A Meeting of Hidden Agendas
The Pope and Janet walked together into the circular council chamber of the New Saint Lan Cathedral.
On the towering dome, stained glass filters the sunlight, casting dappled shadows.
More than sixty bishops, dressed in scarlet cardinal robes, along with Speaker Bulameike, were hidden among the tiered, soft sofas.
These figures sat casually, representing a vast superpower spanning the Northern Continent, controlling the third largest territory in the world, with branches in most countries. The core resources and the power of discourse were in the hands of this group of people.
Augustus's gaze swept across the room. The recent situation was serious, but the attendance rate was quite good; ninety percent of the cardinals were present. He stepped onto the stairs, came to Speaker Bulameike's side, and took his seat in the main seat.
Janet walked toward the isolated podium at the center, surrounded and looked down upon by the high-ranking cardinals.
She bowed her head, concealing the icy venom surging in her eyes—when the supreme god Jörmungandr descends, you will all kneel in the dust, at my mercy of life and death!
After Janet finished bowing, she was about to stand up and speak when she saw Augustus stand up and gesture with his hand to indicate that she should wait a moment.
"We mourn our comrades who bravely sacrificed themselves in this unprecedented calamity and trial!" Augustus addressed everyone, his voice heavy with sorrow and solemnity. "They fulfilled the divine decree with their lives, and their souls will live forever in the light!"
Upon hearing this, the cardinals were compelled to rise from their seats and perform the hymn of light.
Augustus's voice turned impassioned, "We survivors will surely shoulder their unfinished mission, forge ahead with heavy burdens, and sow the light once more throughout the world!"
After the brief mourning ceremony ended, Janet was able to straighten her back. With a flick of her finger, a screen of light lit up in the center of the council chamber, illuminating the view of the Dome Coal Mine's outer warehouses.
"My lords," her voice rang out, "The Coal Mine in the Dome Mountains has been continuously operating to meet the needs of the Sacred Mountain Academy. According to records, this warehouse should hold over 1,500 tons in reserves."
Although the coal warehouse in the picture is not empty, only a few pieces of coal are scattered around, and most of them are useless coal pebbles, indicating that it has undergone a washing process.
"Even if ordinary robbers ransacked the place and pried up the floors of the Sacred Mountain Academy, they wouldn't take this heavy coal!" Janet declared resolutely. "The only explanation is that the White Bone Train of the Final Bone Mad Machines also arrived at Sacred Mountain and participated in this despicable massacre!"
This reasoning may sound absurd—after all, it's unimaginable how such a long line of steel skeletons could cross the chasm of the Sacred Mountain with its thousand-meter drop—but upon closer examination, it is logically flawless: no one else would intentionally take away so much coal.
A buzz of discussion arose in the hall.
"But what does that prove?" a cardinal asked. It was obvious that the Final Bone Mad Machines was involved in the attack on the Sacred Mountain; all the necromancer prisoners were swept away by them.
Janet's lips curled into a cold smile as her gaze swept across the entire room. "This shows that even without any other assistance, the Final Bone Mad Machines can single-handedly attack and destroy both the Divine Might Prison and the Sea of Divine Grace!"
The whispers receded like the tide, leaving behind a deathly silence. Two months ago, Janet's remarks would have been met with ridicule. But now it seems that with the White Bone Train participating in the battle, the fully-powered Final Bone Mad Machines does indeed possess such combat power.
The massive Crystal Dragon carcass lying like a mountain in Dragon Valley is the most powerful testament to this!
****
"I roughly understand what you're trying to say," a cardinal said slowly. "You mean the Plundering Clock" didn't involve the tragedy at Sacred Mountain." He then changed the subject, "Then let me ask you, how do you explain Sabina's memories?"
Sabina's memories have been secretly tampered with; there is no trace of the Plundering Clock, but all the evidence points to the Final Bone Mad Machines.
This is certainly misleading. The investigation team believes that the two organizations cooperated in launching the attack, but then betrayed each other.
"What if Sabina's memories are actually correct and completely unaltered?" Janet said. "The Final Bone Mad Machines only did one thing: deliberately mislead you into believing they did something!"
"Is this a trick that goes against the grain?" the cardinal muttered to himself.
There are no fools among those who have reached this position. He frowned, racking his brains to sort out the details, but still felt a lot of doubts.
"The evidence is irrefutable that Warden Sabina and Headmaster Javier trafficked girls into the Sacred Mountain Academy!" He suddenly raised his voice, "We have confirmed the source of these goods: they were all infiltrated by the Plundering Clock '!"
This cardinal was in charge of this part of the investigation. He found evidence in Sabina's memories of her trafficking of young girls, and after a period of detailed investigation, he found solid evidence that the Plundering Clock had been stealing goods from merchants in the Northern Lands at high prices, intending to sell them to the Sea of Divine Grace Academy at a lower price.
No merchant would do a losing business. The fact that the Plundering Clock to such lengths must mean that they tampered with the girl in order to break through the Sacred Mountain's powerful defenses!
"The tragedy of the Sea of Divine Grace and the Divine Might Prison is entirely the result of those two fools letting wolves into the house!" another cardinal exclaimed angrily, Everwatching Obelisk ' and the ' Sacred Antelope Horn,' how could the Sacred Mountain, the land Divine Favor, have fallen in a single day?!"
Janet was speechless, cursing these incompetent fools in her heart. She had clearly given the standard answer, but these cardinals firmly believed in the erroneous conclusions they held.
"The Plundering Clock's buying high and selling low isn't for attacking the Sacred Mountain, but rather to establish a connection with Sabina and Javier," Janet said patiently, suppressing her frustration. "Warden Sabina needs money to upgrade herself and increase her power, while Principal Javier needs a large sum of money—"
Her words swirled on her tongue; clearly, she couldn't directly say she "wanted to bribe everyone present to secure a promotion," so she quickly changed her wording. "--She needed a huge sum of money to demonstrate to the Supreme Light her fervent piety and her determination to be accepted!"
Janet coughed lightly and continued, "The Plundering Clock's purpose is to establish contact so they can purchase those necromancer sinners from these two. They didn't send any powerful forces, which is why they were ambushed and killed en route by the premeditated Final Bone Mad Machines!"
She presented another set of evidence: traces of a battlefield. It was covered with deep trenches, churned permafrost and scorched ice, as well as all sorts of debris.
"The ambush took place in the Him Cavern, where the Final Bone Mad Machines slaughtered the transport convoy of the Plundering Clock and abducted all the girls," Janet recounted.
The cardinals began to discuss, and they quickly came to a conclusion: if the Final Bone Mad Machines and the Plundering Clock clashed in the Him Cavern, it indeed showed that the two could not have cooperated in attacking the Sacred Mountain.
only--
"Judging from the data, it was indeed a fierce battle," a bishop skilled in battlefield reconnaissance pondered. "But to fully confirm that they belonged to the Final Bone Mad Machines and the Plundering Clock, further detailed research is needed."
Janet. "I have submitted the relevant documents to the Tribunal. Please verify them!"
A cardinal, however, noticed a problem. "Even if they fought in the Him Cavern, it doesn't prove that the Plundering Clock came with good intentions." He said, "In my opinion, it's more likely that both sides had ulterior motives, resulting in a double-cross!"
****
Just as the cardinals were about to investigate further, a priest hurriedly approached the Pope and Speaker Bulameike and whispered a few words to them.
Augustus immediately raised his hand, signaling Janet to stop speaking and that the matter would be discussed later.
"The ambassador of the Cold Mountain Kingdom urgently requests an audience," he announced. "They claim to have ascertained the truth regarding the communication disruption at Sea of Divine Grace during this incident!"
A murmur of discussion immediately erupted in the council chamber.
In this attack on the Sacred Mountain, neither the Sea of Divine Grace nor the Divine Might Prison were able to send out any magical communications for help or to alert others. Subsequent investigations revealed that multiple magical communication nodes around the Sacred Mountain had mysteriously malfunctioned at the same time.
The components that caused the communication array malfunction at the paralyzed nodes were purchased by these churches from suppliers within the Cold Mountain Kingdom. The Temple of Light strongly suspects that the Cold Mountain Kingdom is also involved and has issued a stern inquiry.
The relationship between the two sides has been very unpleasant recently.
The priest went to summon the ambassador, Janet, who was not qualified to participate in the council, left the council chamber.
As she walked out the gate, she encountered a man and a woman who were clearly envoys from the Cold Mountain Kingdom who had come to pay their respects.
Janet's gaze swept past the male officer and landed on the young female deputy envoy behind him.
The other person wore thin-rimmed glasses, a simple office shirt, and a knee-length skirt, which accentuated her slender and energetic figure. She moved with the lightness and agility of a morning breeze.
However, her once delicate face was now covered with fine chapped marks etched by the dry, cold winds of the Northern Lands, like cracks appearing on fine porcelain.
Janet's fingertips unconsciously traced her smooth, delicate cheeks, a sense of superiority rising within her. She was, after all, a lower-class person struggling in this harsh, cold land; no matter how beautiful she was, how could she compare to someone as noble as Janet?
She withdrew her gaze, and the hall door closed behind her, isolating her from the world inside and out.
****
The two ambassadors from the Cold Mountain Kingdom stepped onto the central podium and bowed slightly to the cardinals surrounding them.
"General Emilio?" a cardinal asked with slight surprise. "If I remember correctly, haven't you been in charge of the defenses of Bubing City?"
Emilio wore a polite, humble smile. "I was injured during the suppression of the rebellion in the Northern Lands, but thanks to Dafulin's compassion, I was able to be transferred to the civilian post of ambassador."
In high-level discourse, the term "burden" is often a polite excuse for serious mistakes. The intelligence network of the Temple of Light had already discovered that the general's army had suffered considerable losses in its confrontation with the rebellious noble lord Jimite in the Northern Lands.
"We have thoroughly investigated the cause of the collective failure of your communication nodes," Emilio stated. "The root cause lies in a major flaw in the Magic Power transmission module of the communication array—its actual capacity is only 70% of its design specifications."
He paused slightly, "This means that if two urgent communications requiring high power transmission are received simultaneously, the module will melt due to overload."
In emergency mode, the communication array will output high levels of Magic Power regardless of cost to ensure that distress signals can be sent out smoothly. On the day the Sacred Mountain was attacked, it is indeed possible that both the Sea of Divine Grace and the Divine Might Prison sent out distress alerts simultaneously.
Cardinal Chancellor Bulameike's face instantly darkened. "Ambassador, are you trying to lightly attribute the colossal responsibility for the collapse of communications at Sacred Mountain to the inferior quality of your supplies, rather than to a deliberate act of sabotage?"
"The Cold Mountain Kingdom deeply regrets this incident." Emilio's tone remained calm, then he turned and raised his hand in a gesture, "Kalila."
The deputy envoy, named Kalila, immediately stepped forward, unfurled the runic crystal scroll in her hand, and projected its contents into the center of the council hall.
Beneath her lowered eyelashes, her gaze swept quickly over Pope Augustus —who was intently focused on the charts on the screen, showing no unusual reaction to the name "Kalila."
The wicked who treats others like dirt, indeed do not remember this name in the dust, and a chill spread through her heart.
"This is the information regarding the communication array's transmission module," Emilio said. "Some components of the module we supplied were provided by the Star Empire's Wonderland Chamber of Commerce."
Magical communication technology has matured in other worlds, and has long since formed a transparent hardware standard. The real core of confidentiality lies in the rune manipulation layer. General-purpose hardware does not pose a risk of leaking secrets, so interactive procurement is the norm.
In the materials presented by Kalila, the culprit was identified as the components provided by the Wonderland Chamber of Commerce.
Augustus beckoned and made some arrangements, and a priest immediately and silently left the hall.
Emilio caught this scene out of the corner of his eye, and a smile appeared on his lips.
"Honorable representatives of the light," he proclaimed, "All the evidence we have provided can be verified at any time. Similar products from the Wonderland Chamber of Commerce can be purchased right now in any large magical artifact shop in the Holy City!"
Shortly after, the priest returned. He had just bought several products from the Wonderland Chamber of Commerce and verified them according to the descriptions provided by Kalila.
"Everything is true. If two emergency communications are received simultaneously, there is a chance that the Wonderland Chamber of Commerce's components will overload and stop working!" He reported respectfully to the Pope and the cardinals.
The council chamber erupted in an uproar!
Although publicly available information states that the Wonderland Chamber of Commerce is a private guild, it is, after all, a guild of the Star Empire. It's difficult to say whether the problem stemmed from a simple product quality issue or from a deliberate sabotage by the Star Empire.
"Before our arrival, His Majesty the King of our country had formally sent a letter to the Star Empire's court requesting an explanation for this matter," Emilio said. "I believe the Stars Empire's response will arrive soon."
Princess Dafulin had long suspected the Wonderland Chamber of Commerce's products were defective. On the day of the attack on the Sacred Mountain, she arranged for a special operations team to cripple the communication nodes of the Temple of Light surrounding the Sacred Mountain —even though the communication array was flawed, what if Sea of Divine Grace and Divine Might Prison hadn't issued alerts simultaneously?
Or perhaps the communication array's core transmission state has weathered the storm?
For safety's sake, it's obviously the best course of action to deliberately destroy it!
But this huge scapegoat was left to the shady Wonderland Chamber of Commerce to shoulder. And incidentally, it gave the Star Empire and the Temple of Light some ammunition to make things work out between them!
As expected, the priest informed the Pope that the Star Empire's ambassador had arrived and was awaiting an audience in the reception room.
Emilio and Kalila exchanged a glance, making no attempt to hide their delight. In any case, the evidence was conclusive: the Wonderland Chamber of Commerce's products were indeed problematic, and it was indeed a merchant guild belonging to the Star Empire.
Now let Emperor Xialike taste the bitterness of proving his innocence!