Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 1580 - 895: National Church Conflicts

Chapter 1580: Chapter 895: National Church Conflicts

The Saints Battle Group is currently one of the nine founding groups of the Empire.

This group is always closely tied to religion. Currently, the most widespread text in the Empire, regarded as the Bible by the National Church, the “Emperor’s Holy Words Record”, was recorded, created, and interpreted by the Father of Genetics of the Saints Battle Group, Son of God.

Ten thousand years ago, after the Emperor ascended, during the civil war that decided the future fate of the Empire, the Saints Legion was a supporter of the loyalists. They have always prided themselves as the most steadfast followers of the Emperor’s will, worshiping the Emperor as a god, following his will, and firmly believing that the Empire should be governed by mortals themselves.

After the civil war ended, the Saints Legion also accepted the “Star Warrior Codex” written by the Son of God, Robert, and split up.

After the split, their scale was not as large as the Infinite Corps, but still, in the Empire, they were the group with the second-most sub-groups.

Besides them, there is the Punisher Legion, which has about the same number of sub-groups as the Saints. The Golden Knights rank fourth. Combined, these four families account for about seventy percent of all Empire battle groups’ sub-groups. The remaining five groups together account for less than thirty percent.

And the Saints, including the sub-groups of the Saints, have several significant characteristics.

They are fanatic religious followers, closely linked to the National Church. It is rare for Interstellar Warriors to be canonized as ’Living Saints’ by the National Church, but nearly 80% of the Saints’ Battle Group Leaders are. The remaining 20% have a bad or even poor relationship with the National Church, but nonetheless, after their deaths, they are conferred posthumously.

The Saints and their sub-groups also always fight for the interests of the National Church; conversely, the National Church always provides support to the Saints and their sub-groups.

The Saints Battle Group is also the friendliest towards mortals among all the battle groups.

Except, their friendliness comes with conditions.

This group is quite persistent in proselytizing. It is said that during the Great Expedition when the Empire was founded, the Saints Battle Group was so obsessed with proselytizing that the expedition’s progress fell short of expectations, and they were rebuked by the Emperor. Later, they understood that fighting for God was the best way to spread faith, and thus they courageously moved forward.

So, when facing mortals, it depends on whether the opposing party is a believer. If they are believers of the National Church, believing in the Divine Emperor, the Saints will be relatively friendly; the more devout, the friendlier.

But if they are not believers, then the Saints’ coldness is not just simple indifference. They believe that all humans in the Empire should be believers of the Divine Emperor, and those who do not believe are seen as heretics.

However, different Saint sub-groups have somewhat different attitudes toward this aspect.

Using the Saints as a benchmark, they are considered neutral: they have requirements for faith in the National Church, but it does not matter which sect is believed in, as long as it does not alter, distort, or even abandon the “Emperor’s Holy Words Record”, it is acceptable; if they are latent believers, they do not bother, at most being indifferent; regarding the Sect of Mechanics, they show respect, as long as their deity, the God of All Machines, is also the Emperor, it’s not a significant problem. Non-believers, however, are well-guided, preached to, and if they still do not listen, they are considered obstinate enemies deserving of physical extermination.

Hmm… this is the middle tier. Fortunately, within the Empire, those who do not believe in the National Church or the Divine Emperor are very few. After all, they are at most indifferent to superficial believers. If one indeed encounters them… just a little pretense will do, generally, the Saints cannot be bothered to quibble with mortals. If they refuse to pretend at all and stubbornly stand their ground, it is assumed they do not want to live.

Using them as a standard, some sub-groups are more ’enlightened’ than the Saints. Their ties with the National Church are particularly less, appearing more like ordinary battle groups, but especially devout and fond of proselytizing, yet not fanatical, not interfering much with the outside world, mainly focusing on self-devotion.

There are also more fanatical ones that pursue proselytizing daily or cleanse heretics, engaging in many actions within the Empire that could be considered outrageous and widely criticized.

Other types include those with a particularly close relationship with the National Church, almost to the point of being considered its lackeys.

With a considerable number of sub-groups under the Saints, naturally all types are present.

No matter the type, they share one inescapable trait: religious belief.

Whether it is fanaticism or self-disciplinary practice, or a deep relationship with the National Church, they are all specific manifestations based on this religious foundation.

This is something that is hard to avoid, even in a newly expanded battle group using the genetic seed quota of the Alliance leveraging the Saints.

It seems that this is something ingrained in their genes.

This is the greatest difficulty in integrating the Saints Battle Group into the Alliance.

Gu Hang originally thought that after signing a series of cooperation agreements, the Saints would already be in hand.

But in reality, the Saints did not appear in the battle group interface.

Clearly, just signing agreements, with the Saints Battle Group following the Alliance’s command militarily, is not enough for the system to recognize.

The independence of the Saints is still very high.

Politically, they are in a cooperative relationship with the Alliance;

Economically and in terms of self-development, they are still the masters of the Mercifat Star Domain, different from those miserable battle groups reclaimed by the Alliance. The Mercifat Star Domain was swiftly regained by the Saints after the Catastrophe Era and can still stably provide resources for the battle group. Whether it is replenishing troops or obtaining equipment, they can obtain from the local area, and their demand from the Alliance is not particularly high.