Heizer's gentle voice rang out beside him.

"I remember a long time ago, when we were all little kids."

Wearing only a simple gray-brown civilian attire, Hizer took off his hood, his light blonde hair looked particularly dazzling in the light of the fire, as if it was also burning, he raised his thin hand and gestured at the height of the two of them, and a very shallow smile appeared in his eyes.

"At that time, lightning could not fly, and we were injured when we first went out on a mission, and we spent the night hiding in such a wilderness hut."

Listening to his friend mention the past, Ulysses's old-fashioned face gradually softened.

"Well, if I'm not mistaken, Kuchaz was with us at the time."

"Yes, but when he saw that mid-level demonic beast, he ran away first, otherwise we wouldn't have been so badly injured." Hizer smiled and squinted at the flames slightly: "Later, he said that he went back to help us call for help, but he still asked His Majesty the Pope to personally come forward to punish the knightly code that had been copied three hundred times." ”

"After all, running away without a fight, abandoning one's companions, and making mistakes without realizing one's mistakes are all contrary to the rules of knighthood." At the mention of the code of knighthood, Ulysses's expression became serious again, and he said seriously: "His Majesty the Pope's punishment is very appropriate, which not only makes Kuchaz realize his mistake, but also makes him better understand the spirit of chivalry!" ”

"Yes, he has always been a proper pope."

Hizer smiled, flames dancing in his azure pupils, and a low voice muttered.

"No matter what the problem is, he can perfectly choose the best answer and implement it firmly."

For example, between Hizer's hatred and the presiding judge who was the murderer, the Pope knew the truth, but still chose to hide it.

Because the Church needs a powerful Inquisition, the Holy See of Light needs the Inquisition, a sharp knife that can deter necromancers and other forces.

For example, between bowing to the kingdom of God and taking the lead in rebellion, the Pope chose to bow his head because he knew that he could not shake the power of the kingdom of God.

And at that time...... When Heizer and the others dealt with the oracle, the Pope also made a very smart choice.

He didn't really intervene to stop it, but watched as Hitzer and Sasim slay the oracle. If the Pope had made a move at that time, as a god of law, he would be equivalent to a second oracle, and it would definitely not be something that Sasim and Hirzer could deal with.

And the reason for this, in addition to the increasingly pressing oppression of the Kingdom of God, is also related to the emergence of the Heavenly Sword Sect - the Pope sees the possibility of rebelling against the Kingdom of God.

In fact, Li Li and others also understood the meaning of the Pope's move, and only then did they reach a series of follow-up cooperation.

The more he thinks back to the past, the more he realizes the horror of the Pope.

A person who is able to completely abandon his own preferences and emotions, who is able to sacrifice himself and anyone else, and rationally and brutally push all choices towards the best interests of the group, is indeed the most perfect superior.

But such a perfect superior person sent such a strange message to Xi Ze.

Hizer slowly pulled out the magic scroll, the joking words on it still on it.

"Return to Sita City and succeed the Pope."

“……”

It wasn't the first time Ulysses had seen this sentence, but even if he had identified Hirzer as the future pope since he was a child, he couldn't understand the meaning of it.

God knows, Heizer isn't even twenty years old yet! The Pope is still in the prime of life, and he is still the strongest on the mainland...... Well, if you count Li Li now, you can also rank in the top two, why would such a strong man abdicate?

And even Ulysses now knows that his friends are complicated, not to mention any belief in the God of Light, and he is determined that he did not defect from the Church of Light and join the necromancer team.

Let the current Hitzer succeed him as pope?

Ulysses had a reasonable suspicion that the Pope's brain had been struck by lightning.

"As we said, he's always been a sane guy and always makes the best choices." Xi Ze lowered his eyes to look at the words on the scroll, and said in a slow voice: "He never jokes. ”

So this command is true.

In particular, what the Pope had sent the griffon to Heavenly Sword City three days ago confirmed the truth of the news on the scroll.

Heizer closed his eyes, and in the sparks that crackled and exploded, he remembered the crown in his spatial ring again.

It was an unusually gorgeous crown, inlaid with hundreds of the most crystal clear and translucent light system of the best magic stones, as long as it was taken out, it was like a small round of bright sun, and the halo of light could light up the whole night.

Its gorgeous birth was witnessed by Hizer himself.

It was when they first entered the Church, and they were a group of ignorant children who lined up in a long line to enter the center of the Holy See, and the crown was held in the palm of the Pope, who had blessed them.

"This is a crown for the next pope."

"I hope that some of you will wear it and ascend to where I am standing to continue to guard the Light and all that we hold dear."

And now, this crown of light has been delivered to Hizer's hands.

But Hizer felt extremely heavy.

The Pope didn't say much about why, but told him that he could return to Theta.

As if there had been no estrangement or contradiction between them, they were still the most dazzling and exemplary pair of teachers and students in the mainland, Xi Ze had only been a guest in Heavenly Sword City for a few days, and the Pope was just urging the fun-loving students to go home early.

But in fact, they all know that the way back is extremely dangerous.

After all, Xi Ze was the fat in the eyes of the Divine Kingdom, and once he left Heavenly Sword City, he was likely to be ambushed by the Divine Envoy.

"Is there a possibility......"

Ulysses's mature face showed obvious struggle and hesitation, and finally he coughed dryly twice, and asked in a tone that he was not sure of: "Xi Ze, could it be that this is just a means for His Majesty the Pope to trick you out of Heavenly Sword City......"

The more he thought about it, the more he thought it was possible.

The Pope is a very sensible man, he does not speak of so-called affection, and when necessary, he chooses to sacrifice everyone.

What if this time the divine envoy came, and all he wanted was Xi Ze, who had comprehended the law of time?

So......

The Pope, who can always make the perfect choice, will the Pope who always chooses to sacrifice a small number of people without hesitation for the sake of more people, will he choose to compromise again and choose to hand over Hiser?

Inside the stone house, the firelight of the fireflies jumped, reflecting the surprise and confusion on Hitzer's face very clearly.

Seeing that his friend didn't reply, Ulysses said anxiously: "If that's really the case, maybe it's too late for us to return to Heavenly Sword City now...... Or teleport back to East Tower City first, I actually have a fixed-point teleportation scroll back to the Thorn Rose Family here......"

"Don't worry, Ulysses."

Hirzer finally spoke, but there was a distinct smile in his voice, and his expression was much more relaxed than that of the nervous Ulysses.

"I know what you mean, it's not like I haven't thought about the possibility of what you said, but I was stunned just now not because I was frightened by this possibility, but because I was a little surprised by your words."

Ulysses was stunned: "Surprised? Because I? ”

"yes." Hezer smiled and nodded, "I didn't expect you to question the Pope as well...... Or rather, you would choose the path that is contrary to the church because of my safety. ”

If the Pope's final decision was to abandon Hizer, and Ulysses is now trying to persuade his friends to return to the safer Heavenly Sword City, then there is no doubt that he has really gone down the path of opposing the Church this time.

In the past, even when Ulysses was wounded and incapacitated and abandoned by the Church, he never thought of betraying the Church of Light, for him, the identity of the Knight of the Church of Light was like a brand deeply engraved on his every bone.

Nor did Hitzer's numerous hints shake Ulysses.

So when he heard his friend say these words questioning the Pope, Hizer was really a little surprised.

Ulysses was also silent.

He pursed his lips and remained silent, surprised by his sudden disrespect, and finally silently touched the griffon's wings behind him.

Xi Ze's expression was also a little gloomy, and he smiled reluctantly: "As you said, the biggest target of the Divine Envoy is either Li Li or me, and now Li Li's whereabouts are unknown, so it is very likely that the Divine Envoy will come at me." ”

"If I continue to stay in Heavenly Sword City, I will certainly be protected by Heavenly Sword City, but at the same time, it will also bring them more trouble."

"It's just a pity that this time I was caught by you and Lightning again, so I have to keep up." Hilzer raised his eyebrows: "To be honest, I really don't want to take you on an adventure, after all, the Pope didn't say that you should go back to Sita City to succeed as the head of the Griffin Knights." ”

"You and Lightning are very important family members to me, just like my father, and Wells and Corinth."

It was a long time before Ulysses spoke, his voice a little hoarse, but his tone more determined.

"As a knight, we have to protect our faith, and our faith is to protect all innocents, including our own families, of course."

"Hizer."

"You are as important to me as my father, as are Wells and Corinth."

The fire was much darker.

The blonde boy smiled silently, breaking the heavy atmosphere.

"Ha, don't say it as if you really came out to die, Ulysses, maybe what the Pope said this time is true, I really want to go back to succeed the Pope."

Hizer raised his eyebrows, clenched his hands into fists and handed them over the fire.

Ulysses pursed his lips and followed suit, handing out his fist and touching Hitzer.

The griffon next to him didn't know when he woke up, but he looked at it with a worried eye, but his paws were numb and he couldn't stretch out, so he spread his wings and reached over and touched them.

In the golden firelight, two fists and a bird's wings collided lightly.

Ulysses' heart was pounding.

However, at this moment, a familiar smell of burnt paste came up.

Hizer's voice was slow: "Ulysses, do you smell something burning?" ”

"Smelled." Ulysses twitched his nose, searched his memory for a moment, and finally confirmed: "This seems to be the smell of burnt bird feathers, which is what you smelled when you lit the fire with lightning feathers just now." ”

"But the hair burned out long in the beginning."

"Huh? Did you just add another ball of bird feathers to it? Ulysses looked at his friend blankly.

Hizer on the other side shook his head slowly.

Finally, both of them looked at the huge griffin wings that had not yet been withdrawn.

In the firelight, it burned so dazzling and beautiful, and its gray-brown feathers seemed to be coated with a layer of beautiful golden-red brilliance, like the kind of decorative painting of a divine bird called "Phoenix" that was common in Heavenly Sword City, and even the lightning griffin was slightly obsessed with it.

Perhaps because the lightning hair is dry and fluffy enough, and it coincides with the moulting season, there are a lot of floating hairs, so these flames are actually like Li Li's spark burning the plain, and in an instant, they have changed from a small flame to a large fire.

Seeing this, the two teenagers jumped up in an instant and hurriedly began to help the griffin extinguish the fire.

"Don't look at the stupid bird!"

"Lightning, your wings are on fire!"

"Whoa!"

"You go away!! Damn, how can you only know how to throw yourself into our arms when you are on fire! ”

"Whoa!!"

“……”