"Your Majesty, is it still not possible to proceed?" asked Lancelote as he stepped out of the prison.
"Although the primary source of power comes from the accumulated mental energy within the Glory Fortress over centuries, summoning the angel still drained too much of the energy from the ring. Right now, I can't be certain of extracting his life force in its entirety... However, as long as we are in Glory Fortress, the ring should be able to recover soon," the Pope said, shaking his head and letting out a deep sigh. "So, he can stay alive for a bit longer. Be careful though, don't let him commit suicide. Although he doesn't seem like someone who would."
"Knight Talice has submitted a request to me, hoping to carry out the final step of the plan herself... To take the extracted life force and the hilt of the sword to Orford..."
"So you told her about our plan? No wonder..." The Pope looked surprised. "But matters like this... should have only been known to you and me. How could you..."
"Your Majesty, please rest assured. She knows the importance of discretion. She has already made her choice, which is why she made that request to me..." Lancelote's usually calm face showed a trace of sorrow.
"Yes, I can see that." After a long silence, the Pope nodded, a faint expression of satisfaction appearing on his face. "She is a good child... I can tell she must have made a very difficult decision. She chose for the stability of the entire continent, for the future of humanity. She is both a very strong and very weak child. After she completes this task, her pure soul will surely ascend to heaven..."
"Pure, innocent, but strong... Yes, her soul will certainly deserve to ascend to heaven, far more than us old men who are used to scheming and playing tricks..."
The two of them didn't lower their voices intentionally. The guards were positioned several dozen meters away, and no one dared to eavesdrop on them. Moreover, they were in the Glory Fortress, and both of them were the top experts. No matter how sophisticated any spying method was, it would be impossible for it to escape their perception.
However, despite their keen senses, they seemed to have missed the small metallic sheet attached to the iron wall in one corner of the steel prison.
It was just a very thin, small metal piece, the same color as the outer wall, and it was an ordinary piece of metal without any magic. That was why neither Lancelote nor the Pope noticed it. If there was anything unusual about the piece of metal, it was the thin golden wire connecting it, which was buried in the ground.
Far away, in a room of the Glory Fortress, the golden wire emerged from the underground and extended to a small metal cylinder on the table. The metal cylinder resembled a funnel-shaped cup. Two Bishops stood before it, their expressions strange as they watched it. From the cylinder, they could hear all the sounds from the steel prison, including the conversation between Lancelote and the Pope.
Indeed, no magical spying method could evade the Pope and Lancelote within the Glory Fortress, not even the Necromancer Guild's exclusive "Eagle Eye" technique. However, they hadn't used any magic at all. Instead, they employed this simple, non-magical, primitive method. This was a tool used by the dwarves of Kalendor to transmit sound through underground tunnels in their mining pits. Sometimes, these simple gadgets were far more effective than any complex, mystical magic.
Bishop Adra's expression was like that of a country bumpkin who had just seen magic, filled with shock and disbelief. "What... I didn't expect... Lord Akibard's prophecy was... I don't believe it..."
Bishop Inham's face, however, was shrouded in an impenetrable shadow, thick and heavy as though it could drip with water.
"Thanks to your foresight in preparing these things. I didn't expect His Majesty would even hide this from me... He and Lancelote plan to extract that boy's power... but what does the sword hilt have to do with it? And what are they going to do in Orford?"
"Why not ask someone else?"
"Ask who?"
"Of course, ask someone who can go to heaven... but I think it will have to be done in a more tactful way."
Orford.
At dawn, Lord Borugan received several reports from Celeste. Without hesitation, he jumped out of bed after only three or four hours of sleep and rushed to Theodorus.
Reports from Celeste have always been numerous, and each time, Theodorus would handle them with great care. The effort and cost spent on planting these threads in the heart of the Church were immense, but it was well worth it. Each report carried significant weight. This time, however, was undoubtedly the most important, for these were the final reports.
The language of the reports shared a strange consistency, with a great deal of confession mixed into the hurried words. The handwriting was disordered, showing that the writers weren't merely panicked, but deeply confused. Although there were a lot of confessions and apologies, the main message was still clear. They all stated that from now on, they would no longer assist Orford. The money they had previously received from Theodorus would be returned or donated to the Church as penance. They hoped that the Lord of Theodorus would never contact them again. No matter the reason, they could no longer betray the Almighty.
The reason for all of these letters was the same—they all claimed to have witnessed a miracle.
No matter how great the temptation of profit or the pressure of coercion, under the power of faith, they are nothing in comparison, especially when it is something so visibly undeniable, something that instinctively shocks and moves the soul. Celeste had many spies, but there were only a few reports; the others didn't even dare to write reports.
"Angels? Phoenixes? Do these things really exist? Have these guys all had a collective hallucination?" Lord Borugan stared with wide eyes, deeply confused.
After reading the reports, Theodorus closed his eyes, thinking for a long while. He then slowly exhaled and said, "The ancient Elven Empire had the magic to summon such beings. It's simply a magical life form created by combining nature magic and elemental magic. It seems to be a gift from Moriel... The true Phoenix does not exist on this continent."
"As for angels... Could it be that there really is a god in this world?"
"What god? Gods are just man-made constructs. That so-called angel is probably just something formed by mental energy," Theodorus sneered coldly. "When this city of faith was built, the first Pope, Gelasius I, laid a huge magic circle at the foundation, and from thousands of miles away, he invited some strange people from the Far East to arrange the architectural layout. That's why the Glory Fortress can absorb and store the slight psychic energy emitted by people's faith and worship. Over the centuries, it has received the worship of billions of believers, and buried within it are countless Popes and Bishops, each a grand master of white magic. The accumulated power over the years could easily form an angel that could stand up to the summoning magic of the ancient elves."
"However… to sustain and condense such mental energy, it would be impossible for Magnus alone… Could it be that he got his hands on the Ring of Kings from Agrenel? Only something like what Decken spent so much effort to obtain could make it possible…"
"Lord Theodorus, although that angel is fake, I don't think the impact on us is fake at all," Lord Borugan redirected the conversation to a more practical issue. "Not only did it immediately inspire all our spies, but…"
"Hmm, I understand your point." Theodorus took a deep breath. "The battle between the phoenix and the angel—while the Glory Fortress suffered significant losses, what was gained was the hearts of the people. All the faith-based countries of the Western Continent are now united as one, and the church's cohesion, bolstered by this miracle, may very well reach its peak in hundreds of years."
"Ha... It's amazing how something man-made can control people like this... Humans are such strange creatures." Lord Borugan shook his large head, somewhat sighing, as though he wasn't human himself.
Theodorus snorted coldly and said, "Humans are inherently weak creatures, which is why they gather in groups and create concepts like divinity, faith, belief, and devotion to give themselves a sense of belonging and a false sense of security. To protect that illusion, they end up being led by the very fantasies they've created. This is the common flaw of the majority of people who live mundane, mediocre lives. But even though it's dull and weak, this weakness is also the vast power that can change the course of history."
"As long as they make good use of this opportunity, Celeste can consolidate all the forces of the Western Continent. This time, both the military itself and the morale of the troops are different from the last time. It's a pity that the mineral resources in the Saundfest Mountains haven't been mined yet... You should go to the Tower of Teeth and discuss with Master Edwina. Take enough teleportation scrolls with you; if necessary, we'll have to ask them to come and participate in the battle directly."
Lord Borugan scratched his head and replied, "I actually discussed this with Master Edwina before, but they..."
"I know they don't want to directly get involved in our dispute with the Church, but now there's no choice. As long as that day comes, and they can really come to help me, I would agree to any conditions."
"Any conditions?" Lord Borugan's eyes almost popped out.
"Yes, I would be willing to give them half of the mining area in the Saundfest Mountains to help them extract the resources," Theodorus said, trying to keep his tone calm, though the restless energy was impossible to conceal.
"Seems like there's no need to tell them this right away. The most fundamental element of negotiations is not to let the other party see our bottom line," Lord Borugan said cautiously, looking at Thoedorus. "Isn't that what you taught me? What's wrong with you, Lord Thoedorus?"
Thoedorus was taken aback, realizing his own unusual reaction. He sighed and said, "I don't know if it's intuition, but I feel like something unexpected and beyond our control is going to happen..."
"Intuition?" Borugan's eyes widened even further. He couldn't believe that such a word was coming from Thoedorus, a man known for his rationality, firmness, and strong sense of direction—someone who often seemed more like a logical machine than a human being.
Such an ambiguous concept was clearly a sign of weakness.