CA - Chapter 226
Chapter 226
Although a third of Glanna's "werewolf" army had been annihilated, the remaining two-thirds had long been dispatched to various parts of the Statu Continent to disrupt the Holy See and create new panic.
Some cities that had just stabilized were thrown back into chaos.
Fortunately, the several Red-robed Archbishops all reacted in time, stabilizing the situation before it could worsen.
Among them, the Gosse Church was the first to eliminate the "werewolves" that had invaded their territory to stir up trouble. Although Tang Qiu was absent, Delphine's assistance was incredibly timely. With the help of the Elf Race, the Gosse Church quickly cleared out all the werewolves within its domain and then began to assist other neighboring countries.
Given Delphine's temperament, she normally wouldn't have helped any church outside of Gosse. But perhaps out of guilt for Tang Qiu's disappearance, the Elf Race had been fighting alongside the Gosse Church the entire time Tang Qiu was away, not even refusing to support other churches.
With the Gosse Empire as its center, the region under Tang Qiu's responsibility was the first on the Statu Continent to find stability.
In the Gosse Church meeting room, a lone figure sat by the window in the otherwise empty chamber. She was writing something with her head lowered. The candle on the table had already burned down to its base. The first ray of morning sun shone in through the window behind her, adding a touch of warmth to the chilly room.
The meeting room door was suddenly pushed open, and Karen walked in from outside, her armor still stained with blood. She found a place to sit and closed her eyes, exhausted. "Those fake werewolves are so hard to deal with."
Jennifer's hand, holding the quill, paused for a moment. She looked up at Karen, saw her disheveled state, and frowned tightly. "If you're tired, go back and rest."
Unable to bear the sight, she took out her staff and cast a cleaning spell on Karen.
Karen raised a hand to cover a yawn. "If I rest for one night, who knows how many more innocent people will die at the hands of those fake werewolves and monsters."
They were in a race against the Dark God; there was no time to rest.
"By the way, is there any news about Archbishop Grace?" Karen asked out of habit, ruffling her somewhat messy hair.
Jennifer's hand paused again. Before she could speak, a set of footsteps approached from outside the door. A Holy Knight knocked and entered, his voice filled with irrepressible excitement. "Bishop Jennifer, Archbishop Grace is back."
Jennifer's eyes widened slightly. She put down her quill, stood up abruptly, and asked quickly, "Where is she?"
"She's already entered the city."
Karen, who had been on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion, was instantly revitalized. She grabbed the golden longsword she had placed beside her, jumped up, and ran outside. "I'll go get her."
She knew someone as formidable as Tang Qiu would be fine.
By the time Karen and Jennifer went out to welcome Tang Qiu, she and Kama had already entered the main city.
Tang Qiu enjoyed an incredibly high reputation in the Gosse Empire. Even when she was just a bishop, she often traveled between cities with her priests to comfort the common people. She was beautiful, gentle, and kind, earning her deep admiration from both commoners and nobles alike.
The main street was packed three layers deep with commoners who had recognized Tang Qiu. They surrounded her, excitedly expressing their concern, admiration, and respect. Although the people were extremely enthusiastic, they were also careful to leave her enough space.
Kama was frightened by the crowd and kept hiding behind Tang Qiu. Tang Qiu raised a hand and patted Kama's shoulder reassuringly. She lifted her gaze slightly, a gentle smile on her lips, and nodded at the crowd. Then, a faint golden light gently pushed the people back.
"Archbishop Grace." After the crowd parted, Karen's voice suddenly cut through the noise and reached Tang Qiu's ears. She ran out from the path cleared by the crowd, her face flushed with excitement. "You're finally back."
Jennifer, not having Karen's stamina, appeared in Tang Qiu's line of sight a moment later.
Upon seeing Karen and Jennifer, Tang Qiu's sky-blue eyes held a faint smile, making her look exceptionally gentle. "You've worked hard during this time."
Although she had just returned and wasn't clear on the current situation, the fact that the Gosse Empire had not fallen into chaos during her disappearance meant that Karen and Jennifer had held up under the pressure.
After all, they faced the Black Witches externally and Gabriel's scheming internally. Tang Qiu's promotion to Red-robed Archbishop had already made Gabriel extremely dissatisfied. It was easy to imagine how many overt and covert attacks the Gosse Church had endured in her absence.
Just as Tang Qiu had thought, the Gosse Church had indeed been targeted during the thirty-odd days of her disappearance. In addition to fighting the Black Witches, they also had to deal with pressure from Gabriel.
Fortunately, they had the assistance of the Elf Race for the former, and for the latter, Reese and the Holy Daughter later joined forces to target Gabriel, leaving him temporarily unable to deal with them. That was why the Gosse Empire had stabilized its situation faster than other countries.
Karen raised a hand to scratch her head, shaking her head with a brilliant smile. "Protecting the Gosse Church is what we're supposed to do."
Jennifer walked over and first gave Tang Qiu a thorough look-over. Seeing that she was uninjured and in good spirits, she breathed a small sigh of relief and said with a stern face, "Where did you go? Why didn't you even send a letter?"
Although Jennifer had appeared very composed while bogged down by church affairs, she had actually been extremely worried during Tang Qiu's absence.
"I went on a strange adventure." Tang Qiu led little Kama back to the church with Jennifer and Karen. "There was no time to send a letter back."
Avoiding the topic of being transported five thousand years into the past, Tang Qiu naturally changed the subject. "What's the current situation between the Church and the Black Witches?"
"The Black Witches have begun to counter-attack." Jennifer's brow furrowed, and her expression grew solemn as she spoke. "The monsters created by the Dark Formations have started to gain intelligence. The Black Witches found some werewolves from who-knows-where, and together with the monsters, they've dealt a significant blow to the Church's forces."
It could be said that the Church's progress in expelling the dark forces had slowed by two-thirds.
"Those werewolves were created by the Anderson Family." Tang Qiu thought for a moment and asked, "Hasn't the Wolf Race appeared to clean up the mess?"
Faye shouldn't tolerate this kind of behavior from Glanna.
"The Wolf Race has been cleaning up these werewolves, but their numbers are too small. The Statu Continent is so vast, they simply can't clean them all up in a short time."
Moreover, the Black Witches were extremely cunning. They hid in the shadows, providing cover for the fake werewolves and monsters. It was very difficult for the Wolf Race to catch them.
The Wolf Race was powerful in combat, but they were indeed helpless in this kind of situation. And since they were unwilling to ally with the Holy See, the situation easily reached a stalemate.
Tang Qiu nodded in understanding and asked again, "Is there any news of Gabriel?"
"Gabriel is in charge of the Bill Empire region. He took nearly half of the bishops with him and stabilized the situation a few days ago." Because Gabriel had taken so many bishops, the other archbishops were left short-staffed, which naturally slowed down the fight against the darkness. He had almost taken all the bishops under Tang Qiu's command as well. If not for the Holy Daughter's timely order, Jennifer would have been the only bishop left in the Gosse Empire. The memory made Jennifer so furious that she disregarded his title and used Gabriel's name directly.
The Bill Empire? Isn't that Reese's territory? How did it end up in Gabriel's hands? Tang Qiu was a little surprised, but she knew Jennifer wouldn't know the answer to that, so she just nodded. Before returning to the church, she casually asked a few more questions.
News of Tang Qiu's return quickly reached the ears of the other bishops stationed nearby, and they all rushed to the Gosse Church to pay their respects.
Tang Qiu had Karen settle Kama in, and without even taking a moment to rest, she went to the reception room. She didn't emerge until the sky had completely darkened.
Jennifer arranged for Holy Knights to escort the bishops away. When she returned, Tang Qiu was standing at the door, still looking at a map in her hands.
"You should go back and rest," Jennifer said softly as she walked over.
Tang Qiu hummed in agreement, pulling her gaze away from the map. "I'm going to the Central Church tomorrow."
Jennifer frowned. "So soon?"
"There's something very important I need to discuss with the Holy Daughter." Tang Qiu handed the map to Jennifer and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I won't suddenly disappear this time."
Jennifer looked away. "You say that every time."
But she still disappeared whenever she did.
"But I've come back every time, haven't I?" Tang Qiu raised a hand and patted Jennifer's shoulder, her voice gentle. "I've never broken my word."
Jennifer glanced at her. Although she didn't say anything, her expression had softened.
After bidding farewell to Jennifer, Tang Qiu returned to her small manor. During her absence, the manor had been consistently maintained. The flowers in the garden had been trimmed beautifully.
Tang Qiu walked along the winding path under the night sky and arrived at her room. She smiled at the Holy Knights guarding either side of the door. "You may go and rest."
The Holy Knights respectfully complied and departed.
Tang Qiu pushed the door open. The bright moonlight streamed into the room through the open doorway. On the table sat an unlit kerosene lamp. The window opposite was half-open, allowing slivers of moonlight to slant in, though they were very faint.
Tang Qiu's gaze swept around the room and quickly settled on the bed. It was shrouded in darkness, but her superior werewolf vision allowed her to clearly see a figure sitting on the edge of the bed. The person's head was lowered, their long red hair casually tied back. Sensing Tang Qiu's gaze, she slowly looked up, her dark red eyes making her skin seem as white as snow.
Tang Qiu and Lucille looked at each other for a moment, then Tang Qiu suddenly let out a soft laugh. She closed the door behind her and walked to the table. As she lit the kerosene lamp, she said slowly, "It seems it's feeding time."
Lucille's gaze followed Tang Qiu's every move. Hearing her words, she swallowed unconsciously, then flashed over and grabbed her wrist. "What took you so long?" she asked faintly.
She had been waiting here all day.
The kerosene lamp was lit, casting a warm, dim light that enveloped Lucille, melting the coldness around her. She lowered her head and sniffed at the side of Tang Qiu's neck. Looking at that expanse of fair skin, she desperately wanted to bite down but managed to restrain her craving and ask, "Are you going out again tonight?"
Although she wanted Tang Qiu to stay by her side and nowhere else, she also knew how busy Tang Qiu was.
Lucille's thoughts were all too clear. Tang Qiu smiled, her lips pursed. Her sky-blue eyes shimmered with a gentle light. She leaned in close to Lucille's ear and said teasingly, "Didn't I just say? Tonight is your feeding time."
It had been a long time since she had properly fulfilled her duties as a feeder.
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