Pushing open the heavy wooden door of the secret room, a faint scent of beriberi rushed towards him. Archbishop Mayne liked this candle mixed with herbs and spices, especially in a closed space without windows. Make him feel peaceful.
The secret room is not big, only one round table and four chairs can be placed. The other two archbishops have already sat in their seats, and the first seat facing the wooden door is still empty. The Pope's physical condition is getting worse and worse, and he has not appeared in front of everyone for almost half a year. Only when he encounters a difficult problem that is difficult to solve, will he go to the secret area of the Hermes Agency and seek answers from the Pope in person.
"If we're all here, let's start." Maine plugged the door and sat between the two. "Lord Teflon, how is the order of the Kingdom of Eternal Winter maintained?"
"Except for the nobles in the capital, there are very few rebels in other places, and the commoners even welcome us to take over the kingdom." Teflon stroked his beard and said, "Of course, those nobles who hold on to their past glory and are obsessed with understanding will be punished by one. Get rid of it."
"It's good," Heather licked her lips, "if you hand it over to me to judge, the people will have a deeper understanding of their ugly and dirty side, but unfortunately I still have a lot of work to do here, so I can't go to Eternal Winter. King City."
Mayne directly ignored her words and said to Teflon: "Our people must fill the vacant positions as soon as possible. The church has cultivated a large number of talents for this, and now is the time to use it. Eternal Winter was originally influenced by the church. The most powerful kingdom, the smaller the waves, the sooner we will be free to deal with Langxin and Dawn."
"This is natural."
"What should I do about those who have turned to the church—I mean the nobles?" Heather asked. "The reason why the church can attract so many good believers is that we don't ask about blood, only ability. Accept those idiots rashly. If you do, it will shake the foundation of the church. My suggestion is..." She made a gesture of wiping her neck.
"Leave it alone for now, and then tell them about it after the situation in the kingdom is stable, which can reduce the resistance to change." About this, Mayne specifically asked the Pope, "The church can provide powers equal to their titles, but they must not Inherit to future generations. Don't forget that we are going to eliminate the kingship after all, so don't rush it, Lord Heather."
Heather was born poor and suffered from hunger and wandering before being taken in by the church. But with her innate sharp mind and extraordinary judgment, she just got to where she is today step by step. Mayne can understand her distaste for nobles, but at this time, the bigger picture must be taken into consideration.
"How is the situation over there in Greycastle?" he asked.
"According to the information, the new king Tifeko did not return to the capital after his defeat, but went directly to the Eastern Territory." Teflon replied.
"Smart choice," Heather snapped her fingers. "Take Duke Fran to challenge Queen Clearwater. After the Duke dies, he will immediately go to the East to divide up his territory to stabilize the army, and by the way, win over other nobles, tsk tsk... The royal family also Not all fools."
"In this way, we can also save a lot of worry and let the high priest of the Royal Capital Church of Graycastle contact him. Presumably under this predicament, he will not refuse the bait thrown by the church. Reduce it by 30% to balance the strength between the two. This is up to you, Lord Taifren." Mayne arranged, "As long as two years later, the entire Graycastle will be without troops."
"Don't worry," Teflon nodded. "But... there's something wrong with the Longsong Fortress west of Greycastle."
"what is the problem?"
"Fourth Prince Roland returned to Border Town after defeating Duke Ryan. The invitation from Taylor himself has not been answered. Does he really have no intention of competing for the throne?"
"Um... what do you think?" Mayne looked at Heather.
The latter shrugged and said, "What else can you think of... What were the rumors about him in the first place? He was ignorant, bad character, incompetent, and greedy. I think it's impossible for such a person to capture Changsong Fortress? So The answer is simple, he has deceived everyone, whether it is the nobles or us."
"You mean..." Mayne frowned.
"Our King Contest Ling chose the wrong role, Lord Mayne," she sneered, "he is the one who should be on the stage, not the third queen, Garcia."
"Defeat a duke indeed proves his ability, but no matter how high a person's talent is, it is meaningless without enough resources for him to use it." Typhron shook his head and said, "Since he chose to return to that desolate place , it means giving up the possibility of interfering in the situation in Greycastle, and naturally it will not pose any threat to our plan.”
"Yes, in theory. But it's interesting to look at this piece of information," Heather threw out a small note, "My personal information."
Mayne spread out the note and quickly scanned the content, "Witch?"
"Hmm, a witch organization that calls itself the Mutual Aid Society, claims to have established a firm foothold in Border Town, and calls on other sisters to go there. Although it's all gossip, it shouldn't be discussed here, but we Everyone knows that the name of the Co-Aid Association is not fictitious. Since they were hunted by the Judgment Army in the Eastern Forest, they have fled all the way to the west, and finally disappeared to the west of the Changsong Fortress. The Frontier Town is just outside the western border of Graycastle, and it is desperate. At the foot of the mountains. Two adults, isn't this a bit too coincidental?"
Mutual Aid Association... Mayne was still a little impressed by this name. He was besieged and intercepted by the Judgment Army along the way. After losing a lot of personnel, he still insisted on moving towards the Desperate Mountain Range. Tortured and captured witches learned that they seemed to want to find the holy mountain in the wild. It was self-defeating, so he didn't devote more energy to it. There are several similar witch organizations in Wolfheart and Dawn Kingdom, and lurking in the city is far more threatening than rushing to the wild to die.
"You mean, this prince hooked up with the witch organization?" Typhren's face darkened after reading the news.
"Maybe, or maybe not." Heather raised her lips, "I'm just making a simple guess. What is the witch most afraid of? "Expose yourself". Obviously, it is easier to attract the attention of the church with the name Mutual Aid, but they still use this name in underground news, why? "
"Because it's a familiar name to us," Mayne said calmly, "and it's the same for other witches."
"Full score!" Heather clapped her palm twice, "This can effectively reduce the wild witch's vigilance. Maybe someone will be attracted by this news and go to Border Town to find out what's true. It's hard to imagine that there is no lord's protection. , they dare to play such a trick. We often say that the lesser of two evils. Obviously, the other party has already thought that the consequences of not recruiting witches are more serious than the consequences of being exposed..." Her tone became gloomy when she said that, " Why do I think we are being underestimated?"
"This is not a matter of underestimating," Teflon said angrily, "Once the witch has a place to settle down, she can use her abilities without any hesitation, and it is very likely that she will find that the so-called demon bite can be avoided. That's why we have to encircle any settled witches, a secret that can only be maintained by forcing them to keep hiding, running, and exile."
Mayne knew that the other party was right. The witches themselves did not pose any threat to the church, but as a group, once they got rid of their "evil" identity, they would have a great impact on the propaganda of the church, and even shake the church's rule. foundation.
He found himself in a dilemma. When encountering such a thing, he should have dispatched a large number of Judgment Army to encircle and suppress it. However, Border Town is too far away from Hermes, and the church army is about to launch an attack on Wolfheart Kingdom. To exterminate this remote town. Coupled with this critical point, sending a large number of troops into Graycastle will inevitably arouse the vigilance of Graycastle and the other two countries, and may have an impact on the subsequent annexation plan.
After thinking twice, he made a decision.
"I will send a messenger group consisting of ten judges and a priest to Border Town to investigate the matter with the assistance of the High Priest Taro. If the behavior of the Co-Aid Society has nothing to do with the lord, this messenger group will be able to Destroy the witch by yourself."
"What if it was?" Heather asked.
The God's Punishment Army cannot be led by anyone other than himself and a few cronies. This is a rule set by the Pope himself. Thinking of this, Mayne said word by word, "Send the news back to the Holy City, and I will personally lead the God's Punishment Army there."