Chapter 267 (1/2)

Chapter 267 The fated ending

Mayne passed through the gloomy corridors before he rode the hanging cage into the depths, arriving at the secret temple inside the gigantic cavity.

His Excellency O’Brien was already waiting at the doorway.

He seemed to have aged since the last time he’d seen him. He had wrinkles spreading out like a spider web from the corners of his inwardly sunken eyes and over his cheeks. However, his smile was still just as soft and filled with concern. Mayne couldn’t keep his eyes from becoming wet at the sight. He quickly sunk to his knees, “Your Holiness, we -”

“Rise, child,” the Pope’s voice was both gentle and calm. “I’ve heard that you’ve run into some trouble. Follow me to the hall and we can talk.”

Today wasn’t the Day of Conversion, so the hall’s walls weren’t decorated with as many candles as stars in the sky this time. Instead, only a few candles had been placed over in the corner. The Pope returned to his Lord’s seat, breathing out in relief after he sat. “Explain, just what happened outside.”

Mayne fully realized the heaviness of His Holiness O’Brien’s responsibility. It wasn’t that His Holiness couldn’t find out news from outside of the Holy City, simply that he did not have enough time to pay attention to trivial matter. As a result of this, the three Archbishops were then established, and would coordinate themselves to manage all of the religious affairs. Making sure that they avoid bothering His Holiness with their matter as much as possible, but the current troublesome situation was something he was unable to solve by himself.

Mayne sharply began to narrate the matters at hand, one piece of news at a time from beginning to end.

“Heather is dead…” After listening to everything, O’Brian remained silent for a very long time, then released a long sigh before saying, “She possessed a keen sense of observation and she was both a clever and devout little girl, I’ve seen her as she slowly grew up…”

“Feel free to grief, Your Holiness.”

“The murderer must be punished,” the Pope nodded. “How is the current situation, are Garcia and the Wolfsheart Kingdom mutually helping each other? Isn’t the new poison showing any effect?”

“During the attack and capture of the Broken Tooth Castle it already showed its effect. After a month passed, all of the stronghold’s defenders had fallen dead, and the Army of Judges could quickly storm the city. They were unable to find almost any living soul within the residential areas. However, for the attack on Wolfsheart City, it seems the poison wasn’t able to have the same influence and the enemy still remains tenaciously resistant.” Mayne reported.

“You made two mistakes,” O’Brien slowly said. “The disease caused by the poison will lead to death within seven to ten days. You should have taken advantage of the illness’ first appearance to attack, then quickly rescued and given medical treatment to the residents inside the city. This would’ve significantly reduced their hostility. Do not forget that what we need the most is to get as much of the population as possible, not a ghost city.

“The second point is that you waited one month until you attacked, although by doing it in this way, you were able to reduce the casualties to a minimum, you also gave the enemy enough time to respond, which allowed them enough time to find a way to cure the disease. The essence of the new poison was the magic to transform demonic beasts. According to what the Canon of Magic says, there are more than 70 kinds of abilities that can restrain the infections, and also more than 30 types which can exterminate it. In the end, it isn’t surprising for there to be such a witch within a city filled with tens of thousands of people.”

“You mean, they colluded with witches–”

“In the end, when facing a life and death crisis, no one will care whether they are the Devil’s minions or not,” the Pope muttered.

“No matter if those witches took the initiative to come out by themselves, or if they were unmasked and forced to treat the plague, both possibilities sound like bad news for the Church. If they really can stop the momentum of our attack, it is inevitable that the witches’ reputation is bound to undergo some dramatic changes, even so far… that they could be regarded as heroes.”

“This is all my fault,” Mayne said while lowering his head.

“It certainly was a mistake, but not a grave one. The reason you used this tactic was to reduce the losses of our Army of Judges and God’s Punishment Army,” O’Brien used his scepter to knock Mayne on the shoulder, “Furthermore, the fact that Graycastle’s 3rd Princess Garcia and the Wolfsheart Kingdom are working together is also an opportunity for us.”

“Op…portunity?” the Bishop asked shocked.

“That’s right! This way we will have the opportunity to catch everything in one net,” O’Brien stood up, “You, come with me.”