CA - Chapter 168

Chapter 168

Gru Empire, Werewolf Territory.

Ominous dark clouds stretched only to the border of the ice field. Demonic beasts foraging for food occasionally wandered here, but they were torn to shreds by the guarding werewolves before they could even get close to the ice field.

Thanks to the werewolves' presence, the pressure on the Gru Empire was greatly reduced. The King of Gru, at his wit's end, no longer saw the werewolves as a foreign race encroaching on his country's territory and began sending envoys to seek their help. However, he was mercilessly rejected.

Like the Elves, the werewolves had little interest in participating in the suppression of the dark forces. They were more interested in watching the two irreconcilable powers, the Black Witches and the Holy See, fight it out.

After the darkness descended, life within the Wolf Race continued as usual, without any disturbance, except for… the Tree of Life that Faye had acquired from Delphine.

To sustain this Tree of Life, Faye had spent decades scouring for large quantities of Holy Water of Light to irrigate it. The tree had been cooperative, growing slowly all along. However, in recent years, it had started showing the same symptoms as the Elves' Tree of Life. Faye had yet to find a solution when the darkness suddenly descended, making the tree's condition even worse.

It was worse than when she had first transplanted it from the Elf Race.

Delphine could still use her own life force to expel the tree's negative reactions, but Faye could only watch helplessly as it weakened day by day.

The leaves of the Tree of Life were no longer the fresh green they once were. Faye reached out to touch them and sighed softly, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

A sound came from the doorway. Fanny walked in from outside, holding an envelope woven from thin vines.

"A letter from the Elves," Fanny said, waving the envelope at Faye.

Faye put down the branch in her hand, took the envelope, and glanced down at it. "Where are the Elves?"

"They've already left."

Faye nodded. She opened the envelope and pulled out the leaf covered in characters inside. After scanning it quickly, she raised her eyebrows in surprise and said in a peculiar tone, "The Elves have gone to the Gosse Empire."

Fanny was taken aback, asking in confusion, "What are they doing there?"

"To help the Holy See clear out the demonic beasts."

Fanny was shocked. "The Elves and the Holy See have reconciled?"

"No." Faye handed the letter to Fanny and said with a smile, "They're only helping the Gosse Church."

"Grace's Church."

Fanny glanced down at the letter's contents, somewhat surprised. "To think Grace could persuade Delphine."

Delphine seemed gentle and easy to talk to, but she was actually very stubborn.

"Their relationship has always been very good."

Fanny glanced at Faye and said with a frown, "When are you going to bring Grace back to the Wolf Race?"

"Why do I feel like she's still so unfamiliar with her own identity?"

Faye didn't answer Fanny's question directly, only saying softly, "She'll come back when she wants to." She paused, then instructed Fanny, "Don't disturb her."

Fanny opened her mouth to ask what that meant, but seeing Faye's evasive expression, she could only give up. The atmosphere in the room instantly fell silent. Faye turned back to continue observing the Tree of Life's condition.

"...Ophelia wants to see you," Fanny said suddenly after staring at Faye's back in silence for a while.

Ever since Ophelia had been brought back, she had been clamoring to see Faye. Fanny was truly at her wit's end.

Faye's hand paused for a moment. She asked in a calm voice, "Have her injuries healed?"

"Not yet."

"Then let her focus on recovering," Faye said faintly. "Keep an eye on her. Don't let her run off again."

---

Delphine led the Elves to the Gosse Empire. Without a golden-robed bishop present, she was unwilling to interact with the people of the Holy See. She simply led her people to occupy a territory that the Gosse Church had already abandoned. After clearing out the demonic beasts entrenched there, they chose to stay for the time being.

With the Elves present, the pressure on the Gosse Church was instantly reduced. Before the reinforcements sent by the Central Church arrived, the situation there had been stabilized. They even began to slowly reclaim cities occupied by demonic beasts with the Elves' help.

The unusual situation in the Gosse Empire was soon discovered by the Holy Knights sent by the Pope to investigate. Letter after letter detailing the alliance between the Gosse Church and the Elves was sent to the capital of the Holy See.

Tang Qiu, currently in the Holy See's capital, was still unaware of the situation in the Gosse Empire. After her appearance in the auditorium that day, not only had Audrey taken an interest in her, but Cambecus had also sent people to investigate her, both openly and secretly. Tang Qiu stayed in Reese's manor until things calmed down a bit before venturing out.

In the southwest corner of the Holy See's capital was Pusros Manor, the residence for all the bishops. Since arriving in the capital, Tang Qiu had been staying at Reese's manor and not with the other bishops.

However, although Tang Qiu didn't live here, a courtyard had been prepared for her in Pusros Manor.

Holding the address Mario had given her, Tang Qiu searched for a while within Pusros Manor before finally finding the residence of the Bishop of Sevia.

The sky above was clear and cloudless. Tang Qiu stood quietly by the lake, waiting. The warm sunlight poured down, seeming to envelop her in a halo, making her long golden hair exceptionally dazzling.

She waited patiently for a while before a tall, thin man came out of the courtyard. The man was talking to a priest beside him when he sensed a gaze on him and subconsciously looked up.

Tang Qiu met the man's gaze, a slight smile playing on her lips as she said softly, "Long time no see."

The priest looked at Tang Qiu in confusion, wondering who this unfamiliar bishop was, when the tall, thin man's steps suddenly halted. His first reaction was to turn around.

The priest was startled. "Bishop Abel?"

Abel's attempt to leave was forcibly stopped. He gave a dry cough, composed himself, and nodded at the priest. He then turned and pointed at Tang Qiu, introducing her with a solemn expression, "The Bishop of the Gosse Church, Grace."

The priest gave Tang Qiu a slight bow. "Greetings, Your Excellency."

Abel patted the priest's shoulder and said in a low voice, "Go tell Archbishop Gabriel I'll be there later."

The priest nodded and turned to leave.

Only after watching the priest depart did Abel give Tang Qiu a look, signaling her to follow him.

As Tang Qiu walked behind Abel, she heard the man say in a low, exasperated voice, "...If you were a smart person, you would have pretended not to know me."

After returning to the Holy See, Abel had specifically investigated the identity of the golden-haired bishop. He learned that she was a trusted subordinate of Reese and seemed to have some sort of grudge with Cambecus.

Although the relationship between Reese and Gabriel wasn't as tense as the one with Cambecus, the two represented different factions. Abel certainly didn't want to get entangled with someone from an opposing power.

Compared to Abel's exasperation, Tang Qiu appeared much calmer. She even nodded in agreement with his accusation and said with a sigh, "I also think I'm not smart enough."

Abel was speechless.

Acting furtively would only arouse more suspicion, so Abel simply led Tang Qiu back to his own courtyard openly, paying no mind to any potential spies in the vicinity.

Once inside the courtyard, they were finally in a more private space. Abel sat down in a chair, steadied his nerves, and gestured for Tang Qiu to sit opposite him.

Tang Qiu took a seat across from him and was the first to broach the subject. "Speaking of which, I must thank you for your past help."

Abel was taken aback. "What help?"

Tang Qiu tossed a nameplate to Abel. "The priest's nameplate from Sevia. Thanks to it, I didn't arouse any suspicion when I entered the Bill Church."

Back then, Tang Qiu had been surprised at how easily Mark's Grocery Store had produced a special nameplate from the Holy See. Now, seeing Abel, it wasn't hard to understand.

The moment Abel saw the nameplate, he remembered. His expression was a bit peculiar as he muttered under his breath, "If I had known, I wouldn't have bothered back then."

He returned the nameplate to Tang Qiu and stared at her for a moment. Abel took a deep breath and said with a serious expression, "I think we need to talk."

"Talk about what?"

"This is the Holy See, and you and I belong to different factions," Abel said earnestly. "Getting too close will only bring trouble for both of us."

In reality, he wanted Tang Qiu to forget she had ever seen him in Witch City and for them to go back to being strangers.

That bunch of misfits from Mark's Grocery Store was so unreliable. He had hidden his identity and worked so hard to infiltrate the upper echelons of the Holy See, only for them to expose him just like that. It was infuriating.

Tang Qiu understood Abel's meaning but had no intention of following his lead. She rested her arm on the table, leaned forward slightly, and gazed at him with a smile in her eyes. "I believe neither Archbishop Reese nor Archbishop Gabriel are overly suspicious people," she said softly.

The golden-haired bishop was strikingly beautiful. When her clear, gentle, sky-blue eyes stared at someone without blinking, it was truly hard to utter a single word of rebuttal. However, Abel, who was never swayed by beauty, acted as if he hadn't seen it and remained calm. He lowered his voice and said, "Archbishop Gabriel might not be suspicious, but I can't say the same for Archbishop Cambecus, can I?"

He narrowed his eyes, deliberately emphasizing his words. "...You certainly don't want your true identity to be discovered by Archbishop Cambecus, do you?"

He was trying to use Tang Qiu's werewolf identity to intimidate her.

Tang Qiu blinked, unhurriedly replying, "My true identity? A frequent customer of Mark's Grocery Store?"

Abel choked, saying sheepishly, "I have nothing to do with Mark's Grocery Store."

Tang Qiu smiled and nodded, adding playfully, "I believe Head Inquisitor Audrey would think so too."

After saying that, as if remembering something, she added with another smile, "Of course, if we're unlucky and both our identities are exposed, who do you think would run faster? Me, the werewolf, or you?"

Abel was speechless.

He wiped his face with his hand and forced a smile at Tang Qiu. "I was just joking," he said amicably. "We're on the same side."

Abel licked his lips and asked tentatively, "So, what is your goal?"

What was a werewolf's purpose in infiltrating the Holy See?

Tang Qiu poured a glass of water for herself and for Abel. A smile touched her lips as she said meaningfully, "Perhaps Archbishop Gabriel's goal is my goal."

Abel froze, a look of understanding flashing across his face. He picked up the glass offered to him, lowered his eyes slightly, and pondered for a moment before saying in a low voice, "We'll discuss everything after the Holy Son comes out of seclusion."

It was normal for the Pope to be wary of the Red-robed Archbishops. After all... who wouldn't want to sit in that position?

Isn't even Archbishop Reese—a confidante raised by the Holy Son himself—harboring such thoughts?

Abel glanced up at Tang Qiu, a thoughtful look on his face.

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