The more they oppose, the more it shows that I am doing the right thing

Having been the Archbishop of the Holy Light for so many years, Merlin had seen his fair share of fanatics, but this was the first time he had encountered madness to such an extent.

Listening to each recorded statement, laden with genuine and fervent emotion, one couldn't help but feel nauseated. Such outrageous behavior could only be achieved through the heavy brainwashing of staunch belief.

It seemed the border girl group was indeed not to be underestimated.

Merlin fell into contemplation.

An Su, that youngster, had already captured the three undercover agents and presented them before him as agreed,

If three mice are found in a room, then there are certainly more than three, and it's very likely the room is thoroughly infiltrated.

The situation could develop in a more serious direction.

As the head of the Radiant, Merlin could no longer pretend not to see,

But he didn't want to deal with this matter at work. It wasn't easy to get a vacation, and he didn't want to waste the precious time on the tedious game of hunting for mice.

He needed to find a scapegoat to push the matter onto.

As the most devout saint, An Su was of course obliged to share the worries of his great leader. He slapped his chest and said with a solemn face, "Your Excellency Merlin, why not let me handle this matter in full authority?"

Merlin, looking at An Su's appearance of willing to lay down his life for the great cause of the Church, felt there was some truth to it. Whoever discovers the matter should resolve it, and since it was An Su who discovered it, it was only right for An Su to take care of it.

However, Merlin knew about An Su's upbringing; the youngster wouldn't lift a finger without an incentive.

"Share your thoughts," said Merlin.

"Considering the current situation, we shouldn't alarm the enemy," An Su said seriously, "Without a doubt, the Cultists are plotting a huge conspiracy. We should play along with them and then capture them all at once in the end."

The Holy Light in Merlin's eyes flickered, finding An Su's words reasonable.

"After our preliminary interrogation of these three, the Cultists will make their move during the promotion exam in fourteen days," An Su pointed at the three cult elites lying on the ground.

An Su's face was filled with deep concern, "They've been lurking in Farol for many days to assassinate the prospective deacons from all over the country during the examination period, aiming to obliterate the future of the Church."

"Continue with your thoughts," Merlin nodded, finding it a sensible conjecture.

"To prevent such a thing from happening," An Su said with a serious expression, looking as if he was deeply considering the leadership's concerns, "We should stop the exam from taking place. But if we do so, it will spook the big figures of the Esoteric Religion."

So far, so normal... Merlin nodded again.

"In my opinion, why not use their plan against them."

An Su's eyes were filled with a sincere and clear light, "Instead of letting them assassinate the prospective saints, why don't we take action first and eliminate them ourselves, leaving only the elite of the elite to face those wicked and despicable Cultists!"

"Maybe leave five elites or something," An Su suggested earnestly.

Right, sounds normal... Wait, what did you just say?

Merlin raised an eyebrow.

Mixing personal business with public affairs, huh?

You are the real wicked and despicable Cultist.

"To save the imperial capital from crisis, I, Arthur, Lister, have made up our minds," An Su said with an expression of heroic determination, "We vow to dedicate our lives to the great cause of protecting the Church."

"We will infiltrate the Three Major Orders, and take it upon ourselves to carry out the assassination plan against the prospective deacons—of course, we won't really kill them; we'll just make them appear dead for about ten days and then have them stay in the hospital for a month," An Su continued.

"With the Church's internal and external coordination, with this strategy, we'll be able to protect our saints without alarming the enemy, and finally trap and capture the masterminds behind the scenes, to be personally dealt with by the great His Excellency Merlin!"

As An Su spoke, bright sunlight showered onto his grey-white hair, and a gentle breeze made the light locks flutter with gold, his uncompromising gaze free of any impurities complementing his appearance. Judging by looks alone, he certainly seemed like a true Priest of the Holy Light.

It was as if he really had the Church's interests at heart. Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire

The Holy Light in Merlin's eyes twinkled. If it weren't for the fear of compromising the dignity of the archbishop, he would have liked to say that only the two of them were present, and neither of them was a devout Priest of the Holy Light, so there was no need for such pretense.

Yet contemplating An Su's plan, Merlin couldn't find much fault with it.

After all, Merlin was quite anthropomorphic himself.

If the Cultists were indeed planning to assassinate the saints during the examination period,

The exam would definitely have to be canceled.

In the end, there would be no results anyway. If the prospective deacons had to die for over half a month and still end up with no results, that was acceptable, wasn't it?

Worst case scenario, just prepare another exam for the latter half of the year.

After all, it wasn't Merlin who was going to die.

And the Church wouldn't reimburse the candidates' travel expenses back and forth,

They could even earn the examination fees twice a year,

Absolutely perfect.

If this could lure out the big figures of the Three Major Cults and allow himself to personally capture them all, killing a few Demigod Cultists in reality.

Wouldn't that count as a great achievement?

The Holy Light in Merlin's eyes became even more resplendent, the sunlight fell on the figure of the head of the Radiant, looking epic and majestic. Judging by looks alone, he particularly fit the image of an Archbishop of the Holy Light.

With such a great accomplishment,

Taking a year off from working wouldn't draw any criticism.

As for those saints dead for over half a month, it was a necessary sacrifice.