Chapter 669: Struggle
Under the sunset, in the Hall of Glory of the Palace of the Goddess in Faraluo, Commissioner Sander of Faraluo was calmly conversing with Adele. Listening to the secrets of Faraluo that Sander revealed, Adele’s expression became increasingly solemn.
“According to your meaning, Charles might have been assassinated by the Church organization, and Robert’s tyrannical rule originated from his own nature rather than being a false accusation planted by the Church?” Adele said seriously to Sander. After finishing his cigar, Sander threw the b*tt into the ashtray and continued speaking.
“I didn’t say for sure that Charles’ d*ath was caused by the Church, but I do think it has something to do with them. As for the Greedy King… According to the data I have, he was indeed extremely greedy during his reign, imposing heavy taxes and exploiting the people. His personality was as flamboyant and capricious as Charles’, but he lacked Charles’ ability. Such an impulsive character, if not complemented by excellent skills and talents, would only breed a tyrant. Robert is a typical tyrant.
“The chaos under Robert’s rule in Faraluo was indeed rampant. The Church seemed to have made little effort to mobilize opposition against Robert, leading to his downfall. The outbreak of the Cold Moon Revolution, the Church mostly went along with it, but the main cause of the revolution was still Robert himself. Most of his actions during his reign were real, although the Church and the current government of Faraluo are deliberately trying to vilify him in their propaganda, they haven’t exaggerated much.
“Robert’s end was self-inflicted, but it’s pitiful that he ruined the future of Faraluo. His father, Charles, was much stronger than him, but unfortunately, he didn’t understand the importance of restraint, ruining a good situation…”
Sander glanced around the Hall of Glory at all the trophies and war spoils belonging to King Charles. With a tone tinged with a hint of sigh, he continued to respond slowly. After hearing his words, Adele narrowed her eyes slightly and then asked Sander again.
“You just mentioned that someone who wants to harm you is one of your political rivals in Faraluo’s political arena, another commissioner. The impeachment between commissioners can nullify each other’s abilities, but it must be done officially. Unless the Grand Archbishop of Faraluo allows it…
“And today, being impeached in this situation means that your rival has already gained support from the Grand Archbishop of Faraluo. Aren’t you usually against Bourbon? You oppose Bourbon, and the Church also opposes Bourbon. Are your positions not aligned?”
Adele asked Sander with a very serious expression, and he replied with a light laugh.
“Haha, you might have misunderstood something, Miss Adele. I oppose Bourbon not to show my stance before the Church, but because the remnants of Bourbon are truly harmful to this country. They have brought a lot of evil cult activities and countless extraordinary events to Faraluo.
“Regarding the relics and ruins of Bourbon, they are often coveted by cults led by the Amniotic Sac. They operate across Faraluo, seizing the remains of Bourbon through various means. Recently, about ten percent of the malicious extraordinary events in Faraluo have been caused by the remains of Bourbon, and in the past one or two years, this number has surged to thirty to forty percent.
“I don’t know what factors have influenced it, but recently, the three cults related to the Amniotic Sac have been active frequently in Faraluo, causing many malicious extraordinary events, which is very bad. Their main goal is the remains of Bourbon, so I started nationwide efforts to ban and confiscate all artifacts related to Bourbon, arresting those close-knit royalists who are in secret societies. These people who constantly dream of reviving royal power are the easiest to be exploited by cults. Many incidents within the country have seen them being used as pawns by cults, causing severe harm.”
In a calm manner, Sander directly told Adele, who nodded thoughtfully after hearing his words and then asked again.
“So, your actions against Bourbon… essentially aim to suppress domestic malicious extraordinary events… But why would such actions provoke dissatisfaction from the Church? Have you done anything else to provoke the Church? To the point where the Church would tacitly allow your position to collaborate with the Amniotic Sac to plan an assassination against you?”
Hearing Adele’s words, Sander paused slightly and then spoke again after a moment of silence.
“This involves deeper internal issues within Faraluo. I’m sorry, I can’t explain too clearly. However, I will mention that there are reasons why I provoked the Church’s dissatisfaction, but the factors leading to today’s assassination attempt may not only be me, Miss Adele. Perhaps you should look for reasons within yourself.”
Pointing at Adele in front of him, Sander spoke steadily. Hearing Sander’s words, Adele was quite surprised.
“Me?”
“Yes… You had helped me review the assassination plan that occurred earlier. Among the purposes of inserting you and many Bourbon remnants into the Palace of the Goddess was to frame others, but have you ever considered that if the sole purpose was to frame the Bourbon royalists who no longer hold sway, wouldn’t the other remnants of Bourbon be enough? Why go through the trouble of bringing you over from abroad? The Amniotic Sac knows that your abilities are not easy to deal with. Why add you, an unstable factor, to the plan?”
Sander directly asked Adele, leaving her slightly stunned. After a while, she continued to answer.
“The reason the Amniotic Sac sought the remains of Bourbon was to find materials for studying the Path of Desire. And I am a living material for the White Chalk’s Path of Desire, very precious to them. They lured me into this scheme ultimately to capture me…”
Adele answered seriously. After hearing this response, Sander shook his head slightly and continued speaking.
“Based on the previous situation, the Amniotic Sac already has a considerable amount of technology related to the Path of Desire and even creating White Chalk is not out of the question. You are useful to them, but perhaps not greatly so. I don’t think your importance to them is significant enough to risk forcing you into this operation.”
“Then what could be the other reasons?” Adele frowned slightly as she listened to Sander’s words, and Sander prompted her to continue.
“I saw in your records… You once requested the Church’s protection in Pritt?”
Hearing Sander’s words, Adele paused for a moment, then suddenly seemed to recall something and spoke.
“The Church… Yes, the Church… Is there any connection with the Church here? Could it be… There’s a political problem within the Church?”
Adele said with realization. After hearing her words, Sander nodded and responded.
“I can tell you seriously that this issue is likely due to escalating political struggles within the Church recently. Think about it, what kind of people provided you with protection back then?”
Sander said to Adele, and Adele began to recall and speak as she listened.
“The ones providing me with protection were the Savior Faction of the Church. After the Great Hunt by the Amniotic Sac, the Savior Faction has been collecting non-Amniotic Sac ‘Cup’ societies that survived the sweep, protecting and utilizing them. After dodging the Great Hunt, I was still a Black Earth Tier, completely unable to resist the Amniotic Sac, so I found the Savior Faction and participated in their protection plan.
“I traded most of the information about the Black Earth Tier of the Path of Desire for preferential treatment in the protection plan from the Savior Faction. They arranged for me to live in a high-security diocese dominated by the Knight faction and allowed me to build my own forces. All I needed to do was occasionally follow the local church’s instructions to fight the Amniotic Sac forces infiltrating the city and help them with regular divinations. It seems that my safe residence in Tivyán was a result of cooperation between the Knight faction and the Savior faction within the Church.”
Adele said seriously. After hearing her statement, Sander waved his hand and replied.
“It’s more like a compromise than a collaboration. Since you mentioned having some connections with both the Savior and Knight factions, it makes sense. The Inquisition faction within the Church has deep conflicts with both the Savior and Knight factions recently, and in certain disputes in the past, the Inquisition faction fell behind before the Knight and Savior factions, causing great anger among the Inquisition faction. They have been planning counterattacks from other fronts. Unfortunately, our Faraluo diocese is led by the Inquisition faction, and the Grand Archbishop of Faraluo is part of the Inquisition faction.”
Sander said this, and upon hearing his words, Adele immediately understood and spoke.
“According to your meaning… The Inquisition faction wants me to be involved in today’s assassination attempt meant for you. After your d*ath, I would be implicated in openly leading Bourbon remnants to assassinate the Faraluo commissioner. Due to my connections with the Savior and Knight factions, once this serious charge is confirmed, the Inquisition faction could use this as an opportunity to challenge the other two factions and reverse their previous disadvantage!”
Adele analyzed and said, and listening to her words, Sander nodded slightly. Outside the scene, Dorothy was lost in thought, stroking her chin.
Dorothy knew exactly what Sander was referring to when he mentioned the event that caused the Inquisition faction to fall behind in recent Church internal struggles. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was likely the attack on St. Hymn Cathedral.
After this incident, Amanda of the Savior faction seized the opportunity to pressure Vanía, allowing her to advance to the Red Tier prematurely. The Knight faction successfully sent their own people to take over the Pritt diocese, stabilizing their position. The Inquisition faction, which initially caused the trouble, ended up with nothing and was likely suppressed to some extent in subsequent political games. To turn the tide, they might have tacitly allowed this assassination plot.
This assassination plot involved three parties. If successful, the Amniotic Sac could eliminate Adele and gain more Bourbon heritage. Sander’s political rival could eliminate Sander. The Church could use this to suppress the Savior and Knight factions… It could be a win-win situation for all three sides, which is why the Church in Faraluo could tolerate the Amniotic Sac.
“I never imagined… People from the Inquisition faction would be willing to overlook the evil cults they despise for political struggle… The contradictions within the Church have escalated to such a degree? How did it come to this?”
Adele muttered in disbelief, thinking about the current situation. Sander then continued.
“The escalation of internal conflicts within the Sacred Summit began last year. Now, there are no signs of easing, and the situation is getting worse. More and more people in the political circles of various countries and within the Church have heard about the discord among the Cardinals. As for why things have become like this, there are various speculations, but none are credible.
“Truly unexpected… The power struggle within the upper echelons of the Church has evolved to such an extent… This feels… very strange. Shouldn’t the saints, who are closest to the Glimmer Deity, be models of devout and ascetic believers? Why are they so eager for power to such an extent that they no longer resemble clergy but rather politicians?”
Adele said with a tone of incredulity. Sander paused for a moment, then thought for a bit and replied slowly.
“Based on our experience as commissioners interacting with the Sacred Summit for many years, the situation in the Council of Cardinals is indeed like this. A few saints seem more like politicians than believers. After prolonged contact, it’s hard to feel how much faith they actually have. Perhaps many Archbishops below them are more devout.”
“Oh? You mean… The Council of Cardinals, the highest authority body of the Church, isn’t devout?” Hearing Sander’s words, Adele said with a very surprised expression, and he immediately responded.
“At least most of them don’t seem to have a very high level of devotion. It seems that when appointing them, the Holy See considers factors beyond piety. In short, you only need to know that the Council of Cardinals, like many secular political arenas, is filled with the mundane pursuit of power…”
Sander said to Adele, then seemed to remember something and continued.
“Speaking of which, I recall that the Savior faction has always been a relatively weaker force within the Church, enduring suppression for centuries. I didn’t expect that they managed to turn the tables recently and force the Inquisition faction to act. Could it be that there was a secret change of Cardinal bishops recently?”
Sander pondered and said, and after hearing his words, Adele paused. Following Dorothy’s instructions in her mind, she immediately asked.
“Your meaning is… Before a recent period, the Savior faction was always the weaker side? The Faith of the Holy Mother clearly has the most followers, right?”
“I don’t know the specific power dynamics within the Church, but I’ve heard that before this recent resurgence, the Savior faction did have considerable influence within the Church. But at least five hundred years ago, the Savior faction suddenly encountered some problems, causing its influence to plummet sharply and be suppressed by the Inquisition faction for centuries. Until today, a young nun named Vania emerged from their ranks.”
