In the following week, the Church held a solemn funeral for Sixlow IV, and all the central figures of the Holy See from the Western continent arrived. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info Then came the much-anticipated secret election.

Meyer has done everything he needs to do now, and the votes in the hands of the four cardinals of the Divine Grace Empire who came to the Holy Capital have all gone to the deputy justices. For this, the lord of Meyer, Sarianko, spent a lot of money.

By the time of the beginning of the election council, a total of 70 heads of the Church with the right to vote at the level of cardinals had been present, and 60 of them had been present, fulfilling the requirements for convening a secret meeting. These 60 will elect a new pope by secret ballot in an isolated environment. An absolute majority is required for the first five days to be elected, and from the sixth day onwards a simple majority is required.

In the early hours of the morning of the conclave, Meyer went to visit the Vice-Chancellor, and for the first time in the Apostolic Palace, the mercenaries of the Divine Grace Empire met all the children of the Vice-Chancellor, the eldest son Juan, the second son Resache, the third daughter Lulvia, and the last son Raphael. Introduced by Resache, Meyer greeted them amicably. It's just that Miss Lulvia, who is most expected by Mayer, makes him a little disappointed, he thought that the girl who was loved by his father and brothers must be a beautiful woman, but in fact, she is just a middle-aged person, or Meier's vision is too high now.

It was obvious that everyone was nervous, and although they had prepared well in advance, no one knew what would happen during the election.

"Meyer, I'll keep a close eye on the situation in the Holy Capital, and every secret election will have an off-the-board move. ”

"Yes, Lord Dharma. ”

"Meyer, go to the bar with a few of our brothers, we can only wait from today. My brother is the best drinker among Itkanlia, and he has long wanted to compete with the masters of the Divine Grace Empire. ”

"Haha, no problem, I'll accompany you to the end. ”

While the young people were spending their days drinking, the sixty distinguished leaders of the Holy See were imprisoned in the Cathedral of St. Paul, each with only one boy who took care of the food and daily life.

They could not go anywhere except the separate bedrooms and the meeting hall, because as soon as all the cardinals had entered the church, the registrar would send someone to seal the door with bricks and lime, leaving only a small hole for the delivery of food. In addition, the entire church is surrounded by an enchantment composed of many powerful magical spells, in case of any situation of external communication.

On the first, second, and third days, all the people saw from the chimney of the church were puffs of black smoke, indicating that the Dharma seats had not yet completed their friendly consultations with each other.

Such days made the people in the Holy Capital feel restless, except for a few young people who ate and drank together every day.

One day, Resache asks Maier if he wants to see something interesting, and our protagonist is very willing. In this way, Resache led Meier to a dilapidated bell tower next to the Cathedral of St. Paul, a commanding point in the city that was still guarded by soldiers in peacetime.

It was only a little strange to Myer that he and Resache entered the bell tower unhindered, but when he followed his companion to the top of the bell tower, he immediately knew the answer.

"Haha, Celio, what did my uncle say today?"

"Oh, it's Resache. Your father's bribery has not been very successful these days, and he wants me to arrange for the use of special means tonight. ”

"Ah, isn't this Meier?"

"It's down there, Lord Silio, Resache brought it over to play. ”

Resache then said.

"Hehe, I want him to see the truth behind the scenes, the so-called secret election of the Pope, which strictly forbids contact with the outside world, is actually a joke full of loopholes and a completely enclosed space. ”

Then he turned to Meyer and explained, "Friend, this bell tower, guarded by the Vice-Chancellor's Guard, is the bridge between us and my father in the Cathedral of St. Paul's?"

"Hehe, how did you do that, dear friend?"

"It's simple, mirror. ”

"Mirrors?"

"Yes, it's the mirror. Although the Cathedral of St. Paulo is now completely closed and the individual lounges of each cardinal are windowless, Celio had carefully studied the entire structure of the church before this meeting. ”

Meyer thought to himself that people would do anything to become pope.

Resache gestured out the window.

"You look from here in the direction of the cathedral. ”

"Well, let's take a closer look, you can see it here...... Oh, I see! The air windows in the cathedral corridor are facing right here!"

"Hehe, so just use a small mirror to reflect the sunlight and follow the predetermined code to communicate. ”

"I understand, so what is the special means just mentioned?"

At this point, it was Celio's turn to explain to Myer.

"Hehe, His Holiness and I have already planned that if he is unable to convince the other cardinals with verbal guarantees, he will need something written as evidence. ”

"Oh, how can the proof be put in the hands of the cardinals now? I can't imagine it. ”

"Hehe, tonight we can see for yourself how we get these things into the hands of the cardinals. ”

That night, the cardinals, who had not eaten anything delicious for several days, each brought a fat roast goose, which was supposedly ordered from Resache's mother's hotel, and all the expenses were paid for by the Holy See's own funds, in full compliance with the regulations and without reproach. Meyer watched the whole process of making delicious food in the hotel, the only difference is that the roast goose belly here is put in the belly, in addition to spices, there are gold coins wrapped in oiled paper, title deeds, appointment letters and so on.

The next day, Resache and Meier went to the bell tower again, and after yesterday's supper, Alex Borhafa added five more votes.

According to the throne himself. Now, apart from the strange and stubborn few decent people who voted for themselves, there were three people left who had hope of fighting for it, but their appetites were too great, some wanted the title of deputy justice, and some wanted the important commercial port of Itkanya. If they were all given and Borha'a did not become the Pope, he would immediately go bankrupt and be sadly driven back to Murasen. None of the saints would be nostalgic for their family. So the Dharma Throne is still engaged in an ideological struggle.

A few days later, news suddenly came from the southern border of the Pope's direct authority that a mercenary army of the two island republics was heading towards the Holy Capital, and it seemed that someone had really resorted to an off-the-counter move, trying to benefit one side through military action, according to Cirio's judgment, it should be Cardinal Plessy's strategy, because the leaders of the two island republics had already completely fallen to the kingdom of Franços.

At the Apostolic Palace, the leaders of the Vice-Chancellor's Guard and the Guardian of the Holy Capital gathered to discuss countermeasures.

The forces of the two island republics consisted of a small number of cavalry, 2,000 spearmen and halberders, and 500 pulley crossbowmen hired from the Westport Republic.

"There is no hope for us in the face of the enemy!"

"Take the cardinals with you. ”

"No, this is where my family has lived for thousands of years, and I will never leave. ”

These people have different ideas, each has its own calculations, and it is completely impossible to reach a consensus.

At this moment, the deputy justice's advisor Silio, as the person with the most power in the room, slightly raised the volume of his own speech.

"Well, everyone listen to me, the deputy justice has expected this for a long time, and has already prepared accordingly. Just bring these guys who don't know the depths into the civilian areas of the Holy Capital. ”

"You mean that way, someone used it many years ago. ”

"It's easy to use, isn't it?"

"That's true, then I'm for you. ”

The plan, which was supported by the two sword saints Lorenzo and Maurizio, was finally adopted. And this is also the best choice at the moment, the difference in strength is huge, using the Urn City tactic, let the other side into the Holy Capital City, and eliminate the intervention army of the Westport Republic in the winding civilian area.

Meier, who had been watching coldly from the corner of the room since just now, suddenly said.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have another plan to minimize your losses, and that's all you have to do...... That's it, how!"

"I hope you don't lie to me. ”

"Now that our interests are aligned, it is not good for you or me to let them master the Holy Capital. ”

In the darkness of the night, Meyer arrived at the camp of the armies of the two island republics, about ten kilometers from the Holy Capital, which was about to launch a siege tomorrow.

Because they were all composed of mercenaries from all over Itkanya, the whole army was very poorly organized, and there was no strict camping norm during the heyday of Itcanlia's ancient empire, and Meier saw that the various teams were scattered in a messy clearing, and there were few soldiers keeping vigil.

After a little reconnaissance, Meyer easily entered the camp where pulley crossbowmen were concentrated. He waited for the right moment to capture a roaming soldier, and after questioning him, he immediately learned of the tent where their leader was.

"What people!"

"Don't be afraid, I am not an assassin who took your life. ”

This leader was much stronger than the men outside, and he noticed something strange when Meier infiltrated. He held a short sword in his hand and watched with full vigilance at the intruding uninvited guest.

"I just wanted to show you something. ”

As he spoke, Meyer pulled out a dark metal coat of arms from his bosom.

"Oh, this is a token of the Varno family of the Westport Republic, who are you?"

"Hehe, I am a good friend of Miss Lantony, and she has told me that anyone who is a pulley crossbow of the Republic of Westport can be regarded as her friend. ”

The leader smiled, then sheathed his sword and invited Myer to sit down.

"You're right, our Mercenary Guild in the Westport Republic has an extraordinary relationship with the Varno family, they are both shareholders and weapons suppliers. ”

"Haha, then things will be easy, my name is Meier, a mercenary from the Divine Grace Empire, who has recently served under the Vice-Chancellor. Meier started by introducing himself.

"Well, I'm Batista, the vice president of the Mercenary Guild of the Republic of Westport. I suppose you must have come to get me out of the ranks of the Two Islands, right?"

"Hehe, you're only half right. Actually, Alex Borhafa has more plans that he would like to ask you to help with. Of course, doing all this is done in cash, and you should know the reputation of the Vice-Chancellor in Itkanlia, who is undoubtedly the richest man in the Holy Capital. ”

Meyer left a bag of gold coins on the table, and several shiny gold coins tumbling out of it fell to the ground with a crisp thud.

The Tutonian mercenary continued: "You don't need to leave this group, just keep your distance from them when you enter the city, and when these guys enter the civilian area, you can attack them from behind, just look at the signals I have given." Here are a hundred gold florins, and another two hundred after the deed. ”

Vice President Battista said to Meyer with his eyes fixed on the beautiful gold coins on the ground.

"You must know that defection is a taboo for our mercenaries, and it will seriously affect our credibility, and if it were not for Miss Lantony's face, I would never have agreed to it. It's just that these brothers under me also have to live. ”

Meier smiled slightly, and said to the venerable vice president in a soft tone: "I am also a mercenary, and I understand your concerns very well. Well, add a gratuity of one hundred gold coins. And as long as you don't say it, we'll kill all the damned infantry in the meantime. ”

"Hehe, then it's a certainty. ”

"Great, let's arrange it now!"

The negotiation was successfully completed.