While Ren and the Goddess of Magic were enjoying the sights and taking an unexpected vacation on Dragon Island, the dragons had already sprung into action.

At the same time.

The head of the technology combat force, Lava General, had reached a critical phase in his campaign against the dozens of small nations controlled by war churches in the gap between the Gray Fort Empire and the Kingdom of Dawn.

Krig City.

The last city controlled by the remnants of the Church of the God of War—the only one that hadn't been dealt with yet in Lava General's campaign, and the only city that remained unsolved.

More than ten days ago, Krig City had already been blockaded.

Anyone who left would immediately be captured by the technology combat force led by Lava General.

Of course, if war remnants wanted to enter, as long as they weren't carrying large amounts of supplies, they'd turn a blind eye and let them in.

Under this strategy, more and more war remnants gathered in Krig City. The pressure kept mounting, bad news from outside kept filtering in, and supplies kept getting consumed faster and faster...

"Are they still blockading outside? Have they made any further moves?"

Clec the Mad Lion, a former archbishop of the Church of the God of War who'd been in charge of conquering these small nations, stood in the church at the city center with a grim expression, his entire being radiating a thick gloom.

If that Lava General directly represented the local nobles and royalty to condemn them, or even sent troops to lay siege to the city and wage war, he might actually feel more at ease.

At least then, Lava General—or rather, the Kingdom of Dawn behind him, the Church of Technology behind him—would be showing a clear attitude.

Knowing what the other side actually wanted, even if it meant fighting to the death, would be much simpler.

As the last remaining force of the Church of the God of War, they knew the holy war had failed. They could apologize to the whole world, agree to a series of compensations, legally transfer the Church of the God of War's formerly legal lands and other rights, and even tell them about all the hidden treasures the Church of the God of War had stashed away...

Even if the other side didn't accept any of that, they could still fight to the death with force.

Although the Church of the God of War had almost completely collapsed, Krig City still gathered nearly 80,000 fanatic followers of the Church of the God of War, along with a large number of clerics and tons of magic arrays. They'd long been prepared to die for their faith!

However, Lava General, their once-close 'church brother,' had chosen the most difficult strategy to deal with, the hardest to fathom, the hardest to decide against—blockading them.

They hadn't even sent a single soldier. They just surrounded the area completely, built tons of defensive fortifications, and made it impossible for them to leave.

But church brothers kept streaming in from outside.

These people's arrival brought no resources. Instead, they consumed even more food and drinking water. What made them feel even more helpless was that they also brought news about Lava General's forces' battles in other areas.

As this news spread, the city's residents grew more and more anxious. The atmosphere inside the church became increasingly oppressive. A dark cloud was settling over everyone.

"Yes."

A middle-aged man dressed as a bishop paused briefly before continuing: "According to the latest church brothers who came in, the Church of the God of War in major countries like the Kingdom of Dawn and Gray Fort Empire has been completely wiped out. Some believers have even been implicated. Of our eighteen nations, now only this one city remains..."

He didn't dare continue, because he noticed that the respected archbishop, Clec the Mad Lion, was trembling all over.

"Confiscate all grain in the city. Implement rationing. Implement emergency laws. Prohibit gatherings of more than three people. Prohibit nighttime activities. Returning church brothers need to undergo about 10 days of screening in 'safe camps.' Make them keep their mouths shut."

Clec the Mad Lion was silent for who knows how long before slowly issuing orders.

After the bishop beside him left, Clec looked at the statue of the God of War, which hadn't responded to his prayers in a long time. He fell into silence, his heart complex and indescribable.

"No, how could the God of War have fallen?! War—as long as intelligent life exists, how could the God of War fall?!"

Clec stared at the sculpture that had no divine light and muttered.

But the moment those words left his mouth, he froze.

He used to be a general of a duchy. At death's door, he'd been saved by a cleric from the Church of the God of War. After experiencing the God of War's glory for the first time, he'd resolutely resigned from his position as general after the war ended and joined the Church of the God of War.

Over the years, he'd fought countless battles for the Church of the God of War, taking down countless enemies... He had a deep impression of heretics.

Because of this, he felt unprecedented panic. He felt like they were moving in the direction of heretics. The last forces of the entire Church of the God of War seemed to be transforming into heretics...

At the very least, he was transforming in that direction.

Outside the city.

Lava General listened to his subordinates' reports, a smile appearing on his face. "After this system was implemented, how's the situation inside the city?"

"No chaos yet. Tons of clerics and knights are patrolling. To avoid physical exhaustion, they've basically prohibited everyone from leaving their homes." The deputy quickly relayed the information he knew.

"Are they still confiscating residents' Magic Net Rings?"

"They've loosened up a lot now. Except for searching people who just entered, internal searches ended a long time ago."

"Good. We can start implementing the next phase of our plan. Tonight." Hearing this, Lava General's face showed an 'as expected' expression.

Everything was developing according to his vision.

The two exchanged knowing smiles and immediately took action.

About half of Krig City consisted of areas where churches large and small, along with church family members, lived. The remaining areas were for residents who served the war church.

Without external support, getting it to descend into chaos or civil war in a short time wouldn't be easy. Even causing internal friction would be very difficult.

Lava General naturally knew this. He used to be a general, had overseen a regional Church of the God of War, and recently had even swept through over a dozen countries. So he'd already sent a large number of personnel to infiltrate.

The instant they received Lava General's orders, dozens of 'magic conductor printing presses' started running in some hidden cellars in Krig City. Custom flyers were continuously printed on cheap paper.

That very night, people dodged patrolling clerics and knights to throw these flyers into the homes of ordinary people or low-ranking clerics.

If this were any other city, completing such an 'attack' wouldn't be easy. In this era, only a minority could read.

But Krig City was different. This was a 'missionary city' that the Church of the God of War had operated for many years—the core of missionary work for these dozen countries.

Under their management, people who worked for the church almost all knew some common words. Just reading these flyers was more than enough.

As for those low-ranking clerics and lower-level clergy, they and their families could understand these even more easily.

After just one night, a strange atmosphere began spreading throughout Krig City.

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