Feeling the warmth emanating from those young but rough hands, old priest Yiden felt his long-dormant heart begin to beat again.
Is he... going to delegate authority to me?
The cunning old fox with decades of experience easily discerned the hidden meaning in Duolin's words.
He couldn't help but wonder how much of what the new bishop said was true and how much was false. After all, it was normal for a newly appointed superior to test and reprimand his subordinates to some extent.
If he genuinely wants to delegate authority, that's fine. But if he's just testing me, then agreeing rashly will only expose my incompetence, and I'll suffer endless covert suppression in the future.
It should be noted that the Tree Worship Church does not have the concept of retirement or leisure, or rather, such an advanced policy has not yet appeared in the world. No matter what organization you join, once you join, you have to work until you die.
Yiden, however, had a very optimistic outlook on his own life, feeling that living another ten or eight years wouldn't be a problem.
He didn't want to have poor relationships with those around him in the final stage of his life, lest he ruin his reputation in his old age.
Just as Yiden hesitated, a guard suddenly stepped forward and came to Duolin's side, saying:
"Captain, that golem is at its last gasp. I think we can take it down within three days! Let's pack our things and head out!"
Another guard also said:
"Yes, Captain. There are hardly any emergencies in the Holy City throughout the year, and I've been itching to get involved for a while now. The creations of those heretical sorcerers should all be destroyed. Creating life is the Tree God's Authority; how can they be allowed to desecrate it?"
With a little encouragement from the two teammates, Duolin's face visibly flushed, and his tone gradually took on a sharp edge:
"By the Tree God, such evil must be eradicated!"
Having said that, he stopped discussing it and stood up abruptly, turning his back to the World Tree sculpture on the altar and facing the bewildered old teacher. His tone was solemn and serious:
"Priest Yiden!"
"Your subordinate is here."
Although he still didn't understand what had happened, Yiden, who had outlived three generations of bishops of White Wax Town, still responded instinctively.
"By the Tree God, we now entrust you with all the affairs of the White Wax Town Parish. You shall be the acting bishop until we return!"
"Understood."
"Okay, then it's settled!"
Seeing that the other party had taken over the stall in White Wax Town, Duolin's attitude softened once again:
"I'll leave things to you for now. We'll pack our bags and equipment and leave shortly."
After saying Duolin didn't give Yiden a time to respond and went to the local priest who managed the warehouse:
"Open the warehouse; I need to conduct a routine inspection."
The priest instinctively glanced at Yiden in the distance, only to be met with a fierce glare from the man.
How dare they openly exchange gifts and favors while the legitimate bishop is still alive?
Don't drag me down with you if you're looking to die!
Startled by the fierce look in his eyes, the local priest had no choice but to lead Duolin to a dark room behind the prayer hall.
"Your Excellency, the taxes and unused supplies for the White Wax Town Parish for the past year are all here. Please take a look at these ledgers."
The priest respectfully stepped aside, holding a yellowed book in his hands.
Duolin completely ignored his humility and showed no interest in the ledger.
In Duolin's eyes, the entire White Wax Town Parish had long been rotten to the core, so was there any point in looking at the account books?
there is none left.
There's no point in talking to the priests here; they're all a bunch of dead men, what's the point of talking to them?
Duolin walked through the dark room filled with various supplies and saw brownish-yellow tree seeds in a huge box.
Meanwhile, neatly stacked on the cabinets around the temple were rows of brand-new robes from the Tree Worship Church.
Duolin thought for a moment, then picked up the largest stack of robes and started walking outside.
"Your Excellency, what brings you here?"
That stack of priestly robes contained at least twenty pieces, and the priest in charge of the accounts couldn't understand Duolin's actions at all.
His response was the sharp gaze of the person in charge:
What? You have a problem with that?
"Your subordinate dares not."
The priest in charge of the accounts lowered his head and did not dare to stop Dorin from distributing a Duolin stack of robes to several Holy See guards.
He realized that these upper-class people from the Holy City didn't treat them like human beings at all. In the eyes of this new bishop, the only one qualified to communicate with them on an equal footing was probably the old priest Yiden.
Duolin explained to Yiden as he distributed the robes:
"Priest Yiden, the battle at the castle is very likely to damage your coat, so... you wouldn't mind borrowing some of your supplies, would you?"
Yiden's face was beaming with smiles:
"Sir, how can this be considered a 'loan'? You are the bishop of the White Wax Town Parish; you are free to draw upon these resources as you see fit."
"That's good, let's set off now."
As they spoke, Duolin had already walked out of the church, and the other guards were loading their Hoofed Beast with goods. It was already noon, and there were a few idle pedestrians on the streets of White Wax Town.
Yiden pretended to chase after them outside, like a father reminding Duolin and the others to be careful, while Duolin and the others smiled and gestured for Yiden to return to the church to rest.
The wooden door, hidden by deep green Boston Ivy, closed again, and both sides, one inside and one outside, simultaneously dropped their somewhat stiff, feigned expressions.
"Captain, are we just going to let that old guy go like this?"
One of the guards said indignantly:
"I could have chopped his head off with just one sword strike."
Duolin looked at his companion, who was even more reckless than himself:
" Aoda, do you know that for priests, as long as the symbiotic balance between their bodies and trees is not disrupted, they will continuously grow stronger over time?"
The guard shook his head in confusion.
Duolin sighed and explained:
"This is what a senior told me. Those older priests may be of similar or even lower rank than us, but their mastery of the power of plants is something we young people can't match."
"To be honest, I don't think you can beat Yiden in a fair competition. Besides, as an apostate, he may have already obtained some blasphemous research results. These factors could lead us to failure."
"So the only thing we need to do now is to do everything we can to help Bishop Adrian buy time and delay the Second Holy See from being discovered as long as possible."
The guard looked thoughtful.
"I see..."
Inside that door, Yiden, his kind expression gone, stood by the door taking several deep breaths until the priest behind him came forward to help him up.
"Priest Yiden, are you alright?"
The old priest, having regained his composure, said calmly:
I'm fine.
"Also, call me His Excellency the Bishop."
The priest who had stepped into the pit trembled immediately and bowed respectfully, saying:
"Please forgive my offense, Your Excellency."
It's alright.
Yiden waved his hand:
"Get ready, the experiment can continue while they're away."