After obtaining everyone's unanimous agreement, they used the simplest method to kill the players who had turned into beasts.
As for the Gungnir present, it was a different story. They seemed to have experienced great physical exhaustion. After the players subdued them, the group of teenagers quickly fell into a deep sleep and could not be woken up no matter how they were called.
At this point, the Root Network is located at its edge.
A few roots that had been lying dormant underground broke through the surface and began to twist and intertwine.
All the surrounding nutrients were drawn to it, and a somewhat ugly sphere of plant tissue was growing rapidly.
After a few breaths, the surface of the wooden ball cracked, just like it had been in the underground of Klaf City, and Ed stepped out with steady strides.
When they saw that [ Ginseng Rooster ] had actually managed to get the boss to come over, the players who followed him in the undercover circle immediately shouted "Awesome!"
[ Ginseng Rooster ] never expected things to escalate to such a huge extent.
He had only intended to report the matter to Ed, but Ed rushed over immediately after hearing the news.
From the moment the communication ended to the Descent of the clone, only a dozen seconds had passed, and almost all of that time was spent growing the wooden ball, so there shouldn't have been a single second of delay.
Thinking of this, [ Ginseng Rooster ] couldn't help but swallow.
It seems this matter is not simple...
By this time, almost all the Soul Returner had been "dealt with," and those who restarted earlier, like [ Good Times Don't Last ], had even completed their resurrection and were recovering their bodies.
At this moment, Ed faced only two questions: first, how serious was the situation of the Gungnir, and second, how exactly Luorui'er had escaped.
Based on the information gathered by players, Luorui'er's abilities shouldn't be that advanced.
Did someone help him?
Ed stabilized the situation of the Gungnir using the Root Network, then found the first one to revive, [ Good Times Don't Last ], to inquire about the situation, and quickly gained a general understanding of what had happened.
According to [ Good Times Don't Last ] and several other players, after Luorui'er crawled out of the cave, an enemy deliberately exposed his location.
The enemy then appeared to use some kind of symbiotic plant, allowing the defeated enemies to stand up again.
Immediately afterwards, everyone felt a surge of nameless fire rising in their hearts, and they just wanted to defeat the enemy in front of them at all costs.
The same is true for the warriors who protect Luorui'er; even after being defeated, they can force themselves into Tree Transformation state to continue the battle, a once-in-a-lifetime endeavor that is no different from a suicidal attack.
Just as the two sides were locked in a bloody battle, oblivious to the world around them, the instigator of it all, Luorui'er, gracefully disappeared, vanishing from everyone's sight and attention.
Both sides left on the battlefield completely lost their minds. By the time [ the Good Times Don't Last ] came to their senses, they were completely out of control. Although they could see and hear, their bodies were taken over by instinct, and they were unable to give any commands.
Left with no other choice, they ultimately had to let their companions kill them to avoid further chaos.
Upon hearing this, Ed nodded calmly on the surface, but inwardly he was in turmoil.
Something's wrong; Luorui'er's power is off.
Ed is now close to reaching the pinnacle of the Middle Tier, and he knows full well that it is impossible for Middle Tier to possess such power.
Even players infected with the Blood Poison will not completely lose control of their bodies.
Now, facing a mere Middle Tier archbishop, players are not only stripped of control over their bodies, but they can't even commit suicide.
In Ed's design for the Soul Returner, "suicide" is basically equivalent to the "getting out of the game" function in a typical game. After clicking, the entire body will sever the main nerves to achieve rapid death, thereby releasing the souls of the Soul Returner to find a place to reshape their bodies.
According to [ Good Times Don't Last ] and others, their somatic nervous systems must have been significantly affected, to the point that they couldn't even commit suicide.
If the body cannot die, it will naturally be placed back into the original body by the system upon logging in again...
With this in mind, Ed solidified his judgment—there was definitely High Tier secretly helping Luorui'er.
His first thought was that some High Tier had come here in person, but upon closer reflection, since Gungnir and the players weren't really dead, it was probably just a remote attack.
Although the specific candidate still needs to be analyzed, a name has already emerged in Ed's mind—Cardinal Sailesi.
As the mentor of Archbishop Antiya Lisi, a frequent figure in various innovative literary styles, and an insurmountable monument in the history of World of Disorder literature, Sailesi's name is already widely known.
But to this day, no one knows what the archbishop's abilities are. Ed originally planned to get some information from Antiya Lisi, but the first archbishop died on the eve of being captured alive. He was suspected of being killed instantly by some means, and even his body was arranged to look submissive.
Now, the second archbishop, who may have learned of Sailesi's whereabouts, has successfully escaped, leading Ed to suspect that Sailesi is the one manipulating everything behind the scenes.
His abilities must have clear limitations, otherwise such power should have been applied to him long ago.
Even so, Ed couldn't help but feel the power of Sailesi, this High Tier.
It seems I must speed things up. For a faction to survive in World of Disorder for a long time, it must have at least one High Tier being.
Willow, as a lich, has recently been focusing all her attention on deducing the research results left by her mother.
Given Duma's considerable military capabilities, long-term overseas deployments are inevitable.
Seraphina can take action, but she always feels like a mercenary.
After much deliberation, Ed concluded that, given the current situation, he was the only person who could represent the Second Holy See.
Players are shaped by their own abilities, and the Root Network is built by their own power; only their own power and the players' own power are truly compatible.
Besides, who doesn't want to become stronger?
Ed hadn't forgotten the question that had puzzled him before; he wanted to know what kind of Authority he would gain after advancing to High Tier.
The site has been surveyed. Ed obtained the new Aberration plant, Forget-Sorrow Mint, from [ Ginseng Rooster ] and restored it to its original powerful effects.
After Little Green and Little Blue analyzed the situation, Ed confirmed that this plant couldn't drive the players completely mad, which further solidified his guess.
Under the influence of [ Forget-Sorrow Mint ], the Gungnir received Ed's limb regeneration painlessly and subsequently awoke.
After giving these unfortunate children a few days off, the Son of God entered his loyal Black Pine City.