"Um..."
Xilǐ'er for a moment and said:
"Your information is outdated. The Second Holy See has already taken control of the entire Fitz Province. Archbishop Luorui'er Fitz escaped with his life thanks to the protection of the cardinal, but all the other clergy have either been arrested or killed."
"Ah?"
The fat bishop's face instantly turned extremely ugly, but he quickly realized what was happening—
Before him stood an envoy from the Second Holy See!
His lips, which had been pressed down, instantly turned upwards, and a grateful smile appeared on the fat man's face:
I was deeply moved upon hearing the good news!
Xilǐ'er's lips twitched. The fat man's acting was so exaggerated that even the usually composed Cyril didn't know what to say.
After a moment of silence, he nodded, indicating that the fat man didn't need to continue his performance, and then asked:
Where is that document now?
The portly bishop glanced at the long table in front of him, indicating that he wanted to search through it. After receiving Xilǐ'er's permission, he pulled out a document from the pile of files, bearing the seal of the Cathedral of Yiluo'en Province:
"... Sir, this is it."
Xilǐ'er took the document and glanced at it, finding that the contents were indeed no different from what the fat man had said.
He slammed the document down on the table, his tone becoming somewhat stern:
"Now that you've received the news, why not announce it so that the priests and congregation know?"
"Geographically speaking, after the fall of Fitz Province, Hibiscus Town was already on the front lines."
"You're right, sir!"
The portly bishop immediately bowed, then changed the subject:
"But as you said, it's only geographically like that."
"I see that you two are both travel-worn, and it must have taken you a lot of effort to reach Hibiscus Town. If you are like this, then ordinary soldiers must have suffered even more."
"I have fewer than fifty priests under my command. If the rebels come, they won't be able to offer any decent resistance."
The bishop was wiping his sweat for what seemed like the umpteenth time.
"Furthermore, if this news is released, I worry that some people with ulterior motives might become restless, so it's better to keep it quiet..."
Xilǐ'er nodded. He could understand the fat bishop's behavior, which ultimately stemmed from the concept of "stability maintenance."
Since you know your power is useless, you might as well ensure that no major trouble occurs within your jurisdiction.
Thinking this, Xilǐ'er suddenly said, "Looking at it this way, this guy is actually quite clever."
"Actually, my main task is to inform the archbishops of each province that His Holiness the Son of God will personally lead the captive Cuiske to the Holy City at the end of July."
"Passing through Hibiscus Town was just on the way, and seeing that you seem to be taking things seriously, I might as well tell you."
The fat bishop paused for a moment, then picked at his ear:
" Cuiske? Is it the Cuiske I'm thinking of?"
Which Cuiske are you thinking of?
" The Oathbreaking Cardinal..."
"That's him."
Xilǐ'er nodded, his eyes showing approval.
"The traitor Cuiske of the Tree Worship Church, who had joined the ranks of Grand Duke Adelaide of the vampires, was only recently found."
" The Son of God fought two against one, not only capturing Cuiske alive but also forcing Adelaide to flee in disarray, making the Second Holy See's position unshakeable."
Xilǐ'er had already exchanged statements with Ed regarding Adelaide's fate before arriving.
Since the True Blood of Absolute Punishment had already flowed into Ed's body, Adelaide's life or death was no longer important.
However, he also worried that revealing the whereabouts of the True Blood would make him a target of public criticism and create unnecessary trouble, so Ed ultimately settled on an ambiguous statement—
Adelaide fled in disarray.
Objectively speaking, Adelaide did indeed flee in disarray, even being caught by a large spider under her arm as she fled.
As for True Blood?
If no one asks, there's no need to worry. If someone does ask, it means that person at least knows something about True Blood, and it's fine to tell them.
Upon hearing this news, the fat bishop's jaw nearly dislocated, and after a long while, he wiped the sweat from his brow and said:
"This is even better news!"
Looking at him, Xilǐ'er asked with a smile:
"Good news? What's so good about it?"
The fat bishop's voice trembled slightly:
"The defeat of the vampire grand duke and the capture of the Oathbreaking Cardinal run for decades are certainly good news."
Xilǐ'er nodded and then shook his head:
"This is good news from the Second Holy See, why are you so happy?"
"I..."
The fat bishop's language system suddenly froze. He looked at Xilǐ'er with a pleading expression, but couldn't read anything from the other's face. He then looked at [Kunjinkao Tangtangtang] behind him, who was holding the staff, but unfortunately, he didn't get any hints.
"My lord, please tell me exactly what I should do..."
Xilǐ'er raised an eyebrow and said:
"You don't seem like someone who would be unexpected, do you?"
The fat bishop wiped the sweat from his forehead again and said:
"I understand what you mean. I am naturally willing to submit to the Second Holy See, but I am just a minor bishop with only fifty priests under my command, and the common people combined are less than twenty thousand."
"Furthermore, Hibiscus Town is separated from Fitz Province by a mountain range, but from Golden Leaf City it is only separated by Lotus Town... You should be able to understand my predicament, right?"
[Kunjinkao Tangtangtang] Upon hearing this, he also abandoned his art student persona and seamlessly switched to messenger mode:
"How dare you!"
With a sharp shout, the Kunjinkao Tangtangtang bishop was so frightened he almost knelt on the ground. He stepped forward and rebuked him:
"I'll let it go because you didn't know, but now that you do know, you still dare to jump between the lines trying to please both sides. Isn't that ridiculous?"
The fat bishop was startled and looked genuinely frightened.
He looked at [Kunjinkao Tangtangtang] and asked:
"What would you two like me to do? I will certainly cooperate."
Xilǐ'er and the Soul Returner exchanged a glance, signaling for the other to handle the matter.
[Kunjinkao Tangtangtang] forcefully struck the ground with a wooden cane, and asked seriously:
Are you Stained Ones?
Upon hearing this question, the fat bishop panicked even more, shaking his head and waving his hands repeatedly, saying:
"I didn't! I didn't!"
Unexpectedly, this answer was exactly what the Soul Returner wanted to hear. After all, according to the extensive information released on the official website, ordinary Pure Ones would not know that there was such a group as the Stained Ones.
The fat bishop's first reaction to the question was to deny it, rather than asking what Stained Ones was. This reaction alone was enough to say something.
The slick, fat man in front of me is most likely a Stained Ones!
Ed pressed the wooden staff he had given the fat bishop against his chest, and with a strange smile Kunjinkao Tangtangtang, asked:
Why don't you ask me what a ' Stained Ones ' is?
The fat bishop paused, as if remembering something, and disregarding the pressure on his heart, suddenly slapped his forehead:
"Oh dear, I forgot about that—"
He looked at Xilǐ'er and the Soul Returner and said:
"You two may not know this, but in the Yiluo'en Province, the existence of the Stained Ones is no secret."
"?"