553 Everything Goes Well (1/2)

Taking over the scroll of 'Night Travel', Lucien intended to keep his smile, only to discover that his face was too rigid to do so. ”Master, it can't be that bad. Even if Sard breaks his promise and the pope arrives and performs God's Arrival, he can only kill one legendary expert at the peak of legendary at most. Since they also need to resist the North Church and the Dark Congress, it's already not bad if they can deploy twenty legendary experts, and we have just as many experts in the Congress.”

”If the situation escalates, you would have to take the five saint cardinals including Sard and the seven legendary knights in Holm, Colette, Brianne and Colette into account, too. That means almost thirty legendary experts in total. Together with the pope who's a demigod, I estimate that few legendary sorcerers can survive a head-on clash with them.” Fernando would rather be prepared for the worst.

Then, he looked at Lucien with a smile in his red eyes. ”Don't underestimate the pope. He is still one of the demigods even without God's Arrival. Except for the experts like Douglas, Dracula and Brook, who have been at the peak of legendary for many years, the other legendary sorcerers might not be able to take one hit from him.”

As he spoke, Fernando, who had always been either shameless or grave and agitated, sighed with mixed feelings, ”Also, God's Arrival is too terrifying. After it locks onto the expert at the peak of legendary, they will be killed instantly, no matter if they are by themselves or gathered together. In order to improve 'Eternal Blaze' to a similar level, Douglas will have to advance into a demigod. That's why the Congress decided to cooperate with Sard despite the risks before the pope's God's Arrival is recovered.”

”Otherwise, who's going to block God's Arrival in ten years? I don't think me, Hathaway, Douglas or Brook has the honorable personality to sacrifice oneself for everybody else, but if we join our hands, we will all be killed. On the other hand, for the seven legendary knights, whether or not the pope has God's Arrival has a strong influence on their final decision.”

”Once they are totally inclined to us, it will be the pope's turn to weigh the pros and cons. After all, the most available forces of the South Church will only be equal to ours by then, and it will no longer have the overwhelming advantage. The pope has to consider the possibility of a brutal victory where he is exhausted after using God's Arrival and half of the saint cardinals and sacred knights are killed. That would be in the best interests of the Dark Congress and the North Church.”

Lucien nodded and understood that Congress' strategy was to create a favorable situation so that the seven legendary knights would be turned to their side. Then, even though the pope's God's Arrival was recovered, he would have to face the scenario where a third party would take advantage of the lose-lose war.

”Natasha and I have settled on some things. Together with Sard's stimulation, we should be confident in making the nobles completely inclined to us, and the nobles' tendency will definitely influence the legendary knights' decision. Master, how about this…” Lucien proposed a suggestion, which had been prepared in advance, too.

Fernando nodded solemnly, ”Whatever its final result is, it will do as long as it increases our leverage. Of the seven legendary knights, five have been more or less inclined to us. Until the situation is clear, they probably wouldn't refuse to communicate with us even if they decide to sit on the fence first. I'll talk to them.”

Then, the two of them inferred Sard's actions and plans for different purposes as well as the corresponding countermeasures.

”If that's Sard's purpose, I'll let you know as soon as possible. Let's hope that your countermeasure proves useful. Also, since you are near the Nekso Palace, you should try to help Natasha with the control of the divine power circles in the whole city. That's a critical step to prevent accidents. Morris and other sorcerers of the royal family of Holm will work with you.” The Lord of Storm told him. Deploying Lucien to the place was not just because it was easier for him to escape, but also because of his special relationship with Natasha, who could cooperate with him without concerns.

While the overall defense of Rentato was not as good as the Radiance Church and the Nekso Palace, it was still better than that of Aalto. After it was activated, the controller would gain a major advantage. The facilities that controlled the defense, on the other hand, were separated into two relatively independent parts, one in the Radiance Church and the other in the Nekso Palace. The former would be taken over by the Congress after Sard left the Radiance Church, and the latter depended on Natasha.

Without saying anything else, Lucien nodded solemnly and then asked in curiosity. ”Master, why didn't we seek the cooperation of other forces?”

”Such a plan must be kept highly confidential. If we asked for the cooperation of the North Church or the Dark Congress, the intelligence might've been leaked, and the Church might've noticed it. Also, they wouldn't have many choices. They would either wait to take advantage of us after we fail, or attack the territory of the Church when the defenders are summoned elsewhere. It's impossible that they would join the battlefield recklessly. What we are seizing is exactly the gap. We are going to threaten the Church to back off from a total war.” Fernando explained, ”As for the other allies, those who are willing to come will come after noticing the changes, and those who are unwilling to will not come even if we asked them in advance.”

Even within the Congress of Magic, only the members of the Highest Council and the few sorcerers with high permission such as Lucien were aware of the details. Most of the arcanists and apprentices had no idea that something great was going to take place soon at all. Natasha, on the other side, told nobody of the matter but merely directed the nobles to further misunderstand the Church and look forward to a new balance.

......

At noon on the fourteenth of the Month of Fire…

On the thirty-fifth floor of the Allyn magic tower, voices echoed nonstop:

”It's confirmed that Benedict II is preaching in the Holy City and is never away.”

”It's confirmed that Saints Melmax, Anasta and Maria are around the pope and are never away.”

”It's confirmed that Auden, leader of the ascetics, is preaching in the new alternate dimension and is never away.”

”It's confirmed that Varantine, leader of the ascetics, entered a confessional in the Holy City and is never away.”

”It's confirmed that Vaharall, the Adjudicator, is at the headquarters of the inquisition and is never away.”

”It's confirmed that Beliel, God's Glory, is at the North Fortress and is never away.”

…

The intelligence confirmations came in one piece after another, allowing the Highest Council and the sorcerers in the operation such as Lucien to get the situation under control.

”Unable to confirm the whereabouts of Saint Anthony, a giant of the inquisition and a night watcher, and Brentis, the Original Fire who ranks top among the night watchers.”

”Unable to confirm…”