Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 470: Disagreement in the Vatican

"Milo Mendes disobeyed the Holy City's orders and, slightly instigated by some of your radicals... he dared to leave his station on the border of Isengard without permission and head into Saint Varen to rashly confront the northern mage lord!"

The atmosphere in the Glorious Hall was turbulent, and Cardinal Tossa Ismael almost slammed the table and roared to vent his emotions.

What happened in Saint Valen was originally a desperate attempt by some ambitious cardinals to test the situation. They wanted to use the nobles to force the Federation to completely provoke a dispute, so that the "war faction" in the Holy City could become the actual leader of Goris and have more say.

Faced with these occasional "local conflicts", the Holy See could have turned a blind eye and remained indifferent, maintaining a superficial cooperative relationship with the Federation in Blackrock City and facing the offensive of the demons... However, after the outbreak of the plague and the expulsion of the spellcasters, the situation in Saint Valen was already chaotic and prone to explosions. The "minor quarrels" between the two countries on the border gradually escalated into a war that even the lords and princes were summoned to participate!

The Federation, which had already suffered a loss, naturally refused to give up. Even the Federation's chief, who had always been indifferent to worldly affairs, personally wrote a letter to the Pope to condemn it. The southern countries led by Orland, who were inclined towards spellcasters, began to gradually close churches and expel missionaries and priests... Even the cave dwarves on the southern coast had the same grim news.

This is undoubtedly an act of self-destruction and shaking the foundation of the church's faith!
Cardinal Bamoa was silent for a moment, but he couldn't help but speak up to defend some people. "Starting with principalities like Saint Valen, which have a strong base of believers, and gradually eliminating the entrenched Federation forces...isn't a bad plan. The Federation already has the upper hand in Blackstone City, so we'll naturally need to suppress them elsewhere if necessary."

Ismael glanced at Bamoa, knowing that he had likely been too permissive throughout this series of events. He suppressed his anger and said, "The result is that all three thousand elite Knights of the Judgment Army of the Spear of Light were buried beneath the walls of the Golden City capital!"

The gloomy Chief Judge Felipe stepped out from the crowd and bowed, saying, "Your Excellency, if it weren't for the inaccurate intelligence provided by that Union informant, we wouldn't have misjudged the enemy's strength, leading to the loss of the Knights of the Inquisition in a pre-set trap... With all due respect, that informant was probably a poison pill handed to us by the Union!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall immediately began to discuss among themselves in low voices, and gradually sensed that something was amiss in the complex situation.

Felipe gritted his teeth and said, "If he hadn't told us that First Chief Kemo Salas had suffered a relapse of his Soul Dissociation Syndrome and was nearing death, and that now was a golden opportunity to suppress the Federation...why would we have gone to all this trouble to set up this grand game with Saint Valencia and actively lure the Federation into it?"

What happened? Not only was the legendary chief safe and sound, it seemed that the problem of his approaching end of life was suddenly solved. The plague spreading throughout Saint Valen was even contained by the spellcasters at an extremely fast speed. The healing potions they provided to the people were even more effective than the church's divine potions. It was like they were slapping the church in the face in front of thousands of believers.

Bamoa frowned and said, "Furthermore... he promised us that he would find a way to control Grand Duke Saint Valen for us, using the guise of secular nobility to force the duchy to completely sway over the church... but he ended up reducing the Grand Duke to a state of near imminent death. As a result, the blame for the murder of the royal family was pinned on us by those spellcasters!"

At this point, Ismael coughed awkwardly and slowly explained, "This was an unexpected incident... Your Majesty was reluctant to grant him the gift of the rebirth ceremony. I think he didn't fully rely on us. At the same time, he took the risk of using his own bloodline to try a taboo magical experiment..."

"What? He and Archduke Saint Valen are close relatives?" Felipe asked in surprise.

"Well... apart from me and Your Majesty, Bishop Bamoa also knows the inside story." Now that the plan has failed, Ismail naturally doesn't need to hide anything anymore.

Bamoya said bitterly, "That's why we can't agree to perform the ceremony for him! This crazy wizard who betrays the organization for his own selfish interests and even kills his own descendants is not worthy of our investment and trust!"

Several judges gathered around Felipe, the leader, and addressed the three cardinals in unison, "Your Excellency, even if Judge Mendes violated orders and dispatched troops without authorization, we should not sit idly by and watch the Glorious Spear Legion near annihilation! We must avenge our Lord's most loyal servant!"

"Right! Revenge! Gather the three legions of the Holy City and march to Saint Valen immediately! Tie all those despicable pagans to the stake for final judgment!" "Right! While the main force of the Federation is trapped in the demon battlefield of the Evil Moon Mountains, even if we can't completely tear up the peace agreement... we must at least destroy the power of the Mage Lord they cultivated in the North! We can't sit idly by and watch the Federation plant such a sharp and poisonous sting in our backs!"

Bishop Rivera, who was born into an ascetic family and never spoke easily, raised his hand to suppress the crowd's shouting, turned to look at Ismael with a complicated expression, raised his hand to point to the sky, and then pointed to the crown on his head that did not exist at all.

His meaning was very clear - at the moment the presiding judge and the bishops were clearly divided into two factions, one advocating war and the other advocating peace. Even the three leaders could not reach a consensus on this matter. It would be better to go to the Privy Council of the Divine Grace Cathedral and ask to see His Holiness Pope XIII, who had been avoiding people for a long time, and listen to his teachings and instructions.

Among the three of them, the one who has the qualification to meet the Pope at any time is naturally Ismail himself, who is regarded as the successor to the next Pope.

……

The secret area of the church, built in a deep pit under the church, has always been gloomy and dark. Even in the daytime, it needs to be illuminated by a large number of candles and torches. This makes the sunlight shining through the dome look even more holy and precious.

The Pope still stayed in the cramped and empty prayer room, wearing the gray robe of a low-level priest that he had never changed for years.

"Years of permissiveness and acquiescence towards the Divine Punishment Sect have finally brought us unbearable consequences." The Pope slowly stood up, his gray eyes fixed on his future successor. "To ensure our faith remains unshaken, we are forced to engage in this endless conflict..."

Ismael was somewhat bewildered. He whispered, "Your Majesty, the bishops and judges are discussing this matter, and most believe that this matter cannot be left unresolved... If it is not properly resolved, I'm afraid the Vatican will be completely divided into two opposing factions."

"But the magical weapons wielded by that northern wizard lord... are even more powerful and terrifying than the alchemical weapons of the Union. We've never been able to completely defeat these spellcasters in the past. Do you think you have a chance of victory now?"

Faced with the Pope's gentle questioning, the Cardinal remained silent for a moment, still struggling to defend himself. "We have the fearless and absolutely loyal Knights of the Inquisition, as well as a vast number of believers throughout the southern border. I believe..."

"Will we carry out a thorough war with the Federation like we did over a hundred years ago, and then let the demons seize the opportunity to invade and wreak havoc on the southern continent, completely damaging the vitality of the human race?"

The Pope sighed, slowly walked to the stone platform, and stared at the row of flickering lamps. He said quietly, "If this were merely a dispute involving faith and truth, we and those disbelievers, wizards, would naturally be mortal enemies..."

"But... I've received vague revelations many times today during prayer and meditation..."

"In the near future, our race will face an invasion from a race even more powerful than the demons. We or the spellcasters of the Federation alone will not be able to fight against them..."

The Pope turned his head, looking at Ishmael, who looked in doubt, and said slowly, "The people's faith is the cornerstone of our survival. If an alien invasion results in massive civilian casualties, our divine arts and bloodline power will even gradually weaken as the power of faith fades... until, in the end, you and I will no longer be able to obtain even a trace of our Lord's power through prayer!"

(End of this chapter)