A gleam of satisfaction flashed in Li Chen's eyes as he listened to Sylph's explanation.
This information was crucial!
It seemed that all he needed to do was carefully play the part of a Half-Elf with the bloodline of the Elder Elf King, and he could effortlessly make the Wind Whisperer Family-and even more powerful Half-Elves-willingly serve him, becoming the sharpest stones in his hand for testing the path ahead.
Not only that, this identity might also become the "thread" connecting the crucial clues.
Li Chen's thoughts raced. If the Pope's disappearance really was a conspiracy meticulously orchestrated by Emperor Charles, whether he had been assassinated or imprisoned in some top-secret heaven and earth secret realm, a man as calculating and well-prepared as Charles would surely have wiped away every trace, leaving nowhere to begin an investigation.
The Holy See had no shortage of capable people, and its believers were spread throughout the country, even within the Imperial Palace. The fact that they had failed to find any solid clues after so long was telling in itself.
Charles must have laid a foolproof plan. Otherwise, the moment those fanatics in the Holy See uncovered the truth, they would slaughter him.
For plotting against the Pope, even an emperor like Charles would face only death.
Li Chen believed Charles understood that even better than he did.
Then perhaps the breakthrough lay not in "searching," but in "attracting."
If Charles really had done this, he would desperately need to win over more powerful figures and factions to consolidate his gains and counter any backlash from the Holy See.
Supporting the Half-Elf Tribe, which had long been marginalized by the Holy See's influence, to act as a counterweight might well be one part of Charles's plan.
Although the Half-Elf Tribe's overall strength was