King

Fifty miles away from the royal capital, in a remote manor, several old men were sitting at a stone table drinking wine, with a lingering sadness between their brows.

"Tell me, are we going too far? Everyone has left. Can that kid Caesar clean up the mess left behind?"

Morrison asked uncertainly.

It's okay to oppose the Holy See, but you can't oppose the Lord of the Dawn. Although the gods have not bubbled up for thousands of years, the believers are still there!

Such a big thing cannot be solved by simply refuting the rumors.

Even the nominal principal of Hudson rushed to the royal capital to deal with the aftermath as soon as he received the news, not to mention the higher-ups of the college.

“Don’t worry, the sky won’t fall!

There are so many important ministers in the court, and they know how to deal with this kind of thing. It is not difficult to find a cult organization to take the blame.

However, follow-up troubles are still inevitable.

It's all the fault of those two brainless idiots Brian and Gallows. Why would they want to drink when they have nothing to do!

It was just drinking, but after getting drunk, we published our unconfirmed research results in the name of the academy.

After causing big trouble, the two of them were singles. They smacked their butts and found a place to hide, but the trouble remained.

It's also our fault for this. We knew they were fools but let them stay and guard the house.

We can't worry about so much anymore. We are at a critical moment now. We have to protect Robert and there is no way we can get away from him.

It was a misfortune and a blessing that this matter attracted the attention of the outside world, which made it easier for Robert to break through.

Otherwise, the Holy See and the powerful men from other races would come to cause trouble, and even if they enlisted Hudson to protect the law, they might not be able to succeed! "

Frost couldn't help but sigh.

There were many powerful people who suspected the death of the Lord of the Dawn. A large part of the reason why everyone was so happy was because the top officials of various countries felt that something had happened to the gods.

However, everyone wanted to think about it, but no one put their speculation on the table. If you really can't control your desire to express yourself, then you just open a vest trumpet.

"Twilight of the Gods" is a reasonable result speculated by the powerful people of the Arcane Academy after repeated verifications.

Everyone can understand the infighting among believers and the Lord of the Dawn not showing up.

The two races of orcs and ogres that can be destroyed have their own racial gods. There is no reason to watch all their believers die without any expression.

Similar incidents have happened more than once. In the past years, more than one race has been destroyed, and the gods they believe in have not emerged.

If believers are not important, why start a war of faith?

Historically, conflicts on the Aslant continent were triggered by issues of faith, not just once or twice.

Even the creatures living in the ocean, because of the orders issued by the gods, forcibly launched wars in lands that were not suitable for their survival.

All the gods fell silent together, and even the extinction of believers was left unchecked. It was difficult not to make people suspicious.

Similar to the "Twilight of the Gods" argument, there are still many similar speculations in the academic world, but everyone has a tacit agreement to keep it secret.

On the one hand, it is out of fear of the gods; on the other hand, it is the need to rule. People cannot live without faith, and religious theocracy is essentially a part of aristocratic rule.

When things have reached this point, no one can run away. It was those two idiots who announced the news, but the research results were produced by everyone together!

Now we are all in the same boat, and we must either figure out how to deal with the aftermath together, or be finished together.

Fortunately they didn't show up, leaving room for maneuver. As long as the kingdom is strong enough, it has a chance to cover up the past.

Everyone is a victim, and the only one who takes advantage is Robert in seclusion.

With the cover of the "blasphemy incident", it is estimated that no one knows that he is in seclusion to break through. In order to keep it secret, they didn't even notify the kingdom's top brass.

There is no way. In recent times, there have been three cases of failed breakthroughs on the mainland.

Without exception, enemies appear to cause trouble at critical moments.

As the strongest men in the kingdom, they seem to have unlimited glory, but in fact, their every move is watched.

The probability of successfully breaking through the sanctuary was originally low, but if someone made trouble again, it would be completely reduced to zero.

It is useless to gather heavy troops for protection. As long as the two sides fight and cause energy tidal fluctuations, the breakthrough may fail.

When the explosive energy pours into the body, it does not change the essence of life, but sends people to meet the Lord of the Dawn.

…

Emerald Palace, after Hudson left, Caesar IV immediately called a meeting with his ministers.

There was one more episode, and Caesar IV knew that things could not go according to the original plan.

"Denial + cold treatment" can indeed solve the problem, but for the innocent people involved, it is a reputation disaster.

"Your Majesty, releasing news is indeed a way to divert the attention of the outside world. But now that the top leaders of the Arcane Academy have disappeared, how can we explain it to the outside world?"

Count Francis, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, said with a depressed look.

The decision-making is made by everyone, but the work is done by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After all, for the news to spread throughout the continent, only the branches of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are so widely distributed.

If you want to get things done, rationality is a problem that must be solved.

It's easy to spread the news that the Holy See's artifacts are missing. The kingdom already has one in its hands, and the rest is just a matter of making up stories. The Holy See's artifacts must have been lost anyway.

The trouble is "refuting the rumors".

If the rumors were true, it would be easy to say. The problem is that the blasphemous remarks really came from the Arcane Academy and were witnessed by countless witnesses.

Even if someone is found to take the blame, the top management of the college must come forward.

Now no one knows where they are hiding, which puts the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs into trouble. If you want to expand, you don’t know where to start.

"I have sent people to look for him, and I believe he will be found soon. The person involved is not here, and no one can tell what exactly happened.

If no one is found after three days, let each family mourn together! "

Caesar IV said through gritted teeth.

Disgusting people, who wouldn’t!

In the aristocratic world, mourning a living person is not simply unlucky.

Once mourning occurs, even if people are still alive, they are still dead. For the sake of their family's reputation, they had no choice but to turn from bright to dark and no longer be active in public.

For individuals, this is a disaster; for the kingdom, it is the easiest way to get out of trouble in the short term.

Death cannot wipe out accounts, but it makes it easy to blame others.

As long as the kingdom insists that the top management of the Arcane Academy were attacked by the enemy and all were killed, and the blasphemous remarks were the enemy's conspiracy, the nature of the matter will change.

"Your Majesty, if they come back afterwards, things will..."

Before Count Francis could finish his words, Caesar IV interrupted angrily: "Just come back. After causing such a big trouble, everyone couldn't find a way to deal with the aftermath, but hid irresponsibly. .

It’s fine if we don’t settle accounts with them. Is it possible that they still have the nerve to ask for an explanation from us?

If you want to reason, then just reason with them. Even if they are senior, they still have to be reasonable! "

The king's decision to seal the coffin made the ministers agree with him. No one likes to have a bunch of ancestors pressing down on them, but the extraordinary world can't help it.

"Since Your Majesty has made a decision, let the orcs take the blame!"

The Prime Minister, the Grand Duke of Newfoundland, added accordingly.

In the Alpha Kingdom, any problem that cannot be solved can be blamed on the orcs.

As for how the orcs sneaked in quietly and killed the top management of the Arcane Academy, there was also a cult organization!

Neither the orcs nor the cult organization could explain it.

…

One moment, everyone was still angry about the blasphemous remarks; the next moment, everyone's attention shifted to the incident of the missing artifact inherited by the Holy See.

On the Holy Mountain, Pius VII was completely furious. The news that was painstakingly sealed finally leaked out.

It seems that what is lost is an artifact, but in fact what is lost is the legal system. The incompleteness of the three inherited artifacts means that the legitimacy of the Holy See will suffer an unprecedented impact.

Combined with the current situation, it is only a matter of time before the Holy See's monopoly on faith among the human race is broken.

With the loss of divinely-ordained legal authority, the greatest obstacle to the Frankish Kingdom's establishment of a new Holy See no longer existed. The next step was to decide on the game between the two sides.

What's worse is that the middle and lower-level members of the Holy See who didn't know that the artifact was missing still forcefully announced that the artifact was not lost. Some clergy even swore to believers that the Holy See would soon come up with the artifact to refute the rumors.

The premise of "refuting rumors" is that rumors exist.

Two of the three major inherited artifacts were lost, and only the final crown came out to refute the rumors. What is the difference between directly admitting that the artifacts were lost?

But it’s impossible not to explain.

The royalist faction headed by the Frankish Kingdom has also found a lot of evidence and is trying to find ways to confirm the "Ten Deadly Sins" on their heads.

If the two are connected, believers can easily come to the conclusion that the Holy See has lost its moral integrity and the gods have taken back the inherited artifact.

Even if believers don't think of the enemies of the Holy See, they will think of it for them, thus shaking the foundation of the Holy See's rule.

"Have you found out which bastard leaked the news?"

Pius VII roared.

He has made up his mind that if he finds the person who stabbed him behind the scenes, he must send this person to the barbecue grill and burn his soul until it smokes.

"Your Majesty, the news spread suddenly, and it happened almost simultaneously in all parts of the continent. The only ones with this ability are those big countries.

The investigation time is too short, and it is still unclear which company it is.

At present, the Frankish Kingdom is the most suspected, followed by the Alpha Kingdom, then the three countries of the Central Continent, and the Iliban Kingdom is also possible.

The remaining kingdoms also have this strength. However, their motives are slightly smaller, but they cannot be completely ruled out. "

Ulisse's answer made Pius VII even more angry. This is not targeting the suspects, it is clearly trying to catch all the major forces of the human race.

You know without any analysis that the mastermind behind this must be one of them, but who exactly is unknown.

Knowing that the Pope was unhappy, there was nothing Ulisse could do. He had only received the news two days ago. Even if the enemy had not concealed it, it would have been impossible to find out the results so quickly!

What's more, when big forces cause trouble, they always use their vests within their vests, framing and deliberately deflecting attention, which are all common occurrences.

Without peeling off the cocoon and drawing out the silk, it is difficult to figure out who did it.

If you find the wrong target and start a fight with someone inexplicably, the mastermind behind the scenes will laugh to death.

"waste!"

"They're all trash!"

"No matter what method you use, you must catch the mastermind behind this!

Don't try to fool me, the problems exposed this time are extraordinary. Apart from the treasure hunting team sent out, we are the only high-level people who know about the missing artifact.

It is now confirmed that all members of the treasure hunting team have been wiped out.

If the news can leak out, either there is a traitor among us, or the artifact has fallen into the hands of a certain powerful force.

Only by finding the mastermind behind the scenes can we regain the inherited artifact and reshape the sacred legal system of our Holy See! "

The words of Pius VII made everyone look shocked. The possibility of leaking secrets is almost zero. They have all become high-level officials of the Holy See.

"The lost artifact fell into the hands of a powerful force", which is undoubtedly very bad news for the Holy See of Dawn.

Fortunately, the other party did not take it out directly. At least it can prove that the mastermind behind the scenes is not the Frankish Kingdom. If the artifact falls into the hands of the Franks, they will just use the inherited artifact to establish a new Holy See.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid this matter needs to be considered in the long term. Hiding the inherited artifact privately and daring to stab us at this time, the mastermind behind the scenes must be prepared.

What is found now may not be true. Verifying authenticity cannot be done overnight.

In a short period of time, it may be difficult to retrieve the inherited artifact. The most urgent task is to solve the current problems first.

With the help of various major forces, external public opinion is very unfavorable to us. If it takes a long time to get the inherited artifact, I'm afraid..."

The more he spoke, the softer Bishop Sauron's voice became. At the end I couldn't say it directly.

However, everyone’s understanding is still very strong. Even if he didn't say it explicitly, he knew how much trouble the Holy See was in now.

Under the spotlight, even if they wanted to fake it, they didn't dare to take any action!

The artifact is not a piece of cabbage. It cannot be forged by mortals at all, let alone the artifact inherited by the Holy See.

…

Compared with the headache of the Holy See, the Frankish Kingdom on the other side is a different scene.

Ever since it was confirmed that the artifact inherited from the Holy See had been lost, the conservatives who originally opposed the establishment of a separate Holy See suddenly switched sides.

Almost overnight, rumors that the Holy See had been abandoned by the Lord of the Dawn spread to all the major cities in the kingdom.

The reaction of the believers was more intense than everyone expected. Countless people attribute the reason why the gods no longer appear as holy beings to the fact that the Holy See has lost its moral integrity and offended the gods.

Seeing that the situation was very good, Charles III didn't bother to hide it, and directly led a group of younger brothers to establish a new Holy See.

Representatives of churches from various countries were also very considerate. Although they did not directly vote for the new Holy See, they participated in the foundation laying ceremony.

It's a pity that I didn't get a response from the Lord of the Dawn, otherwise it would have been perfect.

Unlike the Holy See on Mount Athos, the new Holy See dominated by the Franks did not establish a pope, but instead established a college of bishops to act on behalf of the pope.

There is no doubt that this is a very smart approach. There is no inherited artifact in hand, and there is no theocratic legal system to speak of.

According to the rules, the pope must be recognized by the inherited artifact. In the past, this was not a restriction.

As long as the eighth-level light believer can get the response of the inherited artifact, there is no pope who does not recognize the failure of ascending to the throne because of the inherited artifact.

There are no artifacts now, so naturally there is no way to gain recognition. Rather than force an illegitimate pope, it would be better to leave the seat vacant.

It just so happens that the monarchs of various countries don't like the Pope either. From the perspective of the continent's class division, the king has stood at the top of the nobility, but the pope still stands above the king.

Under the "divine right of kings" system, only the emperor can confront the pope. In fact, in the religious system, the emperor is inferior.

In the eyes of the monarchs, such a powerful pope should not exist.

This alone is enough for many countries to align themselves with the Frankish Holy See.

Of course, price negotiation is inevitable now. If it were the same as the original Holy See, wouldn't the new Holy See be in vain?

"Bishop Edward, how is the branch church established? How many countries are willing to join us?"

Charles III asked enthusiastically.

The joint efforts of several generations of kings finally took root in his hands.

He had kicked away the biggest stumbling block on the road to development. If nothing unexpected happened, the Frankish Kingdom would develop to a new level in his hands.

"Your Majesty, the progress is very smooth. At present, six national churches have made it clear that they recognize the legitimacy of the Holy See of the Kingdom and will no longer accept the control of the Holy See of Holy Mountain.

The remaining church representatives from various countries also had a very warm attitude. Although he did not join us directly, he also showed his inclination.

We are working hard to attract more people to join, and we believe that in the near future, the Holy See of the Kingdom will replace the Holy See of the Holy Mountain and become the orthodox spokesperson of the Lord of the Dawn in the world! "

Archbishop Edward said with a smile.

Although he was not able to become the supreme pope, as the boss of the bishops' conference, his status has been greatly improved.

The only regret is that in order to win over various countries to join, the Frankish Holy See has transferred many rights and interests to local churches, and the power of the Holy See headquarters has been greatly reduced.

But Edward was content. If he really became the Pope, his status would be embarrassing.

The king and the pope are both in the same city, who should listen to them?

Compared with Charles III, the real king, Edward's foundation is still far behind. If divine power and royal power really collide, he might become the shortest-lived pope in history.

"Well done, continue to work hard in this area. Every time a country comes over, the power of the Holy Mountain Holy See will be weakened by one point.

Because of our troubles, the wealth they collect from mainland countries this year will be greatly reduced.

If they continue to be delayed, perhaps the finances will crush them without our intervention.

The new Holy See has been established, and our next task is to find the inheritance artifact as soon as possible to lay the legal foundation for theocratic authority.

Everyone must cooperate closely and cooperate sincerely.

This rumor is not simple. From the information collected by the Holy See, it is known that the inherited artifact is likely to be in the hands of the person behind the scenes.

We have more room for maneuver than the Holy See of Holy Mountain. In addition to robbing the people behind the scenes, the kingdom can also trade with them.

If possible, let the Holy Mountain Holy See be the villain first, and then we will jump out to help them out, and buy the artifact back at the same time.

After all, in this matter, they have indirectly helped us, so we can treat it as a return of favor! "

Charles III said confidently, as if he had already...