Pushing open the thick wooden door at the end of the spiral staircase, Ed was greeted by the spacious rooftop of the White Wax Town Church.
Under his orders, the Boston Ivy only clung to the outer walls of the church, without extending its tendrils into the rooftop, so the view here is all white stone.
Before Ed, the players were already standing on both sides of the clock tower. More than twenty prisoners, some intact and some mutilated, were all gagged and thrown to the ground.
At his command, vines quickly extended from the outer wall, entangled the prisoners, and hung them in a row on the front of the church.
Amidst the gasps of the townspeople below, Ed led his players to the edge of the rooftop and looked down.
"Good afternoon, everyone in White Wax Town. I am Ed Adrian, the new bishop of this diocese. Please remember my face."
Upon hearing that this young man was the new bishop, a commotion immediately arose among the townspeople below.
But looking at his dignified appearance and the majestic symbiotic plant, the townspeople felt that this was the kind of person who should be the bishop; at least he looked quite pleasing to the eye.
Under the watchful eyes of Duolin and the others, the commotion quickly subsided. Ed looked down and continued, "..."
"I believe everyone is aware of the battle that broke out here this morning. As members of the Tree Worship Church, you all have the right to know the truth. So I'm here to explain why this battle happened and who these prisoners who are hanging here are."
"I know that you are all faithful believers in the Tree Worship Church, and you have lived in the parish since birth. Everyone around you is also a believer. You believe in the Tree God, recite the Holy Scripture, and look forward to the retreat of the Demonic Tide and the world being renewed."
"But I must tell you, this is impossible, because the Tree Worship Church has long been mired in corruption, and a large number of priests have become Fallen One over the past few decades! They have gone from being protectors and guides of believers to executioners with blood on their hands!"
At this point, Ed waved his right hand, and the vines covering the prisoners' faces immediately disappeared. The townspeople were astonished to find that these once high-ranking bishops and priests were now "high and mighty" in a different way.
This time, Ed didn't wait for the commotion to subside; instead, he increased the heat of the already boiling oil pot.
"I'm sure that over the past few decades, there must have been children in your families, or in the homes of your relatives and friends, who were selected to receive clergy etiquette training, right?"
"What did they tell everyone at the time? Did they say, 'Your child went to the provincial archbishop's place' or 'Your child has been chosen to enter the Holy City '?"
"Have any of those children returned home, returned to your side?"
Under Ed's questioning, many townspeople showed barely suppressed fear on their faces. Some were still comforting each other, some had already fallen into arguments, and many more couples were embracing and crying, as if they had already guessed what the outcome would be.
Looking down at the diverse scenes below, Ed sighed and said:
"Words are no proof, everyone. Let the children tell us for themselves."
The church doors opened, and sunlight streamed onto the experimental subjects from White Wax Town.
They rushed out joyfully, searching for their families in the square in front of the church. Only Tiya and her father, as well as Darnell and his family of three, did not leave in a hurry.
The four test subjects, who were only numbered, hid in the shadows near the door, watching the scenes outside through the stained-glass window.
More and more teenagers found their families, and they embraced each other, recounting the torment they had endured over the past few years, the chill of the dungeon, and showing off the limbs that had been reattached just hours earlier.
The number of experimental subjects in the dungeon is only one-third of its peak; before this, countless teenagers had already become nameless corpses.
Dozens of middle-aged couples still gaze hopefully at the church doors in the square, fantasizing that their children will run out and into their arms.
Similarly, some young boys and girls searched the crowd but couldn't find a single familiar face, so they could only try to attract their family's attention by crying loudly, hoping that they would find them.
However, this scene was destined not to happen.
The surviving children loudly recounted the crimes of the priests who had been hanged, one by one, causing an uproar in the town square filled with townspeople.
The townspeople, who had initially been indifferent to the outcome of the battle, now had anger in their eyes as they looked at the priests who were hanging up, their faces ashen.
Several of the priests twisted their bodies with all their might, trying to turn their faces away so the townspeople wouldn't see them.
White Wax Town is a small town with a population of less than 2,000. Even if you include all the surrounding villages, the population does not exceed 3,000.
In this environment, almost everyone was a friend or acquaintance, and even some of the priests who were hung up were people that many townspeople had watched grow up.
Now that they know this is the very group of people who killed and tortured their children, how could these already numb townspeople not be furious?
Cries, shouts, and the sounds of projectiles hitting their targets rang out one after another. Duolin was about to lead his men to restore order when Ed gave the order that it was unnecessary.
These townspeople, suddenly learning the truth, naturally needed an outlet for their emotions. They had lost family members, and no one was qualified to calm them down.
The players around Ed, who had been excited, couldn't help but feel downcast at the sight before them.
This damn game is a bit too realistic; many players who are highly immersed in the game have fallen into complete silence.
That damn production team...
Many people are thinking the same thing: Don't let me find out where your company is located!
The emotional outburst lasted for nearly ten minutes. The members of the Tree Worship Church were not in good physical condition; due to long-term malnutrition, it was almost impossible to find even one person who was slightly overweight.
Crying is a very physically demanding activity. Several minutes of intense crying caused some townspeople to squat on the ground, and some even fainted.
As the crying subsided, Ed finally looked at the townspeople again:
"Fellow believers, churches like this and such Fallen One have spread throughout the entire Tree Worship Church!"
"In every town, every province, and even the Holy City, there have been Fallen One. It is impossible to save countless children by relying on the provincial capitals or the Holy See. On the contrary, they are already our enemies!"
"Neither the archbishop nor the cardinals can be relied upon; only we ourselves can save us!"
"We are the Second Holy See, existing to restore the glory of the Tree God!"
" White Wax Town was the first parish we liberated, but it certainly won't be the last!"