Two days later, the third star was clear and bright, and everyone came out of their homes and crowded the streets. Some held flowers in their hands, while others knelt on one knee, all looking up at the sky with reverence.

Song Xia departed from the Vatican, sitting in a flying vehicle with loving eyes looking at the believers, chanting incessantly along the way, his voice reaching the earth and arousing enthusiastic support.

Song Ye watched in amazement. The power of faith was truly strong. Could it be that over the years, no matter how unreasonable the church's demands were, they would eventually be fulfilled because of the unconditional support of these believers?

When they unite, they often leave even the council and the legion helpless. Relying on these devout believers, the church is also the wealthiest of the three major powers in the Federation. He was somewhat looking forward to what was to come.

As the aircraft approached the vicinity of the Third Legion stationed at the Three Stars, many soldiers stopped training and made a prayer gesture towards Song Xia.

Suddenly, an unusual movement appeared in the sky, and the soldiers of the Third Legion became alert. However, a gentle breeze swept by, and a large number of colorful birds gathered around Song Xia's aircraft, circling around it and refusing to leave.

The aircraft stopped, and Song Xia slowly stood up. Behind her, the birds gathered into the shape of wings, and the six huge wings shocked the believers.

"It's the Holy Maiden!"

"The Holy Maiden has appeared!"

"I'm cured! I received the holy water blessed by the saintess, and my radiation sickness is gone!" These words came from a soldier, immediately surprising those around him.

It turns out that although interstellar medicine is advanced nowadays, due to the different environments of each planet and the fact that people often travel between star systems through wormholes, cosmic radiation has become the biggest problem facing people today. Anyone who frequently travels through wormholes basically has radiation-related diseases.

Soldiers frequently travel between different interstellar regions on missions, making them a high-risk group for radiation sickness. The most direct effect of radiation is bone pain. The Federation does have pain medication, but these medications are often addictive and can also affect a person's thinking. Therefore, Federation soldiers are prohibited from taking these medications.

The inability to take medication meant that soldiers had to endure the pain, which became a major source of anxiety for federal soldiers. Many soldiers, upon reaching old age and retiring, found that medication was no longer effective due to worsening conditions, ultimately leading to mental breakdowns.

The high welfare benefits enjoyed by federal soldiers are inextricably linked to the inhuman torture they endure as they age. Statistics show that 15 percent of soldiers eventually commit suicide due to the psychological torment that transforms from physical torture to mental torture.

Keep in mind that soldiers are among the most physically and mentally resilient people in the Federation, which shows the dangers of cosmic radiation.

Now that they heard that the Holy Maiden could cure pain and eliminate the physical harm caused by radiation, how could these people not be excited? Therefore, even though their superiors reprimanded them, they still rushed forward without hesitation. After all, this was a blessing from the Holy Maiden, and they didn't know if there would be a next time.

"I received the holy water, and I'm not in pain anymore!"

"Thank you for your protection, Holy Maiden!"

The scene, which had been orderly just moments before, suddenly descended into chaos due to the unusual changes caused by the bird transforming into six giant wings, and the fact that the saintess had indeed brought about a positive effect.

A large crowd had gathered in the Third Military Region, and the soldiers were too preoccupied to care for themselves.

As Song Xia watched the large number of civilians, he slowly piloted the aircraft away. However, these soldiers had long suffered from radiation sickness, and many of them had abandoned their posts to follow. Others, fearing unrest, were assigned by their superiors to maintain order.

More and more people came to collect the holy water, and some people in the crowd set off fireworks. It was at this time that Nikas led his men to attack the Third Army. Because the signal was blocked in advance, the soldiers who had surrounded Song Xia and the soldiers sent to maintain order were unable to return.

Because of the believers' celebration, the news of the battle between the two sides did not spread immediately.

Upon receiving the message, Song Xia instructed the flock of birds to change from six-winged to two-winged, and then propelled the aircraft back to the Holy See.

"The Pope must have realized something was wrong and returned to the main planet halfway there." Song Ye's expression was grim, fearing that the next part of the plan would go wrong.

Song Xia remained calm: "Even without a pope, an archbishop is the same."

"Would a dying person listen to threats?"

"It's not a matter of the archbishop's life, but a matter of their reputation. The Vatican will never admit that they were deceived by the so-called saint."

As expected, when Song Xia took the archbishop hostage, the Vatican immediately blocked the news.

“You are not a saint, this is all a deception.” The bishops all glared at her through gritted teeth, as if they had been deeply hurt.

Song Xia was fearless: "If I don't expose myself, are you still thinking of using me to recruit more believers?"

The bishops' faces were all grim: "Put down the archbishop, and everything can be discussed."

"If you repent now, you can still be a saint of the Holy See. Isn't that better than being a pirate?"

“Your offer is indeed very attractive, but I still think being a pirate is more liberating than being controlled by you.” Song Xia looked at them with a grin. “I won’t take much from you; just give us half of the military supplies from the Third Planet.”

"You wish! Now that you're on our turf, do you really think you can just walk away unscathed?"

"If we can get in smoothly, we can leave safely, but then your Church will lose all face. Even I, the saintess you've been praising these past few days, will have my true identity exposed throughout the Federation. How much do you think that will affect the Church's reputation?"

The group was so angry that they remained silent, presumably unwilling to bear the consequences.

Song Xia chuckled and said, "There's not much time for you to think now. If you continue to think about it, the fact that the Third Legion is under attack will be discovered, and then the Church's reputation will be ruined. No matter what decisions you make in the future, people will question them. I don't want much. The current losses are definitely not as great as the damage to the Church's reputation."

"You vixen, how did you do that?"

"Want to know if we can stage another miracle, like a saintess appearing or an angel appearing? That's not out of the question. It's not like they're actually descending to earth. How about that being part of the deal?"

The bishops fell silent, clearly already tempted.

Song Ye shook his head inwardly. He would rather lose military funds than not obtain the method to control the hearts of believers. It was disheartening to see the Federation so dark and depraved.

"Listen, the cheers outside are getting quieter. If we delay any longer, the battle on the military region's side will no longer be able to be covered up. Have you made up your minds?"

"Fine, if you try to cheat, even if you return to the pirates' lair, our Holy See will tear you to pieces."

Song Xia laughed lightly: "Don't worry, we pirates always keep our word when it comes to trading."