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The sky seemed to be collapsing.
The clouds and wind that were rushing toward the holy city of Torra released an unusual energy.
Upon sensing that something ominous was happening, Juan rode his horse and went out to the field to observe the sky.
Sina followed him as well
“Is it a storm? There have been a few unusual weather changes this year, but this is just
”
“It’s not a storm.”
Static electricity sparked up when Juan lifted his finger and slightly rubbed it. His face began to harden.
“It’s Telgramm. Someone is playing around with Telgramm right now.”
“Telgramm? You mean the weapon that creates thunderbolts? But I heard that it was sealed by the Church
”
At that moment, Sina closed her mouth; she thought of one person who had access to any and all the items kept in the Church.
“The Pope
?”
“I can’t think of anyone else. I can’t imagine Barth Baltic using Telgramm, since he probably doesn’t even know how to use it,” Juan answered.
Clouds from all over the continent frantically rushed toward Torra, before coming to a stop and breaking down. The broken clouds, as well as the wind poured down upon Torra as lightning and raindrops.
Considering that Torra looked like it was getting bathed with lightning from even the horizon, Sina couldn’t even imagine what the internal situation would be like.
Sina’s expression hardened at the hellish sight.
“Why is the Pope attacking his own allies? Is there any reason for him to do that
?” Sina asked.
“I don’t know what’s going on. But I guess I’ll have to wait and see if the Pope is the one committing the sin, or saving me from the trouble of having to kill the one who is messing around with Telgramm,” Juan replied coldly. “Either way, the fact that he will die won’t change.”
***
Hela couldn’t figure out how to report the news that was just delivered to her by an agent. She didn’t know whether she should tell Juan the news as it is, and at the same time, she wasn’t confident about handling what would happen after she reported the news.
Due to her misgivings, Hela decided to first call General Nienna, the head of the Northern Army, and Anya, the Captain of the Order of Huginn, to her tent.
“Okay. I have bad news, worse news, and the worst news,” Hela said.
“I feel like all three are related to each other anyway. Just tell us everything,” Nienna frowned.
“I’ll tell you what happened in chronological order. The bad news is that someone tried to oust the Pope and commit treason in the holy city of Torra. But the treason attempt has failed, and many of the figures that led the treason are either dead or missing. Among them are Heretia Helwin, Ivy Isildin, and Lenly Leon—the Captain of the Imperial Guards.”
The three people mentioned by Hela were the people who had personal connections with Juan. Hela didn’t know the exact situation either, but her understanding was just as bad as the situation in the Capital.
Anya’s expression hardened as well.
“Miss Heretia is involved in treason? But she isn’t the type to do such a reckless thing when success is right around the corner. I’m sure she had a reason.”
“I’m not too sure what she was up to, but I feel like no longer being able to suppress the citizen’s complaints played a huge part in the current situation. One wrong move could group them with the Pope, you know? Perhaps Barth Baltic’s defeat was also a huge part of their decision.”
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It was not uncommon for a country on the brink of destruction to collapse due to internal strife. Hela figured that Heretia could no longer suppress the major undercurrents, since the discontent with the Church had already been accumulating for fifty years. The return of the emperor just acted as a catalyst to speed up that destruction.
“The worse news is that the Pope went crazy after being betrayed. He is massacring the residents of Torra. I guess this also coincides with the worst news,” Hela looked at Nienna and continued speaking.
“The Pope has taken the residents of Torra hostage. He has also taken full control of the Church and the Order of the Capital. He was able to do so by threatening everyone that he will kill them if they don’t listen to his orders. An army will not be particularly motivated with only threats, but we are still absolutely inferior in terms of equipment and number of troops compared to the Imperial Army. Thus, it would be ridiculous for us to besiege Torra.”
Nienna could tell what criteria Hela had to determine what was worse than something else. It was unfortunate that important figures like Heretia and Ivy were gone, but their absence would not have a big effect on the overall plan.
On the other hand, it was shockingly unfortunate that the citizens of Torra were being slaughtered.
But the fact that Helmut had taken control of the Church and locked down all of Torra was a difficulty as huge as Barth Baltic. It was certainly worth calling the worst news.
Hela’s judgment was correct from a strategic point of view, but at the same time, it was also incorrect.
Anya frowned and clicked her tongue. “Did the Pope finally go insane?”
Hela shook her head. “I wouldn’t say that he finally went insane, but he just showed his true colors. Similar things have already happened in the early days of the empire, after the foundation of the Church. Helmut turned into a lazy pig after the Church had settled down and he had a group to enact violence on his behalf, but he came back to his original self now that he has been driven into a corner.”
“Hela’s right. I once had to warn him because he was making a mess in the north,” Nienna glared at the table with her hands clasped with a serious look on her face. “But I agree with you—he is crazy. What he is doing is both strategically and morally ridiculous. This incident will push everyone who is on the fence to our side. Unlike the early days of the Eternal Rule, now that His Majesty has returned, there’s no way anyone would choose to be controlled by such a madman.”
Anya was about to nod, but suddenly tilted her head in wonder.
“So this incident can be considered to be the Pope’s mistake, right? Our return now will give the image of His Majesty defeating the villain and thus gain him the support of the entire empire.”
Hela looked at Anya with a bitter smile on her face.
“If you think about it simply, then yes. The current situation will allow us to win by simply standing still and not doing anything. But His Majesty isn’t someone who would do that. That is also why I haven’t told His Majesty about this news yet.”
“Don’t you think you’re being too arrogant, Hela?”
Hela’s face stiffened, while Nienna continued speaking in a gentle tone.
“We are a militaristic force that is following His Majesty. You should know what happens to subordinates who try to hide information from their monarch.”
“I’m not trying to hide it. I’m just suggesting to delay the news a little. The noble’s insurrection will fall, and Torra will eventually collapse on its own, even without us having to do anything. There’s no need for us to go out of our way to add more trouble, when the capital is already suffering from so much internal stress. But when His Majesty finds out that the fate of his acquaintances is unclear, then
”
“His Majesty will advance toward the capital right away. He will do so even on his own if the rest of his forces don’t follow him.”
“Then what do you think will happen next?”
Nienna looked at Hela without a word.
Meanwhile, Hela continued to persuade Nienna in a nervous voice while biting her lips.
“The Imperial Army will have no choice but to confront His Majesty, and the Pope will use Torra as a battlefield while using the power of Grace. You’ve seen what he managed to do with Telgramm, haven’t you? I don’t know how many people have died in Torra, but at least twice as many will end up dying in and out of the Great Wall. Yes. Above all, the Great Wall. I’m talking about the Great Wall of the holy city of Torra—the wall that was built by His Majesty himself. Our army will follow His Majesty’s command to break ourselves against the wall that is known to be impossible to break even if His Majesty himself tried to break it. Unless His Majesty intends to climb up the Great Wall by making a ramp with endless corpses, it is right to slow down our march.”
“Even if that is the case, His Majesty should be the one to make the decision. You shouldn’t try to make that decision on your own, Hela.”
Nienna stood up from her seat.
“If His Majesty asks for bloodshed, it is because it’s necessary.”
“That’s something His Majesty already did when he founded the empire. But His Majesty now is
”
“Stop.”
Nienna tightly grabbed Hela’s face with one hand. A cold atmosphere suddenly filled the tent.
Hela felt a chilling wind that could freeze and explode her face at any moment. Nevertheless, Hela continued to glare at Nienna with a fierce look in her eyes.
“I know that His Majesty now is a completely different person from His Majesty I have in my memory. Nevertheless, you should leave all your moral ideals and philosophies behind if you have decided to follow him,” Nienna said.
“Does His Majesty only want tools, and not people?”
“Didn’t you also need His Majesty's power rather than His Majesty’s philosophy for the common purpose of destroying the Church? Besides, as far as I know, His Majesty has already warned you that he might exhaust you and the Fourth Division for his own purposes.”
Hela opened her eyes wide with a perplexed expression upon hearing Nienna’s words. What Nienna just mentioned was Juan’s answer to Hela’s attempt to get him under her control back when she didn’t know that he was the emperor. There was no way that Nienna could have known about it.
At that moment, Juan entered the tent.
Seeing this, Nienna released her grip on Hela, causing her to slump to her seat.
“I’m sorry to have overheard all of you, but I had to wonder what you all had to discuss without me at a time like this—and I must say, it didn’t go too far beyond my expectations.”
Hela realized that Juan had been communicating with Nienna directly through her mind. It was only natural that Juan could use such a power, since even the Templars were capable of using it.
“We can win without doing anything, and we can also stop the massacre as long as I stand still. Hela, is that what you think?” Juan asked.
“Well, isn’t that true? Your Majesty has already warned me many times that you would commit a slaughter if you have to. I’m just trying to avoid the worst situation.”
“Hela, you poor lady.”
Juan approached Hela and knelt on one knee to look at her.
When Juan’s hand touched Hela’s wrinkled face, Hela flinched and shuddered.
“If I really wanted to kill all humans, do you think you would have the time to do anything about it? You’ll see what true helplessness is in Torra.”
Juan turned his head and looked back at Nienna and Anya.
The two waited for Juan’s order with nervous looks on their faces.
There was no expression on Juan’s face as he gave out orders.
***
Pavan increased his speed.
The raindrops and lightning that had been wantonly striking down upon all of Torra had stopped, but fires and wailing could be heard from everywhere. Urban administration was paralyzed, and even the Imperial Army which should be controlling a disaster like this was busy searching for the rebels. The city felt like it had already been defeated even before the war began. Pavan was convinced that it wouldn’t be long before the city really was defeated.
The Imperial Palace, where His Majesty’s body is enshrined, appeared before Pavan’s eyes. For a moment, he hesitated in front of the golden scaffolding that marked the boundary of the Imperial Palace. Soon after, he decided to set foot inside.
In ordinary times, only those with permission from His Majesty could pass through the veil of benevolence that surrounded the entire palace. However, there was nothing blocking him right now.
Besides Pavan, the Priests, the Bishops, as well as the Templars of the Church were wandering back and forth in the Imperial Palace with anxious expressions.
Pavan passed them and headed toward the center of the Imperial Palace.
The atmosphere inside the palace was imbued with madness and gloom. At this point, Priests trembling in fear or bursting into hysterical laughter seemed to be rather ordinary sights.
The sight of the Priests constantly shouting unintelligible words reminded Pavan of Bishop Rietto, the mad Bishop whose mind was shattered. Pavan thought that most of the people from the Church had gone insane.
“Your Holiness.”
Before long, Pavan arrived before a huge door. In front of the door, Pavan found Helmut sitting on the sofa he had brought from somewhere. Helmut looked like he had aged quite a bit in just one day—all his hair had turned white and there were a lot more wrinkles on his face.
Helmut glared at Pavan with a wary look on his face.
“The Captain of the Order of the Capital? How did you get here?”
“I was able to come thanks to Your Holiness lifting the veil of benevolence. As you ordered, the Capital Army is on high alert and blocking the city, while the search for the rebels is also underway.”
Of course, the Pope could not pass through the veil of benevolence. Instead, he chose to destroy the veil of benevolence with the help of the power of Grace.
“What about the Saintess? Did you find the Saintess?”