The silence inside the tent slowly became heavier after Gideon finished speaking. Nobody immediately answered him, but that was exactly the reaction he had been waiting for.
Some of them looked genuinely confused as if it was the first time they heard about that faction. But some didn't, their jaws tightened and hands clenched tight.
Gideon was watching all of it with a smile that never faltered even once.
He rested both arms on the table and continued as though he had merely brought up an interesting topic instead of insulting the very foundation of someone's faith.
"You know, I genuinely tried to understand them once. But then I realized that you can't reason with zealots who celebrate people being eaten by aberrants as a way to cleanse their sins. At that point you're no longer dealing with a religion. You're dealing with lunatics."
The young man sitting on the far left immediately leaned forward until both palms pressed against the table.
