879 Arnolds Arrangemen (2/2)
He stopped, fearing that night watchers might be hiding around, and bid his farewell.
Looking at the slowly closed gate, Earl Paphos had a lot of mixed feelings. Without the enemies such as sorcerers and vampires, was it necessary for the Church to respect or keep the nobles? The changed attitude of the clerics in the past hundred years had proved everything! It was just like what the hot beautiful sorceress said. Sorcerers were the nobles' enemy, but the nobles' status also boiled down to sorcerers!
Suddenly, he turned around and looked at the darkness out of the window. ”Come in now that you are here.”
”I can't without the host's permission.” A magnetic female voice echoed, and the glass on the window protruded inward, as if someone invisible were crawling out of the bubble.
But very soon, a petite girl in a red magic robe walked out, and the glass was back to normal.
Earl Paphos was not in a great mood, but the girl was as bright as fire. He said solemnly, ”Why are you here?”
”Hey, do you not know why I am here? I don't remember that you are such an idiot, are you?” Fernando felt that his sarcasm had turned milder after he transformed into a female. ”We talked before. Now, I would like to know if you have figured out the source of the nobles' status and how strong you are.”
Earl Paphos' eyes had the unique gold vertical pupils resembling those of dragons. He looked at Fernando and said slowly, ”My answer is not important. What matters is that you are too weak. Even though the Liege of Death recovers, you will still be weak. I will not go after anything that will inevitably fail.”
What happened today completely showed him the position and power of the nobles. However, although he had realized it, he was unwilling to share his answer with the sorcerers, and he pointed out the central issue straightforwardly.
Fernando was quite satisfied with his attitude. It at least showed the Earl Paphos was willing to communicate with him, which was a good sign for cooperation. He smiled. ”We are weak, but the coalition army of sorcerers, vampires, dragons, and elves is not. If the nobles drift away, the Church will only be able to preserve itself. Of course, we do not need you to risk working with us for now. We only hope to get a bit of help so that we will have time to grow until you realize that we are not too weak to cooperate with you.”
”It takes much more time for sorcerers to grow than it does for clerics,” Earl Paphos said without giving an answer.
Sensing Earl Paphos' concerns, Fernando did not pursue the topic further but asked, ”I'm told that battles took place in Tria and Lance?”
”Yes, the Silver Moon, Abel, and Dracula attacked the pope together…” After considering briefly, Earl Paphos told him everything he knew.
Fernando was surprised and excited while he mocked in silence. Providing intelligence was exactly what he meant by ”a bit of help”. Although the earl did not agree to the cooperation openly, his action showed that he already did.
......
”The pope did not take action, but the coalition army was still unable to break into Lance. Only one grand cardinal and one legendary knight were killed before they were completely suppressed. The Church is truly appallingly powerful…” Arnold received some intelligence through other sources and confirmed what Fernando had learned. Even so, he was still very shocked, finding it hard to believe that the Church was already so strong!
Except for clerics and nobles, most of the legends in the world had been gathered, but they still could not defeat the Church that had lost the pope, even though the Church had left plenty of grand cardinals and legendary knights in Holm, the Boundless Ocean, and other places in case the remaining sorcerers and ocean legends stir trouble.
It was truly a devastating fact!
”If the pope recovers, or if the new pope is crowned, the coalition army will probably collapse when God's Arrival is available again,” Douglas said in concern. The Church was insurmountable right now, and the situation would only be worse when the pope was involved.
Arnold nodded. ”We can only hope that the Silver Moon recovers before the pope does or the new pope becomes a demigod. Then, a balance will be forged again.”
”It's not something we can control,” Douglas said with a self-mocking smile. ”It seems that the counterattack this time won't be too strong. Only the remaining legendary knights and grand cardinals will be gathered at most. Mr. President, I'll go to Allyn now.”
”Alright. Don't be lazy. Try to figure out something!” Arnold told him as if they had known each other for a long time. Then, he looked at Fernando. ”I hope that you can go to Aalto and Tria to figure out the situation and who between Griffith and Ivan is more likely to be the new pope. Also, I would like you to find some talented young sorcerers and convince them to join us. After all, they are not qualified to participate in a war of legends.”