Chapter 206: The Skeleton of Fate
From the Empress’s perspective, she was slightly stronger than the Pope, but not to the point of overwhelming dominance.
Her individual advantage couldn’t compensate for the disparity in the number of ninth-rank mages. In this level of battle, those below the eighth rank could hardly play a decisive role.
After some consideration, the Empress began to have second thoughts.
It didn’t matter if she couldn’t take Alaye directly. The magic circles she needed had almost been set up. As long as she could successfully capture the two target towns, her mission would be considered complete.
“Meggie Liran, times have changed. The Temple of the Celestial God needs a unified voice to face the upcoming challenges. I hope you can understand. I’m doing this for the Temple.”
The Empress exchanged glances with her subordinates and shifted the topic.
“You want me to understand you? Then have you ever tried to understand me? Because of your greed, not only has the Temple suffered heavy losses, but we’ve also become a laughingstock. The once powerful Temple of the Celestial God is now divided. Are you satisfied now?”
The Pope’s words were filled with reprimands. She was truly angry.
No matter how she looked at it, the Empress’s actions had no benefits. She couldn’t understand why.
Empress: “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you.”
If it weren’t for Kailun’s interference, her plan would have been perfect.
Under normal circumstances, she would not only have the authority to lead the Temple of the Celestial God but also control the Abyss and successfully set up the magic circles.
Then, she would coerce and entice the White Jade Alliance, and they would choose to remain neutral or side with the Temple. The remaining Xiya Kingdom would be completely isolated.
After achieving these preconditions, all she had to do was orchestrate a full-scale war and swiftly conquer a large portion of the Xiya Kingdom’s territory, cleverly including Kuye Town.
As for the White Jade Alliance?
They would probably be happy to watch from the sidelines.
But all her plans had been ruined. She had neither won the war at the second mine nor captured Alaye to consolidate her power.
As for why she hadn’t discussed it with the Pope properly?
According to that entity, the Pope, who shouldn’t even exist, carried the mark of a terrifying entity and might become a hindrance. It was better to eliminate her beforehand.
“Stop this. You’re going to destroy the entire Temple of the Celestial God.” The Pope sighed deeply.
The Empress knew more, but she had always refused to tell her.
Disunity and discord. It seemed that the Temple was truly falling apart.
The Empress glanced at her subordinates, who were gathering around her, and said casually, “Who knows?”
“If our predecessors knew what you’ve done, they would be very disappointed.” The Pope symbolically ordered her people to surround the Empress and her group.
She had no intention of fighting to the death. She didn’t want to see both sides suffer further losses.
Unexpectedly, the Empress chuckled upon hearing the Pope’s words. “Have you ever wondered where your predecessors have gone? It’s been ten years since the last change of leadership. Have you received any news from them in these ten years? Have you tried to find out? Have you been curious?”
The Empress’s series of questions made the Pope instinctively take a step back. Her mocking gaze pierced deep into her heart.
“Didn’t they all go into slumber to become the foundation of the Temple of the Celestial God?” The Pope’s carefully crafted neutral voice wavered.
She hadn’t really investigated this matter, as if it had been deliberately forgotten.
No one mentioned it, no one asked about it. Everything had proceeded smoothly.
The old retired, the new took over. This was how it had been for tens of thousands of years.
“Confused now? Figure out this question first, then come ask me why, naive Pope.”
After saying that, the Empress activated a short-range teleportation spell.
Seeing the white light appear, Paul, who was standing nearby, couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you going to stop them, Your Holiness?”
The Pope said coldly, “Of course we have to stop them. You go.”
“Uh… never mind.” Paul retreated hastily.
He just wanted to show off a little, so Harry could receive better treatment. As for actually charging into battle, that was impossible.
Because of the Pope’s words, they could only watch as the Empress and her group left. Most of them secretly sighed in relief.
Everyone was afraid of death. A battle between ninth-rank mages was often a matter of life and death.
At this level, everyone had their own trump cards. It was normal for them to instantly kill each other if they weren’t careful.
“Charles, do you know where our predecessors have gone?”
After a moment, the Pope looked at the empty space and asked Charles.
“Your Holiness, according to the Temple’s records, our predecessors sealed themselves in ice. They are our ultimate weapon in times of crisis.”
Charles answered based on his memories.
Pope: “Hmm, exactly as I know it.”
After the Empress’s reminder, she suddenly realized a blind spot. The previous generation hadn’t taught her the ninth-rank ice sealing magic.
So how would she seal herself when she passed the position to the next Pope in the future?
“Let’s go back to Alaye. I want to see if our predecessors are still there.”
Leaving behind those troubled words, the Pope used teleportation magic to return to the city.
Helena, Roden, and the others exchanged glances. They had to find time to complete their mission.
First, they had to secretly bring in the two thousand miners as insiders. Then, they had to urge the Pope to build the magic circle to receive Kailun.
They followed the Pope into Alaye and dispersed.
“Master Charles, can Harry be treated now?”
Seeing that Charles was also about to leave, Paul ran up to him and grabbed his wrist.
“Let go of my hand.”
Charles shook his hand with disgust. “Take Harry back to the city. I’ll make the necessary arrangements. But let me tell you this first, Harry has been on the verge of death for several days. It’ll probably take ten days to half a month for him to fully recover. So you better behave yourself during this period. If his treatment is interrupted, Harry might not get a second chance.”
Charles, who disliked Paul, naturally had no patience for him. He had long wanted to teach him a lesson but hadn’t found the opportunity.
“I understand. I’ll bring Harry back right away.” Paul forced a smile.
After watching Charles and the others enter Alaye, Paul ran back the way he had come. He had to bring Harry back.
He had anticipated a battle, so he had left Harry in a hidden location two hundred miles away before setting off.
Life was too hard for Paul. After reaching the ninth rank by consuming the previous Holy Sons, he had dreamed of soaring to greater heights. But before he could even start singing, he was betrayed by Koya.
Now, he had become a pawn of the Temple of the Celestial God, not even daring to utter a word of defiance.
It was truly terrible. He suddenly wished for the world to be destroyed, so all his enemies would disappear.
About an hour later, Paul returned to Alaye, carrying Harry on his back.
After taking Harry for treatment, Charles gave Paul a new task: to help set up a special teleportation magic circle.
Paul heard that it was to receive a noble entity. He didn’t understand and didn’t dare to ask.
He just had a bad feeling. That noble entity probably wasn’t a good person.
But could anyone in this world be more evil than Kailun?
So it didn’t matter who was coming. He didn’t care.
Paul planned to run away with Harry in half a month. He would lie low for a while and wait for the Temple of the Celestial God and Kailun to fight each other.
“Soon, the good days will come.”
Paul carefully examined the blueprints for the simple magic circle. Since the final inspection would be done by the Pope herself, he didn’t dare to cheat and could only work diligently.
Meanwhile, the Pope had gone to the deepest part of Alaye’s underground and found the hiding place of the previous Popes.
After much effort, she opened the secret chamber, only to find it empty.
……
“What did you say? Kailun bought the town I wanted?”
“How could that idiot from the White Jade Alliance let this happen? Does he want me to send troops directly?”
The Empress, having just returned to her residence, received bad news. The town she had been eyeing had been bought by Kailun for the high price of 100,000 gold coins.
Only she and the two leaders of the White Jade Alliance knew about the deal. Whoever had betrayed her had caused irreparable damage.
Judging from the current situation, it was most likely Wilson, the vice president of the White Jade Alliance, who had betrayed her.
What was even more infuriating was that she couldn’t directly confront the White Jade Alliance. After all, they still controlled the other town.
Now she had to find a way to get the town back. It was all so troublesome.
Misfortunes never came singly. Not only had she failed to capture Alaye, but the town she had been eyeing was also gone. The difficulty of completing her mission had increased exponentially.
The Empress’s mind was in turmoil. She wanted to rush to Kailun and kill him.
Could he not live without causing trouble?
She carefully calculated her forces. It was still a bit difficult to launch a full-scale war. Kailun’s strength was unknown, so she had to overestimate it.
The losses at the second mine were too heavy for her. Not only had she lost the opportunity to conquer the Abyss, but she had also lost several ninth-rank mages. Thousands of years of accumulation had been destroyed.
Half an hour later, the Empress managed to suppress her anger. After bathing and changing, she went to the deepest secret chamber beneath the Imperial Palace.
This was the foundation of the Empire’s fate divination device, as well as the place where that entity had left her legacy.
A giant clock face stood alone in the center of the chamber, like a pocket watch magnified a hundred times, like an ancient altar.
She took off her shoes and, tiptoeing on her delicate feet, walked to the center of the clock face.
The Empress used her toes to adjust the slender hour hand, setting the time to twelve o’clock sharp.
After doing all this, she crossed her legs and sat in mid-air above the giant clock face. Then she closed her eyes, counting the time silently, her mind gradually calming down.
After an unknown amount of time, when the Empress opened her eyes again, her pupils had completely changed color.
……
[The Empress is enraged. Goodwill -20, Total Goodwill -60]
[Fate’s interest in you has increased. Goodwill +5, Total Goodwill 15]
Kailun: “???”
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