Sitting in the Grand Master's office at the Knights' headquarters, Todd once again read the sacred document sent by the Church. The document, six pages long, affirmed Todd's achievements, praised the Knights of Twilight's performance in the Battle of North Stone, and subtly urged the Knights to secularize.

When Todd received the document two weeks ago, he couldn't understand why the Church was so eager to urge the Knights of Twilight to become secular.

Logically speaking, the Knights of Twilight's attitude towards alien species and their use of prohibited weapons such as gunpowder should have angered the Church. Why then did they receive such a document from the Holy Ministry?

Todd had also convened a high-level meeting of the Knights of Twilight to discuss the Church's attitude and the contents of the documents with everyone. However, to his disappointment, among the high-ranking members of the Knights of Twilight, Rachel was good at strategy, Cumberland was proficient in tactics, and Kendi was obsessed with technology. Others were either combat experts or good at internal affairs, but a politician with a broad vision and the ability to understand the power dynamics and strategic layout was nowhere to be found.

The deeper meaning hidden behind this document remains a mystery, and no one can offer a reasonable answer.

Since they couldn't figure things out, they decided to take it one step at a time. The high command of the Twilight Knights reached a consensus: secularization was imperative. Establishing a country with an independent political system would not only allow them to assimilate the occupied territories but also free them from the shadow of the church, gradually gaining autonomy and independence.

Soon, Muxi Town began to make intensive plans for the establishment of the kingdom.

The ceremony's flow, the celebration's preparations, and the personnel arrangements were all straightforward, but one aspect presented a challenge for everyone. During his coronation, the king should have received the blessing and crown from an archbishop-level clergyman. However, as a theocratic ruler, Todd, in addition to being king, was also recognized as the Son of God. Where could they find suitable clergy to conduct this ceremony of "divine right of kings"?

After some discussion, it was finally decided that the crown would be placed on the stone platform under the Holy Cross, and Todd would kneel on one knee in front of the cross, take off the crown, and put it on his head.

The coronation ceremony of the Knights of Twilight Kingdom lasted for three days, from the initial military parade to the crowning ceremony, the knighthood, and finally the celebration.

Besides the Knights' formidable military strength during the parade and the lavish spectacle of the celebrations, several other things have been repeatedly discussed:

First, as the secularized monarch of the Knights of Favonius, in order to strengthen centralized power, Todd abandoned the common system of titles and fiefdoms, and instead restored the early Kingdom's system of official positions and salary distribution. The only title retained was that of a knight, all knights were granted by the king, and all knights were loyal to the king.

Second, after the ordination ceremony, Todd delivered a speech that would later be known in history as the "Prologue to the Reformation." The speech consisted of three parts: first, emphasizing the loving and all-encompassing nature of the Father through doctrine and scripture; second, declaring that all heretics had the right to freedom of movement within Mussey and would not suffer persecution such as trials for heresy; and finally, rehabilitating the heretics, rejecting the unjust term "posthumous child of the devil."

Third, given that the town's population has exceeded 10,000 and the Knights Order has completed its nation-building, Todd officially upgraded Twilight Town to Twilight City and announced the long-term plans and goals for the royal city.

After the establishment of the Kingdom of the Knights of Twilight, the royal capital was still under construction, so the king's council hall was moved to the grand hall of the Knights' headquarters. Unlike before, Todd's position was moved from the head of the table to a high pulpit. His chair was also replaced from an ordinary armchair with a magnificent throne handcrafted from precious camphor wood.

He raised his seat, changed his chair, and put on a royal robe. Even though the coronation ceremony had been over for several weeks, Todd still couldn't quickly adapt to his new role. Sometimes he would blurt out things like "the Knights" or "as Grand Master," and whenever this happened, Cumberland, standing below him, would remind the superior to correct himself with a loud cough.

“Let’s talk about the military situation in the surrounding area first.” Todd glanced at the people around the table below, still feeling a sense of unreality, as if he had been transported to another world. Two years ago, he was just a poor, struggling monk in a monastery, and now he was the monarch of a country.

Cumberland stood up, his brow furrowed, and looked at the report before him: "There are a few things. First, according to intelligence provided by Morgan, some tribes in the northeast of the North Island are secretly contacting the barbarians across the sea, and may launch an attack on the 'Claw Tribe' and the 'Black Skull Tribe'."

"Secondly, in the Fatima Empire, one of the two major southern empires, Prime Minister Saladin spent six months eliminating the internal strife without bloodshed and officially became the Caliph of the Fatima Empire."

“One last thing…” Cumberland paused for a moment, glanced at Todd, and continued reading, “Information indicates that the Church and its allies have signed a peace agreement with the Silver Ring Kingdom and the barbarians.”

Todd was startled upon hearing this and asked Cumberland, "Peace treaty? When did that happen?"

"Judging from the timing of the intelligence, it was probably about two weeks ago."

"Two weeks ago? That was right after the kingdom was established?" Todd thought about it for a while and finally understood the church's sinister intentions.

In the past, the Knights of Twilight were nominally the Church's army, and Twilight Town was Church territory. The Church watched this power slowly rise, but had no way to control it. There were two reasons for this: First, Twilight Town was separated from Church territory by the Silver Ring Kingdom and the barbarians, so the Church's army could not exert military deterrence and could only guide behavior through official documents; second, the Knights of Twilight had single-handedly repelled attacks from the Silver Ring army, barbarians, and pirates. In the Church's eyes, this was a force that could be used, and they were unwilling to give up, yet they had no way to do so.

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