An hour later.
At around 2:40 p.m., the palace sent a steward to inform Chen Lun to go to the Sun Palace to attend an emergency meeting.
Chen Lun nodded in agreement, and after briefly notifying Flo Yin, he got on the other party's carriage alone and left the church area.
On the way, he secretly guessed that this meeting was probably caused by the strong attack of the Moon Church and the Star Sect. But no matter what, this would not be a bad thing. After all, the greater the pressure on the royal family, the greater the probability of Noah surviving.
He closed his eyes and rested all the way until the carriage stopped at the marble steps.
Chen Lun silently got out of the carriage holding his silver cane, followed the steward up the stairs, and went straight to the meeting room of the palace.
Before he even walked through the gate, he sensed that there were more than a dozen high-ranking people with powerful auras gathered inside. His spiritual intuition was stirring, but because the difference in power between the two sides was too great, it was difficult to judge whether it was a blessing or a disaster. The omen that finally came was just a mist.
If he had encountered this situation in the past, Chen Lun would probably have stayed as far away as possible, but now he just took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
Crunch...
Many eyes turned to him, gathering on him. Chen Lun remained calm on the surface. He first saluted the prince on the main seat with his hand on his chest, and then walked silently to the seat belonging to Kang Kai Council and sat down.
While taking off his black hat, he took advantage of this opportunity to quietly glance at everyone present.
The high-ranking officials of the Imperial Inquisition and the Church of the Seven Gods have all taken their seats, with the number of people from the Church of the Moon being particularly large.
The leading monastery servant, Selma, was wearing a black gauze robe and a dark purple felt short cape on her shoulders. She held the silver moon-shaped ornament on her chest with both hands and closed her eyes without saying a word. Beside her, seven sisters of the monastery, Bright Moon, were sitting in a row. They all wore nun hats, their fair faces were expressionless, and their eyes were always kept downcast.
At first glance, it looks like a row of holy statues of nuns.
On the other side, there were also quite a few people in the Star Sect. In addition to the head of the Royal City, High Priest Papa, there were five new faces. Judging from their clothing, they should all be high-ranking officials of the same level as Papa. These High Priests of the Star Sect all looked very young, with delicate and beautiful features. It was hard to imagine that such a group of young and beautiful ladies would be high-ranking officials of the church.
What surprised Chen Lun was that Her Majesty the Silver Dragon Witch Blaise was also sitting in this area. He wondered what kind of close connection she had with the Star Sect.
There was not much communication in the conference room. Everyone present remained silent. After waiting for a while, the participants arrived and the prince spoke:
"Today we convened an emergency meeting to discuss the solution to the 'Scorch Order'... In the past few days, the Imperial Inquisition and the Church of the Sun have captured many members of the Order lurking in Tourmaline Closter, but some high-ranking members are still on the run... This time I will not let them live, and I will eradicate them completely."
"Your Highness, rest assured. The History and Ceremony Association will fully assist the royal family in hunting down the top leaders of the Prideful Cross Society."
Eberhard said with a chuckle, playing with the pen in his hand.
Immediately, Camacho also spoke up and agreed, saying that the Hailing Group would send two high priests to lead several of their own elite extraordinary "returning teams" to encircle and capture the Prideful Sun Cross.
The two families spoke one after another and stood on the prince's side.
Although the several chief judges and archbishops of the Sun present did not speak, it was obvious that they were die-hard supporters of the royal family.
Now only the Moon Church, the Star Sect, the Madman School and the Kangkai Council represented by Chen Lun have not expressed their views.
Seeing the silence in the room, the silver-haired High Priest Papa slowly spoke:
"Your Highness, the Star Sect will also..."
"Papa McKennin."
However, the Silver Dragon Witch Blaise, who had remained silent, called out Papa's name at this moment, interrupting her words.
Papa raised her slender eyebrows, and the lines of her red lips slightly lifted. She turned her head to look at Blaise and asked in a pleasant voice:
"Hmm? Blaise, what do you want to say?"
"During these years in the Royal City, it seems that you have forgotten your mission and lost yourself in power and self-interest... The Royal Family of Silber and the Pope of the Stars have given you more than one chance, but you still persist in your delusion."
The hazy starlight phantom on Blaise's face slowly dissipated, revealing a delicate face, his two thick dark gray eyebrows slightly frowned, and his heroic eyes were full of indifference.
Papa was startled at first, then she narrowed her beautiful eyes and pursed her lips and said:
"Blaze, after all, you are not a member of the Star Cult. You have no right to criticize me, let alone interfere with my decision-making... I am the chief priest of the Star Cult's Royal City. Everything is up to me. I order you to shut up immediately."
"I am not qualified, but there is always someone who is qualified."
Blaise hit back indifferently.
She raised her hand, revealing a ball of liquid metal floating in her palm. This ball of material kept "wriggling" and spreading, shrinking and spinning, emitting indescribable colors... like pink, like crimson, and when you stare at it, it seems to be as blue and green as the starry sky, changing countless times in an instant, dazzling.
Almost all the high-ranking people present changed color and looked horrified.
Papa's forced calm expression was instantly shattered, and panic poured out of her face, turning into incredible stiffness.
Her eyes reflected the strange colors emitted by the liquid metal, and her body seemed to be disturbed and affected by something. Her fair and tender skin dried up and even bulged with wriggling pustules, which was a sign of losing control.
"Angel Starlight... Her Majesty Priscilla..."
Papa opened his mouth wide and his intermittent voice was full of fear, like the mottled sound played from a tape recorder.
"Your true self is hiding in the astral realm. Do you think no one can find you? The Pope has already sent people to capture you. Now, it's time for you to leave."
Blaise said indifferently.
Puff! Puff puff puff!
Papa's head exploded like a blooming flower, and the pustules that were wriggling on her body also burst, but what spurted out was not blood, but strange colorful lights. In an instant, she became invisible, leaving behind only a warm robe of the chief priest of the stars, which scattered on the chair.
From beginning to end, the other five high priests of the Star Sect remained indifferent, as if they did not see Papa's incarnation die due to loss of control.
Then, the liquid metal floating in Blaise's palm seemed to have life, and it landed on Papa's clothes. The strange colorful light appeared again, and even supported the silver robe like a solid entity...
"Papa" reappeared in front of everyone, looking exactly the same, with no difference, except that the look in his eyes was filled with deathly silence.
She turned her head and looked at Prince Dazlet who was sitting in the main seat, and said:
"Little Prince, the Star Cult can help the royal family and hunt down the remnants of the Prideful Cross... But the prerequisite is to release Noah's Silver Dragon."
Prince Dazlet stared at the "Papa" in front of him with a serious expression. He knew very well that this was no longer the same person, but just a puppet with the same face and appearance.
He spoke tentatively:
"Her Majesty Priscilla of the City of Shori?"
"Papa" did not answer, his face was expressionless, and his eyes were as dead as ever. Seeing this, Dazlet took a deep breath, thought for a few seconds, and shook his head and said:
"I'm sorry, but Noah Silver Dragon is a major suspect. I won't let him go."
Papa nodded.
"In that case, I will negotiate with Andre personally."
After saying this, she stopped talking.
The prince looked at the puppet deeply. He certainly believed that the other party had the ability and qualifications to go directly to his father, but he was not afraid at all.
After all, they are the victims. It doesn't matter whether Noah's silver dragon is released or not. What matters is how much benefit the royal family can get from this incident.
"Your Highness, on behalf of the Church of the Moon, I hope you can lift the control over Sister Olmedo and release her."
At this time, Thelma, the chief servant of the monastery, also opened her eyes and spoke softly.
The prince seemed to have expected this, and he still shook his head.
"Sister, it's not that I won't let her go, but Sister Olmedo and Saint Lutina of the Natural Cult publicly humiliated me at the birthday dinner and blasphemed the royal family and my father... In consideration of the Moon Church's contribution to the empire over the past thousand years, she can live, but she must spend a hundred years in the Sun Dungeon to atone her sins."
"well… "
Thelma sighed and closed her eyes again.
In the seat next to the Madman School, Hernandez, the head of the Royal City, a thin old man with sparse gray hair and thick glasses, spoke in a deep voice:
"Your Highness, the Church of the Seven Gods has been assisting the royal family in suppressing the empire since more than 4,000 years ago in keeping its oath. Why not show some leniency and release Noah Silver Dragon and Olmedo... His Majesty the Sun King has opened a new era and shed countless brilliance. As the crown prince, you should have a heart as broad as that radiance... The relationship between the church and the royal family should not be so rigid."
Dazlet glanced at her and asked calmly:
"Master Hernandez, are you saying that I am narrow-minded?"
"Of course not, Your Highness."
The old man lowered his head slightly.
"All the assassinations were caused by the Prideful Sun Cross, and these two people actually have no substantial connection with it..."
"It seems that the Madman School you represent has chosen to side with the Moon Church and the Stars Cult and is not satisfied with my decision."
The prince said calmly.
"But it doesn't matter. It doesn't have any impact."
He then looked towards the seat area of the Kangkai Council, where only a young gentleman with black hair was sitting alone. Just as Chen Lun took a deep breath and was about to explain his position, the prince smiled and raised his hand to stop him.
"Jack, I have received your message from the Kangkai Council. I am very pleased with your support."
"Your Highness?"
Chen Lun frowned slightly, not knowing what the prince meant for a moment.
However, the door of the conference room opened again, and a man wearing a retro knight's armor and a gray robe with gold patterns strode in. Behind him, there were several Jinbei councillors in suits and leather shoes.
"Jackspeight, I'm sorry to inform you that you have been removed from your position as the head of the Royal City branch. I will now take your place... This is your dismissal and transfer order. Come over and take over."
The middle-aged man with a goatee spoke to Chen Lun.
Chen Lun frowned. He didn't expect Houston to intervene at this time. Judging from the other party's words and the prince's attitude, the two may have had contact before and reached some kind of agreement without going through him.
"Governor Houston, I have not received any news before. I have reason to suspect that you are just here to seize power in the name of the parliament... In addition, my position as the person in charge was appointed by the speaker herself. Without her permission, this transfer order is invalid."
Chen Lun did not go over to take the other party's documents, but spoke coldly.
"I regret to tell you, Jack, that the rules of the Parliament's "Consolidation Code" clearly state that in the event of the Speaker's absence, the Senate has the right to hold a collective meeting in the Great Hall based on major events... And your position of participating in this matter without notification is detrimental to the interests of the Parliament. Your dismissal is the result of a vote. Don't speculate and frame me."
Houston said with a nonchalant attitude and shrugged.
Chen Lun said nothing, his heart sinking.
He knew that the other party came prepared and took advantage of the opportunity when the Speaker and four other governors including Ginsburg were out to deliberately come and seize power. Even if the other party's words were high-sounding, they would not stand up to scrutiny... Among the governors in the headquarters now, four out of five were from Houston, and it would be difficult to detect any small moves.
But the problem is that if we wait until the Speaker comes back to settle the matter, the matter will probably have already been decided. At most, Houston and others will be punished, and Chen Lun will be given some compensation.
The Kangkai Council belongs to the new generation of the Church of the Seven Gods. It has many internal problems and is not harmonious... It was fine when the Speaker was there, but once she was gone, the two factions of the consuls in the Senate would always have conflicts.
Speaker Azgiero could not have been unaware of this, but this time when the Rotoff family was cracked down, Ginsberg and others were still taken away. There must be some special reasons and coincidences behind this.
But the chain reaction brought about by these things, like a terrifying shadow, once again shrouded Chen Lun.
Seeing that Chen Lun remained silent and did not stand up, Houston simply brought his subordinates to his side, sat down on the seat next to him, and placed the two documents on the table.
"I will lead the Kangkai Council from now on."
She said lightly.
Chen Lun looked at Houston deeply and did not choose to turn hostile at this time. After all, the other party was a high-ranking person. It was impossible for him to only send an avatar when he came to the royal city to interfere... If he rashly clashed with the other party, he would only suffer losses.
Suppressing the murderous intent in his heart, he nodded expressionlessly.
At this time, the situation in the conference room seemed clear.
In the Church of the Seven Gods, four parties chose to stand on the side of the prince. With the support of the Imperial Inquisition, Dazlet had a smile on his face that showed he was confident of victory.
Just as he was about to announce the end of the meeting, everyone present felt a slight tremor under their feet, followed by a faint rumbling sound in the distance.
Many people frowned and looked outside.
Then, the chief steward Babaye walked in quickly from the gate, went straight behind the prince, bent down and whispered:
"Outside the city of Tourmaline Closter, a towering tree rises from the ground... The Holy Guards of Bath of Light have found two figures on the treetops. One is the Saint of the Natural Religion, Lutina Castillo, and the other is the Pope's Lady Elk!"
"Oh... very good!"
The veins on the prince's forehead popped out as he praised him fiercely.
"They keep provoking the Trisur family. Do they really think the royal family can do nothing to them?!"
Almost all the people present were high-ranking officials. Even Chen Lun was very sensitive and heard what Babaye said. Everyone couldn't help but have an idea:
The situation seems to have intensified once again...