I don't know if it's because the sun is fading away, or because of some rare extreme weather.
The temperature changes have been particularly noticeable during this period.
The sweltering early autumn weather was abruptly disrupted by this heavy rain, ushering in late autumn. Temperatures plummeted by several points, and the cold wind in the early morning felt like knives cutting into the skin.
With reduced grain production coupled with low temperatures, it's almost predictable how difficult this winter will be.
People were already dying in Lino City, but their bodies were not wasted. The Church collected them and made a soup to help the starving people.
However, this phenomenon is not yet obvious because the weather has not yet reached its coldest point.
Archbishop Duoxia was having a difficult time during this period.
First, the Boya Empire asked him to instigate a rebellion in order to initiate a change in the world. This was a very difficult task for Archbishop Duoxia, because although he had great power, the Church members were loyal to the Church, to God, and to His Majesty Adam, not to him, Duoxia.
These Church members are instilled with the idea of dedicating everything to the Pope from childhood.
Archbishop Duoxia might be able to exploit the information gap to launch a rebellion, but once the Church army arrives and the papal decree is issued, these Church members will certainly rebel directly and then have him burned at the stake.
Archbishop Duoxia loved the Church dearly; he did not want to be branded with shame by the Church, nor did he want to cause any harm to Church.
But today, His Holiness Pope Adam has become increasingly insane, and the cruelty of his ideas and the brutality of his behavior have instilled greater fear in Archbishop Duoxia.
He feared that such pressure would cause the public to develop a rebellious attitude towards the Church, tarnishing the image of the Holy Lord Church from one of light, majesty, and holiness, and ultimately pulling him to an adversarial position.
If that happens, the Church's millennia-old legacy will undoubtedly crumble overnight, and it may even become a rat in the gutter, never to see the light of day again.
It is feared that the Church will ultimately find it difficult to even maintain its glorious and righteous image in order to transform into a missionary organization, and may even be judged as a cult!
This was completely unacceptable to Archbishop Duoxia! The mere thought of the possibility that the Holy Lord Church be labeled a cult caused him unbearable pain, and he wept uncontrollably.
But for him, that wasn't all the troubles he had.
Whether it's due to Holy Church genuine decline in the nation's fortunes or some so-called architectural problem, there have been frequent deaths within the Church recently.
First, a missionary was killed by falling bricks from the roof after his evening confession. Then another missionary fell into the Church fireplace while relieving himself and snapped his neck instantly...
The missionaries who were once resilient and steadfast in their faith now seem like fragile college students, with one of them possibly dying out at any moment.
During this period, the Church in Lino City experienced a series of upheavals, almost leading Archbishop Duoxia to believe that his thoughts had displeased God and were being punished as a result.
However, the Church doesn't care about the death of so few missionaries; the number of missionaries who die by their own hand every year is much higher than this accident!
Unlike the Church, which was filled with anxiety, Norton was having a very pleasant time!
Humans are strange creatures; they can feel incredibly good after doing something immoral, which reveals the darker side of human nature.
It must be said that His Holiness the Pope's extreme ideology, in retrospect, seems to have some merit?
The heavy rain had stopped, and Norton returned to his post to continue his duties.
More than two hundred missionaries in Lino City died in one wave. In order to replenish the manpower, the Lino City Church specially prepared to promote a group of priests to missionaries in advance during the next Mass.
However, this resulted in a shortage of priests. In short, the missing personnel still needed to be filled. So during this period, the missionaries went out every day to search for suitable infants or children in Lino City and bring them back to the Church to be raised.
"Get out of here, you stinking bastard!"
The pristine white priest's robes appeared exceptionally holy under the long-awaited sunlight, yet this holiness clashed sharply with the filthy beggars squatting on the street.
The coincidental deaths that occurred within the Church during this period dampened the spirits of the missionaries, and the beggars, whom they had previously ignored, suddenly became an eyesore.
Norton was kicked in the backside, followed by a barrage of insults.
"Paralysis!"
Norton was furious!
His good mood, which had been brought about by doing so many bad things recently, has completely vanished.
But that's just as well. Quite a few missionaries have already been killed recently, so the Church of Lino City must be used to the deaths of missionaries. One more death won't be too many!
Norton feigned panic and hurriedly crawled backward.
Having relieved some of the pressure, the missionary, still burdened with his duties, didn't linger too long.
Watching the missionary's departing figure, Norton glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention, then quietly followed him.
There aren't many people who could make Norton want to kill someone, but this missionary who kicked him is one of them!
Norton is the kind of person who takes revenge for every wrong he has done. Father Mia was punched by Norton on the spot, and you, a mere missionary, are acting all high and mighty!
Norton quietly followed behind the missionary dressed in a pristine white robe, activating his senses of smell, hearing, and sight to assess the surroundings and find the opportune moment to strike.
In reality, missionaries rarely went out alone; they either went in groups of several or were accompanied by Church knights.
The main reason is that the Werewolf incident had just happened, and the Church knights were stationed at the Church to protect the bishop's safety. In addition, the number of missionaries in Lino City had decreased sharply. Although the quota for new missionaries had been reserved, the Mass had not yet been held, so the current small number of missionaries could only allow them to act alone.
This gave Norton an even better opportunity to act.
The missionary was heading towards the slums on the outskirts of the city. These refugees were powerless and generally did not live long. By taking their children into the Church and raising them to adulthood, the children's parents had usually died. This allowed the missionary to be free from worldly constraints and dedicate himself to the Church. Therefore, the selection of young missionaries usually involved children from the poor.
The closer you get to the outskirts of the city, the more remote it becomes, sometimes even requiring you to pass through several narrow alleyways.
"Plop, plop..." Days of rain had left the ground covered in puddles, and the city's appalling sanitation made the roads disgusting. Some excrement was even floating on the water, making it look unappetizing.
The difficult and disgusting road made the missionary's mood even worse, and he had to wade through water with great effort to move his body.
But the pristine white priest's robes were stained deeply, the white fabric covered in disgusting substances.
Norton lay prone on the vertical wall, his fingernails digging deep into the cracks in the brickwork, so that he could follow the missionary silently without making any noise from the water.
His ears listened to the sounds around him, his nose smelled the human presence, and his eyes grew increasingly bloodshot.
Norton's previous experience of drinking the blood of the Holy Knight had already proven that he didn't need to worry about the blood of these Church members causing any harm to Vampire, so he could drink it without worry.
finally.
Norton was lying vertically against the wall, pushed off with his legs and lunged forward towards the missionary in front of him.
"Splash!" The sound of Norton's feet hitting the water followed.
His hands were already gripping the missionary's neck, and before the missionary could react, he opened his dry, toothy mouth and bit down hard on the missionary's throat.
Blood splattered everywhere; the soft skin and fragile bones of humans were utterly powerless against the fangs of Vampire.
The missionary's soft neck flesh was torn open, and blood gushed out immediately...