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It took about two and a half days for the ship to reach Strabenher after leaving the strait. On the third day, before the sun reached its highest point, the lookout spotted the port in the distance, and soon the crew began bustling with activity.

As the ship approached the port, the sight of the harbor began to come into view for the ordinary passengers.

The unfamiliar and exotic scenery around the approaching port began to reveal itself. Short, cramped brick houses that looked similar to each other, windmills scattered here and there, breakwaters stretching long on either side of the harbor, and canals spidering out in all directions from the mouth of the Rhine River. And below those canals, the city’s districts lay even lower.

“If a flood hits, it’s going to be chaos,” Hildegard remarked sharply.

Esiocles, standing at a strange angle with his arms crossed, nodded in agreement. But his reaction was slightly different.

“Truly, this city exudes a muscular determination. One can feel the history of its struggle against nature in its structure. The people living here must be resilient,” he said.

As he spoke, Esiocles uncrossed his arms and shifted into an unconventional abdominal & thigh pose. His rectus abdominis, quadriceps, and gastrocnemius muscles pumped and condensed, radiating an intense presence.

Meanwhile, Conra and Maria were mesmerized by the bustling cityscape. Having traveled together and seen many bustling port cities, the scenery of Strabenher held a different kind of vitality compared to what they had witnessed before.

“Wow, there are so many ships!” Maria exclaimed, shedding her usual calm demeanor and showing the innocence of a child.

“To exaggerate a bit, this might be the most bustling city and port we’ve seen so far,” Conra said, smiling at Maria’s cuteness and sharing his thoughts on Strabenher’s prosperity.

‘So cute. My disciple is still a kid at heart,’ Conra thought to himself.

Watching her disciples, Sophia smiled inwardly. It was endearing and amusing to see one of them, usually composed, showing her childlike innocence, while the other tried to act mature beyond his years.

Either way, the ship soon began to dock at Strabenher’s harbor. Passengers needed to prepare to disembark. The wooden gangplank was lowered, and the disembarkation began.

Having reached their destination, Sophia and her group also prepared to leave the ship. It had been a long journey. Reflecting on the many incidents they had encountered along the way, they felt a renewed sense of emotion.

In Marseille, Conra had been chosen by the artifact of Ogmios. They had tangled with Bronze Age pirates, Sphiyagon contracted by the Demon Lord, and even cleared out the underworld. Hildegard had been attacked by demons and faced a crisis. Yet, amidst it all, they had taken Maria as their second disciple, and both Hildegard and Esiocles had achieved dramatic breakthroughs, reaching new stages. Conra’s growth, in particular, had been remarkable.

“The annoying part is that all these incidents, in terms of frequency, are far fewer than what we’d face on land,” Hildegard sighed.

Indeed, most of the incidents that had occurred during their sea journey happened when they docked at ports. This suggested that the influence of the Demon Clan’s schemes was relatively minimal at sea compared to land.

Conversely, if they had chosen to travel by land, they would have been caught up in one incident after another without a moment’s rest. The relentless interference of fate-level misfortune would have dogged their every step.

Of course, this also meant that the Immovable King Wisdom Technique Sophia was teaching was seen as a significant threat by the forces of evil.

“Well, we’ve arrived safely, haven’t we?” Sophia said, stepping toward the distant spire of Strabenher’s church. She swallowed the rest of her unspoken words.

‘If my intuition is correct, things won’t be so simple this time either.’

Following Sophia, who walked ahead with her robes fluttering, were Hildegard, Esiocles, Conra, and Maria. They needed to hurry to the church to announce their arrival and unpack in the dormitory.

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The official name of this lowland, also known as the Netherlands, is the United Duchy of Orange & Nassau. In the past, before the establishment of the Church Order, during the early Iron Age, this land was nothing but damp, desolate wetlands and marshes.

The first to reclaim this land was Duke Charles, the youngest son of Charlemagne, who created the Iron Throne of Rotaringia.

Seeing potential for prosperity in this narrow, inhospitable marshland, he drained the swamps, connected canals between the branches of the Rhine, and built breakwaters and dikes to establish port cities, laying the foundation for trade and prosperity.

The lowlands, originating from the two towns of Orange and Nassau, gradually prospered through the generations under the lineage of Duke William of Orange and Duke Maurice of Nassau.

The lowlands’ true prosperity began when a fisherman named Willem van Bierblit invented a special short knife for cleaning herring and devised a method of preserving them in salted barrels.

By standardizing the materials for storage barrels, the types of salt, the size of net meshes, and limiting fishing seasons, the herring industry of the lowlands skyrocketed into a high-value industry.

“Herring is the treasure of this land. Immediately, the finest salts from Hiberia, the rock salt of the Hanseatic League’s Salzburg, and the Baltic saltworks of the Kalmar Union all converge here. If you want any kind of salt, you can find it in these lowlands,” a proud salt shop employee declared.

His words reflected the pride and identity of the lowlands. Thanks to the herring industry, the lowlands became a central hub for the salt distribution network. Soon, many seeking salt began to flock to the lowlands rather than the salt’s origins.

Having successfully grasped one end of the logistics and processing industry through herring, the people of the lowlands soon ventured into full-scale logistics and transportation. Coincidentally, they were well-equipped with diverse conditions for success in the logistics industry.

The spiderweb-like network of canals, the strategic location connecting Franquia to the southeast, the Rhineland to the southwest, Caledonia to the northwest, and the Jutland Peninsula to the northeast, and the terminus of Rhine logistics—all these factors contributed to the lowlands’ remarkable growth.

However, the true strength of the lowlands lay in their people. The lowlanders, never content to live merely by the conditions given to them, continuously improved their lives, and every attempt at prosperity was never wasted.

The reclamation projects, aimed at expanding the narrow territory and managing the complex waterways, were vivid evidence of humanity’s struggle to conquer nature. The development of ships optimized purely for logistics transportation symbolized the creativity and pioneering spirit of the lowlanders.

The pinnacle was the lowlanders’ commercial ethics, which ensured that no matter the crisis, the transported goods remained untouched. Through many trials and errors, the lowlanders invested tirelessly in building trust in their brand and the premium of their name.

These improvements and innovations continued, and now the United Duchy stands as a commercial hub for logistics and distribution, as well as the wealthiest agricultural nation, specializing in the processing, relay, and distribution of floriculture, horticulture, and dairy products.

Strabenher played a central role in connecting the major ports of the lowlands and was the hub of water transportation where the eastern and western canals of the Rhine intersected. Where logistics gather, people gather, and where people gather, political influence follows. It was only natural that the Church Order chose Strabenher as a foothold to project its influence in the North Sea region.

Strabenher’s church had somewhat unique characteristics compared to other churches on the continent.

Generally, continental churches were somewhat open, with a central space and a radial layout extending outward in a circular fashion. This had both symbolic and functional intentions.

Originally, religious architecture was meant to reveal symbolism and metaphor. The religious buildings of the high priests before the Great Teacher were somewhat majestic and extravagant, with designs that deliberately limited visitors’ sightlines and movement. This was because the high priests used their supernatural status and abilities as tools to assert their power.

In contrast, the church architecture built after the establishment of the Church Order was simple yet neat, open yet restrained, exuding a calm atmosphere. The number of floors was kept low to avoid overwhelming the surroundings.

The spire pointed to the heavens, and the entrance’s patterns symbolized the sanctity of the interior space. In the Church Order’s doctrine, light was the source of blessing and the essence of holiness. Light, being complete in itself, had no need to assert authority. Rather, light should be open to all. People should seek the grace of light and move toward its source, finding calm within.

From this perspective, Strabenher’s church aimed for a somewhat different style compared to other continental church architecture. Unlike the typical churches with low floors and wide circular spaces, this church was built in a layered, circular form with a hollow center around the spire.

Of course, this structure inevitably cast deep shadows within the hollow interior. For a church building following the teachings of light, this was somewhat heretical. However, Strabenher’s church cleverly avoided this issue.

The regularly spaced, open cloisters allowed external sunlight and wind to flow into the interior. Mirrors installed throughout the spire’s walls reflected this external light, spreading it throughout the interior space.

Sophia had heard that this style of church architecture was common in the lowlands.

‘Probably because the land is so narrow.’

Although the lowlands had achieved great prosperity through the efforts of its people, the actual area of the land itself was not large. Even after reclaiming about 20-30% of the territory, the area was no larger than a single duchy in Franquia or the Empire.

Moreover, the lowlands had no mountainous or rugged terrain, and most of the territory had been reclaimed over generations. If not for this, the title of United Duchy would have been embarrassing.

Furthermore, the lowlands were crisscrossed with canals connecting various regions and cities. These canals played a significant role in making the lowlands a central hub for Rhine and North Sea logistics, but they also required continuous investment for maintenance and operation.

The lowlands’ administrative office covered these costs by taxing the lands and properties adjacent to the waterways. Given the already high land prices due to the strategic location, the added tax for canal maintenance naturally pushed for efficient land use.

‘In the end, even the Church Order isn’t free from economic logic.’

While instructing 300 promising clergy from Franquia and the Rhineland in the Immovable King Wisdom Technique, Sophia pondered this in the back of her mind.

Thanks to frequent discussions with the spirit Draig-Haegis, Sophia had achieved significant progress in the Dual Heart Method and Heart Language (हृदय भाषा). Now, even while teaching, she could think of other things in the corner of her consciousness.

Previously difficult-to-convey concepts could now be easily transmitted through the power of Heart Language, making her teaching more efficient.

While the students suffered from headaches and frustration from the overwhelming influx of knowledge and insights, Sophia believed the improved teaching efficiency was worth it.

Indeed, many of the students were already grasping the Immovable King Wisdom Technique. Given this, Sophia was unlikely to give up the power of Heart Language anytime soon.

[Thus, all is empty, yet not empty; there is no self, no other, no emptiness, no form. Realizing this and removing all illusions that cast shadows on the mind is called the cessation of ignorance. The Immovable King Wisdom Technique is a wondrous method that ignites such impermanent, formless, and supreme light.]

Sophia explained today’s teaching of the Immovable King Wisdom Technique through Heart Language, softly emitting the light of the technique. This was to help the students intuitively grasp the technique through the influence of the light.

As the students digested the teachings directly imprinted on their minds through Heart Language, the gentle jade and golden light enveloping the space allowed them to naturally resonate with the enlightened state of Pasa Hyunjung.

“That’s enough for today. This afternoon, proceed with individual practice.”

“Thank you for your hard work!”

Unlike usual, Sophia ended the session early today. She had a meeting to attend soon.

The meeting place was in the middle of Strabenher’s church spire, about the height of a 5-6 story building, or the 4th floor of the church facility.

There were no stairs or ladders to climb the spire. Of course, the spire’s ultimate purpose was as a refuge in emergencies.

The only way to enter the spire was through the cloud bridge connecting it to the surrounding church buildings. Normally, one would have to climb the stairs and pass through the cloisters to the 4th floor, then cross the cloud bridge.

Of course, this didn’t apply to Sophia. Even without her advanced techniques like Mind-In-Action or Void Step, a master of her level could easily leap into the spire as effortlessly as walking from the living room to the bedroom.

But Sophia chose to take the stairs, cloisters, and cloud bridge like everyone else.

‘This should be enough to restrict the movement of any intruders.’

The church building surrounding the spire was highly inefficient in terms of movement. Unlike other floors with open cloisters, the 1st floor had no open cloisters.

As mentioned earlier, the lowland churches consisted of a central spire surrounded by buildings. However, one thing to note was that none of the entrances to the 1st floor faced outward.

All entrances faced inward toward the courtyard. If an outsider wanted to enter the church facility, they first had to enter the courtyard.

In this case, there was only one entrance connecting the outside to the courtyard. The gate blocking the entrance functioned like a drawbridge, sometimes lowered to act as a bridge and other times raised to block the entrance, much like a castle gate.

A canal flowed around the church, encircling it. As everyone acknowledged, the canal was the backbone of the lowlands’ logistics. Some even compared the canal to the lowlands’ veins and arteries—no exaggeration.

‘But what if, in case of an external invasion, the drawbridge is raised to act as a gate?’

As Sophia climbed to the 2nd floor and walked along the cloisters, looking down at the canal flowing outside the church, she pondered.

‘It’s like a moat. Thinking about it, the lowland church facilities are like a fortress.’

The 1st floor, with no open cloisters and only one gate-like entrance, required entering the interior first. This was much like the conditions of a fortress. The canal completed this feature.

To attack a fortress, siege weapons were necessary. And siege weapons couldn’t be placed on a canal.

There was only one staircase per floor, and each staircase was located on the opposite side of the building. If the staircase from the 1st to the 2nd floor was on the east side, the staircase from the 2nd to the 3rd floor was on the west side.

Thus, to move from one staircase to the next, one inevitably had to pass through several church facilities and cloisters. Between facilities like the dining hall, prayer room, and dormitory, there were intentionally open cloisters.

Whether for doctrinal reasons or to draw in sunlight and wind, these open cloisters had to be traversed multiple times to move from one floor to the next.

‘This means that if intruders try to reach the spire’s refuge, their movement will inevitably be exposed.’

There were countless ways to deal with enemies with exposed and extended movement. An unseen enemy was certainly fearsome, but an enemy far away with clearly visible movement was not.

However, this structure alone couldn’t defend against spellcasters or superhumans who had reached the pinnacle of Reverse Muscle Technique and manifested their individuality…

‘Heh, that’s what barriers are for.’

With her awakened spiritual eyes from Reverse Brain Method and Reverse Muscle Technique, Sophia could clearly see the barrier suppressing the spellcasting abilities of those with hostile intent.

 

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