The audience listened intently, quietly absorbing the archbishop's teachings. A sense of confidence gradually filled their hearts, while doubts and fears slowly dissipated. For a moment, the Snake-men and hunger were nothing, nor were the "allies' conspiracies." The temple's Paladins and Priests would take care of them, the commoners.

"Praise the Light God Pate!" the archbishop finally declared loudly.

"Praise the Light God Pate!" the audience echoed in unison. However, Zilvra only cursed a silent "Bah!" in her heart.

Yet, a louder shout disrupted the uniform chorus of praises. Outside the window came the sound of a building collapsing; a heavy tremor resonated through everyone's legs, sending a shiver through their hearts. The enormous glass window began to shake under the pressure, making the scenery outside appear distorted and blurred. Noble ladies covered their heads, screaming as they fled from the floor-to-ceiling windows until Archbishop Pate gestured to stop their actions.

"Don't panic, Pate Bright God will protect you." His voice carried a calming strength, and soon the celebration hall quieted down. Zilvra looked at the last wisp of sunlight vanishing on the horizon and found such assurances ironic. "Only the blade can protect me." She untied the cord binding her thin sword and gripped her weapon tightly.

The dust had not yet settled when Archbishop Pate, accompanied by priests, reached outside the celebration hall. It took several spellcasters working together to dispel the smoke in front of them, and using the light of Divine Arts, they illuminated the square before the temple, only then did everyone see what had happened.

Several residential buildings had been completely toppled, and standing on the massive piles of rubble were dozens of enormous metal monsters. Their eyes emitted a cold light, but compared to the blades and thorns protruding from their bodies, the gaze seemed gentle. Each one of these giants stood two or three times the height of an average person, and even their smallest daggers were a size larger than the large swords used by the Paladins.

"Magic Puppets! It's those ungrateful Mages!" Someone in the crowd exclaimed, igniting echoes of agreement from many. Zilvra rolled her eyes at the ignorant group and turned away to speak to the Black Dragon.

"Those are not Demon Statues, because I can sense some traces of life in them." The Black Dragon clenched his fist, producing a cracking sound, and said, "Do you want me to take care of those things?"

"No, let's just watch the show." Zilvra said softly, "Besides, make sure to spare Kuboert's life."

The Black Dragon, missing an opportunity to stretch his muscles, felt a bit disappointed. He always harbored plenty of stored resentment and anger needing an outlet. He wished to imagine those Mechanical Puppets as Lynch, and give them a good thrashing.

Pate's priests were the first to act, with Holy Fire continuously striking down from the sky, targeting the area occupied by the monsters. The enormous puppets seemingly possessed agility disproportionate to their size, quickly descending from the debris piles, narrowly evading the scorching golden flames.

Their obvious target was Archbishop Pate standing at the front of the crowd, with every puppet's eyes firmly locked on this holy figure, the highest authority of Pate. They intended to get up close and personal with this middle-aged man using curved knives, giant scythes, long spears, and wolf fang clubs.

However, the archbishop was evidently prepared. At his command, several noble priests swiftly stepped in front of him, simultaneously casting the "sword blade wall" spell. Countless swirling tiny blades immediately surrounded them, spinning and moving without pattern, appearing as a thin mist before the spellcasters. With several priests casting the spell simultaneously, they instantly formed a lethal protective wall.

The puppets' charging speed suddenly dropped, and they chose to immediately change tactics. If these were Mage-created Demon Statues, they would have mindlessly charged straight into the blade wall, regardless of the damage sustained, as their mission would always take precedence. However, the puppets ahead began splitting forces, preparing to bypass the sword blade wall from both sides, or at least force the wall to open gaps by itself.

But the Paladins quickly arrived, rushing out from within the temple, already equipped with the appropriate weapons. These guards were tasked with safeguarding the Great Temple's security and were considered to be among the elite Paladins.

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