In the Name of God, in the Name of the Lord

As the bishop introduced him, a middle-aged man stepped out from behind. He appeared to be around forty-five or forty-six years old, with a confident smile on his slightly dark, robust face. This caused the paladins of the Walast faction to exchange surprised glances. Judging from his age, he should have been a paladin for some time. However, given Walast's extensive network of connections, they had never heard of such a paladin. Even if the Temple had been hiding him, it was impossible to completely suppress all information.

Could it be that he has only recently become a paladin?

Even Walast himself found this conjecture absurd. How could someone who had just become a paladin become the Grand Master of Knights, leading all the paladins?

"I think everyone must be guessing who I am."

Despite the paladins' hushed whispers, the man who had just become the Grand Master of Knights spoke with a calm smile.

"You've never seen me before and don't know who I am, right? Well then, let me introduce myself again."

"Your Excellency, this is not quite right."

Upon hearing this, the bishop frowned slightly and tried to dissuade him—but the Grand Master of Knights raised his hand to interrupt him.

"Now, let me introduce myself again. I am the newly promoted Paladin Grand Master— Sera Henderson. Before becoming Grand Master, I was a member of the Sacred Blade."

"What!"

Everyone was shocked by Henderson's words.

The Sacred Blade are a hidden force within the Temple. Unlike the Paladin Order, they are not responsible for external affairs; they are solely loyal to Temple and will eliminate any enemy by any means necessary. They are the most formidable fanatics, living only for the Temple and the God of Justice. For the Temple, they are willing to kill anyone, whether they are high-ranking officials of the Five-Nation Alliance, heretics, or even their own fellow paladins—they will kill them all without exception. Even among the radicals, the Sacred Blade are the most radical and dangerous.

At this critical juncture, why would the Temple appoint such a dangerous individual as the leader of all the paladins?

"What exactly is this...?"

"Alright, gentlemen!"

Seeing that the situation was clearly not going well, the bishop quickly intervened.

"I know you all have many opinions to express, but the Temple also has its own considerations. Please be quiet, everyone, as we have more important matters to discuss. After you have heard everything, I think you will understand this decision."

More important things? What could be more important than the Knights Commander?

Hearing this, the knights, though puzzled, quieted down for the time being. They weren't hot-headed young people; everyone standing there was an elite from their respective Temple, and naturally wouldn't make such a pointless mistake. Seeing that the situation was under control once again, the bishop finally breathed a sigh of relief, and then took a letter from his robes. His expression then turned serious.

"Ladies and gentlemen, a month ago, Bishop Kaili, located at the Temple in Blackwater City of Lalia, urgently sent a message claiming that he had discovered a new type of undead creature."

Upon hearing this, the paladins immediately focused their attention. They were the vanguard in the fight against the undead, and right now, the appearance of a new type of undead was naturally more important to them than the appearance of the Grand Master. After all, what to do after an order was given could be thought of later, but once a sword was swung down by an undead, it could not be taken back.

"According to Bishop Kaili's report, these are terrifying undead creatures. They look exactly like humans, can walk in sunlight, and are even undetectable to the naked eye!"

Upon hearing this, another uproar erupted in the hall. What a joke! An undead creature that looks exactly like a human? Is it even undead? What are we going to do?

"Furthermore, these undead creatures are incredibly contagious! Even the priests of the Temple were not immune. In fact, the reason Bishop Kaili was able to discover these terrifying undead creatures was because he captured a priest who had already been transformed into an undead."

The paladins' expressions grew increasingly grave. They were seasoned veterans in the fight against undead. But until now, their enemies had been nothing more than moving skeletons, necromancers, and at most, liches. Of course, these undead were also difficult to deal with; their corpses carried terrifying viruses, and being wounded by them could lead to poisoning and death. However... they had never seen such a terrifying evil spell that could turn a priest into an undead creature.

"How did these undead creatures come to be? How did Bishop Kaili discover them? Do they still possess their own will?"

Walast immediately stepped forward and asked the same question the other paladins wanted to know.

"Bishop Kaili's discovery of this undead creature was merely a coincidence. In fact, it was because a priest with him was a friend of the priest who had become an undead creature. They met by chance on the street and sensed the necromantic aura emanating from the priest, successfully capturing him. Of course, this is completely different from the undead creatures you have seen before. Although the priest was dead, she was perfectly conscious and possessed independent thought; she was not a puppet."

"... So, did that undead creature explain how it became like this?"

"It's very regrettable."

The bishop shook his head.

"Although she retains her sanity, she appears to have completely fallen into evil and darkness. Despite our best efforts, the only information we've gathered is that the undead creature had briefly stayed in a border village before, and after that, she became what she is now. Clearly, this is a terrifying curse. We haven't reached any effective conclusions."

"... It's unbelievable."

Walast frowned; this was indeed a tricky matter.

"So, what happened to the priest who was turned into an undead?"

"Disappeared."

The bishop sighed.

"Under our holy and great light, even an undead creature cannot withstand it for long. Therefore, she only lasted three days before turning to ashes."

The Simulacrum that Li Lin cast back then was already considered to have the best effect if it could last for three days.

"Then, do we know absolutely nothing about this undead creature?"

Another paladin also spoke up, somewhat dissatisfied.

"We already know they cannot survive under the Holy Light, and that's enough!"

At that moment, Henderson finally spoke.

"This is a terrible, evil, dark curse. We must utterly destroy it all, destroy these undead monsters! No matter the cost, we must do it! Only in this way can we guarantee the glory of myself and the Book Lord!!"

"But how do we do it?"

"Yes, we simply have no idea how to identify these monsters."

Even if we could use holy light to distinguish them, it's impossible for holy light to shine in every corner...

As soon as Henderson finished speaking, the paladins started discussing again.

"Besides, putting all that aside, what will the public think? According to His Excellency the Bishop, these undead creatures look just like humans, don't they?"

"Yes, even if we can determine that they are undead, these undead are not rotting corpses or walking bones, nor are they those floating ghosts. How can we convince the public to accept this?"

"If this isn't handled properly, it could become the Temple's greatest crisis. We need more evidence and evidence, Lord Henderson."

"That kind of thing... is completely unnecessary!"

Faced with the paladins' argument, Henderson suddenly waved his hand.

"We are paladins, we are the children of God! We represent the will of God. What we speak is the word of God, what we believe in is the work of God! We need not explain to anyone. At tomorrow's Five-Nation Alliance meeting, we will demand a thorough cleansing and search of the entire continent! Completely annihilate all undead creatures, all evil that taints this world! Leave no one alive, in the name of God, purify them!!"

"I protest."

Walast stepped forward again.

"Lord Henderson, setting aside whether we even possess such authority, your actions will tarnish the Temple's reputation! The Temple has never acted in this way since its founding; it's too fanatical and too dangerous. Moreover, how can we persuade the Five-Nation Alliance to cooperate with us?! We haven't even figured out how to identify and diagnose these undead creatures yet. A misjudgment would bring losses to the Temple and our great and just god! People will..."

We don't need to care what they think.

Henderson coldly interrupted Walast.

"This is God's will! Evil must be eradicated, by any means necessary! Only those who believe in our great God are qualified to live on this bright and beautiful land. Those who are unbelievers are as evil as heretics and undead creatures; they must be eliminated, without reason!"

"What you're doing will cause unnecessary sacrifices!"

"For the sake of justice and light, all sacrifices are inevitable. If necessary, I will also give my life!!!"

As Henderson spoke, a pair of dazzling wings of light suddenly appeared behind him, and an aura of sacred inviolability immediately spread throughout the entire hall. Faced with this miracle, all the paladins were dumbfounded. They could clearly feel this undeniable divine power, the power of the God of Justice. Such majesty and power were unmatched, even among the paladins.

"This is God's will; in order to destroy darkness and evil, we must make sacrifices and choices."

As Henderson spoke, he looked down at Walast.

"Walast Valast, do you have any further comments?"

"..."

Walast opened his mouth as if to speak, but in the end he said nothing; under this majestic, divine power, he couldn't even utter a sound.

In the end, Walast could only shake his head in resignation.