This heretic cannot be burned, he must be hung up and whipped!

Zero Yi Qi Si] pY four-pot roast...

Benedict was surrounded by an endless white void, without dimensions or reference points, without light or dark, without up or down. A white light enveloped him like liquid, and the whispers of millions echoed in the silence.

He didn't know where this place was, but it certainly wasn't the Aether Sea. Perhaps this was what death felt like? Or perhaps this was the final resting place of the soul? No, none of these answers seemed to satisfy him.

Although he had no experience of death, it did not feel like the end of his luminous body. He did not feel his physical body, nor did he see the absurdly fragile silver thread that connected his essence to the man-made portal on the shallow side as he cruised the depths of the ethereal sea.

Perhaps he had gone too far, was too bold, and this was the price he had to pay. Just as he was about to return to the shallows of the ether sea, the cross he was carrying suddenly began to glow.

He descended into the Kingdom of the Lord.

Pius, who was waiting in the shallow depths of the ether sea, suddenly looked extremely grim.

"We're here so soon?! When did he rise up a distance again?!"

The chestnut horse dived into the depths of the ether sea.

----------

Benedict suddenly woke up at the fork in the road.

"Pius?"

He instinctively asked a word that was unfamiliar yet familiar to him.

"Who is he?"

On the wall at the fork in the road hangs an old, mottled, paint-chipped portrait with the inscription: St. Sixtus IV.

No one responded to him, but the fork in the road on the right had disappeared. He could only walk forward, but the holy and solemn background atmosphere began to gradually change with his footsteps.

"Patt, patt." The road under my feet was a bit sticky, and the steps were stained with an unknown reddish-brown liquid.

The smell of decay grew stronger, and the icons on the walls began to fade: the bodies of countless martyrs who had dedicated themselves to the Lord over the centuries piled up like mountains on both sides of the road, the wings of the angels in the Old Testament rotted into skeletons, and finally even the familiar-looking man on the cross was twisted into a monster with a huge mouth gaping in his abdomen.

Benedict saw that the remains of the martyrs and angels had one thing in common - they all had a hole of a strange shape, and from the outside, the inside had become an empty shell.

He could not sense any breath of any living being.

A tilted iron door suddenly appeared in front of him, a sticky liquid seeping from the cracks. Benedict pressed his palm on the rusty door handle, and frost immediately covered the entire iron door.

"Why is this frost coming from me?"

Strangely, the frost-covered area is gradually changing from a distorted shape to "normal", and is becoming more and more similar to the heaven in the Bible.

Behind the door was a massive circular crypt, where hundreds of mummified corpses, dressed in papal robes, were suspended in mid-air by chains, their empty eye sockets all facing the altar in the center.

A stone cup stood on the altar, and pitch-black blood kept gushing out of the cup, gathering into a cross on the ground.

“Our flesh and blood are His bread, and our spirits are His wine.”

Pius's weak voice came from behind him, and the octogenarian took off his papal crown, revealing a hideous scar on his head.

“Do you understand now? Young Pope, every Pope who comes here has been marked by Him—just like the cork on a wine bottle.

Finally, before dying, they offer their souls, forged with time and faith, to Him in exchange for the opportunity for mortals to borrow a glimmer of His power. He pointed behind the altar—and to both sides of the path he had taken. Millennia of accumulated skulls had piled up into a mountain, each with a regular circular hole drilled into its crown.

"Come to think of it. Why could an ordinary mortal, after standing on the Catherine Wheel, grant the Shrine Hermit such powerful strength? Why can those lunatics of the Strategic Prophecy Committee easily glimpse the future even without awakening their essence? Even a blind sniper priest can rely on faith to make his bullets hit the target every time, just by relying on their humble lives like ants?

Benedict, wake up, the contract has long been completed, my mission has ended, and now this torch that has been passed down for centuries and countless generations of popes should be taken over by you. "

The memories that had been locked away in Benedict's mind suddenly burst forth! He remembered! He remembered everything!

Everything I've experienced since I was a child... everything that seemed wrong but that I and the people around me took for granted... all came back to me!!

But why...why didn't they realize it for so long?

“This is the loneliness and suffering of us shepherds who raise lambs.”

The cross in Benedict's hand suddenly became scorching hot, and a circle of burn marks appeared on his head out of thin air. In the center of the burn scar, there was a cross mark.

Benedict touched the mark on his head in disbelief. He couldn't accept that he, the church, and the countless people who believed in God were trapped in such a huge lie! He collapsed and screamed at the old Pope, "Then what exactly do we believe in? Where is the future of mankind? Please tell me!"

Pius' figure seemed to have aged a dozen years. He stood on the altar and hung himself on the iron hook hanging from the void. He lowered his head obediently, pointed the mark on his crown at the sky, and his sigh echoed in the crypt for a long time.

“Remember, hope is not in heaven...but on earth.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a finger stretched out from the void and wiped a circle over the old Pope's head. A transparent tube extended downward, and the old Pope's body suddenly began to collapse, his flesh melting like a candle, transforming into one of the other mummified popes hanging from the hooks.

A solemn voice descended from the sky. Benedict looked up and saw a blurry face emerging from the clouds—a face that looked like both a kind father and a composite of thousands of human faces:

"Although your coronation ceremony overlapped with his sacrifice ceremony because of you, it did save me some time. I don't know why you all like to hold ceremonies together since that vessel named Heathcote came here. Now you can go to the coronation venue where you should have been. Remember to bring a new vessel next time. Or if you have a better deal, we can discuss it. Of course, the fee may be a bit high."

Yes, he should have taken the "broad road" on the left at the fork in the road to attend the holy coronation ceremony, that's what he should have done.

"Why..." He shouted at the Almighty God, the cross mark on his head burning brightly.

"Because hunger is endless." God gradually faded, his holy face beginning to crumble. "You offer faith, and I drink souls. This deal began when the first Pope walked in here—faith, salvation, eternal life... I am so pleased with your race!"

The warm wind blew across his cheeks, and the scene in front of him changed in the blink of an eye. He found himself standing on a flawless meadow.

The sky was clear, unicorns drank from the stream, angels played with harps in the clouds, fruit trees were laden with jewel-like fruits, and in the distance stood a pure white palace.

This is the Garden of Eden, and this is the lie that the great Pope Heathcote exposed for posterity.

The soft warm light shone on the new Pope, but it did not bring him a trace of warmth.

A holy unicorn spotted Benedict standing on the meadow. It came over curiously and licked the back of his hand. More creatures appeared from the woods and the sky and snuggled up to him.

The melodious calls of kingfishers and the laughter of cherubs blend together as the morning bells ring.

The time has come for the new Pope to be crowned.

PS: To celebrate this book’s promotion to second place on the list~ Here’s a 5.8k chapter for everyone to enjoy!

Give me some recommendation votes meow....Bei Zhai is really burning out meow...

PS2: Actually, I buried a lot of holes in this chapter. I originally wanted to find an opportunity to write it on the spot, but it is more interesting to leave some mysteries and foreshadowing ()

PS3：当前更新法案：民用更新——180推荐票票下一章4.5k起步嗷！1月票/刀片/100打赏等于20票票！下周将切换法案至前期动员，具体内容看杂项卷。

PS4: Py with the boss: "I am in the wine pool and meat forest of Terra"

The boss said that the introduction should be written like this: Hedgehog Cat's most pornographic and violent novel in history

In Flame: 1914: War Zone Map 1914.12

As the title says, combining the official rule book and the opinions of some netizens on the Internet, Bei Zhai made a current map of Europe according to the plot requirements of this book. The place where the protagonist travels to is the small red dot marked in the lower right corner of the Holy Roman Empire.

Why is Finland a war zone? The rulebook's description of Molotov cocktails mentions Finland's "Ice Demon," so Beizhai did just that.

The little white dot in the Middle East is the Principality of Antioch.

New Antioch will never fall!

In Flames: 1914: Chapter 13 We Will Define Faith, Choose Hope (4.5k)

Benedict had forgotten how he had run madly back to the world from the Garden of Eden. When his reason regained the upper hand of his consciousness, he had already appeared in the secret room of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

"vomit--"

He huddled against the cold stone bricks of the secret room, his throat tingling with bile. His trembling fingers gripped the edge of the crown tightly, as if he wanted to tear off the painful brand along with the skin and flesh.

"My Lord... actually feeds on lambs..." He stared at the vomit on his fingertips, and in a trance he saw the souls of countless believers surging in the ether sea—

The cries of dying farmers, singing monks, and broken soldiers in the trenches became his nourishment, feeding this...monster.

"But...what can I do?"

That is God, the supreme almighty. The monster hidden deep in the ether sea feeds on human souls. It is a creature that cannot be fought against by human power. Those beings in the depths of the ether sea are the biggest refutation of the saying that man can conquer nature!

"what do I do..."

The regular knocking on the door outside interrupted his thoughts, and the sound of the nuns' iron boots stepping on the ground intertwined into a harsh noise.

Benedict staggered to his feet, frost spreading uncontrollably from his palms, freezing the door knocker into a layer of frost.

When the iron-masked woman with the crown stepped into the room, he almost fell to his knees - Dominican suddenly took a step forward and supported the young Pope in advance.

"Saint Dominica of the zweihander (translatable as Saint Dominica of the two-handed sword), may God continue to watch over you."

Although the armor of the swordsman in front of him had been carefully maintained, the countless scratches and damages from the sword revealed the warrior's past. Benedict secretly activated his ability to peek into the swordsman's heart through the ether sea, but found that she still maintained her worldly form even in the ether sea, and every sacred symbol on the armor was burning with hot flames in the ether sea.

"Holy Father, you need to wake up from the truth as soon as possible. The lambs need the guidance of the shepherd. You must prepare your plan as soon as possible."

Dominica knelt on one knee and saluted him, then said:

"Holy Father Pius has returned to the Kingdom of God. You should now review all of the plans Pius has made since his coronation and formulate your own plans for your reign. The Strategic Prophecy Committee will assist you in verifying the feasibility of your plans and their future development direction."

Seeing Dominicana's familiar look, Benedict asked, "You...you all know the truth?"

"If you mean the truth about the source of the Lord's power, the only nine remaining paladins all know the price of this power. Every battle we fight, every time we bleed and recover, consumes the blood of the Lamb.

The Strategic Prophecy Committee did not need to know, nor was it necessary for them to know. They had to have the highest level of devotion and trust in the Lord, completely and thoroughly dedicating their body and mind to Him, in order to use that forbidden power to foresee the possibilities of the future.

Therefore, please do not tell them what you saw and heard during your pilgrimage to the Kingdom of the Lord. This extremely heavy truth is not something that everyone can bear."

"So you know the price of using the Lord's power!"

Benedict suddenly grabbed her shoulder armor, his psychic energy escaping uncontrollably, and frost bloomed on the surface of the shoulder armor:

"You all know! You know He is sucking our marrow! And yet you still want me to continue this sacrifice?"

Dominica remained motionless. "Since the day Mendel's Order created us, truth has been the sharpest cross. But if we lose this power, how can we face hell?"

Beneath the iron mask, there was a hint of pain in Dominica's calm voice.

"I have a request." "Speak."

Benedict is a new official who has been rapidly promoted by Pius. He must find reliable allies in the power vortex of Europe. Although these paladins who have served the church for hundreds of years should obey the orders of the Pope on the surface, their power as powerful as demigods is enough to make them free from any worldly control.

The only thing that can control their behavior is the oath they made.

"How long did you dive into the etheric sea before reaching the Lord's Kingdom?"

"Probably... about ten minutes, less than half an hour. Any questions, Saint Dominic?" Benedict asked curiously.

"Please wait a moment. The following conversation needs to be shielded from possible prying eyes from the Ether Sea."

Dominicana lifted a corner of his cloak, took out a palm-sized cube from his waist, pressed a few buttons on it, and within a few minutes, hurried footsteps were heard.

The moment the door opened again, Benedict suddenly felt as if millions of ice spikes were piercing his skull.

"What the hell did you bring in?!"

"A soulless person."

A man in a white robe was dragged inside by chains. His presence was like a rip in the veil of reality, distorting all light as it passed through him. Atop his head, the man wore an iron helmet, with incomprehensible wires and symbols jutting from the crevices. As Dominicana removed the restraining device, Benedict finally understood what a "soulless person" meant.

In his special vision, the colorful vortex of the ether sea tore through his head, forming a singularity that swallowed everything. His soul was madly torn apart, and ice butterflies flickered violently in the vortex of the ether sea.

As the man gradually approached the two of them, Benedict felt an extremely strong sense of nausea and stench. The disgust that came from his heart almost made him vomit, but his identity as the Pope made him stand there.

"How could you possibly be hiding an Untouchable? Shouldn't they all be sent to the front lines to atone for their sins?!"

As soon as the knights left the door, Benedict couldn't help but lean against the wall and retched. In his memory of growing up, there was a group that was even rarer than his kind - the untouchables in the church's mouth. They were hated by everyone, just like they had offended God at birth. Everyone said that the stench on them was extremely uncomfortable - especially for people with special abilities like Benedict.

"They can block out prying eyes from the aether sea."

In the eyes of the new Pope, there was a huge black hole in the room, and the suction from his soul seemed to tear him into pieces! In the pain of his soul being torn apart, Dominic's voice seemed to come from a very far distance:

“Venerable Father Benedict, He is about to rise to the surface.

As He gradually approaches the world, the power He can interfere with will increase. If you have important plans to share with us in the future, please talk to us under the shield of the Soulless.

I suggest that you reduce the use of the Lord's power as much as possible and rely more on our own abilities. We will do our best to clear the obstacles to your plan. Father Pius's space program is too advanced and has consumed a lot of our funds, material resources and faith.

This is clearly His plan. He wants us to rely more on His power, so He extracts the most tempting and beautiful scenes from the future and projects them into the minds of the Strategic Prophecy Committee, driving them to rely more on His power to develop this technology that is beyond our reach.

Saint Pius does not trust our power. He hopes to use technology to break free from His control. Since the launch of the "Tower of Babel" project in 1899, it has been invested for fifteen years. Even if Saint Pius realized that this might be a trap, it was too late. Stopping this expensive project easily would have a huge impact on the trust of the church and the people.

I hope you can temporarily suspend funding for the 'Tower of Babel' project and invest resources in technologies that will produce faster results."

Benedict resisted the urge to flee the room and nodded painfully.