"[ The Dark Archmage ], is that right?"
The priest in charge of recording glanced at the unconscious Karl and wrote the somewhat tongue-twisting name (phonetic version) on the contract in front of him.
"Come on, sign your name here. You're a member of the militia now."
The [ Dark Archmage ] habitually donned the mask called "Local Native," automatically adopting his histrionic personality.
"Yes, Your Excellency."
Seeing that the priest in front of him did not suspect anything, the [ Dark Archmage ] secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
We finally got through it!
She had been holding back most of her strength while fighting that native; otherwise, even a fool would have noticed something was wrong.
With her combat strength, which falls between the first and second tiers, a full-force attack might be enough to pierce through that somewhat skinny native.
On the other side, watching Karl being dragged away like a dead dog by two Holy Crusaders almost instantly after his utter defeat, the priest who had initially been somewhat indignant said nothing more.
It seems there are still some talented people among the common people. Although there is no trace of training, they are still outstanding among ordinary people.
That unlucky guy must have just had bad luck to run into such an opponent.
While this was surprising, it wasn't as rare as the Soul Returner had imagined.
Most of the Holy Crusaders and priests of the Tree Worship Church were selected from the common people. If all the common people were sickly, there would be no fresh blood.
The climate, taxes, and intensity of the Demonic Tide in different provinces all affect the physical fitness of the common people in the region, so it is not surprising that a few formidable individuals occasionally emerge.
It's certainly a good thing that such talented civilians have joined the militia, but the despicable scoundrel who got away with it is still nagging incessantly in my ear, which is really annoying.
This refers to [ the Ginseng Rooster ], who, after seeing Karl easily defeated, began to speak ill of the priests around him:
"Look at that! What kind of thing did you choose?"
"If people like that join the militia, will they be able to defend the city walls? When the rebels and heretics attack, they'll be lucky if they don't kneel down!"
One of the priests, somewhat annoyed by his arrogance, retorted in a low voice:
How do you know we can't hold on?
Unexpectedly, the commoner was sharp-eared and saw it all at once and immediately heard his complaints.
[ The Ginseng Rooster ] looked at the priest sitting in the middle with disdain:
"He can't even hold onto an egg!"
After uttering that curse, he pointed with satisfaction at the [ Dark Archmage ]:
"This is exactly the kind of talent the Archbishop needs. If you're not satisfied, go and appeal to the Archbishop!"
"You!"
The priest's face visibly flushed, but he suppressed his anger and focused on doing his job.
He's right, it's best to leave it at that; both sides can compromise.
One side is being aggressive, while the other is slacking off. If the archbishop finds out, it might cause even more trouble.
But if things continue like this, everyone's dignity as official clergy will inevitably be trampled underfoot by Ginseng Rooster...
Who would want to be a cushion for no reason?
Is there a good way to both save face and satisfy the archbishop...?
At that moment, the priest who had remained silent among the four priests spoke up:
"Gentlemen, and the militia captain, I've come up with a good way to conduct a comprehensive assessment."
"Oh?"
The three priests and [ the Ginseng Rooster ] all looked at the taciturn priest.
He said earnestly:
"Since there are some disagreements regarding the selection of militia members, why don't we change the selection process from one layer to two layers?"
He looked at his three companions and said:
"How about we four continue with the same selection criteria as before? Those who pass our initial screening will then undergo a second screening by Captain [ Ginseng Rooster ]?"
Good grief, these locals aren't stupid after all!
Under the pressure of the task, this local priest actually managed to develop a multi-layered screening process without any formal instruction. With a little more refinement, he might even be able to develop the preliminary, final, written, and oral examinations.
[ Ginseng Rooster ] praised the priest in his heart, intending to find out later whether this person was Stained Ones.
Although it may sound insulting, just as there are few loyalists among the Blood Corpse, the vast majority of the Pure Ones are also single-minded.
If he's a good person, he might be able to shoulder even more responsibility in the future.
Showing a look of approval, [ Ginseng Rooster ] naturally had no objection to this arrangement.
The other three, however, held the priest's ideas in contempt.
Isn't this just trying to smooth things over?
People hate those who try to smooth things over the most!
The priests conducted the first screening, and of course, anyone could pass.
When the militia captain undergoes a second selection process, some people will naturally be eliminated.
At this point, everyone can jump out and say, "It's not that I'm preventing you from passing; it's that the commoner was too inflexible and that's why things turned out this way," and so on. In short, they can completely absolve themselves of any blame.
But is it necessary to do this?
The other party is clearly just a newcomer; what right do they have to be the one smoothed over?
However, this method wasn't bad. After discussing it for a while, the three of them finally agreed to this arrangement.
[ Ginseng Rooster ] raised his hand at this moment:
"Excuse me, priests, I'm a rough man and illiterate... For the second selection, shouldn't I be paired with a partner?"
The four priests exchanged glances, and unsurprisingly, the Master was voted out and became [ the Ginseng Rooster ]'s personal assistant.
The side of the cathedral quickly changed, with three priests moving forward to form the first "line of defense," while [ Ginseng Rooster ] took a peacemaker priest Andy and, with the militia's contract, headed to the open space at the corner of the cathedral.
The brief incident did not affect the overall selection process, but with the precedents of Karl and the [ Dark Archmage ], some commoners were no longer so reckless.
After comparing themselves with several seemingly well-proportioned and graceful "commoners" in the crowd, some of them gradually calmed down, quietly left the crowd, and went home.
Some stubborn commoners, however, were determined to confront this opportunistic villain, [ the Ginseng Rooster ], and were determined to secure their jobs in the church.
A commoner who looked to be in decent shape passed the first round of testing and stood before [ Ginseng Rooster ].
He sized the newcomer up and down, and said in an unfriendly tone:
" Rod, right? You don't look too well. Do you have lung disease and cough a lot?"
"Captain, I don't have a cough."
No?
"No."
[ The Ginseng Rooster ] abruptly stood up, approached the commoner, and asked again:
No?
This man also lost his temper, and shouted with his neck stiffened:
"No!"
"Bang!"
[ Ginseng Rooster ] made personal attacks against civilians.