The first day of the new year, January 1st, Year 1073 of the Eternal Era.

In the northern part of the Segis Continent, the Maniya Highlands where the Eternal Holy City Mania stood also welcomed the first snowfall of winter.

The sky was a hazy gray, goose-feather snowflakes drifting down in great profusion, dark and cold.

However, Maniya City was unusually bustling today.

At the very center of the city lay the Holy Square.

This gigantic square, covering over two million square meters and situated where the Eternal Holy Temple, the Imperial Palace, and the Grey Castle Parliament Building intersected, had long since been filled with people.

Cold and merciless Judgement Knights and burly City Guard soldiers maintained order on the scene, roughly driving the curious commoners away from the center of the square, while in the middle of the square, a huge high platform had already been erected.

The platform was divided into three sections, with seats and ornate canopies set up, and even Magic Arrays carved to regulate the temperature.

This was where the clergy of the Church and the rulers of the Empire would sit.

Among the three sections, the very center was the Holy Seat of the Eternal Pope, symbolizing divine authority standing above royal authority.

On the right was the royal side, where the Empire’s successor, the fourteen-year-old Princess Theresa, sat along with other members of the royal family, including some former royals who had once elected past Emperors.

Regent Minister Bishop Wenster was conspicuously among them as well.

Before becoming a cleric, this Manor Bishop had originally been a member of the current royal Treis Family.

On the left sat Duke Correns, the Electoral Prince and Noble Chairman, as well as the other great nobles and Archbishops involved in the Empire’s central governance.

These people were the most powerful figures in the entire Holy Maniya Empire, and at the same time, the most powerful figures on the whole continent.

The current Eternal Pope, Benedict II, was a kindly old man.

His hair and beard were completely white, his back hunched; the luxurious and solemn Holy Robe he wore made him look both sacred and awe-inspiring.

He was already very old, and the stooped figure beneath that wide Holy Robe gave people the illusion that he might collapse in the wind at any moment.

However, no one dared look down on this seemingly frail Pope. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Though he was already close to three hundred years old, nearly at the limit of a human Legend’s natural lifespan, as a Divine Favored of the True God, a powerhouse capable of summoning Divine Power and casting the Divine Descent Technique, even a Demigod would show him a measure of respect.

At the same time, Benedict II was also the longest-reigning Pope in the history of the Eternal Church; up to this day, it was already the 83rd year that he held the Holy Seat.

Beneath the platform, citizens were curiously sizing up the dignitaries above.

These Archbishops and great nobles who ruled over the Church and the Empire were household names already, but for the vast majority of ordinary people, this was still the first time seeing them with their own eyes.

Especially the Pope, who only appeared during massive celebrations, and Princess Theresa, who had only recently, in a muddled sequence of events, been officially confirmed as the Empire’s heir.

This delicately made-up young girl was just fourteen, with blond hair and blue eyes. Like other noble ladies, she was noble and beautiful; one could already faintly see that once she grew up, she would definitely be another peerlessly stunning beauty.

She sat there quietly, her bright, sparkling eyes excitedly taking in her surroundings, innocent and clear, seemingly quite curious about such a grand occasion.

Only, when her gaze met the solemn eyes of Regent Minister Bishop Wenster at her side and the gentle smile of Duke Correns, the chairman, across from her, she quickly straightened her posture again, giving off a well-behaved yet timid impression.

Even so, she still couldn’t help but sneak glances around, especially at the front of the platform, at that tall, elongated rack bristling with thorns and barbs.

Those spotless, clearly defined black-and-white eyes of hers were filled with curiosity, like a sheet of white paper yet untainted by filth.

Beside that rack stood several Judgement Knights in black robes, each one radiating a powerful presence far surpassing ordinary Gold Professionals, making others afraid to look directly at them.

And around the rack, fully armed soldiers were already on high alert; all of them were elites among elites, completely isolating the onlooking citizens outside the cordon.

When Demacia slipped into the crowd and arrived at the square, this was exactly what he saw.

"Lord Dema, are we really not going to stir up the square and rescue the Divine Favored John later?"

At his side, another hooded player asked in a low voice.

A few days earlier, the Eternal Church had already released news of Old John’s trial, and for players who had been keeping a close eye on continental developments, this news spread across the entire server at once.

The Eternal Church actually dared to put one of their own Divine Favored on trial?

This naturally ignited the players’ collective sense of honor and fury.

Although the distance was great, a considerable number of high-level players had still gathered here and established contact with the underground forces of the Life Church in Maniya City, discussing the feasibility of a rescue.

And Demacia, whose strength was the greatest, who had once infiltrated deep into the Dorolia Castle Prison and even recorded Old John’s preaching story, naturally became the leader everyone pushed forward.

However, after hearing his companion’s words, Demacia only shook his head slightly and let out a soft sigh:

"Rescue what? How do we rescue him? With so many Gold Professionals and Legends, and who knows how many Demigod Angels hiding in the back just to watch the show, and we’re going to rely on this bunch of misfits like us?"

"But Lord Dema, don’t you still have that Death God Divine Punishment?"

"I only have one Divine Punishment though..."