The huge movement outside the royal city quickly attracted the attention of countless people.
Residents of the lower town may not be able to see it clearly, but residents of the upper town and central area, thanks to the high geographical location of Tourmaline Kloster, can clearly overlook the hundred-meter-high towering tree outside the city, which is lush and green and swaying in the wind.
They stared at the giant tree, exclaiming from time to time, and some even bowed their heads and prayed, praising this miraculous sight. The scenery outside the city has hardly changed in more than ten years, but today, such a huge tree suddenly grew in the suburbs. If it is not a miracle, I really don't know how to explain it.
Compared to the shock of the people, the atmosphere in the meeting hall of the palace became more and more depressing. The prince's side had already won the battle, but the actions of the Natural Cult were like a wolf howling suddenly from behind before the hunter pulled the trigger.
This is clearly an attempt to send a message and exert pressure on the royal family.
Dazlet suppressed his inner anger and made some meaningless suggestions expressionlessly, but they were all rejected by the Church of the Moon and the Cult of the Stars.
The situation was originally five to three, but after the Natural Cult intervened, it became a stalemate for a while. Under the whispered persuasion of Chief Judge McCaughlin and Archbishop Terrence, the prince temporarily gave up the verdict on Noah Silver Dragon, and did not even discuss the capture plan of the Prideful Cross, but left the meeting angrily.
"Everyone, the meeting is postponed!"
Chief Steward Babaye spoke in a deep voice to everyone.
The Church of the Sun and the Imperial Inquisition were the first to leave with the prince's team, and soon the other high-ranking officials of the Church of the Seven Gods also stood up one after another.
This meeting was called urgently, but ended abruptly, which made everyone present look unhappy. However, the royal family still had an overwhelming advantage, and almost all the participants knew that the royal family would deal with the mess outside the city as soon as possible, whether it was suppressing Lutina or expelling Mrs. Elk back to Coleridge Forest, it would be the end of this "competition between the top forces in the empire".
Chen Lun was about to get up and leave, but Houston beside him tapped the two documents in front of him and said with a smile:
"Jack, you forgot something."
Chen Lun glanced at her and ignored the dismissal order and transfer order on the table. The latter changed to a comfortable sitting position, one arm resting on the armrest, the other hand raised, and then raised his eyebrows.
"After all, we are colleagues in the Senate. Don't blame me for not giving you a way out... I can give you a week to pack up your staff and arrangements in the Kangkai Cathedral District, and then you can leave the Royal City in a dignified manner and be transferred to the State City to take charge."
Chen Lun slowly put the black hat on the table back on his head, turned around with his silver cane, and said calmly:
"Actually, I'm very curious. You took advantage of Speaker Azgiero's absence to come here and take over the position of the head of the royal city, just to be a prince's dog?"
“Don’t be so harsh, Jack. The Kangkai Council was recognized by the Empire and only then did it take up a precious seat in the Seven Gods Church. It’s not a bad thing to be close to the royal family... On the contrary, you seem to have forgotten your duties for the sake of a subordinate. Little do you know that you are dragging the Kangkai Council into the abyss. How can the Council tolerate your continued recklessness?”
Houston said calmly.
"You should thank us for saving you in time, so that you would not be doomed."
After hearing her words, Chen Lun couldn't help but shake his head and chuckled twice. Houston's shamelessness was somewhat excessive, and he looked at the other person very seriously.
"I really have to thank you, Governor Houston. I have always been a person who observes etiquette. When I am free, I will definitely come to your house to thank you."
"You're welcome anytime."
Houston smiled calmly.
Chen Lun said nothing more, didn't even look at the documents on the table, turned around and left the meeting room.
The killing intent in his heart had already spread and boiled, but he also knew that now was not the right time. Only when he completed the extraordinary transformation and ascended to the mythical level, would he have the capital to fight back!
'Houston... and Dazzler...'
Chen Lun stopped at the palace steps and took a deep breath.
'The Incarnation of Fraud has been searching the dark world for nearly a month, but still hasn't found any trace of Carmen... Fortunately, last night's dream divination told me that either today or tomorrow, there will be gains! '
He thought to himself and walked down the stairs with an expressionless face.
However, at this moment, a female manager came up to Chen Lun quickly, lifted her skirt to salute, and then whispered:
"Mr. Jack, Her Highness Anna asked me to tell you that she has secured an opportunity for you to visit the Sun Dungeon... but you only have ten minutes, after which you must leave."
Chen Lun was silent for two seconds, then nodded.
"Thank the princess for me."
"Yes, sir."
The steward seemed to be someone Princess Anna trusted, and she nodded in agreement. Then, she took out a golden badge with a sun face and handed it to Chen Lun.
"This is a token from His Highness. Just show it to Warden Nunes and she will understand."
"Thank you very much."
Chen Lun took out a small purse containing dozens of gold pounds and wanted to give it to the other party as a thank you, but the female manager smiled and declined.
"Go quickly, sir, and try to finish the visit before evening."
Seeing this, Chen Lun did not force it. He just nodded slightly and strode away, heading deeper into the palace area.
He didn't meet anyone along the way and was only slightly delayed by a team of patrolling imperial guards. After a brief inquiries and checking of his identification, the guards did not bother him too much and let him go.
Chen Lun then went straight to the dungeon entrance right behind the palace.
This place is not conspicuous. The entrance is set under a white marble wall and is guarded by only two royal jailers in armor.
Chen Lun stated his purpose and asked to meet with the warden Nunes. The jailer did not stop him and even pointed him in the direction. Chen Lun thought to himself that the reason why he could be so relaxed was probably due to Princess Anna.
After entering the Sun Dungeon, there are stairs that go down diagonally, winding in a spiral shape, seemingly leading to the inside of the mountain that the Royal City rests on. Torches are hung on both sides of the narrow passage, and the light is not bright, but it can barely illuminate.
After a while, he went down to a relatively spacious hall. According to the jailer's instructions, the room at the end on the right was the warden's workroom. Chen Lun walked over and knocked on the door. However, after the creaking sound of the door opening, only a deep male voice came from the dark crack of the door:
"badge."
Chen Lun did not rashly check what was behind the door, but calmly took out the sun face badge and handed it over.
A dry hand covered with scars reached out from the darkness and took the badge.
After a while, the deep male voice said again:
"Go forward and go down the stairs at the end. You'll reach the third floor and leave in ten minutes."
"I understand, Mr. Nunez."
Chen Lun did not think deeply about the warden's strange tone. He just thanked him and was about to salute him with his hand on his chest, but the door clicked and slowly closed.
He took a deep breath, not wanting to waste any more time, and turned around and walked quickly towards the side of the hall. The entrance to the corridor was very simple, without any decoration, and it was all made of marble. He continued to walk down and soon arrived at the third floor of the dungeon.
It's quite dark here and extremely quiet.
Except for the slight sound of burning torches, there was dead silence.
The cells on both sides were blocked by strong and tight iron bars. There seemed to be people imprisoned inside, but these figures were motionless and even their breathing was difficult to detect.
Looking at this scene, Chen Lun thought of when he had just traveled through time and was imprisoned in the dungeon of the Red Apple Church and almost became a sacrifice.
"Huh..."
He took a long breath, used his five senses to search for Noah along the corridor, and soon saw a familiar figure in the second to last cell at the end.
Chen Lun's eyes suddenly shrank and his face became extremely gloomy.
Noah looked horrible at the moment, with his arms spread out, half hanging on the wall by shackles and chains, kneeling helplessly. His clothes had long been stripped off, and his exposed skin was covered with hideous bloody wounds and holes, burn marks and whip marks everywhere. At first glance, he looked like a bloody human frame.
"Noah."
He called out the other person's name in a deep voice.
But the young man showed no reaction, as if he had already lost consciousness.
Seeing this, Chen Lun had to move instantly, flashed into the cell, gently lifted up Noah's body, and reached out to treat him.
The green light emanated, but the wound on Noah's body did not heal, but festered faster. Chen Lun immediately stopped Jingzhe's life force transmission, probed Noah, and then frowned.
Because he found that Noah was not only in a dying state with his health at the bottom, but he also had seven or eight negative states. Among them was a LV5 curse called "Warm Whisper", which prohibited recovery and treatment. Once he received treatment, his injuries would worsen.
Chen Lun narrowed his eyes, and his murderous intent seemed to be real, instantly causing the temperature in the entire cell to drop by several degrees. At this moment, he even had an idea to use the cloud leap to take Noah away directly, but when this idea came up, his spiritual intuition "flashed warning lights", indicating that he would face extremely terrible consequences.
'It's that Warden Nunes... She must be watching my every move.'
Chen Lun thought about it and let out a long breath.
At this moment, Noah seemed to have realized something. He opened his swollen eyelids with difficulty. When he saw the familiar figure in the darkness, he grinned a happy but extremely ugly smile.
"J... Mr. Jack, I'm sorry to bother you."
Chen Lun squatted down, gently wiped the blood off the boy's face, and said in a deep voice:
"Hold on, Noah. I will definitely rescue you and I will also pay you back for your vengeance."
"Don't worry about me... Mr. Jack, this is nothing. I... I just regard this kind of training as a ceremony for promotion..."
Noah's words were unclear, his mouth and tongue seemed numb, and blood flowed down his lower lip and fell on the dirty floor.
"I swore... I swore to follow in your footsteps and not fall behind here, Mr. Jack. I am your exclusive painter, Noah Silver Dragon, and I hope to paint the most perfect portrait for you one day..."
His voice was weak but firm, and Chen Lun felt his breathing stagnate.
Silently wiping Noah's blood, Chen Lun asked in a hoarse voice:
"Noah, why did you go to the palace banquet hall on the day of Dazlet's birthday dinner?"
Noah was silent for a while, then said slowly:
"It's guidance... Someone is guiding me to attend the prince's dinner party. You seem to be in danger, and I want to help."
He then told Chen Lun in detail what had happened. Chen Lun listened silently, but discovered many inexplicable and coincidental details in his words.
Finally, Chen Lun used his glimpse to scan Noah's surroundings with a deep gaze. It was as if his eyes had cleared away the layers of fog behind him and "saw" a scene that others could not see at all...
Noah's fate took a sudden turn and fell downward!
Chen Lun recognized it at a glance. This was definitely a sign of being artificially "turned gay"!
'Howard...'
He pronounced the name indifferently in his heart.
At this moment there is no suspense. Chen Lun can be sure that the mastermind behind all this is the person in a high position who has been pestering him and manipulating his fate!
A light flashed through my mind, instantly connecting everything that had happened during this period together—
With Prince Dazlet's birthday dinner as the stage, Princess Anna of the Sun Cross, Sister Olmedo of the Moon Church, and Saint Lutina of the Natural Cult are just warm-up actors before the main show begins.
The purpose is to trigger the subsequent "climax", that is, the infighting between the Church of the Seven Gods and the royal family, which involves the camp issues caused by different positions.
The most crucial figure in this magnificent show that involved a clash of the top forces in the empire was not Rutina Castillo, who served as the fuse, but the young man in front of him... Noah Silver Dragon.
He is not only a student of Saint Lutina, but also the young master of the Silver Dragon Chamber of Commerce... As a mother, Silver Dragon Witch Blaise would never watch her son being executed, so she pushed the Star Sect onto the stage.
Of course, Noah has another more important identity, which is his most crucial identity as a chess piece... that is, a circus cadre! Jackspeter's right-hand man!
'Because of the warning from His Majesty Oscar, the Serpent of Fate, Howard dared not interfere with my fate directly, but he could influence me through the people closest to him... The death of Mr. Byers is the best example.'
Chen Lun's thoughts were racing.
'Howard doesn't need to and can't do it, to change the fate of so many high-ranking people at the same time... But she only needs to guide and add fuel to the flames, and put Noah, the chess piece that acts as a catalyst, on the stage, to escalate the conflict sharply, and thus involve the Kangkai Council that I represent... In this way, there will be a fierce battle between the royal family and the Seven Gods Church.'
He thought about the coincidence of Speaker Azgiero and Ginsburg and other governors going out, as well as Houston's sudden arrival in the royal city to interfere, and couldn't help but come up with a guess that he himself had not expected:
'Is it possible... Howard deliberately led Houston to me to facilitate my promotion ceremony? As long as I kill her, I will meet the requirement of changing the fate of a high-ranking person, and thus be able to transform into a mythical sequence four. At that time, I will also become the key chess piece in her next round? '
After thinking this through, he felt a chill down his spine.
What exactly does Howard want to do
What exactly does she want from me
Did she arrange and promote all this in order to be promoted to a Sequence 2 Angel of Destiny? Otherwise, it is hard to explain what huge benefits would make her pay so much...