Chapter 228: The Villain
“Ahem, can I go out now?”
Harry looked at the Cardinal in yellow robes with anticipation. His injuries had only healed halfway, barely clinging to life.
His strength was almost completely depleted, barely retaining the power of a third-rank mage. It was slightly better than nothing.
He knew that the Temple of the Celestial God was using him to control Paul. He was the key to keeping Paul in check.
Sometimes, he even wanted to bash his head against the wall and end it all, freeing Paul from his burden.
But ultimately, he couldn’t bear to. After much hesitation, Harry chose to live.
“Go out. The Pope has graciously granted the Holy Son’s request to visit you. But don’t forget, your injuries haven’t fully healed. If you don’t want to die, don’t try anything funny.”
The Cardinal’s words were laced with a thick layer of threat. When he mentioned the “Holy Son,” his voice was full of disdain.
“I understand. I always follow the Pope’s orders. If he tells me to go left, I’ll never go right.”
Harry quickly expressed his loyalty. After all, the Cardinal before him was a powerful figure in Alaye, even though he was only at the eighth rank.
“Rank crushes people” was a common phenomenon in Alaye. If it weren’t for his deep-seated disgust for the twisted web of relationships here, he wouldn’t have left the Temple for the Xiya Kingdom.
The Pope might have absolute authority, but she couldn’t manage the vast Temple of the Celestial God single-handedly. Some problems had existed for thousands of years, becoming unspoken rules.
If it weren’t for the absolute power wielded by the successive Popes, things would have gone wrong long ago.
It was worth mentioning that the Temple’s repeated failures at the hands of Kailun had significantly weakened the Pope’s authority. Some had even proposed an early change of leadership, urging the Pope and the Empress to produce a new successor as soon as possible.
The reason behind this was simply to usurp the Pope’s power. In the past, such voices wouldn’t have dared to surface because the Pope would have Helena nip them in the bud.
Now, however, the Pope was not only preoccupied with Kailun but had also lost Helena, her “tool” for dealing with trouble. This had led to the emergence of many undesirable voices within the Temple.
But Harry didn’t know the deeper reasons. He only knew that the Temple was on the verge of danger.
After another ten minutes, he was led by the Cardinal to a relatively clean and tidy hall.
“Wait here. I’ll go get someone.”
The Cardinal left after uttering those perfunctory words.
“Farewell, Your Eminence.” Harry bowed to his retreating figure with a fake smile.
After waiting for a while, he finally saw Paul, whom he had missed dearly.
However, there was no joy on Harry’s face when he saw Paul. Because there were two other people in front of him: “Pell” and the “Pope,” enveloped in white light.
“I apologize for not welcoming you sooner, Your Holiness. Please forgive my transgression.” Harry immediately knelt on one knee, showing his submission.
Kailun walked past Harry without even glancing at him. “Your attitude is commendable. It’s worth the Temple’s effort to treat you. I’m here for two things.”
Harry, helped up by Paul, quickly replied, “Please speak, Your Holiness. We will do everything in our power to fulfill your requests.”
Paul, supporting Harry, remained silent. For some reason, he felt that the Pope before him was very familiar. Every time he looked up at “her,” he felt a surge of hatred, an urge to pull out a knife and fight to the death.
So he could only lower his head and stare at the ground, afraid that his hateful gaze would be exposed.
It was truly strange. Could there be a connection between the Pope and Kailun?
“Good. I’ll remember your words.”
Kailun had Helena toss two prepared contract scrolls to Paul and Harry. “Paul has performed well recently. I intend to promote him and make him a true Holy Son. I believe you both know that Saint Chrissy betrayed the Temple of the Celestial God and sided with that despicable Kailun. Therefore, we need a Holy Son to lead the new generation.”
Paul: “Huh?”
Harry: “Huh?!”
Kailun sat on the main seat in the hall. “What? Is there anything surprising about this? Now is the time to recruit talents. The Temple is happy to accept another useful ninth-rank mage. Moreover, you have an irreconcilable conflict with Kailun. I don’t have to worry about you siding with him.”
“No, I…” Paul was speechless for a moment, looking at the contract scroll in his hand. It felt strangely familiar.
Casually throwing contract scrolls was Kailun’s signature move. He suddenly had a vision of Kailun hiding behind the Pope’s white light.
It was too similar, incredibly similar.
But how could that be possible? Even with all his abilities, Kailun couldn’t infiltrate the headquarters of the Temple of the Celestial God, let alone disguise himself as the Pope without being detected.
A surprise attack and infiltration were two completely different levels of difficulty. Kailun couldn’t do it.
And even if he had infiltrated the Temple, “Pell,” who was always by the Pope’s side, wouldn’t mistake her master, right?
The most crucial point was that the Pope had just cursed Kailun in front of them. With Kailun’s narcissism, he wouldn’t belittle himself.
Thinking this way, Paul quickly suppressed his wild guesses.
Harry glanced at the content of the contract and said, “I apologize, Your Holiness, but contracts are a serious matter for us. Could you give us a few days to consider?”
The contract’s requirements were simple, just a basic subordinate relationship and some restrictions. It didn’t seem problematic.
However, having been tricked by contracts many times before, he didn’t dare to sign it rashly. After all, Kailun’s deceitful actions were still fresh in his memory.
“There’s no time for you to consider. There’s a top-secret piece of information you might not know.”
Kailun said seriously, “Last night, that despicable Kailun infiltrated Alaye through the teleportation magic circle. Our preparations failed to stop him, and he successfully escaped. After some divination, we’ve confirmed that he’s still hiding in the city, probably planning something sinister. As his enemies, do you think you can escape unscathed?”
Hearing the Pope’s words, a chill ran down Paul’s spine. He instinctively touched the back of his neck. It was damp again, but this time, his fingers felt a bone-chilling coldness.
Cold sweat soaked his clothes. Paul recalled the character for “fool” that Kailun had left on his forehead yesterday.
That demon was definitely playing with him, like a cat toying with a mouse, ready to kill him whenever he got bored.
Even if he wasn’t Kailun’s main target, it would be difficult for him to escape unscathed. Thinking this way, he realized that he and the Temple of the Celestial God were in the same boat now.
Paul gritted his teeth and asked, “What will we get in return?”
“Paul!”
Harry shouted at him. He didn’t think this was the right choice.
“It’s okay. I’m just asking. The final decision depends on the reward offered by the Pope.” Paul deliberately raised his voice, as if to make sure the “Pope” heard him.
Since the Pope needed his help, he could be a bit more assertive and try to get as many benefits as possible.
Only by becoming stronger could he survive this chaotic situation.
Kailun: “Good question. I know you’ve walked a difficult path, a path that requires engraving many magic circles. However, you don’t have the ability to do it yourself. To increase your strength, you need someone to engrave them for you. So I’m willing to have the Temple’s ninth-rank mages engrave ninth-rank magic circles for you. How about five?”
Unexpectedly, Paul refused immediately. “Not enough! At least ten!”
Kailun was amused by his words. This was what a high-quality “leek” looked like. If all the “leeks” in the world were as self-aware as Paul, he might have already become invincible.
Kailun slammed the table. “Ambitious! I can have them engrave ten ninth-rank magic circles for you, but only if you can withstand it. The path of the battle mage is not easy. Without talent, blindly pursuing strength will only lead to death. If you can endure it, I can not only give you more resources but also more power. Even the position of Cardinal isn’t impossible.”
Kailun continued to dangle his bait. The decision to engrave magic circles had already been made. Ottovia’s weakness had weakened him, so he needed to find someone to “replenish” his attributes.
No one was more dedicated as a “leek” than Paul. Kailun had his eyes on him for a long time.
Paul’s talent was exceptional. He should be able to withstand ten magic circles, right? Probably?
Normally, adding ten ninth-rank magic circles would triple Paul’s strength, but that wasn’t what Kailun wanted.
He would modify these magic circles, making them appear powerful but only increasing Paul’s combat power by one and a half times, turning him into a perfect “vessel.”
As the vessel’s mana capacity increased, so would Kailun’s free attribute points. He would gain much more from this than Paul.
After all, mana and combat power weren’t the same thing. Kailun could convert it into attributes with 100% efficiency, but Paul couldn’t.
“Paul, have you gone mad?! Snap out of it!”
Hearing that Paul wanted to engrave ten ninth-rank magic circles, Harry completely lost his composure. This was an unprecedentedly crazy move.
“I’m sorry, Harry, but Kailun is in this city. If I don’t do anything, he’ll play with me until I die. Even if there’s only a one percent chance, I have to try. I don’t want to live under his shadow anymore.”
Paul shook his head at Harry. After yesterday’s experience, he knew there was no turning back.
He couldn’t stay stagnant, or he wouldn’t even be able to protect Harry.
Harry looked into Paul’s eyes and could only sigh helplessly. There was nothing he could do…
Witnessing this scene, Kailun remained silent. He had already planned Paul’s fate.
Not only would he have people engrave magic circles for Paul, but he would also grant him some power.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t going to be charitable. Every gift came with a price.
Paul’s existence would ignite the internal conflicts within the Temple, gathering all the restless individuals.
They might create chaos, they might cause damage, but they would all be ruthlessly eliminated by Kailun.
And Paul would be the scapegoat, the “temporary worker” left to take the blame.
Was this “returning the favor” in kind?
Kailun felt that no one was more evil than himself.
***
“leek” means he’s(Paul) someone being exploited or “harvested” for someone(Kailun) else’s benefit.
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