Holy See.
The candles standing upright emitted a faint light in the darkness. Although the area they illuminated was small, their sheer number still made the hall fairly bright.
The newly appointed Pope, His Holiness Adam, was awakened by his servants in the middle of the night and then came to this great hall.
"Shh, shh..." Even in the dead of night, the boy in the white robe was sweeping the floor of the main hall. This was part of the Church's obedience training. No matter what time it was, you had to do whatever you were told until you were completely used to it and carried it out numbly. Only then could you be considered to have passed the first test.
Unfortunately, the boy in the white robe was Karl.
Karl had a very difficult time during this period. As someone recommended by a lower-ranking bishop, he was not an orphan raised by the Church from childhood, so the obedience training he received was even more extreme. Moreover, his highest potential was only to become a priest.
Fortunately, he was too old, exceeding the upper limit preferred by the cardinals, so his backside was spared for the time being.
Just as Karl was dozing off and pretending to clean, footsteps sounded from the back of the hall.
" Duoxia doesn't dare enter the Holy See? Hmph, does he have the guts to come back but not the guts to meet me?" Adam Holiness Adam's voice carried a hint of doubt. He was puzzled as to why Archbishop Duoxia didn't dare enter the Holy See, and also puzzled as to why Archbishop Duoxia had come back.
His secret contact with spies from the Boya Empire was something the Church had already investigated and found out. They had originally planned to use Archbishop Duoxia's influence to reduce the poor population of the Papal State, but they never expected that this traitor would return at this time.
" Your Adam, Archbishop Duoxia's condition is indescribable. According to him, the Church of Lino City has been taken over by a new type of Vampire. This New-Type Vampire seems to have the ability to infect people and turn them into Vampire as well. Archbishop Duoxia has already fallen victim to this evil, and is now unable to face the holiness of God. He can only eke out a living outside the Holy See, awaiting Your Holiness's judgment!"
His Excellency Adam's new attendant was quite useful; he immediately inquired about Archbishop Duoxia's current situation and only woke Adam up after clarifying everything.
" New-Type Vampire? No... that's impossible!" His Majesty Adam was extremely surprised, but he immediately denied his attendant's claim.
How could Adam not know what Vampire looks like?
It could be said that Adam understood what a Vampire was better than Vampire could ever be!
"But Your Majesty, I have already gone out and seen it for myself. Archbishop Duoxia now has long, sharp teeth, bloodshot eyes, and fears religious ornaments and the glory of God that surrounds my Holy See. He lives on blood; there is no other possibility than that he is some kind of mutated Vampire!"
The attendant stood aside and diligently reported, then took out a simple portrait from his pocket.
His Majesty Adam frowned deeply as he looked at the portrait in the attendant's hands.
The figure in the portrait resembles Archbishop Duoxia, but his eyes are bloodshot, his two incisors have turned into sharp teeth, and even his cheeks appear somewhat gaunt.
Although its appearance differs slightly from the image of Vampire studied in the Church, it is not much different.
His Majesty Adam stared in growing astonishment at the image of Archbishop Duoxia in the painting, his mind involuntarily replaying the image of the ever-reproducing humanoid Werewolf in the Eye of Holiness...
First, mutated Werewolf appeared in Holy Lord City, and then New-Type Vampire appeared in Lino City. Could there be a connection between these two events?
Or, to put it another way, is the source of this anomaly right here in Lino City...?
His Majesty Adam reached out and took the portrait, his fingers tracing the two canines next to Archbishop Duoxia's front teeth on the image. His eyes narrowed slightly. "They cultivated Werewolf of a different species to gather a Werewolf tribe, intending to destroy my Holy Church's Holy Judgment Order, to provoke war against my Holy Church from the kingdoms of the Southern Continent, and then, while my Holy Church was engaged in frequent battles on the front lines, they cultivated Vampire of a different species in the rear, even silently invading Church in various places, trying to undermine the foundation of my Holy Church, and even killing two Holy Knight of Lino City..."
Hmph! It seems that the heavy pressure has not yet fallen on the heads of certain individuals, allowing them to still have the mood to engage in petty tricks and attempt to overthrow the Holy Church!
However, their methods also possess a certain mystical quality...
His Adam handed the portrait back to his attendant, then calmly said, "In that case, send men to Lino City to investigate. If the enemy numbers more than ten thousand, then mobilize the entire Church to besiege Lino City. If the enemy numbers less than ten thousand..."
There are over five hundred Holy Knight in the back mountains of the Holy See, but His Majesty Adam has no intention of touching them.
If there were even the slightest problem with the corpse of God, then Adam would be undeniably guilty and deserve to die a thousand deaths. However, the Church absolutely could not be destroyed by his hand.
"Let's look at Archbishop Duoxia first!" His Holiness Adam rose from his throne.
His attendants immediately shouted, "The Patriarch is on a tour!!!"
Before the words were finished, the massive doors of the main hall were slowly pushed open by the combined efforts of ten Church knights.
Then, ten Holy Knight clad in golden armor appeared behind His Holiness the Pope, seemingly out of nowhere.
Dozens of nuns filed in from outside and lined up before the throne, each carrying a basket of flower petals.
As His Holiness the Pope raised his foot, a shower of flowers rose and fell, creating a path symbolizing holiness and nobility for him.
Clutching a broom, Karl, huddled in the shadows of a corner of the hall, stared dumbfounded at the scene before him, a slight tremor running through his body.
He stared blankly at the Pope's holy and noble back, a strange light shining in his eyes!
Outside the Holy See, in a farmhouse near the Holy See.
The wooden house has been requisitioned by the Church, and dozens of Church knights guard the surrounding area, blocking the way in and out of the house.
Archbishop Duoxia, who had fled from Lino City, was among them.
The room was dark, with no lights on. But the two scarlet eyes could still see everything around them without any obstruction.
A powerful energy spread through his limbs, but Archbishop Duoxia showed no joy; instead, his face was filled with worry.
Duoxia did indeed have contact with spies from the Boya Empire and did indeed want to overthrow the Holy See's rule, but the main reason for all of this was that his beliefs differed from the Pope's.
Everything he did was still for the Church.
Now, Vampire have appeared in Lino City, and they have quietly overthrown the entire Lino City Church.
Then it's obvious which is more important.
Therefore, Archbishop Duoxia was not pleased with his endless lifespan; he only wanted to expose the existence of the New-Type Vampire in Lino City to the Church and then eradicate them completely in order to maintain the Church's sanctity!
Therefore, Archbishop Duoxia immediately fled Lino City and went to the Holy See.
It has been a very difficult journey.
The sunlight was scorching and harmful to him; prolonged exposure could be life-threatening. He dared not touch the holiness of the Church, for even getting too close would cause burning pain. After a long and arduous journey, he finally reached the outskirts of the Holy See.
But no matter what, they couldn't get into the Holy See.
Archbishop Duoxia stood at the window of the wooden house, his two scarlet eyes fixed on the outline of the Holy See in the distance, his mood somewhat gloomy.
He sensed an extremely heavy and terrifying pressure that grew stronger the closer he got to the Holy See; he was already at his limit by the time he got this far.
Getting closer, he felt that this ethereal yet undeniably real terrifying power could disintegrate his limbs.
This feeling was different from the one he experienced when he was bathed in God's holy light as he approached the Church on the road.
He found it difficult to articulate the difference between the two, but he was certain that they were indeed different. This caused a slight sense of unease in Archbishop Duoxia.
"Such immense power cannot be the holiness of my religion. Moreover, holiness only exists in images of God and religious ornaments, while this area consists of nothing but farmland and forests, devoid of any religious elements. It seems my religion holds many secrets..."
Alas, such perception only became apparent after I became Vampire; what a great pity!
As soon as Archbishop Duoxia finished speaking, the papacy was already being drawn in from afar.
Beautiful nuns in pristine white habit lined up in two rows in front of the car, scattering flower petals from their baskets to create a path strewn with flowers.
Before people even arrive, a shower of flowers falls.
A luxurious carriage, plated with gold and pulled by eight magnificent white horses, moved slowly and meticulously along a flower-paved road, gradually approaching the location of Archbishop Duoxia.
One hundred Church knights stood in two rows, side by side, beside the carriage. In front of and behind the carriage, there were five Holy Knight leading the way and bringing up the rear.
Even in the dead of night, the steel armor still gleamed under the moonlight!
It must be said, the scene was absolutely magnificent!