Not only was the former regent, who was gasping for breath due to the tightness in the nun's chest, but he was also confused.
Even the Ling people and Mr. Joseph, who had just come out of a tent and was about to change new medicine for the wounded, were stunned.
But seeing the nun excitedly taking out a shiny razor directly from her backpack, they finally decided to keep silent: after all, this seemed to be a matter between the Regent and his wife.
They didn't dare to ask rashly, because if they asked now, Mother Teresa might just shave their necks with a razor, really.
Chapter 3: Stolen power, the conspiracy of the parish
Chatter, chatter.
Hehehe—
Mother Teresa was clearly in a good mood.
In this small space where there were only the two of them, she was holding a razor and shaving Yang Hao with extremely unskilled techniques.
Every time the knife was used, Yang Hao's beard would be shaved into various strange shapes. Even without looking, he knew that his beard was gradually shaved into squares. He could even feel the coldness of the sharp blade carefully scraping his Adam's apple, but for some reason he was not afraid at all.
Maybe it was because the person who shaved him was Theresa, the only woman he could trust now
He looked thoughtfully at Theresa who was leaning over to shave him. Her nun's uniform was very old, and the white cape on her swollen chest was covered with dust and stains.
When she goes to the Elf Kingdom, she will have to change into new clothes.
Although I don’t know how much money I can exchange for the things I carry with me, but generally speaking, if a woman hasn’t had new clothes for almost half a year, she must have all kinds of emotions in her heart, right
Yang Hao was thinking, and at this moment, Theresa muttered in a rather complaining tone:
"By the way, your temper just now really scared me - no matter what, you can't openly say "you don't trust them" when you are teaming up with others, right?"
"Haven't I been pretending well all this time? If I had shown such emotions earlier, they would have left long ago."
Yang Hao defended himself. He had tried his best not to show resistance in front of the Ling people and Joseph's family in the past month. He only got upset when he was with Theresa.
"Besides, weren't you the only one who could hear me say that at the time?"
"That's true... After all, they were all far away from us. You didn't forget to suppress your voice when you were angry, which is commendable. Ouch, don't move. I accidentally shaved a small cut... Hiss, it's really troublesome to have no shaving oil."
"Well… "
"But indeed, I now understand that it's not that you don't want to pretend, but that you really can't pretend anymore.
It’s like asking a person who is allergic to pork to eat pork every day and say that he likes pork. Maybe he can hold out for a day or two, but after a month or two, he will almost die from allergies, so he can’t even pretend to like pork anymore…
You, it seems like you are "allergic" to interpersonal relationships now.
Previously, I could still use the excuse of "employer" to deceive myself that I would soon part ways with the Ling people, but now others have followed me, and there is also a genuine former subordinate... If I have no reason to continue deceiving myself, I will have to endure the torment of this psychological trauma.
This is a very normal psychological trauma that many people cannot understand. I remember that the Church of Light also liked to use this to accuse others of "betraying humanity or blaspheming God"... But this is beside the point.
Now tell me honestly, what would you see if you saw someone other than me getting along with you? "
Theresa muttered something long that she had never said before, while carefully shaving Yang Hao's beard until only stubble was left.
In response to Theresa's question, Yang Hao remained silent for a long time before sighing:
"When I look at anyone other than you, it's like I'm looking at Robert... Priscilla, and... my little queen."
"I understand the first two, but what about the latter one?"
"Because there is a question that has been bothering me... I don't know why she "didn't speak". If she had scolded me or wronged me like everyone else, I would have been able to put a huge stone down in my heart... But she didn't even dare to open her lips..."
Theresa was silent for a while, then she squeezed out this sentence: "Oh... Are you worried... that she was coerced?"
"I'm also worried whether I'm just being sentimental." Yang Hao smiled bitterly, "Am I being too pitiful to think this way?"
"So what if you're pitiful? You still have to live with me in the future... But, I'm giving you a choice now, little dog—
That is, didn’t I kill a follower of the Church of Light before? And you also let Golem massacre the people of Earl Kagaard, among whom there were many followers of the Church of Light…”
"Hmm?" There seemed to be some connection between the believers of the Church of Light and the "light" that Theresa believed in, which made Yang Hao subconsciously raise his eyebrows.
"That's right - maybe it's because they died in our hands. Somehow, my Lord, who was about to die, suddenly regained a little strength."
She put down the razor in her hand and pointed with two fingers, which were not even as thick as her fingernails:
"And... well, I can now cast more advanced spells - although most of them are useless, but there is one that I think you can use right now."
"What is that?"
"The magic to calm the mind is called 'Tranquility'. I told you before - once a gangster wanted to use this magic on me to torture a decent woman, but I refused. Not only because I resisted, but more importantly, I couldn't use it at that time."
"Can it be used now?"
"Yes. If you really can't hold on—"
"Then use it on me."
"Huh?"
Theresa blinked, put the razor into her pocket, took out a wet cloth and wiped the beard on Yang Hao's face, as well as the small cuts that were accidentally made by the razor.
"In a sense, if I release this magic on you, I can make you do anything, right? Forget about anything else. For now, I can even induce you to take off your pants in public when you are at your most peaceful, and chase me around like a male dog in breeding season. Is this really okay?"
It was completely impossible to understand why Theresa would use such a dirty joke as a metaphor, and it was even more impossible to understand whether this was the kind of cultivation a nun should have... In short, after Theresa wiped the beard off Yang Hao's face, he nodded again:
"Yes. I completely trust you. If it were you, even if you let me die, I would not doubt that you have the intention to hurt me. So if you think it is necessary... then do it."
My condition is very abnormal, and I really can't cover it up by my own strength anymore.
Yang Hao chose to trust Theresa completely, because Theresa was willing to risk her life to protect him, and he was also willing to risk his own life to trust her.
After hearing what he said, the joy in the little nun's eyes became even more intense:
"This is really a heavy trust, isn't it? From now on, you have to give me the account book of your family, go home on time every night, don't go to the bar, and don't go to the red-light district... But since it's like this, why don't you think about the name of the child in the future?"
"Theresa?"
"No, I'm kidding. After all, I don't want to be a mother at such a young age. It's too tiring."
Mother Teresa, who was not willing to give in, chuckled, and the main point she made seemed to be that she "didn't want to be a mother at such a young age".
She clasped her hands together and bowed her head to pray. Then, accompanied by a faint white light, Yang Hao suddenly felt his heart become unusually calm.
Turning back to look at the Ling tribe members who had already started cooking not far away, he tried to think about the possibility that Nalujia wanted to be friends with him as before—
No more urges to vomit. No more nameless anger rising from my heart. No more hallucinations of Robert and Priscilla appearing before me.
He felt extremely calm inside: This palliative care technique is really suitable for patients like me.
Then, he added in his mind: Only Theresa's tranquility technique can make him accept it with peace of mind and without any guard.
…
Meanwhile, in the diocese, Patriarch Peter convened a council of bishops.
All the bishops arrived in time, but the seat of the saint was still empty.
Upon seeing this, Patriarch Peter could only shake his head and sigh: This saint has been locking herself in the basement and not coming out, which has made it convenient for him to hold power alone.
But this is an unstable time bomb after all. The Saint Lady still doesn't know where the Regent is, let alone the current situation of the Roman Empire - well, it would be a good thing if she could stay underground forever.
But the problem is that she can't stay underground forever. So Patriarch Peter must find a way...
However, this was not the topic of this parliament. The parliament convened by Patriarch Peter today was mainly for the big event of invading the Elf Forest in November this year to make a lot of money.
“Come to think of it, isn’t it Harvest Day this December?”
A white cardinal wearing a silver crown was chewing on some freshly-frozen fish from the coastal areas while muttering to Pope Peter.
“When ‘Payback Day’ comes, our parish must award the faithful with ‘interest’ on the money they have deposited in the parish bank…
This is not a small amount, especially considering that we have to provide the Empire with a huge sum of 4 million gold coins every year, and the nearly 6 million gold coins in compensation for the "Kajiad Incident"... If "Payday" pays interest normally, our income this year will turn into a deficit."
The parish can probably scrape off 10 million gold coins from its own believers and other places every year.
Maybe it is various currencies, maybe it is various minerals, or it may be a "blood tax" based mainly on population.
But the parish has already spent too much of its wealth this year.
Without considering the cost of the parish's own maintenance, the parish has now fallen to a point of negative profits just because of the two "compensations", not to mention that this December is the "harvest day" that comes once every five years.
This year's "Harvest Day", the parish expects to spend about 10 million gold coins in bank interest or benefits.
Although the expenditure of more than 20 million gold coins this year would not be a major blow to the parish's accumulated wealth, in the end it would require frugality and have the priests eat less lamb sent from the west and fresh sea fish sent from the southern coast.
However, how to "cancel" this interest and at the same time turn the believers' property stored in the bank into the wealth of the Church of Light legally is still the theme of this Bishops' Council.
After all, you can never have too much money, and even a penny less than what can be saved is not acceptable.
Patriarch Peter watched the bishops discuss the matter in this way. In the end, the bishops might have different ideas on the details, but overall, they all held the same idea:
That is to send fanatical believers - especially fanatical believers who have saved a lot of property in the bank - to the Elf Forest to die.
The literal meaning is to die.
In the parish, if there is no designated heir for the property stored in the parish bank, all the property will become the wealth of the Church of Light after the death of the person concerned.
In other words, as long as enough believers die on Harvest Day, the Church of Light will be able to avoid a large amount of interest and gain a large amount of wealth.
If the expeditionary force's combat effectiveness is amazing and it achieves good results, the diocese can even naturally expand its territory to the north and use the elves' specialties to gain more benefits for itself.
After all, it was an elf. Even if it was just used as a breeding machine, one elf was enough to support a noble family for hundreds of years.
And the elves are actually similar to the demons in the Monster Forest in a certain sense—
Their whole bodies are full of good magic materials, even the elves' menstrual blood is a natural magic transmission material...
In this case, it is a sure win for the bishops to gamble for more profits by using the guaranteed minimum to make a lot of money.
In terms of details, will everyone rush in and try to attack the capital of the Elf Kingdom, Fingal, the Sky Garden? Or will they follow the steps and turn it into a long-term battle? This is a good question...
The bishops were chattering about the matter, and after pondering for a long time, Pope Peter nominated a bishop to be the commander-in-chief of this northern holy war.
His name is Bishop Stephen.
He was one of the most notorious and at the same time the most capable bishops in St. Petersburg.
Bishop Stephen has more than a hundred handsome boys for his enjoyment in his high-rise manor on the 40th floor of the cathedral. His requirements are extremely high. Boys who have lost their virginity will be sent out like garbage, and the boys who are sent out have to express their gratitude to him.
Because they may have gained the favor of important people and can boast about their current status and wealth in front of believers with their heads held high as "deacon apprentices".
Bishop Stephen even had a strange habit of enjoying wild animals in estrus violating boys.
Although no one knew where those beasts came from, and no one knew why he could transport some extremely dangerous monsters into St. Petersburg, it was a fact that he did have countless monsters in his home.
Even the dirtiest executioner in the diocese was unwilling to have anything to do with him, which shows how well-known this bishop's bad deeds were.
But even such a person possesses "strength" comparable to that of others and a fanatical belief in the God of Light.
At the same time, he is the only bishop in the diocese who has experience in commanding large-scale military operations, so it would be perfect for him to serve as the commander-in-chief of this holy war.
"Bishop Stephen, please do not fail in your mission... Now, I declare the meeting adjourned. Everyone, go back. Don't just indulge in pleasure. Learn from me and do something practical to earn some money. Let's go. If the saint's followers ask about today's events, just say, "We will take care of the money ourselves."
"Yes. Then we will withdraw."
The bishops left. Bishop Stephen, who was personally named by Patriarch Peter, was even more arrogant when he left. He wanted everyone to know that he had become the commander-in-chief of this holy war and had won the favor of the Patriarch.
Patriarch Peter looked serious after the bishops left.
Not long ago, he suddenly learned a piece of news from the grace of the "God of Light"...
Some of the divine power did not return to the realm of the God of Light after the death of the believer, but simply disappeared.
"Who stole my lord's power? In Kagad's place... it can't be the regent who doesn't believe in God and has no magical talent at all, right?"
He muttered to himself, obviously having no idea what to do. He could only focus on the primitive demons in the Monster Forest.
Chapter 4: The Roman Empire's Rebellion and Current Situation
…
When Priscilla led the imperial knights away from the scene of the peasant riot in the central district and prepared to return to the capital to report, there were already countless corpses behind them, as well as heads that were counted in baskets.
The rioters were all farmers from the central district. They were armed with sickles and wooden axe, shouting "We want bread, we want work", and used the villages as their bases to attack traveling merchants and residents of other towns and villages.
Priscilla had just returned to the capital to report. Under the order of Prince Gassen, she was asked to resolve this small riot as quickly as possible - she accepted the task and indeed completed her work in the most efficient way.
They released a night magic that plunged the entire area into darkness where no lights could illuminate it, and then teleported the knights who had been blessed with "night vision" directly to the center of the village. They ravaged the entire village as if they were crushing wild flowers on the roadside. More than 700 households died in the village square, and Priscilla later found a lot of "Atonements" produced by the parish in their houses.
Perhaps this is what he was talking about at the time - the people were bought by the words of atonement.
Priscilla sighed deeply, and walked along the cracked brick road with his staff. At this moment, Knight Robert muttered: