Chapter 223: Unexpected Change
Translator: _Leo_ Editor: Vermillion
When the knight that was kneeling on one knee and holding a helmet in his arms declared war against the Congress of Magic as he thought the realm of the G.o.d was defiled, the rest of the Episcopal Conference members were drawing crosses in front of their chests. They shouted, "We shall purify these evil sorcerers with the holy light and force them to repent while crawling under G.o.d’s feet. The realm of the G.o.d shall not be explored by the mortals!"
The pope had a serious expression and was holding a platinum scepter in hand and the Holy Crown was on his head. The leader of the Ascetics named Varantine was wearing a short linen robe, he noticed the pope’s situation and stepped forward.
"Your Holiness, Knight Stone is the representative of all the devout believers. They’re angry because G.o.d is defiled. Please don’t worry, the herectics of the north will not attack us using this chance unless they already lost their face and no longer believe in the truth. However, their base will be destroyed and I think they’ll also attack the Congress of Magic after the situation gets worse," Varantine suggested.
Varantine had short blonde hair and he was not wearing anything on his feet. There was a pair of energetic blue eyes over his thin cheeks.
Behind Varantine, there were more than ten episcopal bishops, three important members of the Inquisition, and the legendary knights including Stone. They were still trying to convince the pope, "Your Holiness, please give us the order and start the second War of Dawn. We need to gather our army for the Congress of Magic but the n.o.bles are still needed at the Dark Mountain Range."
The pope, Benedict II, raised the holy scepter to the air. His voice was so deep that it sounded like he was speaking from the sky, "I’m glad that you’re devout believers of G.o.d and I’m sure that G.o.d is pleased with the words you just said. However, I have one question for you, are you losing your faith in G.o.d? Do you really think the Congress of Magic can find out G.o.d’s secrets? The mortals can never touch G.o.d’s realm! Have you already forgotten what G.o.d told us?"
It almost looked like the pope’s red cloak was dancing in the gentle wind, as he was surrounded by the intense holy aura that came with the holy light. The aura was so strong that it could not be contested by anything.
The members of the Episcopal Conference were not sure how they should answer the pope’s question and they were trying to find out where their anger came from. They were angry because G.o.d was defiled and they were devout believers, however, they could not decline that fear was spreading in their minds. They were worried that the Congress of Magic could explore G.o.d’s realm like exploring the world. They wanted to stop the Congress and strangle the sorcerer’s plans in the cradle.
"It’ll be a lie if I say that I’m not guilty. My ignorance blinded me from the truth. G.o.d is kind and fair, I shall confess myself and hope that G.o.d will forgive me." The members of the Episcopal Conference started repenting after a moment of silence.
Benedict II waited for them to finish repenting and opened his mouth, "The Congress of Magic will not be able to explore G.o.d’s realm, however, we can’t forgive them for what they have done. Varantine and Vaharall, take some ascetics and night watchers to aid Philibell in Holm. We shall eliminate the sorcerers and make them pay for what they have done!
"Also, you need to a.s.sist the druids and elves in Steloop Forest and make the sorcerers think that we’re about to attack, so they can use the excuse to call back the druids that are working with the Congress of Magic."
"As you wish, Your Holiness." The leader of the ascetics, Varantine, and one of the three Inquisition’s important members, Vaharall the Adjudicator, bowed to the pope at the same time.
The other members of the Episcopal Conference thought that the pope’s order was reasonable, however, they had a strange feeling in mind. The incident was supposed to touch off the war and the balance of the land would be broken but the pope convinced them that they should focus on punis.h.i.+ng the sorcerers who defiled G.o.d.
"It was a wise decision. We’re strong but we’re pressured by multiple organizations and the situation might get worse if we start the war without proper preparation. We should calm down and wait for the day to come." The members of Episcopal Conference had changed their thoughts, they drew the crosses in front of their chests and left the Bright Hall.
Benedict II lowered his scepter and returned to his reading room, where a cardinal was waiting for him. The cardinal stepped forward and questioned, "Your Holiness, the intel sent back by Bishop Philibell mentioned the information of the Holm Crown reward, the Congress of Magic and the druids’ progression of the research on divine magic."
"Keep the intel safe, as we might need it later. We should focus on dealing with the incident for now." Benedict II waved his hand. It seemed like he was not concerned about the things that did not matter. That intel was not something that needed to be sent to all the Inquisitions, as was the Cleansing List.
The pope closed the door after the cardinal left, and then looked at the portraits of the previous popes with a blank expression on his face.
The name of the popes and the how long they had stayed in this world before returning to the arms of G.o.d were written under the portraits.
...
"Charles I, Saint Calendar year 350 - 572."
"Alfonsol, Saint Calendar year 387 – 633"
"Charles II, Saint Calendar year 408 – 686."
"Benedict I, Saint Calendar year 474 – 745."
"Gregory II, Saint Calendar year 548 – 796."
A hint of smile appeared on Benedict II’s face and he muttered in a deep tone, "How can the mortals find the way to the secret of G.o.d?"
...
Sat.u.r.day morning, the sun was still rising.
In a mansion beside the town Sariva, Felipe was doing some magic experiments with a serious expression on his face. Although he only visited the lab twice this week and did not stay there for the night, the man’s incredible a.n.a.lysis skill still stopped the druids from trying to trick him. The druids could not find any excuse to interrupt the experiment so they had to change the data Felipe obtained. However, Felipe was not concerned about the progression of the experiment at all, as he was focusing on creating an important living substance from nonliving ones.
Felipe saw the colorless crystal forming in the low-temperature environment as the light appeared on the last alchemical circle.
He tried his best to calm down and started heating the translucent crystal. The crystal melted and was turned into liquid quickly. Also, the magic circle detected a gas with an irritating smell.
Felipe took one step back and cast the identifying spell, getting the result within seconds. The liquid was a fatty acid that he needed, and it was a substance that could only be found inside the bodies of living beings.
"There is no point in supporting the Human Vitality Theory anymore." Felipe forced a smile on his pale face. "I wonder how many old fellows in the organization will admit that they‘re wrong. They need to redefine the meaning of the living substance, otherwise, they’ll have to accept this new finding. I guess I should be the one to publish the result so it‘ll be easier for the other necromancers to accept the change."
Felipe proved that the theory he had been supporting for more than 30 years was wrong and he had mixed emotions about this. He was happy, confused, sad, and excited at the same time. Professor successfully synthesized the urea and it was an eye-opening experience for him. The artificially synthesized urea changed his opinion on the theory and that was the reason why he decided to do an experiment himself.
A man wearing a long back robe knocked on the door of the laboratory softly.
"Who is it?" Felipe was startled by the noise and he questioned with confusion in his eyes.
A deep and hoa.r.s.e voice came from the other side of the door, "It’s me, Traquair."
"Mr. Traquair? Why are you here? It’s still early in the morning," Felipe responded and he started unsealing the magic circle that locked the door.
Traquair was a sixth-ring necromancer from the Hand of Paleness, but his arcana level was just three, as he spent a long time trying to advance to the seventh ring. He was sent here to help Felipe deal with the druids.
Felipe suddenly realized something as he opened the door. He could feel that something terrifying was coming for him.
"c.r.a.p!"
Black tentacles that were formed by the power of death appeared in the laboratory, the sorcerers‘ souls would be tainted if they were touched by the tentacles, and they would no longer be able to cast the strongest spells they knew.
Also, mummies that were covered with black linen strips stood up in the sea of tentacles and they started charging toward Felipe.
...
In the Dragon Root Inn, Lucien was reading the report of the program. The questions the arcanists encountered when trying to simplify the procedure were listed on the paper. They described the unsolved problems that were stopping them from progressing without hiding anything. They would be able to obtain the arcane points after publis.h.i.+ng their research results as long as the report was still here.
"The elements can be found in the feces and fertilizers used by the farmers but the result was not good enough. We’ll have to keep a lot of animals if we want to get enough feces to ma.s.s produce the elements. However, the animals will consume a lot of food…
"The previous experiments proved that the plants need water and sunlight to grow, with the help of the divine spell a.n.a.lysis, we found out that they also need to absorb the elements from the soil. However, the mineral powder that was splashed on the soil was not effective."
...
After they finished a.n.a.lyzing the structure of the divine spells, the sorcerers started doing experiments with the help of the druids. However, the mineral powder of the elements that could be ma.s.s produced was useless, and they decided to do experiments on the alchemy products that contained those elements.
"With the foundation of the divine spells and the help from the druids, I think the arcanists will find the alchemy products they need sooner or later." Lucien put down the report and put on a coat. He wanted to go back to Allyn and teach the apprentices after the breakfast.
Lucien saw Iristine and Arcelion walking toward him with smiles on their faces as he opened the door.
"Mr. Evans, we’re sorry that we can’t help you with the experiment anymore. The elders from the royal palace ordered us to return to the forest immediately and we need to help defend the incoming attack from the Church." Arcelion bowed to Lucien elegantly as he already knew the background of the attack.
Lucien knew that it was not an emergency as the two druids did not look like they were in a hurry, so he smiled and responded, "It‘s fine. I already found the path after checking the data of the experiment."
"What?" Iristine and Arcelion were surprised. It was them who changed the data.
Lucien still had the smile on his face. "With the help of the substances that were soluble in water and the divine spell that helps the plant grow, the oats are doing very well. Also, I compared the result with the other research teams and eliminated some unreasonable data."
With the a.n.a.lysis result, Lucien easily found out that the data was changed by someone.
"Well…" The two druids looked a bit disappointed.
Lucien took out the thesis he finished a long time ago, called "The Conclusion of Comparing the Data Obtained from the Oats that Were Fertilized by the Sulfuric Acid Infused with Phosphate Ore", and said, "I need to submit the report to the senior-level arcanists outside the mansion. Prince Arcelion and Princess Iristine, do you want to go with me?"
"Go ahead, we need to leave." Iristine looked tired. She wanted to destroy the thesis but she feared Lucien’s power. Also, Tyrel and Urine already appeared on the other side of the hallway.
...
The carriage was slowly advancing on the b.u.mpy road outside the town. It was winter, so the light from the rising sun had not yet brightened up the area.
Suddenly, Lucien noticed the heat coming from Sun‘s Corona on his chest and the Host Star of Destiny started warning him about an incoming attack.
Lucien had no time to think, he jumped out of the carriage and activated the fifth-circle spell Powerful Fire s.h.i.+eld contained within ring.
A dark shadow that was surrounded by some rotten gas appeared from the sky and hit Lucien’s carriage hard. The iron strips and wooden planks on the carriage started decaying quickly.
"Huh? I didn’t expect you to dodge the strike," a deep and hoa.r.s.e voice echoed in the cloudy sky.