Volume 1 Chapter 582

Chapter 582: Begin Action!

For those bishops and Paladins standing at the center of power of The Church of Light,

the Director of the Heretic Tribunal had ambitions to become the pope, and it was no secret.

Although his arrangements had been quite secretive…

once something was done, traces would be left behind.

So they had sensed, to some extent, that the Director of the Heretic Tribunal, who had always been loyal to the current pope, was becoming unusually active during the transition of popes.

Many had even guessed that Hume Valentina was the most hidden card of the Heretic Tribunal.

Now that the Pope was doing this, it was very possible that it was true!

And if it had been before…

the Director of the Heretic Tribunal was just another competitor like everyone else!

But today, after being kept behind by the Pope…

no matter which side it was, anyone who desired the Pope’s position would become nervous because of this!

After all, this was like the Emperor secretly meeting with Fusu before naming a successor.

You are Zhao Gao and Hu Hai; were you anxious?

Of course, they would be extremely anxious.

Moreover, they had also heard another version of the rumor.

This pope planned to let the Lady of Light become the next leader!

You must know…

the Director of the Heretic Tribunal becoming pope had never happened before!

But there had been Holy Maidens as popes!

"Holy, Noble, and Protector Saintess" was the most typical example…

although she didn’t really become pope through the usual election process.

She simply killed everyone else who could compete.

Back then, the Privy Bishop who was involved in her becoming pope…

was directly killed by Her Holiness.

In a certain sense, this was undoubtedly the most unquestionable pope.

The troubles at home and abroad were all created by his own hands.

If it were under a country like Ryman that valued strength and did not claim to be peaceful and loving…

her title would have to be something like "Conqueror and Destroyer," rather than a false pretense of "Holy, Noble, and Protector."

Even if one were to ask various people from other powers on the continent for an objective opinion… she protected nothing!

Of course, from the perspective of The Church of Light, this was protection!

Otherwise, their master’s actions would not be very justified!

When the God of Light killed the God of Shadows, was that not protection?

It was surely protection!

So this Her Holiness is the Holy Maiden, without any doubt!

However, it’s a matter of stubbornness.

What they truly thought was another story…

In any case, this group of bishops definitely did not want another "Holy, Noble, and Protector Saintess" to provide protection for everyone!

The "Holy, Noble, and Protector Saintess" was wonderful.

The best part was that she was Her Holiness from ten thousand years ago.

And when the current Her Holiness showed signs in this regard…

Everyone did not feel so good about it.

After all, this touched on their interests!

Whether the Holy Maiden supported the Director of the Heretic Tribunal or the Director of the Heretic Tribunal supported the Holy Maiden…

If these two trusted aides of the Pope joined forces, and the Pope kindly met with them…

To be fair, this combination might have the fewest numbers, but it had the greatest advantage.

If Her Holiness had not been captured in the demon race’s territory and saved by the Director of the Heretic Tribunal…

They might have comforted themselves, thinking that these two people did not share the same heart.

But with this connection in place…

The possibility was already very slim.

Oh, and the Holy Maiden herself was looking for the "Rod of Eden"…

Until now, neither she nor the Director of the Heretic Tribunal had mentioned this.

This was a huge and important achievement, a weighty factor that could tip the balance!

They would not feel at ease until they were sure that these two did not bring back the Rod of Eden!

Moreover…

The Director of the Heretic Tribunal, "Lolth," really had the Rod of Eden now!

They just did not know it yet!

So, it was not only the bishops representing the Holy Lieto Empire faction that had gathered together, criticizing the Heretic Tribunal’s intentions.

The three captains of the sanctuary knights team, the honorary Cardinal of the Western Church of Eden Palace, two Privy Bishops, and the leaders of Mercy and Judgment…

They were all very concerned about this.

"I am not questioning Her Holiness, but coming back from the demon race’s territory and then taking the position of pope seems a bit inappropriate!"

"There has never been a precedent for the Director of the Heretic Tribunal to become a pope!"

"That’s right… but His Holiness did not say it clearly; he might just be giving us a warning!"

"In the end, the pope also began to show signs of confusion…"

In different secret rooms and chambers, the same meeting took place.

Even though there was no communication between them…

However, almost everyone reached a kind of agreement.

That is, they must first stop the momentum of the Holy Maiden and the Director of the Heretic Tribunal!

Those who had played games where everyone fought separately could probably understand.

As long as one team stood out…

Whether to win immediately or to be eliminated right away!

It would definitely face attacks from all sides!

So, almost everyone became active on purpose.

They began to more actively seek the support of those bishops who could be influenced and had some voting power, and launched a campaign towards many mid-level and even grassroots pastors and Paladins!

However, it was not to gather votes for themselves.

But to create momentum…

Neither the Director of the Heretic Tribunal nor the Lady of Light was capable enough to create momentum for the Pope!

"The Holy Maiden is too young, lacks experience, and has even been captured by the demon race; she is not qualified!"

"There is no precedent for the Director of the Heretic Tribunal to become Pope; a person with such ruthless methods cannot represent the church’s image!"

Catching these two points, all factions began to quietly gather support and recruit more people.

Of course…

The Heretic Tribunal and many factions that belonged to the Lady of Light…

Although they did not receive and could not possibly receive instructions from the Lord Director and the Lady of Light.

They also took action on their own!

After all, these two groups were different from other factions that were linked with others.

One side consisted of members of the Heretic Tribunal who excelled at working in secret, and they had the motivation and ability to act without instructions.

Unlike any parish or knight order, the Heretic Tribunal was a truly unified organization!

Even if it wasn’t originally, the Director of the Heretic Tribunal had already refined this organization.

The other side…

Was purely a personal fan of the Lady of Light… powered by love.

Although this generation of the Lady of Light had mixed popularity among the grassroots and middle-class.

But in a certain sense, the Pope’s opinion was very important.

He had only shown some inclination, which was enough to prove the legitimacy of the Lady of Light!

Like that old grandpa who was a devoted cultivator…

He firmly supported the Lady of Light faction!

You could say that if voting started now, all those pure cultivators would definitely vote for the Lady of Light!

And because these people often have no selfish motives, they would influence a large group of undecided individuals!

This is why everyone thought that the Lady of Light and the director of the Heretic Tribunal were very important.

Of course…

Except for Lolth!

Lolth had almost no awareness of this.

It wasn’t that she thought there was a question of advantage…

But rather this lazy girl had never even considered how to get the Lady of Light elected.

After all, as an outsider, she hadn’t thought about any factors of faction struggles at all…

She didn’t even know how many factions there were in the Church of Light at that time.

At most, she only knew that the electoral system of the Church of Light was very complicated.

Each bishop and leader of a Paladin squad had one vote.

For each level one rose, one got one extra vote.

All votes had to belong to one person.

Each parish, church, and knight order also had local votes.

Different regions had different weights for their local votes.

Each region had its own rules about who received the weighted votes.

Some regions held a vote with all the believers, while others used a random group of one hundred representatives to vote.

In short, local votes mainly reflected the views of the believers and grassroots members of the Church of Light.

So sometimes, within the same organization…

For example, a cardinal in a certain area might have given his vote to someone.

However, the three parishes he oversaw might have voted for three completely different people.

Of course, this was an extreme case.

Most cardinals preferred to have the opinions of their parishioners align with their own.

There was no need for any secret dealings.

They just needed to promote the papal candidate they supported more.

This complicated system could ensure fairness to a certain extent in theory.

But similarly…

It could lead to a situation like that of the Church of Light at present.

This had created many "factions" fighting and ways to take action.

It was not just about the birth of the Pope.

Besides the Lady of Light being chosen by God.

Each position, like Privy Bishop and Cardinal, had its own very different but extremely complicated election rules.

Internal voting, peer appointments, and movements…

Like any large organization, the Church of Light operated in a complex and bloated way.

That was why Lolth was too lazy to engage in all of this…

The Demon Army was much better!

All positions were decided by the Demon King, and titles were basically given based on strength.

The number of people under her command depended entirely on her ability to lead and bring them out of the abyss.

Territory and resources, whoever conquered them got to keep them.

Those who gave enough to the abyss and satisfied the Demon Army got to keep the rest for themselves.

Sometimes, the Demon King might even create a position for you right on the spot.

Lolth’s Demon Army Chief Consultant… this was exactly how it happened…

Before that, she had never heard of such a thing!

Lolth was also 100% sure that there had never been a "Chief Consultant" in any previous Demon Army.

However, there was one thing Lolth could confirm.

Within complex systems, there was always a simplest solution.

That was enough "strength"!

In the elections, strength undoubtedly meant having great achievements…

As long as the Lady of Light had a certain level of reputation, as long as the Pope was not her…

Immediately, everyone in the Holy Empire and the Church of Light would rebel.

Then any further hidden struggle was pointless.

Even if the achievements were great enough, there was no need for promotional strategies.

Simply stating the facts was enough.

Perhaps in a world without extraordinary powers, this was hard to achieve…

However, in this world, Lolth was not worried at all.

Even the one who helped the Holy Maiden learn how to properly "reform" was the same.

It was enough to just "teach" Her Holiness certain things!

What Lolth loved most was this kind of two-for-one situation.

This meant that two things she must do could actually be solved by just doing one thing.

From an efficiency point of view, this was a new concept of slacking off!

To touch it was to feel great.

Of course…

No matter how simplified this process was, it still had to be done in the end.

She returned to the room of the Heretic Tribunal.

Lolth also began to explain to the only two people she trusted what they needed to do next.

"Next, we will start at The Church of Light to create a familiar face, showing that we are at the event."

Lolth said seriously.

"Patricia, you can just act under the Heretic Tribunal’s name to handle it. After all, the Pope is there to support you… But make sure to give the credit to Dorothy once you find something!"

"As for Dorothy… well, just stay safe, follow Patricia, and casually check in on everyone to see how they are doing."

"As for me, I will pretend to be active during the day, making some arrangements while teaching Coristo."

Lolth paused for a moment here.

"And at night, I will return to Hillenbrand Town to teach the real Lady of Light!"

"You all just need to help cover for me!"

Upon hearing this, Patricia widened her eyes.

"Are you serious? The choice is the Lady of Light?"

She said in disbelief.

Lolth also shrugged her shoulders, showing a "what’s wrong with that" expression.

"Isn’t that what the Pope meant in the first place? I’m just following the old man’s thoughts; is that a problem?"

Patricia opened her mouth.

Originally, she wanted to question it, as the Pope’s term was almost over…

Can you convince the Lady of Light?

After thinking for a moment…

She stopped talking.

Questioning Lolth’s ability to change others’ minds was just too much.

Although this succubus didn’t know any mental spells, Patricia had already noticed.

But because of this, the succubus seemed all the more terrifying.

After all…

Tina Leinster Newmoon and Isabella were two living examples right there…

Oh, and there was also the Golden Peacock princess in front of them.

Patricia even thought with a rather dark sense of humor…

I wonder if, in this short time, the Lady of Light would also fall in love with this succubus?

If that’s the case, it’s really interesting!

After finishing these things, Lolth concluded their meeting, which was incredibly brief compared to others.

"Alright, that’s all I have to say, everyone feel free to do your own thing!"

"Tomorrow, we will begin our mission!"