When Giovanni hurried from Florence to the Monteriggioni estate, Mario and Lu Xiao were standing in front of the wooden pages of the study in a daze.

Following the reminder in Mario's letter, Giovanni turned on Eagle Vision for the first time, and the originally ordinary pages of the book immediately changed dramatically.

Giovanni presented himself with a complete map of the world, many of which were imprinted with the imprint of the Assassins, including the Asian continent where China is located.

The hidden map also left a large number of eye-catching points of light, and Giovanni immediately thought of the meaning of these points of light.

"Each dot represents an ancient ruin?"

Giovanni reached out and stroked the Apennine Peninsula, where Italy is located: "Rome? No wonder Rodrigo wants to become pope in every possible way. ”

Mario nodded muttered, "It was also mentioned in the Codex that two 'keys' are needed to open the secret room, one of which is the Golden Apple of Eden, and the other is ......."

Giovanni gritted his teeth: "The Pope's Staff, so that everything makes sense, Sixter IV suddenly fell ill and was really tired." ”

"What?"

Lu Xiao asked unexpectedly, "Is the Pope sick?" When was this? Who is in power in the Holy See now? ”

Mario explained: "Shortly after you and Ezio set off, at the end of last year. ”

"Sixtus IV suddenly fell seriously ill without warning, and the Holy See could not cure him after all the famous doctors searched for him."

"The Holy See has announced in advance that the next pope will be selected, and now the cardinals are each in charge of a partition and jointly governs Rome, and it is expected that the best of them will be selected according to their respective performance."

Lu Xiao narrowed her eyes and asked, "Could it be that it is Rodrigo who has the upper hand now?" ”

"You guessed it."

Mario said solemnly, "Rodrigo, with the financial resources and strong network of contacts provided by the Templar Order, has attracted many wavering regional bishops, and he has a good chance of winning in the end and becoming the new pope. ”

Giovanni added: "The results are expected to be announced around June this year, and Rodrigo will officially ascend to the papal throne by July at the latest." ”

"The Golden Apple of Cyprus has fallen into our hands, but as far as I know, there is not only one Golden Apple, in case the Templars find another Golden Apple to open the Vault...... God knows what's going to be buried in there. ”

Lu Xiao nodded thoughtfully: "In other words, we must take away the Pope's Staff and open the secret room before Rodrigo?" Do you have any plans for this? ”

Giovanni shook his head with a wry smile: "How can it be so fast, after Sixtus IV fell ill at the end of last year, the members of the Brotherhood in Rome began to act. ”

"But the Templars in this Eternal City are so powerful that it is almost impossible to completely overwhelm them and seize the Pope's staff, at least not until June next year."

Lu Xiao bared his teeth: "In other words, you can only find the opportunity to launch a round of precise raids?" When is the best time? ”

Mario and Giovanni exchanged glances, and Mario speculated: "The only chance can only be when Rodrigo ascends the throne, and the enthronement will definitely be in the Sistine Chapel, and the Chamber of Secrets should be somewhere inside this church." ”

The Sistine Chapel is the private prayer hall of the Pope in Rome and the place where the Pope's election ceremony is held, and most religious ceremonies in the Catholic Church are held in the Sistine Chapel.

"Then it's decided."

Lu Xiao retrieved the golden apple from the pedestal of the study, held it in his hand and said to Mario and Giovanni: "The golden apple will be kept in the underground sanctuary of Ostore for the time being, and I plan to go to France to find the Eden Sword first." ”

"I will report my real-time location to you at any time through the local brotherhood channel, and once Rodrigo determines the specific time of his accession to the throne, you will immediately send someone to inform me, and I will be back in the shortest possible time."

When Mario took the golden apple, he provided Lu Xiao with information by the way: "Speaking of the Holy Sword of Eden, there is good news from the Paris Brotherhood recently. ”

"The group of pirates who robbed the sword arranged for some of the stolen members to enter the greater Paris area, and they went around contacting buyers to sell this valuable ancient artifact."

"The Brotherhood of Paris is trying to steal the Sword from the pirates, but with the interference of the Templars, who also know of its whereabouts, neither side can easily get hold of it."

Lu Xiao smiled and nodded: "It is indeed good news, at least it has locked the target for me, and it will be more convenient for you to contact me." ”

As early as after learning that the holy sword might have been left in France, Lu Xiao began to learn French intermittently.

Fortunately, French and Italian both belong to the Latin language family, and Lu Xiao, who is proficient in Italian, is not slow to learn.

Although the complex grammar of French is not yet very proficient, basic everyday communication is no longer a problem.

Giovanni and Mario had long known that Lu Xiao had the intention of going to France, and they were not surprised that Lu Xiao left at this time.

"Have a good trip, Lu, and I hope you can help the Brotherhood of Paris successfully capture the Holy Sword."

……

When Lu Xiao returned to Monteriggioni in February 1478, there was still half a year before Rodrigo ascended the throne, so there should have been plenty of time.

Mario gave Lu Xiao the best horse in Monteriggioni, and after saying goodbye to the Auditore brothers, Lu Xiao no longer stayed, and went all the way to northern Italy.

While passing through Romagna, Lu Xiao used the underground passages of the Assassin's Crypt to infiltrate the Levardino Rock Castle and meet Caterina who had just given birth.

At the time of his union with Katarina, Lu Xiao did not possess Isu blood, and his son, who had just been born for less than a month, was naturally just an ordinary person and did not possess any supernatural abilities left over from the First Civilization.

Lu Xiao has nothing to regret about this, he only hopes that this child can live his life peacefully as an ordinary nobleman.

"What's the child's name?"

"Rousseau."

Caterina's face was full of maternal radiance, and she gently stroked the sleeping Rousseau's face: "You won't mind taking the homonym of your name, right?" If you really can't do it, just call him Little Rousseau, you are the Big Rousseau. ”

"Of course not."

Lu Xiao didn't care much about this, and quietly watched Rousseau, whose cheeks were pink, breathing evenly in his sleep.

Speaking of this, Lu Xiao knew for the first time that his name could be homophonized as Rousseau in Italian.

With the teaching of Caterina, a mother who is very capable of governing, Rousseau's future will definitely be properly cared for.

As the countdown to the life of Sixtus IV begins, the Spell of Restraint on Romagna's head is about to be liberated.

Soon Caterina was able to rightfully turn to the emerging powers, led by Florence, and gain the full support of the Assassin Order and powerful allies.

After handing over Rousseau to the maid's care, Caterina and Lu Xiao sweetly warmed up all day without being disturbed.

Before parting, Lu Xiao made a suggestion to Katarina.

"Based on the current situation in which Italy is now divided, once France ends its war with the Holy Roman Empire, it will be difficult for Romagna to hold back the French army moving south."

"Don't be brainless about guarding this barren territory, if you can't do anything, immediately flee to Florence with Rousseau, and the Auditore and Medici families will definitely not treat you badly."

Caterina hugged Lu Xiao tightly, and was silent for a while before nodding lightly in his arms: "I know, I'm not the kind of character who died in the city, if I really can't stop the French, I will evacuate with Rousseau as soon as possible." ”