I will be crowned king

The moment he saw the memory card, Anson's expression flashed with a hint of undetectable surprise.

The backer of a gangster from an outer city... is the Holy See?

If any organization wants to support a force or sponsor someone, its first condition must be that it can profit from it; this is just like buying stocks, investing in a company or an industry, or even borrowing loan sharks; you must first prove that you are not This investment will be wasted, and there may even be a possibility or value of profit.

This "profit" can be short-term or long-term, or even indirectly produce some kind of good impact. At least it must be able to realize some of the investors' ideas, otherwise why would they be willing to invest?

Therefore, he can still understand that the Ministry of War would choose to support the "Whispers"...causing some trouble for the Privy Council, highlighting the incompetence of the Whitehall Street police, making His Majesty Carlos II regret the removal of the Guards, and setting the stage for the subsequent defeat of the Privy Council. Seizing power and paving the way seems to be a matter of course - after all, he is the dog he fed, so of course he is familiar with killing.

What, you said that the Guards are worse than the police in Whitehall Street, and the consequences would be more serious if they were replaced? Oops...who cares about this? It is always the people in power and the living who are scolded and criticized. How can there be any reason to blame the dead and the opposition? Even if they are actually more incompetent and useless, they would be destroying themselves.

So what benefits can the Holy See gain from investing in "whispers"?

I don’t know, at least Anson doesn’t know it at all now and can’t imagine it.

A gang with a few spellcasters and talented people, no matter how arrogant it is, covering the sky with one hand, it is just a shameful gang... Not to mention the army, even if the police in Whitehall Street are serious, they can use the force It's definitely not something they can compete with.

Even if they need to bypass Clovis Cathedral and find a suitable white glove to do the dirty work, there are 10,000 ways that are much better than gangsters; not to mention what is a gangster? A local snake who bullies the weak and fears the strong. Who will really get into trouble? Can you guarantee that they won't reveal the mastermind behind it?

But the memory cards in the hands of the trainee priests are genuine... and the difference engines that can read the cards are almost all in the hands of the church. If "Whisper" has not colluded with the Holy See, what is the use of getting this thing?

"Isn't it strange? I was more strange than... than you when I knew about this."

As if he felt some kind of pressure that was different from the past, the trainee priest rarely used honorifics: "At first, I thought that the person behind this guy was probably an unknown old man with some strength but no fame. Who would have thought that a god-sect organization is actually the Holy See...well, to be more precise, it should be a monastery."

The monastery, it seems that the little secretary was born in the monastery... Anson frowned slightly:

"Does it make a difference?"

"For you now, no, but strictly speaking, yes." The trainee priest nodded: "Compared with any other country, the power system of the Holy See should be completely different: local dioceses, tribunals, rulings The Knights, the Pope and Cardinals, the Ecclesiastical Bank... and then there are the monasteries - I'm going to keep it simple, but the actual situation should be more complicated."

"The Inquisition is the immediate boss of each parish's inquisition, but it is much stronger. You have also met the Judgment Knights. Their strength far exceeds that of any army of the same size. To be honest, we won the battle of Beluga Harbor by a fluke; As for the diocese, the Diocese of Clovis is actually a special case because Archbishop Luther himself is a powerful bishop...and then there is the monastery.”

"You may have heard that this is a teaching and research institution. All the research results on Saint Isaac and the former Truth Society that the church collected from the Seeking Sect were managed and researched by them."

"But this large research institute and comprehensive college are not some academic madmen who are ignorant of world affairs and are dedicated to studying knowledge... They are called academic lords who control all knowledge and have the final power of interpretation. They are somewhat similar."

"If the goal of the military madmen of the Knights of Judgment is to establish a kingdom of heaven on earth where the Holy See has sole power and directly rules the world, then the goal of the monastery is to permanently control the world in terms of religion and knowledge." The trainee priest is quite a bit confused. Feeling:

"It is very appropriate to say that they are the ones who are truly successful, and they have always been the mainstream in the Holy See in the past few decades. The popes and the chief directors of church banks all came from monasteries; until recently, because of local dioceses, It gradually became stronger and then wavered a little.”

"If they are so successful, then why do they support an old god sect gang and provide something like a difference engine?" Anson asked:

"Controlling thinking, faith and knowledge... Wouldn't it be the most advantageous option for the monastery to maintain the status quo of the ordered world and maintain the balance of forces among all parties?"

"That's true, but if they didn't give it to them, then it can only be that Whisper stole a difference machine from somewhere." The trainee priest tilted his head and gestured with the memory card in his hand:

"Otherwise, there is no way to explain why they have this in their hands, and why our companion from the Truth Society would rather die than give this information away."

"What information?"

"A sentence in the memory card." Karin Jacques' eyes were burning:

"Follow the will of the Ring of Order."

I understand, so it definitely can’t be the work of the Old God Sect organization... Ansen nodded slightly, thought for a moment before speaking: "Then... what about the remaining cards, you won’t only have this one, right?"

"There are forty more, which were hidden in a certain factory by my informant." The trainee priest did not hide it: "I can tell you where it is, but I also advise you to think clearly. If something If you lose control, it won’t end well.”

The reason why Karin Jacques said this is not difficult to understand. Even if Anson gets the card, if he wants to know the content on it, he must use the difference machine in the basement of Clovis Cathedral, which means that the Inquisition must know about it. ; Cole Dorian's "whisper" investigation in such a high-profile manner obviously means that they did not receive any greetings or information from the monastery in advance; and if he knew about it, then this matter would be escalated to the Inquisition, the monastery, and even Crow There was a dispute between the Diocese of Victoria and the Holy See.

When it comes to that point, how it ends is not something that he, the commander-in-chief of the legions, can decide... And at this moment when the Holy See dislikes Clovis and the Free Confederacy, it is definitely not in everyone's interest to make the matter bigger. Benefit.

"Actually... if you want to know the contents of the card, besides the method we all know, there is another option."

Anson suddenly said: "Of course, if you do that, you will have to take some risks."

"Another option?" The trainee priest looked a little confused:

"You, you are not planning to decipher it by force, are you?"

As a fairly "competent" trainee priest, Karin Jacques certainly knew that the content on the card could be deciphered manually even without using a difference engine, as long as he knew the method; after all, the essence of the difference engine is to follow the settings Good rules produce results, and what is saved is nothing more than the boring and lengthy calculation process in the middle - of course people can do what machines can do.

But letting people do the work of machines... Anyway, regardless of whether anyone is willing to do this kind of hard work, Karin Jacques will definitely not do it even if he is killed.

"No, no, no, you misunderstood, of course I didn't mean it."

Seeing that the other party would get the wrong idea, Anson shook his head and explained: "It would be worth it if we only get one or two cards. Forty cards... the energy is actually second, but we definitely don't have that much time."

"Oh, what do you mean..."

"We can find someone who knows the contents of the card, can't we just ask him directly?"

"I see, just ask..."

The trainee priest suddenly realized something, and his words suddenly stopped.

And just at this time...

"Dong dong dong——"

The crisp knock on the door made the trainee priest freeze completely. After a long while, he raised his finger and pointed at the door, looking at Anson in disbelief.

Facing the other party's shocked expression, Ansen nodded calmly.

The door opened, and a figure who was not tall, even a little short, walked in.

He was wearing a second-hand coat that he had bought somewhere. There was a hole in the hat on his head, and his tie and shirt collar were full of oil stains... At first glance, he looked like a businessman who had gone bankrupt and was preparing to go to the rooftop debt-free. Light businessman.

To be honest, Anson actually had no impression of "Whispers"... After all, the two of them had only met once. In the battle where all the gangs in the outer city were wiped out, he was also the only missing gang leader, and his strength was only ordinary. It's really hard for people to remember him at his human level.

But the other party obviously remembered him. As soon as he walked in and saw Anson's figure in front of him, Whisper's eyes hidden under the brim of his hat brightened a lot, and he showed a vaguely impressive and flattering smile.

"It's been...a long time, my dear Hydra." He said slowly: "Or should I call you Brigadier General Anson Bach?"

"Just call me Anson. There's no need for Brigadier or anything like that."

Anson, who had his hands behind his back, silently took two steps forward and blocked the trainee priest behind him: "As for the name Hydra...if you hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten it."

"Yes, but I can't forget it." "Whisper" shook his head with emotion: "I will never forget that day, when you blew the head of the hydra, and then caught Lao Tobacco and the others to blackmail each other. The scene of eating black holes, leading the army and the inquisitors to wipe out their group... still leaves a deep impression on me."

"...Can I take it that you are holding a grudge?"

"Hold a grudge? Of course not!"

"Whisper" with a smile on his face objected: "By the Three Old Gods, I want to see those people die without a burial place more than you do! Of course, it should be the same for them; after all, gangs are This is the case, I will always be happier to see my peers die than to make a lot of money myself!"

"What's more... if they are still alive now, it probably won't be my turn to become the boss of the outer city. To a certain extent, you are even my benefactor. I heard that you are back, even if I know there are risks, of course I have to come and see."

"I just wanted to give it a try, but I didn't expect it to go so well." Anson did not deny it: "So this pub belongs to you?"

"No, this pub has nothing to do with me."

He shook his head: "But now I know every move of anyone at any time, anywhere in the entire outer city."

"You dressed up in a way that doesn't suit the outer city, went to a tavern like this with great fanfare to find someone, and generously gave him a tip that you can't earn in a month... For such a big thing, someone will treat it as a big deal within an hour. Tell me what's new; refer to the appearance described below and the person you're looking for, it's quite easy to guess the identity."

"The only thing I don't understand is that you have tried so hard to kill me and the entire gang, and you even plan to surrender my head to your king, so why do you come to me with such a big fanfare?"

"It's simple, because killing you directly won't solve my problem at all." Anson said very frankly and directly:

"I'm surprised. You clearly knew that I was going to kill you, so why did you dare to appear in front of me? Is it because the army soldiers are not here and you think you have a chance of winning?"

"Of course not. I'm just convinced that since you did this, you wouldn't intend to kill me so soon...Looking at it now, I really want to make the right bet."

Carefully closing the door behind him, he whispered and raised his hands: "To be honest... I just heard your conversation in the room. Although I didn't hear it very clearly, you seem to have discovered something terrible."

"I can tell you two right now that your guess is absolutely correct... About half a year ago, an adult from the church monastery came to me and gave me those memory cards and a difference machine. He also helped me win over someone from the Ministry of War. Sir, you have provided me with a lot of supplies for free."

"Without that gentleman, there would be no current...well, I can't say that we are now...the former 'Whispering' gang. The power I controlled far exceeded that of the old pipe and cigar group combined!"

"But even so, you are still nothing in front of the army." Anson said solemnly: "You can still survive now, but when the deadline issued by the Privy Council approaches, no matter how reluctant the Army Ministry is, it will kill all of you. Kill the rest."

"No matter how powerful your 'benefactor' of the Holy See is, he is restricted from interfering in secular affairs and watches helplessly as the results of his investment are wiped out; all he can do is take advantage of you people who haven't Kill them all completely, erase the traces and evidence of the Holy See in this matter as soon as possible, and wait for the opportunity to make a comeback."

"And you, whisper, are the biggest 'trace'."

"You...are here for help."