Chapter 141

Battles fought over beliefs are often the most tragic.

Ryan stroked his chin. The Old Emperor was definitely going to be overthrown, but he didn't intend to let those religious forces run rampant in his empire. What was the use of believing in God? If you were going to believe, believe in the emperor!

Of course, we can't condemn them all outright, at least not right now. Without strength, what the hell is the doctrine of the mean? Heh~ Once my Alts are all over the continent and they all become Empress, Janus, the Sun God, I'll crush them all!

"Speaking of which, why have we never seen the Pope appear?"

Ryan looked at the game interface. 'Lin Qi' had just contacted the Pope, but until now the Pope had always communicated through relics. This was also the case for the other members of Gate of Janus before 'Lin Qi' became the Saintess.

However, the official information provided to Sylvia confirms that such a person exists and that she is quite old.

Unfortunately, because the Pope is a late-game boss, Ryan didn't look at much information about her, only her character art, and he still feels like his brain has been thoroughly messed up.

There's definitely a reason why this game is so popular!

The departure time for the Augustus Empire was set for tomorrow afternoon. 'Lin Qi' walked out of the headquarters and strolled on the streets of St. Gero City.

Compared to the chaos of other cities, the order in St. Gero City is remarkably stable. Nobility is not a good thing here, as the entire city is managed by the Gate of Janus, so only those with religious affiliation can enjoy special privileges.

Of course, nobles can demonstrate their reverence for the gods through 'donations'. Honors gained through donations can grant corresponding rights at the Gate of Janus, such as having the High Priestess answer your questions privately when you go to the Church.

Clean, tidy, peaceful, and friendly—through Lin Qi's perspective, Ryan witnessed a remarkably high level of civilization in this city. There was no class oppression; nobles were humble, and commoners were not servile. People from all social classes enjoyed the same legal protection here.

"It is indeed a utopia, no wonder the Gate of Janus is so popular among the common people."

Class oppression has always been a huge burden on ordinary people.

However, while the Gate of Janus promote this equality, they do not interfere in the internal affairs of each country. They do what they want, and we do what we want. This makes it easier for many ordinary people who come into contact with the Gate of Janus to be influenced by their ideas.

Because the aristocracy in various countries holds more than 90% of the power, the inclinations of the common people have not had much impact on the regimes of these countries for the time being.

But Ryan felt that the people were the foundation; with people, there is everything—rights, glory, interests—aren't they all created by people? So he figured something bad was going to happen in the future.

At this time.

The first wife, Lin Qi, crossed the street and arrived at a school with an elegant and grand facade about half an hour later— St. Marian Academy.

"Saintess Holiness, you've come again."

The paladin guarding the gate bowed slightly to 'Lin Qi'.

Saint Marian was founded by the Gate of Janus, so the guards here are all paladins. The teachers of the academy are either from the Gate of Janus or have a good relationship with the Gate of Janus and enjoy 'honorary' positions, such as Haino, who is Honorary Bishop.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to persuade the cardinal to intervene; half of her network of connections was built on the foundation of the Gate of Janus.

The reason 'Lin Qi' came here is to find a secret—the biggest secret of Vice Dean Hainuo!

In the main storyline of the Augustus Empire, Haino later chooses sides, but the opportunity for her to be won over by the protagonist has nothing to do with the empire. Rather, it's because the protagonist discovers her secret and then gets manipulated by her.

No one knew that this vice dean was actually a follower of the 'God of Desire'!

It is well known that Supernatural Being do not necessarily believe in the deity corresponding to their profession. For example, in the Burning Covenant, many Supernatural Being from other professions believe in the Sun God.

Extraordinary professions are simply a way of acquiring power through job advancement relics, allowing Supernatural Being to use the power obtained through that pathway, and have nothing to do with their own beliefs.

It's like this: although the Old Emperor of the Augustus Empire was a Blood Divine Path, he didn't believe in the Blood God... at least not before.

While generally speaking, faith in the corresponding deity can lead to better access to professional power, there are always exceptions.

God wouldn't care about the thoughts of a lowly lackey. After the initial 'traitor' appeared, there were more and more examples of Supernatural Being believing in other paths.

However, this situation is rare in Outer Gods religions. For example, the Blood Cult is basically composed of believers in the Blood God, a group of fanatical cultists who shout for "Blood Sacrifice to the Blood God".

As for Haino, strictly speaking, she wasn't a believer in the God of Desire. It was only because she was involved in alchemical research on puppets that she gradually fell into the trap of 'desire'.

Haino has been dedicated to a research project—to give puppets their own thoughts.

In ancient alchemy, there once existed puppets that looked almost identical to humans and possessed the same thinking abilities. Unfortunately, this technology disappeared before the 'Golden Dawn' era and was lost to the dust of time.

Haino obtained some puppetry techniques in a ruin, which is why her puppetry skills are so strong. Unfortunately, she has never known how to make puppets act autonomously like humans.

Until she came up with a method—to infuse human desires and thoughts into the puppet's body!

This isn't some wildly imaginative idea; it's entirely possible in a world with extraordinary powers. However, acquiring desires isn't the ability of Holy Word Master. The Holy Word Master's power comes from Janus Path, which is impressive, but there are some things that are simply beyond their expertise.

So, on a stormy night, Haino reached out to that forbidden power.

In fact, after having that strong thought, she was already being targeted by desire without her even realizing it, but Hainuo just kept refusing.

After acquiring that power, she secretly used the Power of Desire on puppet research. Ryan had previously checked the batch of puppets given to him by Haino and found that they had no consciousness. He wondered if this "big" sister had succeeded.

"I remember in the game data, Haino forced out her desires and sealed them away in some relic."

Ryan stroked his chin.

Desires are often born out of necessity.

Yes, that's right.

Even Haino, a Seventh Tier Transcendent, could not resist the power of desire. According to official records, the God of Desire always indulged in toying with those affected by his power, and for a serious sorcerer like Haino, the price the god paid her was 'lust'.

If Haino were to use the power of desire, her lust would increase until she could no longer control it and completely degenerate into a person addicted to desire!

He truly was Slaanesh's chosen one.

Look! Why is this vice dean so popular? Because he's so erotic!

However, in order to solve this problem, Haino went to great lengths to find a relic that could contain her inner desires— the Pot of Greed.

The key to winning over Haino in the game is this thing. If you can't find the Pot of Greed to unlock the 'You Don't Want Mode', then you can only slowly grind down his affection, which is time-consuming, tedious, and boring. So most players will take the shortcut.

Dean, you don't want your erotic affairs to be discovered, do you?

"That's strange. I remember the information said it was at the residence."

After entering the academy, Lin Qi went straight to Hai Nuo's residence. As the vice dean, Hai Nuo's house was huge, with a piece of land and a detached mansion all to himself.

Hainuo has gone on a long trip, and a barrier has been set up outside to prevent outsiders from entering. However, because of the vice dean's status, almost no one dares to approach, let alone trespass.

But 'Lin Qi' dares.

Is there anything she wouldn't dare to do? Nothing.

At this moment, 'Lin Qi' arrived at the barrier, cast Mana Seal Domain, and 'squeezed' inside.

The Mana Seal Domain cannot eliminate this barrier, but it can protect 'Lin Qi'. Then, she slowly moved in, which took a long time, a full ten minutes. If 'Lin Qi' hadn't tried it herself, Ryan wouldn't have known that the Mana Seal Domain could be used in this way.

However, the barrier's power not only blocked, but also caused strong mental interference. Just as 'Lin Qi' was about to pass through the barrier, an invisible force suddenly descended and entered her soul.

But soon, this power was neutralized by the Janus Blessing released by 'Lin Qi'.

As a chosen one with special abilities, Haino, the mere dean, easily handles such matters.

However, Janus Blessing has a 24-hour cooldown period for mental immunity, so 'Lin Qi' can only enter once a day.

"Every time I come in, it's like going to war."

Ryan couldn't help but complain.

In the picture.

Lin Qi entered the courtyard of the house and began searching everywhere.

Actually, the entire house has already been searched. There must still be Inner World barrier in this place. Of course, it's also possible that Haino brought the Pot of Greed with him.

However, that thing has a side effect: although it can absorb and store desires, it can also subtly influence the people around it, so carrying it around is a very troublesome thing.

This relic was originally taken from a High Priestess in the 'City of Desire'. The priest collected desires and secretly released them in a city, immersing everyone in lust. In the end, Haino killed him and took the Pot of Greed.

Of course, this thing isn't just for collecting lust; it can also collect other desires and release them after being enhanced. It's a 'terrifying' relic.

As for the 'City of Desire', no one knows where it is. It is rumored to be a city where desires are free, managed by a person called the 'City Lord'. Only qualified Desire Cultists will be selected to join the City of Desire.

"If you can't find it, then forget it."

After watching for a while, Ryan became a little confused. He had originally planned to use the Pot of Greed to get through Vice Dean Haino's back door and add more leverage to Augustus's plan.

But if we can't find it, we'll have to think of other ways.

However, 'Lin Qi' seems to be quite good at finding things. For example, last time at the Janus Divine Site, she searched for so many days without giving up and finally found it.

Lost in pleasant daydreams, Ryan yawned and drifted off to sleep, without even closing the game interface.

Just as he fell asleep, 'Lin Qi' touched a mechanism, and then a hidden door in Hainuo's room was opened.

Ryan slept from noon until evening. He hadn't had much rest these past two days due to the travel and hustle. After getting a good night's sleep, he sat on the bed for a full ten minutes.

Looking at 'Lin Qi' who had already begun to return to Janus headquarters, and at the Pot of Greed in 'Lin Qi's' backpack, Ryan wondered if he was still dreaming.

The log shows that 'Lin Qi' found a secret room, and then found a hidden folded space inside. After a full three hours of puzzle-solving, she finally found the Pot of Greed inside!

That is, it also belongs to Janus Path, otherwise 'Lin Qi' would not have been able to break Haino's plan at all. But even so, it is still quite amazing. Ryan couldn't help but sigh, 'My first wife is really amazing.'

"That's good. At this crucial moment, Haino Niu came over. Without this trump card, Caslathdi's chances of winning have dropped sharply. If she switches her support to Vainay, things will be much easier. As for the Grand Duke, with Ina around, there's no rush."

Desire is something that can't be controlled by strength alone. Hey, Dean Hainuo, you don't want to become just a guy who's all talk and no action, do you?

Disobedient?

Then activate the Pot of Greed and turn yourself into a mz!

The system backpack is different from a regular storage bag. The Pot of Greed will still work when placed in a storage bag, but it is as if it is sealed when placed in the system backpack.

In high spirits Ryan quickly washed up and prepared to get something to eat, while also checking on the situation in Aster City. When he woke Amabena from next door, the blond scholar was still half asleep.

Indeed, she had been on the run for several days, unable to eat or sleep properly. The dignified king was living worse than a beggar. Now that she had clung to Ryan's leg and was on her way to heaven, she had to make up for it properly.

Where are we going?

Fully armed, Amabena followed Ryan downstairs.

"Let's take a stroll around the city."

"Go browsing? What for?"

"Of course, we need to look at the current situation. Whether the country is in chaos or not depends on the border. However, sometimes the border is more stable than the interior. What does that mean? It means that internal strife has broken out. But what does internal strife have to do with these border nobles? The power struggle is closer to the capital. So, these lords who haven't been drawn into the war are naturally important pawns for you to consolidate your power, understand?"

Amabena: OvO

What are you talking about?

"Not understand?"

Under Ryan's questioning gaze, His Majesty the King took out paper and pen and wrote down everything Ryan had just said.

"Although I don't quite understand what you're saying, I think what you're saying makes a lot of sense, so I'm going to write it down."

Ryan nodded approvingly. Although the child wasn't the brightest, he was still quite diligent.

Thinking this, Amabena continued, "Once I write it all down, I'll show it to my child so he/she knows how to govern a country."

Ryan: "???"

"Don't you want to learn it yourself?"

"I've already wasted my time," Amabena said. "Lord Ryan, I think it was absolutely wise of me to sign that contract with you!"

Ryan's lips twitched slightly as he thought to himself, "Why do I feel like I'm the one who's been sold out and is counting the money?"

Is this guy Liu Shan II?

It wasn't mentioned in the game either.

Wait, if this guy is Liu Shan, then what am I? The Prime Minister?

Oh well, whatever, I've just gotten a kingdom for free.

After grabbing a bite to eat on the street, Ryan strolled around the streets of Aster City and discovered that it was actually quite prosperous.

You can tell if a place is good or not just by looking at it at night.

A vibrant nightlife is a sure sign of economic prosperity.

Conversely, in places that are so still and quiet, even a single copper coin dropped on the ground can attract a hundred people to fight over it.

Overall, the situation in Aster City is quite similar to that in Berman City. Considering that these are border cities, the fact that they have developed to this extent shows that the lord of this place is a very capable person.

"You asked about this place? Let me think... Oh, it's Viscountess Angiya's territory. Her family is hereditary viscounts and has always ruled Ast. However, her father, like my father, was a spendthrift. Ast's situation only started to improve when she took over as lord," Amabena said.

"So, that means the underwear... cough cough~ is completely clean?"

"Foundation?"

"She didn't seek refuge with anyone, did she?"

"No, she never gets involved in power struggles, but she probably doesn't really acknowledge me as her king."