CA - Chapter 169
Chapter 169
When Tang Qiu left Abel's residence, the sun outside was brilliant. She raised a hand to shield her eyes from the dazzling light, her thoughts still immersed in the ambiguous and equivocal conversation she’d had with Abel.
Abel was not a person she could trust, nor could he trust her. But because they both held the other's most fatal secret, they could, unexpectedly, entrust a certain amount of "trust" to one another.
Tang Qiu hadn't had any contact with Gabriel yet, but from Reese's descriptions and her own observations of the man, he was likely a more troublesome existence than Cambecus.
He was reserved, steady, and cunning, and he also happened to hold a portion of the Holy See's real power.
Such a person was never content to be subordinate. With just a slight probe, Abel's reaction had confirmed Tang Qiu's suspicions.
Gabriel truly had ambitions for the Pope's position. The enemy of her enemy could potentially become an "ally." Since Abel had willingly walked into her path, Tang Qiu certainly wouldn't miss this opportunity to use him.
On the way back, Tang Qiu was still pondering the matter of Abel when she was stopped by Vogt, who suddenly appeared in a small square not far from Reese's manor.
Vogt was alone, without his attendant priests. After stopping Tang Qiu, he felt his actions were a bit abrupt. Facing Tang Qiu's questioning gaze, he said with some embarrassment, "My apologies for deliberately stopping you here."
"The guards at Reese's manor are too strict. I wanted to meet with you, but the messengers I sent several times were not allowed in."
Tang Qiu knew that Vogt had sent messengers, but she had simply chosen to ignore them.
Tang Qiu looked Vogt up and down, the corners of her mouth habitually curling into a faint smile. "Good day, Archbishop Vogt."
Although there weren't many pedestrians on the road, it wasn't completely empty. Tang Qiu scanned the surroundings, her brow furrowing slightly.
Vogt had been watching Tang Qiu's reaction. Seeing her frown, he explained directly, "My Holy Knights are guarding the vicinity. No outsiders will approach for the time being."
Tang Qiu was a little surprised. She raised her eyes to meet Vogt's and asked with a smile, "It seems Archbishop Vogt has an important matter to discuss with me?"
Vogt didn't deny it. He stared intently at Tang Qiu and asked probingly, "The continent is now controlled by the Black Witches. What are your thoughts on this?"
Tang Qiu paused for a moment, then said with a smile, "I believe that light can triumph over darkness."
Vogt didn't seem satisfied or dissatisfied with Tang Qiu's vague answer. He was silent for a moment before sighing, "For every day the forces of darkness run rampant on this continent, tens of thousands of innocent lives are dragged into the dark. To suppress them, we cannot afford to give them any leeway."
Tang Qiu was aware of what Vogt was saying. She nodded in agreement but remained silent, waiting for him to reveal his true purpose.
Fortunately, Vogt wasn't one to beat around the bush. After expressing his stance on the darkness and his concern for the continent, he stated his reason for finding Tang Qiu. "We cannot rely solely on the Holy See to fight the darkness. Although there is some friction between the Holy See and the werewolves, the survival of the continent is at stake. Perhaps... we can try to reconcile with the werewolves?"
Vogt knew Tang Qiu's true identity, so he wanted to gauge the werewolves' attitude through her reaction.
Vogt didn't care who the Pope wanted to give the ring of power to; he only wanted to protect this continent.
Tang Qiu's eyes flickered, but her expression remained composed. "Reconcile with the werewolves? Is this His Holiness the Pope's intention?"
"No..." Vogt frowned. "I was just about to persuade His Holiness..."
Before he could finish, Tang Qiu interrupted him. She raised a hand to tuck a stray strand of hair, disheveled by the wind, behind her ear. Her smile was gentle, her tone soft. "I think it would be best for you to discuss reconciling with the werewolves with His Holiness first, Archbishop. Perhaps the Pope has no such intention."
Vogt's brow furrowed tightly. He was silent for a moment, about to say something more, when a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly sounded. A tall, handsome Holy Knight walked to Vogt's side and whispered something to him.
The Holy Knight was only halfway through his report when even more chaotic footsteps came from behind.
Hearing the commotion, Tang Qiu turned to look. Seeing the seductive and beautiful woman striding toward them, her brow furrowed slightly before slowly relaxing.
When Audrey was about three or four meters away from Tang Qiu, she made a gesture to the Inquisitors behind her.
Four or five Holy Knights walked expressionlessly toward Tang Qiu.
"What are you doing, Audrey?" Vogt glared, his voice deep.
Audrey didn't even look at him, her gaze fixed on Tang Qiu's face.
As the Holy Knights approached, Tang Qiu voluntarily held out her hands, looking directly into Audrey's eyes. She said with a beaming smile, "Head Inquisitor Audrey, your timing is perfect. I was just thinking of making a trip to the Inquisition."
Audrey's lips twitched. "Is that so," she said faintly, then sneered. "I thought you only wanted to stay in Reese's manor."
Tang Qiu's smile held a hint of helplessness. "It seems we need an opportunity for an all-night talk."
Audrey gestured for the Holy Knights surrounding the blonde bishop to withdraw. Then she turned slightly to the side and curled her lip. "Let's go, then."
This woman is truly persistent, Tang Qiu sighed inwardly. Just as she was about to step toward Audrey, an arm blocked her path. Vogt stared at Audrey unhappily and demanded, "Does the Inquisition arrest people at will without evidence?"
"What is your reason for taking Bishop Grace away?"
Audrey snorted coldly. "The Inquisition has the right to investigate suspicious individuals." She pointed a finger at Tang Qiu and said, word by word, "I suspect she is colluding with the werewolves."
As she spoke, her finger suddenly shifted to Vogt. She narrowed her eyes and said in a low voice, "Are you afraid, Archbishop Vogt?"
"After all, your relationship with the werewolves is also highly suspicious."
Vogt's face darkened. "An external enemy has invaded the continent. Are you trying to start an internal conflict at a time like this?"
At the mention of the Black Witches invading the continent, Audrey's anger only intensified. She sneered mockingly, "Was it our Inquisition that failed to promptly discover the Black Witches' sinister plot?"
Nearly a hundred dark arrays had erupted across the entire continent. Audrey refused to believe the Black Witches had set them all up in a single day. The forces of darkness had been plotting for so long, yet the Holy See had never noticed anything amiss.
Audrey was utterly disappointed in these archbishops who did nothing but fight for power and position every day.
The atmosphere between the two grew colder and colder. Tang Qiu stepped forward in time to ease the tension. "Head Inquisitor Audrey just wants to ask me a few questions."
She pushed Vogt aside and smiled at Audrey.
Audrey glanced at her, then turned away expressionlessly. Tang Qiu followed behind her.
Vogt watched with a grim face as their figures disappeared around the corner. His expression shifted several times before he finally let out a weary sigh.
He couldn't refute Audrey's words; he knew well that he had made wrong decisions over the years.
Although he hadn't involved himself in the Holy See's power struggles, he had actively relinquished the power in his hands to avoid them, focusing solely on studying light magic.
The end result was that in the face of this sudden disaster, he was heartbroken and lost.
While he couldn't change the Holy See with a single word, he could no longer stand by and watch coldly.
Vogt raised a hand and rubbed the space between his brows, his gaze slowly regaining its firmness. No matter what, he had to make an effort for this continent.
Due to the special nature of the Inquisition and Audrey's rigid personality, her every move was monitored by various factions. The news of her taking the blonde bishop away soon reached the ears of interested parties.
Among them was the Pope, who had sent his personal Holy Knights to investigate Tang Qiu.
The Pope was also astonished by Evan's death, but the area around Rose Manor had been blasted into a wasteland, and any clues had vanished.
Was Evan's death really related to the Gosse Church? The Pope couldn't be sure, but he had to give Eden a satisfactory answer.
A Holy Knight whispered a brief account of Audrey taking the blonde bishop away. After listening, the Pope lowered his eyes to the parchment he had been clutching and said in a low voice to Gabriel and Cambecus, who stood below, "Does either of you know what kind of person Bishop Grace of the Gosse Church is?"
Cambecus was taken aback. He looked up at the Pope, whose expression was obscured by the dim light on his throne, and asked tentatively, "What happened to her?"
The Pope squeezed the parchment in his hand and said faintly, "The Gosse Church received help from the Elf Race. It's said the Elf Queen was willing to intervene because of the bishop of the Gosse Church."
The letter was mostly speculative, but it was enough to surprise the Pope.
No one understood the depth of the Elves' hatred for the Holy See better than he did.
Cambecus frowned. He hadn't expected the blonde bishop to have connections with the Elf Queen. However, didn't this count as colluding with other races?
Just as he was about to point this out, Gabriel, who was standing beside him, suddenly spoke. "The Elf Race would be a good ally."
"Perhaps we should take this opportunity to try and reconcile with them."
Cambecus looked at him disapprovingly. "The Holy See can suppress those Black Witches even without the Elves."
Gabriel nodded. "You're right." His tone shifted. "But doing so might cause the Holy See to suffer heavy losses."
"We need a vanguard of knights, just like during the Holy War." Gabriel looked up at the Pope and said unhurriedly, "The Holy See needs to preserve its strength. Otherwise, after the Black Witches are suppressed, the werewolves and elves might join forces against the Holy See again."
In short, they needed to use the Elves and werewolves to reduce the Holy See's casualties.
After hearing Gabriel's words, Cambecus fell into deep thought. He wanted to refute him but could only manage to say, "The Elves and werewolves might not be as obedient as they were during the Holy War."
The Pope tapped his fingers on the armrest of his throne. He didn't offer an opinion, but instead gestured toward Gabriel with his chin and asked in a low voice, "Do you have a good method?"
Gabriel's lips curved into a profound and inscrutable smile. "We can give them what they want."
Cambecus's heart stirred. "Are you talking about the Elf Fruit?"
"No." Gabriel shook his head. "I'm referring to the Tree of Life."
Of course, this was just a pretext. Once the darkness was successfully expelled, they could simply go back on their word.
The Pope rested his forehead against his hand and pondered for a while. He said nothing about Gabriel's proposal, merely waving his hand to dismiss them.
Comments
Post a Comment