Can't I develop my own character?

"So what? Isn't our original intention to promote cooperation between Augustus and the Northern Federation? As long as they form an alliance, it will be the best thing for us. It will prevent the outbreak of war and weaken the influence of the foreign gods. Isn't that what Bishop Qiao Xi said before?"

"That's for them."

Qiao Xi sighed lightly. The Saint was indeed too young. She had talent but was not very good at dealing with people. This was just as the rumors said.

How could the Janus Gate work for nothing? His purpose in coming here was to fight for the interests of the church. Before, because everyone agreed with Ryan's words, he certainly couldn't insist on going against the public's anger. After all, there was still the Saint, right?

But now it seems that the saint has no idea what she should do.

"Saint, the alliance between Augustus and the Northern Federation means that the situation in the northern continent will usher in new changes. If the Janus Gate is isolated, perhaps after the matter of Arcadia is over, the two empires will join hands to find a way to exclude us. Do you understand?"

"On the Rhea continent, the people are a resource to be fought for. God has entrusted us with the important task of spreading the faith, and we believers must devote ourselves wholeheartedly, even if it means using extraordinary means."

"Why am I fighting for the right to be a witness? It's to control the qualifications for drafting the treaty. We don't want to see Arcadia successfully invade the Northern Continent, but we also don't want to see the Northern Continent become too powerful. If they stick together, we'll be in trouble. Do you understand?"

Qiao Xi tried to analyze the pros and cons to Lin Qi, but Lin Qi was rather stubborn.

"Even so, I have promised to maintain absolute impartiality. I am merely a witness. The specific drafting of the treaty is the result of joint discussions between Augustus and the Northern People."

"Oh, Goddess, Saint, you can't think like that. You witnessed this great moment on behalf of the Janus Gate. Isn't it natural for the church to receive some well-deserved rewards? This is a fair and just approach, and the God of Contract will approve of it."

"But we've already gotten what we wanted." Lin Qi shook his head gently and said calmly, "God teaches us to be humble and contented. These are the qualities a qualified Janus follower should possess. Furthermore, if the Church forcibly interferes with this alliance, it will likely become entangled in a complicated situation, which will be detrimental to the alliance. Bishop Qiao Xi, we shouldn't cause the possible outbreak of the power of the Outer Gods for a small gain. The most urgent task is to ensure the smooth conclusion of this meeting and stop Arcadia's invasion."

Josh: “…”

Oh damn, how am I supposed to make her understand?

"Saint, the Gate of Janus has not achieved its current strength through innocent and pure praise. The enemies we face are not just the Outer Gods, but also many usurpers who blaspheme the gods. They are rude, ignorant, and clueless. Reasoning with them will not work, so we must ensure our own strength before we can confront them. Do you understand?"

"Of course I understand this, but Bishop Qiao Xi, don't you think you've become too obsessed with the game of power and conflict, and forgotten the innocence of following the goddess in the beginning?"

Josh was stunned.

He seemed to be stumped by this question.

"Perhaps you should ask yourself, is this something the great Janus needs you to do, or is it something you just want to do and are just looking for an excuse?" Lin Qi said, nodding slightly. "May the goddess bless you."

She left, leaving Josh standing there alone, like a carved stone statue.

It took a long time for Josh to come back to his senses.

Looking deeply at Lin Qi's leaving back.

He was stunned just now, partly because of Lin Qi's soul-searching question just now, and another very important reason was that for a moment he felt like he was facing the Pope of the past, who was also full of understanding of divinity as a saint.

It was because of that saint that he was attracted and vowed to follow her until today.

But since when has he become accustomed to shouting "For the Goddess Janus" every day, while always playing games of power and strife... Have I forgotten my original intention? No, no, the Pope always walks ahead of everyone, fighting for the goddess Janus. There is no mistake in following the Pope!

After a brief moment of distraction, Josh cast a purification spell on himself, allowing his long-unstable mood to settle down again, and then the look in his eyes became firm again...at least he thought so.

But the lack of faith is like a corner of a high-rise building that has been dug out. Once it appears, it is difficult to make up for it.

......

'Lin Qi' just came back to prepare, and will soon rush to the castle to attend the evening banquet.

Bishop Alcino followed her on the way to Lin Qi's residence and couldn't help but say, "Archbishop Qiao Xi is the most loyal to the Pope. I think her appearance must have been instructed by the Pope. If he said something to you..."

"I know the Pope might need him to intervene in the affairs of the Northern Continent, but he's been sidelined now," Lin Qi said calmly. "This fully demonstrates the attitude of Augustus and the Northern Federation. So I won't do what he wants. Doing so will only lead to the collapse of the alliance."

Alcino mused, "Then what about the Pope..."

"The Pope won't blame me for this, or rather, she has no reason to. I witnessed the temporary alliance of the Northern Continent. From now on, whether it's Augustus or the Northern Federation, the two empresses will only recognize my cooperation with them."

Alcino was startled: "The Saint means..."

"Alcino, if I'm not in Augustus, you will take care of anything for me."

Alcino paused and looked at Lin Qi who was gradually walking away. The calm tone seemed to be saying something insignificant...Alcino suddenly felt a chill on his back. The Saint seemed to be much more powerful than she had expected.

Who says a saint knows nothing? She knows more than anyone else!

"Yes, Lady Saint!"

Alcino responded loudly immediately, and she trotted to catch up with Lin Qi, deliberately lagging behind him by half a body length, with a respectful attitude.

Suddenly, Lin Qi stopped, turned his head to look out the rose window in the corridor, and then reached out to grab it.

A magical letter appeared in her hand.

After Lin Qi deciphered the information inside, her cold and beautiful eyebrows slightly frowned.

"Lady Saint, what's wrong?" Alcino, who had sworn to join the 'Saint' faction, couldn't wait to show himself.

"Nothing, go find Miss Ina and check the process of drafting the treaty for tomorrow." Lin Qi said.

"Yes, I'll do it right away."

......

"Is Andrei going to be finished?"

Here.

Ryan, who was waiting for the dinner to begin, saw the news from his first wife.

The magic letter flew over from the Arcadia Empire. Its content was about Cardinal Andni being in danger, but it did not specify the specific content, what kind of danger he encountered, or where he was.

Kaqiya tried to make a deal with Lin Qi using the relevant information, asking the latter to delay or even hinder the alliance between the two empires.

In addition, Kachia also gave additional conditions for allowing the Gate of Janus to establish a church, with a sincere attitude and full sincerity.

"This woman has a beautiful idea. She actually wants to use this method to hinder the alliance. If it were Josh, she might really agree, or at least be greedy and have the best of both worlds. But unfortunately, Queen Kaqiya, everyone in this meeting, from the referee to the members, is my people. How can you win?"

"But then again, Andni's strength should be at the T1 level among sixth-order transcendents, and he brought so many people with him. How could something go wrong? Is the Kazaar Plain really that dangerous?"

Ryan rubbed his chin in thought.

Andney went to investigate the plague, and it seemed that he had come into contact with the people of the Chaos Spirit. Apart from them, probably no one could threaten Andney.

This matter can only be described as a shock, not a surprise at all... Not necessarily, if Andy died, then the position of cardinal would be vacant, right?

Although Alcino's strength was still a little lacking, the selection of the archbishop was not something that could be completed in a short time. In addition to strength, talent and "performance" were also considered. Alcino was not bad at all in the latter two. After all, being able to be a bishop in Barron spoke for itself.

When the time comes, Lin Qi can just secretly add fuel to the fire.

"The Pope faction, the Bishop faction, and now there's the Saint faction." Ryan smiled slightly and could only make Andrew suffer.

Whether Andni is dead or alive will not have much impact on him. When the time comes, let the Janus Gate go to the Qazar Plain to cause trouble, and Lin Qi just needs to handle things here.

As for this piece of news, who would know if she didn't tell it?

Even if Kaqiya says that she told Lin Qi in the future, the latter just needs to deny it and think that the former is holding a grudge against Lin Qi because he witnessed the alliance between Augustus and the Northern Federation. It's slander, complete slander!

Can the Sister of Silence deceive people? Obviously not!

He planned to start cultivating followers of the Saint's Faction from now on to lay a solid foundation for taking over the Gate of Janus in the future. He would then continue to create small accounts and send a few more talents into the church to help Goddess Janus solve his problems.

Look at the churches nowadays, what a bunch of crap they are. Loyal Grandpa Ryan can’t stand it any more.

After concealing the matter, Ryan waited until after six o'clock before leaving his residence and taking a carriage to the castle.

...

Inside the huge banquet hall, six white crystal chandeliers held burning special candles. Their burning flames were bright and charming, and they faintly emitted a pleasant fragrance.

A long table covered with a white cloth was filled with a variety of delicacies: fragrant pan-fried foie gras, succulent grilled steak, roast chicken, plump oysters, and fragrant lamb. There were also bottles of Misty Champagne and Hillman red wine, both popular with the nobility lately. They swayed in their glasses, gleaming in the light, making them look particularly tempting.

Servants in light yellow vests shuttled around the hall, replenishing the missing food in a timely manner and providing assistance to those of noble status in the hall.

'Mortis' wore a black off-the-shoulder dress with a silver brooch pinned on her left breast. Her long, soft grey hair was casually spread out, and her grey, empty eyes were devoid of any colour.

Noble and mysterious, but arrogant and aggressive in his words and actions.

She held a wine glass in her hand and glanced casually across the hall. Soon, 'Vine' walked towards her. She was wearing a gorgeous dress made of golden brocade, which complemented her shining golden hair. She showed beauty, generosity, nobility and elegance everywhere.

The two queens met, smiled and chatted with each other, and the atmosphere seemed quite harmonious. Everyone had reason to believe that Queen 'Vene' and Queen 'Motis' must have reached an agreement that satisfied both parties at this alliance meeting.

Not far away, Casladi, wearing a white dress, stood with Heino, discussing food and art.

'Xia Li' was wearing a red dress and was discussing the supply of materials for the Holy Blood Army with 'Ina' who was wearing a business uniform. Although the Holy Blood Army's supplies were basically supplied by the enemy, there were always some shortages and some surpluses. The excess had to be sent back and the shortage had to be sent over.

And these things are all handled by 'Ina'.

'Lin Qi' was wearing a specially made nun's uniform with two crosses on her chest, one black and one gold. The black rope was shorter, while the gold one was longer.

In addition to them, there were some invited ministers and nobles in the hall. At this time, they maintained a relatively low-decibel communication, and everyone had an involuntary pride on their face, feeling proud to be able to participate in such a "top" meeting.

Nobility is a very strange identity. Sometimes they regard honor as more important than life.

Also, Qiao Xi, who was invited as a special guest, was worried about how to make Lin Qi change his mind.

It was already late when Ryan walked into the hall.

He was supposed to be on time, but Elvian contacted him temporarily and talked about Wildea sending troops to stop the Arcadia army.

The first thing was to express gratitude. Although Elvian still looked as arrogant as a queen, at least her tone was much softer, which was completely different from the look in the past when she wanted to eat Ryan.

Secondly, Elvian expressed the hope that 'Vine' would allow the Holy Blood Army to go with them. Relying solely on the Moonlight Knights, they could only fight against the Arcadia Vanguard at best.

Once the Guardian Corps takes action, the Moonlight Knights will definitely be defeated.

Finally, she hopes to get "Vine's" permission to let her attack with the Moonlight Knights, her identity can be concealed, and she doesn't have to take action at the first time. She can only take action when the Moonlight Knights are really in crisis.

Because 'Vine' placed her in the Kingdom of Lot in order to weaken her influence in Wildea, it was naturally impossible for her to be allowed to go back to lead the troops.

Ryan agreed to Elvian's request and said that he would do his best to sleep with His Majesty 'Weine' and agree to these two things.

Although Elvian didn't say anything, she was somewhat touched in her heart, and felt that Ryan didn't seem so hateful after all.

Although her current situation was caused by Ryan, it was essentially Wildea who lost the Northern Continent Tournament. If she couldn't defeat a monster that just kept on attacking, it would be a sign of weakness. Ultimately, wasn't it because of her lack of strength? If she was strong enough, how could she lose to Ryan?

Weak strength, lost, and blame the enemy? Even if it's not Ryan, there might be another Ryder, Ryder X or something.

Therefore, Wildea’s current situation has little to do with Ryan!

Ryan didn't know that his image in Elvian's heart had changed. If he knew, he would curse him as "Damn God of Desire", but the reason he agreed was simply because he had intended to do so.

The Holy Blood Army must take action, otherwise the Watchers will be able to directly defeat the Northern Federations, but how and when to take action still needs to be studied carefully.

His initial idea was to go by sea, but whether it would be feasible or not would be determined later.

As for sending Elvian to the battle, it was naturally to protect 'Avril'.

On the surface, this matter was about the acting Queen 'Avril' fighting for the kingdom and leading the army in person. In fact, it was to greatly increase the favor and reputation of the people of the kingdom. For safety reasons, Ryan felt relieved when Avian, a seventh-level transcendent, went with her.

Even if Elvian didn't say it, he would arrange it later. After all, you two are good sisters.

What?

You still want to thank me?

Oh, you're welcome.

At this moment, as Ryan walked into the hall, the air became quiet for a moment, and everyone's eyes gathered here, but after a short moment, they naturally moved away.

Ryan looked around and walked towards where Casradi and Heino were.

"Good evening, two beautiful ladies." Ryan picked up a glass of red wine and smiled.

"Good evening, Ryan." Casradi smiled. "I mean, you look really good in a suit."

"is it?"

Ryan glanced down. He was in such a hurry to leave that he hadn't even changed out of the clothes he wore for the meeting.

If we use the standards of a normal aristocrat, the same set of clothes would not appear twice in formal occasions, as that would only make people think that the aristocratic family has fallen to such a state.

But no one would say anything when Ryan dressed like this. "Grandpa Ryan is down and out?" What a joke! He only needs to say a word, and Grand Duke Maganna will order the best tailor in the entire Augustus Empire to come over. If you can't make a good suit of clothes, your legs will be broken!

"The only thing I need to be compared to a noble grandfather is a high-quality cane." Hai Nuo chuckled, "Perhaps you can try making one. You are the first noble gentleman I have seen who doesn't have a cane."

Ryan spread his hands: "If I use that thing, I will feel like a disabled person."

"Pfft~" Casladi covered her mouth and chuckled.

Hai Nuo was stunned for a moment. "What a strange description! Even if they are not nobles, men would be proud to have a cane with their formal attire."

Ryan had no comment.

He knew that the August Empire... and even the entire Northern Continent were mostly like this, but he just couldn't get used to it. Why would you need a third leg when you can just walk on two? A third leg wasn't meant for this kind of thing.

"Ms. Hainuo, I have something I'd like to ask you for a favor." After chatting for a while, Ryan told Hainuo the reason for coming to see him. "I'm planning to go to the Western Territory in the next two days. If possible, could you accompany me?"

"Western Territory?" Hai Nuo was puzzled. "If you return to the Western Territory, how can I help you?"

Although she didn't mind making a trip there, the Western Territory was Maganna's territory. When Ryan gave an order, the Western Territory army would obey him. How could she help?