"I have never actively concealed these battle situations, but!"
Archbishop Luorui'er's tone suddenly turned cold as he pointed to the row of gallows at the edge of the square.
In April, the Fitz Province was far from cold; the bodies that had been dead for two days hung on the gallows, already emitting a strange odor.
"However, some citizens of Black Pine City secretly colluded with each other, spreading rumors and attempting to exaggerate the Holy Crusaders's losses, causing panic among all citizens!"
"Fortunately, the vast majority of citizens are on our side. After learning of their plot, they reported it overnight, which prevented these wicked people from succeeding!"
Luorui'er's stern gaze swept over the thousands of citizens as he read from his prepared speech:
"I know there must be some citizens among you who still have doubts about me and the Tree Worship Church, so I've gathered you all here today to explain why Black Pine City will definitely not fall!"
"Holy crap, not only do they have a strategy to sow discord, but they also have a theory of ten victories and ten defeats?"
Near the church, in the crowd, [ The Priest Was Once a Little Boy ] spoke to his teammates on the comms.
Although the three were less than a meter apart, they dared not say such things aloud to a Middle Tier whose abilities were unknown. They could only use the "high-dimensional narrative" of the player system to convey information.
Player [ Fifteen Jin for Thirty Yuan ] immediately chimed in the chat after figuring something out:
"I know this—the people of Black Pine City are united, while the rebels each have their own agendas; this is a victory."
"One victory at Black Pine City, zero victories for the rebels, this is two victories in total."
"Two victories at Black Pine City, zero victories for the rebels, this is..."
"No, no, that's not what you said."
The renowned historian [ Ginseng Rooster ] participated in the discussion:
" The Holy Crusaders of Fitz Province has suffered so many defeats; they are defeated soldiers, and defeated soldiers are bound to be sorrowful, and sorrowful soldiers are bound to win..."
"Our Second Holy See has won so many times, but that's because we're a victorious army. And victorious armies are bound to be arrogant, and arrogant armies are bound to be defeated..."
[ The Priest Was Once a Little Boy ] retorted:
"Nonsense, according to you, we have no way to win in a row—victorious armies are bound to be arrogant, arrogant armies are bound to be defeated, defeated armies are bound to be miserable, and miserable armies are bound to be victorious. Isn't that a closed loop?"
[ Ginseng Rooster ] has his own thoughts on this:
"You don't know anything. Didn't you hear what the Archbishop said? The Black Pine City Holy Crusaders has failed so many times. They're just trying to get compensation by repeating their defeats?"
"Once we've recovered from the losing streak and leveled up, let's see if the Second Holy See can still be so arrogant."
[ Fifteen Jin for Thirty Yuan ] is speechless at the idea of [ Ginseng Rooster ]:
"You can apply a formula to this? You might as well say this is just a pretense, they might just pull a fast one on us later."
"You know what, buddy, you really have to admit..."
The three stood expressionless in the crowd, indistinguishable from the numb citizens around them.
The lively discussion only existed in the chat channel, with the three arguing back and forth, each having their own winning strategy, clearly eagerly anticipating Luorui'er Fitz's next "profound insights".
However, things didn't go as anyone predicted. The Archbishop of Fitz Province, Luorui'er Fitz, pioneered a new approach and strategy in proving his victory.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is now Black Pine City, but it wasn't called that a hundred years ago."
Before the Demonic Tide broke out, the only name of this city was ' Fitz,' the same as the name of the province and also the same as my surname.
"That's right, perhaps few people know about this now, but I might as well tell you today--"
"A hundred years ago, the entire Fitz Province was the fiefdom of my family, the Marquis of Fitz."
"A hundred years ago, Demonic Tide broke out, and Blood Corpse poured into the kingdom from the eastern Demon Realm, turning cities into isolated islands."
"And it was under such a terrible Calamity that my ancestors led the citizens of the city to defend it until the Corpse Tide receded, preventing your ancestors from becoming food for the Blood Corpse."
"Afterwards, the Tree Worship Church Theocracy was established, and my ancestors were rewarded by the cardinals for this achievement. Although the fief was changed to a province, all the archbishops of the Fitz Province were members of the Fitz Family."
"Gentlemen, to put it bluntly, you are all grateful to the Marquis ancestor of the Fitz Family a hundred years ago for being able to hear my words here today."
"But I have gathered you all here today not to hear your thanks, but to tell you that the perilous situation Black Pine City today is no different from that faced a hundred years ago, and the rebels are even less formidable than the Corpse Tide of a hundred years ago."
"A hundred years ago, your ancestors were able to protect this city under the leadership of my ancestors, and I believe that today, you will be able to protect this city again under my leadership!"
"I believe that Black Pine City will never fall!"
" Black Pine City will never fall!"
The Ginseng Rooster, who was listening to the story, was startled by the sudden shout from the person next to him.
He turned his head and saw that the man standing next to him, who had been expressionless before, was now raising his fist and shouting as if he had been injected with a stimulant.
Upon closer inspection, the man's physique was well-proportioned and his voice was full of energy, making him seem more like a pampered priest than a commoner.
Several similar shouts rang out, followed by more people joining in, quickly forming waves of frenzied cheers.
[ Ginseng Rooster ] and his two companions exchanged glances, the three of them looking on with expressions of enjoying the spectacle, and began shouting at the top of their lungs:
" Black Pine City will never fall!"
His shouts were so loud that they startled the man who had started shouting first.
He rolled his eyes at the simply Ginseng Rooster man, a hint of disdain rising in his heart.
Commoners are so easily fooled. I shouted loudly because it was the archbishop's task, but you shouted loudly because you're a stupid commoner. It's truly incomprehensible.
[ The Ginseng Rooster ] was oblivious to the disdainful looks from the priests around him; instead, he shouted even more energetically and fervently.
The shouts of the common people gradually became unified from their initial scattered shouts, and they began to shout together rhythmically.
Meanwhile, player chat group:
[ Fifteen Jin for Thirty Yuan ]: "What the hell is this nonsense logic? Is this how you win? To be fair, comparing us to the Blood Corpse is a bit of an insult, isn't it? And saying the Second Holy See is inferior to the Blood Corpse... This guy is even dumber than I thought."
[ The Priest Was Once a Little Boy ]: "You know what, although there are big problems when you think about it carefully, this explanation sounds alright."
[ Ginseng Rooster ]: "Good heavens! The guy next to me is a shill. If the shill leads the shouting, how dare the others not shout? The corpse on the gallows hasn't even been taken down yet..."