As to whether Sibis was wronged or not, the staff priests of the major palaces actually had a rough idea in their hearts.

The uneven distribution mentioned by that small group of priests before, where some people had to stay in a certain place for decades, was indeed the case. And because of Sibis’s extensive network of relationships, the priests under his faction benefited the most, so it was natural that he was hated by those lower-level priests.

This isn't to say that most church leaders are of bad character; on the contrary, most are of good character. However, due to the limitations of the times and technology, it's impossible to remember so many people at work. When selecting and promoting people, people instinctively favor those they're close to and like. This is human nature. This creates the ground for unfairness.

In this era, there were no such things as imperial examinations, college entrance exams, or civil service exams. To be appointed a pastor in a region, one simply needed to meet the requirements and possess the appropriate qualifications and resume. These matters were often decided by the regional archbishop.

Two people are standing in front of you at the same time. They have both just obtained their qualified priest certificates and their extraordinary powers are comparable. There is no obvious difference between them. Moreover, you don’t know either of them, so it doesn’t matter who you choose, and you won’t be picked on.

But then a familiar friend comes over and says to you, "Choose the one on the left. This is a student I'm optimistic about." You are very familiar with this friend, he has good abilities and is not a bad person. Out of trust and good impression, you choose the one on the left to go to a wealthy parish to be a pastor.

But in reality, the pastor on the right might not be that bad, and might even be better. But you don't understand, don't want to take risks, and don't want to ruin your relationship, so you made the above choice. This is common sense.

However, countless such deviations will gradually accumulate and eventually form an unfair interest group, thereby undermining the order and fairness of the entire organization.

Generally, such organizations will gradually decay and be eliminated.

However, in this world with extraordinary powers, traditional power will become even stronger, because high-level extraordinary people in the vested interest groups will obtain more powerful military force to resist the revision of history.

In the end, the disappointed and helpless people can only blame it on fate, birth, or bloodline, have to accept the fact, and then pray that a hero will appear to break it all and change it all.

This is a carnival place for heroes and a place for the weak to cry.

The long-suppressed resentment within the church was fully triggered by this incident. Perhaps the two bigwigs who instigated the incident did not expect that it would escalate to this extent.

At this time, they still believed that this was caused by their opponents behind the scenes.

---------

In front of the Ten Swords Palace, people were crowded, torches were held high, illuminating the night sky like daylight.

"Cibise, get out here!"

“Scum!”

"A pest of the church!"

The enraged and violent crowd roared and pressed forward. In front of the palace, three rows of golden-armored guards formed a dense human wall to resist the onslaught. These golden-armored guards were all Transcendents, the lowest being Sequence 2, and some captains reaching Sequence 5.

As the screams and impact force grew more intense, the guards were forced to deploy the barriers attached to their armor. The magic power, like transparent crystal, covered their bodies, isolating them from the thrown stones and beating fists.

Shouting, calls to stop, shouting, talking, and crying were heard in this noisy and chaotic scene, while in the surrounding night sky and dark mountains and forests, high-ranking personnel from other palaces watched all this silently.

They understood the source of these people's anger, but they couldn't resolve it either.

The surging public opinion was like a flood that continuously hit the golden front. Finally,

An angry priest raised his right hand, and a small fireball of white flame appeared in his palm, then turned into a small meteor and smashed into the palace in front.

Due to the long distance, crowded surroundings and unstable environment, the fireball did not fly into the palace, but ignited a large tree next to it.

The flames suddenly exploded and then rose in the treetops, becoming particularly conspicuous in the darkness.

This seemed to be a signal, and the priests in the crowd also began to cast spells. Most of them were extraordinary people. Although their ranks were not high, they were not without means of attack.

Fireballs and light guns rose up in the night sky, scattered at first, but then became more and more numerous, sometimes even mixed with high-level attack spells. Finally, they fell from the sky like heavy rain, hitting the transparent barrier and causing a violent shock.

The guards guarding the palace began to be injured, but were quickly dragged back by their teammates, who were then replaced by substitutes.

A priest walked quickly from outside the palace gate into the central courtyard of the palace and spoke to the archbishop who was resting with his eyes closed in the middle.

"Lord Sibis, the crowd outside is now attacking. Should we respond now?"

The plump, pale Sibis leaned back in his chair and after a long moment, he slowly replied, "Wait a moment."

"Yes." The priest of the Ten Swords Palace walked out of the palace and continued to organize protection and rescue.

On a mountain peak a few miles away from the Ten Swords Palace, it was still quiet, with only a few braziers burning quietly, making slight crackling sounds, which formed a sharp contrast with the screaming and chaotic scene in the distance.

"Lord Odysseus, should we set off now?" A thousand-rider captain walked out of the darkness and asked the grand commander who was standing by the brazier looking into the distance.

As the church's military, the Holy Lance Knights had a crucial responsibility to protect the Holy Mountain and maintain order. Normally, the Ten Swords Palace was responsible for minor conflicts and maintaining public order, but with matters now at this point, the Holy Lance Knights would be remiss if they didn't take action.

The House of Swords was a combination of legislative and law enforcement agencies, while the Knights Templar served as a violent institution to maintain organizational order and protect security. Small injustices were naturally the fault of the House of Swords, but if the situation continued to escalate, Odysseus would also bear unshirkable responsibility, which would be detrimental to his campaign for the Pope.

"Sibis is planning to hurt both sides."

Odysseus looked at the fire in the distance, placed his palm on the cold parapet, and rubbed it slowly. The steel gloves raised bursts of stone chips.

He was silent for a moment, then turned to the Knight Commander and said, "Let's go. It's time."

"Yes, sir!"

The Knight Commander stood at attention and saluted, then shouted to the rear.

"Light the fire and mount the horses!"

Following the call, torches were lit in the night, and the orange flames illuminated the knights in full armor. They mounted their horses and followed the leading captain, filing out along the mountain path. The sound of horse hooves went from slow to fast, and finally galloped on the mountain path like a tsunami.

The long spears reflected bursts of cold light in the firelight, and the violent sounds of armor rubbing against each other and horses' hooves trampling echoed in the valley. The sound was so powerful that the forest of spear tips made of cold steel spread rapidly into the distance. It was cold and solemn, but not sacred.