For the past three days and three nights, Sun Fei had never felt so uncomfortable. Like a patient with a cold and fever who was about to burst into flames, he was under the hypnotic influence of the continuous waves of strange power coming from all directions of the universe. Sun Fei was powerless to resist. The power of the [ Sigh of Divine Grace ] formation lay in this slow, simmering process, like boiling a frog in water. Sun Fei wanted to jump out, but he couldn't.
Within the inner space, under the continuous surge of Holy Power, the mysterious stone pillar was trembling at a rate imperceptible to the naked eye. Its shape was also changing; its rough surface had become smooth, and extremely fine mysterious patterns began to appear on the pale white, sand-like surface, faintly visible and seemingly nonexistent, and its size was gradually decreasing.
Sun Fei didn't know whether this change was good or bad.
The only thing that gave him some peace of mind was that the strange feeling of being connected to the mysterious stone pillar, which had been there since last night, was no longer fading. It seemed that the power of the [ Sigh of Divine Grace ] magic circle had reached a bottleneck and could no longer affect it.
"It seems there's no immediate danger, but only temporarily. A monster of the Golden Skeleton's caliber, having planned this carefully, must have been well-prepared. Given his understanding of the [ Scepter of Creation ], this situation must have been within his expectations. I'm afraid he still has some tricks up his sleeve... A moment of carelessness, heh heh, I never thought my life would depend entirely on that guy Lloris. This feeling is truly unpleasant!"
Outside the First Church.
Bishop John of the diocese looked at the still motionless church hall, his wrinkled face showing obvious anxiety, and his thick, discolored eyebrows almost furrowed together.
"It's been three days and three nights, and I still haven't succeeded! Do I really have to resort to that last resort? But if I do, it will expose a lot of things, and this grand plan might be ruined... Hmm? Never mind, getting the [ Scepter of Creation ] and the [ Throne of Chaotic Times ] is more important. With these two World-Creating Divine Artifact, even if the disaster of a thousand years ago were to recur, I would be invincible!"
The Royal Palace of Lyon.
For three days and three nights straight, His Majesty Juninho, the Emperor of Lyon, who was usually extremely frugal and diligent in his duties, did not leave his side hall where he usually reviewed documents and memorials once, and even ordered that all ministers' audiences be refused.
This is a very rare occurrence.
In the past, only when faced with wars, battles, or unexpected events that concerned the fate of the Lyon Empire would Emperor Juninho lock himself away to think carefully and make a decision, as he does now.
His Majesty the Emperor's sudden and unusual behavior, coupled with the strange events occurring within the Holy Church diocese of Gerland City, has placed the entire Gerland City in an extremely peculiar state, with an unusual atmosphere of tension permeating among the upper nobility.
Of course, this is also related to the imperial decree issued by Emperor Juninho two days earlier.
To the surprise and shock of all the nobles in the capital, the very next day after the night when the two mysterious and supreme experts exchanged blows from afar in the capital, the emperor personally issued an imperial decree to drop the charges against King of Buckingham Lloris and to withdraw all the military guards from the Inspection Department who had been stationed outside the Buckingham Manor.
His Majesty the Emperor offered no explanation for this decision.
There was no specific explanation as to whether King of Buckingham had been wronged.
This sparked heated discussions in the capital, with everyone from high-ranking officials to ordinary people speculating about the mysteries behind the matter.
Prince Milner, who was said to have a strained relationship with King of Buckingham and controlled the Empire Supervision Department, was extremely dissatisfied with this. He entered the palace five times with a strong attitude to investigate the death of Meilida, one of the five Inspector Knights, and demand that the murderer be severely punished. However, he was repeatedly rebuffed. Before he could even enter the side hall of the council, he was punched out of the hall by Emperor Juninho, who had the strength of Great Sun-Rank Venerable.
Although His Majesty's punch did not injure Prince Milner, it made many of the Empire's high-ranking officials understand the situation.
Regardless of how King of Buckingham Lloris is ultimately judged, at least for now, Buckingham Manor cannot be touched.
Those political enemies who had tried to incite public opinion to destroy this once-powerful family in the empire immediately fell silent and dared not cause any more trouble.
Meanwhile, in the side hall of the imperial palace, where meetings were being held.
"Your Majesty, I think we should still help King of Chambord." Lloris, after much restraint, finally voiced his opinion.
By this time, various intelligence reports had already been transmitted to the council hall through the empire's powerful intelligence system. Although the Holy Church had sealed off the diocese and taken some secrecy measures, this was, after all, the territory of the Lyon Empire. It was impossible to completely hide it from the Lyon Emperor. Combining Lloris's statement with various fragmented pieces of information, Juninho and Lloris were already clear that the anomaly within the Church was definitely related to King of Chambord, and the 'demon' rumored to be trapped in the God Level array of the First Church was undoubtedly King of Chambord Alexander.
"Oh, Hugo, tell me, why should I help a genius from a rival empire?" His Majesty the Emperor asked calmly, leaving Lloris speechless.
Slowly rising to his feet, Emperor Juninho gazed at the parish in the distance, almost entirely enveloped in a silvery-white haze of light. With his hands behind his back, a sharp, cold glint flashed in his eyes.
As if muttering to himself, yet also speaking to Lloris, His Majesty the Emperor said in a low voice, "Look, within my capital, there exists an area that doesn't belong to my jurisdiction. It enjoys the offerings of my subjects, yet it disregards imperial authority... And help King of Chambord? How? Under such circumstances, who would dare to attack a diocese of the Holy Church? Even I, heh heh, cannot bear the charge of killing a priest and releasing a demon! It's truly infuriating!"
At this moment, Lloris could sense the resentment and hatred hidden deep within the heart of the king who was like a father and brother to him, but he did not know how to comfort this seemingly calm and indifferent king whose anger was enough to burn the heavens and the earth.
This topic is far too heavy.
The power struggle between the Church and the monarchy is an intractable problem in every nation on the Azeroth Continent, whether it be a super empire or a minor vassal state. The name "Holy Church " has been a Sharp Sword hanging over the heads of kings and a thorn in the hearts of countless ambitious and ruthless figures since the end of the ancient era of the Human Clan era.
Throughout history, the struggle between imperial power and papal authority has never ceased. It has been a fierce and desperate clash, or a quiet and treacherous contest with Mars and cunning the Storm Riders. Countless outstanding figures, brilliant geniuses, powerful figures, and emperors have paid the ultimate price in such struggles, yet the Holy Church remains unshakable.
The same thing happened in the Lyon Empire, with rivers of blood and countless corpses.
Emperor Juninho ruled the Lyon Empire, transforming it into a dominant power within a million-mile radius. Even in the entire Northern Region, it was considered one of the strongest nations. The once invincible Emperor Yassin of the Zenit Empire could not overthrow the Lyon Empire's hegemony. His civil and military achievements made him a true hero of his time. If there was anything that displeased this ambitious emperor yet he could do nothing about, it was the behemoth that was the Holy Church.
However, the Holy Church was simply too vast, so vast that even if Emperor Juninho harbored great dissatisfaction, he could only hide it and could not show it in the slightest.
Perhaps this emperor was waiting for the right opportunity.
Perhaps this empire is plotting something.
Perhaps he did nothing at all, and it was all just speculation from others.
But Lloris could clearly hear the resentment in the heart of the king for whom he was willing to die.
Just as Lloris was about to say something, a shocking change suddenly occurred in the Holy Church diocese in the distance. Even Emperor Juninho couldn't help but take two or three steps back, his eyes filled with disbelief. He pointed into the distance and exclaimed, "How is this possible? Such... such audacity, such deep scheming!"
I arrived in Lanzhou around 10 AM, found a hotel, then a clinic, got an IV drip, and then started writing. My fever has subsided a bit now.
I have to go to the hospital early tomorrow morning, so I can't sleep too late. If the check-up and surgery appointment go smoothly tomorrow, I should be able to update more often.
Once I get through this period, I'll update like crazy to repay everyone.