Brighton County, northern border of the Graycastle Empire.
Local Archbishop Beta entered a Church of War. In an instant, a thick stench of blood rushed at him, filling his nostrils and making him frown.
Most members of the War God Church had actually been to war. At the very least, all mid- and high-ranking clergy had been tempered on the battlefield. That was precisely why the War God Church was far more fierce and hard-edged than other faiths, and far more accepting of such things.
But whenever Beta thought of what everyone had mentioned recently in the local archbishops' Group Chat, he could not help but shudder.
As a top-tier war priest, this was something he was bound to face. Yet the fear in his heart would not subside, and he could only spend a long time mentally preparing himself at the entrance... The people following him clearly had no idea what they were about to face. Instead, they curiously watched their archbishop. They could not understand why, even if someone had attacked the church and slaughtered every priest inside, it would warrant such a reaction from him.
At last, he went in. His subordinates followed him inside.
Everything in the room was familiar. It was the sort of scene found in most Churches of War, nothing out of place. Yet everyone seemed to have been struck by a paralysis spell, standing frozen where they were. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably. At some point, every hair on their bodies had stood on end, goosebumps covered their skin, and cold sweat poured down like it cost nothing. Terror instantly seized their hearts!
Before the statue and shrine, in the place where prayers were offered and where only the person in charge of a church was normally permitted to sit, there was now