scepter

Even though it was seen that the two people were acting, Gustav was unable to raise any objections at all. It can be seen from the glowing expressions on the faces of the bishops that if he raised objections at this time, he would become an enemy of the whole people. It's the archbishops...

Gustav's eyes flicked over Quinton, Angus and the others. Almost all of them showed no obvious disapproval on their faces, especially Angus, who showed a faint joy on his face.

Including Angus, basically no one would object to this decree of Vasherich, because even Angus, who relies on his appearance and is ridiculed as a "plaything archbishop", his essence is He is also a man, but there is no man who does not wish to rely on his own ability to get ahead, instead of being ridiculed as a plaything. If there is an opportunity for him to realize this wish, he will definitely do it without hesitation .

When Gustav understood this, he also understood that it was impossible for him to oppose the decree of Vasherich, because in that case, he would be an enemy of everyone present, even those who originally Those who support him will also stand against him.

"Your Majesty, thank you very much for answering these questions for me." Yannick stood up pretendingly, and bowed slightly to Vaserich politely, "I personally support the implementation of this decree."

With him taking the lead, everyone reacted. Hogan and other Vishelich archbishops also stood up to express their support, followed by Rahe, Henry and other neutral archbishops, and then several bishops. .

When most people stood up, the few sitting people stood out.

Under Adolf's stare, Gustav finally stood up slowly: "Your Majesty, what needs to be explained is that I support this decree, but only the decree itself. Regarding the fact that you need to abdicate, yes Nothing can change."

Vanserich smiled, with a sneer at the corner of his mouth, but he said it very calmly: "Bishop Gustav, you think too much, I never hoped to use this to strengthen my position, I just I hope I can do something for the Holy See before I abdicate, so that future generations will not think that I am a mediocre pope."

As a person living in the present, Gustav certainly could not have foreseen that this decree by Vanserich would be hailed by historians as the "golden edict" that opened the road to the reform and revival of the Holy See a few years later.Right now, although Vanserich has made it clear that he will abdicate, as an old opponent, Gustav has every reason to believe that the opponent will not just watch him win the final victory, so he has no intention of giving up.

"Then may I ask Your Majesty, when are you planning to abdicate? You must know that the situation outside is very tense, and the Holy See urgently needs a capable leader to lead the entire Holy See to fight against monsters!"

Gustav's aggression caused subtle polarization in the conference room. Those who firmly supported him certainly had no objection to Gustav's approach, while those from the Vansherich faction, and even some neutrals and moderates , but think that Archbishop Gustav is too much, especially after His Majesty has just issued such an edict that everyone likes to hear, and then forced him to abdicate. This is really a bit-crossing the river and tearing down the bridge.

Vansherich said: "I will abdicate, just today. Moreover, the election of my successor pope will also be held today. The Holy See has begun to be a little turbulent after the death of the old pope. And if there is any accident again, I believe you all have no opinions, right?"

Of course, people from Gustav’s faction had no objections, but others felt that this was too hasty and hasty. A dignified pope, because of the teacher’s fault and colleagues’ exposure, was forced to be pope again within a few days. Those who were kicked out, especially those bishops who had just benefited from Fanserich's decree, although many of them did not dare to express their opposition explicitly, the balance in their hearts inevitably tilted towards Fanserich's side.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Vanserich was about to announce the election edict, but Adolf behind him suddenly knelt down and prostrated himself on the ground, "Your Majesty, this is so sudden, you have no fault at all, why? Abdicate for a mistake that was not yours!"

Abel next to him also knelt down silently.

When it comes to loyalty, they are the Pope's most loyal supporters.

Just now, Vanserich threw out news one after another, and everyone was in a state of shock, even Adolf and others were no exception. Only now did they realize that Vanserich was not joking at all, he was really going to let Out of the pope.

With the two of them taking the lead, several archbishops who were loyal to Vanserich also stood up, and Archbishop Hogan even declared: "Your Majesty, we firmly support you to the end, and we will not accept anyone else as Pope except you." of!"

Yannick sat without moving. He and Vanserich had already analyzed it in private. As soon as the matter of the old Pope was exposed, Vanserich must step down. There is almost no suspense in this ending, and anyone can change it. no.

Gustav's face was playful, and he didn't say anything. Instead, Archbishop Quinton, who had been confronting Hogan for a long time, sneered.

Seeing that Hogan and Quinton were about to quarrel again, Vaserich decisively stopped the chaos from spreading: "I'm sorry that I didn't notify anyone in advance, let alone you, because I knew you would be right. But this matter was doomed from the very beginning. Thank you very much for your support and trust in me, but I don't want to cause more damage to the reputation of the Holy See. This is not good for anyone. I hope you can understand my painstaking efforts. "

"Your Majesty..." Adolf broke down in tears.

"Okay, Adolf, I think you should wash your face and calm down first." Fanserich said gently, looking at Abel: "Abel?"

Abel understood immediately, he stood up and silently bowed to Fansherich, then half-dragged and half-supported Adolf to back out.

Fansherich turned around and signaled everyone to sit down again, and then said: "The pope needs to get more than half of the votes of the archbishops before he can be confirmed. Although the decree on the promotion of the seven bishops present has not yet been officially issued, I declare that from now on, you will also I will have the voting right to elect the pope, and as the current pope, I must avoid suspicion and will not participate in the vote."

"I object!" Angus's clear voice sounded, he raised his chin slightly, and glanced at the seven bishops who were accompanying the last seat. "Since the decree has not been officially promulgated, it cannot be regarded as officially effective. According to this, the bishop should not have the right to vote!"

This sentence was like pouring a basin of ice water on their heads, and the joy on the faces of the seven bishops disappeared. They could not protest to Angus blatantly, and could only express their dissatisfaction with collective silence.

However, Vanserich reversed his weakness just now, and said directly in a hard tone: "Archbishop Angus, please pay attention to your identity and wording. I am not asking for your opinions now, although the new pope is about to Elected, but as the current pope, I still have the right to decide. Whether the decree takes effect immediately is up to me."

Angus was about to turn his nose with anger, but when he looked around and found that even Gustav didn't show any support for him, he could only swallow his breath silently. She closed her mouth with a blushing face, but the surging emotions in her heart did not calm down.

But now no one cared about Angus's reaction. After his objection was dismissed and Gustav did not show up, those who originally wanted to object wisely kept quiet.

With everyone's acquiescence, the new decree took effect immediately, and the seven newly joined bishops also had voting rights.

Fanserich once again became the focus of the audience. The twelve cardinal archbishops and the seven new archbishops who had not yet officially "entered the office" all looked at the Pope who was about to abdicate.

"According to the procedure, the Pope's candidate can be proposed by the current Pope, or can be nominated by you, so you can speak freely." Van Sherich said lightly.

As soon as he finished speaking, Archbishop Quinton said: "I propose that Archbishop Gustav be the Pope. He is worthy of the title of His Majesty the Pope in terms of qualifications and abilities. I believe that under his leadership, the Holy See will be able to Restore the glory of the past and rule the Olympian Continent as a king!"

Fansherich nodded lightly, and ordered the attendant priest who was in charge of recording: "Yes, Gustav is one of the candidates, and record it first. Is there any more?"

Someone soon brought up the name of Archbishop Henry. The archbishops headed by Henry were staunch neutrals. They never got involved in any struggles between the archbishops. everything.

Archbishop Henry's face was a little dazed at first, and then he was surprised. He obviously didn't expect that he would be nominated, but he quickly smiled wryly, because he didn't want to compete for the pope at all.

He didn't pay attention to his thoughts. Since someone proposed it, the nominated object would appear as a candidate. This is a rule, and the name of Archbishop Henry was also recorded on the pope's candidate parchment.

All of you here are high-ranking people in the Holy See. The imagined scene of nominating yourself will not happen. It's not that this is not in line with the process, but that the approach is too naive.For example, if Avery nominates himself, he can of course elect himself as Pope, but no one else will elect him except him, and he can only be reduced to a laughing stock in the end.So even an ambitious person like Gustav had to pretend to be nominated by others.

After Archbishop Henry, no one spoke. Fanserich looked around: "If you don't have any other nominees, then I still have a candidate for the Pope in my mind."

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Vaserich said slowly: "Yannick Hill, he is the most suitable person to succeed the Pope in my opinion."

The silver-haired archbishop whose name was called did not stand up, but only slightly bowed in the direction of the Pope in his seat, with neither surprise nor joy on his face: "Thank you for your trust, it is my honor."

Seeing this scene, everyone is no longer surprised.

All the people present were shrewd people. Since the two sang together just now, they had vague guesses. Now that the guesses were confirmed, some of them just lamented that Yannick Hill's promotion path was too fast.

Thinking a little deeper, even if Vanserich had to step down, the successor he nominated would certainly not be the one who demolished him.In other words, after Yannick Hill takes office, he is likely to continue the policies of the Vaserich era.This is worthy of consideration by many people.

But at this moment, the handsome "Fingertip Emerald" sneered again: "I never thought that His Majesty Fansherich, who has always been wise and wise, would become so stupid that he would take the position of the Pope, which is related to the survival of the mainland, as a way to gain A bargaining chip for my male pet to be happy!"

Rationally, Angus knew he shouldn't speak, because even Gustav didn't speak, so why would he join in the fun!But emotionally, Angus really couldn't swallow this breath. Why should a person who also relied on his beauty to be the pope deserve to be nailed to the shame shelf of "plaything"? !

The venue was silent, no one refuted his words, and of course no one echoed him.

The two parties involved, the current His Majesty the Pope, and Archbishop Yannick Hill, looked at Angus with incredulous eyes.

The latter quickly interpreted the meaning of this gaze: How could a person who relies on his body have the face to use this reason to accuse others?

This kind of gaze made Angus very angry. Although it was an unspeakable fact, he always believed that his ability was worthy of the position of archbishop, and Yannick Hill, why should he?Who doesn't know that he was a vagabond without rank before he became the archbishop!

Avery finally couldn't help standing up, and said in a questioning tone:

"Archbishop Angus, with all due respect, where were you when Archbishop Hill was on the front lines of the war helping wounded civilians and soldiers?"

"Where were you when Archbishop Hill traveled around the world, defeating the magister and gaining fame for the Holy See?"

"Where were you when Archbishop Hill called for peace at the magic seminar?"

"Where were you when Archbishop Hill killed the monster and rescued the Charlemagne Empire?"

"If you have done the above things, then I think you are qualified to accuse others, otherwise, what qualifications do you have to slander Archbishop Hill without evidence?!"

Angus could see clearly. When Avery said these words to him, his face was expressionless, but his eyes were disdainful, and the corners of his mouth drooped, clearly showing his contempt for him.

And the words and sentences he questioned were more like a mountain, weighing heavily on Angus' heart.

"You rude person, I am the archbishop, and you are only the bishop, what right do you have to speak to me in such a tone!" Angus was furious, his voice became a little shrill once he raised his voice, Gustav once praised this sound in bed like a deer moaning, which is endearing, but here, obviously no one thinks so.

Even Gustav felt that this voice was a bit harsh at this moment.

"Shut up, Angus." He said in a deep voice.

Angus didn't expect that instead of helping him, Gustav would accuse him aloud. After being stunned for a moment, the expression on his face became unbelievable.

"Be quiet, Angus." Seeing that he didn't react, Gustav added another sentence, and even frowned.

He certainly didn't want Vanserich to launch Yannick to compete with him, but he also knew that this was inevitable, not Yannick Hill, but someone else, at least Yannick Hill's qualifications were comparable to his There is no comparison, and Gustav is still sure to win this battle.

At this time, he didn't want anyone to sabotage his plan, especially Angus's meaningless venting.

"..." Angus quickly glanced at everyone. There were ridicule and schadenfreude in those eyes, except for those who did not share the same hatred with him, and then looked at Gustav's impatient expression next to him.

His heart suddenly turned cold, his lips murmured, and he didn't say anything after all, but under the table, where no one could see, his fists were slowly clenched, and his nails dug deeply into his palm.

No one took this insignificant episode seriously, and Vanserich said indifferently: "If you have no objections, then there are three candidates. Thierry Gustav, Harvey Henry, and Yannick Hill. I think it would be too hasty to let you choose among these three people now. Among the newly added seven archbishops, they don’t even know much about some archbishops, so I hope this Each of the three candidates can describe their abilities so that you can make an informed judgment."

This proposal is welcomed by everyone. Except for some people's staunch supporters, everyone else needs a buffer time for them to choose whether to regroup or join a new camp.

You must know that unless there is a major accident, the Pope's tenure is lifelong.If the pope is chosen correctly, everyone will eat soup and meat. If the pope is chosen wrongly, such as Angus being elected pope, then everyone will wait for a way to go to hell.No one wants to make mistakes or omissions in important matters related to their "lifelong happiness". Of course, the choice needs to be cautious and prudent.

Even those archbishops who originally supported Fanserich, before everything happened today, Fanserich had never greeted them at all. Thinking that he might as well vote for Gustav or Henry later, he decided not to vote for Yannick Hill.

However, Gustav understood very well that Vanserich's proposal was not out of any public interest at all, but was out of a desire to pave the way for Yannick Hill.Who doesn't know that this guy confuses many civilians and middle- and lower-level priests with his eloquence, and now he is going to repeat his old tricks!But so far, Fanserich has used upright tactics, which are totally irresistible.

Since everyone has no objections, the proposal of Vansherich has been finalized. At this time, the meeting together with the time everyone waited for has been going on for five hours. Here comes the freshly made corn and mushroom soup, which is also added with refreshing herbs. It is light and fragrant. Everyone is drinking in small sips with silver bowls, feeling that the spirit is recovering a little bit.

Everyone knows that if the pope is not completely elected today, this meeting will definitely not end. For this reason, Vanserich has already taken off his cloak, found a comfortable position and nestled in a chair, which has a long-term resistance. preparations, others followed suit.

The original nervousness of the bishops being called here has disappeared, replaced by their own faint excitement. For them, His Majesty the Pope is an unattainable figure even if he is not a floating cloud in the sky, but today he wants to A new pope was born from their hands. This moment of making history is not something everyone can experience!

The first round of speeches started with Gustav. Everyone needs to briefly introduce their own experience. In Yannick’s view, this is a bit like the self-introduction of job hunting in his original world. Of course, when it comes to them At the archbishop level, there is no need to flatter and fawn, and those job seekers can't compare with Gustav in terms of momentum.

The archbishop didn't stand up, but just sat there and said a few words.

"I have been an archbishop for 30 years, and I was also promoted from a bishop. Even His Majesty the Pope," he glanced at Vanserich, "his qualifications are not as deep as mine. If you choose His Majesty the Pope Whoever I support, I have nothing to say, but I don't want any cowards here who abstain. If you were scared, you shouldn't be sitting here in the first place."

Domineering enough, sharp enough!

Yannick gave him a compliment in his heart. Archbishop Gustav has always had such a domineering style. Of course, this style is appreciated by others, otherwise he would not have the power to rival Vatican in the Holy See. .The most important thing is that in the words just now, Gustav also veiledly warned those fools: In terms of seniority, I am better than Fansheli, let alone Yannick Hill, if you stand on the wrong side Team, don't blame me for being cruel!

Well, all in all, from Yannick's point of view, that's what it means.

The three archbishops pride themselves on their identities, and they don't talk at length. This kind of efficiency makes everyone very satisfied. It fell into an eerie silence again.

Excluding the three candidates, as well as Vanserich, who asked himself to avoid suspicion, there were a total of [-] people present who had the right to vote.As a result, Gustav got six votes, and Yannick also got six votes. From the very beginning, he never planned to become Pope, and others were not optimistic about his Archbishop Henry. Instead, he got four votes unexpectedly.

The current situation is a bit funny, not to mention that it is impossible to have two popes at the same time, the four votes for Archbishop Henry are obviously people on both sides who do not want to offend.To put it bluntly, this kind of person is wise and safe, but to put it bluntly, he is just as Gustav just described, timid and fearful.

Seeing this result, Archbishop Henry smiled wryly and said, "I don't think I'm suitable for the post of Pope with my talent. Now I'm the last one in the list of votes. Your Majesty, please delete my name and vote again."

Vanserich nodded: "Yes, in order to avoid the same number of votes again, I suggest that Thierry Gustav and Yannick Hill can properly have a dialogue on their own policy policies, and the others should do the same. It’s okay to ask questions, but I want this conversation to be in a friendly atmosphere.”

The competition has entered a fierce stage. Even if Vanserich doesn't say anything, Gustav will no longer be polite to Yannick.He had been observing the changes in everyone's expressions just now, and then found that the archbishops who had originally supported Fansherich became a little less interested this time.

Those people were obviously dissatisfied with Vanserich's failure to inform them about today's events in advance, so they were also dissatisfied with Yannick Hill, which was an excellent opportunity for Gustav.

Under his hint, Archbishop Quinton understood and said: "Archbishop Hill, I would like to know, how do you explain the ambiguous relationship between you and the regent of the Garter Empire? As we all know, he is still a mage."

Before Yanick could answer, he continued, "And I heard that you even had a close relationship with Saint Simon. As a priest, you have already crossed the line between the Holy See and the mage. Even though His Majesty the Pope does not intend to hold you accountable for this, I think that in order to avoid possible losses to the Holy See, it is necessary for you to explain clearly to everyone that you are not suitable for any priesthood until you are cleared of your suspicions , let alone be a candidate for Pope."