C2265 Templars

There were no stars or moon in the night sky. There was only the deepest darkness that lingered peacefully between the heaven and earth. Under the lingering shadows, even the Vatican Cathedral became incomparably gloomy.

In reality, the gloomy atmosphere of the cathedral was not something that could be experienced in a day or two. Even during the daytime, those who passed by the cathedral would be able to sense that a strange aura was continuously seeping into the interior of the cathedral. That aura was incomparably strange. As soon as one approached it, they would feel as if they had fallen into hell, and their hearts would be filled with fear.

"Is Cade dead?" That heretic from China is provoking the prestige of my Church again? " At this very moment, an old man in a long moon-white robe was sitting on the altar, supported by four spiral-shaped bronze pillars and a bronze canopy that was five stories high. He looked around the altar at a group of red-robed Cardinals crawling on the ground, and asked expressionlessly, "How are your preparations for the expedition to the East?"

If Lin Bai was here, he would have definitely discovered that this Pope who had taken over from the hands of Benedict XVI was, in terms of aura alone, several times stronger than his predecessor! His hair was thick and white, and his face was snow-white. His eyes were as profound as the vast starry sky as he sat upright on the altar.

And under his questioning, the heads of the Arch-Cardinals drooped to the ground. They did not dare to look straight at him, as if even their peripheral contact was a great disrespect to the Pope!

"My Lord's glory will forever live in the heavens, the boundless sacred fire will engulf the entire world!" After a long period of silence, one of the Cardinals slowly stood up and said with incomparable respect, "According to His Holiness's instructions, we have already begun to search within the Holy Church for those who are able to grasp and inherit the techniques of the Holy Disciples. Because of the glory of our Lord, we have already found quite a few people."

"If you do well, I'm afraid that just these people will not be enough to deal with him. I want you to use the fastest speed to filter out more people so that our Church can have more resources as soon as possible." When the Pope heard this, he slowly nodded his head. It was clear that he was rather satisfied with the actions of this Arch-Cardinal called Luo Wang.

"By the glory of my Lord, I will definitely do everything I can to make the glory of the Church spread throughout the world!" After receiving the Pope's acknowledgement, Ruo Wang's face instantly lit up with joy as he respectfully replied.

After Rowan's voice faded, the altar fell into a deathly silence. Everyone held their breath, even to the point of their breathing being as weak as ants crawling about. It was as if they were afraid of disturbing the Pope.

It was at this moment that a clamor suddenly sounded out from outside the altar. It was like the sound of a war drum! Every time his voice rang out, it would land directly on the hearts of the crowd, causing their hearts to tremble uncontrollably.

And after hearing the voice, the Arch-Cardinal, who was holding his breath, had a strange expression. As for their heads, they drooped even deeper, as if he had guessed who the owner of the footsteps were!

The sounds of footsteps drew closer and closer, but compared to the sounds that came from the altar, what was even faster in entering was still the dazzling brilliance! In just a few short breaths, the interior of the Holy Church had been completely occupied by the resplendent light. The dazzling light illuminated the entire Holy Church as if it was daytime. It was hazy in appearance and gave off the feeling of stepping into heaven!

Under the dazzling brilliance, more than ten figures gradually appeared, and these people's clothing were completely different from those of the cardinals on the ground. The color of their clothes was the same as the Pope's moonlight, except the difference was that on their left shoulder was embroidered a blood-red octagonal cross!

If there were historical researchers who were familiar with the history of the Holy Church then they would be shocked to find out that the white robed men who had appeared in the Holy Church were all dressed in white. All of them indicated that they were an organization that had existed in the Holy Church during the Middle Ages.

This organization was the Temple Knight Regiment that had once received praises and criticism in the history of the Church.

The Temple Knight Regiment originated from 1119. Initially, the Knight Regiment originated from the Temple Mount. In order to protect the safety of the pilgrims, they attacked a small group of heretics. Later on, this order received the official support of the Church and gave them countless privileges, changing their name to the Order of the Temple.

Under these special privileges, the Temple Knight Regiment was constantly being expanded. In addition, they also became the most powerful subordinates of the Holy See's Ecclesiastical Tribunal. Furthermore, they became the most powerful group of people during the Crusades! Under the pressure of the Knights, it was unknown just how many of them had been sentenced to being heresy and sentenced to death by burning!

It was because of the cruelty and rigour of the Temple Knight Group that 200 years after the establishment of this organization, Pope Kramer V of the Avignon Church was forced to declare the dissolution of the Temple Knight Regiment under the pressure of Philip IV of the Cappy Dynasty of France.

But in this day and age, after more than seven hundred years, the Temple Knight Regiment actually reappeared in the world!

And after seven hundred years, after the appearance of the Temple Knight Regiment, all the Cardinals who were crawling on the ground started to look even more nervous. Other than the Cardinals who had previously been praised by the Pope, everyone else was trembling in fear, and they no longer looked as haughty as they did in the past. They were as helpless as sheep, and in the eyes of quite a few people, there was even terror and fear, as if they were extremely afraid of the Temple Knight Regiment!

The reason for these cardinals being like this was extremely simple! Because, whether it was from the formation of the Temple Knight Regiment or the day seven hundred years later, there was only one person in the Temple Knight Regiment that submitted their allegiance, and that was the Pope sitting upright on the altar. They were responsible only to the Pope, and no one else had the authority to command them.

Simply put, the existence of the Temple Knight Regiment was a sharp blade held in the hands of the Pope. Not only that, it was a sharp blade that was connected to his blood and flesh.

The most important thing was that the current Templar was very different from the past. All the members of the Templar were chosen by the Church after many layers of selection, and no matter which one of them was the most central and powerful existence of the Church.

From a certain point of view, these people were the pillars upon which the Church stood. It was precisely because of these people that the Church was able to have today's glory, and that was why the Pope had once again raised the banner of the Crusades!

The Pope and the Temple Knight Regiment were one and the same as each other, independent of each other! It was because of the Pope's arrangements that these people were able to obtain the inheritance of the secret technique and possessed powerful abilities; and it was because of the strength of these people that the Pope was able to firmly grasp the power of the Church, allowing him to become the true ruler of this colossal object!

Therefore, compared to the previous Pope Benedict XVI, the current Pope was many times more powerful. There were even rumors within the Church claiming that this Pope was the second most powerful Pope that appeared after the 4th Crusade, the one who forced the kings of England, Denmark, Portugal, and Switzerland to bow their heads before him, allowing the Church to reach its highest power!

In fact, just from the strength he possessed, this Pope Fang Ji was even more terrifying than Innocent III!

Under such a situation, what reason did these Cardinals have to not bow down and pay their respects to the Pope and unconditionally comply with all of his edicts?! What reason could there be to not feel fear from the bottom of his heart towards these members of the Temple Knight Regiment who were like sharp blades held in the hands of the Pope?

"If I remember correctly, Kade should be recommended by you, Bishop Moritza, to join the Order, right?" Right after all the members of the Temple Knight Regiment stood still, an incomparably cold voice suddenly sounded out from within the crowd of knights. And from within the crowd, an extremely tall and sturdy man clad in holy light appeared, looking directly at those cardinals who were crawling on the ground, not daring to even breathe.

This damnable Knight Order, why would my Lord bestow so much grace to these people?! Once he said that, the entire hall fell into silence, and Cardinal Moritza, who was called out by the man, couldn't help but twitch his mouth, and his eyes were also twitching, and his pupils were contracting rapidly, as if he sensed some unknown danger.

"I was the one who recommended Kade, and I was the one who sent him to China to participate in the Zhong Shan Large Competition!" After a long period of silence, Cardinal Moritza hurriedly stood up, held his breath, and looked at Pope Fang Ji with rapt attention. He said in a deep voice, "His Holiness, I swear, this is my last mistake. From now on, I will absolutely not make any mistakes!"

"God is merciful to the people, but he does not pity those who have done wrong, especially those who have sullied the glory of our Lord!" Without waiting for Sect Leader Fang Ji to speak, the man from the Temple Knight Regiment indifferently spoke, then said in a cold voice, "Because of your mistake, you caused my Church to lose all face in the East, making the Church a laughingstock. Do you think this is still a mistake?"

"Guild Leader Bertrand, please pay attention to your words. Don't forget, I am a cardinal and you are only a Knight!" When Cardinal Moritza heard this, he was startled, but soon after, he sternly reprimanded the Pope, saying to him, "His Holiness, please give me a chance!"