Chapter 865

【 THE SITUATION DETERIORATES 】

John, the esteemed missionary of the Goddess of Life, had been captured by the Inquisitorial Knights of the Eternal Church.

With all the players who had been guarding him dying and subsequently respawning, news of the incident quickly spread throughout the playerbase, and from there, across the territories controlled by humanity.

Over the past few months, John had already made a name for himself across the continent through his preaching and missionary work.

To many newly converted human believers of the Goddess of Life, he was almost like a mentor, guiding them out of their former lives of hardship and despair and introducing them to the teachings of the Goddess. As a result, news of his capture soon caused a tremendous uproar throughout the various human nations.

For a time, believers of the Goddess of Life everywhere were filled with righteous indignation. The relationship between the Church of Life, the Eternal Church, and the imperial nobility had already grown increasingly tense due to the persecution of the Goddess of Life’s believers. Now, the capture of John had pushed the situation even closer to the breaking point.

In the slums of Larona, the newly converted human believers were furious as they pleaded with the players who had accepted Old John’s quest and remained there to continue spreading the faith.

“Sir Elves, please! You must lead us in rescuing Pastor John! He was the one who saved us from darkness and brought us the faith of the Goddess!”

“That’s right! The Eternal Church is corrupt and depraved. Pastor John will surely suffer their brutal persecution!”

The believers were visibly agitated. To them, John was not merely a missionary who had preached the faith of the Goddess. He was the person who had first given them hope when they had been living in despair, and the thought of him being tortured or executed by the Eternal Church filled them with rage.

However, compared with the worried and enraged human believers, the players in Larona seemed even more furious about Old John’s predicament.

Their eyes were red with anxiety, and they gnashed their teeth in anger. They looked as though their own father had been captured.

“Everyone, rest assured! We definitely won’t let the Eternal Church have its way! Pastor John is a Divine-favored Saint of the Goddess, a righteous and benevolent mentor. Rescuing him is also our duty!”

The players spoke with righteous indignation and conviction.

To the believers around them, the players’ determination was both reassuring and inspiring. After all, these mysterious elves had always appeared willing to stand against the forces that persecuted the believers of the Goddess of Life.

Of course, whether they were truly acting out of righteousness or simply worried that the NPC who had issued their quest had been captured, causing the quest to disappear along with their chance to complete it, was anyone’s guess.

Meanwhile, in the cities along the border between the Holy Maniya Empire and the Kingdom of Aries where Old John had once stayed, the believers of the Goddess of Life who regarded him as their spiritual leader were likewise thrown into an uproar.

“Those evil knights of the Eternal Church actually kidnapped Pastor John, the representative of Her Majesty the Goddess! Those bastards only know how to bully the weak and fear the strong!”

“What did Pastor John even do wrong? His only goal was to bring us poor people light and hope. Why are they persecuting him? Is it just because he worships a different god?”

“So what if our patron gods are different? Where were they when the demons attacked? Where were they when the nobles oppressed us? Only the great Goddess sent Her elven army to help us!”

“They’ve fallen! The Eternal Church has truly become corrupted! They have completely forgotten their original purpose!”

“We must rally ourselves! We must gather together and protest against the Eternal Church!”

The believers of the Goddess of Life were furious, and they soon began gathering in large numbers. Before long, crowds had formed outside local Eternal Church temples, shouting slogans and demanding the release of Pastor John.

More and more people joined the protests as word spread. What had initially been scattered expressions of anger soon developed into organized demonstrations, with believers marching through the streets and calling upon others to stand together against the Eternal Church.

In some places where tensions were particularly high, the situation quickly spiraled out of control. The protesters, overwhelmed by anger and resentment, even began violently storming the churches.

Alas, most of them were ordinary people. No matter how angry or united they were, they were still no match for the heavily armed Inquisitorial Knights. The protesters were therefore quickly and brutally suppressed by the Eternal Church.

Yet this not only failed to resolve the problem, but instead further inflamed public anger.

In particular, at some point, news of the Eternal Church violently suppressing the believers of the Goddess of Life began spreading throughout the continent.

Bards began singing satirical songs mocking the Eternal Church while praising the believers of the Goddess of Life who stood up against it. As these songs spread from city to city, they further fueled the resentment already brewing among the common people.

In the underground black markets, large numbers of recordings depicting the Eternal Church’s bloody suppression of Life believers also began circulating. Some showed protesters being beaten and dragged away by Inquisitorial Knights, while others captured the brutal treatment of ordinary believers. These recordings further tarnished the reputation of the already precarious Eternal Church.

It was as if someone had deliberately kicked a hornet’s nest.

So for a time, the name of the Eternal Church seemed to become rapidly synonymous with that of evil demons. Although it had not yet reached the point where everyone was calling for its destruction, it had nevertheless completely ignited the anger of the common people.

The resentment that had once been confined to scattered communities gradually spread from one city to another. Even those who had never heard John preach or had no connection to the Church of Life began questioning the actions of the Eternal Church.

Gradually, before Old John had even been escorted to the capital, the turmoil rapidly spread throughout the entire empire and even into the southern Kingdom of Aries. The speed at which the news spread left even the Chief Black Priests of the Inquisition, who were specifically responsible for intelligence within the Eternal Church, completely dumbfounded.

Inside the Eternal Church’s Inquisition, Bishop Winston, who also served as the Imperial Regent, roared at the priests and bishops of the Inquisition, his face livid.

“Damn it, what exactly is going on? Who exactly ordered the capture of the Saint of the Church of Life? He is clearly not an ordinary missionary! Do you have any idea how much trouble this will bring to the Church and the Empire?!”

The Black-robed Bishop responsible for the matter looked equally grim.

He said darkly:

“Lord Winston, please remain calm. This was His Holiness the Pope’s decision.”

“His Holiness the Pope…?”

Bishop Winston’s pupils contracted sharply before he erupted in anger.

“Has he become senile?! The mana of Seigües is still resurging, making the Empire unstable. This is precisely the time when we need to stabilize the people’s hearts, yet at a time like this, that old coot—”

“Lord Winston.”

The Black-robed Bishop interrupted him.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze solemn.

“His Holiness the Pope is the eye of our Lord upon this world. Thus, to slander His Holiness is to blaspheme our supreme Lord. Please choose your words carefully…”

Bishop Winston fell silent for a moment.

His expression shifted several times before he gritted his teeth.

“Tch. Even if he is the Pope, he cannot act so recklessly! Taking action against the Saint of another god is no different from declaring a holy war. Do you really think we are prepared to go to war with the Church of Life right now?!”

“Bishop Winston…”

The Black-robed Bishop sighed softly.

He took a deep breath before saying:

“Even now, do you still believe that time is on the Church’s side?”

Bishop Winston was stunned by his words.

A moment later, his expression changed, and his gaze became complicated.

Whose side was time really on?

If this had happened five years ago, he would never have taken such a mere inconsequential Church, one that could not even defeat the Orcs, seriously.

Yet several years had passed, and the organization he had once considered insignificant had already grown into a colossal force whose every movement could shake the entire continent.

And the goddess they worshipped had likewise undergone an astonishing transformation. She had gone from being a seemingly insignificant Goddess of Life whose origins were unknown to becoming a World Tree possessing powerful divine power.

To be honest, when Bishop Winston first learned the true identity of the Goddess of Life, he had been deeply shocked.

Now, however, the Black-robed Bishop’s question had forced him to confront a reality that he had long refused to acknowledge, even though the answer had already existed deep within his heart.

For a moment, Bishop Winston said nothing.

The room fell silent, with only the heavy atmosphere of the Inquisition surrounding the two men.

The Eternal Church had once regarded the Church of Life as an insignificant heretical faith that could be eliminated whenever it became troublesome.

But now, that insignificant faith had become an existence that even the Eternal Church had to take seriously.

And perhaps the most frightening part was that its growth showed no sign of slowing down.

Seeing that Bishop Winston had calmed down, the Black-robed Bishop continued:

“Lord Winston, the Church of Life has developed far too quickly. Clearly, the time left to us… is running out fast.”

Bishop Winston remained silent.

Yet in many cases, silence itself was enough to reveal one’s attitude and thoughts.

However, Winston’s gaze remained complicated, as though he was still unwilling to accept it.

Only after a moment did he finally speak in a hoarse voice:

“But… has our Divine Lord not already bestowed His power and blessings upon us, thereby allowing us to cultivate a large number of Inquisitorial Knights?”

“Surely as time passes, our Inquisitorial Knights will only grow more numerous! Although the Goddess of Life is the World Tree, She has only recently awakened. Could She truly possess enough power to contend with our Eternal Lord?!”

“Not to mention, this world is on the verge of being unsealed. Once the seal is broken, we—”

“Lord Winston.”

The Black-robed Bishop interrupted him again.

He sighed softly before continuing:

“Lord Winston, taking action against the Church of Life before Seigües is unsealed is not merely a holy decree from His Holiness the Pope. It is also the official mandate of our Divine Lord.”

“An official mandate? How… how is that possible?! Does our Divine Lord believe that we will not even be able to hold out until the day the planetary seal is broken?!”

Bishop Winston’s eyes widened, and he could no longer conceal his shock.

The Black-robed Bishop said solemnly:

“If our foe were the World Tree of the past, then She would indeed not have been a match for our Divine Lord. But Her power is no longer what it once was.”

“No longer what it once was…”

Bishop Winston’s pupils contracted once again.

As though he had thought of something, his expression changed slightly.

“You mean… those…”

“Indeed—Those Elves.”

The Black-robed Bishop said solemnly:

“Those elves whom the believers of the Goddess of Life call the Chosen Ones and who like to call themselves players!”

“Lord Winston, don’t you find the recent rate at which the Church of Life’s faith has spread throughout the Empire excessively alarming? Even though our Church has already begun suppressing it, it has been largely completely ineffective so far…”

“It is all the work of those elven Chosen Ones. According to the Inquisition’s estimates, there are at least two hundred thousand elven Chosen Ones currently infiltrating the Empire and spreading their faith…”

“To make the matters worse, they possess the ability to resurrect after death, so they simply cannot be eradicated. The more we suppress them, the more of them appear…”

“Furthermore, by now, the news of Saint John’s arrest had already spread rapidly throughout the continent. We have also discovered traces of the elven Chosen Ones deliberately orchestrating it from behind the scenes…”

“They are reckless, combative, and exceptionally skilled at inciting and deceiving others…”

“It is precisely because of their existence that the Empire’s commoners have been so quickly deceived and corrupted into heretics.”

“Moreover… according to the deductions of several of our Envoys, the number and strength of these elven Chosen Ones also seem to be connected to the World Tree’s strength.”

“So to sum it all up, these elven Chosen Ones are the true enemy we must face in our struggle against the Church of Life!”

After hearing the Black-robed Bishop’s words, Bishop Winston fell completely silent.

After a long while, he let out a deep sigh.

“I understand.”

He once again assumed his usual calm and composed demeanor. However, there was now a hint of scrutiny in his gaze as he looked at the Black-robed Bishop.

“However…”

His tone suddenly changed.

“Archbishop of the Inquisition, is there something else that you and His Holiness the Pope are hiding from me?”

This time, it was the Black-robed Bishop’s turn to remain silent.

Seeing this, a flicker of emotion passed through Bishop Winston’s eyes.

“So… there really is.”

With that, he raised his head and stared intently at the Black-robed Bishop.

“Archbishop of the Inquisition, does this have something to do with our Divine Lord’s official mandate? What you just told me… was that not the entirety of the divine oracle?”

The Black-robed Bishop remained silent.

Winston’s expression darkened, and he said displeasedly:

“Archbishop, as a devout follower of our Divine Lord, I have the right to know the full content of the divine oracle!”

Hearing this, the Black-robed Bishop finally let out a soft sigh.

“Lord Winston, if you have any doubts, please pray directly to our Divine Lord.”

As he spoke, he gave Winston a meaningful glance.

“If you truly possess our Divine Lord’s recognition, then… I believe you will understand His Holiness the Pope’s actions.”

Bishop Winston’s heart skipped a beat.

He gave the Black-robed Bishop, whose name he did not even know, a meaningful look before snorting softly and storming away.

However, after leaving the Inquisition, he did not return to the Imperial Palace. Instead, he went to the church nearest to the Inquisition.

“Prepare the highest-grade prayer chamber for me. I wish to commune with our Divine Lord.”

Bishop Winston ordered the priests.

Although he was not a Divine Envoy, as the current Regent of the Empire, he had likewise received a portion of the Eternal Lord’s divine favor bestowed upon the Holy Maniya Empire.

In theory, as long as his faith was sufficiently devout, he possessed a certain degree of ability to communicate with their patron god.

Upon hearing Bishop Winston’s order, the priests quickly and respectfully withdrew and prepared a solemn prayer chamber for him.

After entering the prayer chamber, Winston closed the door and approached the statue of the Eternal Lord.

He took the sun emblem symbolizing the Eternal Lord from his robes, held it before his chest, and slowly knelt down, devoutly closing his eyes.

“Merciful and great, supreme Lord…”

“Your devout servant, Winston, wishes to ask You to answer the doubts in his heart…”

Winston’s voice was fervent and sincere.

As he continued his prayer, white-golden light gradually began to bloom from the divine statue.

Faintly, it seemed as though a sacred and majestic figure had appeared behind the statue.

A vague, ethereal voice slowly sounded beside Winston’s ears, instantly filling him with excitement.

That voice was none other than a divine oracle from their Patron Deity…

The revelation came in fragmented phrases, ethereal and majestic.

Gradually, Bishop Winston’s eyes widened, and astonishment appeared on his face.

After the initial shock, however, his expression gradually transformed into confusion. Within that confusion, there also seemed to be traces of horror and sudden realization.

Only after a moment did his shifting expressions gradually settle into solemnity.

And after that solemnity came an even greater sense of devotion and fervor in his eyes.

Gradually, the phantom behind the divine statue faded away, and the ethereal divine oracle disappeared with it. The light that had enveloped the statue of the Eternal Lord also gradually dimmed.

Bishop Winston took a deep breath and once again bowed respectfully before the statue. He then traced the symbol of the sun over his chest and proclaimed:

“Praise You, our Great Divine Eternal Lord…”

“Your devout servant, Winston, will faithfully obey Your official mandate!”

“May Your radiance illuminate every corner of the world!”

No one knew exactly what kind of divine oracle Winston had received.

However, after leaving the prayer chamber, he never again questioned the Pope’s orders.

Meanwhile, after successfully thwarting one rescue attempt after another by the elven Chosen Ones, the Inquisitorial Knights finally succeeded in bringing John to the capital of the Holy Maniya Empire, the Eternal Holy City of Maniya.

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