806 Secret Mission (1/2)
In the Bright Hall in Lance, the Holy City…
By the time Philibell arrived, all the Grand Cardinals who were free had been gathered. Benedict III stood above the stairs with a platinum staff in his hands. Behind him was an enormous, sacred cross.
”I've summoned you today because I have a secret mission for you, which concerns the glory of the Lord, the survival of the Church, and your future,” Benedict III said solemnly; his slightly cloudy eyes were as thoughtful and peaceful as ever.
Melmax, the Holy Avenger, stepped forward and said, ”Your Holiness, what mission is it exactly that requires half of the Grand Cardinals to accomplish?”
He hadn't recovered from the wounds he suffered during Douglas' advancement into the demigod level. Therefore, he was rather prudent about missions.
Instead of giving a straight answer, Benedict III looked at the glass window near the dome of the Bright Hall. As the brilliant sunlight penetrated through the colorful glass, dreamy shadows were left on the ground.
”Douglas' advancement gave confidence to the sorcerers and showed them the bright future of arcana and magic. As long as the path is not proved to be a dead-end, they can hardly be tempted. Also, the situation in the world has been greatly changed. Our estimation of the future has to change accordingly.” Benedict III repeated the current situation with a low voice, ”Admit it or not, one demigod, four top legends, and an equal number of legendary experts are out there, and the Congress of Magic is already as strong as us.
”In the meantime, we have to face the northern heretics, the great devil Maltimus in the Boundless Ocean, and the evil god 'Silver Moon' in the Dark Mountain Range. The situation is very rough.”
None of the Grand Cardinals said anything because it was an obvious fact. Although the Congress of Magic had to take care of the Lord of Hell and the northern hectics too, the Dark Congress and the Elven Court were at least their allies for now. The Church, on the other hand, was almost helpless.
It seemed to be an inevitable process during the decline of every reigning force. Because their power had left too deep an impression on other forces, and an irresolvable feud had been struck between them, the other forces were likely to reach an agreement to overthrow the reigning force first before they fought each other. It was exactly like what happened to the Magic Empire!
Benedict III's old and heavy voice echoed in the Bright Hall, ”Although I have informed you of the status transformation and the method to gather godhood through the power of faith granted by the Lord, and your strength must've increased over the past few years, we still have to face one problem after twenty years of arcana development and the subsequent expansion of the Congress of Magic.”
He paused and looked around at all the Grand Cardinals present.
Saint Maria, Saint Kati, Philibell, Astira, and the other Grand Cardinals all lowered their heads and avoided the pope's eyes. Over the past years, they had made great contributions to the ever-surging cults under the territory of the Church.
Moving his eyes back, Benedict III went on, ”Considering the current trend, until your strength has fundamental improvements and the number of new legends catches up with that of the Congress of Magic, the Congress of Magic will certainly divide and conquer us with its overwhelming strength, exactly like how the Congress of Magic was destroyed by us in the past.
”This is not a threat with the worst possibility. You should know well that most sorcerers in the Congress of Magic haven't really digested the products of arcana development during the recent two decades. After all, it's normal that the expansion of strength is ten years behind theoretical development. You should know very well how strong they will be in another ten years.”
After Benedict III finished, Astira asked in confusion, ”Your Holiness, it's very visionary of you to describe the comparison of our strengths in the future. You've analyzed our dilemma too. However, the greatest and most fundamental difference between us and the Magic Empire is that we have you, the Lord's spokesperson on the ground and the strongest demigod. The Magic Empire, on the other hand, only had top legends.
”Demigods are a deterrence and a balance. As long as the demigod is not destroyed, it will be barely possible to eliminate his force, because it will make the demigod fearless and wreak havoc on his enemy. Therefore, demigods who can mutually destroy each other's forces are the best guarantee of peace, exactly like our strike on vampires. I believe that the Congress of Magic will take that into consideration too. Perhaps the situation where we confront each other with the Storm Strait in between will go on, while we gradually carve up the forces that do not have demigods.”
Saint Kati also stood up. ”Astira is right. The unkillable demigods will keep the current situation. Also, more importantly, as the strongest demigod, Your Holiness can perform God's Arrival. Neither the Silver Moon, the Lord of Hell, nor Douglas can resist it. That's the best guarantee for the Church's position. They will not dare to attack us easily.
”By the time our strength is increased, we will be able to wake up the Lord. Under the brilliance of the true god, all evilness will be melted.”
He was only talking about his hope, as to whether or not the God of Truth could be awakened, and in exactly what way it should be done, that was a whole different matter.
Benedict III heaved a sigh. ”Demigods are not really immortal. At the very least, I have a lot of problems myself. If they can grasp those problems, even if they cannot completely kill me, they will be able to imprison me like I imprison the monster. Since I have God's Arrival, I must be the primary target for Douglas, the Silver Moon, and Maltimus. It is possible that they will join their hands. How are we going to deal with that?”
No Grand Cardinals were able to give an answer in the Bright Hall. The atmosphere became depressive and frozen. Although the danger was still far away, the worst possibility seemed to be happening sooner or later based on His Holiness' analysis.
”Your Holiness, what is the mission that you want to give us?” Melmax suddenly broke the silence. ”Is it about our future disaster?”
Benedict III slowly raised his platinum staff. He looked solemn and grave.
Seeing that, all the Grand Cardinals immediately kneeled and drew crosses on their chests while praying devoutly, ”Only Truth lives forever!”