Tyrant Code

"follow me."

Even though many candles have been placed in the hall, there are still many corners in this spacious palace that are not illuminated by the lights.

The Pope picked up a candlestick from the table and walked to the stacked bookshelves.He carefully read the words written on the spine of each book along the curved bookshelf, and stopped in front of a book with a black cover after a while.He put the candlestick on the desk beside him, and carefully took out the thick book——

Fine silver-gray particles sprinkled down with his movements.

He opened the title page of the book, stretched out his finger, and clicked on the vacant place on the bookshelf.Subtle rays of light leaked from his fingertips, and then meandered on the dim pages, forming a cumbersome and detailed magic map, which looked like a movable and misplaced compass.

The pope clicked casually, and the compass turned, and then a complete pattern was synthesized.At the same time, there was a "crack" sound behind the two bookshelves embedded on the wall—the bookshelves opened outward like two doors, revealing a dark passage.

Goldo: "..." It is said that villains like to hide treasures in secret rooms, and it seems that their reputation is well-deserved.

The Pope raised the candle on the side again, motioning for him to follow.Gordon raised his eyebrows, and followed the Pope into the dark and dark secret room.

They walked a few steps forward, and under the light of the candle, Gordo barely recognized a long and narrow passage in front of him, which seemed to lead to other places.And behind him, the sound of the mechanism moving sounded again, and the entrance behind him closed again with a "clack".

The surroundings suddenly became dark.

The pope's face was immersed in the shadows, appearing mysterious and elusive.

"...You must not know how much effort I have put in to unravel the secrets of the Shenna Cult." The Pope said suddenly, with a hint of vicissitudes in his tone, "Their research on soul magic has reached the pinnacle—they not only It can make the soul immortal, and even allow the soul to maintain the incomparable magic power that the world craves. They have faintly touched the realm of the gods. It's a pity that they are still close..."

"It's not close." The Pope said, "If the soul in the skull can occupy the body it touches, then even without absorbing any vitality, you can get almost eternal time - no need to regret the missed opportunity. , don’t have to worry about getting old anymore. It’s nice to think about it, isn’t it?”

Goldo: "..." He didn't reply.

According to the pope's "eternal life" plan, even if he breaks the magic of the Shinna religion, he still needs to constantly replace his body within a fixed number of years, and destroy many innocent souls at the same time.

Is there anyone in this world who takes possession of another person's body as a matter of course without regret?Obviously there are.

Gordon didn't reply to the Pope, but the Pope didn't mind, and most of his attention was now distracted from his plan.

"In a while, I will draw a formation to gather magic power, and transfer the magic power of both of us to that skull—I have been preparing for this for a long time." The Pope said, "But what you need to transfer is the magic power of the dark attribute. Let it combine with my magic. Do you understand how to do it?"

"Let's see." Gordon replied.

With his magical attainments, he can't completely guarantee that he can understand the results of the Pope's research over the years.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, they finally entered an empty secret room.The pope stuck a candle on the wall beside him, and the other empty candlesticks also burst into flames.

A dark, huge altar appeared in front of Gordon.

The magic map drawn on this altar looks very unusual, and it is difficult for Gordo to distinguish the spells of all the magic schools used in it.Those difficult but smooth traces of curse marks are new and old, and it can be seen that they are the result of many revisions and perfections.Just from the perspective of drawing the magic circle, this is an unparalleled masterpiece, revealing a ghostly beauty, and also vaguely highlights the meticulous and complicated style of the painter.

There is a groove in the center of the formation, and there is something shining brightly in the dark——

A translucent, flawless crystal skull.

Seeing this kind of thing again, Gordo felt very complicated.

And the Pope is ready to start working: "Come here and have a look, this is where you need to stand, and the surrounding magic circle still needs some modifications."

Gordon leaned over and took a look.

Generally speaking, this magic circle is a magic circle that gathers magic power, and it must be in preparation for the restriction of prying the skull.

Goldo walked to the place where the pope was standing, carefully looked at the ins and outs of the formation, and then started to modify it.

It didn't take long for him to modify his part of the formation.

"That should be enough." Gordon looked up, only to find that the Pope had been staring at him.

Pope: "These you just drew are..."

Black magic learned from Julian.Gordon groaned.

"Sure enough, the limitations of what I learned before are still too great." The Pope also recognized that it was black magic, and sighed, "If your mother was still alive, our experiment would have been successful."

As he spoke, the pope looked at the skull in the center of the formation.

"Let's try, kid, whether we can succeed in this move." The pope turned his head and said with deep eyes, "Before we start, we still have something to do—"

"Let's make a contract." The pope stretched out his hand, and the shimmering magic runes fluttered in his palm, as if he had been given life, "You help me inherit the skull, if successful, we will share eternal life together... I can cooperate with you and let you protect anyone you want to protect."

Gordon: "...what do you mean?"

"You think I don't know, why are you rushing to reveal this news to me?" The Pope said with a smile, "You want to temporarily hold me back and prevent me from attacking the people around you, don't you?"

Goldo: "..."

The Pope said: "However, regardless of whether your so-called 'gathering three skull heirs can solve the puzzle' is true or not, I originally wanted to inherit one of the three skulls as soon as possible. With you here, my chances of winning this time are high." A lot, so you can be regarded as helping me-in return, I can promise that I will not take the lead in attacking Atrichia Horn before completely unlocking the secrets of the skull. Although I have already promised you will not take it His life, but it will still turn him into a useless person after all - I didn't care much about him before, but after today, I agree to let him become our collaborator. Since it is a collaborator, I will never His value is easily wasted."

"Can you feel at ease in this way?" the pope asked with a smile.

He thought that all of this was just a means used by Gordon to improve Atricia's status.

It has to be said that the pope got half of it right...but the other half was dead wrong.

Gordon sighed, walked over under the gaze of the Pope, and stretched out his hand to respond to his contract: "Okay, I was seen through by you."

"I, Goldo Moran, swear here that I will help His Excellency the Pope inherit the skull. But you must also promise that you will not take action against those around me without my knowledge."

Pope: "...very good."

Satisfied, the pope walked towards the very center of the formation, his black robe swaying with his movements.

Is this an unbreakable contract?

……of course not!He just promised not to attack the people around him easily, but he didn't promise not to do anything to himself!

It now appears that Goldo Moran, like his mother, is a difficult figure to control.At the beginning, the Pope did not imprison Kagina in the court due to various reasons, but this time he will never make the same mistake again!

The Pope stood still on the magic circle and watched as Gordo closed his eyes and began to chant a spell. Abundant magic power flowed along the winding seal, and his extraordinary magic power could be seen from the flickering light—— Goldo Moran is completely different from ordinary mages. The purity of his magic power is beyond ordinary people's imagination!

The Pope let out a breath of satisfaction slowly...

He also began to chant slowly, carefully pouring all his magic power into the spell he had exhausted his efforts to create.

Flickering electric light gradually condensed on the magic circle, and the surrounding air was stirred up for no reason, blowing the candle flames to flicker, and a few drops of candle oil dripped out dying.

The pope felt that the ground under his feet was getting hotter.The skull shrouded in magic power exudes dazzling white light from the inside out, especially the two empty eye sockets, as if there are stars shining in it. At first glance, it seems that the soul in this skull has died from death. It's the same as returning to the world.

The Pope seemed to have heard someone whispering vaguely.

The chatter appeared and disappeared intermittently, as if it came from across the water, or as if someone was standing far away from him to talk.

The Pope gritted his teeth unwillingly, and increased the output of his magic power, listening to the sound of the altar being broken by the magic power... Finally, he caught the sound.

He suddenly opened his eyes wide.

The skull roared like a steam oven.Then it gradually turned into a pool of mercury-like liquid and crawled towards the Pope.

The pope watched the silver liquid gradually climb up to his body, his eyes shone with excitement.

The moment the liquid touched him, it turned into mycelium-like tentacles that pierced into his skin and fused into his bone marrow.This process was very painful, but the pope seemed to really feel an unprecedented magical power washing over his consciousness, making him feel extremely powerful!

This is the magic power accumulated in the skull!Regardless of the knowledge possessed by the souls of the sages, the magic power alone is enough for the pope to continue his lifespan for another 30 years!

"Ah..." the Pope couldn't help but sighed, "So this is—"

This is what it feels like to be chosen by the skull.

But his excitement didn't last long.

A steady stream of magic power...not just magic power, but also other things that could not be repelled poured into his body.Drilled into his bone marrow, crushed his internal organs, bullied his brain, but still refused to stop!

The power of the skull is crowding out his body, and the spirit of the sage is tearing his own soul apart!

The Pope's eyes were tearing apart: "How could it be... like this..." He panted hard like a dehydrated fish, and stretched out his hand in the direction of Gordo with a red neck, "Quick, stop, stop..."

"How can I stop?"

The black-haired young man sighed, and raised the corners of his lips in the Pope's surprised and hateful eyes.

"I have to inherit the skull completely." Gordon said with a smile, "This is the content of our contract."

"You probably don't know the conditions for the skull to choose an heir... The most stringent thing is not the selection of talents, but the judgment of the capacity of the sea of ​​souls."

In terms of talent, the Pope did not lose to Atrichia, and the reason why he failed in trying to inherit the skull was of course Claudius' reluctance. The most important reason was that his sea of ​​soul was not wide enough.

There are very few people who can accommodate the souls of the sages in the sea of ​​souls.Extreme cases like Goldo's.Atricia's aptitude is only barely enough, and he paid a lot of money to inherit the skull - Claudius said that he was not forgiving, but in fact he helped Atricia a lot, otherwise Atricia Xia's situation will only get worse than before.

What would be the consequences of a person like the Pope forcibly inheriting the skull?

His soul will only be mutually exclusive with the skull.

Then, the excess magic would destroy him, and thus the skull.

Taking a step back, even if the pope survived, without this skull, his wish for immortality would be closer to a dream.

The Pope's eyes widened - an unspeakable burning sensation rose from the depths of his soul, he only felt that his eyes were blurred, and the memories of his life were fragmented before his eyes.

The last thing he remembered was the deep fear and despair of death buried deep in his heart.

The old man in a black robe fell down straight, his face was scorched black, and his limbs were ominous blue-gray.He struggled to reach out his hand to wipe away the dazzled spells, but he couldn't see anything.

In the end, all he heard was a person's footsteps and a vague sigh from that person.

*

The Pope's death caused an uproar.

It is said that the pope died suddenly in his study, the cause of death was pathological asphyxiation.Although he obviously did not expect his own death, and his face of death was not peaceful, but his believers still enshrined him as a saint, thinking that he must have gone to heaven.

"...I don't know if the pope will go to heaven or not. Anyway, I will go to heaven soon." One day, Uris, the head of the Inquisition, complained to the king, "What happened? Why did Pei Tan die the night the pope died? Been mad? You did the right thing by letting me keep an eye on those Shinna cultists, who almost made a big mess."

Gordon felt a little guilty: You can't say that he destroyed a family's sacred object - the crystal skull, right?It seems that the people of Shenna still have a way to sense the existence of the skull.

"What should we do now? Are we going to kill them?" Uris made a beheading gesture.

Goldo: "Forget it, we have already discussed the pagan resettlement bill in Celanka, so don't make extra troubles at this time."

The so-called Infidel Resettlement Act is a bill against the persecution of infidels—although the Celanca Empire is still unable to achieve human rights equality, it is still possible for Goldo to draw a bottom line, and the rest can only be done slowly.

"Okay, then I understand how to deal with it." Uris saluted, turned and left.

Mr. Roman, who was the king's secretary, stood aside and said with some dissatisfaction: "Why do I think his attitude is more casual than when you were a bishop?"

"Because I handed him a bunch of heretics who couldn't be killed, he found it difficult." Gordon sighed, "but he should also learn things other than interrogation. How come so many heretics make him Interrogation?"

Although Goldo has not been on the throne for a long time, his subjects have probably figured out his style of conduct.On weekdays, he advocates the development of people's livelihood and encourages all kinds of research. Naturally, he mainly uses soft methods, and he will not yell at every turn.He and De Monte were lenient and the other strict, and the monarch and his ministers were in harmony. For a while, not many people complained about the new policy issued by Gordo.

Without the Pope's control, the Pope's party tree fell and the monkeys scattered.Gordo was not mean enough to really demand the church with the penance advocated by poor priests, but the restrictions on the power of the church and clergy have begun to be gradually implemented.

The more negative priests lamented that time is fate, and the rise of royal power will surely represent the decline of the Holy See.The irascible priest was already scolding Gordo for killing the donkey. He was crowned king by the Pope, and the Pope started targeting the Holy See as soon as he died. He was a shameless person with no faith.

But they just scolded and didn't dare to really say anything.The clergy are still in a detached position, but they are not above the laws of the country and human reason.

But what Goldo didn't expect was that the "genius" of these priests was beyond his imagination.

"...Who do you think they nominate to be the new pope?" Goldo said in disbelief.

"That's right, it's Mr. Atrium Horn, who once served as the priest of the city state." Roman adjusted his glasses and said, "With all due respect, the rumor that Mr. Atrium is your lover has been removed from God. In order to surrender to you and maximize the interests of the Holy See, the bishops who belonged to the Pope’s party put the name of Mr. Atrichia on the candidate list.”

So do the remnants of the Pope's party.Anyway, the old and new hatreds between the new king and the Holy See are too numerous to count, so they simply come to recruit and draw the Holy See into the king's sphere of influence-in fact, if the king himself has the will to be the Pope, it is not impossible, after all, he He was originally a seminary graduate and possessed all the qualities the pope needed.But being both the king and the pope is unprecedented in the history of the Western Continent, so they settled for the next best thing and took the king's lover to be the pope——

Now you have no opinion!

The Holy See eats and drinks spicy food, so your lover must be happy too!

Gordo was awed by their ghostly thinking, and laughed so hard that tears were about to come out.

"Does Yatricia know about this?" Goldo said, "If he also wants to be the pope, then he is going to prepare a campaign speech..."

"Mr. Horn has received the news. He didn't refuse, but he seemed rather excited." Mr. Roman said, "He should be actively preparing... Do you want to help him canvass, um, I mean, The Holy See has a tradition, wealth and official positions can be exchanged for many votes..."

"If you do this, this election will be meaningless to him." Although Goldo said so, he still pondered for a moment, "I will go to the seminary some other day." Theoretically speaking, there are several Bishops are students of the dean, and their votes should be up for grabs.

"If Atrium is really elected Pope, I hope they will not regret it. After all, Atrium is also a priest with unique ideals..."

Just as Goldo finished speaking, the door was suddenly pushed open.

"I always feel that you are not praising me by saying this."

Atrium's blond hair was high, and the emerald green in her eyes was more brilliant than the emerald ring on Goldo's finger.

Goldo raised his hand in surrender: "Why are you here?"

"Help me read my speech—"

"Ahem, Mr. Atrichia, Your Majesty hasn't finished handling today's government affairs..."

"Who said that? I've already dealt with it. The rest is your job. It's just browsing and stamping, you can, Mr. Roman. You just take these out first."

"But--"

In the end, the king's secretary, aggrieved, ran to the side hall with a pile of documents to deal with.

Yatricia looked at his back as he ran out, and closed the door behind him.Goldo was already waiting for him at the tea table, with a look of all ears.

Atrice cleared his throat.I roughly rehearsed the content of his speech, and then changed a few places.

Goldo asked curiously after listening, "Why didn't you mention me?"

Candidates have a self-introduction link, introduce their origins to the public, and thank their friends who have always supported them.But Atricia never mentioned Gordo from beginning to end.

"What are you talking about? Are you saying that I am the king's teacher, or that I am the king's lover?" Attica asked with a frown, "Do you want me to add a little royal gossip to you?"

Gordon smiled and kissed the back of his hand: "Can't you?

Atricia smiled.

His eyes were gentle and affectionate, almost as affectionate as the distorted portrait hanging on the corridor of the abbey that he had been complaining about, but he didn't realize it.

He smiled and cursed—the voice was not threatening: "Don't even think about it."

The author has something to say:

This concludes the text of the book!

Thank you for your company for a year!It's a pleasure to end this book on this special New Year's Eve.

In fact, this book has many flaws, and its positioning is only to make everyone laugh, not a masterpiece.

I originally wanted to write about Continental Hegemony, but later I found that if I continued to write, I would fall into a cycle of discovering a country and conquering a country, and would inevitably transform into an infrastructure article, but I had no intention of writing about infrastructure...so Choosing to end at this node that is considered satisfactory for Gordo, it can be regarded as Duoduo has reached the pinnacle of his own life.

There are still a few extra chapters later, see you tomorrow.

Happy New Year's Eve everyone!