The melodious hymns echoed over the church, intertwining with the chaotic scenes in the seaside town, creating an eerie atmosphere.
Aydan, amidst it all, felt as if his soul was being cleansed by the hymns, recalling the teachings from the Holy Scriptures.
Life and death weren't as important as they seemed; everywhere was the Lord's pasture, and these townspeople's sacrifices were simply an early return to the embrace of the Lord.
After the hymn ended, Archbishop Anluke surveyed the crowd and spoke softly, "The great Eternal God, Aila, will be with us."
Perhaps it was the words of the Archbishop, or perhaps Aila's radiance had already reached this remote town, but outside the church, the chaos was rapidly subsiding.
Surprisingly, Archbishop Anluke approached the window, looking down at the northwestern side of the seaside town. The flames that had been burning above the granary had been extinguished, and the townsfolk were being orderly evacuated from the battle zones.
He couldn't directly see the two wizard apprentices, but based on the trajectory of the ravens in the sky, Archbishop Anluke quickly deduced that the two were in trouble and were being driven away from the densely populated area.
It seemed like their destination was the town's harbor.
"Who's in command on the front lines now?" Archbishop Anluke asked in amazement.
"It should be Priest Danny and Priest Albert," Aydan replied.
The Archbishop pondered the usual performance of these two priests and didn't remember them having such outstanding leadership skills. Could it be a judgment made by some captain of the town guard? With that thought in mind, Archbishop Anluke couldn't help but develop an appreciation for their talents and sent a guard to inquire.
Three minutes later, a guard entered, casting a strange glance at Aydan and then gave a peculiar response, "Reporting to Archbishop, according to the militiamen responsible for evacuation, it's..."
"It's Priest Aydan 's orders."
At these words, everyone present turned their gaze to Aydan, who appeared confused. He had remained in the church and had never gone outside.
Archbishop Anluke's expression immediately turned ugly. In the more than ten years he had served as Archbishop in the Nordland domain, he had encountered wizards proficient in shape-shifting magic, so he was well aware of the chaos they could cause.
Under the questioning looks of everyone, Aydan seemed flustered, taking a step back. However, he quickly reacted, extending his hand to cast a divine spell, Sanctified Word: [Shield]
Witnessing the divine shield radiating with brilliance, the doubts in the hearts of the priests present vanished. But what followed was a chilling sensation creeping up from their feet to their heads.
If it really was Aydan here, then who was in command on the front lines now?
***
The priests who had been eagerly awaiting their leader were currently seated in a makeshift headquarters in the northern part of the seaside town. He sipped his tea and listened to reports from his "subordinates."
"Priest Aydan, following your orders, the hastily assembled militia has successfully evacuated the townsfolk. It won't be long before we have a cleared area. Also, the fire in the granary has been brought under control. The isolation spell you taught us was extremely effective..."
Priest Danny spoke rapidly, describing the current situation in the town. He looked at Lynn with admiration in his eyes.
Those darned devil worshippers were setting fires everywhere, running amok in the crowded alleys, and even managed to burn down the granary, causing them a great deal of trouble.
Archbishop Anluke had only dispatched 800 soldiers to them. These soldiers were responsible for capturing the two witches, evacuating the townsfolk, and putting out the fires. Their manpower was severely insufficient.
After several unsuccessful requests to transfer elite guards, denied by Archbishop Anluke, Danny had no choice but to repeatedly redeploy the personnel originally assigned for firefighting and assisting the townsfolk to chase after the devil worshippers, so they wouldn't escape.
However, the chaotic situation changed immediately upon the arrival of "Priest Aydan."
First, under "Aydan's" command, they used divine magic to calm down a group of fleeing townsfolk, forcefully conscripting able-bodied men. They then disbanded a small team of regular soldiers, assembling an ad-hoc militia guard, instantly multiplying their available manpower several times.
These untrained militiamen would likely break at the first sign of combat, but they were passable for firefighting and rescue work.
The isolation spell and the sand-fire extinguishing method mentioned by Priest Aydan were both highly effective.
Thinking of this, Priest Danny felt somewhat ashamed. He had previously complained about Archbishop Anluke not providing enough manpower to handle the complex situation.
Now, he had changed his mind, because "Aydan" had easily quelled the chaos with the same resources.
It was safe to say that "Aydan" was indeed Archbishop Anluke's right-hand man.
Sitting in a chair, Lynn smiled as he listened to the priest's words and praised him, "You've done a great job, Priest Danny. After tonight, I will personally commend your achievements to Archbishop Anluke."
"Thank you, Priest Aydan. I've only done what I could. This is all thanks to you." Priest Danny responded excitedly.
Lynn waved his hand, bypassing the topic and inquiring, "Well, enough about that. Have you conveyed the orders I gave you earlier?"
Danny nodded. According to "Priest Aydan 's" plan, their current task was to force the two witches to the empty area near the harbor. The Church had already stationed over a thousand crossbowmen there, ready to turn them into pincushions.
This plan would minimize casualties.
Given "Aydan's" excellent command earlier, Danny had no doubts about this plan.
"So, Danny, your mission is perfectly accomplished." Lynn stood up, patting Danny's shoulder, and sighed, "Now it's time to send you to meet with Priest Albert."
Albert? What happened to him?
Danny hesitated for a moment, not yet grasping the situation. However, a dazzling silver light suddenly streaked across his neck, and fresh red blood gushed from the wound. The young priest clutched his gaping neck, his face filled with disbelief, and collapsed to the ground.
Lynn looked at the lifeless body before him, shaking his head in resignation. He picked up a cloth from the table and wiped the bloodstains from the dagger.
At this point, both of Archbishop Anluke's lackeys sent to lure Lynn had been taken care of. However, Lynn's face didn't show much happiness.
After all, his opponent wasn't a fool. Using Aydan's identity to issue orders, Archbishop Anluke would soon realize something was amiss and deduce that Lynn possessed the ability to disguise himself as others.
But this was precisely what Lynn wanted to achieve. Regular priests couldn't break this kind of magic, so Archbishop Anluke would have to come in person.
Though it was a roundabout approach, Lynn had ultimately used his enemy's power to lure out the Archbishop and redirect the upcoming battlefield back to the harbor in the seaside town.