Even so, the amount of precious metals in the Holy City's underground vault is still quite staggering.
Now that Luxiusi has been sacrificed, Sailesi has fled, Cuiske is about to be beheaded, if Geliwusi chooses to remain silent, this enormous sum of money, enough to buy half of the Theocracy, will be his.
However, when faced with matters of principle, Geliwusi was clearly not blinded by self-interest.
If he remains silent, his death will come when the Son of God discovers the treasury.
Upon seeing the new law drafted by Ed, Geliwusi, realizing that a bank run would occur, immediately seized the opportunity to speak up, stating that he had not expected His Highness the Son of God to have any intention of reforming the currency, otherwise he would have mentioned it much earlier.
Ed was already used to the fat cardinal's slickness, and upon hearing these words, he simply chuckled meaningfully before instructing Geliwusi to lead him to the Holy City's treasury.
Of course, Ed didn't forget one thing: before heading to the vault, he found an excuse to send Seraphina out of town.
The Holy City Treasury is located nearly 100 meters underground in the Holy City Square. It can be accessed from the Records Office, the Holy Soul Hall, and the newly renamed " Saint Savini Cathedral ".
However, opening the gate requires four different symbiotic plants, namely the [ Clear Void Pine ], [ Dream of Rebirth ], [ Symbiotic Mistletoe ], and [ Plundering Weeping Willow ] once owned by the four cardinals.
Ed, who could simultaneously control multiple symbiotic plants, directly replicated three of them. He also separately plucked a sub-product from the Stained Ones captives of [ Dream of Rebirth ], which he had not yet mastered, and finally opened the vault door by forcibly activating it with his own power.
A veritable "gold mine" appeared before Ed. He recalled what he had seen at the Seraphina Dragon Nest a year ago and secretly compared the two. He then discovered that the Holy City's treasury held significantly more precious metals than Seraphina's reserves.
Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. How could a dragon that has only been accumulating wealth for a little over a hundred years compare to half a kingdom before the Demonic Tide?
Compared to that, the amount he owed Haji Dragon didn't seem so much anymore—but he still had absolutely no intention of repaying it.
Despite receiving such a huge sum of money, Ed felt no excitement, because he knew that the money belonged to him only in a conceptual sense.
For the sake of the development of the Theocracy, large sums of money will gradually flow into the Theocracy and into the wallets of every Soul Returner and NPC, becoming a boost to the development of the Theocracy.
Ed inspecting the goods, Ed pondered for a moment and quickly came up with the perfect solution.
He led Geliwusi out of the underground vault, then used the Root Network that had spread throughout the underground of the Holy City to completely seal the entrance to the secret passage, and finally connected the Root Network to the vault that no one knew about anymore.
The Root Network of Ed's body has long since developed the ability to deliver items. Once the Holy City transitions from an enclave to bordering several provinces of the Second Holy See, players will be able to retrieve real money from any special terminal tree.
In this way, an official bank in name will be established. However, it will still need to be differentiated from Seraphina in terms of function, but that's a minor issue to be addressed later.
On the execution platform, Geliwusi finished reading the new decree, then changed the paper and his tone to pronounce the crimes of the Stained Ones.
The decrees of benevolent governance brought many believers to tears, but now comes the shocking part after the sweet treat, revealing that besides his merciful heart, the Son of God also has some tricks that can cause pain.
The berserker Nuolun, who had been eagerly anticipating his fight, finally made his appearance and unleashed a flurry of attacks in front of all the citizens of the Holy City.
Nuolun, a graduate of the theological seminary's combat department, had already received professional training. In addition, with the buffs Luxiusi had given her before his death, her attacks had a terrifying effect that made people afraid to look directly at her.
There were no preparatory gestures like spitting out a mouthful of strong liquor; Nuolun's thick sword swung incessantly, and the carefully selected sinners were soon Called by the Lord's Grace one by one.
What followed was simple: messengers carried copies of the proclamation written by Geliwusi, along with the heads of the Stained Ones and the traitors, to various provinces to issue an ultimatum to those who stubbornly resisted.
Behind the Messenger, Duma's regular army had already broken camp, ready to launch a swift and decisive attack if their attempts to persuade them to surrender failed.
As August arrived, the sweltering heat of summer began to dissipate, and everything was progressing according to Ed's plan.
One day in the middle of the month, as a Soul Returner had served as Xilǐ'er's squire, rode swiftly into the Holy City bringing a final report of victory, a notification box appeared in front of all players—
The third phase of the large-scale long-running quest " The Only Holy Church " has been completed.
Your contribution in the first phase [Proclamation] was:... The equivalent reward was:...
Your contribution in the second phase [Suppression of Rebellion] was:... The corresponding reward was:...
Your contribution in the third phase [Unification] is:... The corresponding reward is:...
The final quest of " The Only Holy Church Path" [Changzhi] is now available. Details can be found in the quest description. This final quest does not affect the main quest's outcome.
Cheers erupted into the sky. The residents of the Holy City, who were walking peacefully down the street, were completely baffled as to why the Soul Returner around them had suddenly gone mad. They could only quietly keep their distance from them.
However, the good news quickly spread throughout the Holy City from the direction of the Holy Soul Hall.
Although they didn't know how the Soul Returner were able to know about this in advance, the residents of the Holy City at least understood why this group of people had suddenly fallen ill.
Almost without hesitation, they quickly joined the cheering and celebrating crowd, and on this evening when the heat had mostly dissipated, the entire Holy City was immersed in a sea of joy.
On the top floor of the Saint Savini Cathedral, Ed sat in Luxiusi's room, looking out through the stained glass windows at the view outside.
This is the highest point in the entire Holy City, but that doesn't stop cheers from rising from below like waves.
Ed turned to look at the statue at the far end of the room, where the cocoon of Luxiusi's body was wrapped.
He turned his head and looked towards the distant northeast, where the Eternal Domain and the Graycast Corridor stood in silent confrontation.
He turned his gaze southward, where the Skeleton Alliance and the Starlight Empire were locked in battle.
Vanessa, Aeldra, Sailesi, Samuer, and the unseen vampire grand duke and unknown powerful members of the Skeleton Alliance...
As one's number of friends increases, so does the number of enemies.
Where should we begin?
As Ed looked out the window, his view was suddenly filled by a huge golden eye.
" Seraphina?"
Ed blurted it out, a hint of guilt in his voice.
As the steam dissipated, the Dragon Transformation into human form and appeared in the room.
What do you want from me?
Ed asked casually.
"Um..."
The dragon girl tilted her head:
"The recent accounts don't quite add up. What's going on?"
Ed's tone was slightly stiff:
"Yes, how about Eyo?"
(End of Volume 5)