In the name of the true god

The middle-aged priest was not angered by Jude's words, but the young priest's face was extremely ugly. He wished he could teach Jude a lesson on the spot and make him learn to be as servile as "Fatty" Allen and let him play with him.

Unfortunately, Jude ultimately had Connor and Steele backing him up, so if things really came to a head, he would most likely not gain anything.

Moreover, even if Jude was just an ordinary prison guard with no background, the priest would not be able to do anything out of line without a legitimate reason.

After all, things are different now than they used to be.

As the most elite force among the four holy churches, priests are the only orthodox and legitimate people in the world who can pray to the gods and, to a certain extent, control the power of earth, wind, water, and fire.

But their appearance is inextricably linked to wizards and resonance sorcerers.

Just as the bow and arrow were created to hunt prey, the gods willingly share their power so that they can hunt down and eliminate 'heretics' on their behalf.

In other words, being "heretics" is the meaning of their existence. The two have an almost abnormal symbiotic relationship, where they are "all for one and all for one."

When "heresies" flourish, their status becomes extremely important, and the power they can acquire is naturally more abundant.

When the "heretics" died out, their status became mediocre, and the elemental power they could mobilize was significantly weakened.

Today, the "heretics" have lost the leadership of Edmund Ravenscrown, the most powerful wizard in history, and have long since fallen apart and are no longer a threat. The status of the priests has also inevitably declined from its heyday.

If Edmund hadn't prophesied before his death that in the 450th year of the Christian calendar, the only true god would descend upon the world and overturn everything, a large number of dormant trance wizards and resonance sorcerers would very likely have made a comeback two years later.

It is likely that the major churches have already followed God's will and proactively reduced the number of priests.

all in all.

Although priests possess extraordinary powers, these powers are primarily intended for eliminating "heresies."

Therefore, once the situation stabilizes, the preferential treatment and favoritism they receive become quite limited, and they can no longer act recklessly.

of course.

Even though their status has declined, priests are still priests, and with the support of preconceived notions, they will still be respected and praised.

However, when someone actually breaks the ice, things get very awkward...

As for Jude, his audacity in provoking the priests stemmed from a lack of understanding of their circumstances.

He did this simply because he was annoyed by being repeatedly mocked and swindled out of money by the other party, and because he really "had connections," he had to do this to incite them to keep him in the heretical prison.

The bold provocation tactic actually worked.

"Keep going." The young priest glanced at the stack of banknotes in Jude's hand, slammed his own wallet on the table, "I'm just afraid you'll lose everything and go to your brother and say we bullied you."

"And you?" Jude asked, looking at another middle-aged priest whose name he didn't even know.

"We still have plenty of time, let's take our time." The middle-aged priest did not refuse either.

well.

Regardless of whether the process is pleasant or not, as long as I can stay in the heresy prison!

Since even his brother Connor wouldn't allow him to have secret contact with the "heretics" anyway, there was no need to expect to get along well with these two to create any opportunities for him.

"I want the cards!"

"double!"

"double!"

Trading suspended!

"Give me the money!"

……

Before they knew it, the four of them had played until noon.

Having lost their chance to cheat, the two priests' winning percentage has returned to normal.

Because the fat Allen repeatedly took the initiative to be a sucker in order to please the priest, Jude was able to make a small profit without anyone noticing.

"That's enough for now." The middle-aged priest noticed the time, got up, and dialed a landline to notify the other prison guards who were waiting in the temporary rest area to come and work.

"Want to play again this afternoon?" Jude crumpled the banknotes into a fan shape and deliberately fanned them in front of the young priest with a smug look.

The young priest gave a forced smile: "Don't forget what you're here for. Get back to work!"

Jude casually walked over and quietly slipped the four gold coins he had won into the pocket of fat Allen.

"You..." Fatty Allen looked bewildered.

"Winning your money doesn't count as winning." Jude had no intention of taking advantage of his own people. "Also, let me give you a piece of advice: try to have less contact with them in the future. Don't expect to count a bunch of people who cheat even when playing cards as your connections."

Fat Allen's gaze was complicated, and he didn't say anything more.

Ten minutes later, Captain Foster, the vain Colin, and the poet Anders arrived. They first brought a sumptuous lunch to the two priests on duty, and then called Jude and Fat Allen to distribute half a pound of bread to each cell and replace the sewage buckets.

"Killian, Colin, and Allen, you'll be in charge of the east, south, and west cells respectively. I'll take care of the north cells," Captain Foster assigned tasks methodically.

"And me?" Jude stepped forward.

"You can just clean up the priests' lounge." Captain Foster's intention was to have Jude do something relatively easy first, giving him time to gradually adapt.

But this contradicts Jude's purpose in coming here.

He volunteered, "Captain, just distribute the tasks as they should be, so that others don't think I'm here to enjoy a leisurely life."

Captain Foster remembered that Jude had previously worried about being misunderstood by the other first and second-class wardens, and this was a good opportunity to prove that he really just wanted to do his job well: "Then you're in charge of distributing food and emptying the sludge buckets in the north cells. Remember, let the heretics push the sludge buckets to the door themselves, and absolutely do not put your hands in."

"Understood." Jude replied, carrying a basket of black bread to the north side of the heresy block.

The Heretic Ward of the Royal Capital Heavy Prison holds thirty-nine afflicted wizards and resonance sorcerers, ten of whom reside in a row of cells on the north side of the ward.

He first went to the leftmost cell and glanced at the information board posted on the cell's iron door—

Cecilia Adler

Born on August 16rd, 422th year of the Christian calendar.

[Detention period: June 11, 446 of the Divine Calendar]

[Second-Tier Affected Wizard]

A 26-year-old second-tier implicated wizard who has been imprisoned for two years...

"Bang bang."

Jude patted the iron door of the cell, then bent down and pulled open the small opening at the bottom, which was thirty centimeters long and wide, and threw in a piece of black bread.

The cell was pitch black, with only a sliver of light shining through a small opening, revealing that the cell floor was made of hard, rough cement.

Soon, a dirty, thin hand reached out and shakily took the black bread away.

"Where's the sewage tank?" Jude asked.

A hoarse, weak reply came from the cell: "No...excretion..."

This is perfectly normal.

Providing only half a pound of bread and a small amount of water each day is barely enough to keep these wizards and resonance sorcerers afloat; there's hardly any waste to dump.

Jude closed the small partition and went to the next cell.

Loken Ramsey

Born on August 28rd, 419th year of the Christian calendar.

[Detention period: June 2, 441 of the Divine Calendar]

[Tier 1 Resonance Warlock]

He is the same age as his brother Connor and has been imprisoned for seven years.

It's a pity he's only a first-tier resonance mage; he probably can't teach me anything about the law of similarity...

As usual, Jude pulled open the partition, threw in a piece of bread, and asked if the sewage bucket needed to be emptied.

The sound of a wooden bucket scraping against the ground came from the cell. Soon after, a stinking sewage bucket, about the same size as the iron gate, was slowly pushed out.

"throat."

Jude covered his nose with one hand and closed the partition with the other, continuing to the next cell, repeating the same process over and over again.

It wasn't until the seventh cell that the information board finally caught his eye.

Alistair Rush

Born on August 15rd, 406th year of the Christian calendar.

[Detention period: June 19, 433 of the Divine Calendar]

[Tier 3 Resonance Warlock]

Finally, I've encountered a Tier 3 Resonance Mage!

Jude immediately made Alistair Rush his next key contact, but outwardly he continued with the usual procedure, pulling back the partition and handing in the bread: "Do you need the sewage bucket emptied?"

Alistair Rush did not respond, but simply stretched out his withered, bloodless hand and groped on the ground.

What is he looking for?

food?

The bread was placed in the most conspicuous spot.

Now that the partition has been opened, it should be visible at a glance.

Jude didn't dare to put his hand in rashly, so he could only remind him, "It's just ahead."

Alistair Rush ignored him and continued to stretch out his hands, touching the object bit by bit.

I still couldn't find it...

They even kept getting further and further away...

Should we help him out?

As Jude hesitated, Captain Foster walked over and said, "Don't worry about him, just let him look for it on his own."

"What is he doing...?"

Captain Foster explained, "Alistair Rush was notoriously stubborn. It's said that he tried to escape for the first few years after he was imprisoned, causing quite a bit of trouble. Considering his high level of danger as a third-tier resonance mage and the almost certainty that he would compromise with the Church, the Church arranged for a priest to gouge out his eyes."

His eyes were gouged out...

Connor, the older brother, once said that what truly prevented these implicated wizards and resonance sorcerers from escaping was that the perpetually enclosed space cut off their opportunities to contact and understand the outside world.

With their eyes gouged out, the Resonance Mage's abilities will be greatly diminished...

"Hoo..." Jude felt inexplicably heavy-hearted. Accompanied by Captain Foster, he finally arrived at the door of the last cell.

Vincent Monroe

Born on August 3rd, 399th year of the Christian calendar.

[Detention period: June 26, 428 of the Divine Calendar]

[Tier 3 Resonance Warlock]

Another Tier 3 Resonance Mage, and one who's been imprisoned here for twenty years...

Jude's hope was rekindled, and he pulled back the partition.

But before he could throw the black bread in, a spirited voice came from inside: "Today is the 14th of October in the year 448 of the Divine Calendar, isn't it?"

"This?" Jude looked up at Captain Foster.

Captain Foster crossed his arms: "He is one of the followers of Edmund Ravenscrown, the leader of the heretics. Because he firmly believed that Edmund's prophecies would come true, he never stopped calculating time from the day he was imprisoned."