However, as the war escalated and their strength became apparent, the actions of the Twilight Knights far exceeded the Church's tolerance. Their acceptance of non-human groups, harboring escaped convicts from the academy, and colluding with pirates from the Northern Island had made the Church realize that Twilight Town was gradually slipping out of control and becoming a malignant tumor that could not be ignored.

Thus, what appeared to be a conspiracy targeting the Silver Ring Alliance was actually aimed at the Knights of Twilight, and was gradually orchestrated by the Church.

The Northstone Mine was the first step in this conspiracy, a "bait" to lure the Twilight Knights into a trap. The deal was to allow them control over all resources in the occupied territory, demanding the knights capture the Northstone Mine within a set timeframe. After the fall of Northstone Fortress, the Silver Ring Alliance lost this vital economic source, naturally making the Twilight Knights their primary target.

The Church's second step was to separate Twilight Town from its sphere of influence. Specifically, they would first encourage the Twilight Knights to secularize and establish a nation, then sign a peace treaty with the Silver Ring Alliance to ensure that when the latter went to war with the "Twilight Knights Kingdom," the target of their declaration of war would be a kingdom, not just an army of the Church, thus avoiding any possibility of violating the peace treaty.

Having figured it all out, Todd gave a wry smile; this time, he had truly been outmaneuvered by the church.

Originally, they thought they could make a fortune quietly away from the eastern battlefield, but in the end, they were still dragged into the vortex of this war because of their greed.

Seeing Todd's expression, Cumberland lowered his voice and reminded him, "Your Majesty, we must be fully prepared; war is coming soon..."