The New Bishop

After a week of rest and reorganization, new faces appeared one after another in the vacant positions across Sixiang City.

Those who were once thought indispensable were proven otherwise by the dual tests of reality and time; the world keeps turning no matter who is missing.

In the municipal government, various societies, city defense, chambers of commerce, intelligence agencies, and so on, some seized the opportunity to rise, while some families plummeted from grace.

Just as Chen Miemie fell into a peaceful sleep, sleeping for a full day and night.

Dusk had just passed.

The Rainbow Moon rose into the sky.

Outside the tightly closed doors of the Church of the Moon, a tall, thin man in a brown coat appeared.

He had a hooked nose, deep-set eyes, a gaunt face, and a slightly pointed chin.

The church was only temporarily closed to the public, not bankrupt or sealed off.

"Open the door," the man's deep voice sounded.

The guard inside had long noticed this suspicious man standing quietly in front of the church for a long time. Hearing this, he asked from inside, "Who are you?"

"My name is Moretti, the new Bishop of the Moon."

"Please show your appointment documents."

A piece of paper was slipped through the crack of the door.

Five minutes later.

The main doors opened.

Everyone from the Church of the Moon came out.

"Welcome, Bishop Moretti," the acting priest, who held a relatively higher status at the scene, greeted him.

Bishop Jing had been missing for over a week, and his deputy had previously confessed and committed suicide. The Church of the Moon in Sixiang City was now leaderless. Coupled with the Yi family of the Church of the Sun beginning to exert their influence, the Church of the Moon was in a very difficult situation.

In the World of a Hundred Cities, the independence between cities was very strong.

Even for the Church, a city's bishop wasn't usually someone parachuted in by a transfer order from elsewhere; generally, they were slowly promoted from the local clergy.

But these were not normal times.

What Priest Jing had done caused the Church of the Moon to suffer severe losses in both reputation and strength. Many of the church's core personnel had been arrested, and the current wind of public opinion was very unfavorable.

No matter how terrible the situation was, the position of bishop still held power, so it wasn't that no one was tempted. The problem was that with such a disastrous starting point, the capable ones didn't want the job, and the incapable ones couldn't handle it.

After a week of internal coordination and discussion within the church, they finally transferred this Bishop Moretti from another city.

Bishop Moretti's appearance was very striking.

He had blood-red hair.

With red hair, red eyes, and a sharp gaze, he didn't look like a good person at first glance. If someone said he was from the Church of the Mist, people would probably believe it.

"My name is Moretti. I believe in the Rainbow Moon. My codename is [Sacramentarian]. Some also like to call me the [Living Blood Sacramentarian]. I don't care what you call me.

I came to Sixiang City to take over here with only one goal: to restore the power of the Church of the Moon in the shortest possible time.

To achieve this goal, I will use any means necessary.

Now I am giving you a choice. Those who agree with this goal may stay. Those who cannot accept it can take a severance package and leave immediately.

Think clearly. If you choose to stay but disobey orders in the future, my methods are very cruel."

Very few people are scared away just by harsh words. No one present moved.

"Very good. You hold the highest position here?" Moretti looked at the leading acting priest.

"Yes, I am Priest Yuan."

"Good. From now on, you are my deputy. Before tomorrow morning, I want a detailed report on the former bishop, a financial statement, and a summary of intelligence on the city's high-level combatants. Can you do that?"

This was a massive workload and a real test of competence.

"I can," Priest Yuan replied.

"Additionally, tomorrow morning I want to see the leaders of all the church's affiliated factions. Starting in the afternoon, open the church and face the public once again."

No one had any objections to the first few orders, but at the last sentence, everyone showed obvious hesitation.

"Bishop Moretti, with our current reputation, facing the public might not lead to preaching; we might even be attacked."

"I don't like explaining or negotiating. It's a waste of time. Just do as I say. Alright, dismissed. Skip the welcome ceremonies and get ready to get busy."

After Moretti finished speaking, he directly had Priest Yuan take him to pick out a room.

After everything was arranged and Priest Yuan left, Moretti fell into deep thought while looking at a pile of files.

Moretti was not from Sixiang City.

Coming here was a struggle for him as well.

Traveling far from home alone to face such a disastrous starting point meant that if he failed, the losses he would suffer would far exceed just his position in the church.

The moment he decided to take the position of bishop, he could no longer return to his original city.

If he couldn't make a name for himself, he would die in Sixiang City. He had cut off all avenues of retreat before coming here.

For some of the higher-ups of the Church of the Moon in various cities, the vacant bishop position in Sixiang City was truly not something an ordinary person could handle.

The church had plenty of gentle, merciful, and devout members, but sending them to Sixiang City to repair its reputation and slowly recover would definitely not work at the beginning of this new era.

Therefore, after some discussion, they decided to use extreme measures for an extreme situation, simply sending someone unconventional who could burn their bridges and fight to the death.

After all, if he succeeded, it was a win; if he failed, it didn't matter. Their reputation in Sixiang City was already at rock bottom, so it couldn't get any worse.

On the other side of the church.

The Church of the Sun.

Yi Shuangzi quickly received the news.

"The new bishop arrived so quickly. Moretti, is it?"

[Lord Nan] happened to return home quietly tonight: "We might be in trouble."

"Oh? You know him?"

[Lord Nan]'s expression was very serious.

"The [Living Blood Sacramentarian] Moretti. He is known as the Rainbow Moon believer with the most Church of the Mist-like style.

Opinions of him are polarized.

Outside the church, people's evaluations of him are generally negative, calling him evil and bloody.

Inside the church, he has an outstanding track record. He can rapidly mass-produce large numbers of zealots in the shortest possible time."

Hearing the word "zealots," Yi Shuangzi couldn't help but be startled. As a member of a church faction herself, how could she not know the weight of that word?

"Large numbers of zealots? A city producing just a few is already a big deal. He actually has this kind of ability? Is this news reliable?"

"It's true. The [Living Blood Sacramentarian] firmly believes that blood is the holy wine of life bestowed by the Rainbow Moon.

He requires believers to 'voluntarily' donate blood, using his own [Mystery] to mix it with herbs and moonlight to brew 'Rainbow Brew.'

Those who drink it gain a temporary burst of vitality, capable of curing illnesses and healing wounds. At the same time, their faces grow increasingly pale, and they gradually become addicted, unable to extricate themselves."