Chapter 422 Public Trial

For the first time since the beginning of winter, a wooden platform was erected in the center of the square in Border Town. However, this time it was not for a theatrical performance, but for the town's first public trial.

The notice had been issued two days ago, and on the day of trial, the area around the wooden platform was already crowded with citizens - the expanded square was much larger and still could not accommodate such a large number of people. Scattered snowflakes were falling from the sky, but everyone was in high spirits and ignored the snow.

When Roland took the stage, the atmosphere suddenly reached a climax.

He looked at the people waving their arms to him in the audience, and couldn't help feeling emotional. Compared to when he participated in Anna's sentencing here a year ago, he was almost a laughing stock in the eyes of the nobles, and his influence on the people was even closer to zero. In just one year, the situation has become completely different.

Following the bursts of shouts, Priest Campas was also pressed up. Facing the dense crowd, his expression changed slightly - probably this kind of battle is not uncommon in the eyes of the church's senior officials, who have long been accustomed to believers. His words and deeds can influence the lives of his followers. Roland thought, but this time, he might not be able to experience the glory of the past.

The next ones to step onto the wooden stage were the witches of the Federation, with uncontrollable excitement in their eyes—for them, who were often slandered, hunted, and unfairly tried, their roles this time were completely reversed. Witches were victims, accusers and jurors, and the object of trial was the church. It's not that they had never imagined such a scenario, but they just didn't expect this day to come so quickly.

Roland pressed his hand down, and everyone suddenly became quiet.

"Hello, my fellow citizens."

"I have called you all together today to reveal to you a shameless crime. The church has concealed the truth from the beginning. If this priest from the Holy City had not been caught in a conspiracy case, I would not have been able to do it. Such shocking news.”

Roland had been thinking about how to publicize the church's crimes two days ago to be more effective - the rebellion in Dragon Ridge obviously cannot be the focus, and the people in the territory will not care about what happens in a small, distant city; the battle of divine will and witches The kingdom cannot be mentioned, because things from hundreds of years ago are too elusive, and revealing the existence of the devil can easily cause panic. If you want to arouse the indignation of the masses, you have to start with things that concern them.

In other words, you have to be grounded.

There is no doubt that the people closest to their daily lives are the witches living here.

"The church declares witches to be minions of the devil, unclean and ominous people, but in fact, both the pope and the archbishop are supporting witches, and the scale is alarming! This is exactly what the priest said personally," Roland Turning to look at the other party, "Am I right?"

"..." After a long silence, Campas responded, "Yes."

There was a burst of discussion in the crowd.

"Your Highness, is he really a priest in the Holy City?" someone asked.

"Of course," Roland cast a praising look at the echo, "and he was sent to Graycastle in the name of the church's holy envoy, and the documents he carried proved his identity!" He pointed to the small table next to the wooden platform, "The priest's robe, micro seal, and notices can all be used as evidence."

This is also the most common question for the onlookers. Instead of letting them ponder it afterwards, it is better to let the echo come up first and then answer it by yourself - besides, these things themselves are genuine and there is no need for him to forge them.

"Going back to what I said before, my subjects," the prince continued, "note the word I used - support! Yes, they collect baby girls and female orphans from all over the kingdom and send them to Go to the Holy City Monastery, where the women are fed like animals. In view of the probability of witches appearing, only a small number of people can become witches and then be further trained, while those who fail to become witches have become church believers 's plaything!"

"No, these..." Campas raised his head and opened his mouth, but found that he could not make any sound.

"In order to get more witches, in addition to taking in female homeless people in the name of relief, they even colluded with street rats to steal babies! Think about it, my fellow citizens, if there is a church in this town, not only will you They will lose Miss Nana, and even their own relatives and flesh and blood may disappear for no reason. However, they declare to the outside world that witches are evil people tempted by the devil, and they also drive believers to persecute these innocent women - can you tolerate Nana? Was Miss Nava framed by them?"

"No, Your Highness, never!"

The square instantly erupted, and the crowd clenched their fists and waved their hands to express their indignation to the priest.

"Miss Nanava cannot be an evil person. She healed my burns with her own hands!"

"I watched her grow up, and my daughter also attended Teacher Karl's academy with her."

"Without her, I would have died by 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?"

This issue caused a stir among the citizens.

"Because the church needs witches to maintain their rule!" Before they could speculate too much, the prince said directly, "Everyone has seen the abilities of witches. They are completely diverse and incredible! Except for Nanava In addition to Miss's ability to heal wounds and Miss Lily's ability to kill evil epidemics, 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. Used by the First Army The muskets and the steam engines that pull the mine carts in the mines are all gifts brought to everyone by 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 innocent people. The church wants to use the ability of witches to harm those kind people. Anyone who does not obey them Those who believe in doctrine are regarded by them as abandoned children of the gods. But in fact, the church’s top leaders are doing heinous acts in terms of doctrine, completely regardless of whether the gods they say are watching them or not!”

"My subjects, how sad it would be if your children were taken away by the church and trained into whips and sharp knives in their hands, and turned against you!"

Roland turned around, walked up to Campas, unfolded a long scroll of paper, and asked loudly, "Do you have anything else to say about the accusation recorded on it!"

"These... are all true," the priest's eyes widened, as if he couldn't believe that this answer actually came from his own mouth, "I... plead guilty."

After the crowd heard the other party's confession, they immediately exploded.

"I hand over the power of trial to you!" Roland took advantage of everyone's excitement and shouted loudly, "Faced with such a crime, your choice is-"

"Execute him!"

"Execute him!"

"Execute him!"

Everyone's voices became uniform, and soon there was only one voice left in the square.

Above the border town where the winter snow was falling, the residents made their choice.

.