At this very moment, Ed was sitting in the meeting room of the White Wax Town Adventurers' Guild, surrounded by his most loyal and trusted subordinates—those who truly believed he was the Son of God.
Besides Ed, there were seven other people present: the five who joined earliest —Duolin, Aoda, Tasi, Baluo, and Tailun; Jerry, the captain of the Pure Ones squad selected from the apostates; and Nuolun, the leader of the Pure Ones Knight Order.
All seven of them were under varying degrees of debuffs. Jerry, as a native of Fir City, was obviously more accustomed to the climate, though he looked a bit irritated. Duolin and the other five were a bit tired, but nothing serious. Only Nuolun, a native of Holy City with long hair similar in color to reeds, was slumped in a chair like a sleep-deprived golden retriever.
Although Ed knew that if an enemy appeared now, the knight commander would immediately switch into battle stance with a rapier in one hand and a sword in the other, his appearance still shocked him somewhat.
While the climate's impact on the Tree Worship Church members wasn't as severe as on the Blood Corpse, it was still quite noticeable.
This further strengthened his resolve to take Fir City before spring arrived.
This is a climate debuff!
Ed initially thought he might get bogged down in the Winter War, but Ed soon realized that the Second Holy See was actually on the northern side.
With his observations and reflections over this period, he was now about 70-80% confident.
Today's meeting is precisely to discuss matters related to this.
After everyone was seated, Ed looked around at the seven people and said seriously:
"Ladies and gentlemen, the main reason I've gathered you all here today is to discuss matters related to the next phase of the Second Holy See's goals. Of course, I already have a rough outline of the plan, which I will share with you later."
Several listless members immediately perked up upon hearing Ed's words, and the sleep-deprived expressions on their faces vanished.
"Winter has arrived. According to my initial plan, the Second Holy See's main task for the next three months is to accelerate the construction of city defenses, making full preparations for future offensive and defensive battles."
The seven people present were all alumni of the Holy City Theological Seminary. They analyzed Ed's plan based on their own knowledge and experience and all felt that there were no problems with it.
Although this plan doesn't have any particularly outstanding features, its strength lies in its stability.
In their minds, war was the same; as long as they fought steadily and surely, even if they were no match for the enemy, they would not collapse at the first touch.
So when they heard Ed's idea, the others nodded in agreement, but they also knew that this wasn't what Ed really wanted to say, because this was the "original plan."
So what's the plan now?
The others all perked up their ears, while Ed spoke earnestly:
"However, I recently discovered two problems that could seriously affect this plan, so I feel it's necessary to revise it."
Ed said seriously:
"Firstly, the effects of winter on Blood Corpse are quite significant; they cannot break through the soil, thus significantly delaying their revival. We are aware of this fact, so there's no reason why the Archbishop of Fir City wouldn't be. What do you think he will do when he finds out?"
Duolin immediately said:
"Send people to contact each town."
"That's right."
Ed nodded.
"Unless Antiya Lisi is a complete fool, once he realizes the Blood Corpse won't appear anytime soon, he'll definitely re-establish connections with several towns. He needs to know how many towns have fallen, how many won't survive until spring—these are things an archbishop should do. And if he does that, then the Second Holy See will truly be exposed."
Seeing the thoughtful crowd, Ed went straight to the point and asked the second question:
Secondly, the number of Soul Returner has now reached tens of thousands, and the harsh winter has had no effect on them. Although most Soul Returner pursue a steady and cautious approach, there are also some more adventurous individuals who crave new enemies and battles.
After Ed finished speaking, he gave everyone in front of him a "I've said my piece, whoever agrees or disagrees, that's it" attitude, leaving them plenty of time to think.
There are two problems facing everyone. The first is the climate issue: should we take advantage of this winter to do something? If we don't, the Second Holy See will become very passive.
Secondly, the eagerly awaiting players are craving new large-scale events. Most of the current players started playing during the "Plant vs. Blood Corpse " season, and after experiencing a magical version of Resident Evil, their threshold for enjoyment has significantly increased. They are constantly looking forward to the development team coming up with some new tricks.
Faced with this group of players, Ed also felt a subtle pressure.
Is being a game designer really this tiring?
Having realized this, Ed began to refine his new plan, and finally, he was able to present it to the people in front of him today.
Seeing that everyone had digested the information, Ed stopped hiding anything and earnestly said to them:
"So my idea is this: since Fir City will discover the existence of the Second Holy See sooner or later, we might as well take the initiative."
Nuolun's eyes lit up as he looked at Ed:
" My Son of God, do you want me to lead the troops to attack the city?"
Ed shook his head:
"I plan to redivide your defense zones and focus all your efforts on stopping the counterattacks from Fir City and the Tree Worship Church. In this war, you only need to be responsible for defense."
"As for taking the initiative to attack, let the Soul Returner handle that."
Nuolun thought about it and realized it made some sense, so he asked further:
"You make a good point. So, who do you intend to send to lead the Soul Returner in their attack? Their numbers are increasing, and their behavior is becoming... somewhat unpredictable. This isn't something an ordinary commander can handle, and I'm not confident I can manage it myself unless you do it personally..."
"No, no, no."
Ed looked at the crowd who had similar questions:
"I know you're thinking that the Soul Returner are somewhat unruly and self-centered, not the best choice for soldiers, and dealing with them can be exhausting..."
The group nodded in agreement, thinking to themselves that the Son of God was absolutely right.
Ed continued:
"But in my opinion, they possess the most important quality—loyalty!"
"As for an overly self-centered personality, that's not good for soldiers, but it's not necessarily a bad thing for warriors."
He gave a cryptic smile:
"Think about it, even with our own people, even when they're intentionally holding back, they can be so exhausting. So what about with our enemies?"
"The previous battle at the church in Black Locust Town inspired me. Even when the Soul Returner are scattered, they possess formidable fighting power and will to fight."
"Therefore, we need to break free from our previous mindset. Those Soul Returner don't need a commander, they don't need someone to tell them what to do. They only need a clear goal, and..."
"The reward after achieving the goal."