April 12, 1174, in the King's audience chamber in the city of Muxi.

A month had passed since the Protestant founding ceremony. Todd sat at the table, looking at the teardrop-shaped earring in his palm, listening absentmindedly to the monks' reports.

"Your Majesty, look, this is the agenda for the first Protestant ministerial meeting."

Looking at the thick stack of papers handed to him by Brother Joe, Todd glanced at them casually and then handed them back to him: "You and Moore will be in charge of this matter. I won't interfere."

Joe touched the bald patch on his head, revealing a troubled expression.

Todd sighed. "Regarding Protestant matters, if there are any uncertainties, we can use a democratic decision-making process to resolve them. By the way, did you receive the donation I asked Huggins to transfer to you?"

"We have received the donation from the royal palace, but Your Majesty, you donated so much money at once, it's really..."

Todd waved his hand dismissively: "I made it clear at the ceremony that the Protestant Church will not collect taxes or sell indulgences; all funds will come from donations. Now that the sect has just been established, funds are certainly tight, so consider this donation as seed money."

Hearing Todd's words, Brother Joe wiped his eyes with emotion.

"There's something else I need to ask you. How's the registration of Protestant members going?"

“From the end of the Protestant ceremony until today, in this past month, the citizens of Muxi City have been flocking to the cathedral. Even though we have added 300 lay Christians to register church members and printed tens of thousands more registration forms, the demand still exceeds the supply.”

Todd nodded and then asked, "Leaving aside the citizens of Muxi City for the moment, how enthusiastic are the kings and nobles about becoming Protestant citizens?"

"As of yesterday evening, members of the royal families of twenty-seven kingdoms had applied to join Protestantism, and this number is increasing every day."

"Twenty-seven? Where are these kingdoms geographically located?"

"Most of them are kingdoms of the Western Diocese, and some are kingdoms of the Central Diocese."

After hearing the monk's explanation, Todd understood the current situation.

Those kingdoms near Muxi City naturally had little burden in joining Protestantism; but those kingdoms near the Church of the Father and the Orthodox Church had some geographical concerns about converting to Protestantism.

Todd said to Brother Joe, "In terms of recruiting believers, increase manpower and expand our influence to try to convert more people to Protestantism. If funds are tight, you can submit another application to Huggins, and I will make another donation."

Watching Brother Joe leave the room, Todd began to ponder the Protestant Church's next expansion model.

Relying solely on religious dissemination and the transmission of faith will inevitably result in an extremely slow spread. Ultimately, the only way to compete with the Church of God the Father and the Orthodox Church for followers is through coercive force.

However, traditional warfare methods are definitely not feasible.

After all, Protestantism and the other two denominations share the same Bible as their guiding principles, making them closely connected religions. A hasty military action would inevitably provoke discontent among believers and panic in the secular kingdoms.

Thinking of this, Todd called Harkins in: "If I remember correctly, there's an external operations team under the entire Muxi'an Bureau?"

Huggins nodded and said, "That's right, the captain is 'Lone Wolf' Randall."

"Randall, that name sounds so familiar."

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten? It's that Lone Rock City man with the 'regeneration' ability. Back then, in order to create public opinion, you specifically cultivated him as a mutant hero. Later, after the wars in Twilight City, I brought him and some other more active mutants into the entire Twilight City organization as an external action team."

Todd asked with great interest, "Tell me, what did they do?"

"They once served as scouts and protectors around Twilight City. To protect the fleeing aliens, Randall led a group of like-minded aliens in carrying out numerous assassinations and obstructions against the Inquisition's army, ensuring the smooth passage of refugees. During the Silver Ring War, they spontaneously organized themselves to infiltrate the barbarian alliance and bring back firsthand intelligence. And during the North Island campaign..."

Todd laughed and said, "Tell that Randall I want to see him."

Huggins nodded: "I'll go find him now."

Two hours later, Todd summoned Randall in the kingdom's garden.

Todd still sees a resemblance to the man in the past in his appearance, but the trials and tribulations of the past years have transformed the man who once wept bitterly in the confessional into a qualified soldier.

"His Majesty."

Randall bowed deeply to Todd.

Pointing to the chair opposite him, Todd, who was sitting in the gazebo, said, "Randall, if I remember correctly, you used to be a hunter?"

"Yes, I live in Lone Rock City and make a living by hunting."

"So what about your team? What are they good at?"

"Kimberly is an expert in medicine and poisons, Cheryl is highly skilled in stealth and investigation, and Barbara is a genius in rhetoric and disguise..."

Upon hearing a familiar name, Todd abruptly interrupted Randall: "Barbara? Is it just a coincidence of names or is it someone else? I remember she was from the Goldfinch Theatre Company..."

Randall nodded in confirmation: "Barbara is an actress with the Goldfinch Theatre Company."

Harkins said to Todd with some surprise, "Your Majesty, don't you remember? Randall's alien squad used the Golden Lark Theater as a cover, and carried out its operations in other countries through touring performances."

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