Chapter 338

Sylvia said calmly, "However, faking death won't do."

Karls was taken aback.

"Pope, are you really going to fight to the death?"

His death would be a huge blow to the Gate of Janus!

Karls didn't believe Sylvia would really risk everything to kill him!

Unfortunately... what he didn't know was that Sylvia had only one thought on her mind right now—to become a god.

Southern Continent.

Inside the palace in the capital city of the Kingdom of Oen.

Magana put the mirror away, muttering with some dissatisfaction, "What's wrong with Ryan? I can't get in touch with him. I hope something's happened to him?"

The Iron Blood Legion has already taken over the Kingdom of Oen, and the Blood Cult behind it are also in contact with Shally, so there are basically no major problems on her side.

All that remains is to clean up some remnants of the kingdom and guard against interference from other churches.

She had originally intended to contact Ryan to ask about her next plans. If there was nothing else, she would return to Port of Misi, since she hadn't had a proper chance to catch up with Ryan since coming from the Augustus Empire.

Yes, we were just catching up and having a chat; we weren't thinking about anything else.

At that moment, Macaos and Everson walked over.

"Your Grand Duke, those remnants of the kingdom have been dealt with. Where should we go next?" Everson asked impatiently.

"Let's take a two-day rest."

"Rest?" Everson was taken aback, then said, "Your Grand Duke, we don't need a rest, we haven't had enough yet!"

"Just go when I tell you to! Stop with the nonsense!"

Magana glared at him, Everson shrank back, the memory of being thrown around countless times resurfacing. He quickly obeyed and left.

After he left, Macaos said respectfully, "Your Grand Duke, there is something I need to tell you. I have learned that the Hand of Darkness is heading this way."

Magana was once a member of the Hand of Darkness, a fact known only to a few of her closest confidants.

"The Hand of Darkness?"

Magana frowned. "That woman is here?"

"I don't know." Macaos shook his head.

'That woman' refers to the Dark Pope, a legendary figure within the Hand of Darkness, whose influence is no less than that of Sylvia.

There are many churches on the Rhea Continent, but only two people publicly claim to be popes... excluding the rest of the nobodies.

One was Pope Janus, and the other was Pope Hand of Darkness.

However, the Hand of Darkness only began to develop at the beginning of this era, and its influence was far less than that of the Gate of Janus, so everyone generally assumed that Sylvia was more powerful.

"If that woman comes, it'll be troublesome."

Magana muttered to herself.

Suddenly, her expression changed slightly, and she immediately told Macaos to leave.

Just seconds after the latter stepped out of the palace, the entire palace was suddenly shrouded in a cold, black mist, followed by a chilling laugh in Magana's ears.

"Hehe~ Archbishop Magana, it's been a long time. You haven't grown any taller."

Magana's fist hardened instantly!

Chapter 213 The Mad Pope, The Invitation from the City Lord Desire

"Karls is dead?"

When Ryan returned to Port of Misi from the Arcadia Empire, he soon received a message from Lin Qi from headquarters.

Cardinal Bishop Karls is dead; he was killed by Sylvia.

This is not surprising, after all, within the church, only Sylvia could kill Kars.

The problem was that before the trial for Kars' crimes was even over, Sylvia took action herself, and the speed of her actions exceeded everyone's expectations.

"She submitted the case for trial in the morning and killed the person in the afternoon. This is utterly disregarding the authority of the Tribunal... But she certainly has the ability; she's just a bit too insane."

Even the Pope has to follow the rules of the Church.

After all, the church is not an empire; everyone is God's people, and we cannot engage in hegemony.

Of course, it wouldn't matter if it were an ordinary person who was killed, but the main problem is that Karls's status is too special. Cardinal Bishop, he is basically the second-in-command within the church, and it would take a strict and meticulous trial process to convict him.

"Perhaps that's why Sylvia decided to take action. Even if the trial could convict her, how could the Church possibly kill an Eighth Tier Supernatural Being? Thinking about it that way, Sylvia was indeed very decisive; otherwise, Kars might have escaped... no, he definitely would have escaped."

Once the trial process begins, those who support Karls will undoubtedly try every means to exonerate him. If he cannot escape trial, Karls will find a time to flee.

Ryan guessed that the Cardinal Bishop probably thought the same thing.

At worst, he'd lose his power, but with his Eighth Tier extraordinary strength, where couldn't he live a carefree life?

There are very few people on the entire continent who can kill him.

But Sylvia didn't play by the rules and tricked Kars, depriving him of his chance to escape.

With Kars dead, Sylvia won, but many of her faction members were purged, and her reputation suffered greatly after the incident. On the contrary, the Saintess Faction —the pure and noble Saintess Lin Qi —is gaining more and more popularity within the church.

However, due to Sylvia's intimidation, no one dared to propose that the Saintess take power at this time.

"If a divine oracle from Janus were to arrive at this moment, the followers of the Gate of Janus would probably all be in a frenzy," Ryan thought, stroking his chin.

Faith can drive people mad.

But a madman doesn't care whether you're a pope or Eighth Tier transcendent.

However, this is contingent on Sylvia's willingness to cooperate and abdicate at the right time; otherwise, her own faction alone could easily crush the Saintess Faction.

Ryan was just planning to find some time to talk to Sylvia when Helen suddenly came to visit, and unsurprisingly, Sylvia wanted to see him.

To be honest, Ryan was a little terrified. This old woman was too strong and ruthless. If she were in the Empire, she would definitely be a tyrant.

Swish!

The illusory image presented by the relics coalesced into the likeness of Sylvia.

She wore a white robe with gold patterns, looking sacred and solemn.

"Ryan, Karls is dead. As you requested, his faction is being purged, and it will be completely eradicated in less than half a month." Sylvia's voice was very calm, as if she had done something insignificant.

"I've heard that the Church is in complete chaos right now. Pope, are you trying to tear down the Gate of Janus?"

"To deal with Kars, this is the only way. If we give him even the slightest chance to breathe, neither of us will ever have peace."

Sylvia is right about that. Karls has already guessed that Ryan is behind it all. If he gets away, Karls will definitely do everything he can to deal with Ryan.

"Karls told me," Sylvia's tone shifted, her golden eyes fixed on Ryan, "That you also worked with him to purge my faction?"

Ryan chuckled somewhat guiltily, "I did talk to him, but that was definitely a lie. I'd be a fool to choose to cooperate with him against you, right? It's obvious who he is and what your strength is. Who you choose as an ally is obvious."

"Ha, but I heard that you signed a pact with him, becoming allies under the witness of the God of Order."

"Really? Oh, that, the contract, yes, but it's fake." Ryan chuckled. "I used some tricks, otherwise how could I have fooled him? Your Holiness, I don't think this is important. Now that Karls is dead, you have absolute power within the Church. We should talk about what's next. People should look forward."

"I agree." Sylvia's expression remained unchanged. "I came here to tell you that you need to get Lin Qi to act quickly, win over people's hearts, and prepare for him to take the papacy later."

Ryan was taken aback. "Are you in such a hurry to abdicate?"

"For me, the title of Pope has never meant anything. My goal has always been the same... Never mind, you wouldn't understand anyway. You can take it as my devotion to the Creator."

It's probably out of devotion to becoming a god... This woman is crazy enough, but as long as she can become a god, the title of Pope really doesn't matter anymore... If it were Ryan himself, he might also take the chance to become a god, but his methods might be a little more gentle.

"Why don't you go and tell Lin Qi yourself? She should have already returned to St. Gero City."

"If I tell her, will she believe me?"

Faced with Sylvia's question, Ryan shrugged, indicating his understanding.

"Oh, right."

As she was leaving, Sylvia suddenly remembered something and said calmly, "Lista has betrayed me and become Karl's man. This time, you take care of settling scores with him in Port of Misi."

With that last sentence, Sylvia disappeared from the room.

"Green-haired Turtle actually betrayed us? Could it be that he realized Sylvia wasn't going to match him up with Helen? Taking risks for love, what a hero... Hmm, let's leave him with a whole corpse."

Ryan suddenly remembered that Kars knew so much about the Primal Church back in the Trial Space, which he found strange at the time. It seemed that it was Lista who had revealed the information.

Port of Misi.

In the hotel lounge, Lista sat on a sofa, glancing anxiously towards the door every now and then.

"Why hasn't Helen returned yet? Is she going to stay at the manor tonight? Ryan recently came back, could it really be... No, that's impossible. Helen has only known Ryan for a short time, while I've known her for years. There's no way she could have fallen for Ryan."

Lista waited anxiously, muttering to himself from time to time.

Ryan is back.

Helen went to the estate this afternoon.

He wanted to go with her, but Helen wouldn't let him.

The Pope said not to hinder Helen from doing anything, or she would be transferred back to St. Gero City.

Damn it... Helen won't like Ryan, she'll never like anyone else... She can only be mine...

Whoosh!

"Helen!!!"

Helen appeared at the hotel entrance.

Lista immediately stood up and went to greet him with a look of excitement on her face.

Helen's gaze was indifferent as she said, "Archbishop Karls is dead."

"Ah?"

Lista's expression froze instantly.

"Oh no, he's dead... What happened?"

"It was His Holiness the Pope himself who killed him."

"Ha...yes, is that so?" Lista gave an ugly smile. "It's good that he's dead. From now on, no one in the church will dare to oppose His Holiness the Pope."

Helen gave him a deep look, shook her head, and sighed softly.

"Miss K, please."

"Heh~ Go ahead."

The ethereal voice of the witch K echoed all around.

Lista's expression hardened, and he subconsciously mobilized his Magic Power, only to find that the scene before his eyes flickered, transforming from the hotel lobby into a void!

It's a sealed space!

He was very familiar with this place; he had spent almost a whole night at the manor here, trapped by the witch K.

"What a pitiful child, you have fallen into the prison of desire, and continuing to live will only bring you pain. Let me release you from death."

A chilling aura emanated from all around, almost freezing Lista's body. He suddenly unleashed a torrent of Magic Power, but no matter how he resisted, it was to no avail.

In the realm of death, he, a 'weakling' who had only recently entered the seventh rank, was destined to be slaughtered.

When the fog cleared, Lista lay on the hotel sofa, her eyes vacant, and she was lifeless.

"Sir, sir?"

A curious hotel waiter walked over and called out softly twice, then suddenly jumped back in fright.

"Dead! Dead! Dead!!"

"What happened?!"

"Look, that person looks dead!"

"What happened?"

The hall immediately descended into chaos.