Chapter 347 - 254: Zog’s PR Class 2

Chapter 347: Chapter 254: Zog’s PR Class 2

He had now been cast aside.

After swiftly cutting ties with the "prime culprit," the Pope moved on to the second topic on the agenda: how to quell the public outcry and salvage the Church’s crumbling image.

In the past, they would simply pin all the blame on the one being judged and then wait.

Time was a useful weapon; it could wear down anything.

People would gradually lose interest in what had happened. They would eventually come to believe that the "evil" individual who had been judged was the cause of it all and had already received their just punishment.

This only worked as long as no one kept bringing the matter up.

"Have the Mammon Sect members been dealt with?"

"They’ve been dealt with."

"Are we certain they were the ones who released the video?"

"We are. The corresponding Magic Crystal Stone was found in the Magical Device they used, and it matches the cultists’ confessions."

"Could their memories have been altered?"

"We can’t rule it out, but we found no residual traces of Magic Power at the scene to indicate the use of an Elf Memory Spell."

The Pope nodded.

This made things even more troublesome.

The Mammon Sect was in possession of the Church’s compromising material. Those Soul Ascenders were difficult to round up all at once because, aside from their consciousness, they were completely indistinguishable from Ordinary people.

The Church’s favorite tactic—if you can’t solve the problem, get rid of the person who brought it up—wasn’t very effective against Soul Ascenders.

Unless the Goddess herself dealt with the matter.

However, just as Cedric had said, the Goddess no longer cared for Her servants. Her divine manifestations were exceedingly rare, and She would no longer grow angry over something like a church being burned down.

The Goddess truly had no need for money.

It was they who needed money.

"Let’s first decide how to quell the immediate public outcry," the Pope said, settling for the next best option.

The longer this incident festered online, the greater the public’s resentment toward the Church would grow.

Their traditional methods wouldn’t work.

Posting notices in churches and having Priests make announcements during services—it was all too slow for the speed of the internet.

"First, announce Cedric’s crimes online and see the reaction," the Pope instructed.

After the entire Church leadership had undergone a crash course for old-timers on this newfangled thing called the "internet," they had at least some understanding of it.

A large screen was set up across from the long table, displaying the real-time feedback in the comments section of the Church’s verified account after the announcement was posted.

The feedback was not optimistic.

Most of the comments were full of sarcasm and mockery. Some people were even pushing conspiracy theories, suggesting that the so-called dismissal and trial of the Patriarch was just for show. They believed that once the controversy died down, he would be quietly reinstated as an Archbishop or something similar.

At the same time, since this announcement was tantamount to admitting the curse was indeed related to the Church, even the lay believers who had always sided with the Church now found it difficult to speak in its defense.

"The Church will cover the treatment costs for all afflicted individuals, eradicate the existing curse, and provide compensation to the families of those who have already died as a result," the Pope added.

"Pope!" a Cardinal couldn’t help but interject. "That will be an enormous expense."

"Can we afford it?"

"We should be able to."

"Then do it."

The Pope believed that with the Church having gone this far, the public should regain its trust. After all, the Church was being so "responsible" in the face of this crisis.

However, the online response once again took him by surprise.

When the new announcement was posted, the expected scene of fawning gratitude in the comments section never materialized; the sarcasm and mockery simply continued.

In their eyes, this was what the Church should have done in the first place. The Church had cast the curse, and the curse had made people sick. Now they were offering to treat the victims and talking as if it were some great act of grace. It was utterly shameless.

The old men around the long table fell silent in the face of this situation.

As a group of men who were far too old, despite being incredibly powerful and skilled in political infighting, they now all shared one obvious flaw: they just didn’t get the internet.

Finally, the Pope gave up on trying to solve the problem himself and ordered, "Contact the Bishop of the Twin Towers City. Have him go to the Zog Group and ask for their cooperation. Let them help us resolve this matter."

After saying this, he thought for a moment and added, "The tax exemption period for the Zog Group’s products in the Pope’s Country can be extended further."

And so, the Bishop of the Twin Towers City received this very directive.

Never mind the people blockading the doors; go find Zog.

Puzzled, the Bishop of the Twin Towers City teleported to the Zog Group Headquarters. It was impossible to leave the cathedral on foot at the moment; he could only rely on teleportation.

Upon arriving at the Zog Group Headquarters, however, he learned that Zog was currently at the Magic Vision Station, urgently repairing the signal cutoff system.

————————

Zog was getting a little antsy.

’It’s been several hours since the dirt was released, so why does it feel like the Church hasn’t done anything?’

’According to his plan, the moment the incident occurred, the Church was supposed to immediately send someone to the Magic Vision Station to demand why the signal hadn’t been cut. Weren’t there cutoff measures in place?’

’Then, he would put on a show for the Church of him performing emergency repairs. The signal cutoff system had failed! The message would be: "Don’t you worry, Church, I’m just as stressed about this as you are."’

’But now the "repairs" were almost finished, and no one from the Church had arrived.’

’Did he put on this whole show for nothing?’

’Is the executive efficiency of such a huge organization really this low? It’s not like I’ve heard of the Church getting bogged down in DEI initiatives.’

Finally, just as he was about to finish the "repairs," a man dressed in the robes of a Church Bishop appeared at the Magic Vision Station.

"Mr. Zog, the Church requires your assistance."

"What? Assistance?" Zog instantly snapped into character, putting on a frantic act. "I have no time! We’re in the middle of emergency repairs on the signal cutoff system..."

Zog grabbed the Bishop of the Twin Towers City and launched into his well-rehearsed spiel about why the emergency system had malfunctioned, causing the Mammon Sect’s entire video to be broadcast.