The forty-ninth Pope, Lan Ge, stood on the palace balcony, looking down at the brilliantly lit Rhine City.
Rhine City was the most magnificent city in the world, just as the Rhine God Sect was the most powerful church in the world.
And he, Lan Ge, was the man steering this church and this city. It was no exaggeration to say that he stood beneath only the gods and above tens of millions.
"I really wish things could stay like this forever," Lan Ge murmured.
How wonderful would it be if people could live forever? If possible, Lan Ge truly wanted to remain in this position, forever looking upon such a view.
But unfortunately, even as the Pope, even with countless means of extending his lifespan, he still could not achieve true immortality.
The only things in this world that could endure eternally were gods, and...
Lan Ge lightly rubbed the ring on the little finger of his right hand.
It was a plain ring utterly at odds with the extravagant decorations covering Lan Ge's body. It was grayish white from end to end, with an amber-shaped ornament at its tip. In terms of design, it could not even be called plain—it was downright cheap and shoddy, unworthy of Lan Ge's status no matter how one looked at it.
Yet it was the most precious of all Lan Ge's accessories.
Because it too had been crafted from Visas' Corpse Pieces. Within that seemingly cheap amber was embedded one of Visas' nameless little bones.
This little bone carried no rules, but it possessed an equally precious power—"vitality."
It could greatly extend its wearer's lifespan and ensure that he would never suffer illness or injury for the rest of his life, remaining healthy until the moment of death.
That was why, despite the Rhine God Sect having existed for a thousand years, it had only had forty-nine Popes. The Vitality Ring allowed every Pope to live far longer than ordinary people, something no other church could compare to.
Though in terms of power alone, this vitality was nowhere near comparable to Corpse Pieces carrying rules, such as Ke Li's left eye or Luo Qi's thumb. But for the most powerful man in the world, a healthy and long-lived body was enough to surpass everything else.
Unfortunately, it still could not grant immortality.
Lan Ge sighed again, his voice full of regret.
Even with the ring's blessing, his lifespan was nearing its end. He now had no choice but to consider the matter of a successor, and that was what troubled him most.
Because the most suitable successor, the Northern Bishop Fei Ge, was already gone. The slightly less suitable Western Bishop Ke Li had died even earlier. After all was said and done, the person most qualified now was actually Luo Qi.
To be honest, Lan Ge truly did not want to pass this position on to Luo Qi. No matter how he looked at it, Luo Qi was unqualified. He had become a Bishop purely because he and Lan Ge knew each other inside out, making him half a confidant.
But precisely because of that, Lan Ge understood Luo Qi more deeply than anyone else. He knew perfectly well that aside from his rather prominent backside, there was nothing outstanding about him at all.
Unfortunately, he no longer had enough time to cultivate a suitable successor.
If this were a peaceful era, letting Luo Qi take over would not have mattered. He would merely be a Pope with no particular ability. Looking through Rhine's history, there had been no shortage of Popes like that. But this was not a peaceful era. In this short year alone, Rhine had lost two Bishops in succession. Even the Northern Church's main Knight order was gone, leaving the entire north in chaos.
It could be said that Rhine was at its weakest point in a thousand years.
If the other churches were not in even worse shape, Rhine might already have surrendered its throne as the foremost church.
Mm... fortunately, the other churches were worse off.
But then again, if he handed the position of Pope to Luo Qi at a time like this, Luo Qi's absurdity and incompetence might lead historians a thousand years from now to pin Rhine's series of declines on his head.
From that perspective, passing the position to Luo Qi was not entirely without benefits. The more incompetent the successor, the wiser the predecessor appeared.
In any case, with the Rhine God present, Rhine could never truly be destroyed.
The more Lan Ge thought about it, the more sense it made.
At that moment, two crisp male voices sounded behind him. "Your Holiness, please retire for the night."
Only then did Lan Ge turn around and look at the two Delicate Priests standing properly behind him.
Yes, it was time to rest.
Lan Ge nodded slightly. The two Little Priests helped him back to his room, properly undressed him, assisted him onto the bed, then each held one of his legs in his arms and lay down opposite him.
This was also when Lan Ge felt most relaxed.
Even with the Vitality Ring's blessing, his body had long been unable to gallop about as it had in his youth. He could only enjoy life in this manner.
Within the Little Priests' warm embraces, drowsiness gradually rose within Lan Ge, and his thoughts rapidly drifted.
After death, he would go meet the Lord.
Would he still be able to live like this in the Lord's Divine Kingdom?
Or should he serve the Lord instead? But would the Lord take an interest in this aged body of his?
No. If it were the Lord, the Lord would surely restore him to his youthful appearance.
He wondered when he would finally get to meet the Lord.
How exciting...
Lan Ge's consciousness slowly sank away.
And at that very moment, a piercing shriek shattered Rhine City's peace and jolted Lan Ge, who had nearly fallen asleep, awake.
What was happening?
At first, he did not react. He thought he was dreaming, while the two Little Priests sleeping with him also looked completely bewildered.
It was only when Lan Ge's personal Knight rushed into his room with a panicked expression that Lan Ge belatedly realized the shriek was an alarm—an alarm that would only sound when Rhine City faced a threat.
But Lan Ge could not be blamed for reacting so slowly, because this alarm had never once sounded since Rhine City was established.
"What is going on?!" Lan Ge, rapidly regaining his composure with the Vitality Ring's aid, stared at his Knight with full authority. "Who sounded the alarm?"
Even now, Lan Ge thought some blind idiot had accidentally triggered the alarm. He believed it was an accident.
That was until the Knight stammered, "In reply to Your Holiness, it was... the Lord!"
The Lord?
After a brief moment of stunned silence, Lan Ge's eyes widened instantly.
Half an hour later, Lan Ge and the church's high-ranking officials hurried into Rhine City's main hall.
A large number of Priests and Knights were already kneeling there, every one of them wearing an expression of terror. But Lan Ge had no mood to pay attention to them. He immediately turned his gaze toward the Rhine Statue in the main hall.
Then his breathing stopped.
Because the statue was watching him.
The Lord... had descended?
In an instant, overwhelming panic surged through Lan Ge's heart. Before coming here, he had thought the Lord had merely sent down a divine oracle. He had never imagined the Lord had come in person.
But how was that possible? Lan Ge could not even remember when the Lord had last descended. At the very least, it had never happened during his tenure.
Even for an event as significant as a change of Popes, the Lord would not descend in person, at most sending down a divine oracle. Thus, most Popes never had the opportunity to see the Rhine God's true form in their entire lives.
And Lan Ge was seeing it now, but he felt no honor—only a complete blankness in his mind.
"Lord!" Lan Ge took the lead in kneeling before the statue. Though he tried his best to control his emotions, his voice still trembled. "Your faithful..."
"Visas has returned."
A single sentence from the Rhine God choked back all of Lan Ge's formalities.
Visas?
It took Lan Ge several seconds to realize what that name meant. Then he abruptly raised his head and stared fixedly at the Rhine God.
"You mean... Visas?!" Even though the Rhine God had said it personally, Lan Ge's first reaction was still disbelief. "How could that be... Ah, no, Lord, I am not questioning you. I merely..."
The immense shock made even Lan Ge, the Pope, forget the etiquette due to the Lord. He had actually questioned the Lord, and cold sweat immediately poured down his back.
But the Rhine God did not punish him, seeming not to notice it at all. Instead, the god slowly said, "The Abyss Prison has been destroyed. The Contract Land no longer exists. His soul has returned, and he has reclaimed his body. He is now free."
That Contract Land... had actually been destroyed?!
Destroyed by Visas alone?!
Massive panic surged through Lan Ge's heart.
Where would his next stop be? Would it be Rhine?
Could the Lord stop him?!
Perhaps seeing through Lan Ge's thoughts, the Rhine God spoke again. "He has merely reclaimed his body. He has not yet recovered all of his strength. The Star Relic God has restrained him, and he cannot recover in a short time."
The Rhine God's words slightly eased the heart that had risen into Lan Ge's throat.
Good, good. Visas would not attack right now. Thank the Star Relic God.
In that case...
Lan Ge immediately asked, "Do you want us to immediately support Star Relic?"
The Rhine God remained silent for a long while before slowly replying, "No. You are not needed. I will go myself."
Lan Ge relaxed considerably again.
"The situation remains under control," the Rhine God continued. "But the Star Relic God cannot restrain him for long. Even with me included, it will be difficult to truly kill Visas. You would fare even worse. This is not a battle you can join."
The Rhine God's words filled Lan Ge with a sense of bleakness. Half an hour ago, he had still considered himself a figure who stood "beneath only the gods and above tens of millions" in this world, someone capable of anything.
In just half an hour, everything had changed.
All because that person had returned.
"But there are things you need to do." The Rhine God watched Lan Ge. "Lan Ge, I need you to mobilize every Holy Knight immediately."
Were they still going to crusade against Visas?
"Recover every piece of Visas' Corpse Pieces scattered across the world."
Lan Ge froze.
Recover Visas' Corpse Pieces? Why would that be the order?
"But we do not know where Visas' Corpse Pieces still are," Lan Ge said cautiously.
"I will give you a list and their locations," said the Rhine God. "Go find them."
There was actually a list and locations? Did that mean the Lord had always known who possessed Visas' Corpse Pieces?
Lan Ge was even more astonished, but he did not dare ask. He only bowed his head again. "Please rest assured, so long as they are within Rhine..."
"Not only within Rhine." The Rhine God interrupted him. "I want the entire world."
Lan Ge was stunned once more.
The entire world? They were to send Rhine's Holy Knights throughout the entire world?
This...
"Is there a problem?" asked the Rhine God.
"No..." Lan Ge drew a deep breath. "There is no problem at all."
At a time like this, Lan Ge did not dare show the slightest disobedience. The Rhine God appeared completely composed, both in the god's current state and tone of voice.
But Lan Ge knew that was the greatest problem.
Before this, the Rhine God had never issued such clear instructions. The divine oracles the god sent down had mostly been vague, requiring dedicated people to interpret and speculate upon them. Yet no one had thought that was strange, because gods were supposed to be like that.
But now, the Rhine God's manner was exactly that of an ordinary person.
The god was no longer mysterious, no longer transcendent. The god's demeanor resembled that of a superior assigning work to a subordinate, even using a rhetorical question.
There was nothing wrong with such traits in a powerful superior with strong control, but for them to appear in a god... no, they should not appear in a god at all.
And Lan Ge knew that the Rhine God could not possibly be unaware of this. The god had ruled over divine authority for a thousand years and absolutely should not make such a mistake in a place like this.
Yet the god had still done so, leaving only one explanation.
Visas' threat was absolutely greater than the Lord had described. At the very least, the Star Relic God's situation was nowhere near as optimistic as the Lord had claimed.
Lan Ge buried his head deeply, not daring to reveal these blasphemous thoughts.
"I want you to recover these Corpse Pieces at any cost, regardless of who possesses them," the Rhine God continued issuing orders. "This is the only way to stop Visas. He cannot be allowed to reclaim more Corpse Pieces. Do you understand, Lan Ge?"
"I understand." Lan Ge knew the emphasis in the Rhine God's words was "at any cost." "I will accomplish it."
"I hope so. This is a fight for your own sake." The Rhine God spoke indifferently. "Once Visas fully returns, he will kill everyone. And we can only help you stop him this one final time. The future lies in your own hands."
Everyone present immediately lowered their heads, thanking the Lord for Lord's Grace.
The Rhine God gave no further response. When everyone raised their heads again, they discovered the god had already left. Only the lifeless statue remained in the main hall, as if the god had never come.
"Your Holiness!" Rhine's high-ranking officials immediately crowded around him, every face filled with panic.
Lan Ge struggled to maintain his calm. Supported by his personal Priest, he slowly rose to his feet, then said unhurriedly, "Do not panic. Everything remains under the Lord's control. The Lord is helping us hold back Visas. We only need to act according to the Lord's will."
After hearing Lan Ge's words, Rhine's high-ranking officials calmed down considerably. Lan Ge also recovered his bearing as Pope and arranged every deployment in an extremely short time.
Tonight was destined to be sleepless.
After the high-ranking officials departed one after another with their orders, Lan Ge summoned his confidants and inconspicuously issued one final command.
Immediately gather intelligence on Star Relic at any cost.
Once everything was done, Lan Ge sat alone beneath the statue and waited until dawn.
When the first light of dawn tore through the darkness, he received Star Relic's reply.
He only needed one glance before clenching his fists.
Because it read,
The Star Relic God was dead.