Otaku Witch

Thus, although a sizeable number of Iron Warriors streamed out from the City of Sin, reaching tens of thousands, Sophia regarded their combat strength as negligible. She believed that all it would take was a few charges by the Church's regular army, eliminating a few thousand of them, and the morale of these weak mortals would be thoroughly shattered, leading them to flee in all directions.

Sophia could not fathom why the smart young lady had made such a low-level mistake, or perhaps, was there something in play she was unaware of?

Yet, Dorothy did not answer.

Instead, she looked on contentedly at the "Iron Men" who, even now, continued to swarm out from the City of Sin one after another.

The mechanical armor that resembled the battle suits of a certain superhero from a former world had been left behind in the mechanical factory by herself. She also left a brief note, explaining the function of these armors and stating outright that they were a means of self-protection given to the workers by the Church of Machinery. With this Mechanical Battle Armor, even after the Church departed, no wicked person would dare to bully those within the City of Sin.

Of course, while she said it like that, the Homebody Witch's true thoughts were naturally not so simple; this was also a test, a selection.

Even deities cannot save a man like Ah Dou who lies down and refuses to try. Heaven helps those who help themselves, and fate only favors those who are prepared.

It appeared she had provided these workers with a way out, but in truth, she had merely given them an opportunity to make a choice.

The power to resist had been given to them; now it was up to them to choose—would they continue to scrape by, or would they take up arms and resist?

Short-sighted people might believe her message and think a bunch of mechanical suits would ensure no one would dare to bully them, but those who could resist the immediate comfort and keep their sights set on the long-term would understand clearly that the so-called power came from the Church of Machinery, not from these seemingly powerful armors.

Peace and ease are never achieved through endurance or pleading; they must be fought for and seized.

Peace sought through weakness leads to the demise of peace, while peace fought for ensures its survival.

It was for this reason that Dorothy had chosen the doorstep of the City of Sin for the battlefield against the Church—to show its people that the Church was not invincible, and to prove that the fight her Church of Machinery spoke of against the Church was not empty rhetoric, but fact.

So, if you are awake to this truth, then don the battle armor meant for self-protection, come out of the city, and join our ranks in resistance.

This was what Dorothy hoped to see.

The workers bold enough to step out of the City of Sin were the enlightened comrades she sought, and they would be the first residents of the soon-to-be-established Holy City Pandora.

Of course, if the workers chose to continue scraping by, the Homebody Witch would accept it, opting to combine the six Giant God-Warriors into a warship to directly "hit hard."

After all, she wasn't the true savior, possessing the resolve to carry the weight of the world's fate on her shoulders like the God King, able to ascend to heaven and bring her whole race along.

All she could do was give these people a chance to choose to save themselves.

There would never be gods or saviors; to create our own happiness, the only one we could rely on is ourselves.

Fortunately, the group of workers she had personally raised did not disappoint her. Although they had only been taught and interacted for a mere five months, some truths didn't require her instruction; these poor souls who had endured years of torment knew everything all too well in their hearts.

"So, my comrades, you have heard what the Church's lady has said. She called you a rabble that would collapse at the first blow. What do you think?"

The Homebody Witch simply played Sophia's words to the countless "Iron Men" and asked with a smile.

She did not wait for the workers to answer, but her smile quickly vanished.

"Comrades, tell me, do we have the option to keep running?"

"Can running away solve problems? We've already fled to the City of Sin, this Mortal Realm Hell, we said it's the only place where the Church cannot reach. But what happened? Did we escape? No."

"Today, the Church is still blocking our city gates. They're blocking my Church of Machinery today, but what about tomorrow? Or the day after?"

"Just because we're also human, do we deserve to be chased around like rats by them?"

"No, there is no such principle. Even a cornered rabbit will bite; what more for us, who are human."

"Comrades, we have no more room to retreat, right behind us lies the home we've just built, where our only remaining families and homes reside. Tell me, can we afford to back down this time? Do we dare to flee?"

.....

Dorothy spoke thus, calmly. Her voice spread throughout the surroundings, not eliciting any vehement response.

What resonated was the continual sound of steel being squeezed, the noise of countless "Iron Men" tightening their metal gauntlets.

On the other side, Sophia narrowed her eyes; through her angelic sight, fervent faith was brewing.

Such pure and untainted faith was like the rising sun piercing the darkness at dawn—sublime and beautiful....

"All zealots? This isn't faith at all..."

Even if the Pure White Angel didn't show the slightest panic, the question mark-shaped cowlick atop her head betrayed her.

Truth be told, she had never seen so many zealots all at once in her life.

...Sophia was shocked...