"Mr. Chappelle, give the order! Caleb Menge has been blinded by power, betrayed his faith, and became a slave to desire! We do have more important things than pacifying the gangsters now, that is, to purify the betrayers with fire!"
Chappelle raised his hand to calm his supporters.
"You said I was a doppler. This... accusation surprised me. After all, it was a frame-up that could not stand up to scrutiny. I am more curious about who gave you this wrong guidance and made you say such words in public?" Chappelle's tone remained cold. He had shown no emotion, as if his voice was rehearsed.
But his followers didn't notice anything strange. Even if they had, they would have thought Chappelle was suppressing his anger, so his strange tone wasn't worrying.
Caleb Menge's eyes widened with anger, and the emotions that had been suppressed for a long time finally burst out in front of everyone: "Don't any of you find it strange? Or do you have doubts in your heart, but never have the courage to raise them? Since his close encounter with death, our Chancellor of Security has become indecisive, no longer firm, nor does he hate evil like before. I thought it was the illness, but the truth is more terrifying: he has been replaced by a demon!
"A vile demon has reached the pinnacle of power within the Eternal Fire. Out of respect for the real Chappelle, I want to destroy this impostor. That is the revelation that the Eternal Fire has given me!"
The morale of Caleb Menge's men was boosted by his voice. One of the important reasons they gathered around Caleb Menge was that they were dissatisfied with the current status of the Eternal Fire under Chappelle's control. They felt their actions were restricted and their pockets empty.
Normally, they would put up with this because of their faith and Chappelle's reputation. But when Caleb Menge revealed the truth to them, they aligned themselves with him immediately, determined to 'purify' the Eternal Fire.
On the other hand, Chappelle's followers remained calm despite Caleb Menge's accusations.
They were a group of people who supported Chappelle's changes, or a group of people with stronger faith in their hearts. The Eternal Fire and Novigrad are getting better day by day. If someone said that the author of these changes was a demon, then what would the former Chappelle and the other leaders of the Eternal Fire be?
"Very impressive, Caleb Menge." Chapelle said in his icy tone, unchanged throughout the conversation.
Chappelle continued to speak slowly, with a tone and speed that sounded like a deliberately controlled recitation: "I could slander you as well to calm the anger I feel right now, but I have more important things to do. That's the difference between you and me. Let's save time for both of us and end this farce once and for all. Drop your weapons and let my followers take you to the dungeon to await your trial. Then, we need to go out and calm the riot. Your lies, which crumble at a mere touch, are meaningless."
"That's right! A lie that crumbles with a simple touch and is easy to verify!"
Caleb Menge was already in an abnormal state of excitement at the moment, and his eyes were almost popping out of their sockets.
"Since your illness, you have not touched silver utensils. You say it is for austerity, but you still wear a gold necklace. If you are not a doppler, would you dare to..."
Caleb Menge's roar suddenly got stuck in his throat. He opened his eyes wide as if he saw something incredible.
Suddenly, she realized what was wrong with Chappelle today. He had abandoned his usual gold necklace for a thick silver chain that looked like a shackle.
At this moment, he held up his necklace with both hands without hesitation and said in a cold tone: "I always thought gold resembled the color of fire, so I liked it. But a few days ago, I donated my gold necklace to help citizens affected by gangs. If today's gangsters cause too much damage, I will even donate this silver chain."
"Is this the silver you mentioned?"
Chappelle looked at Caleb Menge and his men, whose faces had changed color, and said slowly: "I always knew that you had doubts and discontent with my policies, but I did not expect that your discontent would have grown so great that it would be incited by such a flimsy lie. Do you miss that feeling of superiority of yesteryear? Do you miss the days when, just by praying, you could wear gold and silver? That is why you have been so easily deceived."
Under the gaze of everyone, Chappelle shouted loudly: "Believers, where is your faith!"
Caleb Menge stared at the silver chain on Chappelle's neck. He didn't need to look back to know that his troops, assembled with great difficulty, were losing morale, but he couldn't understand it.
"No! This is just an accessory you prepared, it's not real silver."
After those words were said, a whistling arrow sound broke through the air. Everyone was shocked when Chappelle fell to the ground with a scream.
"Mr. Chappelle!"
The followers surrounding Chappelle were anxious and rushed to check him out.
With a groan from Chappelle, the arrow was withdrawn.
"This is an arrow with a silver tip! How dare you prepare such a weapon to attack Mr. Chappelle!"
Caleb Menge looked around his men in panic. He had prepared silver weapons, but they shouldn't have been used at this time.
"Wait..." Caleb Menge still wanted to stop all this, and he wanted to continue to verify Chappelle's true identity.
But in his team, a guard suddenly began to mutter. "After a long time of chattering, now we can finally fight."
Then, everyone saw a person come out from behind Caleb Menge, with a sword raised, running towards Chappelle.
"For the Eternal Fire, for the Temple Guard, for Lord Caleb Menge!"
The guard rushed forward without concern for his safety and was pierced by three swords but managed to sink his weapon into the neck of one of Chappelle's followers.
Caleb Menge widened his eyes.
Behind him, another person shuddered and then showed an excited expression.
"It's really interesting..."
On the roof, Kiyan slowly retracted the crossbow in his hand.
He gripped the steel sword behind him, his eyes the same color as the blood splashing in the field, and finally suppressed his urge to join the battle, muttering softly: "Fight, fight, the fiercer the better... No matter who wins, the more people die, the greater Lann's power will become..."
Where Triss stood, the air fluctuated unsteadily, that was the chaotic energy at work.
If there were mages present, they would be able to find that Chappelle actually had the same magical fluctuations as Triss at the moment.
Chappelle's transformation had been lifted long ago, after all, he had been wearing a large silver chain all this time. His current form was the result of Triss's magic molding him like clay and covering him with a layer of illusion.
Although wounded, Chappelle pushed past the guards trying to help him and threw his silver chain toward Caleb Menge.
"Don't worry about me, take down these traitors who are blinded by power and interests!"
Chappelle's followers drew their swords and charged into battle, expressions of fervor on their faces.
"For the Eternal Fire! Take down the traitor!"
Chappelle, pressing the wound on his shoulder, slowly backed away, his body distorting under the illusion.
The slightly deliberate cold expression on his face immediately became natural.
On the roof, Triss sighed in relief and lowered her hands.
Since then, Chappelle's position in the Eternal Fire has been completely consolidated.
Up ahead, Chappelle's followers and the temple guards led by Caleb Menge were fighting fiercely. Chappelle's followers were furious and motivated, while the temple guards were frightened and constantly retreating.
Whenever a temple guard wanted to surrender, a mad comrade would shout "By Eternal Fire!" and charge towards the enemy's swords, boosting everyone's morale and giving them the illusion of imminent victory.
Every time a Chappelle follower thought of forgiving a kneeling temple guard, his body would tremble, and then he would shout "By Eternal Fire!", killing without mercy, reinforcing the resolve to exterminate the enemy.
The sacred Eternal Fire headquarters instantly turned into a hell on earth.
Chappelle sighed deeply. His kindness as a doppler and the murderous determination of the Chancellor of Security for the Church of the Eternal Fire collided violently in his mind, causing him to have an unbearable headache.
Finally, he couldn't help it.
"Triss, it's almost enough, stop. If this goes on, the Eternal Fire will have no armed forces to maintain order..."
The whispering voice reached the sorceress's ears through the energy of chaos.
Triss looked at Kiyan. He shrugged. "We have caused such chaos, and it is not up to us to decide when to end it."
Triss frowned. "Lann should have given you a method."
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