RNP Page 106
Page 106
At this point, Hope couldn't help but feel a little incredulous:
"Those despicable demons have chosen the most difficult method to achieve, but one that, if achieved, will also have the most severe backlash, severely shaking Saintess Lena's mind!!!"
"Now Saintess Lena's spirit is trapped in a 'lucid dream,' and there is no sign of her heart thawing... We are somewhat helpless about this."
Hope lowered his head in shame. Although he was the actual person in charge of the affairs of the Holy Church, he devoted all his energy to promoting the work of the Holy Maiden and did not study the power of the Holy Church system much, and was far inferior to Brad, a living fossil who had lived for more than a hundred years.
Thinking of this, Hope looked at Pope Brad with respect and asked softly, "Your Holiness, you must have returned this time to solve this problem, right?"
"Don't worry, Hope." Brad released Hope's hand, his semi-mechanical body occasionally emitting mechanical grinding sounds. After listening to the other's description, Brad's expression seemed somewhat relaxed.
"Although the backlash from the Frozen Heart is severe, it's not insurmountable. Once we understand the mechanism behind it, awakening the frozen saintess is a simple matter—"
"You are indeed omnipotent, Your Holiness the Pope!" Hope exclaimed with delight.
Even inside the cathedral, Pope Brad was revered like a god by the other clergy.
Not to mention the other party's body, which was half flesh and half machine, gave people an inexplicable feeling of indifference towards a god who was detached from life, and they dared not overstep their bounds in front of this kind-looking old man!
"No need to waste any more time." Brad smiled and spontaneously started walking towards the basement of the cathedral.
The mechanical friction and collision sounds rang out again. To outsiders, the sound was crisp and ethereal at first glance. Hope followed beside him, and as the sound entered his ears, it began to sound dry and decaying. Hope could only sigh that it was ultimately an unreliable mechanical product that could not withstand long-term use.
I need to find an opportunity to remind His Holiness the Pope to add some lubricant or just discard it and replace it with a new one...
Brad exuded no air of decay as he stepped onto the basement stairs, his strong voice echoing softly in the basement, sounding somewhat impatient:
"Now, let me see... the condition of Saint Lena."
……
Demon City.
Ground floor lobby.
The atmosphere around the long table at the Demons' Joint Conference was somewhat cold and desolate.
"In the Kingdom of Kur, the title of Hero Shana has been officially announced using contract magic." Svir recounted the newly acquired information, glancing at the demons present, his tone slightly somber.
"The title of Evil! The source of all evil, the hero of evil, Shana, whose actions are unpredictable!"
"Based on the recorded achievements, it is exactly as Lord Apophis described. The wicked hero Shana is the mysterious hero who intercepted Lord Fim and Lord Apophis on the Dragon Hidden Mountains!"
"Before receiving the blessing of the goddess of the round tower, the opponent already possessed the power to overpower two great demons!"
At the long table, the girl with long, demonic horns paused slightly in surprise:
"That little sister from the Mino family has actually gained such power? Once she completes the blessing and truly unleashes the power of a hero, won't her strength be no less than that weak hero Mino?"
Swell nodded in agreement with Migo's opinion, then looked at him and said, "Oh? Lord Migo, you could it be that you—had dealings with that hero Shana before?"
"Huh?" The third demon, the horned demon Migo, blushed unexpectedly, her twin tails swaying nervously from side to side: "N-no way! I just heard, just heard about it!"
“I see…” Swell, without suspecting anything further, continued with a serious expression:
"In short, Lord Apophis's deduction is correct. In this breach of contract, humanity has once again taken the lead over us."
"According to reports from spies around the outskirts of the capital, although the Dragon Hidden Mountains were damaged, the Frost Dragon King and the Fire Dragon Queen did not show any anger. The Frost Dragon King, Calest, even followed the Fire Dragon Queen, Ignis, back towards the lava volcano."
"It's highly likely that the two have already gotten married!"
"At the same time, a few days ago, a large number of high-ranking Ice Dragons joined the border battlefield, forming Dragon Knights with humans, which put great pressure on us. Now, the forces on the first line of defense are almost at their maximum to prevent the human camp from launching an attack!"
"Clearly, although the Dragon Hidden Mountains were destroyed, our attempt to break the contract was unsuccessful."
The pages seemed to freeze. Swell gently floated up, bowed his head, and began to write his self-criticism:
"On this point, it was my mistake. Not only did I fail to ensure the completion of the plan, but I was also outmaneuvered by humans. They used our power to... allow the most troublesome and powerful hero, Mino's sister Shana, to skip the hero's trial and complete the achievement title on the Dragon Hidden Mountains!"
"This means we may face pressure from the braver ones even sooner."
"As the demon strategist, I have an inescapable responsibility."
Swell's voice was filled with deep shame. He never expected that his plan to take the enemy by surprise would fall right into the human's trap. The flawless result was as if it had been orchestrated by many parties.
Swell became increasingly convinced that this plan was once again a grand scheme orchestrated by the unfathomable Kingdom Morning Star, Prince Ota, and the "deeply cunning" hero Mino!
“Don’t underestimate yourself, Swell.” Kleinna’s calm and collected voice came from the head of the long table.
"Trying to break the pact between the Ice and Fire Dragon King and the three forces of humanity in the heart of the human realm is inherently a very difficult and unpredictable task. Success would be best, but failure is acceptable as long as we don't suffer any losses in combat power... You've done your best."
A woman dressed in an ice-blue rose gown sat gracefully in her seat, resembling a rose in full bloom, glistening with dewdrops. Her youthful face exuded a girlish innocence, yet her demeanor was filled with a mature and alluring charm as rich as a rose.
Kleidina's cherry-pink eyes looked at him, carrying an inexplicable calming power.
"All I can say is that from the moment Mino won the favor of the dragons and the contract a year ago as the dragon slayer, we were destined to face immense pressure on the first line of defense. But I believe that your command as the demon strategist will not give humanity much of a chance."
“Of course, I assure you in the name of the Book Demon,” Swell said with a hint of respect and gratitude.
"Now that things have come to this..." Klaitina's gaze then turned to the other demons, and she said with a hint of nonchalance, "All we need to do is let this matter rest, regroup, and proceed with our next plan as before."
With a smile playing on her lips, Kletina knew that none of the demons present would lose heart because of a single defeat, and said teasingly:
"At most, congratulating that frost dragon on his wedding will be enough..."
Chapter 138 Yearning to Become the Hero of Evil
"The current situation can be maintained, but the human side will certainly not be content and will try to find opportunities to put more pressure on us."
"The key lies in the new information Swell has obtained..."
She paused slightly, then tapped a finger lightly on the table, producing a crisp sound. This time, unlike Swell's summary, the intelligence was announced by Kletina, the First Secretary, and was shrouded in a heavy tone:
"—The Pope of the Holy Church, Forster Brad, has reappeared in the capital."
The sound landed on the table, and as Kleinna tapped, it gradually spread throughout the hall. The first to react was Apophis, the ancient relic from the Holy Church.
The jet-black sword slowly floated, and tiny spatial rifts appeared around Apophis. Apophis's voice, tinged with apprehension, rang out:
"Even that old guy is starting to make moves, this is getting a bit tricky..."
"Forster Brad, that 'Iron-Blooded Pope' who doesn't quite match his appearance?"
Migo frowned. Her understanding of the human pope was limited to the materials that Swell had provided. He looked like a kind-faced old man, yet he was associated with the terrifying title of Iron-Blooded Pope, which she could not understand at all.
“That’s right, it’s the ‘Iron-Blooded Pope’: Foster Brad!”
On the contrary, at the long table, Swell and Klettina looked serious. The last time Brad was on the front lines was ten years ago.
At that time, Migo was still a child and didn't attend the meeting of the Great Demons, which was understandable. As senior Great Demons, they had witnessed the other party's power firsthand.
"Although humans have used more prestigious titles to praise their Pope in recent years, the one that is remembered by the demons and the human border army is the resounding title that accompanied Foster Brad for almost his entire life—'Iron-Blooded Pope'!"
"More than a hundred years ago, as the Iron-Blooded Pope and the Saint of Weapons, he activated countless holy artifacts of the Holy Church, slaying countless elite demons, and even several great demons died at his hands. He was truly a cold-blooded machine with an iron fist and no mercy!"
"As he grew old, he thought the title had faded from his life, but ten years ago, in the battle that destroyed all hope of humanity by the demon race reaching into the heart of the human world, Brad once again used all the holy artifacts of the Holy Church to reaffirm the title of 'Iron-Blooded Pope'."
Swell's tone carried a rare hint of frustration and bewilderment from the Book Demon:
"Why isn't that old bastard dead yet...?!"
"The Holy Church is both the strongest shield and the most powerful spear of the Kingdom of Kur—"
Kleidina knew that exploring such matters was pointless, so she slowly spoke, looking at the demons: "In any case, Brad's appearance was no accident; it represents a deeper human scheming."
"Although the Heart of Ice is above the sacred artifacts, it is the most troublesome sacred relic."
"But the countless holy artifacts nurtured beneath the Holy Church are also extremely troublesome forces... not to mention that the current Pope Brad is still uncertain whether he can once again display the might of the Iron-Blooded Pope."
"Hehe... I don't think we need to worry too much about that."
From his seat, Apophis let out a smug laugh: "Unlike this old man who is a sacred artifact, humans who cultivate divine power are inherently limited."
"Even the Pope of the Holy Church, being of flesh and blood, cannot defy the human instinct of aging."
"Your Excellency Apophis, could it be... that you have already guessed why Pope Brad has returned?"
As the pages turned slightly, Swell seemed to sense something and asked directly.
Apophis nodded: "It's not hard to conclude that the Pope, whose body has aged to the point of no longer managing the Holy Church and even traveling the kingdom alone in peace, is obviously not being asked to return by humanity for his power—so, all he can offer... is a series of knowledge about the relics and holy artifacts."
"And during this period, there has only been one direction of unrest within the Holy Church of Humanity—"
"The Ice Saintess, Lena?!" Swell suddenly connected the dots and completely understood:
"No wonder, I knew humans wouldn't go to such lengths, using the Saintess's long-term injuries as bait... Back when we planned to use the Ice Heart to turn against Saintess Lena, humans already had a corresponding countermeasure—that living fossil from the Holy Church might be able to easily neutralize the backlash Saintess Lena suffered!"
Apophis's voice betrayed no emotion: "I think we will soon see the mighty heroes and saintesses at their peak reappear on the border front..."
"In that case, the balance of power in the war will be even more difficult to prevent from tilting..."
Svir realized the gravity of the situation. With the dragon riders composed of superior dragons, plus the Ice Saintess who was even more difficult to deal with after she recovered from the backlash, the Demon Clan's first line of defense was likely to collapse directly!
"We must do everything in our power to prevent the Ice Saintess from awakening. For this reason, even the blessing ceremony for the Hero of Evil, which is scheduled for soon, must be postponed!"
Having made a clear deduction in his mind, Swell raised the pages of his book and looked at Klettina, who was sitting in the head seat, as if seeking her approval.
Her ice-blue rose-colored dress swayed gently. Kletina rested her chin on her hand, pondered for a moment, then looked at the group of great demons. Her cherry-pink eyes rippled like water, and an elegant smile spread across her face.
"Looks like it's time for our favorite... interrogation time again?"
……
The capital city, the commoners' district.
A dark, long-abandoned house caught fire last night, turning into ashes without a trace.
This was a trivial matter in the crowded civilian district, and the paladins hastily closed the case that night after no one was injured, and it was quickly forgotten even by the local civilians living nearby.
Such things happen a few times every now and then.
"From today onwards, this... will be our new liaison point."
On the other side of the slum, next to a small to medium-sized orphanage, Thanaus sat inside a poorly lit and poorly maintained hut. The dusty, unkempt floors and furniture made Dane show a slight look of disgust.
“I’ve had enough, Your Grace… At this point, there’s no point in me staying in the commoners’ quarters anymore.”
"Even if you get to know those commoners and occasionally do some disgusting good deeds to gain some attention and fame, it will backfire—" Dane's hypocritical expression was hard to tell whether it was self-abandonment or despair, but it was unsightly.
Meeting Thanaus's grey-red eyes and sickly pale skin, Dane could no longer contain his rage and spat fiercely on the ground:
"I just don't understand, what do we do next?! What else can we do?!?"
Dane's face contorted in a grimace as he asked, enunciating each word clearly:
"What earth-shattering things must I do to become a legendary source of all evil... the hero of evil?"