in his cup in one gulp, and cheers immediately erupted in the hall.
Wiping the beer foam from the corner of his mouth, Hoen refilled his glass: “Today, I would also like to toast everyone, because today we are no longer losers, but victors. We have used our own strength to reclaim the land that belongs to us, the dignity that belongs to us.”
Hoen smiled, raising his glass, his gaze sweeping over every cult leader in the hall, who in turn raised their glasses, lamb chops, and dead heads in response.
As the cheers subsided slightly, Hoen continued: “However, victory does not mean the end; it is only the beginning.
We have captured the fortress, but too much of the land in Black Serpent Bay is still occupied, and the people of Black Serpent Bay still live in fear.
I know that the cults have always been the guardians of Black Serpent Bay. You have protected this place with blood and sacrifice, a place of freedom, but I must ask a question—have you really protected it?”
The hall gradually quieted down, and many people lowered their heads.
“The Church and the Knights have repeatedly purged us, burning our industries to the ground and razing our homes to the ground. The people of Black Serpent Bay are uninhibited but undeniably hardworking, yet they are still poor and forced to teeter on the brink of starvation.” Hoen paused for a moment, pointing to the cult flag in the hall. “Have you ever wondered why?”
“Because they are too strong.”
“The Thousand River Valley has only half of your land and less transcendent military force, yet they still expelled the Church, didn't they? That's not a reason.” Hoen shook his head. “It's because you are not united, your strength is always scattered, and then you constantly engage in internal strife, until the Church seizes the opportunity to defeat you one by one.”
“The main reason I came to Black Serpent Bay is to help my former big brother, my current ally, stand up.” Hoen's voice was powerful and resonant in the knight's hall. “Black Serpent Bay needs a united federation! No longer loose factions, no longer fighting on your own, but a union jointly formed by everyone in Black Serpent Bay!”
The cultists looked at each other, wondering what Hoen was going to say next.
“But as the saying goes, you can't travel ten thousand miles without taking the first step.” At this moment, as Lourles and Solan silently stood up, Hoen finally revealed his fangs. “The Savior's Army has already reached an agreement with the Shadow Society and the Rouann Party to implement the 'Cult Registration Act' and the County Joint Council in the Northern County starting next week.”
As soon as Hoen finished speaking, the master of ceremonies walked in from the door and handed copies of the documents to the cultists.
The so-called 'Cult Registration Act' means that starting next week, all cults must register their cult name, location, and member roster.
Only registered cults can participate in the election of seats. Any cult that fails to obtain at least one seat must either be abolished, merged, or relocated.
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Any cults not on the 'Cult Roster' are considered illegal organizations and do not have any legal effect or judicial recognition.
Following the 'Cult Registration Act' is the establishment of the Northern County Council. Any cult members on the registry can run for councilor.
Hoen's distribution rule is based on townships. The cults themselves register the population under their control, and every 20,000 people and their land will be given one seat.
In this way, the hundreds of cults in the eight townships of the Northern County were instantly reduced to less than thirty, and all had to be tied to a certain area.
Small cults that cannot obtain seats must either join other cults or choose to run away.
Given the current situation in Black Serpent Bay, it is basically impossible to implement household registration like in Thousand River Valley.
The reason is simple: Hoen himself is short of administrative personnel and needs to prioritize Thousand River Valley. Where can he spare any for Black Serpent Bay?
Hoen himself can't govern it, so he has to let them govern themselves.
He can only rely on this method to get the cults to voluntarily register the population and land.
But don't think that the cults can falsely report the population and land to increase the number of seats. In the future, the apportionment of taxes and soldiers will be based on the roster submitted by the councilors.
The county council is composed of councilors from all townships in the county, and the county council can decide on taxation, apportion conscription, and propose laws.
In this way, Black Serpent Bay will change from village-level cult autonomy to township-level regional autonomy.
The difference is that, due to the urgency of the current war situation, the priority of laws is central, county, and then township.
That is, if there is a conflict of laws, then whoever has the higher priority will be listened to. There can be no possibility of local laws resisting federal laws.
“Let me put it this way.” Hoen snapped his fingers. “Whoever can bring a roster of 20,000 people and a land registry to the Changdi City County Office is a councilor.”