John the Blessed was captured by the Judgement Knights of the Eternal Church.
With the death and return of the players, this matter quickly spread among the players and then throughout the human world.
Over the past few months, John the Blessed had already made a name for himself in the Segers Continent through preaching activities.
For many of the newly converted believers of Life in the human kingdoms, he was almost like a mentor. Therefore, this matter quickly caused an uproar in the human world.
For a time, believers of Life everywhere were filled with righteous indignation. The originally tense situation caused by the persecution of the believers of Life by the Eternal Church and the nobles of the empire became even more tense.
"Lord Elven Priest! Please lead us to save Lord John! He was the one who saved us from the darkness. He was the one who brought us the faith of the goddess! "
"That's right! The Eternal Church is depraved and corrupt. Lord John will definitely be cruelly persecuted by them! "
In the slums of Larona, the converted human believers were furious and begged the players who had accepted Old John's mission and were stationed here to continue preaching.
However, compared to the worried and angry human believers, Larona's players seemed to be more resentful of Old John's encounter.
They were so anxious that their eyes turned red and they gnashed their teeth as if their own father had been captured.
"Everyone, don't worry! We will not let the Eternal Church have their way! Lord John is the Blessed of the goddess, a righteous and kind elder. Saving him is also our unshirkable responsibility! "
The players said with righteous indignation and awe-inspiring righteousness.
Of course, it was unknown whether it was because of righteousness or because the NPC who gave them the mission might die and the mission would be canceled.
On the border between the Holy Mania Empire and the Kingdom of Iris, in the cities where Old John had stayed, the believers of Life who regarded him as the target of their followers were also in an uproar.
"The evil Eternal Church actually kidnapped Lord John, the agent of the goddess! These bastards only know how to bully the weak! "
"What did Lord John do wrong? He brought us light and hope. Why are they persecuting him? Just because the gods are different? "
"So what if the gods are different? When the demons attacked, where were they? When the nobles oppressed us, where were they? Only the great goddess sent the elven army to help us! "
"They have fallen! The Eternal Church has really fallen! They have completely forgotten their original intentions! "
"Protest! We must gather together and protest against the Eternal Church!"
Furious, the believers of Life quickly gathered and protested and marched to the local Church of Eternity.
In some of the more intense places, there were even violent assaults on churches.
However, most of them were ordinary people. No matter how angry and united they were, they were still no match for the judgmental knights. Thus, they were quickly suppressed by the Eternal Church.
However, not only did this not solve the problem, but it also further angered the people.
In particular, the news of the Eternal Church violently suppressing the believers of life had begun to spread throughout the continent.
The bards sang songs that satirized the Church of Eternity, singing about the believers of life who resisted.
In the underground black market, there were even a large number of images of the Eternal Church's bloody suppression. This made the already precarious reputation of the Eternal Church even worse.
It was like poking a hornet's nest. For a time, it seemed that the name of the Eternal Church quickly equated with the evil demons. Although it did not degenerate to the point of being hated by everyone, it completely aroused the anger in the hearts of the poor at the bottom.
Gradually, without waiting for Old John to be escorted to Mania, this storm quickly spread to the entire empire and even the Kingdom of Iris in the south. The speed of the spread made even the black priests of the Eternal Church, who were in charge of intelligence, dumbfounded.
"Damn it, what's going on? Why did they suddenly capture the Blessed of the Church of Life? That's a Blessed, not an ordinary believer! Do you know how much trouble this will bring to the Church and the empire?! "
In the Eternal Church's Tribunal, Bishop Winst, who was also the regent of the empire, roared at the priests and bishops of the Tribunal with a livid face.
The black bishop in charge of this matter also had an ugly expression.
He said with a gloomy gaze, "Bishop Winst, please calm down.
"Lord Winst, please calm down. This is His Holiness' decision."
"His Holiness the Pope …"
Bishop Winst's pupils suddenly shrank, and then he became furious.
"Is he old and blind?! The magic of the Segers is recovering, and the empire is unstable. It's time to stabilize the people, and at this time, he … "
"Bishop Winst."
The black bishop interrupted Bishop Winst's words.
He slowly raised his head, and his gaze was heavy.
"His Holiness the Pope is the eyes of the Lord on earth. Slandering His Holiness the Pope is blasphemy against the supreme Lord. Please be careful with your words …"
Bishop Winst was slightly stunned.
His expression changed, and then he gritted his teeth and said.
"Even if he's the Pope, he can't act recklessly! Attacking the Blessed of the pagan religion is tantamount to declaring war. Do you think we're ready to go to war with the Church of Life now?! "
"Bishop Winst …"
The black bishop sighed slightly.
He took a deep breath and said.
"Now, do you still think that time is on the side of the Church?"
Hearing his words, Bishop Winst was stunned for a moment.
The next moment, his expression changed, and his gaze was complicated.
Which side is time on?
If it were five years ago, he would not have taken the small Church of Life seriously, which could not even defeat the Half-Beastmen.
However, a few years had passed, and this existence that he once did not take seriously had expanded into a behemoth that could shake the entire continent of the Segers …
And the goddess they worshiped, the Goddess of Life, who had popped out of an unknown corner of a stone, had transformed into the World Tree with great divine power.
To be honest, when Bishop Winst found out the true identity of the Goddess of Life, Eve, he was quite shocked.
And now, the black bishop's soul finally asked him a question that he did not want to face deep in his heart, but in fact, he already had an answer to it.
At this moment, Bishop Winst was silent.
Seeing that Bishop Winst had calmed down, the black bishop continued.
"Bishop Winst, the Church of Life is developing too quickly. The time given to us … is running out."
Bishop Winst did not say a word.
Most of the time, not saying a word was enough to express one's inner attitude and thoughts.
However, Winst's gaze was still somewhat complicated, as if he was still unwilling to accept this.
It was not until a moment later that he said in a dry voice,
"But … hasn't our Lord already sent down his power, blessed us, and cultivated a large number of judgmental knights?
"As time passes, we will have more and more judgmental knights! Although the Goddess of Life is the World Tree, she has only just awakened. Does she really have the power to contend with our Lord?!
"Not to mention, the World of Segers is about to be unsealed. Once it's unsealed, we …"
"Bishop Winst."
The black bishop interrupted Bishop Winst again.
He sighed softly and continued.
"Bishop Winst, attacking the Church of Life before the World of Segers is unsealed is not only an edict from His Holiness the Pope, but also an oracle from our Lord."
"Oracle? How … how is this possible?! Does our Lord think that we can't even last until the day the seal is unsealed?! "
Bishop Winst's eyes widened, and he could no longer hide the shock in his heart.
The black bishop said in a deep voice,
"If it was the former World Tree, she would indeed not be a match for our Lord, but her power is no longer the power of the past.
"Not only the power of the past …"
Bishop Winst's pupils constricted again.
He seemed to have thought of something, and his expression changed slightly.
"You're saying … it's those …"
"Elves."
The black bishop said in a deep voice,
"It's those elves who are called Chosen by the believers of Life and like to call themselves players!"
"Bishop Winst, don't you think that the Church of Life has been spreading at an exaggerated speed in the Empire recently? Even if the church has started to suppress them, it's still useless … "
"This is all done by those Elven Chosen. According to the estimation of the Tribunal, there are at least two hundred thousand Elven Chosen who have infiltrated the Empire to preach …"
"They have the ability to come back from the dead, and it's impossible to kill them all. Instead, the more we kill, the more there are …"
"Not only that, but the news of the arrest of John, who is God's Favored, has spread rapidly on the continent. We've discovered that the Elven Chosen are also behind it …"
"They're crazy, aggressive, and very provocative and tempting …"
"It's precisely because of their existence that the poor of the Empire were quickly bewitched and degenerated into heretics."
"Not only that … According to the deductions of several Oracles, the number and strength of these Elven Chosen seem to be related to the strength of the World Tree."
"These Elven Chosen are our greatest enemy when fighting against the Church of Life!"
After hearing the black bishop's words, Bishop Winst fell completely silent.
After a long time, he sighed.
"I understand."
He returned to his usual calm and solemn appearance, but his gaze toward the black bishop had an additional trace of inquiry.
"However …"
He changed the topic.
"Your Excellency, are you and His Holiness still hiding something from us?"
This time, it was the black bishop's turn to be silent.
Seeing this, Bishop Winst's eyes flickered.
"Looks like … there is indeed something."
After saying that, he raised his head and stared at the black bishop.
"Your Excellency, is it related to the Lord's oracle? What you just told me, is it not the full content of the oracle? "
The black bishop remained silent.
Winst's expression turned ugly as he said unhappily, "That's right.
He said unhappily, "Your Excellency, as a fanatical believer of the Lord, I also have the right to know the full content of the oracle!"
Hearing this, the black bishop finally sighed softly.
"Lord Winst, if you have any questions, please pray to the Lord directly."
As he said that, he looked at the bishop meaningfully.
"If you really have the Lord's approval, then … I think you will understand His Holiness' actions."
Bishop Winst's heart skipped a beat. He looked meaningfully at the bishop whose name he did not even know, snorted softly, and left in a huff.
However, after leaving the Magistrate, he did not return to the palace. Instead, he went to the church closest to the Magistrate.
"Prepare a prayer room of the highest level for me. I want to communicate with the Lord."
Bishop Winst ordered the priest.
Although he was not a Chosen, as the current regent of the Empire, he also received some of the blessings of the Lord of Eternity on the Holy Mania Empire.
In theory, as long as his faith was pious enough, he also had the ability to communicate with the True God to a certain extent.
Hearing Bishop Winst's order, the priests quickly retreated respectfully and prepared a solemn prayer room for him.
After entering the prayer room, Winst closed the door and came to the statue of the Lord of Eternity that was enshrined.
He took the Sun Emblem that symbolized the Lord of Eternity and placed it in front of his chest. He knelt down gently and closed his eyes devoutly.
"Merciful and great, the supreme Lord …"
"Your devout servant, Winst, would like to ask you to answer the doubts in my heart …"
Winst's voice was fanatical and sincere.
As he prayed, a platinum-colored light gradually blossomed on the statue.
Faintly, there seemed to be a sacred and majestic figure appearing behind the statue.
An ethereal voice slowly sounded in Winst's ears, making him instantly excited.
That voice was none other than the oracle of the Lord of Eternity …
The oracle was intermittent, ethereal, and majestic.
Gradually, Bishop Winst and the others widened their eyes in astonishment.
After a moment of shock, his expression turned into confusion. Amidst the confusion, there seemed to be a hint of shock and realization.
It was not until a moment later that the changing expression was gradually replaced by solemnity. After the solemnity, Bishop Winst's gaze seemed to become more pious and fanatical.
Gradually, the shadow behind the statue slowly dissipated, and the ethereal oracle also disappeared. The light that shrouded the statue of the Lord of Eternity also dimmed.
Bishop Winst took a deep breath and bowed respectfully to the statue again. He drew the symbol of the sun on his chest and said, "My Lord, I'm sorry.
"Praise you, the great Lord …"
"Your devout servant, Winst, obeys your oracle!"
"May your brilliance illuminate every corner of the Segers!"
No one knew what kind of oracle Winst had heard.
However, after coming out of the prayer room, he no longer questioned the Pope's orders.
On the other side, after successfully crushing the Elven Chosen One's repeated attempts to rescue him, the Judge Knights finally succeeded in bringing John, God's Chosen One, back to the capital of the Holy Mania Empire — the Eternal Holy City of Mania.
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