The dense clouds covered the silver moon, only a dim halo was reflected in the sky.
The faint moonlight couldn't even outline the shadows, and the pitch-black city of Yulong could only be decorated with sporadic firelight.
The only exception is the northernmost tip of Yulong City, where a strange golden light descended from the sky, opening up the dark night.
That is the direction of the Holy Mountain, and it is also where the Holy Light Cathedral, the holy place of the Radiance Church, is located.
This beam of holy light, which is immortal day and night, is like an eternal lighthouse, lighting up hope and direction for lost people in the deep darkness.
So tonight, every night.
Amidst the sound of horseshoes, a four-wheeled carriage pulled by three tall horses slowly approached the Holy Light Cathedral.
The guards on duty at night not only did not stop the carriage, but stood upright, forming a guard of honor to welcome the distinguished guests.
Those who are qualified to drive up to the top of the holy mountain in a four-wheeled carriage must be dignitaries of high status.
In the center of the side wall of the carriage, there is a painting of Jingshi Scarlet Flame. Obviously, the visitor must be a core member of the imperial family.
The carriage stopped slowly in front of the steps of the Holy Light Cathedral, and a knight with a sword jumped down from the open-air seat behind the carriage, ignoring the church guards who came forward to question him, holding a crystal lamp in one hand, and placing the golden pedals in the carriage with the other. the door.
Immediately the door opened, and a tall and slender woman stepped out of the carriage. She was wearing a slightly plain prayer dress, but her beautiful face still made the church guards tremble.
"His Royal Highness!"
Queen Midella nodded lightly, and then walked up the steps to the church. The unique rhythm of her steps highlighted her peerless youthful temperament. A breath of holiness.
The prayer hall of the church is extremely tall, with dozens of limestone pillars propping up the 24-meter-high dome, giving people a feeling of being very small, plus four huge statues of angels holding swords, it is even more awe-inspiring .
The dome of the prayer hall is made of special crystals, and the beam of eternal holy light penetrates the dome, coating everything in the hall with a layer of gold, showing a more sacred and solemn taste.
Queen Midara stood in front of the statue of the Lord of Radiance, clasped her hands together, and prayed silently.
If there is no sound of singing echoing in the prayer hall, it seems that someone is singing hymns, and it seems to be an echo from heaven.
Tranquility and serenity filled the air with soothing power.
After an unknown amount of time, Queen Midella finished her prayers, and when she looked up at the holy light that seemed to lead to the kingdom of heaven, a trace of mockery appeared on her face.
"Are you really listening?" Midella questioned with a voice like the moaning of mosquitoes.
The holy light was still as dazzling as before, as if it had not changed in any way due to the queen's disrespectful questioning.
The sarcasm on Queen Midella's face seemed to grow stronger: "Or, as he said, you are already dead!"
Still no response.
Queen Midella shook her head, seemingly losing her patience.
She turned around slowly, and saw a bald, eyebrowless old pastor standing behind her.
It's just that he didn't know how long he stood there, and whether he heard what the queen said just now.
The purple priest's robes on his body showed his distinguished status - Pope.
The pastor robes of the Radiance Church can be white, gray or black. These colors can be worn by archbishops to ordinary priests, but there are two special colors that they cannot wear, red and purple.
The red priest's robe is worn by the three cardinals, who are the three most dignified persons in the church besides the pope, and are also called cardinals because of the color of the priest's robe.
Only the pope himself can wear the purple priest robe.
"Good evening, Your Majesty Gregory." Queen Midella didn't panic in the slightest, as if she didn't care whether the Pope heard what she just said to herself.
"Good evening, Her Majesty the Queen."
Pope Gregory had a kind face and a natural affinity when he smiled, as if all the suffering in the world could be resolved in his smile.
"Is your majesty better?"
Empress Midara sighed, worry appeared on her delicate face, she shook her head and said, "Not yet, I woke up for a while this morning, but soon fell into a coma again."
The smile on Pope Gregory's face also subsided, as if surprised: "Didn't Tournance make His Majesty's condition better?"
Queen Midella looked mournful: "Cardinal Tournance has not yet been able to find out the cause of His Majesty, so... I'm afraid it will be a bit tricky."
Pope Gregory sighed and comforted: "Then I will go to the Phoenix Palace in person tomorrow. The Lord of Radiance will not abandon his pious shepherds. Please rest assured."
Queen Midella hurriedly bowed to thank her, and then she took her leave and left.
Seeing the Queen's graceful figure disappearing at the entrance of the prayer hall, the Pope looked up at the holy light descending from the sky with complex expressions in his eyes.
Not long after, a waiter quickly came to Pope Gregory and reported softly:
"Your Majesty, Archbishop Ajani has returned."
Pope Gregory frowned, thought for a while and said, "Let her wait for me in the confessional room on the bottom floor of the side hall."
"yes."
Afterwards, Pope Gregory came to stand in front of the statue of the Lord of Radiance, folded his hands together, bowed his head and prayed, perhaps praying for the suddenly ill emperor.
After the prayer, Pope Gregory left the prayer hall, walked through the promenade, and followed the spiral staircase to the bottom of the cathedral.
Facing a smooth stone wall was a huge oak door.
Pope Gregory opened the door and walked in. The interior was simply furnished, with only a table and two chairs. On the table was a copy of the Holy Book of Radiance and a row of silver candlesticks.
In the soft candlelight, Adjani in a white robe immediately got up and bowed to the Pope.
Gregory still had a compassionate smile on his face, but his words were not polite: "You let me down!"
Ajani's heart trembled, and she argued: "Your Majesty, there have been too many changes in the northern border, and I can't..."
"Am I asking for an excuse?" Gregory interrupted.
Adjani shut up immediately, as if realizing something, she asked softly in a slightly trembling tone: "Are you going to punish me?"
"Anyone who makes a mistake shall be punished!"
Hearing this, Adjani's breathing suddenly became rapid, and her watery peach eyes were instantly filled with fear.
But under Gregory's staring gaze, she turned around silently, knelt down on the ground, folded her hands, and closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the coming "punishment".
At some point in Gregorian's hand, a long whip was added. The whip was covered with thorn-like protrusions, and he could even smell a strong bloody smell.
Snapped!
The long whip hit Adjani's back, leaving a bloody welt.
A suppressed cry of pain came from Adjani's mouth, her body was like a fragile flower in a storm, trembling.
Gregory had a satisfied smile on his face, but he didn't stop swinging his whip.
Clap clap!
The long whip fell like a torrential rain, tearing the mage's robe behind Adjani to pieces, and bloody whip marks continued to emerge, forming a shocking contrast with the snow-white and flawless skin, with a sad and cruel beauty.
Generally, the pastors of the Radiance Church are not restrained. Marrying a wife and having children does not prevent them from serving the Lord of Radiance.
However, if the pastor has lofty aspirations, dreaming that he will one day climb to the top of the holy mountain and wear the crown of thorns to become the pope, then he must maintain a pure body.
The reason is simple. Legend has it that the Church of Radiance has an artifact that can communicate with the heavens—the golden horn, which has been held by successive popes.
But in order to sound the golden horn, this person must devote himself to the Lord of Radiance, and must not be contaminated by the affairs of men and women.
Therefore, there are not a few ascetic monks in the church, and Gregory, who can ascend to the Pope, is of course even more so.
Beauty and power, of course Gregory knew which one to choose.
After a long time, Gregory finally finished venting.
At this time, Adjani was already lying limply on the ground and panting with difficulty, her entire back was covered with ferocious welt marks, dripping with blood, it was too horrible to look at.
Gregory threw away the long whip, took out a delicate vial, and dripped the holy water in it on Ajani's back.
Adjani's body trembled and twitched uncontrollably, obviously the process was not comfortable.
"God is merciful to the world, and the Lord heals all beings!"
Gregory performed a healing technique on Adjani, and a compassionate smile was put on his face again, and he returned to the sanctimonious Pope in an instant.
It has to be said that the healing technique performed by the Pope himself was really powerful. With the addition of holy water, the scars on Ajani's back healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and disappeared soon after.
Ajani finally recovered and slowly sat up from the ground.
Her mage's robe was already damaged by the whipping just now, and it slipped off completely at this time, revealing her infinitely beautiful upper body.
And Ajani didn't hide it, and she didn't know whether it was because she didn't dare, or because she was deliberately provoking the man in front of her.
Gregory looked away as if he was electrocuted, as if he was afraid that if he looked at him a few more times, he would lose control and ruin most of his hard work.
Adjani seemed to have seen this scene, she lowered her head, but the corners of her mouth were slightly raised, as if she was disdainful, but also like the joy of revenge.
Gregory coughed a few times, and ordered: "Vera St. Hilde will arrive in Yulong City in a short time. At this time, the dragons in the north have no leaders. You should rush back to Winter City immediately to see if you can take advantage of the opportunity." Win over some lords."
"Yes." Ajani responded obediently.
Gregory glanced greedily at Adjani's exquisite curves for the last time, and then he turned around and opened the door and walked out.
The confession room was once again quiet.
Ajani stood still for a while, then picked up the bloody long whip from the ground and looked at it carefully, as if trying to see some mystery from it.
After a while, she pressed the long whip to her chest, letting the blood on it wet her tender skin again.
Her hands tightened slowly, and the barbs on the long whip immediately pierced into her chest, blood oozing out again.
Ajani snorted softly, feeling a little hurt.
But immediately, her frown slowly relaxed.
Looking up, Adjani's deep eyes seemed to pass through layers of obstacles, and followed the holy light to the sky.
"The omnipotent lord of light, the lost lamb needs guidance, please listen to her confession..."
(end of this chapter)