At the beginning of the summer of 5366 AD, the Bishop of Bethlehem, Lundit Landiston, returned to the center of the Holy See.

Dressed in a bishop's robe and holding a scepter, Luo Lan walked along the red carpet, his footsteps rattling on the hard white stone slabs, and as he walked through the deep corridor, all the priests or priests on both sides who saw him saluted him in fear, and the servants knelt down one after another.

After walking through the last somewhat curved cloister and through a grand square, he finally stepped up the steps of the central chamber of the Holy See.

He stepped upwards, and on the steps on either side, the Templar swordsman in charge of the guard and the captain of the Templar Knights hung their heads together, not daring to look him in the face.

"Click"

He stood still on the final platform.

The two heavy doors of the Council Chamber were pushed open by the efforts of the six Templar swordsmen, and his vision suddenly widened, and he looked into the hall, under the dome, Pope Pyrhus II sat on the seat symbolizing the supreme power of the Holy See, and on either side, three cardinals sat at the bottom of the head.

Just there, Luo Lan saw at a glance that there was still a vacant seat there, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curve slightly, and then he raised his foot and stepped into the hall.

Watching him enter the hall, Pidoca II stood up, he first drew a cross on his chest, and then his majestic voice sounded in the spacious and grand hall: "Bishop Rantiston, you have once again sown the glory of the Lord, transmitted the faith of light, repelled evil, expelled darkness and filth, may the light be with you"

For a moment, it seemed that the whole world was his voice.

"May the Light Be with You"

The three cardinals stood up at the same time and made a cross on their chests.

Luo Lan stood still, he also drew a cross on his chest, and responded: "May the light be there"

At this time he was thinking in his mind, what he did not think of when Piduca II and the three cardinals welcomed him back with such solemnity and formality, was this an expression to himself that they were now agreeing on some kind of question, or were they standing together for the time being?

"Bishop Landiston, please be seated. ”

Pidoca II smiled and pointed to the empty seat in front of him, in a very kind manner.

Luo Lan bowed his head slightly, then walked to the chair, turned around, and sat down.

Just as soon as he sat down, both he and the feeling he gave people were immediately different.

If at the moment of stepping through the door, Luo Lan was only a regional bishop, with an identity distance from the cardinals and the pope above, but from the moment he sat down, he had entered the supreme power center of the central papal see, and was on the same step as these rulers

And all this is not without reason, not only because he has the increasingly powerful Diocese of Bethlehem behind him, but also because he has outstanding strength in his own right.

What's more, he thwarted the Council of the Dead every time he was assigned by the Holy See's central delegators, especially when the Mage Guild and the Knight Alliance, which were allies, frequently missed.

However, after sitting down, Luo Lan stayed there quietly, without the slightest intention of speaking.

There was a moment of silence in the hall.

After a while, Bishop Moore, who had the least patience, was the first to take it any longer, first glanced at Bishop Todd, the oldest in qualification, and then made eye contact with Pilduca II, coughed, and said, "Bishop Landiston, I heard that the Horn of the Abyss has been taken away by the people of the Council of the Dead?"

The exact news has been learned by the Holy See center, and of course Moore knows very well in his heart that the reason why he said this is just to find a topic that can be cut into and pave the way for their real purpose.

Luo Lan said: "The Horn of the Abyss, to be exact, should have been taken away by the Council of the Dead and the Celestial God Sect together, as for the true belonging between them, I don't know very well, but judging from the previous series of actions and intelligence, it is likely that this is what the Celestial God Sect needs." ”

"The Celestial Cult are called 'Elemental Emissary', right? "Those who rely on their talent to fight?" Bishop Vernal's usual loud voice buzzed through the hall, "I heard that they were defeated by the Council of the Dead in the Western Continent, aren't they under the control of the Council of the Dead now?"

Luo Lan shook his head and said: "Although they failed in the battle with the Council of the Dead before, their main strength has not been lost, and they actually have another identity, that is the Divine Clan that has guarded the entrance to the abyss for generations, so it is impossible for the Council of the Dead to really control them, the so-called failure, but those ordinary Heavenly God Sect members, the Divine Descendants, did not lose much, so I think that they and the Council of the Dead are likely to be allies, and they may not even be harmonious." ”

Bishop Todd, who had been sitting there with a blank face, slowly spoke, "Bishop Landiston, since you participated in the Battle of the Temple, what do you think their real purpose is? is it to kill the French Emperor Adriman, or is it for the Horn of the Abyss?"

Luo Lan was silent for a while, and then said: "It should be both, they want the Abyss Horn, but they are probably more concerned about Adriman's life, after all, once the Light Camp loses a king, the comparison of combat power between the two will be very different." ”

The three cardinals all nodded in unison, apparently agreeing with Luo Lan.

The scepter in Pidka II's hand was raised, and all eyes were immediately focused on him, he looked at Luo Lan, and said in a deep voice: "Bishop Landiston, your inference is the same as what we discussed earlier, but, as a first-hand witness of the Battle of the Temple, what do you think they will do next?"

Luo Lan smiled deeply and said, "The most direct way to solve the problem...... It's war. ”

The faces of the bishops remained unchanged, but their hearts were shaken, and Bishop Moore's feet moved even more uneasily.

Pidoca II's breathing was heavy, and he didn't know whether excitement or excitement or horror was going to take place.

But at this time, Luo Lan's words changed abruptly, and he said: "But you don't have to worry, I don't think that a war across the continent will not happen, at most it will only happen in a local skirmish, but as long as it is handled properly, even this can be avoided." ”

"Oh, why is that? Why do you say that?" said Bishop Moore before he could speak.

"War...... Luo Lan smiled and spread his hands: "Originally, I did have worries about this, but the killing of Emperor Adriman just dispelled this doubt. ”

Bishop Moore was stunned and said, "Why do you say that?"

"It's very simple, if it's just for the sake of fighting for faith, population and land, then when the ordinary war is not carried out to the last moment, the king and the strong will not make a move, so this is the most troublesome, the most clumsy, and the most expensive method, but once the winner is decided between the kings and the strong of the two camps, then the victory or defeat between the continental camps will also be decided, and the side that loses the king and the strong will inevitably decline. ”

Luo Lan raised a finger and said in a deep voice: "They have invisibly sent a signal, that is, they have focused on the duel of high-end forces, that is, the war between kings and strongmen."

Bishop Todd muttered, "The only one who can kill a king is a king, and the one who killed Adriman should also be a king." ”

Bishop Moore frowned, and said, "Who will be the King of the Council of the Dead?Undead Knight Long Di Lomas?Lich King Ulysses?or Gustav, the Monarch of Flesh?" and then he shook his head and said, "It's not like they can do it. ”

Bishop Todd waved his hand and said, "No matter who it is, it has nothing to do with us, and the matter between kings can only be resolved by the kings, and we can't interfere and can't interfere." He turned his head, looked directly at Luo Lan, and said, "Bishop Landiston, I feel that your words seem to suggest that in addition to the king, what crisis is hidden behind this matter?"

Lan nodded and said, "I'm not worried, it's the Celestial God Sect, and the Council of the Dead is likely to support them to start a war. ”

"They—didn't they say they were defeated, and even if the Elemental Messengers were there, would they still be capable of waging war?" Bishop Moore asked aloud, "Do they still have an army?"

"But you forgot the Horn of the Abyss. ”

Luo Lan said in a deep voice: "It will not be for nothing that the Celestial God Sect took them, the biggest possibility is to use it, if they have the complete Abyss Horn, these gods can lift the seal, they can open the entrance to the Abyss Gate at any time, and sign a contract with those powerful beings and races in the abyss who are eager to be killed and destroyed, and use them to attack us." ”

"That's a good point. "It's entirely possible." He thought for a moment and asked, "Does Bishop Rantiston already have a way to deal with it?"

Luo Lan's gaze swept over the cardinal seated, and finally stopped on the face of Pildoca II, and said, "Don't we be allowed to attack the Council of the Dead just if we are allowed to take the initiative to attack us?"

Pidoca II's hand tightened as he grabbed the scepter, "You mean, send an elite team to go deep into ......the Council of the Dead," he nodded, "Good idea." ”

There was also a glint in Bishop Todd's dim eyes, and he agreed, "Good idea indeed. ”

But this is not enough to rely on the power of the Holy See. Pidoca II sighed with regret, for if all the dioceses on the continent were in his hands, it would have been easy to do so.

Bishop Todd's slightly old voice rang out: "This must be done unless the Monks approve of it. ”

The hall fell silent.

Todd continued: "If absolute power is to be achieved in the Friars' Council, then the Friars of our Holy See must abandon infighting and unite a common conviction under the banner of light. He glanced left and right, and then said to Pildoca II: "Think about the Third Continental War, isn't it the result of our Illuminati Sect rising from a weak sect on the continent to the number one force on the continent?"

The succession and selection of the Friars are only carried out within the Friars, and only the members of the lower Friars rely on the nobles to decide together, and if the Friars from the Holy See are to stand together, then it must be that some kind of compromise of interests has been reached within the Holy See.

The Friars of Magowards, who were cardinals hundreds of years ago, were the successors of the bishops of the dioceses, and then the right ones were chosen from among these bishops to succeed the pope, but now they are confined to a limited number of dioceses.

Dean Lance Monk is from the Black Priesthood, most of whom are ascetics, and when they are old, they will enter the Holy Land for the rest of their lives, and they are the most mysterious force of the Holy See.

In direct control of the Priests, the Templars, the Templars, the Light Rites, and a large number of priests and priests in the center.

If they were truly united, coupled with the power of Bethlehem under Luo Lan, he would definitely be a force large enough to influence the decisions of the Monks' Society.

Biduka II nodded, and suddenly, he seemed to have made up his mind, and the light in his eyes was also a little sharper, he looked at Luo Lan, and said: "I didn't expect that Vice President Jonathan was actually a fake this time, he himself should have been killed, but the seat of the vice president of the monks that he vacated needs someone to inherit, and among the current chief monks, the most meritorious is only you, Bishop Lantiston......"

After a pause, he said solemnly: "Bishop Landiston, I have decided to fully support your ascension to the position of Friars and Vice-President, but...... Please also think more about the Holy See Center in the future. ”

Luo Lan frowned, to be honest, he was not surprised by this proposal, but did Piduca II really think that he did not know what the position of the vice president of the Monks Guild was?

"Rest assured, I am not trying to deprive you of your rights. "I have already discussed with the three cardinals, and if you do your best to support the center after you are promoted to vice-president, in return, the diocese of Bethlehem can exist as an independent diocese except for the seminary, and no decision center in the diocese or any other diocese has the right to ask what do you think?"

"Oh?"

This proposal really moved Luo Lan's heart

This means that the diocese of Bethlehem has become a diocese recognized by the Holy See in the true sense of the word, and even if the common people are allowed to practice religion in the diocese, he can do so openly, and no diocese can make irresponsible remarks about him

It seemed that Piduca II wanted to completely abandon his ambition to control the diocese of Bethlehem and put him in a reciprocal alliance to gain his own support.

After thinking about it, Luo Lan nodded slowly and said, "Okay, I accept the center's proposal." ”

Pidoca II breathed a sigh of relief, and since the other party agreed, it meant that the alliance between the diocese of Bethlehem, the cardinal, and the center of the Holy See had truly been reached

At the same time, a touch of regret and reluctance also flashed from his eyes, but in an instant, he sat up straight, as if he had unloaded some burden, and his mental state suddenly became high-pitched, and he said loudly to Luo Lan: "So, about the successor of the chief monk, what do you think of you as a knight Boris?"

Luo Lan nodded: "The ability and combat power are very good, and he is also very devout to the Lord, this person is very well chosen." ”

"That's him, I'll explain to the Boris Knight that it was Bishop Rantiston who recommended him to me. "Pildoca II was magnanimous.

He knew that Boris was very important in Luo Lan's hands, which was obviously the latter also wanted to win over Boris, but he was not afraid, as long as that talent still existed in Boris's body, as long as he didn't want to die, he would never be able to get rid of his control.

"No need," Luo Lan smiled, "We are all servants who believe in the Lord, not for our own selfish desires. ”

Pidoca II was slightly stunned, smiled and nodded, and then his expression was solemn, and said: "Next is the question of the successor of the Mage Society, the Mage Society that has lost the king's backing is much less powerful than before, if we can take this seat over, it will undoubtedly greatly expand our strength, however, now they still have two 'Brilliant Mages', even if they can barely maintain, although they are not enterprising, they will definitely try their best to protect this vacant seat." ”

The three cardinals nodded one after another, and Moore even snorted and said, "The Mage Guild didn't expect such a day, right?"

Luo Lan was a little surprised at first, then thought about it, and immediately understood the reason.

The previous president of the Monks was from the Monks' Society.

At the beginning of his succession, no one took him seriously, especially the Holy See, and did not care about his opinions, but this mage only took a few years to make the Holy See suffer a big loss, and until now this problem has not been solved, and it seems that it will not be completely solved in the next few decades.

Originally, the Holy See had risen again after the downturn, and it had a total of five seats for the Friars, occupying an absolute advantage. But at this time, because there was a monk chief in the Holy See who was about to step down halfway due to special reasons, but the president of the mage council did not know what means to get the vast majority of the monks to agree to keep the seat of the monk, but everyone knew that it was impossible for this person to come out again to decide anything, so this seat was "stranded" in vain.

The Holy See has five seats, but only four of them can make a difference.

Moreover, the decision was made by seven prefects and the president at the same time, and now it is to be overturned, unless more than these numbers are agreed by the chief monks, and the president is required to approve of it.

If this can be done, does the Holy See need to care about this seat?

It's just that this chief monk has a special status, and they can't do anything yet.

Therefore, the Holy See could not abandon this position, and felt that it was useless to keep it in its hands, which made the Holy See center at that time very annoyed.

"Bishop Landiston, would you like to fight for this seat for the Holy See?" said Pilduca II, with a pleasant face on his face.

Luo Lan smiled faintly and said, "Since this seat is so important to the Holy See, then I will definitely work hard to fight for the center." ”

......

...... V