Rhine's Fourth Meeting

When Luo Qi received the summons to a meeting a month later, he felt a deep unease.

Just a few days ago, while he was privately preaching to a young Father who had just joined the church, his body suddenly paid the price of [disturbance], almost causing him to die on the spot in the arms of a woman.

But that's not the point. The point is that that damned Ulu still used his [Disruption], and just a few days after he used it, His Lord Lan Ge sent a message.

They weren't really having a monthly meeting. Communication magic is very resource-intensive, and it wouldn't be activated unless a major event occurred.

But now they encounter a "big event" every month.

Ke Li died, Lyra disappeared, and the Holy Sound ran away. Each incident was more serious than the last, to the point that now, whenever Luo Qi calves start to twitch uncontrollably.

Because he knew very well that this meeting was most likely related to him. After all, the biggest event right now was Fei Ge to the Wildfire area to capture Ulu, and Ulu had used his [Disruption] a few days ago, so it was highly likely that the two of them had started fighting around that time, and it was only now that things had come to a conclusion.

The thought made Luo Qi even more panicked.

After all, Fei Ge knows that the [Disruption] is in his hands, and he will definitely question him about what happened when he comes back.

So how should he answer then?

Should he just slide to his knees and confess everything, or pretend to be stupid and refuse to admit it? Anyway, the fingers are on his hands now, so it's not unreasonable for him to pretend to be stupid.

But if he did that, he would be in even bigger trouble once the truth came out. If he were to kneel down and confess everything now, His Lord Lan Ge might protect him and give him a light punishment, since his relationship with His Majesty was just as good as his relationship with the young Father who served him.

However, this is on the premise that his "disturbance" did not cause too much trouble for Fei Ge, otherwise His Majesty would not forgive him easily. Taking away his finger or removing him from his bishopric would be a very hurtful thing.

Hmm... Maybe we should wait and see what happens, and hear what Fei Ge has to say before making a decision.

The best approach is to remain unchanged amidst constant change.

Having made up his mind, Luo Qi took a deep breath and placed his hand on the constantly flashing communication crystal.

Then the scene shifts, and he is once again in the conference room in Rhine City, seemingly the last one to arrive.

So he apologized to His Lord Lan Ge, who was seated at the head of the table, while secretly glancing at Fei Ge's position.

Then I saw a slightly unfamiliar face in Fei Ge's seat.

This left Luo Qi somewhat bewildered, but before he could ask a question, he heard His Lord Lan Ge speak in a very low voice.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I regret to inform you that five days ago, we lost our Northern Bishop, Fei Ge, forever."

Luo Qi's expression gradually froze.

Where is this?

"Yade Town is the last town on the border. Leaving this town means leaving this land. So, have you made a decision?"

"I have no idea."

Outside the Yade Town, a man and a woman are standing here.

It was Bai Wei and Yi Weina.

With both Senro and Wildfire gone, and the Sacrificial Ground completely destroyed, the former Senro Saintess Yi Weina had no reason to stay there any longer, and so she left with Bai Wei.

But where should we go after we leave?

Yi Weina didn't know either, because like her grandmother, she had never left the Sacrificial Ground since she was a child. That's why Bai Wei brought her all the way here, just like he brought A De all the way from here to the Sacrificial Ground back then.

They all need to find their place in the world.

For A De, it had found its home, but for Yi Weina, it was far from over. She didn't even know whether to stay in this land, which she couldn't quite call Senluo or Wildfire. Because in this world, she knew no one anymore.

Oh, there's one more.

Yi Weina looked up at Bai Wei: "You'll leave here, won't you?"

"Yes."

"You won't take me with you either."

"That's right," Bai Wei said with a smile. "My road ahead is going to be difficult, and I can't take anyone with me. But if you'd like, I can take you to one of my friends."

"Is it the Lyra you mentioned?"

"Yes."

Yi Weina lowered her head. Although Bai Wei had told her many times along the way that as long as she was willing to go to Lyra, she wouldn't have to worry about her future life, as someone would take care of her and accompany her, she still couldn't make a choice. The word "Lyra" was far more distant and unfamiliar than "Senluo" and "Wildfire."

Where should she go?

Should they stay in this hometown where they no longer know anyone, or go to an even more unknown land?

Yi Weina's eyes were filled with confusion.

Bai Wei noticed this confusion clearly, even without relying on [Listen].

Bai Wei knew that A De's departure was a huge blow to Yi Weina as well. The Wildfire that burned down the old Senluo had also taken away Yi Weina's last emotional anchor. If Bai Wei left it unattended, Yi Weina might very well never recover and die in despair.

Fortunately, Bai Wei already had a plan. He smiled and patted Yi Weina's head, saying, "If you can't make up your mind, wait a while and come with me to do something."

"What is it?"

Bai Wei took out a worn-out Music Box from his pocket and said softly.

"A... final request."

Luo Qi stayed for a long time.

He thought he had misheard.

Fei Ge... is dead?!

How is this possible?!

He had considered that Fei Ge would succeed, and he had considered that Fei Ge would fail, but he never expected that Fei Ge would die.

After all, Fei Ge is different from that arrogant one-eyed man Ke Li. He didn't go to Wildfire alone, but brought an entire Knight Squad and two Devourers!

The most important ones are those two Devourers. As the bishop of Rhine, Fei Ge knew all too well the combat power of the Devourers. The reason Rhine was able to possess so many pieces of Visas's corpse was because of the Devourers, which other churches did not have.

For thousands of years, no one who has been locked onto a body part by the Devourer has ever been able to escape; there has never been a single exception.

But this time... Fei Ge is gone?!

What? He was eaten by the Devourer?!

"Luo Qi! Luo Qi!" The Southern Bishop's low voice snapped Luo Qi out of his daze. "Don't space out! His Majesty is asking you a question!"

Luo Qi snapped out of his daze and realized that His Lord Lan Ge was looking at him; his heart leaped into his throat.

Oh no, oh no, could it be that my own "disturbance" killed Fei Ge?

If that's the case, will Your Majesty still forgive yourself?

... I don't think I'll be able to anymore.

But Fei Ge clearly died in the Wildfire. Did he send back detailed information before he died? Or did he specifically mention his "disturbance"?

That can't be right! If that's really the case, Fei Ge is way too wicked!

In short, just one look from Lan Ge and Luo Qi's thoughts started racing like a dog in heat, completely unstoppable, his guilty conscience practically written all over his face.

Fortunately, Lan Ge did not question the matter of the [Disturbance]. Instead, he said in a deep voice, "I know that Fei Ge's passing has been a great blow to us, but we cannot be discouraged by it, especially you, Luo Qi. With Fei Ge gone, you are the most senior of the four bishops. If even you are at a loss, what will become of the future of Rhine?"

Lan Ge's words reassured Luo Qi somewhat, because it didn't sound like he already knew about the [Perturbation].

As for seniority, he is the most senior of the four bishops...

He looked around and realized it really was true.

Fei Ge was originally the most senior of the four bishops and was groomed to be the next Pope. He and Ke Li were in the same cohort, while the Southern Bishop was the last to be promoted.

But now, Fei Ge is preparing to celebrate his full-moon birthday, Ke Li's remains are already cold, and a third of them are missing. So, isn't he the only one with the most seniority?

In the past, Luo Qi would have been overjoyed, as this would have made him a strong contender for the next Pope, but now...

"I apologize, Your Majesty." Luo Qi took a deep breath, feigning composure. "I've adjusted my mindset. You can continue now."

Lan Ge gave a faint "hmm." He was also in poor condition. Compared to a few months ago, he had aged considerably. Clearly, this series of changes had taken its toll on the most powerful and influential person in the world, causing him to appear as an old man instead of the supreme Pope he once was.

"Actually, there's a lot to say," Lan Ge said slowly. "Fei Ge didn't suddenly lose contact. After entering Wildfire, he kept sending back intelligence and updates in case of unforeseen circumstances. It turns out his hunch was right. Wildfire is a much more complex place than we imagined."

Luo Qi was quite surprised when Lan Ge brought up Wildfire instead of Ulu.

Could Wildfire, that godless land, really be more important than Ulu, who possesses several pieces of corpse?

Fortunately, there were documents laid out in front of them that they could browse directly.

Luo Qi couldn't hold back after just a quick glance.

"Wildfire wants to become a god?!" he exclaimed in shock.

Only after he finished speaking did he realize that everyone was watching him, and he began to apologize repeatedly.

Lan Ge had no energy left to lecture Luo Qi, and nodded as if he hadn't heard. "Yes, and this is a plan that has lasted for a hundred years, and the Wildfire Cultist have been working on it all along."

"Unbelievable..." the Southern Bishop murmured, "These believers aren't even human."

"Yes, they are a pack of hounds, hounds that want to take over."

"This is really..." Luo Qi couldn't help but ask, "Did they succeed? That Wildfire ... became a dog god? Did Fei Ge die trying to stop it?"

"That's still unclear, but Wildfire didn't become a god, although it came very close at one point," Lan Ge said. "According to reports from the Knight we've deployed on the Wildfire border, they once observed an extremely powerful force within Wildfire's territory, a force capable of changing the world. That was definitely the power of a god, but then the force disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"Yes," the priest beside Lan Ge explained for him, "Completely vanished, without a trace, as if... gone."

... Gone?

Does this mean that Wildfire was once considered a god, but ultimately died? How is that possible? If it had become a god, who could kill it?

Luo Qi thought this news was even more outrageous than Fei Ge's sudden death.

"Indeed," the priest said again. "And what has disappeared is not only the aura of the gods, but also the eternal night of that land."

"You mean... Corpse Ghoul?"

Although Luo Qi's Eastern Church was not on the border of Wildfire, he still knew something about the situation in that cursed land.

"Yes." The priest nodded. "Now that land has been completely restored to normal. There is no longer any curse around it, nor any divine presence. It has become a true... godless land."

This is yet another even more explosive piece of news.

A land without gods... Logically speaking, this is a term that shouldn't exist.

The power of the gods protects every corner of this land, even the Borderlands the center of the various church territories are within their sphere of influence. Even though Lyra and Holy Sound have been severely damaged, the Sword of Order still stands in the center, and the power of the other god has not dissipated, only weakened.

The same applies to the land of Wildfire; everyone knows that those lingering Corpse Ghoul are the aura leaked out by the Senro God after his death.

And now, a truly godless land has appeared.

Neither Senluo nor Wildfire have completely left that land.

As bishops, they couldn't imagine a place without divine power, even if there was an evil god above them.

In the past, Luo Qi would have definitely advised Rhine to immediately send troops to seize that unclaimed, desecrated land.

But this time he dared not say that, because even though the news was already so explosive and shocking, he knew that the biggest one had not yet arrived.

Everyone present knew this, so no one offered any further opinion on the Land of No Gods, after all, it wasn't their land.

So they were all watching Lan Ge, waiting to hear the biggest trouble.

After a long silence, Lan Ge finally let out a heavy sigh.

"I know what you're more interested in," he said slowly. "Yes, we still haven't recovered any of the body parts. And it's quite possible that the guy found new body parts in the Wildfire, as well as... a portion of divine power."

Everyone's expressions tightened, but before they could speak, Lan Ge let out another heavy sigh.

"Although I really didn't want to make this decision," he said, "It's time to admit that we can't deal with that guy on our own."

Luo Qi guessed something. "You mean..."

"We can't let this continue," Lan Ge said. "We must announce his existence to all the churches."

"... Including Esoteric Sect?"

"Including Esoteric Sect."