Briefly, silence fell. The nobles and ministers in their seats exchanged complex glances.

In the seating area at the very top of the hall, the nobles frequently glanced at Great Sage Isis, then quickly scanned the other important figures of the Rebirth Church in the center of the hall, searching for clues.

Among them, the nobles from the South seemed more serious, while those from the North and East appeared slightly curious and wary.

The ministers, seated closer to the center, reacted more directly.

Many ministers frowned, their thoughts disrupted by the sudden turn of events. They whispered to each other, trying to analyze the situation.

Beneath the rapidly shifting gazes and expressions, the most powerful figures were the focus of everyone's attention.

High Heaven Bishop Sigrid remained calm, her eyes flashing with a sternness that judged Ascesion.

At this moment, Nihility Bishop Ascesion also reverted to his most ruthless and dangerous cardinal form, seemingly ready to use his eighth-order peak power to let everyone witness the soul-stirring radiance of the Primordial Tablet's seal.

Duke Morotian Berenhard appeared even more profound, leaning back in the upper tier on the left side of the council chamber, his steady gaze seemingly assessing the impact of this sudden event.

Although Great Sage Isis might not trust him, the second strongest figure in the empire, he was willing to help if needed.

The silence of these important figures seemed to dim and slow the light and shadows in Franklin Hall slightly.

"Sigrid, perhaps we can settle things once and for all today, without troubling Isis. If this continues, I fear that this battle, which you finally mustered the courage to accept, will end inconclusively again due to various reasons."

Ascesion broke the overly long silence in Franklin Hall with a cruel smile.

"You, who remain silent, aren't waiting for Great Sage Isis to help you out of this predicament, are you?"

Ascesion stared at Sigrid and asked.

Seeing Sigrid accept the challenge, Ascesion roughly determined that she might have another way—even if she was sealed and locked down, she had a means to temporarily display her eighth-order strength and deceive the Protos Empire.

After all, the injuries he suffered a month ago were no less severe than Sigrid's. Even now, he had not fully recovered.

A few summons could be placed on others to trigger the summoning.

Magic tools and scrolls had no user restrictions, but the drawbacks were that magic tools were not portable, and magic scrolls were disposable.

God knows if that damn wolf could be transferred. It was clearly only a fourth-order card, yet it had the terrifying characteristic of becoming stronger when facing a stronger opponent.

Moreover, that wolf had a similar aura to Sigrid, which he hated immensely. Just seeing Sigrid again would remind Ascesion of the endless, blazing white that erupted in the northern snowfields in an instant.

Of course, Sigrid might be betting everything on Isis's consideration, waiting for Isis to realize the difficulty of this duel.

But Ascesion would never give Sigrid this opportunity.

"..."

At this moment, everyone in the Congress understood what Nihility Ascesion meant by "without troubling."

There was a way for the cardinals of the Rebirth Church to determine superiority and death.

The Deathmatch Arena was a barrier unfolded as proof of a bishop. No other assistants could be brought in, and it could not be interfered with or interrupted.

Its activation required the consent of both parties, and its termination also required the consent of both parties.

Otherwise, once it began, the Deathmatch Arena would not end until one party died.

And this kind of formal internal deathmatch of the Rebirth Church did not require the Protos Empire to host the duel or arbitrate the results. The two cardinals could start the battle at will!

Mourning Bishop Yamiles had intended to say something, but stopped.

In principle, the Pope did not allow the cardinals to engage in a Deathmatch Arena.

But she wasn't the one who would be punished.

Once the Deathmatch Arena was opened, the loser would die today, and the victor would one day be liquidated by the returning Pope.

"Sigrid, why aren't you speaking? Are you feeling guilty again?"

Ascesion's gaze was fixed on Sigrid, not hiding the hint of sarcasm in his eyes.

"In the Protos Empire, let everything be decided by Great Sage Isis."

Sigrid replied calmly.

"..."

Great Sage Isis was still considering while looking at the two cardinals.

Although this was the simplest, most direct, and most beneficial solution for the Protos Empire, human lives were short and precious. She wondered if it was too cruel to decide life and death like this.

Seeing Sigrid waiting for Great Sage Isis's opinion, Ascesion couldn't help but sneer.

"Sigrid, every time, every time I fight you, you want to fight to the death with me. Only this time, you don't dare to accept a one-on-one deathmatch between bishops?"

Ascesion turned to Isis and saluted,

"Great Sage Isis, win or lose is irrelevant. This is an internal matter of our Rebirth Church. The Protos Empire doesn't need to bear any responsibility for it. Moreover, you don't need to interfere in matters outside the maintenance of the rules. Out of your duty, you shouldn't risk hosting a great battle that could harm the people of the Protos Empire."

Then, he waited for Sigrid to express her position.

"From my position as the guardian of the Protos Empire, as long as you do not harm the people of the Protos Empire, I will not interfere."

Isis finally said after a moment of thought.

As the maintainer of the rules, she should not continue to interfere in the internal affairs of the Rebirth Church.

"..."

Sigrid did not respond for a long time, keeping her head down.

Now, she had to make a final decision.

The faint smile on Ascesion's face became more and more relaxed.

The southern nobles who had originally considered voting for High Heaven Bishop looked at each other, beginning to waver.

Because High Heaven Bishop Sigrid's reaction today was indeed too abnormal.

After Ascesion's continuous probing, it could be seen from various details that Sigrid was somewhat lacking in confidence!

This made Ascesion's words seem more and more true.

If High Heaven Bishop Sigrid had not lost her martial power, the High Heaven Bishop, forced into such an embarrassing situation, would lose the bishop election, making it truly difficult to resist the powerful Ascesion. With their grudges, they would have to fight to the death sooner or later, perhaps it would be better to fight now.

If Sigrid had really lost her martial power and lost the bishop election to Ascesion, then she would be doomed.

The only way out was to accept the challenge now and fight Ascesion to the end.

(End of this chapter)