Firefly Journey

The Vatican has churches around the world to facilitate local residents' prayers to the sun god.

No vehicles other than church members are allowed to enter the church. Ordinary believers only have the right to pray, a rule that even local nobles must abide by.

Lin Yuanran had already spoken with the person in charge of the Prone branch church before arriving, so he easily entered the church.

The head of the Prone branch church was an archbishop, which was not really necessary for the Kingdom of Delos, given its size.

The Papacy has three high priests, each with three archbishops under their command. Only powerful states like Chu and Debasa had the privilege of having a bishop reside in the church; the Kingdom of Delos could only be compared to them due to its own unique circumstances.

The Kingdom of Delos was so geographically important, and the royal family had always maintained good relations with the duchy, that it received this honor.

The archbishop in charge of matters concerning the Prone Papacy was called "Hook" Woz. As his name suggests, he was disabled, having lost his left hand, which was later fitted with an iron hook.

In fact, this archbishop was a pirate in his early years. He was subdued by "The Tide" Matthew and lived up to his potential, eventually rising to the position of archbishop.

"The Frenzy" Matthew is the person in charge of the Holy See's suppression of the Abyss. The three archbishops under his command should, in theory, be in the Abyss, just like the Dawn Cavalry under his command.

But Wozniak is an exception.

The Kingdom of Delos is situated in a buffer zone between the duchy and the empire, giving it considerable strategic significance. The Papacy attaches great importance to this and therefore assigned "Hook" Woz to this location.

Woz, a former pirate, had a tough attitude, which was why the Vatican had placed him here.

Upon seeing Lin Yuanran and his companion, Woz was very welcoming and greeted them as they entered the reception room.

"We were unaware of His Holiness the Pope's arrival and apologize for any shortcomings in our hospitality."

After Lin Yuanran and the other person sat down, Woz did not sit down with them, but instead performed a standard papal prayer, extremely humble.

Lin Yuanran quickly stood up and returned the greeting: "Don't call me that..."

Woz laughed and said, "The arrangements made by the former pope are known to the high priest and us bishops. It's just a matter of a succession ceremony, so there's not much difference."

"..."

Lin Yuanran had no rebuttal.

After the two sat down, Lin Yuanran couldn't wait to ask, "What is the current situation of the Kingdom of Delos?"

What? You're asking why only two people sat down? That's because the wind chime didn't even stand up!

"Iron Hook" Woz said unhurriedly, "What we can confirm at present is that Enor was once the Empire's spy in the Kingdom of Delos. A year ago, the old king died, and he took over the army of the Kingdom of Delos. It is said that the old king's last wish was for him to succeed him as king."

"He declined repeatedly, but finally agreed to serve as regent for three years, after which he would return power to Princess Claudia."

Is that what happened...?

However, Lin Yuanran didn't believe it. Claudia was about the same age as him and was a fully capable adult. If Ainoer was truly loyal to the old king, why would he need to serve as regent for three years? Couldn't he just let Claudia take over perfectly?

From an outsider's perspective, it's easy to spot this obvious flaw, but for the people of Delos, Elnor's prestige is higher than the princess's, and his image is incredibly noble. How could he possibly be a wicked person who altered the old king's last wishes?

Even among ordinary people, there are many voices expressing support for Enor to continue in power and become the new king.

Lin Yuanran and his companion had been aware of the public sentiment in the Kingdom of Tilo throughout their journey, and it must be said that Aino's outward appearance was indeed quite impressive.

Lin Yuanran was somewhat displeased: "Just because he was once a dog of the Empire, I don't believe he's a good person!"

Woz replied, "I don't believe it either, but there's no evidence. He's very careful in his actions, and even though our Vatican is watching him closely, we can't find any flaws."

In fact, it was we who spread the news of his affair with the evil god, but this rumor didn't cause much of a stir among the people of Delos.

Is he really backed by an evil god?

"It's pretty much true. My people detected the aura of an evil god in his residence, that's for sure, but there's no evidence."

Enor's disguise was so good that even though the Vatican knew he was not clean, they had no reason to deal with him.

Lin Yuanran was also very troubled. In the end, he needed to have a legitimate reason for his actions, otherwise he would have a hard time explaining it to the people of the Kingdom of Delos.

Suddenly, Fengling said, "Your Excellency, are you absolutely certain that an evil god is behind Enor?"

I need a definite answer.

“It’s hard to say,” Woz said with a troubled expression. “There is an evil aura, but I’m only about 70 or 80 percent sure. As for the fact that Enor altered the old king’s last wish, I can guarantee that.”

"Alright then." Fengling looked at Lin Yuanran. "You're being too hesitant. You can go see that princess first, and then you can go on a killing spree."

Lin Yuanran said, "Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

"There's nothing wrong with it. You have to be decisive and efficient when you do things, otherwise it will cause a lot of trouble later."

Lin Yuanran pondered for a moment and said, "I'll listen to you."

"Iron Hook" Woz was somewhat taken aback, then looked at the girl with new respect. He didn't know about their relationship, nor was he aware of Wind Chime's talent. He was surprised that the future Pope had so easily accepted her proposal.

However, this has nothing to do with him, because he is just someone who gets things done and only needs to do his job well.

"Where is Claudia?" Lin Yuanran asked.

"The Royal Palace."

No sooner had Woz finished speaking than Lin Yuanran vanished from the spot, his speed leaving Woz speechless.

"Is he... always a man of action?"

Wind Chime said, "No."

At this point, Fengling was a little displeased. Although she had said before that she didn't care about Claudia, she still felt a little uncomfortable seeing Lin Yuanran go directly to see her.

"How many people do you have at your disposal?" Fengling asked.

“Less than fifty riders,” Woz answered truthfully.

Woz was stationed at the branch church in Progne, serving as a mascot and incidentally keeping an eye on the Delos royal family. The forty-odd riders he brought were there to maintain order in the church, not for combat.

The Duchy's assistance to the Kingdom of Delos was limited to the front lines.

“Not enough,” Wind Chime said. “In his name, mobilize all the Papacy’s armed forces within the Kingdom of Delos and send them all to Prone.”

Woz asked, puzzled, "You mean..."

"Knock on the mountain to kill the tiger," Wind Chime said. "I know that even if all these people are gathered together, they are not a very powerful armed force, at least not compared to the army of the Kingdom of Delos."

"But with such a big commotion, I just wanted Aynor to know that the Vatican is going to take action, and that's enough."

Woz exclaimed in surprise: "Are you trying to force him to rebel?"

Fengling said, "This is called fishing."