Nuolun had no doubt about Ed's generosity. As a graduate of the Garrison Academy, her understanding of economics was almost on par with Seraphina's. Ed had also skillfully concealed his emotions, preventing her from realizing the potential economic crisis ahead.
She looked at Ed, then at the road ahead, and asked:
" My Son of God, where are we going?"
"Go to the church in Blue Gum Town; there's some... evidence that I need to let you know."
Upon hearing this, Nuolun's expression turned serious.
The internal divisions within the Tree Worship Church have a long history.
As a mid-to-high-ranking member of the Holy City's Holy Crusaders and a close associate of Luxiusi, Nuolun, unlike the ordinary Pure Ones, was aware of the existence of the Stained Ones.
But she only knew that the Stained Ones had violated the doctrine, but she didn't know what specific evil deeds they had committed.
Most mid-level squad leaders shared this understanding of the Stained Ones:
Depravity is bad, depravity is not good, they have fallen into depravity, but it is not clear what bad things they have done.
The degree of concealment was also a compromise made by both factions to prevent the Tree Worship Church from splitting apart.
The Stained Ones need the Pure Ones to do their work, while the Pure Ones are the ultimate beneficiaries of the Stained Ones's achievements.
This is why much information that is not a secret among the upper echelons of the Tree Worship Church is completely unknown to those in the middle and lower ranks.
Ed's purpose in this trip was to show Nuolun and the other Pure Ones from the Holy City what their supposedly devout Tree Worship Church had truly become in the Aduolin Province on the Theocracy.
As they drew closer to the church in Blue Gum Town, the stench of blood grew stronger.
Fortunately, the bloody smell did not come from the experimental subjects, but from the many corrupt priests who were beaten and forced to surrender by the players.
Thick volumes of experimental records, blood-stained cutting tools, and synthetic monsters with severed limbs that, while no longer human, still retain basic vital signs...
The smiles on Nuolun's faces vanished as he led the Fourteenth Knights out of the underground space of the Blue Gum Town Church.
The joy of reuniting with their companions had been completely shattered, and the hundreds of Pure Ones finally realized what kind of people they were sharing the same deity with.
Feelings of betrayal, shame, and hatred surged up all at once, and many people gritted their teeth.
Suppressing his anger, Nuolun approached Ed and pleaded almost imperceptibly:
" My Son of God, is this only the case in Blue Gum Town, or...?"
Ed sighed:
"Except for Fir City and Black Locust Town, which we haven't yet occupied and cannot verify, the other six towns... are the same."
Nuolun lowered his head and fell silent, as if he were restraining something.
After an unknown amount of time, she looked up and asked:
"Sir, where is the bishop of Blue Gum Town now?"
Ed pointed to the side chapel of the church:
"The captured Fallen One were placed there as guards after their symbiotic plants were removed."
"Thank you Son of God Highness."
Nuolun turned and walked away, Ed asked from behind her:
"You want to interrogate me?"
"I'm going to kill someone."
Huh?
Ed didn't react for a moment, then quickly took a few steps and followed:
"Well, actually there's a better way to handle this..."
Nuolun stopped and looked at Ed:
"I apologize, Son of God, I was blinded by anger and acted without your permission..."
Ed waved his hand:
"It's alright. Actually, for captured Stained Ones, we generally..."
"Therefore, I formally request permission to kill these depraved people."
Gazing at Nuolun's resolute expression, Ed realized that the other man was no longer impulsive.
Even so, you still want to kill the Fallen One?
It seems I underestimated the other person's conviction.
Ed then looked at Nuolun, neither rejecting nor directly approving his application:
" The Fallen One of Blue Gum Town certainly deserve to die, but what about the Soul Tree?"
Nuolun answered confidently:
"Before I came here, Cardinal Luxiusi granted me the power of execution and taught me a special sword technique. Members of the Tree Worship Church who are killed by this technique will have a special mark appear on their Soul Tree."
"This mark signifies that the priest was executed by 'his own people' for violating internal church rules. The guards of the Holy Soul Hall will report this to the cardinal separately after seeing it, and Lord Luxiusi has promised to help us suppress this matter."
Goodness, they even have an internal execution system!
Ed, surprised but no longer doubtful, said to Nuolun:
"Then let's kill the ringleaders, and the rest..."
He wanted to say that the good days were yet to come for the rest of the group, but considering his own status and his image in Nuolun's eyes, he ultimately changed his words and spoke in a more formal tone:
"The rest will embark on an eternal journey of atonement."
"Alright, I also need to find a way to let Luxiusi know that I have arrived in Aduolin."
Nuolun turned and walked towards the side hall of the Blue Gum Town Church, with Ed following behind, eager to join in the fun, asking the Grand Knight:
"Does that trick the Cardinal taught you have a name?"
"Yes, that move is called..."
She paused, then said in a serious yet strange tone:
" Called by the Lord's Grace."
Good name.
Ed inwardly scoffed, but actually nodded:
"Then let them be 'called'."
In the Aduolin Province, not all towns are about the same size as White Wax Town. Blue Gum Town is located in the central part of the province and is considered a relatively large town. This is one of the reasons why [ Zhongde ] and others realized that they were short-handed.
Larger towns mean larger jurisdictions, more test subjects, and more Fallen One.
At this moment, there were fifty or sixty Fallen Ones in the side hall of the church, whose symbiotic plants had been removed and Fallen One tied up like dumplings. Their numbers were almost twice that of White Wax Town.
The players quickly selected a bishop and several bishop assistants who also held considerable power, and assigned them to Nuolun and her squad leaders.
Four people, bound hand and foot, were taken to the square outside the church in Blue Gum Town. In addition to the Holy Crusaders and players, a large number of Blue Gum Town residents had gathered there, exercising their human instinct to gossip and pointing at the group in front of them.
Of the four, the bishop of Blue Gum Town was rarely seen, but the other three were notorious in the town.
However, the once arrogant group of men had now become like this. Several burly men in faded white robes dragged the four men to the center of the square and kicked them hard in the back of their knees, causing them to kneel down.
What happened next is self-evident. In front of everyone, Nuolun publicly announced the crimes of the four men and sentenced them to death on the spot in the name of the Holy City Executioner.
Finally, the gleaming longsword fell, and the four were thus voluntarily " Called by the Lord's Grace."