Another World: The Failed Magician

Howard, Charlotte, and Rhodes stood before the sarcophagus.

The three of them managed to block the 20 high-ranking members of the God of Light Church from advancing any further.

But Rod's heart remained uneasy, because the elder had not made a move from beginning to end.

He stood by like a spectator, observing everything that happened.

That was once the Sword Saint of the Kingdom of Light.

Just as this thought arose in his mind, the elder who had been motionless finally walked over slowly.

Seeing this, the others suddenly stopped their attack and took a step back.

Howard calmly observed the newcomer.

"It seems you have completed your preparations."

"You actually knew that."

The elder's tone was somewhat surprised.

Even if you knew, so what?

The elder spoke again, seemingly unconcerned.

He casually tossed it, and a crystal floated in mid-air with a graceful arc.

Li Mengyu recognized that this was a crystal specifically used for recording.

"What does he want to do?"

Lu Xuan explained patiently.

"Collecting Faith".

"?"

Li Mengyu was puzzled.

Lu Xuan offered no further explanation and gestured for her to continue watching.

An image appeared in mid-air.

The content shown in the image is exactly what the elder had previously accused Howard of being a traitor to the Church of Light.

Seeing the puzzled looks on Rhodes and Charlotte's faces, the elder kindly offered an explanation.

"This scene will be played on a loop throughout the entire Kingdom of Light, and I've also distributed this location to all the knightly orders of the Kingdom of Light. Howard, what are you going to do then?"

Rhodes and Charlotte's expressions changed instantly upon hearing this.

If that's the case, it won't be long before they really have to become enemies with the entire Kingdom of Light.

Meanwhile, throughout the Kingdom of Light God, many different opinions arose after witnessing this scene.

“I knew Howard was a hypocrite. He’s not a believer in optics at all. He’s a fraud. He stole the Pope’s position.”

"You know everything now? What has the Pope done all these years? Are you blind? Without him, someone like you would have starved to death long ago."

"He's not a follower of the God of Light at all, so what right does he have to be Pope?"

"He has done so many good deeds over the years, how could he not be qualified?"

What began as conversation gradually escalated into arguments, and then, incredibly, a physical fight broke out. The entire Kingdom of Light was plunged into chaos.

The elder looked at Howard, trying to see panic in Howard's expression.

He had actually done something behind the scenes; his plan was not simply to present that scene to everyone in the Kingdom of Light.

The crystal also displayed everything that was happening. If he could force Howard to admit that he was not a believer of the Church of Light, then everything would be easy.

Contrary to expectations, Howard's aged face appeared remarkably calm at that moment.

Howard took a step forward.

The others watched him nervously.

That was a real pope.

Howard's abilities remain a mystery to everyone.

The elder instinctively gripped the longsword in his right hand.

Howard waved his right hand, and a golden scepter appeared in his hand.

That is the scepter of the Holy Kingdom of Light, symbolizing the Pope's status.

Howard gazed at the crystal in mid-air.

He gave the elder a cold look before turning his gaze to the crystal in mid-air.

He knew my plan from beginning to end.

Such a thought arose in the elder's mind.

At this moment, a light screen appeared in mid-air in various parts of the Kingdom of Light God.

The content displayed on the light screen was exactly what was happening on Lu Xuan's side at that moment.

Howard's face appeared on the screen.

Many people looked at the Pope with complicated expressions.

They instinctively didn't believe the Pope was a traitor.

But how do we explain everything that appears in the picture?

Amidst the confusion and uncertainty of many, Howard, appearing on the screen, spoke.

"I believe that many of you must have a lot of questions in your hearts right now, but I cannot answer them all. I can only tell you what I want to say to everyone in the Kingdom of Light God."

Howard's voice seemed to possess a strange magic, instantly silencing the crowd that had been arguing over the video on the screen, and bringing a brief period of calm to the entire Kingdom of Light.

"First of all, this matter will definitely be resolved after today, and all your disputes and struggles over it are meaningless. I hope that no one will shed blood over this."

“Everything Carolell said is true. I stopped the sleeping god from absorbing faith.”

These words struck like a boulder into the hearts of every supporter of Howard's Church of Light.

Everyone present, except for Lu Xuan, was quite surprised. They didn't understand what Howard was doing.

To accept that everything the elder said was true, and then to put oneself on the opposite side of the country.

Why did he do this?

Everyone is puzzled.

Before anyone else could come up with a solution, Howard's voice continued.

"The gods only treat humans as slaves. So-called faith is nothing but a trick to fool everyone. I think you can see that the Kingdom of Light is getting better and better."

"I want to tell you all that these are the results of your own efforts. So-called faith and gods have nothing to do with each other. You can live well without relying on that illusory god of light."

"The gods will not bring you happiness; only you can create your own happiness."

Just as the scene reached this point, the light curtain in the sky suddenly disappeared, leaving the people below stunned and bewildered.

The elder's expression began to turn somewhat unpleasant.

Behind the elder, the eyes of some high-ranking members of the God of Light Church began to wander.

At this moment, the elder suddenly clapped his hands and said, "Howard, I underestimated you. I didn't expect that even at this time, you would still be thinking of spreading rumors and misleading the public."

As he spoke, the elder suddenly raised his longsword and thrust it at Howard.

Howard's scepter emitted a golden light, deflecting the attack back.

The elder involuntarily took two steps back.

"It seems you've used all that faith on this."

The other high-ranking members of the Church of Light all looked at the elder.

They all knew the power of this scepter; it could deflect all attacks, but the cost was the depletion of faith.

But Howard intercepted the faith needed for the God of Light's restoration, and they simply couldn't imagine how much faith had been condensed in this Dao-level scepter.

If it weren't for the elder's firm assertion that he had a solution, none of the people present would have broken ties with Howard.

"Let's see if your thing can withstand the Knights of the Kingdom of Light."

With great interest, the elder waved his hand, and another scene appeared in mid-air.

Everyone could see that the outside was now crowded with knights dressed in pure white armor.

The higher-ups of the God of Light Church also realized the elder's purpose.

He wanted to use these knights to break Howard's scepter.

Although the scepter can deflect attacks, even with the boost from faith, there's a limit. If the attack frequency is high enough, it's enough to break the scepter.

They hadn't considered this method before because the Knights wouldn't so easily obey their orders to attack the Pope, but with the elders' groundwork laid and Howard's own admission, things changed.

This method now appears to be feasible.

Because all members of the Knights had sworn allegiance to the God of Light.

The knights in the scene also began to advance step by step.

At that moment, a cardinal dressed in a black robe stood on the opposite side of them.

The knights stopped in their tracks when they saw him.

The only cardinal in the Kingdom of Light who wears a black robe.

Arnoldiwis, the director of the Bureau of Heresy.

At this moment, a knight commander dressed in white on a fine horse stepped out from the ranks.

"Please, Your Honor, do not make things difficult for us. We are doing this for the sake of the God of Light."

Arnoldivis sneered.

"I'm sorry, but I now condemn you as heretics!"

Then a group of knights dressed in jet-black armor blocked the knights of the Light God Kingdom halfway.

This…

The commander didn't hesitate either; he raised his longsword and gave the order to attack.

The Bureau of Heresy is an organization directly under the Pope, dedicated to eliminating heretics within the Church of Light.

Despite facing a larger number of knights, the Bureau of Heresy Affairs held its own, halting the knights' advance.

The elder watched all of this with a smile on his face.

“I admit, Howard, you do have some tricks up your sleeve. I didn’t expect you to be able to get the Heretic Bureau on your side under these circumstances. But how long can your small force hold out? I have plenty of time.”