By Ed's moral standards, it would be absurd to arrest and burn the entire family of the Stained Ones, but the key issue is whether their family members were complicit in the evil.
If one truly has no idea what their Stained Ones family members are doing, then... at least a restriction should be imposed such as prohibiting them from becoming priests again for three generations.
Putting these distracting thoughts aside, Ed neither agreed nor disagreed with Howard's request, but instead asked him a question:
Do you know why we caught you so quickly?
Howard frowned in confusion. Wasn't this because he had sent his servants to set the fire, and they had been discovered?
Ed said to himself:
"A high-ranking knight wanted a reduced sentence, so after much deliberation, he revealed your name to us, saying that you were once Antiya Lisi's Left and Right Arms, and that your crimes were countless..."
Howard's pupils dilated instantly. He opened his mouth wide but didn't know what to say. He wanted to argue, but when he looked up, he saw his family being led out of the ruins of their house by the newly formed Holy Crusaders.
"Yes, I did those things, but who reported me?"
"Very good, there's no problem with your attitude towards admitting guilt."
Ed patted him on the shoulder:
"Once the statement collection is complete, you will be assigned a new position."
What is it?
Howard seemed to see a glimmer of hope and quickly pressed for more information.
" The Twin Towers Cathedral has already begun renovations. Once completed, each of the east and west towers will require an archbishop to guard it. I will also be assigning you some Holy Crusaders. I plan to have you in charge of the east tower for a period of time. As for the west tower..."
Ed's tone carried a hint of amusement:
"You just asked me who reported you. Well, it's okay to tell you, it was Gorn, and coincidentally, I was planning to have him guard the West Tower."
A fierce glint appeared in Howard's eyes:
"Although I don't know who you are, sir, may I...?"
He didn't know why he had told the boy in front of him about his desire for revenge. Perhaps it was because the boy had captured him but was still offering him a job, making him seem exceptionally kind...
Ed nodded and then shook his head:
"Remember, in the rebuilt cathedral, the only rule is that there are no rules. Explore and do whatever you want."
Ed waved his hand, and a newly formed Holy Crusaders fastened an ability-binding device around Howard's neck.
The once strong and robust Grand Knight Commander suddenly slumped down like a withered plant, and with the help of several people, headed to the prison below the cathedral.
As Howard was leaving, he even gave Ed a thank-you look. His ability to exploit someone's weaknesses with just a few words amazed even Nuolun, who had just used a dirty trick.
Watching Howard's departing figure, Nuolun wiped the blood from his face and asked:
" My Son of God, can that power-binding device be used on people of all strengths?"
Ed shook his head:
"That's a device developed by the Willow. According to her, it only works on plant-based targets below the High Tier. To target other systems, it needs further improvement, and the closer the target is to the High Tier, the more likely it is to cause problems."
Nuolun for a moment and then pressed on with more questions:
"Can I apply for several?"
What is it used for?
"I feel that, given my speed, I could try to put this thing around an enemy's neck during combat. If it works, victory is practically guaranteed."
Ed tilted his head and looked at Nuolun, feeling that she was the kind of girl from another world who would stand enthusiastically in front of a ring toss stall at a temple fair.
"That's not a bad idea. I'll ask Willow later if it's possible to use it that way."
Ed nodded in agreement, but the thought of the restraining collar that could block abilities brought another problem to his mind:
" Nuolun, I also have something I'd like to ask you."
"Please speak, Son of God Highness."
Ed organized his thoughts and said:
"Is there any way to, um, become stronger as quickly as possible? Not for me, but I feel that some Pure Ones, although they have strong faith and outstanding abilities, are indeed lacking in combat skills, so I'm wondering if there's any way to help them grow stronger faster."
Nuolun shook his head:
" My Son of God, becoming stronger requires a down-to-earth approach; there is no other way."
Ed thought to himself, "Isn't there any other way?"
Since he came into this world, he has become stronger entirely by consuming offerings from players. From this perspective, his method of becoming stronger is not through hard work but by stepping on corpses...
Even now, the Root Network still contains a headless Antiya Lisi that has not yet been consumed.
This was indeed something Ed found hard to accept; what had he been eating before?
The spoils of the players' hunts, the monsters pieced together from the body fragments of the experimental subjects, the Blood Corpse that can no longer be called human...
Now, Antiya Lisi, who should have become nourishment in his treant form, has died in human form, making it somewhat difficult for Ed to eat him; he feels like he's turning into Hannibal.
However, upon further reflection, Ed did not actually engage in any so-called "cannibalism" after arriving in this world. After draining the nutrients from those Blood Corpse, he simply filtered out the toxins and added them to his limb reserve for players to use in resurrection.
Thinking about it that way, Antiya Lisi's corpse wasn't much different from a somewhat unique Blood Corpse.
So he decided to absorb the archbishop's power entirely without absorbing his body, in the very traditional way.
As for the remaining portion, it can be stored in the Root Network's inventory and allocated when a lucky player respawns nearby.
This way, the resources are put to good use, and it has nothing to do with cannibalism.
Thinking about Nuolun's answer, Ed thought of another method:
"Then I'd like to know, if people are more grounded than before, will their growth rate increase?"
The Grand Knight tilted his head in confusion:
What does "being more down-to-earth" mean?
"It means putting more pressure on them than before, which can be summarized as increasing the amount of weight in their training."
Nuolun's eyes lit up upon hearing this:
"This might be useful. The Holy City Theological Seminary has a weighted training method. The weight here isn't physical weight, but rather makes growth more difficult. It's said to have been invented by Cardinal Luxiusi, a master of asceticism. After applying his secret technique to his students, he could make their bodies more prone to exhaustion and fatigue. However, if they were willing to work twice as hard and persevere, they would eventually reap unexpected rewards."
"Yes, yes, that's it. Do you know how to do it this way?"
Nuolun shook his head:
"I can't. This is Cardinal Luxiusi's unique technique, supposedly related to his symbiotic plant. No one else can use it."
"I see."
Ed for a moment and muttered to himself:
"This matter seems suitable to be left to Willow to investigate; as for who will be the first to bear the hardship..."
Duolin's honest and simple image had already appeared in Ed's mind.