The capital of the Principality of West Asia, the Diocese of Talis.
The curfew has been in effect for the third day. After dusk, the streets of Talis are deserted, with only half of the street lights lit and falling snow falling.
All was silent.
On both sides of the broad Felien Central Street, the dark grand palace and the main church across the street faced each other like two silent hills, making the air in this cold country heavier than ever before.
There are no lights.
The Grand Duke's residence seemed to be deserted, not a single light was on, and there were only twos and threes of guards patrolling the enclosure.
Although the patrol was to ensure the safety of the Grand Duke's residence, their eyes never left the main church across the street tonight.
From the outside of the main church, only scattered lights can be seen that are precisely reflected.
In the church, around the altar used for worshiping mass, there were many figures standing like a society.
They wore red-trimmed bishop's robes, red round caps on their heads, and wide white ribbons draped over their shoulders, indicating the almost supreme status of this group of people in West Asia.
Four of the eight cardinals of the Catholic Church were waiting here early, and four more...
There were four more people who had just been "picked up" from the Grand Duke's residence by the soldiers of the National Religion Knights.
After losing the Grand Duke, the cardinals who originally lined up at the Grand Duke's residence had no room for resistance, and no reason to continue to resist. Without any fighting ability, they stood under the dome of the cathedral like candles in the wind, looking at the cathedral. The person opposite was nervously silent.
Tilda Dark, a saint of the church, overturned the card table of the original church after winning the election for the Grand Duke.
From then on, she never visited the church once, never attended mass again, and expressed her attitude in an extreme way that almost cut her off from the church.
But her identity as a saint cannot be taken away. This originates from the tradition of ancient West Asian legends, combined with astrology and divination.
The most important thing is that Tilda was born with strength given by the Lord God.
Ever since that power blossomed, the Holy Father Church has discovered that the Grand Duke's residence is no longer obedient, and has discovered that the puppet seat that was once in its hands has now become a cold and decisive spear.
As a result, among the nine cardinals of the Catholic Church, four gradually chose to support Tilda in improving politics and religion. From then on, they held services and preached at the Grand Duke's residence. Even though Tilda had not attended their mass, she naturally used their influence as a shield.
Until now, they were all brought back to the cathedral, shivering.
Four bishops of the Grand Residence, four bishops of the cathedral.
In front of them, there was another person who was looking at them, as if he were in a pet store preparing to choose his favorite cat or dog, looking at them carefully.
The ninth bishop, "Father" Gascón.
The priest is originally the second-level clergyman in the Catholic Church, only higher than the priest. However, Gascón, who has become a bishop, still calls himself a priest to his parishioners.
He is humble and kind. He actively works for the welfare of his parishioners, takes in children in need, practices medicine and is kind. He has a high status but is amiable.
He is pious and hard-working. He also serves as the leader of the Knights of the Third Nation. He leads the heroic and devout members of the church to fight for the country. The people of West Asia should be grateful for his dedication.
"Colleagues, the Church is grateful for your dedication despite your busy schedule. In this time of crisis, we are gathered here to save our country and defend the majesty of our Lord."
The red cloak Gascón wore was much more luxurious and complicated than the red robes worn by other bishops. It was embroidered with sparkling gems, gold and silver, and was as luxurious as the legendary dragon's treasure cave.
He looked around at the eight bishops in front of him and smiled: "Two of the seven knights who guarded our Lord have been lost, and the saint of our church has been killed. My colleagues should understand that someone must stand up now. Defend the kingdom of our Lord with your blood.”
Gascón nodded slightly to the person beside him, and an envelope with white paper was placed in the hands of all eight cardinals.
"I also ask you to cast your precious and sacred vote to select someone who is qualified to serve as the head of the group from among the nine of us."
His expression was calm and calm: "Colleagues, please consider carefully. As the general commander of the Knights of the State Church, when the Theocracy falls into war, he has the general command of the Knights of the State Church, and His Majesty the Pope cannot interfere. This kind of power is too sensitive, so you must carefully write down the name of the person you are referring to."
Among the eight bishops in front of him, the four ecumenical ones looked at each other a few times, their eyes full of confusion.
"Where's the pen?"
Someone was muttering in a low voice, but Gascón acted as if he didn't hear it at all, smiling and looking at the other four bishops who were originally members of the church sect.
The envelopes in their hands were handed directly back to Gascón without even opening them.
"The Lord bless you, my dear brother." Gascón smiled and accepted the envelope.
The four ecumenical bishops understood. Someone lowered his head and opened the envelope. Naturally, he saw the ticket paper with Gascón's name written inside.
"Do you have any questions that I can answer for you, my learned friend?" Gascon tilted his head slightly, his face full of kindness.
The ecumenical bishop shook his head with a pale face, closed the envelope and handed it over.
Eight envelopes were put into Gascón's arms. Without even looking down, he threw the eight envelopes onto the sutra table and raised his hand to take out the ninth letter that should be written by himself. He took out the envelope, took out the letter paper inside with his fingertips, coughed lightly and chanted:
"Cardinal Noir of Turin, one vote."
The bishop named Turinno was obviously one of the four ecumenical sects, and his expression suddenly became extremely ugly.
Gascón threw the ticket paper he wrote into the pile of envelopes at the desk, and bowed his head humbly and decently: "Then, I would like to thank all my colleagues for their trust in my work. I will vote with eight votes to one. I won the friendly competition with Cardinal Yu of Turin and was promoted to the position of Grand Master of the Knights of the West Asian Established Church. In the name of our Lord, I will definitely live up to His expectations."
"Why don't you just take nine votes and forget it?!"
Knowing that there was no chance of a good ending for him, Turin Nuo couldn't bear it anymore and gritted his teeth angrily and roared.
"To brag about oneself is really contrary to our Lord's teaching of 'humility'."
The smile on Gascon's face did not change, he only raised his hand slightly, and a group of soldiers quickly walked up from the darkness on both sides and held the four bishops sent by the Archduke in place.
"Gascon! You!"
They roared, but were quickly dragged into the depths of the cathedral.
As a result, the Lord's Prayer Hall became empty once again, leaving only Gascón and the remaining four bishops standing there.
"Then, Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief..."
One of the bishops said flatteringly: "Do the five existing knights in West Asia have any countermeasures against their despicable neighboring countries? Of course, I am just curious. I know very well that there is no need to worry about this matter."
"Thank you for your concern."
Gascón smiled, raised his hand to his side and waved it lightly, and several ticket papers on the platform flew automatically without wind, burning violently in the air, and a burst of thick white smoke came out, blowing out a big Skylight at the top of the church.
He looked at the thick white smoke escaping from the window and said calmly: "Although Chastity and Temperance can no longer perform their duties, as the general leader of the Knights, I think not only me, but the other four leaders will also fight with all their strength. , defend to the death our Lord—our true Lord who has come.”
The bishop who asked the question was about to say something more when he was suddenly interrupted by a young man's voice:
"Gascon, the new Son is ready."
A look of excitement flashed across Gascón's old face. He looked in the direction of the voice, and his tone was a little more excited: "Ah... he is indeed a 'diligent' knight. That boy is also a carrier, right?" "
The man known as "diligence" stood in the shadows, with no enthusiasm or urgency in his tone: "He is indeed a carrier... But I heard that there was a better carrier that day. It's a pity."
"unimportant."
Enthusiasm and excitement flashed in Gascón's eyes: "There would have been no better carrier than Tilda. Besides, the Simeng people had been blown into a pulp that day. As long as there is a usable carrier, it is enough." Got it!"
Memorize 114 Chinese words in 1 second:
