"ah-"
A shrill scream echoed in the narrow space.
This is the underground confessional room of the Holy Light Cathedral, where sinful souls confess to the Supreme Lord.
According to the "Glorious Book", all sins will be forgiven here, as long as you confess everything to the Supreme Lord devoutly.
Snapped!
A long whip soaked in blood lashed the young girl's smooth and fair back, causing her delicate skin to be ripped apart instantly.
It was another miserable scream, even the most hard-hearted people would feel pity when they heard it.
But Pope Gregory, holding a long whip, showed no mercy, instead his face was full of ferocious and distorted pleasure.
Snapped! Snapped! Snapped!
The long whip fell like a torrential rain, and the girl's screams became weaker and weaker until there was no more sound, and she passed out completely.
Gregory whipped a few more times as if venting his anger, and the blood splashed everywhere stained the angel murals on the wall red.
Throwing away the red and blackened long whip, Gregory took a deep breath, and resumed his compassionate look, and drew a holy mark on his chest with both hands, saying:
"God is merciful to the world, and the Lord heals all beings!"
The white-gold holy light instantly filled the confession room, and the wound on the girl's back on the ground gradually healed. If it weren't for the hideous scars, she might have thought that everything just now was just an illusion.
Seeing that the girl showed no signs of waking up, Gregory didn't bother with her, but just straightened the messy robes on her body, turned around and walked out of the confession room.
Outside the door, the attendants seemed to have been waiting for a long time, and when they saw the Pope, they immediately bowed and reported:
"Your Majesty, His Majesty Reinhardt is waiting for you in the prayer hall."
Gregory nodded, indicating that he understood, and walked down the spiral stairs to the ground.
After passing through a quiet corridor, Gregory came to the prayer hall again.
After hearing the footsteps, Emperor Reinhard did not look back, still looking up at the statue of the Lord of Radiance in front of him, and said:
"Gregory, do you think my lord is really dead?"
The pope's footsteps paused slightly, but he recovered quickly. He walked to Emperor Reinhardt and said expressionlessly:
"Your Majesty, don't forget what happened to the last emperor who speculated about the Supreme Lord so maliciously."
"You said 'Dark Emperor'..." Emperor Reinhardt turned his head, looked at the Pope beside him with provocative eyes, and said, "But can you still find a 'Judger' now?"
The Pope didn't seem to be angry, and still said in a neutral tone:
"Your Majesty, inspired by the glory of our Lord, everyone can be a 'judge'."
"You're right." Emperor Reinhard nodded in agreement, "It's just that you don't know who should be judged the most?"
The Pope smiled and said meaningfully: "Everyone in the world is guilty, and no one can escape the judgment of our Lord."
Emperor Reinhard sneered, as if he had lost patience with the Pope, and said directly:
"Well, Gregory, stop pretending in front of me, it's a waste of time and disgusting.
I am here this time just to tell you that I am too lazy to care about the grievances and disputes between you and the Northern Territory, who is right and who is wrong, if you change the time, you can fight however you want, but not now!
The invasion of the Orc Empire is imminent, and I need all the military power of the empire to gather in the west, without any form of internal friction and disputes!
Therefore, I don't care what concessions you need to make, you must appease the St. Hilde family for me!
Not one of my millions is missing! "
Pope Gregory smiled slightly, as if he had expected the attitude of Emperor Reinhardt, and immediately said in an extremely sincere tone:
"Your Majesty, like you, I also don't want to see civil strife in the empire at this time, so please rest assured that I will put this matter to rest as soon as possible, and will never delay your Western Expedition."
Emperor Reinhardt glanced at the Pope in surprise, as if he did not expect him to be so talkative, and the threats and inducing words he had prepared were useless instead.
Seeing Emperor Reinhard's face, Gregory naturally knew what he was thinking, so he explained with a smile:
"Your Majesty, I know that there are many conflicts between us, we have had many conflicts, and we have different opinions on many things, but on a certain point, I believe we will be able to reach a consensus."
Emperor Reinhard raised his eyebrows and asked with great interest, "Which point?"
Gregory pointed at himself, then at Emperor Reinhardt, and said, "This is the point that the current imperial order must not be chaotic!"
Emperor Reinhard thought for a while before he understood what the Pope was referring to. He curled his lips and said indifferently:
"Do you think the northern border may threaten the current order of the empire?"
Gregory nodded seriously, and said:
"Your Majesty, I'm afraid you don't know that the lords of the Eastern Territory have publicly declared their support for the Northern Territory, and the Allied Forces of the Eastern Territory have officially moved out. The target is not the Western Territory, but to join the Allied Forces of the Northern Territory!"
Emperor Reinhard frowned, as if he finally realized the seriousness of the matter.
Gregory spoke again, and said in a deep tone:
"Your Majesty, since the northern border and the eastern border can unite against me this time, they can unite against you in the future!"
"They dare!" Emperor Reinhard stared at each other and said through gritted teeth.
"Why not?" Pope Gregory sneered, "Do you think your prestige among the people of the empire is higher than mine
Or, do you think it is more difficult to persuade the major lords to send troops to attack the Phoenix Palace than to persuade them to attack the Holy Light Cathedral? "
Emperor Reinhard was silent, but there was an undisguised cold killing intent in his eyes.
Pope Gregory saw all of this in his eyes, and he was proud of himself, but on the surface he had a heart-to-heart look, and said sincerely:
"So, Your Majesty, what the northern border and the eastern border are doing now is an irrefutable betrayal!
It is a challenge to the existing order of the Glorious Empire!
They dare to unite to challenge me and the church today, and they dare to challenge you and the authority of the royal family in the future! "
Emperor Reinhard was horrified, and couldn't help but say:
"Gregory, don't think that you can provoke the relationship between the royal family and the St. Hilde's family with such crude means!
Have you forgotten that the name of the Empress of the Empire is Midella Saint Hilde! "
Gregory showed sarcasm, shook his head and sighed: "Your Majesty, you don't think that the two families can establish a rock-solid trust and friendship just by means of marriage, right
In the face of the temptation of the supreme position, the stories of brothers killing each other and father and son turning against each other, don't you read too little in historical classics? "
Emperor Reinhard snorted coldly, still struggling: "But that is also a strife within the San Lorenzo family. The imperial royal family has always been San Lorenzo. For thousands of years, no one has dared to challenge this fact!"
Gregory immediately asked back: "Could it be that for thousands of years, some people have dared to declare that the Pope is a hypocrite?"
Emperor Reinhard was speechless for a moment.
Gregorian's blue eyes shone with a strange light, and the holy light in the prayer hall seemed to become extremely intense at this moment. He opened his mouth, and his loud voice seemed to come from above the sky:
"They dare to judge the spokesperson of our lord today, and they dare to judge the royal family of the empire tomorrow!"
(end of this chapter)