Chapter 371

Chapter 57: Through the Clouds and Into the Fog Part 2

“Silgay…”

“Yes, Silgay.”

Angel nodded slightly, took a sip of red wine, and smacked his lips… He had almost finished a bottle of wine as if he were drinking from a trough, but there was not a hint of drunkenness in his eyes. Drips of wine stains fell from the rim of the glass onto his chest. The Pope only patted them away with his hand, showing no concern at all. There was no trace of the decorum and elegance expected of an upper-class individual; instead, his disheveled appearance was evident.

“What? Little Margaret didn’t tell you?”

He raised his eyebrows, somewhat surprised.

“…She did.”

I remember now.

Margaret had indeed told me before that a group of heretics was sailing towards Silgay… What island did she mention?

Plip.

Suddenly, Angel pulled out a report from under the table and threw it in front of me.

“Take a look.”

What…

I reached for the report and spread it on the table in front of me. The eye-catching headline caught my attention:

“The Coastal Defense Battle of Mosli began the day before yesterday.”

I was startled.

It has already begun…

Unable to hold back, I read on: The brutal heretics are attempting to invade our land and destroy the homes we have built with great effort. They come from the barbaric East Continent, believing in the power of demons, and they wish to use this power to enslave us, devour our flesh, and thereby strengthen themselves.

In the face of evil, the Holy Church has taken up the responsibility. The Third Knight Legion has mobilized entirely, and together with the Sixth Knight Legion stationed by the coast, they set sail to confront the evil heretics. Anna Silis, the Sword Ghost, polished her sword, and Rabir the Giant built a bridge over the sea. These two incredibly brilliant heroes will lead many fearless knights of the Church to intercept the evil heretics overseas, marking the first and last battle to defend the territory of Silgay.

By the name of God, we will achieve final victory.

The righteous battle has begun. Heroes fight evil at sea; please, citizens of Silgay, do not panic. Follow the arrangements made by the clergy. Residents near the coast should try to avoid going out…

The rest were some regulations to be noted, filling an entire page densely. I lost interest in reading further.

So…

I looked up, gazing at Angel’s drowsy face due to waiting: “This is… the purpose of the heretics?”

They want to occupy Silgay?

That’s not right…

“The land of dragons…”

“Correct, correct.”

The wine in the cup was finished, and there was little left in the bottle. Angel pushed the wineglass aside and lifted the bottle, gulping down two large mouthfuls, then wiped his mouth.

“If our deductions are correct, the ultimate destination of those heretics is Woodward Forest. They wish to find the legendary land of dragons, sealed off by the gods, to achieve some unknown goal.”

Woodward Forest…

White.

I couldn’t help but glance at the report again, feeling the lingering aroma of meat filling my mouth, while the provocative opening filled every word between the lines. My heart could not relax no matter how hard I tried.

If one of the heretics here can perform the ‘Blood Sacrifice’…

Thinking of this, I furrowed my brows and looked back at Angel again: “Is the Church… okay?”

“I don’t know.”

Angel shrugged his shoulders.

But I widened my eyes: “You don’t know?”

Didn’t Margaret guarantee that everything would be fine? You’re the Pope, how can you say you don’t know?!

As if he understood my thoughts, Angel knocked on the table, his eyes full of helplessness: “I’ve dispatched all the clergy I could mobilize. If not, how could those scoundrels take advantage in the capital… Teresa was supposed to stay and manage things, and I even planned to send Nero directly there, but he wouldn’t listen. He insisted on causing trouble, resulting in his own downfall, leaving me to clean up the mess… What can I do?”

“The plan is completely disrupted, so I had to come myself… The Second Knight Legion, which was originally scheduled to reinforce, has also fallen apart due to this incident. Their commander will be tried in a few days, accused of attacking Her Ladyship the Holy Maiden… The Fourth Knight Legion is on their way to handle the coup in the capital. They will assist the Queen to consolidate her power. As for the Fifth Knight Legion… They are in the Valen Empire, what they are doing surely does not need me to explain… So, therefore—”

“Hold on, hold on!” I interrupted him urgently, “You just said, the Fifth Knight Legion is in the Valen Empire… what are they doing?”

While speaking, my hands clapped together.

Ge Zeng placed his hands on the table, his eyes fixed intently on Angel’s face, not even touching the pie, and told him in the most serious manner possible not to think of getting rid of him so easily.

“Little Black Charcoal, you…”

Angel scratched his cheek, his expression increasingly helpless, his gaze starting to dodge, no longer meeting my eyes directly.

“Oh, don’t worry, the Fifth Knight Corps won’t support either side; however, once the war starts, someone needs to ensure the safety of the people…”

Before he could finish, I interrupted him, “They helped my father.”

“…No. The Holy Church is fair and will not favor either side.”

“I think they did.”

“…”

Angel simply stopped talking, turning his head away like a child.

I leaned forward, “So, did they or didn’t they?”

“…Oh, yes, yes, yes, okay? I admit it! The Fifth Knight Corps did go…you know what I mean? Don’t ask any more! The current royal family has a suspicion of colluding with the Gate of Truth. I have considered many things. But some things won’t be that straightforward…”

Angel scratched his head in frustration, finishing the last sip of wine from the bottle and casually throwing the empty bottle on the ground where it rolled far away with a clatter.

“Sit down…this matter, once outside this door, must remain in your heart. Otherwise…”

“I understand, I understand.”

I nodded with a smile, watching the Pope scratching his ears and head, feeling much better instantly.

Of course, this matter cannot be spoken of.

After all, the Church needs to maintain its positive image of fairness and justice among the people. If other major nobles or high-ranking officials within the Church knew about this, his troubles would multiply greatly in the future…

Thinking of this, I suddenly found Angel much more agreeable.

Although I didn’t know what transaction my father made with him, surely they had conspired together, and Carlos, as the middleman, must have helped a lot… never mind.

I won’t hold his letting me eat the large sausage against him; let’s forget about old grievances!

“Let’s leave the matters of the Valen Empire aside for now and talk about Silgaya instead… The knights I can mobilize right now are only the Third Legion, plus the Sixth Legion, making up about sixteen thousand knights under the full command of Nick Williams. Two Papal Knights are added as well… I believe there shouldn’t be any major problems… but actually, there should have been more people going… Little Black Charcoal, do you understand?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded, looking at him seriously, wiping the crumbs off my mouth, and reaching for the last pie on the plate.

Angel paused for a moment, pretending not to see my action, and continued, “According to my original plan, the Third, Sixth, and Seventh Knight Corps, including even the Second Knight Corps which was involved in the siege of the Abyss of Desolation, were supposed to go to Silgaya. However, in reality, only the Third Legion managed to reach the coast. Others encountered various obstacles.”

The Abyss of Desolation… Ah, does this refer to Elush?

So…

“Theresa actually counted the appearance of the abyss as well?”

I puffed out my cheeks, looking at Angel in disbelief.

This is impossible…

Even if Theresa is very smart and adept at calculations, she couldn’t have considered such an unknown existence. This doesn’t make sense…

But before me, Angel slowly nodded after hearing my words.

“This is the second thing I need to tell you, Little Black Charcoal…”

He pulled open a drawer under the table and fumbled inside for a while before taking out a delicate gold-embossed silk box and gently pushing it toward me.

“Open it.”

I looked puzzled, “What is this…”

“Take a look.”

…Fine.

I held the half-eaten pie in my mouth, clapped my hands, picked up the box, undid the latch, and opened it.

The instant I saw what was inside the box, an indescribable sensation, like an electric shock or a chill, surged through my mind. A buzzing sound filled my head, and my brain went blank. A wave of terror rose from my heart. I widened my eyes, opened my mouth, and dropped the pie on the floor without noticing, trembling as I put down the box and took several deep breaths.

Then I looked up, staring at Angel’s handsome face… unable to speak.

What was inside the box wasn’t something terrifying or incomprehensible.

It was just a pill.

A small, blood-red pill the size of a fingernail.