CA - Chapter 191
Chapter 191
In the reception hall beside the Hall of Light, the Holy Son and the Holy Daughter stood on either side below the steps. The former held his head high, talking nonstop about his plans, while the latter kept her gaze slightly lowered, listening with a blank expression. Occasionally, she would look up at the statue of the Light Goddess behind the Pope's throne, her eyes lingering on Cynthia's Staff for a moment before shifting away before the Pope could notice.
The Pope, with his eyes closed, raised a hand to interrupt the Holy Son. "Suppressing the Black Witches is not the final goal," he said in a low voice. "What you need to do is make the common people of this continent remember the Holy See."
He pointed out the flaw in the Holy Son's plan with a single sentence and sighed softly. "Arrange for Vogt to gather another team specifically responsible for appeasing the commoners within the three great empires and nine grand duchies."
They would start with the major powers. As for the other smaller countries, they temporarily lacked the manpower to deal with them.
The Holy Son frowned. "This isn't urgent. We can handle it after suppressing the Black Witches."
"The Black Witches are cunning. Too many civilian casualties are not a good thing for the Holy See either."
The Pope patiently instructed him for a few moments, then raised a hand to rub his brow. He mused, "There is still one vacant position for a Red-robed Archbishop... Do you have a candidate in mind?"
He wanted to cultivate another loyal subordinate for the Holy Son, but he lacked the energy, so he wanted to ask if the Holy Son had anyone ready. The Pope thought of Cambecus and couldn't help but sigh again. He was meant to help the Holy Son through the turbulent period of his ascension... What a pity.
Cambecus's death had a huge impact on him. The Pope could already feel the situation slipping out of his control.
The Holy Son also understood the Pope's good intentions. He had already decided on a confidant. "I already have a suitable candidate. I will recommend her for promotion after we suppress the Black Witches."
"Oh?" The Pope was a little interested. "Which bishop is it?"
"It's Reese's sister, Bishop Monica."
The Pope: "..."
The Holy Daughter, who had been standing quietly by, frowned imperceptibly upon hearing the Holy Son's words. She glanced at the Holy Son, her heart sinking slightly.
The corner of the Pope's mouth, which had just lifted, slowly flattened again. He rested his hand on the armrest, tapping his fingers on it, and asked with a frown, "Why choose her?"
It was enough for one of the sisters to hold the position of Red-robed Archbishop. In fact, according to the Pope's thinking, it was best to manage a lover by keeping them at the bishop level; there was no need to push them to a higher position.
"Reese is a very talented person. Her sister certainly won't be too bad," the Holy Son explained.
Of course, for him, this was only one of the reasons. His real selfish motive was that only the status of a Red-robed Archbishop was worthy of his lover.
He was very disdainful of people like Cambecus and Gabriel who hid their lovers in the shadows.
The Pope was silent for a moment, then said lightly, "Let's discuss this matter after the suppression of the Black Witches is over." He waved his hand wearily. "You may leave now."
The Holy Son wanted to say more, but seeing that the Pope was truly tired, he shut his mouth. He and the Holy Daughter bowed and then turned to leave.
The Pope sat alone on the throne for a while, then slowly turned to face the statue of the Light Goddess behind him. He reached out, took the pure white staff from the statue's hands, and gently stroked the patterns on it.
If only he had another ten years to live.
The Holy See, the God Race... The Pope looked down at the ring of authority on his hand, his entire figure shrinking into the statue's shadow. His eyelids drooped, and he remained motionless, looking lifeless and devoid of any vitality.
After walking out of the reception hall, the Holy Son summoned an attendant priest waiting outside. Just as he was about to order him to call Gabriel to the manor, the Holy Daughter's voice suddenly came from behind him. "The Pope does not approve of you giving the position of Red-robed Archbishop to Monica."
The Holy Son's face darkened. He glanced at her and said unhappily, "His Holiness the Pope's meaning was to discuss this matter later, not to oppose it."
"The Pope hopes you will focus your mind on the Holy See." The Holy Daughter looked at the face that bore some resemblance to her own and said calmly, "The first Pope, Excellency Cynthia, once said something: Light exists in the faith of humanity."
"Not that the Holy See is the Light."
The Holy Son didn't agree with this. He scoffed and said arrogantly, "What do those common people know? When darkness comes, don't they have to wait for the Holy See to save them?"
"Light is not their faith; the Holy See is their faith." The Holy Son brushed past the Holy Daughter's shoulder as he left, giving a faint warning, "Don't forget your status, Phoenix. I am the first heir to the Pope's throne."
After speaking, he didn't give the Holy Daughter time to respond and strode away.
The Holy Daughter watched his retreating back, her eyes calm without a ripple of emotion. As expected, even with the features of the God Race, a tainted bloodline could never be considered truly of the God Race.
Three days passed in a flash. This expedition to suppress the Black Witches mobilized two-thirds of the Central Church's manpower. There were a thousand Holy Knights alone, and the number of priests was several times that of the knights. This didn't even include the personal guards of the Red-robed Archbishops.
The Holy Son sat in his carriage, looking out the window at the vast and mighty procession of the Holy See, and nodded in satisfaction. He said in a low voice to the attendant priest outside, "Let's set off."
The priest made a gesture to the Holy Knight waiting nearby. The city gates of the Holy See's nation opened wide. The Holy Knights led the way with swords drawn, and the carriages followed behind, swaying gently.
The areas each Red-robed Archbishop was responsible for were different. Only Gabriel and the Holy Son were heading in the same direction. Before boarding his carriage, he called over an attendant priest and asked in a low voice, "Which carriage is Bishop Monica in?" According to the Holy Son's division, Bishop Monica should be in his team.
The attendant priest replied, "Bishop Monica was swapped out by Archbishop Reese."
"Oh?" Gabriel's lips curled into a smile. He chuckled softly, "Such deep sisterly affection." He glanced meaningfully in the direction of Reese's carriage, then turned and boarded his own.
According to the Holy Son's grouping, neither Tang Qiu nor Monica was in Reese's team. Not only that, but the teams were a complete mess; almost all the Red-robed Archbishops' confidants had been shuffled around.
Other people's confidants were certainly not as reliable as one's own. So, it wasn't just Reese who secretly swapped Tang Qiu and Monica over; the others also spent the last three days readjusting their teams.
The carriage moved forward steadily. Tang Qiu leaned against the carriage wall, toying with a bat in her hand. The bat was extremely repulsed by the light aura in the carriage and just curled up in Tang Qiu's hand, playing dead.
After carefully reading the letter brought by the bat, Reese handed it to Tang Qiu and said lightly, "The dark forces are more troublesome than I imagined."
Judging from the contents of the letter, the Holy Son had underestimated his enemy this time.
Tang Qiu put the bat into her Space Gem. She took the parchment from Reese and folded it absentmindedly. "The Dark Array has been improved several times by the Garcia Family hiding in Witch City. The light magic of the Red-robed Archbishops alone won't be enough to destroy it."
The Holy Son underestimated the Dark Array, thinking that the strength of the Red-robed Archbishops would be sufficient to handle it.
"That's none of our business." Reese propped her head up with one hand, gazing at the scenery outside the window. Her lips curled. "Let the Holy Son worry about it."
Their goal on this trip was to absorb the network left behind by Cambecus. Reese took out a stack of parchment and handed it to Tang Qiu, chuckling lightly, "I'm going to swallow two-thirds of Cambecus's power."
Tang Qiu raised an eyebrow. She took the parchment and teased with a smile as she read, "Such a big appetite?"
At the top of the parchment was a list of names. The rest were bishop appointment letters without names, each one stamped. As long as they got rid of the people currently holding the positions, they just needed to fill in the names for the appointments to take effect.
This time, Tang Qiu was truly surprised. She flipped through them roughly and found that all the appointment letters were stamped with the Holy Daughter's seal. She blinked and asked, "Did you kidnap the Holy Daughter?"
Is the Holy Daughter crazy? She was way too bold.
Although she knew Reese and the Holy Daughter had some connection, Tang Qiu didn't expect their relationship to be this deep.
"I have no interest in kidnapping her." Reese picked up a rose from the table and sniffed it. "For her to dare give me so many at once, the Pope must be getting weaker and weaker."
Although the Holy Daughter wasn't as ostentatious as the Holy Son, she actually held a great deal of power. The reason Reese could rise so smoothly and dare to confront Cambecus so arrogantly was, on the surface, because she relied on the Holy Son, but in reality, she was secretly using Phoenix's power.
Hearing her words, Tang Qiu frowned and shook her head. "I hope the Pope can hold on until after the Black Witches are suppressed before he dies."
Once the Pope died, the Holy See's internal strife wouldn't be far off. Tang Qiu didn't want the Holy See's strength to be depleted by internal conflict while dealing with the Black Witches, leading to failure.
Reese glanced at Tang Qiu, her expression nonchalant. "I, on the other hand, hope he dies sooner. It's more interesting when the Holy See is in chaos."
As for whether the Holy See would lose to the Black Witches, frankly, she didn't care at all.
After Cambecus's death, his subordinates became much more low-key. Tang Qiu studied the parchment Reese gave her for a while, then took a quill and circled a few familiar names.
These few people happened to be in their team. They could start with them.
At night, the convoy stopped to rest on Reese's command. Mario found the few bishops Tang Qiu pointed out and ordered them to lead a team of Holy Knights to scout ahead.
The bishops felt uneasy but could not disobey the order, so they could only set out with their men.
Reese sat in her carriage, watching their retreating figures. Her emerald eyes darkened slightly. "Have you arranged everything?"
Tang Qiu looked down, adjusting the cloak on her body. Her long, snow-white hair covered the side of her face. "Don't worry."
She looked up and extended a hand to Reese, saying with a smile, "Want to go see for yourself?"
Reese met her gaze for a moment, and her red lips curved into a slight arc.
On a withered tree, Lucille and Lola hid in the darkness, looking down at the team of bishops passing below. Lola crossed her arms, her crimson eyes fixed on the bishops in the group. A flash of excitement crossed her eyes. She licked her lips and chuckled softly, "Remember to go easy on them. It's best to leave them with a breath of life."
"These few will be enough for me to feed on for a few days."
Lucille gave a faint "mm," and seeing that the distance was now great enough, she raised her hand and erected a Blood Domain.
Lola leaped down from the tree trunk, her figure turning from solid to ethereal, finally merging completely with the darkness.
She sneaked up behind a bishop, grabbed his neck with both hands, and dragged him directly out of Lucille's Blood Domain. She opened her mouth to reveal her fangs and bit down, snapping his throat.
The terrified scream sent a chill down the spines of the other bishops trapped in the Blood Domain. They looked around apprehensively, nervously chanting spells.
A fierce gust of wind blew them off balance, forcibly interrupting their spells. Lucille flashed close to a bishop, her icy palm grabbing his shoulder. With a slight exertion of force, she directly shattered his bones.
The captured bishop let out a scream and passed out from the sheer pain.
"Who are you?" Two of their companions had died in quick succession without them even seeing their attackers' faces. The remaining three felt their scalps tingle.
Lucille glanced in the direction of the speaker, her figure flashing, and she silently appeared behind him.
Another scream rang out. The remaining two could barely hold their staffs, and they turned and ran in terror.
Lucille threw aside the unconscious person in her hand and randomly chose a direction to pursue.
The bishop not chosen by Lucille felt a surge of joy. He took out a scroll and unfurled it. A white barrier enveloped him. He ran towards the edge of the Blood Domain. As long as he could leave its range, he could use a teleportation scroll to escape.
The man saw freedom just within reach, his eyes lighting up. His hand was already reaching for the Space Gem at his waist. He was just one step away. However, a transparent barrier suddenly appeared, blocking his path. The man's body stiffened. He caught a glimpse of a white figure in his peripheral vision, and then a sharp pain shot through his neck before he fainted.
Lucille finished off the last one and flashed over. She saw Tang Qiu checking the Space Gem on the unconscious bishop. She pursed her lips, leaned down to Tang Qiu's ear, and said in a low voice, "...I'm hungry."
The familiar scent made her eyes darken slightly, and her throat felt parched.
Tang Qiu's action of checking the Space Gem paused. She looked up at Lucille with a beaming smile.
Lucille looked down, gazing into Tang Qiu's eyes. She licked her lips, knelt on one knee, and turned her head to bite her neck.
Her prey had arrived too. How wonderful.
Outside the Blood Domain, Lola casually tossed aside the bishop she had drained dry. Her face and hands were covered in blood, but she didn't care in the slightest. Lola licked her palm, her eyes still looking entranced. The blood of a bishop was truly delicious.
"Well, well, isn't this the little dog I saved back then?" Reese walked out of the darkness, looking at Lola with great interest, and said teasingly.
Lola was stunned for a moment. She licked the last trace of blood from her fingers. She squinted, sizing up Reese, feeling a bit eager to make a move. She muttered to herself in a low voice, "...Is this prey too?"
Hearing her whisper, Reese laughed out loud. She touched a bracelet on her wrist and said with a half-smile, "You can give it a try."
Lola pouted. The delicious blood's effect wore off, and she regained her senses. She recognized this person as Tang Qiu's friend.
Seeing that Lola had recognized her, Reese's lips curled slightly. Just as she was about to say something, she stopped. She let out a sound of surprise, looked Lola up and down, and said in astonishment, "You're a fourth-generation vampire now?"
Lola licked the remaining blood from the corner of her mouth, acting as if she didn't hear Reese's words.
Reese stroked her chin, recalling carefully. She said thoughtfully, "The first time I saw you, you were a fifth-generation vampire."
"How come I've never heard of little dogs being able to level up?"
Lola's face darkened. She said unhappily, "Who are you calling a dog?"
Reese smiled faintly and replied in a soft voice, "Aren't all things that bite little dogs?"
Lola: "..."
If this person weren't a Red-robed Archbishop, she would have definitely gone over and snapped her neck.
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