scepter

"Oh, this question," the silver-haired priest raised his eyebrows, and then said in a tone that was slow enough to irritate people, "Actually, I don't think this question is worth your reaction."

Quinton didn't let go of his meaning, "Archbishop Hill, perfunctory will not let you escape guilt,"

Yannick said briskly, "Then, I want to say that the well-known friendship between me and Chris is my contribution to sacrificing my reputation for the Holy See."

What, Quinton suspected that something was wrong with his ears.

Yannick smiled: "Your Majesty has just said that although Alfonso VIII is dead, no one can be sure how far the monsters have penetrated into the human world, and the light magic, because of the old Pope, we have Reasons to believe that monsters even have a certain understanding of light magic. As far as I know, in the current light magic, there is no magic that can effectively identify the identity of monsters."

He looked around everyone: "Can you guarantee that there are no monsters lurking around you? Or can you guarantee that you will not be invaded by monsters? Even His Majesty the old Pope can't resist the temptation to cooperate with monsters. You believe that your will is stronger than the old Pope." Are you firm?"

Just now when Vanserich mentioned the matter of Alfonso VIII, in fact, everyone had faint doubts and uneasiness in their hearts, but then the new system involving the division of interests, everyone's attention was immediately attracted to it. , now reminded by Yannick, everyone remembered again.

What Yanick said was exactly what they were worried about. Just as the death of Alfonso VIII caused panic throughout the Charlemagne Empire, the priests did not spare their lives much better than the nobles, precisely because their life expectancy was longer. Long, so more afraid of death.

Needless to say, the expressions on everyone's faces now have proved their thoughts, and those who are calm may not be really not afraid of monsters lurking around them.

After wheezing his appetite, Yannick said: "The identification potion developed by Saint Simon and Chris can effectively identify the identity of monsters. Now Chris has agreed to sell the first batch of potions to Charlemagne first. Empire, and because of my friendship with Chris, the Holy See was able to become the second batch of people who bought the potion. Isn’t this a sacrifice I made for the Holy See? I use my reputation that may be criticized by others, such as Archbishop Quinton , in exchange for everyone’s safety.”

These shameless remarks did not attract fierce rebuttals. Some people blinked their eyes, and there was already a look of eagerness on their faces. If they were not still in the meeting, they would soon make friends with Yannick and get some medicine first. Come try the posture.

In fact, it is not difficult to understand. Just imagine, if you have a personal servant who is possessed by a monster and stays with you day and night, it means that your life is shrouded in the threat of a monster at any time. Afraid?

Only Archbishop Quinton is still stubborn: "How can we believe that the potions you got from the mages are effective? How can we believe that those potions will not be mixed with other materials to restrain the light magic, so that those mages can completely suppress us?" Already!"

"Oh, then Archbishop Quinton, you can choose not to use it." Yannick smiled and choked him to death with a single sentence.

"I believe that no matter who becomes the Pope, he will first cleanse the Holy See to remove any monsters that may exist. The Holy See does not allow anything contaminated with monsters to appear. This is our basic principle." Fanshe Rich spoke at the right time to provide a footnote to the debate, and also made it clear that he supported Yannick Hill's position.

The venue was silent for a while, but Gustav's people didn't find fault, which didn't mean that Yannick would not take the initiative. If it was a gentleman's demeanor to let the other party speak first, then if he keeps silent now, he would be weak and incompetent.

He didn't find a spokesperson to speak like Gustav did, but went directly to Gustav.

"Bishop Gustav, I have a question, I hope you can answer it for me." Yannick's voice was unhurried, and it sounded very gentle.

The impression given by appearance is always important. Although the appearance of Angus is handsome, it is easy to remind people of characters such as male favorites. Yannick's handsomeness is a completely positive character. Even Gus People in Taf's group also have to admit that Yannick's appearance looks more favorable than Gustav's.Who made Archbishop Gustav's figure so oppressive and with a pirate-like beard?

This sentence was like a declaration of war, causing all eyes to focus on him in an instant. If these eyes can be turned into reality, it is estimated that the silver-haired priest will already be riddled with holes.

"You can ask, but I may not be obliged to answer you." Archbishop Gustav's answer continued the usual domineering style.

Yannick smiled, not paying attention, and continued to use honorifics: "May I know what plans you will have after you succeed the Pope?"

Gustav didn't want to answer at first, but it seemed too indecent, and it was really necessary for him to win people's hearts by explaining his position, win over those vacillating neutrals, and by the way, provoke Fansheli The people over there.

"Since thousands of years ago, the Holy See has been standing in a detached position on the continent of Olympia. A long time ago, the Holy See even had the power of the unity of politics and religion, and had a huge influence on the mainland. But as time went by, this kind of The advantage is gradually being lost."

Compared with Yannick, Gustav's voice is more intimidating, loud and powerful.

"What led to the loss of this advantage? It was the inaction within the Holy See, and there were also external reasons. The power of mages was getting bigger and bigger. But before that, the Holy See tolerated them step by step and watched them develop. Apart from compromise and Apart from giving in, there is no other effective way, and those nobles also took the opportunity to extend their hands in and share our power. Therefore, the situation that should have been dominated by the Holy See has now been divided by nobles and mages."

Gustav was expressionless: "And now, it is a very good opportunity. Monsters invade, the human camp is chaotic, and no matter how powerful the mage is, their magic guild will be torn apart, not to mention that Alfonso VIII is dead. Now Charlie The Man Empire is not a threat at all, and the Holy See should take this opportunity to take back the dominance, that is to say, how to deal with monsters, we should be in charge of the situation and allocate resources, which will directly determine how much benefit we can share after the war."

His words are very straightforward, so straightforward that they are beautiful words without any packaging. They are all directed at the word "profit", but only such words can move people's hearts.All the priests present are priests of the Holy See, and it is impossible to leave the Holy See in this life, so Gustav's words are completely in the interests of everyone. If he said "for the benefit of the entire continent, for the survival of the people of the mainland", it would not People pay attention to him.

"Patience cannot bring peace, it can only make others think you are incompetent. Of course, it is absolutely impossible for the Holy See to collude with monsters." Gustav did not say it clearly, but everyone knew that he was alluding to the old Pope.

Fanserich's expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn't heard his sarcasm, and he was very well-mannered.

Yannick suddenly asked: "Your Excellency Gustav, with all due respect, do you really think that the Holy See can still control the spiritual beliefs and even daily life of the vast majority of people on the mainland as it did thousands of years ago?"

"You think you can't?" Gustav asked back.

"Yes, I don't think so." Yannick said bluntly.

"As a priest, you have already sold your body and soul to the mage!" Gustav suppressed his mocking smile and sharply accused.

The silver-haired priest smiled slightly, and was not panicked by his words. He slowly said: "We are all in the Holy See. To use a more vivid metaphor, we are sitting on the same boat now, and all of us are covered by a tree. The rope is tied, and this rope cannot be cut by any magic or props, so as long as one person falls into the water, the others will suffer accordingly. I don't want to say some illusory, high-sounding words to please you, because that is for our current The situation isn't any good."

"Although Alfonso VIII is dead, the monsters must still know about the old Pope. If they publicize this matter, how should we deal with it? Will denying it help solve the problem? Obviously not Yes. So far, the reputation of the Holy See outside is not very noble, I believe you all know it without me saying it."

"Before we hunted and killed mages, many civilians who were not mages were also implicated, and they were burned to death on the gallows. These things may not be directly ordered by everyone here, but as long as we are in the Holy See, it is impossible to break away from the relationship, but It is conceivable that those civilians fear us more than they respect us. Even if they are sick or injured and need our treatment, how many people can really receive treatment from the priests? Those who have money may buy magic potions, but those who don’t Those who have money can only wait to die.”

"As for the nobles, they are a selfish group. We can cooperate with them, but that is when they ask us for something. Will they really be willing to hand over secular power to us? Continent Seven In this country, the shortest time since the founding of the country has exceeded 500 years. During such a long period of time, the secular kingship has established a solid ruling foundation. Can the Holy See change this situation? Assuming that the monsters have completely engulfed the Principality of Mecklen, Even if the royal power of that country is completely wiped out, even if the Holy See wants to take over, doesn't it have to solve the problem of monsters first?"

The silver-haired priest's speech was not fast, but one sentence after another gave people no chance to think, and those who turned their brains slower were even more in danger of not being able to keep up.

To be honest, Vanserich felt very satisfied. He used to think that this group of people was really blinded by the superior power. He always thought that the Holy See was the best in the world. Whether those nobles or mages were born, they should bow their heads to the Holy See. , but intentionally or unintentionally ignored the current situation, immersed in his own dream.

His Majesty the Pope expressed his delight at the fact that someone stood up to crush the dreams of these guys. He admitted that his eloquence was not as good as that of Yannick, and he was too lazy to persuade these people. He just took advantage of the opportunity of running for the Pope to let Yannick do well. Let's teach them a lesson!

"Just now Archbishop Gustav said that we need to take the lead in fighting monsters. I agree with this sentence." Yannick changed the subject, "But dominance does not mean hegemony. What the Holy See can mobilize now, There are only priests from all over the world. Not only are mages impossible to listen to our orders, but even nobles have their own ideas. This kind of seemingly incongruous relationship can easily lead to confusion in the frontline command. Most importantly, if the old Pope’s affairs are exposed—— We must prepare for the worst. If his affairs are exposed, mages and nobles no longer trust the Holy See. At this time, if we do not show sincerity and insist on leading the situation, there will only be two results in the end. .”

The silver-haired priest smiled and stretched out two fingers: "In the first way, the monster's provocative strategy was successful. The mage and the nobles united to expel the Holy See. If we are attacked, even if we want to turn against and cooperate with the monsters, the monsters will no longer trust us after the incident with Alfonso VIII, and the final result will definitely be a loss for the Holy See."

"The second way, the monster's instigation strategy is temporarily unsuccessful. If we, the mage and the nobles, unite to drive away the monsters, then the other two parties will definitely settle the score afterwards. Two-to-one, if the nobles use this to instigate The power of the common people, the loss is still the Holy See."

Everyone was stunned when they heard it. It's not that they don't know that the current situation is not good, but no one has ever analyzed the truth one by one like now, and the situation becomes clear at once, even if some people think that the Holy See cannot be so weak , but before he could find evidence to refute Yannick, he would only humiliate himself if he spoke rashly.

"To sum up, the Holy See has only one way out now, and that is to put down its airs and cooperate with everyone. Note that it is sincere cooperation, not perfunctory superficial cooperation."

After talking for a long time, he suddenly stopped, and Yannick realized that his mouth was dry, and he picked up the Blanca tea in front of him and drank it in a less elegant gesture.

"I believe that no matter who becomes the pope, he must focus on the interests of the Holy See. There is no doubt about it, but how to maximize these interests, I have analyzed very clearly just now, and you are all very shrewd and wise people. , How should we choose in the end, I believe everyone already has the answer in their hearts.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Vanserich cut in: "Archbishop Gustav, do you have anything to add or object to, if not, start voting, we have already wasted a lot here It's been six hours."

Gustav clearly knew that the other party was deliberately looking for this time to cut in, and did not give them any time to think, but he really couldn't find any words to refute for a while, and Archbishop Quinton over there opened the door with extraordinary momentum: " Yannick Hill, everything you say is heresy..."

This kind of refutation for the sake of refutation is simply too cheap, and the people present are not idiots, who is more tenable and can't tell the difference?

But he can't say "Let me think about it", that's too ridiculous!

I should have known that Yannick Hill shouldn't have spoken in the first place!

Gustav stared at Vanserich, and paused every word: "I have nothing to say."

Archbishop Quinton suddenly fell silent as if his throat had been choked.

Fanserich didn't seem to see the spark in his old opponent's eyes, he said calmly: "Oh, very good, then let's start voting."

No matter how much Gustav wanted to gag Yannick's mouth, and no matter how much he wanted to wring Vaserich's head off and kick it as a ball, it was too late, but he believed that these old foxes present would not be so easy He was led by the nose by Yannick Hill.

It is true that Yannick Hill's long speech seems to have the upper hand, but in fact most of what he said, like Gustav, is unpredictable. To put it bluntly, everyone's speeches are basically " If I am elected, what will I do to you" This model depends on whose content is more in line with the expectations of others.

In terms of seniority, Gustav has dumped Yannick by more than ten blocks. In terms of ability, Yannick is well-known, but he usually does not have much contact with these archbishops. In terms of prestige, Gustav also believes that he is better than his words. The hairless and frail silver-haired priest is too strong, and it is almost unnecessary to think about how to choose at this time.

However, he seems to have overlooked a very important point intentionally or unintentionally.

Archbishop Spindle hesitated.

If Vanserich was among them, he would definitely choose without hesitation, but not now.

The Vanserich era is about to pass, and they gathered here today and sat for six hours to witness the birth of a new pope.

He is from His Majesty Vanserich's side. To be precise, he is the person left by the old Pope for the current Pope. Unlike Hogan and others, he is a staunch supporter of Vanserich. Today Vanserich Having shown such a clear intention, Hogan and the others will definitely write Yannick Hill's name without hesitation.

But Spindle is not yet loyal to this level, and he also needs to consider his own interests.

To choose Yannick Hill, or Thierry Gustave, that is the question.

To be honest, Spindu still has some doubts about Yannick Hill, the latter is really too young, and his time as archbishop is not even one-tenth of that of Gustav. , How can people believe that he will definitely lead the Holy See to revival?

Moreover, Yannick Hill is not Vanserich after all, and he will not show any mercy to Spindu and the others just because they were loyal to the old Pope. Judging from Yannick Hill's various performances, Spindu has Reasons to believe that he is a very cunning pragmatist, if these people become a stumbling block one day, Yannick Hill will definitely eradicate them mercilessly!

However, if Spindle is allowed to choose Gustav, he is not willing.

Gustav made it clear that he had a hard time with the old Pope. If he became Pope, they would definitely be left out in the cold, and maybe they would find a reason to be dismissed at will. Gustav would distribute the position of Archbishop as candy to those People who listen to him, male favorites like Angus...

Archbishop Spindle calmly glanced at Archbishop Lifa sitting opposite him.

There will definitely be more and more people like this who just rely on their faces and can't do things.

More importantly, monsters are about to invade in an all-round way.

Yes, monster, thinking of this, Spindu sighed secretly, he thought of the collusion between the old Pope and the monster, and also thought of the monster incarnation Alfonso VIII, which made him shudder, and suddenly gave birth to a strong feeling sense of crisis.

Yannick Hill has the resources to identify potions, which is perhaps the most important.

Putting aside those illusory and beautiful prospects, only this incident really moved Spindu.

Even if he doesn't trust Yannick Hill that much, at this stage, it seems that there is no better choice, unless he stands up and protests now, and then proposes a better candidate.

Spindu carefully considered the feasibility of this idea, but after thinking for a long time, Spindu still picked up the quill and wrote a name on the parchment.

Many people here basically have the same tortuous and unknown ideological struggle process as Spindle. No matter how intense their psychological activities are, the meeting room is still peaceful. Before the final moment, everyone has already Having completed his task, the parchments were carefully folded, tied with ribbons under the watchful eyes of everyone, served by the knight on a silver plate, and handed over to the attendant priest behind His Majesty the Pope.

The parchment is specially made, and voters need to write their names on it, but this name can only be seen by the pope, but even the pope cannot publish the names of the voters at will, this is the rule of voting.

When all the parchment scrolls were presented in front of Fansherich, under the witness of everyone, His Majesty the Pope opened the parchment scrolls one by one, and the attendant priest behind him recorded the truth, made the final statistics, and announced the results.

"Thierry Gustave, seven votes. Yannick Hill, nine votes."

"impossible!"

The moment the attendant priest read out the result, Gustav interrupted him.

"Your Majesty, I have doubts about this result!"

Fanserich was expressionless: "Reason?"

Gustave: "Your support for Yannick Hill is well known, and that is the strongest reason."

Fanserich: "So what do you want?"

Gustav: "Publish the names of the voters."

Fanserich frowned: "That doesn't comply with the rules."

Gustav showed a sneering smile: "Then I refuse to obey this result."

Of course, everyone does not want their names to be exposed, but in this situation, no matter whether they support or oppose it, they will offend people, so they all wisely chose to remain silent.

The situation was at a stalemate. As the pope, it was impossible for Vanserich to be held by Gustav. He was silent for a moment: "If you announce the name and ensure the wishes of the voters, will you obey the result and swear an oath to the new Pope?" allegiance."

Gustav raised his eyebrows: "Of course."

Fanserich: "Okay, let's announce it, just read the names that support Yannick Hill."

The acolyte was ordered and began to say: "Ernest Hogan! Tom Avery! Frank Spindle! Gary Hutcherson! Grant Lage! Gene Ford! Sam Seed Ney! Toby Upton!" He paused at the last name, but managed to pronounce it.

"Roy Angus!"

The crowd was in an uproar.

Gustav looked incredulously at the handsome chestnut-haired priest, who avoided his eyes.

"You betrayed me?!" Gustav roared angrily. He even raised his hand and wanted to slap the other party, but the other party sensitively dodged it.

Fansherich sternly said: "Archbishop Gustav, please pay attention to the occasion and your identity, this is not a place for fighting!"

"You bastard, how dare you betray me!" Gustav could still understand the choices of the people in front of him, but the last name made him completely unable to keep calm, and of course he was even more speechless.

Angus changed his previous meekness, his face darkened, and he said coldly: "Gustav, you are the archbishop, and I am also the archbishop. What right do you have to insult me?"