Looking at the starkly different surfaces of the city walls, Nuolun finally believed that the Fallen One in this town still had some sense.
Because the Blood Corpse have strong climbing abilities, if the outer walls of the city are not made relatively smooth, they can even climb directly onto the city walls using the timbers that can be used as Climbing aids.
These building materials were not collected by the priests themselves. All the houses near the city wall had now lost their walls and roofs, becoming literally bare.
The emaciated and pale-faced followers of the Tree Worship Church huddled in the shadows, their bodies so thin and pale that it was difficult to distinguish them from the Blood Corpse.
This scene ignited a surge of anger within Nuolun, but she managed to suppress it with her composure, trying her best not to reveal any flaws on her face.
Nuolun, along with two company commanders and the captains of three Soul Returner, quickly arrived at the city wall.
A priest from the Black Locust Town awaited them.
The man, who identified himself as the bishop's assistant, was probably in his thirties or forties. Among the generally thin members of the Tree Worship Church, he had a large belly and looked particularly out of place.
The bishop's assistant scanned the crowd, identified Nuolun as their leader, and immediately adopted a fawning expression.
"My lord, I have some matters to discuss with you privately. Would you consider allowing them to...?"
Nuolun shook his head:
"No need, let's leave it as is."
Without waiting for the priest's invitation, she sat down in a chair, acting as if she were the true owner of the place.
The priest hesitated upon hearing this, but Nuolun didn't give him a chance, speaking in a low voice that only a few could hear:
"Stained with sin..."
The priest's face immediately lit up with joy. He had been worried that his abrupt questioning of the code word might have triggered a reaction from one of the Pure Ones behind the Grand Knight Commander.
However, it now seems that she and her subordinates, like himself, are already Stained Ones by sin.
With an undisguised smile, the priest uttered the second half of the coded message almost without lowering his voice.
This scene surprised Nuolun, who wondered if the person in front of him had become too complacent.
The bishop's assistant also answered everyone's questions in a timely manner:
"High Knight Commander, please rest assured, all one hundred and five priests in the entire Black Locust Town are now our men."
These words shocked everyone present.
Since the fake Holy Crusaders rose up, it has captured so many towns. Even in a small town like Ginkgo Town, which is close to the border, there are still seven or eight Pure Ones have not been completely assimilated.
This is especially true for larger towns like Blue Gum Town.
But at this very moment, the bishop's assistant actually uttered words that were 100% effective in converting the virus.
and...
Nuolun frowned slightly, his anger almost overflowing, so he had to find another reason to vent:
"One hundred and five people? The priests of Black Locust Town seem to be... overstaffed?"
The assistant realized he had misspoke and quickly explained:
"Grand Knight, some, some locals are very efficient, so the bishop took them under his command. But don't worry, they're just helping us with some things; they're not really our own people. I just misspoke."
Nuolun nodded thoughtfully:
"Oh, you're a temporary worker... Okay, I understand."
She paused, then smiled again:
"Converting everything isn't a bad thing; we no longer need a list."
The assistant still had a smile on his face.
"Yes, sir, please rest assured, our bishop is already waiting for you at the church."
"Okay, I'll go right away after I've resolved this issue."
"Over here? Any other questions?"
"There are still a few problems."
A rapier pierced the bishop's assistant's throat. Nuolun flicked the blood-stained tip of the sword and continued:
"One has been resolved."
Nuolun was about to order the Holy Crusaders to clear the city walls when he suddenly discovered that his assistant, whose artery and cervical vertebrae had been pierced, was still alive and was whispering something.
After glancing at them with some alarm, the priests outside the room rushed toward the steps leading up and down the city, as if they had suddenly received some hidden quest.
The Soul Returner also noticed the problem, and after reminding each other, they immediately quieted down and listened attentively to the assistant's low murmurs.
However, once everyone fell silent, they discovered that his murmurs weren't coming from his pierced throat, but rather from... his ears?
Something is speaking in the assistant bishop's ear!
Nuolun reacted swiftly, his rapier piercing the priest's ear and plucking out two strange, still vibrating, leaves.
But then the sound became somewhat muffled... At that moment, a player immediately pushed through the crowd and stepped forward, placing the war drum hanging from his chest flat on the table, and then placing the still-vibrating blade on it.
With a drum as an amplifier, everyone was finally able to hear what the leaf was saying.
It was a somewhat hoarse male voice:
"The enemy has entered the city! Everyone return to the church immediately to defend! Repeat, the enemy has entered the city! Everyone return to the church immediately to defend! They are not friendly forces! They are not friendly forces!"
After saying this, the selected half of the strange plant finally exhausted its last bit of life force and withered on the drum skin.
Nuolun immediately understood the situation they faced.
This is a special ability granted by the Bishop of Black Locust Town through his symbiotic plants. The type is similar to his own Blood-Seeking Pampas Grass. By planting the offspring in the ears of his subordinates, he can listen to them and issue commands at any time.
Nuolun frowned; she clearly remembered that the bishop of Black Locust Town's abilities were not described in the records.
However, she immediately thought of the provider of the information— Antiya Lisi, Archbishop of the Diocese of Aduolin Province.
Nuolun turned to his men and immediately gave the order:
"First and second squads, clear the city walls; third squad, guard the city gates; the rest of you, come with me to the church!"
Upon receiving the order, the Holy Crusaders immediately began to act in an orderly manner. Although their military discipline was not particularly strict, it was already quite remarkable that they could obey orders without question in a medieval world.
Meanwhile, the players who had been watching the spectacle were caught in a cacophony of confusion and noise. Suddenly, one of them asked the player who had pulled out a snare drum:
"Dude, where did you pull that drum out from? And why would you bring a drum to the battlefield?"
The player put the snare drum back into his backpack and said with a smile:
"I was originally planning to be part of the atmosphere team, thinking I'd put on a piece for everyone during the battle. The drums were captured from Blue Gum Town."
"Wow, awesome, they even have an atmosphere-building team?!"