Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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Inside the palace of Sig, the capital of the Alpha Empire.
In the magnificent Star Gazing Hall, the crimson-eyed Blackwing Lord gazed in the direction of the holy city of Bethlehem.
Suddenly, he looked up at the sky.
Although it was still daytime, a shooting star could be faintly seen streaking across the sky.
A flicker of hatred and pleasure flashed in the Blackwing Lord’s blood-red eyes: “The Pope is dead, we can begin.”
Queen Caroline II stood on the other side, with her three children, Charles, Pearl, and Charlotte, behind her.
Caroline II’s azure eyes brightened slightly, and a subtle smile appeared on her lips: “I hope that after today, the Holy City will become history.”
Each of the four members of the royal family held two feathers, one pure white and one jet black, and stood at the four corners of the Star Gazing Tower.
The Blackwing Lord stood in the center, spreading his jet-black wings.
The feather held by the royal family member floated up, then lit up, the black and white light merging and gradually turning into a silver-gray color, covering the black-winged lord in the center.
The Blackwing Lord soared into the air, higher and higher, and beneath his feet slowly emerged a huge, black, blood-stained arrow— the very one he had created and fired over the Duchy of Perde!
This “Arrow of Filth” was a powerful spell he cast after collecting the blood and essence of all the demons in the Demon Realm, with the aim of corrupting the Light Realm Barrier— or rather, the Eternal Fence, the artifact that formed the core of the Light Realm Barrier.
In the Blackwing Lord’s plan, if this step was thwarted, then they would turn to another direction: to pollute the holy city of Bethlehem, known as the “City of Chalk”!
With God exhibiting unusual behavior now, the loss of the Holy City was tantamount to the loss of the Vatican’s greatest reliance.
The Blackwing Lord took a deep breath, stepped on the tainted arrow, and flew towards the Holy City.
Behind him, in the capital of Sig, all the factories and workshops, both open and hidden, had their steam engines, produced in the last decade, running at full power. Strangely, despite the apparent overload, no additional power was generated; it seemed the energy was being channeled into some unknown place.
….
Anos’s handsome face flashed with shock and confusion. He hesitated and raised his hand, then his gaze froze: he saw his hands covered in blood.
Anos’s eyes quickly caught sight of the two corpses lying at his feet, and his still-dripping blood hand trembled violently.
The Templar Knights had formed a circle around them, each brandishing their holy swords.
Luo Mi’s eyes widened as she flew to Anos and angrily rebuked them: “Anos is your future Pope!”
“The Vatican will not allow a fallen angel to become pope.”
An unfamiliar voice came from the other end of the corridor.
Several cardinals dressed in bright red robes filed out, their expressions ranging from surprise and hesitation to contemplation.
The leading cardinal looked around, his gaze slightly narrowing when it fell upon the white and black wings of Luo Mi and Anos.
He took a deep breath and bowed to Luo Mi: “Your Majesty, please give the order to purify this fallen angel.”
Luo Mi was stunned.
A chill ran through him, spreading instantly to his limbs and bones, freezing him into an ice sculpture.
He turned around abruptly to look at Anos and was about to explain when he saw Anos give him a bitter smile.
Then Anos lowered his hands and closed his eyes, seemingly awaiting death.
That bitterness made Luo Mi’s heart clench.
He didn’t understand what was going on: Anos had done nothing wrong, yet the world was relentlessly targeting him with malice— even so, Anos still stuck to his principles and loved the world.
They thought that with the Pope, the mastermind behind everything, dead and Anos the sole candidate for Pope, the ordeal would finally be over… But what has happened now?!
—What exactly is the system?
How dare it conclude that Anos was corrupt?
Luo Mi had no time to think. Seeing that the Templar Knights were ready to attack, he simply spread his arms and wings to shield Anos behind him.
He tried to cool down his boiling brains, gritted his teeth and said, “Since you call me that, then I order you to stop attacking!”
The cardinals exchanged glances, and the leading cardinal calmly said, “Your Majesty, you have been too deeply bewitched by this fallen angel. For your sake and the future of the Holy See, please allow us to remove him from your fold.”
Luo Mi almost laughed out of anger: “Who’s bewitching whom?”
So, you’re trying to purge the court of corrupt officials?
Before he could confirm what new abilities he had after upgrading his physique, he simply swung his flaming whip according to the Flame Demon’s abilities— the originally blazing red flaming whip had turned into pure white holy fire after he became an angelic being.
Luo Mi pursed his lips, his flame-red eyes brightening slightly.
He’d never felt a strong sense of belonging to this world; Anos was his only bond. Even if it meant killing, he would protect Anos today!
As the sacred flame was being waved, the knights indeed dared not step forward.
Anos opened his eyes and looked at the figure protecting him. His azure eyes were stunned for a moment before a reassuring smile slowly bloomed on his lips.
He said softly, “Lian, if you kill the cardinals here, the Vatican is finished.”
Luo Mi turned around and glared at him, saying fiercely, “Shut up!”
Even a fool could guess that Anos was acting out of a saintly impulse, wanting to sacrifice himself for the peace of the Papacy.
Unfortunately, Luo Mi was not the Holy Father. He cared more about Anos’s safety than the life or death of the Papacy.
Anos had never seen such a domineering and arrogant Luo Mi before. He paused for a moment, then gave a wry smile: “Lian…”
Just as Luo Mi was contemplating whether to take Anos away from the holy city first, he suddenly heard a melodious bell tolling:
“Ring–“
The continuous tolling of bells, seemingly emanating from an infinite height, carried an extra pressure that caused everyone present to stop in their tracks.
The bell rang thirteen times in total.
The Cardinals and Anos’s expressions instantly turned serious.
The cardinals discussed the matter briefly, then abandoned what was happening here and quickly left.
While the knights were still stunned, Luo Mi tried to pull Anos away, but Anos stood still: “Thirteen sounds mean that the Holy City has foreseen danger.”
His gaze was solemn. “In the history of the Vatican, the Holy City has sounded the alarm very few times, but each time it represented a crisis that was enough to bring down the Vatican.”
It just so happened that the old pope had passed away and the new pope had not yet taken office, leaving the holy city without anyone in control!
Luo Mi was taken aback, and almost blurted out, “What does this have to do with us?” but he held back: “The Holy City can handle this. Let’s go first.”
“To mobilize the power of the Holy City, the Pope needs to use the Scepter of Glory.” The cardinal who had spoken earlier looked at Luo Mi, hesitated for a moment, and then bowed again. “Your Majesty, you are the chosen successor of God. Please take up the Scepter of Glory and protect the Holy City and the Papacy.”
Luo Mi actually laughed out loud this time: “Why would you think I’m willing?”
Without hesitation, the cardinal made the sign of the cross on his chest and solemnly said, “This is God’s arrangement.”
Luo Mi disagreed: “It’s God’s arrangement for me to leave now.”
“…” The cardinal said solemnly, “There are about two million believers and civilians in the Holy City. If we cannot overcome the crisis that requires the sounding of the warning bell thirteen times, nine out of ten of us, including ourselves, will die.”
Luo Mi pursed his lips and looked at Anos.
Anos nodded heavily but did not urge him. He only looked at the cardinal and said, “Now we should immediately guide the believers to safety.”
“The order has already been given,” Anos replied to the cardinal the Pope had met earlier.
The cardinal paused for a moment, then softened his tone: “If the Holy City is preserved, we are willing to pretend we did not see the presence of the fallen angel.”
Luo Mi initially wanted to retort, “No, it’s about making Anos your pope,” but he quickly realized that even if the College of Cardinals were forced to recognize him, Anos’s status and situation wouldn’t be good— so it would be better to go with Anos after this crisis.
Of course, even if he wanted to agree, Luo Mi still kept a straight face and made a gesture of “reluctantly agreeing for Anos’s sake”.
The cardinals breathed a sigh of relief and pointed out the location of the scepter of glory to him.
The scepter of glory, originally one of the symbols of the Pope, was carried by the Pope at all times, but after St. Gregory III was punished by God, the scepter of glory was no longer under his control.
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