Chapter 128: The Scroll That Must Not Be Seen
“Bishop Charles, can you explain to me what happened?”
The Pope, back at the Temple of the Celestial God’s camp, was trying her best to control her anger.
The original camp was in ruins. As far as the eye could see, three massive craters were embedded in the center.
The believers who had stayed behind were scattered and injured. Several eighth-rank mages had been reduced to ashes, and countless lower-rank mages were wounded.
Charles, responsible for logistics and coordination, bore the brunt of the Pope’s questioning.
“I don’t know…”
Charles wiped the cold sweat from his forehead repeatedly. Although he was also a ninth-rank mage, he was the weakest among the ninth-ranks of the Temple of the Celestial God, perhaps not even as strong as the previous Saint, Henry.
He had been following behind everyone, providing support. Who would have thought that when he looked back, their camp had been bombed?
“If that’s all you can tell me, then your mission ends here. I will take back everything you currently possess.”
The Pope’s androgynous voice rang out again.
“Please wait a moment, Your Holiness. I’ll go ask around. I will definitely find the answer!”
Charles bowed to the ball of light in front of him and hurriedly found a surviving assistant, rushing over to inquire.
The Pope’s personal expedition should have been a triumphant return, but their camp was bombed. This was a disgrace.
Anxious, Charles grabbed the assistant and shook him violently until he almost vomited up his breakfast.
A few minutes later, Charles ran back to the Pope and reported the situation.
“You’re saying that the explosions were caused by people who weren’t even fifth-rank?”
“You’re saying they were all former members of the Xiya Kingdom’s royal family?”
The Pope’s voice grew even lower. “Charles, are you joking with me? How could a group of people who weren’t even fifth-rank possess such a vast amount of magic power? Your explanation violates the basic laws of magic. You’ve lived for hundreds of years, how can you not understand this?”
Charles: “I also find it unbelievable. I heard there are still some survivors. Should I have them brought here for interrogation?”
The Pope snorted coldly. “Bring them all here. I want to see how they managed to do this.”
This whole incident was shrouded in strangeness. It was too coincidental. Just as they were pursuing the Abyss relentlessly, their rear was bombed.
It couldn’t have happened without prior preparation.
Could it be that Henry had betrayed them?
The Pope immediately thought of Henry, who had just assassinated the candidate Saints she had prepared.
While pondering, Charles brought the remaining members of the royal family before the Pope.
“This is the former king of the Xiya Kingdom. He was expelled from the Xiya Kingdom by Kailun a few days ago. He then found us, saying he had something to tell us. But because the war was imminent, our people separated and detained them, intending to report after the battle. However, not long after we started the battle, three of them self-destructed, and their destructive power was no less than that of a ninth-rank magic spell.”
Charles carefully introduced the old king to the Pope. Among these people, even the strongest, the old king, was only fifth-rank.
He pushed the old king towards the Pope.
“Cough, cough, I told you I had something to say, but you wouldn’t listen.” The old king coughed, a mocking glint in his eyes.
“Pfft!”
As soon as the old king finished speaking, the Pope’s staff pierced his abdomen.
“You carry a repulsive aura. I find it very unpleasant. Go on, what do you want to say?”
After withdrawing the staff from the old king’s body, the Pope asked slowly.
“Cough, cough, cough… Your Holiness is truly ruthless. I should have just said it directly.”
The old king first looked down at his stomach, his eyes glazed over and his expression dazed. “Our new king wants me to ask you, do you want to see fireworks?”
“Fireworks?” The Pope repeated, puzzled.
“Yes, ninth-rank fireworks.”
Feeling the magic power gradually filling his body, the old king let out a maniacal laugh.
As his aura changed, the magic power within him collapsed and condensed. In the blink of an eye, the magic power in the old king’s body was compressed to its limit.
“Boom!”
Without any complicated process, the old king simply exploded.
Compared to the others, the power of the old king’s self-destruction was even greater.
The magic power erupting from the old king engulfed the Pope, and even Charles and the others behind her couldn’t escape.
The other members of the royal family who had been brought up were turned to ashes before they could self-destruct. The believers who had just been dragged here for treatment immediately gave up on treatment and followed in their footsteps.
The most tragic were the soldiers who had just retreated from the front lines. They had originally escaped the self-destruction from the rear, but just as they retreated, another person exploded.
In terms of losses, this self-destruction far exceeded the previous three.
Because the old king’s fifth-rank strength was too deceptive, and the explosion was too sudden, even the Pope herself had been caught off guard.
“Clang!”
The magic power exploding outwards from the old king encountered an obstacle. An invisible barrier blocked its path.
After nearly half a minute of confrontation, the torrent of magic power generated by the old king’s self-destruction finally calmed down, leaving behind a devastated land.
Charles deactivated his magic shield and climbed up from the ground, covered in dust. The other ninth-rank mages frowned, their faces grim.
The Pope, who was at the epicenter of the explosion, had clearly been affected as well. The white halo surrounding her had dimmed considerably.
“He was clearly only fifth-rank, but he could unleash power comparable to a ninth-rank. Is this your warning to me? Kailun…”
The Pope muttered to herself, standing in place. The old king’s self-destruction had actually calmed her down.
This incident was beyond her comprehension. The current world’s magic theory couldn’t explain this phenomenon at all.
No wonder the root of the world’s destruction came from the Xiya Kingdom. It seemed that this Kailun must have mastered something or some knowledge that could threaten the entire world.
Connecting this to the previous fate divination, the Pope became even more certain of her guess.
In just a few moments, countless thoughts flashed through her mind.
“No, I still can’t reach a definitive conclusion. I need to return to the Temple as soon as possible and check those ancient Taboo Scrolls.”
The Pope’s gaze deepened. She had found a clue and needed to go back and discuss it with the Empress.
She had recently obtained some Fate Stones through special channels and could conduct a new fate divination.
“Your Holiness, what should we do now?”
Charles patted the dust off his body and approached the Pope, asking, “Should we deploy our forces to attack the Xiya Kingdom, or should we press our advantage and conquer the Abyss?”
The consecutive self-destructions had indeed caused significant damage to the Temple of the Celestial God, but none of their top ninth-rank mages were injured, so their core fighting strength remained intact.
For the vast and powerful Temple of the Celestial God, calling for a few more waves of reinforcements would be enough to continue the war smoothly.
“Attack? We haven’t even figured out the reason behind that special power change. How dare you casually attack?”
The Pope suddenly felt very frustrated. “Aren’t you afraid that they’ll secretly send a few fifth-rank mages to Alaye to self-destruct? We can defend against ninth-rank mages, but who knows which low-rank mage is his firework?”
Charles: “This…”
“Therefore, the task of finding out the truth is entrusted to you. I hope you can give me a preliminary result within a week. Put the Abyss aside for now. Kailun of the Xiya Kingdom might be a member of the Abyss. His goal this time might be to cover for the Abyss and warn us. Let’s slow down for now and defend the second mineral vein we just captured.”
The Pope tapped Charles’s chest with her staff, leaving a special magic mark.
“Your Holiness, isn’t this a bit too difficult?”
Charles’s smile was uglier than crying. He, a logistics officer, had to be a healer, a scapegoat, and now even a spy.
Pope: “Difficult? In that case, you can come back to Alaye with me and report for duty. I’ll take back your power and give it to someone else.”
“No, no, I was just joking. It’s just a little investigation. Please believe me, even if I have to risk my life, I will find out the truth for you!”
Charles’s expression changed drastically. He hurriedly straightened his back and expressed his loyalty.
He could just sneak into the Xiya Kingdom to gather information. In terms of stealth, he was probably the best among the ninth-rank mages of the Temple of the Celestial God.
The Pope’s gaze swept past Charles and landed on the other ninth-rank mages. “An unexpected situation has arisen. We are now facing a bigger problem than the Abyss. I will entrust the second mineral vein to you. Having lost the second mineral vein, the Abyss has lost its source of fresh blood. Their decline is inevitable…”
……
“They exploded again. Did he do all this?”
Bella asked, watching the torrent of magic power erupting from the Temple of the Celestial God’s camp from a distance.
Fox: “Should be, probably, maybe.”
Bella: “How did he do it? Are you really going to offer yourself to him?”
Fox: “Don’t ask me. I don’t know how he did it, but I’m sure it wasn’t a real ninth-rank self-destruction. As for offering myself to him, did I ever agree to that?”
“Lying fox, you’ll be hung upside down and… well, you know. By the way, do you know what type of girls he likes?” Bella looked dreamily into the distance.
Fox: “…”
After a moment of silence, Fox picked up her communication device and looked at the magic letter Kailun had just sent. “That guy wants me to bring him ten ninth-rank magic books within three days, and he wants me to bring you along. What do you think, stupid dragon?”
Hearing this, Bella jumped up from the rock she was sitting on. “My grandfather’s secret chamber has quite a few ninth-rank magic books. I can get them anytime. When are we leaving?”
Looking at Bella, her face full of eagerness, Fox felt a stomachache.
That guy was the real abyss!
Bella saw Fox’s strange expression and corrected herself. “I mean, we need his help. For this, I can give you to him as a concubine.”
“Get lost!”
……
“It seems that we have to use these fireworks sparingly in the future.”
As Carol wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, Kailun gave Shirley new instructions.
He had separated Shirley from Hilna for a while. Currently, Shirley was traveling around the Xiya Kingdom, gathering necessary information for Kailun.
Kailun had just sent Shirley to Count Laurist’s territory to explore the ruin Winnie had mentioned.
Kailun had studied history, but looking through the entire history of the kingdom, he couldn’t find any relevant records.
“Lunch is ready, Master. Would you like to eat now?” Carol folded the used towel and put it in her pocket.
“No need to wait for me today. I don’t have much appetite right now. You guys eat.”
Kailun shook his head. He still felt like throwing up.
Controlling the fireworks and detonating them four times had taken a toll on his body. It seemed he could only do this wicked deed sparingly.
The damage to his body was within his expectations. What surprised him most was that Bella had contributed a lot of goodwill, while the Pope hadn’t gained any hatred at all.
It was a pity. If he could gain more hatred from the Pope, his strength would increase significantly.
“Since you don’t want to eat, I’ll stay with you.” Carol ran over and sat on Kailun’s lap, completely without her previous restraint.
“Suit yourself. You’re already fifth-rank. Skipping a meal won’t hurt you.” Kailun smiled and joked with her.
Putting his arms around Carol’s waist, Kailun opened the wooden box on the stone table and took out the scrolls inside.
He didn’t open them immediately. His gaze shifted to Isabella, who was squatting under the table. “Give up. I won’t let you see them until I understand them. This thing is dangerous.”
“Can’t you make an exception? Not even for 500,000 gold coins?” Isabella tugged at Kailun’s trousers.
Kailun: “No.”
“Stingy.”
Isabella muttered unhappily, crawled out from under the table, and ran away.
After Isabella left, only Kailun, Carol, and a few beautiful maids tending to the flowers and plants remained in the courtyard.
“Can I see them?” Carol’s gaze drifted towards the ancient parchment scrolls.
“Not yet. Be good.” Kailun freed one hand and pinched Carol’s nose.
The girl’s skin was incredibly soft and delicate, not losing out to Isabella’s at all.
“Alright~”
Carol would obediently agree to any of Kailun’s requests.
She sat on Kailun’s lap and played with the black lace skirt that fell onto her knees. “Anna asked me to tell you something. She said Duke Pit sent two envoys. One is heading to the Royal City to find you, and the other is heading to Count Laurist’s territory.”
“We can assassinate the envoy heading to Count Laurist’s territory on the way. Let the other one enter the Royal City. I bet Anna would love to give Pit a good scolding.”
Kailun took out a piece of white paper and wrote a few large characters on it.
Carol looked at the words on the paper, puzzled for a second, then seemed to understand something when she saw Kailun secretly tuck it into the wooden box.
“By the way, the little princess just returned to her room with a big bag of things. Do you want to go take a look?” Carol asked casually.
“Now you’re talking. I’m not sleepy anymore. Let’s go tease her together.”
Kailun put Carol down from his lap and tucked the parchment scrolls back into the wooden box.
But just before closing it, he hid a scroll up his sleeve.
Leaving the wooden box on the stone table, Kailun left the courtyard with Carol.
Not long after, a petite figure stealthily approached the table.
Isabella hadn’t left at all. She had been watching from the balcony on the second floor. In order to see the contents of the scroll clearly, she had even used a spell called “Eagle Eye”.
But her position wasn’t ideal. Kailun’s body blocked most of her view.
Opening the wooden box with excitement, Isabella’s face immediately fell.
“If you really want to see, you can prepare five ninth-rank magic books first.”
The large characters on the white paper crushed Isabella’s excitement. She muttered unhappily, “You might as well just sell me off. You’re so stingy. If you don’t want to show me, just say so. Why do you have to hurt my feelings?”
……
“Everything is ready, just need to add the drugs.”
“But Kailun is at least eighth-rank now. Will these drugs still work on him?”
Vivian stared at the pile of gadgets and bottles on her table, lost in thought.
She was wondering if she should ask Hilna, who was quite talented in potions.
“Knock, knock, knock!”
Just as she was thinking, someone knocked on her door, and Kailun’s voice came from outside. “Vivian, are you there? Come out for lunch.”
“I’m changing. I’ll be out soon. Please wait a moment.”
Vivian hurriedly gathered the things on the table, rolled them up in her bed, and hid them under the covers.
“I’ll give you ten more seconds. If you’re not out by then, I’m coming in.” Kailun urged again.
Vivian didn’t have time to set things up. After hastily tidying up the bed, she rushed out of the room.
“Let’s go eat.”
She didn’t give Kailun a chance to enter the room. As soon as she stepped out, she grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the dining area.
To prevent Kailun from escaping, she clung tightly to his arm with both hands, making him feel like he was being rubbed against a file.
Maybe that was an exaggeration, but it wasn’t far off.
Not long after the two of them left, Carol quietly sneaked into Vivian’s room. After a quick search, she successfully found Vivian’s tools of the trade.
The dazzling array of gadgets shocked the innocent Carol. It took her a while to recover before she slowly replaced the contents of the bottles and jars with similar-looking candies.
She should have left Vivian’s room after doing this, but after stepping out, she ran back in and “picked up” a beautiful silver handcuff, tucking it into her pocket.
“Vivian bought so many handcuffs. It shouldn’t be a big deal if I take one. Yeah, it definitely won’t be a problem.”
Kailun’s figure automatically appeared in Carol’s mind. For some reason, her brain automatically associated Kailun with these gadgets.
A strange desire welled up within her.
Either tie Kailun up or be tied up by him. Both seemed like fun things to do.
Of course, unlike Vivian and Phils, who were completely immersed in their roles, Carol’s thoughts were more like a form of performance.
The one-month deadline Kailun had set was only a few days away. She was looking forward to that day.
She was also looking forward to the wedding dress Kailun had promised her. Carol was curious to see what she would look like in that kind of dress.
***
Duke Pit is actually Duke Barr: I don’t know why I added it to my glossary as Barr, but I’ve already corrected the previous chapters (or so I think)
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