"But everyone cares about their own life. He wants to tie this rumor to his own, to merge the news of ' Antiya Lisi prostituted himself' with his own death, evolving it into ' Antiya Lisi killed someone to cover up the fact that he prostituted himself.' When this news is tied to life, the citizens will definitely care even more."
Another player thought for a moment and said:
"That makes perfect sense. It's genius in publicity and marketing—if the rumor only circulates in a small circle, Antiya Lisi can certainly make it a fact and actually kill those who believe it. But if everyone knows, he can't just kill everyone in the city, can he?"
"That's right, that's the effect he wants. Smart citizens will definitely think of this, and they will do everything they can to spread this news in order to save their lives."
"Wow, isn't this a bit too insidious?"
"Now that things have come to this, let's hope Antiya Lisi can maintain his form."
Cathedral, study.
Plant branches were tightly wrapped around a man's limbs, suspending him in the air like a martyr.
Antiya Lisi slightly spread the five fingers of his right hand, and the branches binding his limbs tightened outwards again, causing the young man hanging in the air to let out a painful groan.
The one about to be divided into five parts is none other than the priest who had earlier beheaded the [ Ginseng Rooster ] with a single stroke.
Full of confidence, he brought the severed heads to the cathedral to claim credit, but after recounting the whole story, he witnessed the rage of an archbishop.
He had never seen the archbishop so out of control in the past few years, and he didn't even understand what he had done wrong.
Seeing the priest's bewildered and aggrieved expression, Antiya Lisi suppressed his anger and said:
Why kill him?
Why kill? Shouldn't someone who spreads such rumors be killed?
"According to your description, that rebel was just an ordinary, Low Tier civilian, one who couldn't even fight back against your attacks."
Antiya Lisi looked at the priest and continued:
"If we can capture someone like that alive, we can make him say whatever we want. It wouldn't be impossible to take him all over Fir City and make him eat every single leaflet."
"This will not only deter those with ill intentions, but also expose his accomplices hiding in the shadows."
His tone remained stern:
"Haven't you noticed lately? When the rebels first infiltrated Fir City, they did some sabotage, but after rescuing those orphans, their actions became much less significant. Now, they've switched from sabotage to spreading rumors. Can't you see they're at their last gasp?"
Antiya Lisi himself didn't believe what he said, but he had to appear to believe it firmly, because he was the ruler of the city.
He must never show any sign of losing confidence in front of his subordinates; even if he has to argue illogically, he must maintain his arrogance and verbal advantage.
The archbishop shook his head and said:
"Such a good opportunity, and you've completely squandered it, and you even have the audacity to claim credit?"
Upon hearing this, the priest fully understood where his problem lay, and even though he was tightly bound by branches, his body began to tremble.
If he had harbored any resentment before, he was now completely speechless.
He realized that he had handled the matter poorly, and after that, he began to fear for his future.
Objectively speaking, Antiya Lisi is a capable and fairly fair leader, but now I'm about to become his enemy...
The archbishop sighed and said:
"We are all Stained Ones, aren't we?"
The priest nodded as if granted a pardon.
Antiya Lisi continued:
"Then let us dedicate everything for the Cardinal, for the Tree God."
With that, he clenched his right fist, and the branches that had only bound the priest's limbs immediately sprouted hollow, hard thorns that pierced directly into his flesh. Thus, a tree-man transformation took place in Antiya Lisi's study.
A flicker of confusion crossed the priest's eyes, followed by endless anguish.
He tried to shout, but had lost the ability to speak; all he could do was twist his body in a futile struggle...
The branches led the priest underground, where a new cell had been cleared to imprison the nascent Treant Hunter.
Antiya Lisi sat quietly at the table for a long time, then reached out and flipped over a piece of paper that was lying face down on the table.
This was one of the leaflets brought by [ Ginseng Rooster ], which used exaggerated language to describe the tragic life of someone with the same name as himself.
From the Holy City to the Aduolin Province, it seemed that wherever Antiya Lisi went, strange rumors followed.
After carefully reading through the leaflet in front of him, the archbishop sighed helplessly.
Although this leaflet distribution did not cause any real damage to Fir City, Antiya Lisi was more nervous than ever before.
He knew that some things couldn't be judged by appearances alone, and the rebels who could come up with such methods were definitely not simple.
They only had one chance: to launch a counterattack immediately after reinforcements arrived. If the war dragged on until spring, the resurgence of the Blood Corpse would intensify, and both Fir City and the rebels would be bogged down in a quagmire.
As long as the Aduolin Province remains unconquered, the rebels will continue to escalate their arrogance, while the Tree Worship Church he represents will become increasingly weak.
Thinking of this, Antiya Lisi summoned several priests and began to issue orders:
"Immediately notify the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Knights to search the area around the chapel house by house for leaflets. Anyone found hiding them should be arrested immediately and considered an accomplice of the rebels."
"Notify the Second Order of Knights and Third Order of Knights to conduct immediate self-examinations, and then investigate all Holy Crusaders and priests. Anyone found to be possessing leaflets will be punished even more severely."
"Notify the Fourth Knight Order to select one hundred men to immediately leave the city through the south gate and begin scouting the external situation, confirming the distance between reinforcements and Fir City, and immediately eliminate any Blood Corpse found along the way."
"Other knightly orders without direct orders shall enter combat mode immediately, increase training, and be ready to strike at any time."
"Yes!"
The attendants obeyed and left Antiya Lisi's study, leaving only the archbishop sitting in his chair.
The words on those flyers seemed to be etched into his mind as if carved by a knife and axe, and Antiya Lisi's breathing gradually became rapid.
How can I allow others to tarnish my wonderful life like this?
Once the war is over, he will catch the person who started this and tear them to pieces to vent his hatred.
Antiya Lisi unconsciously clenched his fist, while outside the study window, a bird the size of a peregrine falcon swooped down at low altitude.