Objectively speaking, the fighting methods of members of the Tree Worship Church are very limited at the Low Tier.
Unlike the players who had a natural advantage due to Ed's personal shaping, most members of the Tree Worship Church were like the five Duolin members who had just arrived at the Second Holy See. Each of them had mastered three or four standard Directed Alienation forms. The only difference was the type of weapon they used. For example, some people were good at using longswords, while others were good at using knight's swords.
Their combat effectiveness largely relies on a combination of weapons and combat skills.
But now, both of these points seem to have failed.
Therefore, when faced with the onslaught of the Rat King, the priests lacked both the courage to die and an effective fighting style, resulting in a one-sided battle.
Faced with such a massive monster enemy with no blind spots, the priests' attacks were not entirely ineffective.
Every arrow shot and every slash of the knife was accompanied by the death of countless rats.
However, the number of dead rats was only a fraction of the total, which could not affect the Rat King's progress in the slightest.
Left with no other option, the group fought their way back while shouting loudly in an attempt to alert the night watchman guarding the cathedral, who was likely the only Middle Tier priest in the Fir City Cathedral at that moment.
Fir City, small chapel.
Unlike the devastation suffered by the cathedral, the small chapel with its Holy Tree Garden was not attacked by the Rat King in a short period of time.
Three nuns witnessed the entire event from a high point in the bell tower:
Soldier Bee flew through the clouds, dropping Thorn Rat and frozen fish, and the impatient rats began to scramble for the food.
One lucky individual reached a critical point in weight and size, began to transform into the "core" of the Rat King, and attracted the surrounding Thorn Rat to approach it.
Amidst the surging tide of rats, a Rat King was born before the three of them.
"Wow, this is the Rat King..."
[ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ] made no attempt to hide his astonishment at this.
"I initially thought what those early adopters said was a bit exaggerated, but now it seems it was completely unfounded, making me never expect it to be this terrifying..."
[ Zhong Lele ] sat in the best observation position, recording while complaining:
"It's spectacular, that's for sure. Do you know how much funding this 'rat bullet' cost us?"
"How many?"
The [ Dark Archmage ], who was quite interested in this, chose to play the straight man.
Forty gold coins!
[ Zhong Lele's ] reply carried a hint of heartache:
" The Old Bottles, New Wine Plan only had a budget of one hundred gold coins. Although Ed added some later, that was for the entire project's expenses. We've only reached the first phase and we've already spent so much. Will we even be able to make ends meet later?"
[ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ] said with a somewhat embarrassed expression:
"If we run out of money, will our plan have to end?"
"It won't be that bad. At most, it will go back to the way it was at the beginning. After all, we're 'working at our own expense'."
"That's good."
[ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ] took a breath and suddenly said:
"This game feels a bit too outrageous, both in terms of player freedom and the creativity of the monsters... If we don't make some minor adjustments to our plans this time, creatures like the Rat King will almost never appear again."
Even so, when I looked at this monster, I didn't feel anything out of place. It perfectly matched the setting of this world, and I couldn't find a single flaw...
"What kind of development team could create a game like this?"
[ Zhong Lele ] replied with a smile:
"Actually, it's not that outrageous. You can search for it after you log off. The ' Rat King ' is a real-world phenomenon. The Rat King in the World of Disorder game is obviously based on the real-world Rat King image, so it's not entirely original."
"Oh, it even exists in real life? What will I do after I log off today...?"
The [ Dark Archmage ] suddenly pointed towards the Holy Tree Garden and said:
"Excuse me, gentlemen. It seems the Rat King has almost finished eating all the frozen fish. When would be a good time for us to pretend we just noticed and report the situation?"
[ Zhong Lele ]: "Let's wait and see. If the Rat King eats the plants in the Holy Tree Garden first, then we'll wait. If it charges straight at the chapel, then [ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ], you're in charge of reporting this, and the two of us will protect the children."
"No problem."
After a brief conversation, the three of them began to stare intently at the movement of the Rat King below.
This Rat King Rat King slightly smaller than the one in the cathedral, but it moved much faster.
After devouring all the frozen fish around him by rolling around, the Rat King set his sights on the large trees in the Holy Tree Garden.
The tree, originally Planting and cared for to express respect for the Tree God, was thus leaned against by the Rat King.
The fleshy mass fit perfectly into the texture of the tree's surface, and the sounds of countless rats gnawing together were as loud as the roar of a chainsaw in the dark.
After a dozen seconds of sawing sounds, the tall tree fell towards the Holy Tree Garden, crashing to the ground with a loud, dull thud.
Seeing this, [ Zhong Lele ] shrugged:
"Now we don't need to report it. If the night patrol priest can't even find this, he might as well pack his bags and go home."
[ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ] nodded and said:
"Let's go. We should go back to where we belong. Don't forget the core of the plan."
As the Dark Archmage walked down the clock tower, he whispered in reply:
"Disrupt the situation and take the orphans away in the chaos."
Antiya Lisi was awakened in his private residence by the sound of hurried footsteps.
Even as a Middle Tier expert, he maintained a high work intensity and a very regular schedule.
However, his senses were far beyond what ordinary, Low Tier beings could compare to.
Even these chaotic footsteps, though clearly occurring at a cathedral a block away, could be heard with perfect clarity by his powerful symbiotic plant.
The archbishop, opening his eyes in the darkness, knew that something must have happened at the cathedral.
He put on his coat in the darkness, strode out of the room, and gave instructions to the servant at the door:
"Notify the nearest military camps to immediately mobilize the Second Order of Knights to reinforce the cathedral's defenses, the Third Order of Knights to reinforce the chapel's defenses, and the Fourth and Fifth Knights to strengthen the city wall's defenses. Be alert for rebel attacks."
The servant bowed and left, while Antiya Lisi, having donned his outermost battle robe, strode out of the room.
Underground, unseen roots weave through the soil, bringing Antiya Lisi information from all living things around him.
The archbishop, whose appearance already showed signs of age, now seemed like a young victor, speaking in a low voice with unparalleled disdain:
"Rebels, let me see your new tricks."