881 Hades Right Hand (2/2)

All the grand cardinals lowered their head and said respectfully, ”That is the Lord's grace. Your contributions to the Church are as vast as the Boundless Ocean.”

The old pope nodded softly. ”Our contributions are exactly our gains. I hereby announce the Lord's oracle. The new pope will be…”

His eyes passed on the faces of a few grand cardinals. Satisfied with their tranquility and devotion, he raised his voice and said, ”Griffith!”

”Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” A middle-aged man in a clean robe walked out and fell on his knees piously. His skin was dark, and his face was plain. The only thing that differed him from peasants was that he did not have as many wrinkles, and his every movement was full of charm.

”Only Truth lives forever!” All the other grand cardinals fell on their knees and drew crosses on their chests.

Then, everybody stood up and watched Griffith walk on the seven stairs.

As Griffith took each step, the holy and everlasting songs, the ivory and sacred light, and the sand-like angels appeared one after another, making Griffith seem to be walking in the realm of the God of Truth.

Lance was covered in overwhelming holy light. All the clerics and believers knelt and prayed.

The projection of Mountain Paradise appeared in midair, casting a streak of holy light on Griffith, which looked like a halo.

Griffith walked up to the last stair and took over the platinum staff from the old pope solemnly and respectfully. Then, he turned around to the grand cardinals and raised the staff high.

At this moment, a sacred and intimidating voice descended from the infinite heights.

”Your holy name will be 'Gregory'!”

The old pope smiled. His body suddenly turned transparent, as if he were the purest holy spirit. Then, he crumbled into countless holy spots of light that flew into the projection of Mountain Paradise.

Griffith drew a cross on his chest and declared with a voice that echoed throughout Lance as all popes did when they were crowned, ”From today on, I will be Gregory!”

All the grand cardinals fell on their knees again. ”Only Truth lives forever!”

At the front of the grand cardinals was a golden-haired man in a white robe. His face was chiseled, and he was tall and handsome, except that his rising nose was a bit intimidating.

At this moment, he was more focused and devoted than any other grand cardinals on the spot.

Behind him, some of the grand cardinals further lowered their heads, preventing other people from seeing their faces.

...

”What? This place has been taken over by the Mother God of the Earth?” Fernando had pictured a new scenario where he might run into some powerful sorcerers, or someone had summoned a Devil Duke, or the primordial gold dragon attacked unexpectedly. Little did he expect that the place would become the territory of the Church of the Mother God of the Earth!

He did not need to investigate at all. After he snuck into the city, many priests of the Mother God of the Earth were delivering the fact to the believers.

”It was the Mother God of the Earth who killed the grand cardinal last time? That makes sense. Only the top legend who is best at spells of the earth class could've killed a grand cardinal who was under the protection of the cathedral so easily…” Fernando was greatly enlightened.

As a matter of fact, Douglas, Arnold, and he had all speculated that the heretic religion, which rose against the Magic Empire with the Saint Truth since the War of Dawn began, would eventually turn against them after the Saint Truth grew too powerful. The previous cases had proved that, like the Sun God who was killed by God's Arrival. However, he did not expect the Mother God of the Earth to revolt so suddenly!

”The outcome might've been different if the Mother God of the Earth betrayed during the attack of Lance…” Fernando soon accepted the fact that the Mother God of the Earth had betrayed the Saint Truth, but he did feel sorry that it happened too late. He thought to himself, Maybe because of the suppression of the Saint Truth without the pope, the coalition army finally decided to make significant compromises to the Mother God of the Earth.

Standing outside of the church of the Mother God of the Earth that had just been established, Fernando hesitated for a moment but decided not to come in. After all, there were many sorcerers among the night watchers, and the priests of the Mother God of the Earth must be too sensitive right now to trust him. He might as well go to Aalto as soon as possible and look for friends he was familiar with.

”Antec always told me that his classmate Stanis had remarkable talents and was about to become a legendary sorcerer. Hehe. I'd better meet him in person.” Fernando tried to get out of the city when he remembered his correspondences with his friend.

When he passed by two priests, he suddenly heard one of them speaking to the other in a low voice.

”Griffith has succeeded as the pope. His holy name is Gregory.”

”The new pope has been born?” Fernando was briefly stunned. ”What does Ivan think?”

He had to go to Aalto immediately to find out!