Since the beginning of winter, a wooden platform has been erected in the center of the square in Border Town for the first time, but this time it is not for theatrical performances, but for the first public trial of the town.
The notice had been issued two days ago, and on the day of judgment, the surrounding area of the wooden platform was already crowded with people - the expanded square was much larger, but it still couldn't accommodate so many people. There were sporadic snowflakes falling from the sky, but everyone's nature was high and they didn't care about the snow.
When Roland took the stage, the atmosphere suddenly reached a peak.
He looked at the people under the stage who waved their arms to him, and he couldn't help feeling emotional. Compared to when he participated in Anna's judgment here a year ago, he was almost a laughing stock in the eyes of the nobles, and his influence on the people was close to zero. In just one year, the situation has changed drastically.
With the bursts of cries, Priest Campas was also pressed up. Facing the dense crowd, his expression changed a little - probably this kind of battle is not uncommon in the eyes of the church executives, they have long been accustomed to the beliefs of believers. Worshiping, every word and deed can influence the life of the congregation, Roland thought, but this time, he may not be able to experience the glory of the past again.
Next on the wooden platform were the witches of the Federation, with uncontrollable excitement in their eyes—for them, who were often slandered, hunted, and unfairly tried, the roles they played this time were completely reversed. The witch is the victim, the accuser, and the juror, and the object of the trial is the church. It's not that they didn't imagine such a scenario, but they didn't expect this day to come so quickly.
Roland pressed his hand down, and the people suddenly quieted down.
"Hello my fellow citizens."
"Today I gathered everyone to show you a shameless crime. The church has concealed the truth from the very beginning. If I hadn't caught this priest from the Holy City in a conspiracy case, I wouldn't have been able to get it. Such amazing news."
Roland had been thinking twice about how to publicize the crimes of the church to be more effective—the rebellion at the Falling Dragon Ridge obviously couldn’t be the focus, and the people would not care about what happened in a small, distant city; the battle of divine will and the witch kingdom These can't be mentioned either, because what happened hundreds of years ago is too ethereal, and exposing the existence of the devil is easy to cause panic. If you want to arouse the indignation of the masses, you have to start with the things they care about.
In other words, it must be grounded.
There is no doubt that the closest thing to their daily life is the witch who lives here.
"The church claims that witches are the devil's minions, unclean and unknown people, but in fact, whether it is the Pope or the archbishop, they are raising witches, and the scale is amazing! This is exactly what the priest himself said," Roland Turning to look at each other, "Am I right?"
"..." After a long silence, Campas responded, "Yes."
There was a moment of discussion in the crowd.
"His Royal Highness, is he really a priest in the holy city?" someone asked.
"Of course," Roland cast a praising look at Echo, "and he was sent to Greycastle in the name of the Church's holy messenger, and the documents he carried proved his identity!" He pointed to the small table beside the wooden platform, "The priest's robe, micro-chapter, and announcement text can all be used as evidence."
This is also the most likely question for the onlookers. Instead of letting them ponder after the fact, it is better to let the echo come up first, and then answer it by himself - what's more, these things are genuine, and there is no need for him to forge them.
"Returning to what I said earlier, my subjects," the prince continued, "note the word I use—nurture! That's right, they collect baby girls and female orphans from all over the kingdom and send them to Holy City Abbey, where women are fed like animals. Given the chance of witches appearing, only a small number of people can become witches and are further trained, while those who fail to become witches become church members. plaything!"
"No, these..." Campas raised his head and opened his mouth, only to find himself unable to make any sound.
"In order to get more witches, in addition to taking in female homeless in the name of relief, they even colluded with black street rats to steal babies! Think about it, my citizens, if there is a church in this town, you will not only Miss Nana will be lost, and even her own relatives and flesh and blood may disappear for no reason. However, they claim that witches are evil people tempted by the devil, and they also drive believers to persecute these innocent women - you can tolerate Nana Was Miss Wa framed by them?"
"No, Your Highness, never!"
The square was instantly boiling, and the crowd clenched their fists and waved, expressing their indignation to the priest.
"Miss Nana can't be a villain, she healed my burns with her own hands!"
"I watched her grow up, and my daughter went to Mr. Carr's academy with her."
"If it weren't for her, I would have died under the claws of the evil beast. She is the angel of the First Army!"
Roland paused for a moment, waiting for the crowd to vent before suppressing the discussion, "So, why did they do this?"
The question caused a stir among the territorial people.
"Because the church needs witches to maintain their rule!" The prince said without waiting for them to speculate too much, "Everyone has seen the abilities of witches, they are completely diverse, incredible! Except for Nana In addition to Miss Lily's healing of wounds and Miss Lily's eradication of evil, there are many abilities that can change our lives - for example, the water supply equipment in the community was made by Miss Anna and Miss Soraya. The muskets, the steam engine that pulls the minecart in the mine, these are all gifts brought by the witches, it can be said that without them, the town would not be what it is now!"
"But everything has two sides, just like a long sword, it can be used to fight against evil beasts, and it can also be used to kill innocents. The church just wants to use the power of witches to hurt those kind people, whoever doesn't listen to them They are regarded as the outcasts of the gods who teach the teachings. But in fact, the top leaders of the church are doing the most heinous deeds in the teachings, and they don’t care if the gods they say are watching them!”
"My fellow citizens, if your children were taken away by the church and cultivated into whips and sharp knives in their hands, when they turned against you, how sad it would be!"
Roland turned around, walked to Campas, unfolded a long scroll, and asked loudly, "Do you have anything else to say about the accusation recorded on this!"
"These... are all true," the priest's eyes widened, as if he couldn't believe that the answer came from his own mouth, "I... plead guilty."
After the masses heard the other party's confession, they immediately exploded.
"I hand over the power of judgment to you!" Roland said loudly while everyone was excited, "Faced with such a sinful act, your choice is—"
"Execute him!"
"Execute him!"
"Execute him!"
Everyone's voices became uniform, and soon only one voice remained in the square.
Over the border town where the winter snow fluttered, the territorial people made their choice.
.