"The Church of Life is hypocritical, evil, and cruel. Since its appearance, it has invaded the land of the Half-Orcs, plundered the wealth of the human countries, and bewitched the ignorant people with heresy, divided the territory of the Empire, and damaged the authority of our Lord …
"Since the year 1072 of the Eternal Era, John the Blasphemer has ignored the rules of the True God's agreement and privately preached the faith of the Church of Life throughout Holy Mania, inciting the people and stirring up opposition …
"Since John the Blasphemer preached, there have been a total of 47 riots inside and outside the Empire, of which 34 were related to John the Blasphemer. The riots caused the deaths of at least 132 nobles and 27 clergymen, including three earls, one marquis, and two bishops, and affected 31 cities … His crimes are heinous and unforgivable!
"According to the Eternal Canon, Chapter 7, Article 53 of the Gospel Commandments, John the Blasphemer's actions have seriously violated the rights of the Eternal Church, violated the dogma and the laws of the Empire, and constituted blasphemy, incitement, heresy … A total of 18 major crimes!
"The glory of our Lord is inviolable, and the majesty of our Lord is inviolable!
"John the Blasphemer is sinister, evil, twisted, and selfish. He has bewitched the ignorant people for his own ambitions and selfish interests. What he has done is unforgivable. Now, according to the decision of the Eternal Church's Tribunal, John the Blasphemer shall be punished by burning at the stake!
"John … Do you know your sins?!"
The dignified and solemn voice of the Tribunal's Bishop spread throughout the square.
At the end of his speech, he almost roared at John the Old. His eyes were wide open, and his facial features were ferocious and angry.
The words seemed to have some kind of magic, and it had the power to shake people's hearts.
After hearing his words, the onlookers could not help but feel shocked. They felt a sense of remorse and guilt from the bottom of their hearts. They could not help but think of all the wrong things they had done in the past, and they were terrified …
This was the divine spell of the clergymen, Mind Shock.
For a moment, many Eternal believers who feared the Church or people with weak mental endurance could not help but lower their heads, or repent and pray, or sob in a low voice.
There were also some emotionally unstable people who stared at John with hatred, as if they wanted to eat his flesh …
The somewhat oppressive quiet atmosphere formed when the Tribunal's Bishop angrily reprimanded John was quickly broken, and curses sounded again. It seemed that no curse in this world could express the people's hatred of the Blasphemer …
If it wasn't for the distance, a lot of stones would have fallen on Old John.
However, unlike the angry citizens who heard the verdict, Old John's expression was still calm. The bishop's [Mind Shock] did not seem to have any effect on him.
He gently raised his head, straightened his back, and spoke in a firm voice.
"No, I … am not guilty."
"How dare you! John the Blasphemer, what you have done has been recorded by the Judgement Court. There is the agreement of the True Gods and the Eternal Scripture as evidence. Do you still want to deny it? "
The bishop of the Judgement House shouted angrily.
John Senior sneered and glanced disdainfully at the ferocious and angry bishop of the Magistrate. Then, his eyes slowly turned to the calm Pope Benedict II.
He took a deep breath and calmly said,
"Everything I've done has not violated the agreement of the True Gods … Everything I've done has been righteous and correct."
"Quibble! Lies! "
The Magistrate Bishop roared.
John Senior sneered again and glanced at him.
"Mr. Bishop, you said that the Church of Life is hypocritical, pretentious, evil, and cruel, but I see a different picture."
As he spoke, his expression turned solemn.
"Since the appearance of the Church of Life, we have resisted the invasion of the Abyss Demons, expelled the invading demons, and purified the pollution left by the Abyss in the World of Segers …
"We have helped the poor escape from their predicament, rebuilt their homes, adopted orphans, rescued the weak, treated the poor who couldn't be cured without asking for anything in return, imparted knowledge and skills to the people, helped people overcome setbacks, and survived …
"We have witnessed with our own eyes how civilians have broken free from despair and regained hope for the future. We have personally led everyone out of their predicament and welcomed the future …
"How did such a benevolent church become evil and pretentious in your words?
"As for what you said about invading the land of the half-orcs and plundering the wealth of the human countries …
"The former was because the half-orcs persecuted the elves and invaded the Elven Forest first. Our Lord and the elven believers were forced to fight back.
"As for the latter, it was because the Church of Eternity had no sense of responsibility. Time and time again, they abandoned their people when the evil gods revived and the demons invaded. It was our Lord who guided the believers and warriors to intervene in time, bringing peace and salvation …
"This can be proven by the ballads of the bards, the caravans that come and go, and the believers who spontaneously migrated to the area where the Church of Life is located and converted to our Lord can also prove it.
"It took us less than a year to bring the war-torn Maple Moon Territory back to life, peace, and prosperity. It took us just a few months to let the poor, who had nothing, escape poverty one after another …
"So, how can it be considered plundering wealth?
"Our Lord is just bringing new hope to the poor people after the Church of Eternity abandoned their own people.
"There's a good saying in the Sacred Scripture of Life. The eyes of the people are as clear as snow. None of this was our choice, nor was it forced by us. It was the people who chose to embrace our Lord and become believers of our Lord."
"So … how can it be considered bewitching the people?"
John Senior's words were powerful and resonant. They also seemed to carry some kind of indescribable power that resounded in the square and in everyone's hearts.
That dignified and calm voice was like a melodious bell, shaking the hearts of the people.
Many people gradually calmed down and could not help but recall the various rumors about the Church of Life that they had heard from various sources in recent years.
For a time, the cursing voices gradually lowered, and many people slowly woke up from their anger. They looked at the trial on the stage and discussed animatedly.
The expression of the Magistrate's bishop changed slightly.
His gaze was gloomy, and he berated sternly:
"Quibbles! Lies!
"Our Lord's glory cannot be blasphemed. Our Lord's glory cannot be tarnished!
"After the War of Gods and Demons began, our Lord led the gods to resist the Abyss and attack Hell. He was constantly fighting for the safety of the world of Segers. However, the Church of Life took advantage of the time when our Lord was fighting at the frontlines to expand their faith. This is a shameless betrayal of justice!
"Such a hypocritical church has no right to preach on the continent! Not to mention, they are bewitching believers on our Lord's land without permission! "
John Senior sneered.
"Betraying justice? Bewitching believers? That's even more ridiculous. "
As he said that, his expression turned cold.
"As far as I know, after the War of Gods and Demons, the Abyss forces invaded the world of Segers on a large scale. It was the Church of Eternity who was unwilling to return and intended to use the power of the Abyss demons to exhaust our Lord's strength …
"However, our Lord is powerful and righteous. He turned the tide at the most critical moment and defeated the invasion of the Abyss!
"How can this be considered a betrayal of justice?
"If we really want to talk about betrayal, the Lord of Eternity who was unwilling to return is the one! If we really want to talk about betrayal, the Church of Eternity who wanted to use the power of the Abyss to weaken the Church of Life is the one! "
"How dare you! Is the name of our Lord something a blasphemer like you can mention?! "
The Magistrate's bishop berated.
John Senior was even more disdainful.
"So what if I mention it? Since you're talking about betrayal, then let's have a good talk …
"Everyone in the world knows that our Lord is the Goddess of Life, Eve. Then how many people know that our Lord's full name is Eve Yuktrashil?
"Our Lord's identity is not only the Goddess of Life, but also the great World Tree!
"She is the embodiment of life, the Mother of Nature, the ruler of the Silver Era, and was once hailed as the Mother of All Gods by the gods!"
As he spoke, he looked at the clergymen of the Church of Eternity mockingly.
"Why did the World Tree wither a thousand years ago, why did the Holy Mania Empire rise? This history buried by the Church of Eternity … Do you need me to talk about it in detail?"
Hearing John Senior's words, the expressions of some of the more senior clergymen of the Church of Eternity changed slightly, and the people below the stage instantly cast curious gazes.
It was the nature of every mortal to watch a good show.
And the true identity of the Goddess of Life that John Senior had mentioned also surprised many people.
This was about to touch on one point.
Although the news that the Goddess of Life was the World Tree was no longer a secret after Eve revealed her identity, for the vast majority of ordinary people, this information of the Extraordinary World was still unreachable.
For most of the civilians present, this was the first time they knew about this.
However, the World Tree was no stranger to the creatures of the World of Segers.
The Silver Civilization of the elves had left too deep an impact on the various races of the World of Segers. Even after a thousand years, it had not disappeared. And most of these were stories about the World Tree.
In various myths and legends, the majestic World Tree always appeared in the capacity of benevolence, justice, and kindness.
It was also because of this that when they learned that the Goddess of Life's identity was the World Tree, the mood of the onlookers immediately became subtle.
And this subtle feeling became more and more obvious under the bishop and the pastors' undeniable but obvious changes in their expressions.
The discussion seemed to be louder …
As for John Senior, he completely let go of himself.
He held his head high and puffed out his chest with a disdainful expression. Under the bishop's ugly gaze and the pastors' bewildered gazes, he poured out all the secrets from a thousand years ago that he had read in the Holy Bible.
"If you want to talk about betrayal, it should be the Church of Eternity that betrayed the Church of Life, or rather … the former Church of Nature!
"A thousand years ago, it was the Eternal Lord, who received the help of our Lord and became a god, who repaid kindness with ingratitude and betrayed our Lord!
"A thousand years ago, it was the gods of the Heavenly Realm who, for their own selfish desires, stopped our Lord from advancing further and ambushed him!
"If you want to talk about betrayers, the Church of Eternity is the betrayer!"
"Shut up! You shameless blasphemer! How dare you blaspheme our Lord's illustrious name! "
The bishop of judgment flew into a rage and berated him harshly.
The other clergymen present also cast angry gazes. Some of them who could not bear it even stood up directly and glared at John Senior.
Even the Pope of Eternity, Benedict II, in the center of the high platform, had a much colder smile in his eyes.
His gaze on John Senior became more and more serene.
For a moment, one powerful aura after another pressed toward John Senior. It was the intimidation of the anger of the archbishops of the Church of Eternity.
John Senior only felt a tsunami-like mighty force coming from all directions, bombarding his spirit and soul. His face turned pale all of a sudden, and he could not help but let out a muffled groan.
Dark red blood flowed slowly down his nostrils and the corners of his mouth.
However, his back was still straight, and his gaze was calm.
He smiled slightly with a mocking look on his face.
"Is this the Church of Eternity? The anger after exposing the scars, if it is not anger out of humiliation, if it is not hypocrisy, then what is it? "
"You –!"
Hearing John Senior's sarcasm, the bishop of judgment was so angry that his body trembled, and his eyes almost spat fire.
Looking at the angry bishops, John Senior knew when to stop and no longer continued to be entangled in the old matters from a thousand years ago.
He sighed softly and said,
"Of course, the past is the past, like the clouds of the past, no longer important."
"Her Holiness the Great Goddess also warned us in the Scripture of Life that remembering history can let us remember lessons, but at the same time, we have to focus on the present and the future …"
"I mentioned the past not to flaunt how innocent the Church of Life is, but just to remind everyone that if you want to impose the crime of betrayal on our Lord, on our Church of Life, the Church of Eternity … is not qualified."
"In my opinion, for the human world and the vast majority of the people, the Church of Life is the future and hope, and the Church of Eternity is just trash that is about to be swept into the garbage dump of history."
"You … How dare you! You evil heretic! How dare you blaspheme our Lord and blaspheme the great Church of Eternity! "
Hearing this, the bishop of judgment was finally furious.
As he spoke, he refuted, "Our Lord is righteous and righteous.
He punishes evil and promotes good. It is precisely because of our Lord's protection that humans can become the protagonists of this era. How can a mere heretic like you, a traitor of humanity, understand the merits of our Lord? "
John Senior sighed softly.
"I don't deny the contributions that the Church of Eternity has made to human society. However, the Church of Eternity is also a shackle that restricts the further development of human society and the common progress of all races and civilizations in the Segers world …"
"Ridiculous! Sophistry! Bewitchment! "
The bishop of judgment reprimanded.
John Senior chuckled and stood straighter.
The fluttering snowflakes fell on his body, making him look a little more free and unrestrained.
"Mr. Bishop of Judgment."
He looked into the eyes of the judge, his gaze clear.
"Since you don't agree with me, then … do you dare to debate with me about the meaning of our respective scriptures?"
Hearing this, the bishop of judgment's eyes narrowed slightly.
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