If it had been before, Lin An might have ironically retorted to Angus.

But now, even if you don't witness it with your own eyes, if nothing else, the Holy See on the other side of the human plane, even if it is not completely destroyed, is already in danger, and the mastermind behind the qiē is Angus.

And from the words he said earlier, Lin An already vaguely understood something.

Of course, controlling knowledge and public opinion is a necessary means for the spread of religion. At least initially, that's what I thought. ”

Angus said slowly, recalling, "Until, I accidentally opened a secret room in the archive...... In a dusty corner of the chamber, I found a book, a book with a black cover that represented the taboo - it was this book, so to speak, that changed my fate. ”

He paused, smiling.

“…… You must want to know the contents of that forbidden book, and I can tell you that what is recorded in that forbidden book is a secret method of stealing the power of the gods' faith and turning it into one's own power. ”

Lin An gasped.

Angus didn't seem to hear it, immersed in the memory, and told the story.

Angus, who discovered the forbidden book that year, was only eight years old, and at that time he had not yet been recognized by Pope Angus II, but was sent to the Holy Mountain as a trainee priest who was favored by the Holy See.

Due to his own talent and special treatment from his adoptive parents, Angus has always known that he has a unique background and is very precocious.

However, due to the education he received since he was a child and the atmosphere of faith in the Holy Empire, the young Angus, like the normal church, worshiped the gods of faith, and in the face of the pope, who is the supreme god and the spokesman of the world, he only has awe, and is far from the confidence and strength of later confrontation and design.

At that time, the memory was too vague, Angus couldn't even remember how he found the secret room and found the forbidden book, and now I think about it, although Ming Mian is different from other little companions, but he was personally taken by the Pope himself, and he has a different treatment on the holy mountain after all.

At that time, Angus II was in his prime, and his control over the Holy See was at its peak, and even a boy serving the Pope by his side had such special treatment, which shows the authority and prestige of Angus II at that time.

So he entered the secret room of the archive and saw the book, which was soon known to Angus II.

Angus II's initial outrage was a complete gaffe, Angus had never seen a pope look so terrifying.

After that, Angus II sighed and muttered to himself, this may be fate.

Then, Angus finally learned his true life experience, and he didn't react yet, and within two days, Angus, who had just secretly recognized his biological father and was in a daze, was sent out of the holy mountain again.

At first, Angus thought he was abandoned again.

It was only later that Angus learned that Angus II had brought him to the Holy Mountain, and had arranged for him to become a high clergyman, enter the Hall of Thorns of the Cardinals or the Ascetics, but never thought of letting him inherit the papal throne.

Angus II himself told him that sometimes, if you don't know the truth, you will live more easily.

But everything changed from that afternoon, when Angus II personally paved another path to the papacy for his illegitimate son.

Lin An clearly remembered that the Holy Canon explicitly forbade that the papal throne was not allowed to be inherited from father to son.

Angus didn't tell him what he had experienced during those years.

He only said lightly that from that point on, no amount of magic could verify his blood relationship with Angus II, because at that time he was not actually related to his own biological parents.

Therefore, he later did not care about telling Lin An about his own life, because even if Lin An said it, it would not have any effect - he had already been tested many times before he became an oracle and was appointed as the next pope.

By the time Angus was twelve years old and saw Angus II again, he had already learned that his future path had been planned.

At that time, Angus made only one request to the pope:

He wanted to read the forbidden book once.

Angus II had a mixed attitude, a mixture of indifference and disgust, mixed with deep pain.

"I would never have taken you to the Holy Mountain if I had known that this day would come," said Angus II, "and even if you did not live to this age, it would have been better to die early than to face the fate thereafter." ”

Then Angus learned that the book could only be read by successive popes;

On the other hand, those who read that book will also become popes and keep this book as a secret and shackle for life.

Even after they die, their souls will never be at peace.

“…… Therefore," Lin An interjected halfway, "In fact, since many generations ago, when the miracles of the God of Light could no longer come to this world, the successive popes of the Holy See have begun to descend oracles on their behalf, pretending to be miracles - the Inquisition is arresting mage heretics everywhere on the continent, but I didn't expect that the spokesperson of God is the biggest blasphemer?" ”

"Ridiculous, isn't it? That's what I thought at the time. Angus smiled faintly.

Lin An was silent.

Of course, she knew that the truth had an impact on Angus that was much more than that.

As a person from an era where godless ideas were rampant, Lin An couldn't empathize, but he had seen a lot, and he also knew that the world's belief and reverence for the gods, even the group of mages who despised the authority of the gods the most, subconsciously, also had some awe and respect for the existence of beings far beyond the mortal level.

There are gods in the head, in Lin An's world, this may be regarded as the superstition of ordinary women and be scoffed at, but in this world, it is indeed true.

This is the essential difference between Lin An and the people of this world.

So Lin An can fully imagine how the revelation of the truth will shatter and reshape the world view of the young Angus.

It can only be seen from the fact that Angus, who has a candidate for the priesthood who has believed in the supreme god since he was a child and has a bright future, has now single-handedly destroyed the Holy See, wantonly stealing and collecting the power of faith, and vainly trying to become a god.

But if you think about it carefully, Angus's transformation, in a certain way, can also be said to be fate.

Unlike the successive popes who have been shackled but have been able to maintain the illusion of stability and sit in the highest position, Angus was born in an era when the continent was brewing and destined for war, even if Angus had the heart to keep secrets like his predecessors, the general trend of the times would not allow it.

With Angus's talent and intelligence, as well as the education given by the Pope, Angus was able to touch the layers that determined that he was one of the few people in the Muse continent who could truly see the future historical trend.

Of course, the same is true of the Pope, which is why there is a preface.

In this way, even if Lin An is put in Angus's position and asks himself, Lin An will give it a go, unwilling to succumb to fate-

From this point of view, it can be said that the Angus father and son single-handedly pushed the gears of the times, but why didn't the times create such a person as Angus?

Lin An thought again, regardless of Angus II's personal morality, but he still seemed to have a certain father-son relationship for Angus after all.

The position of the pope seems to be lofty and magnificent, but the shackles and secrets that he has carried in his life are far from what people can imagine, especially in an era when gods are real and faith is pervasive in people's hearts.

Every time I saw the faithful and my subordinates, it was an ordeal for the successive popes:

The most difficult and desperate slave can still pin his hope on the world after death;

For the successive popes, death was the greatest horror for them - blinding the world, blaspheming the gods, what will happen to their souls after death?

It is said that the fear of death was the greatest motivation for the birth and spread of religion.

Even in Merlin, which suppressed religion, Lin An had seen many religious oil paintings depicting hellish scenes.

It was one of the most horrific spectacles imaginable, with the souls of countless dead struggling, and in a holy empire with a strong religious atmosphere, people were only more afraid of where they would return after losing their faith.

Eternal life is bound to unknown horrors, from which even earthly power can only be used as a temporary paralysis - it is not surprising that under such successive popes, the Holy See and even the Holy Empire have become a deformed freak, and even a madman like Angus has been conceived.

It can be said that no pope in the past dynasties has completely collapsed, and Lin An has already felt very incredible that this secret that can be called the biggest secret of the human race has been exposed.

The inheritance of secular thrones will inevitably lead to faint monarchs.

It can be seen from this that the successive popes who can sit in the highest position of the human race, no matter what their achievements are in the throne, whether they are perverse, or whether they are in the position of a vegetarian, in terms of will and means, after all, they are worthy of that position, and they are far from being so mediocre and incompetent in the biased description of the mage group.

At the very least, when it comes to choosing successors, successive popes can be called sober-sighted and precise.

Until the advent of Angus.

In retrospect, the prohibition in the canon that the pope must not succeed from father to son is simply the greatest irony of Angus II.

If you think about it further, did Angus II, who held absolute authority, really know nothing about Angus's plans behind his back? Was he reluctant to be angry before he died?

Lin An didn't know.

But the change in the fate of father and son, and the entire human race, did begin on the afternoon when Angus first entered the secret room of the archive, and the forbidden book like Pandora's box.

In the space of Lin An's association, Angus's memories continue.

When he saw his biological father again at the age of twelve, Angus finally got his wish and saw the forbidden book again.

This time not in the secret room, but in the abode of the papal practice.

The forbidden book, which had been sealed in a secret room for hundreds of years, appeared in the sunlight again.

(To be continued) RS