“Don't be so sad, Mein,” Jieluo said, her hands behind her back, slowly pacing around the square. "The Church was originally created by the Union. What Your Majesty is doing is just giving the witches a chance to return what belongs to them. () If you win, you can also get my memories and experiences—that's the wealth accumulated over two hundred years.”
So that's how it is. It was strange to let Jieluo activate the image of the Reflection Church itself. No matter how much the Pope loved her, she was just a Purifier. She shouldn't have been able to access the deepest secrets of the Church. It's a pity that she ignored this at the time. Mein was silent for a moment before opening his mouth and said, "If you win, where do you plan to take the Church?”
“To victory,” she raised her head and said, “Or destruction… anyway, it can't be the Fjord Islands.”
“Wh...at!”
“Do you think the secret order you issued is really unknown to anyone?” There was a hint of sarcasm in Jieluo's tone. “Before the great war comes, you diverted a portion of the supplies to Yongdong Harbor to repair ships and support sailors. In addition, you selected a large number of scapegoats to be sent to the gallows. This is a big deal. It is almost impossible to hide it from the Church's spies.”
Damn it, Oubolaien actually handed over the intelligence agency of the Secret District to her. “So what! As the Pope, of course I have to think further ahead, so that the Church can continue to exist in the worst-case scenario.”
“I'm afraid you don't even believe these words yourself?” Jieluo mocked. “You just took the scepter in front of many believers, and you started thinking about your own way out. The Divine Will War has not yet arrived, and you have already lost the belief in victory—do you think you can get God's smile with a mortal like you?”
“What bullshit God's smile!” Mein couldn't help roaring, “If it really favors us, how could it let humanity be defeated again and again?” He took two deep breaths and lowered his voice, “Moreover, fighting against the devils ultimately depends on the God's Punishment Army, and time is of the essence. What can you change?”
“No, not just the God's Punishment Army,” Jieluo said softly, “The fate of mankind should not be entrusted to only a small number of people.”
“Rely on you witches?” Mein sneered twice, “Don't forget how your compatriots were completely defeated more than four hundred years ago!”
“Witches are just a small group of humans,” she stopped and looked directly at the Pope, the light in her eyes made him feel cold. “This is a decisive battle that determines the fate of human survival. Naturally, everyone has to participate in it—regardless of men, women, old or young, they will become glorious warriors, rushing to the battlefield one after another until they defeat the devils, or… all die.”
“Absurd, let those civilians who are so scared that they can't move when they see evil beasts go to fight the devils. Is this your plan? It's completely nonsense—” Mein suddenly froze. The other party's expression didn't seem to be joking, but was seriously stating her plan. Only... can make civilians also have combat capabilities.
“You want to feed everyone Berserk Pills?” He opened his mouth in disbelief.
“One Berserker is not as good as a God's Punishment Warrior, what about ten?” Jieluo tilted her head and said, “Now is the time when evil beasts are rampant. Not only is the raw material supply stable, but the Secret District may be able to develop several new formulas. By the time five years later, the Church will have saved three or four million pills. What does this mean?” She paused, “It means that in addition to the God's Punishment Army, the Holy City can also send several Berserker armies of millions of people to participate in the war against the devils.”
“You… are crazy!”
“Crazy? You underestimate the Doomsday War too much!” The Purifier suddenly shouted, “Whether it's the Union or the Church, what they think of is using a small force to resist the enemy's all-out blow. Failure is only reasonable. In the face of this war, no one can stay out of it, and mortals can't always hide behind the God's Punishment Army or the witches—as I said before, this is a battle of fate, and everyone should do their best so that they are qualified to compete with the devils in the wilderness!”
A Purifier raised by the Church could never say such a thing. This is… the will of the conqueror. Mein's face was as white as paper, “You are a… true hybrid!”
Your Majesty Oubolaien, did you really foresee all this?
“Accepting knowledge is a process of self-change, and the integration of thoughts will bring progress,” Jieluo took a deep breath, “Perhaps, we should end the conversation and decide who is the leader of the Church.”
“Don't think you're going to win,” the Pope gritted his teeth, “This is the world I built!”
As the voice fell, waves of red mist suddenly spread from under his feet, spreading around. Jieluo was slightly startled, then grabbed her throat and let out a scream. The skin on her face was like wrinkled orange peel, wrinkled and peeled off piece by piece, and the oozing blood flowed freely, and soon she became unrecognizable.
“This is the Devil's Mist stored in the Secret Agency. It is only harmful to witches who possess magic power,” Mein said bitterly in the red mist. “If I fill the entire square with it, even if you have all kinds of methods, you can only struggle painfully in the mist, dying again and again!”
“Is that so?” A gust of wind suddenly blew at the scene, sweeping away the red mist around the Purifier. The newly resurrected Jieluo endured the pain and said, “As expected of the new Pope, you really have some new tricks. If you had gone to the collection hall of the Secret Holy Hall from the beginning, I'm afraid this battle would have been more difficult—of course, this is also the fun of the soul battle.”
This is… a Wind Magic Stone? Mein noticed that there was a ring inlaid with a green crystal on her finger. The range of the magic stone is limited. As long as he keeps his distance, he can destroy this barrier with the God's Punishment Stone crossbow arrow. However, to be on the safe side, he still has to make some preparations. His mind raced and he created two Berserk Pills and swallowed them in one gulp.
“Oh, a wise choice,” Jieluo grinned, “Your biggest shortcoming is that you are not good at fighting. Dual-colored pills can increase strength, agility and pain tolerance. Even if I use crossbows and other ranged weapons to attack you now, it won't be so convenient.”
Mein ignored the other party. He moved to a position that the magic stone could not affect at all and concentrated on creating the God's Punishment Stone. At this time, the Berserk drug had taken effect. He felt his strength was increasing rapidly and his vision became extremely clear. With the Divine Stone in hand, he had the most effective weapon to restrain the witches. If she dared to pounce, she would die immediately from the erosion of the red mist.
The other party is also constructing her own weapon—what is that? A two-handed longsword?
It would be understandable if it was a crossbow, but what does she need a sword for? Moreover, the shape of that longsword is also very strange. The sword body is as wide as the body, and several crystals are inlaid on it, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
Then Jieluo raised the weapon in her hand, “Do you know? Among the illusions in the Reflection Church, the image records that are left are not only that one.”
“What do you mean?”
“Have you forgotten what His Majesty Oubolaien said? The battle between Akalis and Nataya was also completely recorded by the Union,” she said word by word, “In addition to devouring, observation and learning are also my strengths.”
After speaking, the crystals on the sword lit up in sequence, as if foreshadowing something. Then a dazzling golden light emerged from the blade, instantly tearing apart the red mist and shooting straight into the sky. As if in response to this force, ten thousand feet of light fell from the sky.
“What… what kind of ability is this?” Mein's eyes widened.
What answered him was the golden light that engulfed everything. In an instant, the entire world collapsed and disintegrated in this golden light.
*******************
The cage slowly landed on the ground of the Divine Stone cave.
Jieluo threw the clothes draped over her shoulders on the ground and walked out of the cage. The whip marks on her back had all disappeared, as if they had never existed.
The Judgment Warrior guarding on the side respectfully lowered his head and handed over the golden robe that had been prepared long ago—it was the clothing that symbolized the highest power of the Church.
Jieluo put on the robe, which was obviously a little loose, with the help of everyone, and walked towards the Secret Holy Hall without looking back.
.(。)