Chapter 543
Could it be that the Archbishop is dressed in a maid's outfit, serving the girl before her all day long, truly brainwashed?
But she had checked before; Archbishop Tara showed no signs of being under any control...
"I think so too. A complete and powerful church is essential to face the crisis in Beiansu."
After a moment of thought, Shaer spoke with a hint of regret:
"While merging the churches seems simple, it’s inevitable that the followers of the Goddess of Salvation, who already have a weak faith in the divine, will split off into another sect."
"That contradicts the very purpose of the church merger."
Listening to Shaer's words, Tara nodded repeatedly, her face reflecting deep emotion.
"Lord Shaer, you are too kind. Those who have already abandoned the faith in the Mother Goddess should not be considered brothers and sisters, yet you still think of them," Tara said softly, lowering her head with a sigh. "I wish more people could understand your great and inclusive thoughts."
Percy: "?"
In Percy's eyes, the red-haired girl had been spouting fantastical nonsense, yet Archbishop Tara was praising those dreamlike words without reservation, leaving Percy feeling a sense of dissonance.
Did I miss something when I woke up? Why is everyone discussing things I completely don’t understand?
"Wait a minute." Unable to hold back any longer, Percy interrupted Tara's unrestrained praise and Shaer's preparations to continue discussing the church merger. "I have a question."
"You may speak," Shaer said, turning to Percy and nodding gently, encouraging her to continue.
As a Cardinal of the Holy Arrival sect, Percy's opinion was crucial to Shaer; her stance essentially represented the higher-ups of the Holy Arrival sect.
"Why do you all think that merging the churches is a simple matter?" Percy asked, turning directly to Tara. "Why do you, Archbishop, believe this as well? You should know better than anyone that it’s impossible."
Upon hearing Percy’s words, Tara also turned her gaze to Shaer.
However, Tara's look was not filled with doubt like Percy's; instead, it held a glimmer of hope.
In Tara's view, the question Percy posed was quite simple... All it would take is for the Mother Goddess to show a little miracle, and the church merger would face no obstacles.
Tara had never doubted whether Shaer could perform miracles; after all, she had come in response to the call of the divine servant, having witnessed miracles and seen the Saintess herself.
Percy had asked a question that was no issue for Shaer, yet it did prompt Shaer to ponder deeply.
To achieve the church merger as quickly as possible, the simplest solution would be to sacrifice and use **Lingxing Zhao Huan** (spiritual summoning) to call forth divine servants or dark worms.
But this plan would sacrifice the living forces of either the Holy Arrival sect or the Goddess of Salvation sect.
Previously, when helping the Goddess of Salvation sect in simulations, Shaer had directly sacrificed people from the Holy Arrival sect.
But when she needed to utilize the Holy Arrival sect, she would turn around and sacrifice people from the Goddess of Salvation sect to complete the **Lingxing Zhao Huan**.
In any case, a portion of the followers from both the Goddess of Salvation sect and the Holy Arrival sect would have to die, and the summoned dark worms could not remain in reality for long, which would effectively weaken the church's strength.
The most critical point was that Shaer had not yet figured out a stable "dosage" for sacrifices that would effectively summon dark worms.
So far, whenever she used **Lingxing Zhao Huan**, she followed the principle that "the more offerings, the better," either sacrificing a batch of 3rd or 2nd-tier extraordinary beings or directly using a 4th-tier along with several 3rd-tier ones.
This method was indeed stable, but after such a round of sacrifices, the church would be left severely weakened.
Seeing Shaer fall silent, Percy felt a slight heaviness in her heart.
As expected... this girl is just putting on a show... Tara might really have been deceived by her...
Let me expose your lies...
At that moment, Shaer, unaware of the change in Percy's expression, after a brief moment of contemplation, turned to Tara and asked, "Are there any apostates or criminals of a decent extraordinary rank within the Goddess of Salvation sect or the Holy Arrival sect?"
Upon hearing Shaer's question, Tara almost instantly understood what Shaer was planning.
"Are you looking for offerings?" Tara asked, suppressing her excitement.
"Yes," Shaer nodded, explaining, "Whether they are from the Goddess of Salvation sect or the Holy Arrival sect, using them as offerings would significantly weaken one side's strength. If we can avoid that, it’s best to do so."
Even without summoning dark worms, having a 3rd-tier and some lower-tier beings as offerings should make summoning a divine servant feasible.
Of course, the simplest method would be to have Amy directly activate the divine servant that serves as her guardian spirit, but it would be best to avoid dragging those around her into this.
"There are indeed some. The Holy Arrival sect and the Goddess of Salvation sect have similar systems; we also have 'Dark Prisons' where sinners await judgment."
After saying this, Tara pondered for a moment and asked with some confusion, "But... isn't it a bit too lenient to make them offerings?"
If Shaer needed offerings, there would undoubtedly be a large number of people in the Holy Arrival sect willing to step forward, even going so far as to bribe... Making those death row inmates part of the ritual felt like a loss.
If it weren't for wanting to help the Mother Goddess more, Tara would have considered volunteering to be an offering herself.
"Having them is enough," Shaer shook her head and said, "It's just summoning a divine servant; no need to make a big fuss over it."
Just... summoning... a divine servant? That's all?!
Percy fell silent once more.
Suddenly, she recalled something.
In the base at Boren City, it seemed a 3rd-tier "Radiant Bishop" had completed a summoning of a divine servant, which they had learned from an insider planted within the Goddess of Salvation sect.
Connecting this with what she had learned during a casual chat with Tara about their recent activities in Boren City...
To confirm her somewhat unrealistic suspicion, Percy looked at Shaer and asked, "The divine servant in Boren City... was it you who summoned it?"
"If you’re referring to the incident at Dedun Manor," Shaer nodded, directly admitting, "Yes."
Percy was taken aback.
Now, she seemed to understand why Lady Tara was so obedient to the girl before her.
Her identity might be even more extraordinary than she had imagined...
Perhaps she was some kind of messenger or even a favored one from the Mother Goddess... Otherwise, it was hard to comprehend why the most fervent Tara would show her such respect.
At that moment, Shaer glanced at the time on the system panel before her.
Time was running short...
Let’s add the summoning of the divine servant to the list... and I should try to establish a connection with that divine servant using **All-Knowing**. Although it would add a noisy voice in my mind, it would make summoning much more convenient.
But...
Thinking of this, Shaer felt a slight confusion.
Why does it seem like I haven’t heard from Xiao Zuo in a long time?
Did that Pure White Knight not return the pendant to Xiao Zuo?
And since the incident with killing the strong sound, the Pure White Knight hadn’t contacted her either.
A bit aloof, perhaps.
Maybe beings from the other realm are like that; after all, compared to humans, they are indeed higher beings.
After telling Tara and Percy to "wait a moment," Shaer stood up, walked from the sofa to the desk, picked up a pen, and began writing in the **Endless Manual of Forgetfulness** placed on the desk, adding the details for summoning the divine servant.
Then, Shaer opened the system panel and looked at the number of days until the next simulation.
"Days until next simulation: 71 Days (Year 741 of the Holy Era, October 3rd, 15:20) (Cost: 100 Fate Points)"
Seventy-one days...
Surprisingly long...
But for Shaer at this moment, the longer the simulation time, the better; the further into the future, the more information she could obtain.
However... a cost of 100 Fate Points?
It seems I need to find a way to earn a bit during the simulation...
Shaer shifted her gaze from the panel to the Endless Manual on the desk. With a flash of silver light, the manual vanished from her sight, returning to the system's repository.
After completing all of this, Shaer looked at Tara, who was still seated on the sofa, and said, "Tara, I need to take a nap."
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