The top of the holy mountain.
The prayer hall of the Holy Light Cathedral is tall and empty, making people in it involuntarily feel small.
There are sculptures of angels holding swords standing around the hall, and their indifferent and serious expressions are even more awe-inspiring.
The morning sun shines through the glazed dome, coating everything in the hall with a golden halo, full of sacred flavor.
Pope Gregory stood on a high platform and personally presided over the prayer ceremony.
In the hall, hundreds of nobles who came here knelt on one knee, praising the Supreme Lord of Glory in unison, who brought them this miraculous victory.
After the ceremony, Pope Gregory was about to leave, but was blocked by a person.
"Marquis Garcia, is there anything else you can do?" Pope Gregory had an unnatural smile on his face.
After all, just a few months ago, the Marquis of the Northern Territory organized an army of 200,000 troops to march towards Yulong City, trying to force him to abdicate.
Although the two sides reached a settlement later, it was also due to the pressure of the orc invasion.
Now that the threat of the orcs has been basically eliminated, the conflict between the northern border and the church has naturally resurfaced.
What makes Pope Gregory even more uncomfortable is that the person in front of him is actually the mastermind and hero of this victory.
The Marquis of Garcia didn't seem to care about the Pope's impatience towards him at all, he bowed respectfully and said:
"Your Majesty, may I ask you to make a confession for me?"
Pope Gregory frowned, obviously surprised by Marquis Garcia's request. .
He stared at Marquis Garcia for a moment, and saw that the other party looked serious, and it didn't seem like he was joking.
Could this be a signal that the North intends to reconcile
Pope Gregory secretly speculated on the intention of Marquis Garcia's move.
However, facing the olive branch extended by Marquis Garcia, even though Pope Gregory dismissed it in his heart, he would definitely not refuse on the surface, and immediately nodded and said:
"Of course. Follow me, please."
The two came together to the confession room in the side hall.
After closing the door, Pope Gregory and Marquis Garcia sat facing each other in a small, closed space.
A white crystal was placed between the two of them. As the prayer was slowly read from Pope Gregory's mouth, the white crystal gradually lit up.
"Garcia St. Hilde, tell your sins. As long as you sincerely repent, the merciful Supreme Lord will definitely guide you in the direction of redemption!"
Marquis Garcia silently looked at the white crystal in front of him, but did not speak.
Pope Gregory didn't rush either, and waited patiently.
There were bursts of warm cheers vaguely outside. It was Prince Harrison, on behalf of the emperor, officially announcing the victory of the Battle of the Loire to the people.
And Marquis Garcia should also be mentioned. Perhaps from now on, the people of the empire will finally be able to forgive him for what he did in the Tianduan Mountains.
"I'm guilty." Marquis Garcia finally said, "In order to allow the imperial coalition forces to withdraw from the western region, I ran away in the Tianduan Mountains. As a result, countless soldiers of the empire and the people of the western region were buried in the hands of orcs..."
Listening to Marquis Garcia's confession, Pope Gregory kept a gentle smile on his face, but secretly disdainful in his heart.
However, as the host of the confession, Pope Gregory still said patiently:
"Repent, sinner, and repent to our Lord with all your piety!"
Thinking of seeing his enemy repent in front of him next, Pope Gregory felt a sense of gloom.
However, Marquis Garcia did not sincerely repent or cry bitterly as the Pope expected.
He just stared blankly at the white crystal in front of him, his thoughts seemed to have drifted to other places.
The gentle holy light shone on his face, soothing his already scarred heart.
thump thump—
A melodious bell sounded in his ears, and Marquis Garcia's pupils gradually became dilated, and his consciousness began to blur.
In a daze, he seemed to have returned to the bloody Tianduan Mountains battlefield.
When the northern army fled under his order, a huge irreparable flaw appeared in the front of the human coalition forces.
The crazy orc army rushed down this gap like a tide, setting off waves of blood in the positions of the human coalition forces.
"Garcia San Hilde, you traitor!"
Countless angry faces appeared before his eyes, roaring at Marquis Garcia.
…
"I'm guilty..." Marquis Garcia murmured.
Before my eyes appeared villages and cities that were turned into ashes, piles of heads, corpses all over the mountains, and rivers of blood...
"I am unforgivable..."
Pope Gregory frowned, and complained in his heart—
Then don't you rush to repent
Who came to the confession room without weeping bitterly, sincerely repenting, and begging the forgiveness of the Supreme Lord
How can you just keep saying that you are guilty like this
However, Gregory didn't speak, and just looked at Marquis Garcia leisurely, because he could feel the pain in his heart.
Gregory enjoyed the feeling of watching the enemy struggling in the abyss of pain very much, and of course he would not stretch out his hand to pull him away.
"... Only death is the only way for me to atone for my sins..." Marquis Garcia's eyes became cloudier and his consciousness became more and more blurred.
In the holy light that filled his vision, he seemed to see the figure of his younger sister, Queen Midella.
"You really deserve to die." Queen Midella said, "However, even if you are going to die, it is more meaningful to die."
The night is dark and the moon and stars are sparse.
The Marquis of Garcia seemed to have returned to the outside of the Storm Fortress a month ago.
"That's why I chose to go to Storm Fortress." Marquis Garcia said to his sister, "I will look for opportunities to assassinate Emperor Reinhardt during the audience.
After his death, you can lead the imperial coalition forces to withdraw from the Fortress of Storms and go to the Loire Valley... I have already told Colin the specific battle strategy, and you can let him take command of the battle... "
"You really don't need to worry about this." Queen Midella smiled confidently, "I have already arranged a more suitable death method for Reinhardt."
Marquis Garcia frowned, wondering:
"What exactly are your plans?"
Queen Midella avoided talking about it, saying:
"Brother, if you believe me, don't go to Storm Fortress again. I have a better suggestion."
"What?"
"Holy Light Cathedral." Empress Midella looked coldly, "Since you are determined to atone for your sins with death, why didn't you die at the place closest to the Lord of Radiance
Besides, aren't you going to take revenge on Vera? After the orc war, doesn't the northern border need a reason to fight the church again
Just help us find one! "
Marquis Garcia was silent for a moment, then nodded and said:
"good!"
…
"What's the matter?" Pope Gregory looked at the Marquis Garcia in a trance, and finally realized something was wrong.
Marquis Garcia's eyes finally had some focus, and he showed a meaningful smile to the Pope in front of him, saying:
"Gregory, I have sinned unforgivably, so what about your sin?"
Pope Gregory frowned, snorted softly, and said:
"Garcia, it is you who are confessing now. Please be more serious, as long as you sincerely repent, the merciful Supreme Lord will definitely..."
In the middle of speaking, the pope stopped abruptly.
Because, he was shocked to find that jet black blood was gurgling from Marquis Garcia's eyes, nose and mouth.
"Garcia, are you okay?"
A mocking smile appeared on the corner of Marquis Garcia's mouth, and he said angrily:
"Gregory... your judgment... is coming..."
Pope Gregory finally came to his senses, and immediately cast a healing spell like crazy, roaring in his mouth:
"Garcia! Garcia! Don't die!
Don't die here! "
(end of this chapter)