Am I going to be controlled by the players too?

Cheng Cheng suddenly understood how the indentation on the child's head came about.

"Are there other children like this in this church?" Freya asked again.

The farmer hesitated for a long time: "Every month, many abandoned children are sent here, but none of them ever grow up and leave..."

"They all died young."

Freya did not speak.

She handed the baby in her arms to a young woman next to her, then turned and walked deeper into the church to look for the remaining children.

However, nothing was achieved.

But there was also an unexpected discovery—a hidden door.

The door was locked, but Cheng Cheng stretched out his claws and gently pushed it open. The iron door creaked open, and then a damp, rotten smell wafted out.

Freya held her breath and went inside.

Inside this secret chamber, various sacrificial objects hung on the walls—beaded curtains made of human bones, prayer flags made of human skin, lamps made of skulls…

Candles burned inside those skulls, their light filtering through the eye sockets and casting flickering shadows on the walls.

Against the wall stood rows of shelves filled with glass jars, containing toddlers of all ages, from humans to goblins, some of whom had even been subjected to various blasphemous experiments, growing twisted limbs resembling monsters.

More mummies were made into specimens. Freya covered her lips as she walked through the horde of corpses to the deepest part.

There was a huge operating table, on which lay the body of a young child who had been dissected halfway through. His abdomen had been cut open, and his organs were being removed one by one and placed on a plate next to him.

Her eyes were still open, and her mouth was slightly open, as if she were saying something.

Li Xianyu slowly woke up at this moment.

She lay on Freya's back, opened her eyes, saw the scene in the basement, and suddenly propped herself up from Freya's back:

"I go!"

"So much! Such high-grade necromancy materials, and they've been turned into this garbage! I'm furious!"

After saying that, she rolled her eyes and fainted again.

Freya lost interest in speaking. After memorizing the scene, she turned and left the secret room, returning to the church.

Sunlight streamed in through the broken skylight, while the worshippers stood oblivious at the doorway.

“Children are sent to church every month, but not a single one comes out,” Freya couldn’t help but ask. “Don’t you find this strange?”

The believers remained silent for a long time, then the old farmer spoke up: "We all know."

"Then why not resist?"

The old woman lowered her head:

"Because it is all God's arrangement."

“We are born with sin, and God ordained our birth, aging, sickness, and death. After all the trials we have endured, our flesh and blood will eventually return to the church. This is all God’s punishment for us.”

More people spoke up:

“The priest is God’s shepherd, and he must have his reasons for doing this.”

“The bodies of these people after their deaths can be used as sacrificial offerings, which will surely wash away their sins and allow them to ascend to heaven.”

"We are born sinners, and it is our blessing to be used by the Lord after death."

Their voices came one after another, as if they were saying something perfectly natural, with even happy smiles on their lips.

Freya remained silent for a long time.

Then she turned around, walked to the altar, and kicked over the statue of the Amber God!

"What are you doing! You're blaspheming the idol! How can we go to heaven?!"

"God will be angry with us!"

"Quick! Quickly, lift the statue up!"

The believers rushed forward, but were blocked by Cheng Cheng, who had transformed back into a giant dragon. Then Freya's small hand touched Cheng Cheng's tail:

“Mr. Evil Dragon,” she said, “help me tear down this church.”

Cheng Cheng nodded.

Then, the church roof was completely ripped off, wings flapped, a gale howled, and Cheng Cheng flew high into the sky, aiming at the church—

He unleashed a breath of dragon's breath.

Crimson flames descended from the sky, melting the golden statues and turning the corpses in the secret chambers to ashes.

The faithful knelt outside the church, watching the building they had prayed for their entire lives collapse in flames, tears streaming down their faces.

"No!" an old woman cried out as she rushed towards the flames. "No! God will punish us!"

"Don't burn it! Don't burn it!"

"This is our church! This is our god!"

More people knelt down and kowtowed toward the burning church, their foreheads hitting the ground with a loud thud.

"Stand up. No kneeling!"

Freya stood before the burning church, in front of them, the wind blowing from behind her, ruffling her messy pink short hair:

"I am the princess of the kingdom, and you are its subjects. You may only kneel before the king, not the gods!"

She called out three times before someone finally stood up.

Tears still clung to their faces, their knees were covered in mud, and their eyes were filled with fear and confusion.

A paladin crawled out of the crowd, knelt on the ground, and knelt to Freya, placing his hands on the ground and his forehead on her toes:

"Your Highness! It's true, the police arrested Vilette; they don't even recognize their own family!"

Freya looked down at him: "What do you mean?"

The paladin looked up, his face filled with relief at surviving the ordeal: "Your Highness, are you unaware? Since Her Majesty the Queen issued the 'Church Administration Act,' all church priests have been appointed by Her Majesty the Queen, with the aim of diluting the theocracy's control over our religion..."

He paused, as if afraid she wouldn't believe him, and then took another step forward.

"We and Father Puzi were personally appointed by Her Majesty the Queen! We have been diligently and secretly carrying out research on demon fusion warriors under Her Majesty's orders, hoping to break through the technological blockade of the Holy Kingdom—we are all loyal to Her Majesty!"

Freya was stunned.

She turned around and looked at the still-burning church. The wind blew her messy hair, revealing her light blue eyes.

At this moment, those beautiful and noble eyes, like those of the believers, were filled with confusion.

…………

Following the dragon's footprints, Sylvia left the ruined city of Wal and arrived at the neighboring city of Huabei.

She instinctively sought out a church—bearing the mission of slaying the dragon, she had the support of the church, could mobilize any church's paladins, and could stay in a church.

However, what came into view was still a scene of ruins.

"What happened?"

She walked out of the ruins, bewildered, and grabbed a hurried-looking orc, asking, "What happened to the church here?"

"It's an evil dragon!" A hint of fear flashed in the orc's eyes. "The evil dragon melted down the idols, blasphemed the gods, and destroyed the church!"

It's that evil dragon again!

Sylvia stood frozen in place, her grip on the sword hilt tightening.

What other evil things did this dragon do?

…………

After leaving the church, Freya began looking for a proper hospital.

But today is a day off. In the kingdom, doctors also have the right to rest on weekends.

Freya circled the city but couldn't find a single clinic open, so she had no choice but to look for a small medical clinic.

After searching for a long time, I finally found one in a secluded alley in the city.

Freya was exhausted and just wanted to find a place to put Li Xianyu down. She reached out and pushed open the door—

The door wasn't pushed open, but it wasn't closed tightly either, leaving a crack through which came the sound of arguing, growing louder and more intense.

Why did you have sex with her? Why? What exactly happened?

A young man's voice.

"Let me tell you, she was lying there naked, what the hell could I do?!"

An old man's voice, hoarse and irritable, sounded somewhat aggrieved.

"Your job should be performing autopsies! Autopsies!"

"I don't need you to teach me how to work! I don't want to see you! Get out!"

"boom!"

The door was flung open, and a young man stormed out, cursing, "You're the worst veterinarian I've ever seen!"

Freya: "..."

After shouting that, the young man noticed a little girl standing at the door. He paused for a moment, then pulled down his hat brim and hurriedly left.

"Shall we go in?" Cheng Cheng asked.

"No, no, I don't want to..."

Freya suddenly didn't want to treat Li Xianyu anymore.

Chapter 68, Clearing the Emperor's Ways and Setting the Scene

Freya ultimately decided to undergo treatment.

She took a deep breath and carried Li Xianyu inside.

The clinic was small, consisting of only one room. An operating table took up most of the space, on which lay the carcass of a goat. An old half-orc man stood beside the operating table, smoking a cigarette after the procedure.

Hearing footsteps, he turned around and looked Freya up and down: "Out-of-towner?"

Freya was taken aback: "How did you figure that out?"