01.
Eutin Empire, frontier. Bright Church.
The churches in such border towns often do not meet the specifications of the Guangming Church. For example, the steps in front of the door are less than required, the cross is a bit rusty, dust has fallen on the statue, and the carved glass is broken in some places.
This is unavoidable. After all, if people can't even fill their stomachs, they often forget what their beliefs are. For ordinary people, physical torture is more terrible than mental torture.
Pope Illuminati stands under the cross of the church, which has special meaning for him, and he was baptized from this church and became a priest. He is not a nostalgic person, but he suddenly recalled this place the day before yesterday, so he moved the idea of going back here to have a look. Only few people know of his whereabouts.
After he returned here, he learned that the priest who had baptized him had died, not of old age, but was sunk into the bottom of the river because of blasphemy against the Pope. After inquiring carefully, he learned that the priest claimed that the current pope was baptized by him. Such treasonous remarks constituted a felony, so he sank in the river according to the holy scriptures. The fact that he didn't float up from the river was a sign that the God of Light had abandoned him, so he was lying.
Standing under the cross, the pope recalled the kind smile of the priest. He thought he would never be nostalgic, but then he found that he had not forgotten the memory of the past.
Then the pope frowned slightly.
The lights in the hall were dim and mottled, and they were not noticeable when they walked in, as if they were dressed in black, blending into the darkness. The person in the lead chose a chair in the corner, stretched out his hands casually, and the people behind immediately took off the black coat for him. Then he took off the black top hat on his head and put it on the table. When he sat down, the people behind had already filled him with bloody wine.
"I hope you will forgive my faux pas, my lord," Hill said.
"You didn't come here in person, so I can't do anything even if I don't forgive." The Pope of Light said with his back to him.
Hill smiled slightly: "Using soul spells to control human puppets and make them disposable, I'm afraid that such a method will make you very disgusted, His Majesty the Pope."
"Since you are a devil, I won't be surprised if you use any evil means." The Pope turned around and said.
Hill—or the puppet controlled by Hill took a sip of the wine with a strong bloody smell, and Hill could only feel a vague taste in this state: "But your evil methods as a human being often surprise me. "
"An accusation from the devil?" said the pope. "Interesting."
"An excuse from the Pope?" Hill said. "Boring."
The Pope was not angry, he looked down at the swaying light and shadow under his feet: "Then, why are you here? Just tell me that I have your spies by my side, so that you can instantly know my movements?"
"This is one of them." Hill shook his finger, "You do have my spies by your side, and they are very close, so I can always be one step ahead, and I can calmly resolve all your moves."
This is a dangerous but fierce game.
Hill seemed to be pointing directly at Theresa, and the Pope must have thought of Theresa first in this situation.
So is Theresa safe? —of course it is safe.
Because Hill ordered Teresa not to have any contact with this side before, and asked Teresa to do things for the Pope sincerely. Today, this command came in handy. The Pope went back and tried his best to investigate the people around him. Even if he investigated Teresa no matter how much he tried, he was innocent.
Those games at that time were all resolved by Hill's tricks. There is no need for traitors to deal with the moves of the Pope.
There are some lichens growing on the ground of the church, and cobwebs can even be seen faintly in the corners. The dust hanging on it is blown by the wind and looks crumbling, but in fact it is firmly stuck by the cobwebs.
"Secondly, I want to confirm one thing with you," Hill said.
"Please speak," said the pope.
"Will you prevent me from meeting alone with King Eutin?" Hill asked with a strong smile on his face.
The Pope thought for a second and replied, "No."
"Why?"
The pope had an unpredictable smile on his face: "Because how do you know that I didn't arrange your private meeting?"
Hill burst into a burst of laughter when he heard it. Yes, yes, playing games with smart people is really interesting. He stood up directly, and poured the wine in the glass on the candlestick over there, and the flame of the candlestick burst up suddenly, making Hill's face brighten instantly, and he was as ferocious as a ghost:
"The third point, your daughter Alice is now in my hands."
For the first time, the pope's face changed.
Hill burst out laughing again, his crazy laughter echoed in the narrow church, black mist continuously emerged from his body, and then turned into a human corpse, falling to the ground. The followers behind him also turned into human corpses.
The church was full of demons, and the pope's face was ashen.
02.
All the evidence seemed to point to Theresa Shelley, but the Pope of Light knew that he was not the one who betrayed him. He had doubts about Teresa before, so he had been closely monitored since last year without his knowledge.
What's more, the evidence itself was given to him by that hateful demon king, so it is even more unbelievable.
After repeated thinking, the Pope of Light came to the conclusion that the Demon King was afraid of Teresa, and he wanted to get rid of him through the Pope.
But the Pope also understands that someone around him has indeed betrayed his news, put aside the matter of his daughter, and nothing else, just because the devil can find him directly in this church this time, it means that someone has leaked his whereabouts .
So, who is this person
There are not many people who know what he is doing this time. Apart from a few loyal subordinates around him, there is also King Eutin.
The Pope of Light narrowed his eyes suddenly.
In theory, he was less convinced that King Eutin would betray than Theresa.
Since King Eutin was born, he has been training him, plus various methods of brainwashing, manipulation and torture.
Just because he believed that King Eutin, who was trained in this way, would not cause trouble—he specially pretended to give him a chance, and then cruelly crushed his hopes and destroyed all the things he cared about one by one. , King Eutin was obedient—so in the past two years, the Pope of Light has not paid too much attention to him.
now…
No, this may also be the devil's scheme, so we need to wait.
— but the seeds of doubt had already been planted.
03.
The month of social engagement in Mülheim is approaching, and Hill has selected some interesting gadgets in the Devil's Emporium, and openly requested a visit to the Eutin Empire in the name of communication. The other side quickly agreed—after all, the Pope of Light had said that he had no objection to their meeting alone—so Hill swaggered into the holy city with a cart of gifts.
King Eutin was a little confused, and then heard Hill's very malicious request: he hoped that the private meeting would be held in the queen's bedroom.
It's not suitable for etiquette—but after all, the queen has passed away, so in the eyes of others, this can only be regarded as a strange request. King Eutin generally understood that the devil was trying to use his feelings for the queen as a weight to do something, and he felt that he would not be shaken, so he agreed.
The wallpaper in the room is dark green and light green arabesques intertwined, fresh and elegant. The mattress is a solid color, dark green, but it does not rise to the level of dark green. The pillows are emerald green and pink. On the left side of the bed, there are two wooden framed paintings, the forest in the mist, and the other is a town under the moonlight .
There is a unique light blue crystal lamp on the left side of the table, and a stack of old books on the other side. There are two crossed swords hanging above the mirror as a decoration, and there are windows next to it. The curtains are light green, which is consistent with the style of the whole room and looks pleasing to the eye.
Hill walked into the room and said with emotion: "Your queen has great taste."
"Thank you," King Eutin said.
"Oh don't be offended, I like men," Hill continued.
"Uh, okay." King Eutin was trying to keep up with Hill's thinking.
"But it seems that you will feel more insecure if I say so." Hill continued.
"Uh..." King Eutin has seen a lot of turmoil, but he has never seen this kind of situation.
Then Hill suddenly said something scary: "You know, Your Majesty, the Pope of Light knows about the fact that you and I had a separate meal."
King Eutin hadn't recovered from the topic just now, so he let out an "uh" again.
"First of all, do you know that he knows about our private meeting? Second, do you think I know you know that he knows about our private meeting?" Hill said.
King Eutin had to say: "Wait, what you said is a bit convoluted..."
Hill laughed again. If the Pope was there, he would find that Hill's laughter at this time was very similar to his laughter in that small church: "You don't have to think, let me say my thoughts first: you and I meet It was arranged by the Pope."
King Eutin understood this sentence, and his voice was a little angry: "Are you doubting my sincerity to the queen!"
Hill smiled and looked away. The mirror on the dressing table was huge, with intricate and delicate carvings clinging to the edges. It was shiny and very gorgeous, and it didn't match the other furnishings in the room—it seemed like a gift. This was also given to his queen by King Eutin on his last birthday. Next to the mirror is a statue of an owl, ready to fly majestically - the crest of the Queen's family.
"Of course not." Hill said, "I have no doubts about your sincerity towards the queen, but this does not conflict with his arrangement of this meeting and his scheme."
King Eutin frowned: "Do you think I was used by the Pope?"
Hill smiled.
King Eutin took the initiative to say: "Actually, I have considered this possibility. After all, the situation of the Eutin Empire... you also know it."
"Yeah." Hill nodded, "I know. To be honest, you are quite capable. If you were in a normal empire, you would probably be a qualified emperor, at least much better than Emperor Yulan. But he has passed It's much more moisturizing than you."
King Eutin didn't speak, and didn't answer the question. After a few seconds, he continued: "The opponent knows the power I have, but I don't know how much of the power I have is the opponent's power. But I am still the king of the Eutin Empire after all. That's my biggest leverage against him."
"Maybe he can abolish you at any time. Anyway, I think so. No matter how powerful you are personally, you are still a puppet. He can easily catch you as long as he announces that you have betrayed the church, or he can say that you are directly depressed because you miss the queen." And death is fine." Hill said this very bluntly: "I am very interested in internal and external cooperation, but obviously you are too weak. Weak to the point where I feel sorry for you."
King Oitin breathed for a few seconds and said: "So... I need your help. With your help, I can develop some of my own power, and then..." He said mechanically at this time, as if It's the same as memorizing lines. Hill's unkind words just now really touched his heart.
"Need my help, I have some ideas about your situation." Hill said.
"idea?"
"If I'm going to help you, I should give you money," Hill said.
This made King Eutin a little confused: "Give me money?"
"Yes, even if you are the king, you don't have much money. I think most of it is controlled by the church." Hill replied.
"… Um."
"You use money to buy people, it's better to get some outlaws, and you make promises to them. You should cultivate your own power in places like the countryside. It's best to confuse the concepts of theocracy and kingship from the common people."
Hill began to explain the plan and write the blueprint to King Eutin very carefully. He didn't just talk about it, but a well-thought-out plan after some research, combined with some past experience.
"You have to remember that you can't do things that everyone understands. Look at me when I started to make operas and novels, you don't understand? You don't think it's a threat? Now? - At the end of the plan, the countryside surrounds the city, armed Take power. Perfect."
Hill snapped his fingers, his spirits high.
King Eutin was really stunned after hearing this, and was speechless for a while.
Hill saw something more in his expression. Sure enough, this matter itself was a plot by the Pope. He ordered King Eutin to be the bait to lure him, for which he sacrificed Queen Eutin.
The king really loves the queen. Because of too many real existences, this plan is almost perfect.
It's a pity that it's only close.
Hill walked up to King Eutin, leaned down and whispered in his ear with a gentle, bewitching voice: "Your queen or your power, which one do you love more? But with the Pope of Light, you alone I can't keep it."
—