"Please wait, Divine Messenger."
Lord An bowed slightly, then turned and slowly drew the 'Holy Artifact: Sword of Redemption' bestowed upon him by God, walking towards Berlick.
"How can a 'Bishop' recognized by my God allow the Church headquarters to be filled with filth? This is blasphemy against God."
He was not at all worried that removing these parasites who monopolized the power of The Way of Peace would cause unrest.
The God's Assembly would bestow 'Divine Blessing' upon believers who held good intentions and lived by that creed.
Believers with 'Divine Blessing' could even defeat 'Teigu Users'.
No, not just defeat, but complete victory.
The strength of a 'Teigu User' comes only from possessing a 'Teigu'; the user is still human. However, a 'God's Grace' is inherently powerful, and comparing a 'Teigu User' to a 'God's Grace' is an insult to the 'God's Grace'.
"Lord, no, Bishop An."
Two robed and hooded clerics bowed slightly at the end of the corridor.
"It seems you have all received God's favor," An said gently.
These were his attendants, strong and devout individuals he had chosen from among the believers.
Besides protecting his safety, they were also responsible for spreading and explaining the doctrines to the believers, who called them lecturers.
Currently, he had a total of one hundred and twenty attendants, known by the believers as the Lord's Lecture Group.
"Yes, Bishop An," one of the lecturers said, his voice trembling with excitement. "The grace God bestowed upon me is 'Fire Palm Art'; I can unleash fiery palms from both hands. It's currently Lv.1, capable of producing fire palms up to one meter."
His good deeds were sufficient; he had finally been favored by God and received such a sacred grace.
Only after receiving God's Grace did he understand 'God's Order'.
"Bishop An, my grace is 'Air Cannon'; I can compress air to create explosions. Currently, I can blast through a wall at maximum," another lecturer said excitedly.
An said gently, "You are all excellent. God has seen everyone's good deeds, but this is only the beginning."
"The more grace God bestows, the greater the responsibility. The happiness of the believers and good people rests upon us."
"In the future, perhaps you too will be rewarded by God as 'Bishops'."
"Yes, Bishop An!" The two lecturers were filled with fanaticism and piety.
An's expression became solemn: "Now, both of you, go gather all the members of the lecture group who have received grace. We must purge all evil from Jerok and cleanse our home for the arrival of the four Divine Messengers."
The place where the Church resides must be absolutely holy; not a single trace of evil can exist.
"Yes!" The two lecturers said in unison.
Having been granted grace by God, they could now discern good from evil; good people and sinful people were clearly distinguishable in their eyes.
To prevent the Church from being controlled by ambitious individuals and to keep out rats, Xia Wei simply incorporated the 'Karma Fire' attribute, which discerns good and evil, into the 'Divine Blessing'.
In the most magnificent palace at the Church headquarters.
It was resplendent with gold, even the walls were painted with gold dust.
Such luxury came entirely from the contributions of believers in the Eastern Province.
Most of this wealth, however, flowed into the pockets of Ernest, the Imperial Capital's minister.
Berlick was precisely the mole Ernest dispatched to The Way of Peace to usurp power, aiming to turn The Way of Peace into a machine for further plundering the people's wealth.
In every region of the Empire, there were various bone-scraping, blood-sucking taxes, but most of these taxes went into the pockets of local nobles. Ernest, of course, would not give up this fat piece of meat.
Since not much tax could be collected, he would change the method to make the people hand over their property themselves.
The original source of The Way of Peace's wealth was voluntary donations from believers, but now it had become brainwashing the populace.
Berlick did as he pleased in The Way of Peace; to him, The Way of Peace was simply paradise.
"Congratulations, you have been honorably chosen as the Lord's attendant."
Berlick sat on the golden main seat, speaking to the kneeling female believer below, his eyes overflowing with ugliness.
"R-really?" The female believer was ecstatic.
"To be able to witness the miracles caused by Lord An up close, it's like a dream."
Berlick's face was full of wicked thoughts, yet he forced a benevolent expression.
"But you still harbor evil thoughts; as such, you are unqualified to be an attendant."
The female believer swayed: "H-how can this be?"
Berlick chuckled lewdly: "Take off your clothes, let me purify your body with a sacred ritual."
The female believer regained hope: "Okay, Lord Berlick, I beg you."
Just then, a scolding voice came.
"Enough!"
Berlick and the female believer were startled.
"Who!" Berlick looked over, enraged.
He only saw Lord An entering with ten attendants behind him.
"Lord An." The female believer's eyes were full of light.
"This kind believer, please wait in the guest room," An said gently.
An attendant stepped forward: "Please come this way."
"Yes, Lord An." The female believer was happily led out of the room.
Berlick said mockingly, "Oh~ What is Lord An doing? Such a grand display, are you planning to make an irrational choice?"
Accompanied by the sound of metal scraping, ten armored warriors emerged from behind a red curtain.
"You'd better think carefully before acting, you know." Berlick scoffed. He wanted to confront him? With just these few people? And all chosen from commoners?
"Hehehehe—why not just cut him down, Berlick?" A man holding a strangely shaped scythe and smoking a cigarette walked out.
"Holymaka, my Teigu User, can kill all of you in an instant," Berlick said mockingly.
"Lord An, you'd better slowly erase your influence among the commoners. That way, you might live a bit longer."
If he weren't afraid that killing Lord An would cause The Way of Peace to collapse and affect the minister's earnings, he would have killed him long ago. Why wait until now?
An's expression was cold: "Berlick, you are on the brink of death and don't even realize it. You won't even have a chance to confess to God."
Berlick froze for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Hahaha, God? You actually believe God exists? You're killing me! I originally thought you were smart, but you're a complete idiot."
"Forget it, I'll just imprison you. I heard there's a Teigu User in the Imperial Capital who can turn the dead into puppets. We'll just turn you into a puppet then."
"Attack!"
"God, I shall now use your grace to cleanse this filth!" An raised the holy artifact in his hand, activating its ability and shouting.
"'Punishment,' bestow hammer-like judgment upon the wicked!"
"Lightning!"
Boom! Arm-thick bolts of lightning erupted from the sword, instantly engulfing the entire palace ceiling,
forming a large net of lightning.
"What! You're a Teigu User!" Berlick's rampant smile instantly collapsed, and he shrieked.