C2277 Paradise

The Vatican was the legendary place of the prophets and holy spirits. Every building here possessed a divine aura, and those who came here would feel a strong religious aura. They would subconsciously immerse themselves in the atmosphere of faith and admire it from the bottom of their hearts!

However, in such a sacred place, even though the sun was still shining brightly, the faces of the pedestrians on the street, as well as the clergymen inside St. Peter's Cathedral, were all gloomy and could not be concealed. Many of the cardinals even had their backs bent, as if they had aged countless years in a single night.

And the reason why this ancient city, which was known as the brightest place God could shine in the world, was covered by this rarely seen layer of darkness was very simple, it was all because of the existence of a single person!

And that person, was none other than Lin Bai! The battle at the airport had spread throughout the Church, and all the priests and priests were caught in a state of panic, many of them wondering if the Temple Knight Regiment would be able to take on the blame of the Church's last line of defense. Many of them were terrified, how were they supposed to deal with the demon when it came time to slay them?

There were even some Arch-Cardinals who suggested to the Church that they close down the Vatican in the near future, to prevent the appearance of any strangers, and to do their utmost to remove the clerics within the Church in order to avoid unnecessary sacrifices. Even if the Knights Templar were insufficient to support the glory of the Lord, there was still hope for the Church to revive itself!

This was the weakest proposal that had been made ever since the establishment of the Vatican and the glory that no mortal kingdom had ever had! Even so, many believed that this period of time would be one of the darkest periods in the history of the Holy Church.

But what caused people to be most puzzled was that at this critical juncture, when the Church urgently needed someone to decide on the decision, their mysterious Pope, Fang Ji, had unexpectedly vanished as if he had vanished from the face of the earth, completely ignoring the requests of the Arch-Cardinal and rejecting everyone outside the door.

Compared to Lin Bai's oppressive might, the Pope not showing his face was the biggest torment for the people of the Holy See. They could not understand why the once ambitious Pope, who had even wanted to reconstruct the glory of the Crusades, would lose his voice at this critical juncture of the Holy See, as if he were abandoning his subjects.

Could it be that His Holiness was afraid? Or could it be that His Holiness had already believed that his previous decisions were all wrong and that he was unable to stop that demon-like terrifying young man of Hua Xia, which was why he had deliberately disappeared?!

But since the Pope was gone, these Cardinals had no choice but to pay their respects to him! The reason for this was very simple, because if it were a peaceful time in the past, if the Pope did not show his face, then these Cardinals would have been free to make their own decisions and decide the future course of the Church.

But now, they, who were all Arch-Cardinals, were completely unable to accomplish this. This was because all of the power of the Church had been completely gathered in the hands of the Pope, all by himself!

It wasn't as if no one hadn't gone to look for those people from the Temple Knight Regiment, but without exception, no matter how prestigious their status was, those members of the Temple Knight Regiment at the top of their heads were all indifferent to them, with neither cold nor hot attitude.

Under these circumstances, everyone understood that the Temple Knight Regiment was no longer an army guarding the Holy See, a force controlled by the gods. Instead, it was a private army controlled by the Pope.

But now, the leader of this private army didn't even show his face. How could the members of the Temple Knight Regiment treat them so well?

"Just where did His Holiness go?" Why hasn't there been any news at all about where the Holy See is going? Do you really want the glory of the Holy See to be destroyed just like that? Do you want the Holy Spirit of our Holy Church to be completely destroyed by that evil heretic from China and our Holy Church to fall into a bottomless abyss? "

Looking at the tightly locked church door, a Cardinal who had personally gone to the airport to investigate the situation, revealed an expression of indignation. Throwing away the calm and tranquil state of the past, he hammered the door with all his might while scolding incessantly.

"Don't knock anymore, Bishop Antonio. We have already knocked on this door countless times, but there has never been any news from inside!" Seeing the Arch-Cardinal's actions, the other cardinals who had stopped in their tracks sighed repeatedly. Their faces revealed helpless smiles as they stared at the door, shook their heads with a bitter smile, and said, "His Holiness, he is unwilling to see us!"

"You aren't willing to see us?! Was he trying to escape, but could he escape now? The decision of the Crusader's East was made by him. If it wasn't for his decision, how could the Church have fallen to such a situation? Now that something has happened, he wants to abandon it. Is this the attitude that a Pope should have? "

It was obvious that he was extremely dissatisfied with the cardinal's reply. Hearing this, Antonio frowned and hammered the door with all his might. He said with hatred, "If I knew earlier, we shouldn't have …"

Although Antonio did not finish his words, upon hearing his words, all the cardinals present revealed bitter smiles. They also understood what he had yet to say.

In fact, not only Antonio, there were many people in the Holy Church who had the same thought. He regretted casting his sacred and precious vote for Fang Ji to inherit the position of Pope under Benedict XVI. If this wasn't the case, how could the Holy See have entered such a dangerous situation?!

However, even if they regretted it, they knew that they could not change the situation now! The Church had a rule that no matter who it was, as long as they were chosen as the Pope, they would be the Pope for the rest of their lives. They could not be removed. This meant that unless Fang Ji died, the Church would not have a new sect.

This was a rule that had been determined by the Holy Church for a long time. Since ancient times, there were no exceptions. No one could change this rule without permission!

More importantly, all the power of the Church, as well as its core forces such as the Ecclesiastical Tribunal and the Knights Templar, were all in the hands of the Pope. Even if the Pope did not have the rule of a life and death system, just the power of these cardinals who had no reputation and did not have any power in their hands could not drive Fang Ji out of the position of Pope.

After a myriad of sighs, there was nothing left but helplessness and hatred. They only hated that these people had eyes but could not see, and only under the influence of their old eyes could they fail to see through people and bring up such an ambitious person without a sense of responsibility!

"Bishop Antonio, what did you say we shouldn't have, what shouldn't we do?" As the crowd stared at the tightly shut door, sighing with regret, a sinister voice suddenly sounded out from the back of the crowd. Moreover, the voice was filled with an aura of conspiracy, as though it was holding something in place.

When these words were spoken, the entire hall immediately became silent. All the cardinals who had stopped at this place suddenly had an awkward expression on their faces. Although none of them turned their heads back, all of them were fully aware of the person who had just arrived!

At this very moment, besides the Bishop Rowan, who had previously made a name for himself in front of Pope Fang Ji, who could have made such a question to Antonio and even used such a tone to speak?

Because of this person's outstanding performance in finding a person who could cultivate the secret arts within the Church, he was trusted by the Pope and was regarded as someone with a strong backbone. Especially after getting rid of Bishop Moritza, Ruo Wang seemed to have the power to become the third person within the Church, and the power he possessed was only second to the Pope and the leader of the Temple Knight Regiment and the head of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal.

In order to gain more power and influence, this person had done everything he could, and his cooperation with Bertrand had reached a point where it was flawless. In just a single day, there had already been countless people thrown into the dark prison in the Ecclesiastical Tribunal, waiting for the final verdict!

Facing such a schemer who was like a mad dog biting at a person, even if the people present were displeased with him, how could they dare to show it on the surface? Even if they secretly cursed in their hearts, they would still have to see the occasion.

"It's nothing. I'm just saying what's on everyone's mind!" The others gave Ruo Wang face, but Antonio, the leader of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education, did not have any fear of this vile person. After hearing what was said, he gave a cold laugh, and with his eyes looking straight at Ruo Wang, he said in a deep voice, "We can't see His Holiness, but I think that if Your Holiness were to see the Pope, your identity is extraordinary and you are deeply cared for by his Holiness, I think you would have the chance to see the Pope!" Just how did the Pope plan to deal with this matter? "

"My Lord's glory is in the heavens, His Holiness's glory is on the earth, the matters of the heavens are decided by my Lord, the matters of the earth are decided by His Holiness. His thoughts are not something we know, not something we are qualified to know!"

Seeing Antonio's gaze that was as cold as a knife, Ruoruo faintly laughed, and then coldly said, without a lack of malice, "Archbishop Antonio, you are so concerned about something that His Holiness should be concerned about. Could it be that you want to replace His Holiness and allow yourself to become the Pope? "Let me give you a word of advice. It's best if you don't have thoughts that you shouldn't have, or else …"