hunting light

A year later, when recalling the turbulent Holy See coup that year, even though Ian's memory is messy, he still remembers the tension like a chokehold at that time.

And his determination when he put all his eggs in one basket.

Xiali has an absolute advantage.Even if he falls, in front of Ian, there are still many archbishops who are more qualified to aspire to the Pope's throne than him.

Ian can gain people's goodwill towards him through his guiding ability, but goodwill alone is not enough, he also needs more powerful support.

Ian must make people realize that choosing him is the best result that can balance the interests of all parties!

At that time, the war between Leon and Elsa was also at a stalemate.

With the support of foreign forces, Elsa's ambitions are high and she advances all the way.The war stalled the pace of reform.In order to end the war as soon as possible, Leon personally led the expedition and has been leading the battle on the front line.

Leon was in the middle of the battlefield when he received Ian's communication request.

When the communication was connected, Ian's side was experiencing a landfalling typhoon with lightning and thunder outside the window behind him, and trees swaying.

On Leon's side, the camera is facing him in combat uniform, driving Asura.Guns roar in the background.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Your Excellency the Archbishop?" Leon grinned at Ian in the communication, and at the same time switched to a photon cannon, knocking down a tank on the opposite side.

"..." Ian pursed his lips tightly, "How about I contact you later..."

"Don't." Leon said, "This is just a warm-up battle. If you have anything to say now."

Ian said: "I hope that Your Majesty will continue to write to the Holy See to request coronation, and send your sincerity."

Leon swung a knife and cut a mecha in half, glanced at the communication video, his eyes were stern: "Do you need money?"

"These are all your support for the Holy See." Ian said solemnly, "And I will spare no effort to lobby the Pope for you, so that he can accept you as soon as possible."

"Alfonso is only one step away from dying. I'm afraid he can't even say a complete sentence. And Xiali hates me." Leon sneered, jumped up, and killed a superstar mecha again, "He can't wait for Alfonso Elsa tore me to pieces with her bare hands."

"The Pope will crown you, Your Majesty!" Ian said emphatically, "I assure you."

"Okay." Leon rested for a while, his eyes locked on Ian's star-like eyes, "Since Archbishop Mitchell asked you personally, I am naturally obliged. But my donation is not without conditions, my lord. In addition to the coronation, I also hope that you can personally give me some... rewards for my sincerity."

The corner of Ian's mouth twitched, and a wave of heat rushed to his face.

But Leon didn't wait for his response, raised his hand in salute, and hung up the communication.

A few days later, Leonardo III's envoy arrived in Xilin with his request for coronation and another generous donation.

Archbishop Chali replaced Alfonso and received the envoys in the welcome hall of the Pope's Palace.

The number of donations has increased compared with the previous one.In view of the current war-torn situation in the Byron Kingdom, I believe that the emperor's donation of such a sum must have been opposed by his courtiers.

It was a long time later that Ian learned that most of those donations came from the emperor's private treasury.

Although at the time, Leon didn't know what Ian needed the money for, but his wife said that he was short of money, and a man shouldn't do anything extra except open the small treasury.So Leon took out his family property without hesitation, and put his hands in front of his sweetheart.

The special envoy also gave Ian a special gift from His Majesty the Emperor: an orb egg!

This easter egg that was once held in the palm of Brad the Great was made by the famous jeweler Franz. There are only five pieces left in the world, and each piece is priceless.

Not to mention that this easter egg has a more important meaning to Leon-it used to be his first cradle.

There is also a lily flower folded from post-it notes inside the egg.

At this time, Ian was able to take apart the paper flower very skillfully.

The handwriting written by His Majesty the Emperor himself is strong and unrestrained, piercing through the back of the paper: "My dear, this egg is one of the most valuable treasures in my wife's book. I hope you can keep it well. I love and miss you together. You are as sweet as Mint tea, Leon."

The XOXO of the four bosses are also drawn below.Just looking at these few symbols, the undersampling of the emperor pouting and kissing came to life on the paper.

Holding this "wife book", Yi An couldn't laugh or cry for a while.

He carefully folded the paper flower back, opened a very old little scripture book that he carried with him, and put it in.

There was something else between the pages, another yellowing paper lily.

Alfonso's illness worsened day by day, to the point where it was difficult to even get out of bed.The power of Xiali's party began to expand like never before.

Before the pope died, they had already begun to scramble for important positions, replacing Alfonso's people with their own people-this is quite an arrogant and presumptuous behavior!

In fact, Xiali is definitely not the kind of person who loses his sense of proportion and becomes arrogant and domineering because he feels that he has great power.On the contrary, because he had waited almost his entire life before he reached this throne in his twilight years, he was more cautious and low-key than anyone else.

But at the same time, Xiali absolutely cannot stand another failure.

So he decided to take the risk, instead of continuing to wait patiently and low-key, it is better to occupy the throne in advance with a high profile and force, and cut off any claws that come over.

Of course, behind Xiali's move, there is an ulterior secret from Ian.

Since returning to Xilin, Ian has tried his best to give him spiritual hints when he was with Xiali!

Xiali would have nightmares almost every night, dreaming that he was wearing the pope's imperial robe and walking towards the throne step by step.Just a few steps away, he was abruptly stopped: he was either tripped by his robe and fell to the ground, or the robe was pinned by a sword, making it impossible for him to move an inch.Or, rush out of the crowd from the side and push him to the ground...

Every time Xiali woke up from the nightmare, the panic and anxiety in his heart deepened.

What Ian admired was that during the day, Xiali hid his restlessness and uneasiness quite well.He just seemed a little more reticent than in the past, and looked tired.He is much colder towards his subordinates and colleagues, but his emotions never get out of control.

Not only did he dream that he missed the Pope.Xiali's mental sensitivity was magnified by Ian.

He became very sensitive to the eyes and voices of others, and always felt that he was being watched from behind and that people were discussing him quietly.

Even Carol noticed it, and once complained to Ian: "Don't you think the archbishop has become a little allergic recently? He always feels that someone around him is not loyal to him, and he asked me to conduct an internal investigation. This makes us His own people are also in a state of panic, which is very detrimental to his approval rate."

"The archbishop is just too nervous." Ian disagreed. "After all, time is very tight. Your Excellency, he has waited for most of his life just for that day. It is understandable to be suspicious."

In just half a month, Xiali fired two secretaries, replaced his driver and guards, and even planned to change his housekeeper.Those who served him personally, who should have been his most trusted and closest people, were all driven away by him because of suspicion.

Ian watched with no expression on his face, and when he felt that the time was ripe, he added the last straw to Xiali's back.

Ian kept complaining to Xiali that many tasks could not be carried out smoothly.

"The bishop on the other side was promoted by His Majesty Alfonso himself. Now His Majesty is seriously ill, and he is worried and has no mood to work."

"The person in charge is quite loyal to the Pope, and feels that His Majesty is seriously ill now, and he cannot make this decision without authorization."

"The other party directly rejected our request. He said that the authority for this matter is in the hands of the Pope, and he does not accept your order."

"Instructions, instructions!" Xiali finally couldn't help but angrily said, "It's fine if the Holy Master doesn't listen to our orders, what are they, dare to fight against me?"

In particular, Xiali's nightmare last night was miraculously corresponding to reality.

When Xiali walked towards the Pope's throne in royal robes, people around him taunted him loudly and threw rubbish at him.And a hen was placed on the pope's throne!

"Excuse me, my lord." Ian said sadly, "As the pope's agent, of course you can act as his representative. But these people obviously know that they will be replaced after you ascend the throne, so they want to Enjoy your last moments..."

"Then let their last time end early!" Xia Li couldn't bear it anymore, changed his gentleness and calmness, and revealed a fierce and murderous look in his eyes.

This personnel change caused great dissatisfaction among the top management.

"Too ignorant of restraint! It seems that the Holy See is already in its pocket. And it doesn't discuss with us at all."

"Now the Holy See is indeed his. He has mastered the administrative and financial power. The Holy Son is his apprentice again, and he obeys him."

In the high-level cigar club of the Holy See, Ian sat alone in the cubicle, listening to the conversation of several cardinals not far away.These archbishops are highly respected, and if nothing else happens, they will all become one of the fourteen pope candidates in the future.

"Aside from military power, what else does he not hold in his hands?"

"The armament of the army is controlled by the Holy Lord. Xiali's young apprentice is said to be able to control the Holy Lord. I think he has already controlled the army..."

"Xiali doesn't even have a good face towards us now."

"He has a perfunctory face to everyone now." An archbishop was the most annoyed, "Why do people treat us differently? Although we are all candidates, we all know that we are just here to accompany the runners. He is far from that position. It's only one more enthronement ceremony. Doesn't he look down on us from the bottom of his heart?"

The concerns of the archbishops have a more practical significance.According to Xiali's current behavior style, will he fulfill his promise to his supporters well after he takes office?

"I don't know what you guys think." An archbishop finally spoke out what everyone was thinking, "But my ideal pope is one who can represent our common interests. He can balance the forces of all parties, rather than a single family. big."

"Xiali was originally such a candidate. At least that's what he promised us when we unanimously agreed to nominate him."

"That's the problem. He has the support of all of us, and he feels that he should have power over us. Look, when he's on the throne, he's going to be fucking more than that!"

Ian got up amidst the complaints of the archbishops and left quietly.

not enough!

He needs to give everyone a sufficient reason why he absolutely does not want Xiali to be Pope.

At this time, on the battlefield of the Byron Empire's civil war, a news that shocked the nations came.

After four days and three nights of fierce fighting, Leonardo III personally led the "War Lions" army, defeated and surrounded the main army of Marquis Winston, and achieved a crucial victory!

It was a battle recorded in history, officially named it "Battle of Red Pearl Star".But later generations gave it a somewhat secondary name based on its heroism: "Battle of Broken Stars".

Prior to this, Leonardo III was already recognized as a God of War figure by all walks of life, but his performance in this battle once again refreshed people's views on him.

Everyone thought that without the assistance of the light guide, the ability of the dark sentinel would be greatly reduced, but the emperor used his strength and results to slap those who laughed and bad-mouthed him twice.

With or without a light guide, Leonardo III is still the most powerful individual warrior in all mankind.He is also a very outstanding battlefield commander at the same time!

Winston's legion is one of Elsa's two main armies, and it is also her most elite force.Many of the weapons used by the legion were purchased from the Holy See through special channels, and they were the most advanced weapons at the moment.

Before the war started, Winston had said that he would teach Leonardo III a lifelong lesson in this battle.Unexpectedly, one word became a proverb, but the lesson was recorded in his own head.

The destruction of Winston caused Elsa to have an arm cut off by Leon.

The victory of this battle also reversed the stalemate in Byron's civil war.Leonardo III finally opened a breakthrough, gained the upper hand, and started a full-scale counterattack.

News of this victory greatly encouraged the emperor's supporters.

The countries of the giant cetus have maintained such a rigid feudal rule for too long. It is not without people who question and want to change the status quo, but they are all afraid of the overwhelming military power of the ruling class and the Holy See army.

But they never gave up.They kept their eyes open in the dark, waiting silently.Waiting for one day, there will be such a person.

He will be a great leader.

He is invincible, able to break through the layer of miasma that has shrouded people's heads for thousands of years, and lead the real flame of light to the world.

When the news reached the Holy See, it caused quite a commotion among the high-level officials.

The archbishops are still full of confidence in their Holy See army and are not afraid of Leonardo III's army.But the golden-haired emperor severely damaged Elsa's side, which was supported by the Holy See. At the same time, the Holy See declined the request to crown the emperor for the second time.Now it feels as if someone has slapped the face with a crisp sound.

Some people even began to question their decision: "If the emperor is willing to be loyal to the Holy See, why should we continue to support the queen?"

"The problem is, no one is sure whether the emperor will cross the river and tear down the bridge."

"At that time, we will use the Holy See Army to deal with him. Just like we dealt with the Atlanta Federation."

"No, friends." Xia Li said coldly, "It's not yet the time for them to decide the final outcome."

"However, Your Excellency." Ian interjected very rarely at the meeting, "If the emperor had won by virtue of his own strength, he would probably disdain the Holy See even more? Doesn't that mean that the side without the support of the Holy Lord has won? Will it also shake the Holy Master's influence in the hearts of the people? If we want to win over him, now is the best time. He is still humble to us, and has proved his strength again."

Many archbishops nodded in agreement.

Xia Li looked sullen and said, "Leonardo III is a wolf in sheep's clothing. He has no respect for the Holy See and the Holy Lord at all..."

"But what we want in the end is his obedience and offering in name, isn't it?" Ian said, "It is up to the Holy Lord to judge his soul."

More archbishops echoed Ian.Leon's past generosity obviously left a deep impression on these gourmets.They are all well aware of their own piety, and feel that they have no right to criticize each other.

"It's not yet." Xiali narrowed his eyes and cast a warning glance at Ian, "We will continue to observe his performance. Let's move on to the next topic..."

Some archbishops expressed dissatisfaction: "Shouldn't we negotiate and formulate policies together? How come it's up to you to decide, Xiali?"

"Because I act as the pope." Xia Li said confidently.

"But even His Majesty Alfonso will listen to our opinions with an open mind, and finally make a reasonable decision. Instead of going his own way!"

"My decision is the most reasonable one. I don't trust Leonardo III!" Xiali became impatient, the blue-gray bags under his eyes were like two water bags, hanging down his eyes, making his eyes look like old birds.

"You can't make decisions based on your own subjective feelings." The archbishops became more and more dissatisfied.

"Yeah. What Mitchell said makes a lot of sense."

"Are you going to turn this conference room into your talk hall?"

The meeting was ended prematurely by Xiali angrily.Unsurprisingly, Ian was called to the office by him and severely reprimanded.

"You should follow my strategy instead of just thinking about taking advantage of your concubine!" Xia Li yelled angrily, "I will bring you the best life! You just need to get pregnant quickly and give birth to that child !"