But was I the only player arrested?
[ Clear Soup Master ] pondered for a few seconds, then approached the door of the solitary confinement cell and began using the common communication code among players:
"Cuckoo~Cuckoo~"
The expected response did not materialize; only the surrounding wailing seemed to subside somewhat, broken by this discordant sound.
But the code wasn't entirely ineffective; two figures shrouded in darkness were quickly drawn to him. One stared intently at him, while the other deftly opened the cell door.
[ Clear Soup Master ] couldn't help but sigh as he watched the two of them skillfully open the door together:
Wow, there are prison guards too.
The NPCs in the World of Disorder couldn't understand his puns, so they quickly entered the cell, grabbed him, and walked out, soon pinning [ Clear Soup Master ] to the chair in the interrogation room.
Another trial?
At this moment, not only [ Clear Soup Master ] thought so, but Ed also thought so.
After all, he had just witnessed the interrogation methods of the Graycast Corridor a few days ago. Those three interrogators should still be on leave due to work-related injuries. He just didn't know if the Graycast Corridor had any psychologists.
After the two jailers tied him up, they stood obediently on either side with their backs straight, while a middle-aged man in a gray robe strode in from the door of the interrogation room.
At this moment, in Ed's view, the person who walked into the interrogation room was completely shrouded in a mosaic, and could only be vaguely discerned through the color blocks that he was a priest in his middle or old age.
This is the power of rules; it is this person's own rules resisting Ed's prying eyes.
However, the other party's skill level was clearly inferior to that of a true High Tier Grand Foundry Master, so they could only offer themselves a thin layer of protection.
Who could this person be?
Ed frowned in deep thought. The opponent's strength was clearly not at the High Tier- level, but it was also far beyond what Middle Tier Motley could match.
In Fir City, there is only one such being.
Ed looked at the mosaic and read the name aloud:
Antiya Lisi.
This marked the beginning of a tense standoff between the Second Holy See and Ed.
Ed also became interested and really wanted to see what the other party was capable of.
Antiya Lisi settled behind the interrogation table, and the first thing he said to [ Clear Soup Master ] was:
"You're a member of the rebels, aren't you?"
Rebels?
Ed, on the other end of the "screen," raised an eyebrow. The old man was quite good at guessing.
Having witnessed numerous irrefutable crimes, the Pure Ones, who was captured by Nuolun a few days ago, has completely submitted to the cause.
He said his mission was to patrol the Aduolin Province to confirm whether any towns had been overrun by the Blood Corpse.
However, his Stained Ones assigned him other tasks personally assigned by Antiya Lisi, namely, to investigate the existence of the "rebels".
Clearly, the existence of the Second Holy See is no secret within the entire ruling system of the Tree Worship Church Theocracy.
The three cardinals at the very top are naturally aware of this, and Nuolun and Antiya Lisi, who are in the middle and upper ranks, are already aware of the existence of the Second Holy See.
The only difference is that the Pure Ones and the Stained Ones have completely different attitudes toward the Second Holy See.
One side sees them as the Savior of the world, while the other sees them as rebels.
Ed knew that the Second Holy See's every move would not only affect him, but also the covert power struggle between the two factions within the Tree Worship Church Theocracy.
Now that people have placed their bets on him, Ed naturally doesn't want to disappoint them.
He was carefully observing the mosaic, trying to glean as much information as possible about Antiya Lisi from it.
In the interrogation room, [ Clear Soup Master ] looked at the middle-aged man in front of him.
Even though it was in a game, my first impression of the other person was still "calm and composed".
The other person exuded an aura akin to a powerful warlord in an ancient drama, whose intimidating presence would expose any deception.
However, this does not apply to players. Although [ Clear Soup Master ] had some guesses about the identity of the person in front of him, he still could not be sure that the other party was the archbishop.
[ Clear Soup Master ] recently saw the interrogation process of the Graycast Corridor's visiting trio on the forum.
He felt he couldn't be as versatile as the other three, enough to torment the interrogators and leave them with psychological trauma.
But then again, given the current situation, who wouldn't want to try something new?
In that instant, the figures of numerous "wise men and great men" began to emerge on [ Clear Soup Master ]: [ Lion Hidden in the Eyes ], [ Shit Appraisal Master ], [ Traditional Eccentric Wheel ], [ Aluode ]...
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and looked earnestly at Antiya Lisi in front of him, answering:
"That's right."
Antiya Lisi nodded as expected:
"All your companions are dead; only you are alive."
He stood up and paced back and forth, his tone becoming quite subtle:
"But this might not be a good thing, you know what I mean?"
[ Clear Soup Master ] looked sorrowful.
"I understand. Just ask me whatever you want to know, and give me a straight answer in the end."
"Um."
Antiya Lisi gestured for the two jailers to begin recording, while he stared intently into [ Clear Soup Master's ] eyes and asked:
"How many of you infiltrated the city in total?"
"Sixty people."
This is the truth, and it is also a lie.
Only sixty people infiltrated Fir City, but [ Clear Soup Master ] selectively omitted a modifier—"this time."
What is the purpose of entering Fir City?
Purpose?
Infiltrating Fir City was, of course, a new activity arranged for us by the authorities, but saying it like that obviously wouldn't convince them.
He looked at the man in front of him, a fanatical glint in his eyes:
"It's to gather information related to Archbishop Antiya Lisi."
"Oh?"
The man behind the judge's table changed his expression slightly, and he asked with some doubt:
What is it used for?
"To assassinate him."
[ Clear Soup Master ] said decisively:
"We must liberate Fir City from this fool's clutches, and to do that, we must defeat this demon."
Antiya Lisi looked at [ Clear Soup Master ] with a hint of pity in his eyes.
This is a brainwashed idiot. Although I was like that when I was young, I was fortunate enough to see the true nature of the world early on and chose to join the truly right side.
Thinking of this, he lost the will to continue asking. If he continued to ask for the reason, he would only get stupid things like "committing evil deeds" and "disregarding human life".
But which archbishop in the entire Tree Worship Church isn't like this?
Rather, it's more accurate to say that the world is currently progressing in this way, consuming life, only the objects used as fuel are different.
Thinking of this, Antiya Lisi asked the question that interested him most:
How did you get in?