by Zhuang Bifan
After being introduced by Domingo, Lin Li humbly greeted the several nobles of Ledin Kingdom. He also expressed his gratitude to Andre for his help. Originally, Andre hadn't thought highly of the Tower of Dusk, but after hearing Lin Li thank him, he felt rather flattered.
However, Clark's face grew increasingly sullen, and he kept his eyes fixed on Marshal Benjamin. He would have never expected that an unknown force in the Felan Kingdom would be so closely related to the higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine. Although he was the one who'd caused everything, he didn't wish to see things getting blown out of proportion.
What kind of person is this!? What kind of a force is the Tower of Dusk!? Benjamin had long discovered that Clark seemed to be wavering, but that was beyond his control. He had no choice but to secretly sigh in his heart. Although he was the marshal of the Ledin Kingdom, in this holy nation, Domingo and Holliard were powerful figures of authority he could not shake.
However, a shriek filled with excitement and respect came from outside at this moment. Yet, the shouting did not end, and it seemed that the entire Sparta was filled with those sounds.
Finally, a clear yet agitated voice yelled, "His Holiness is here!"
His Holiness! Except for Lin Li and the rest, the several nobles in the room looked at each other in astonishment when they heard that sentence, trying to verify if they had heard correctly. Although the city of Sparta was not too far from the City of Dawn, it had been decades since the pope left the Holy Mountain. Even though no one dared to talk about it, many had already begun to speculate if Pope Rosario was still alive.
Clearly, all the rumors were being revealed on their own now. No one in the Ledin Kingdom would dare to impersonate the pope. However, there was another question in everyone's mind. Why did he come here at this time? There was a terrifying answer in their heads, but they dared not believe it at all. After all, the difference in status was too great.
However, no matter what they thought, they still rushed out to greet the pope quickly with respectful expressions. When the crowd arrived outside, they indeed happened to see the two Archbishops Englos and Martin escorting the pope through the corridor slowly.
"All hail Your Holiness!" When Pope Rosario approached, no one dared to show a tinge of negligence, and everyone instead showed as much respect as they could.
"Okay, may the Holy Light always be with you. Rise." Rosario nodded slightly with a faint smile on his face. He seemed to have bathed them in Holy Light, causing the nervousness in their hearts to disappear without a trace.
Immediately afterwards, Archbishop Englos who was standing next to Rosario, took two steps forward and said to the crowd, "All future operations of the Tower of Dusk in the Ledin Kingdom will be protected by the Brilliance Shrine. No one is to make things difficult for them deliberately with any excuses. This is a specially issued order."
As soon as Englos said those words, everyone was visibly shocked as they had never thought that the pope would issue such an order. That meant that the Tower of Dusk would have unlimited business rights in the Ledin Kingdom, and would never be restricted again. It was an unprecedented rule.
"Master Felic, after you're done handling the matters here, please stay on the Holy Mountain for a few days, we still have many questions for you to answer," Englos said to Lin Li with a smile before turning around and walking towards Pope Rosario.
Pope Rosario did not stay there any longer. After getting Englos to issue the decree, he left again while the crowd surrounded him. He didn't give Lin Li any special instructions, either. However, everyone broke out in a cold sweat after Pope Rosario left, be it Marshal Benjamin, Count Andre, or the rest. In particular, General Clark was overwhelmed with regret, for he hadn't expected to see Pope Rosario, who hadn't left the Holy Mountain in decades, coming forth to defend a foreign force.
The battle between the old and new forces of the Ledin Kingdom ended with a tie because of the Brilliance Shrine's intervention. The real winner was actually the Tower of Dusk, whom they had not taken seriously at first. The unrestricted business rights granted by the pope himself was something unprecedented in Anril.
However, it was an embarrassing matter for both the aristocratic group represented by Count Andre and the rising nobles represented by Marshal Benjamin. After all, the Tower of Dusk which seemed like a pushover at first finally became an existence that neither side could afford to offend. Hence, only the higher-ups of both parties knew the truth of this matter. The ones of the lower levels simply thought that they had obtained victory.
Of course, the most important thing was that the people of both forces had been notified by their superiors to never make things hard for the Tower of Dusk's caravans in the future.
After leaving General Clark's mansion, Benjamin rushed directly to the palace and reported about the matter in detail to King Sinelli. Although he grew up in the Ledin Kingdom and believed in the doctrine of the Holy Light, King Sinelli was the only person worthy of allegiance in Benjamin's heart.
"You mean, the Brilliance Shrine has intervened and issued that warrant?!" King Sinelli exclaimed as he remained seated quietly and listened to Benjamin, whom he trusted most. However, he would occasionally see some anger and indignation in his eyes.
In the battle between the traditional nobles and the rising ones, many thought that Marshal Benjamin was the leader of the new nobles, and even General Clark thought that Marshal Benjamin was his biggest backer. However, no one would have imagined that their king, Sinelli, was the one who'd developed those forces.
Without the intervention of the Brilliance Shrine, the event would eventually have a great impact on the traditional nobles, who might have even gotten wiped out under the control of King Sinelli. The traditional nobles would have to give up their place to the emerging forces that were valued greatly by King Sinelli.
However, all of that was destroyed by the Tower of Dusk's attack. How could King Sinelli take it lying down? As a king, no one except an unambitious wastrel would be willing to feel suppressed all the time. This time, they even ignored him, and issued an exaggerated permit that was in favor of the Tower of Dusk. Unrestricted business rights? That's just the trampling of the laws of the kingdom. If this country is ruined, the Brilliance Shrine is not going to clean up the mess, right? he thought.
"Your Majesty, please simmer down. The pope has not appeared for decades, so there had been various rumors, but I saw with my own eyes that the pope is still alive and kicking. He's still the way he used to be," Benjamin said with a wry smile. Who would have thought that the pope who had not appeared in decades would still be a godlike Sanctuary-realm powerhouse? This time, the influence of the Brilliance Shrine had been greatly stabilized, and no rumors would be able to break through their defense.
"Okay, got it. You may go down first. Although we can't touch the Tower of Dusk, those rotten nobles related to them should be wiped out according to the plan. Find out some information about the Tower of Dusk. I shall see who Mage Felic is and why he's regarded so highly by the Brilliance Shrine," King Sinelli said calmly, not revealing his resentment at all.
After Benjamin left, King Sinelli sat in his chair, and frowned deep in thought instead of smashing things in exasperation. Although he was the king of the most powerful kingdom in Anril, Sinelli didn't feel the thrill of being the king at all. In fact, he felt that they were just pigs of the Brilliance Shrine, regardless of whether the kingdom was ruled by himself, his father, or his grandfather.
Sinelli dared not lose his temper even at this time, because the guards and servants around him were all believers of the Holy Light, and were snitches of the Brilliance Shrine. Ever since he'd come of age, he had never been willing to live such a life. He refused to pray and worship another person. Hence, ever since he'd been crowned as the king, he had been continuously trying to strengthen himself in all aspects, and had not slacked at all. By the age of 30, he became a true Legendary swordsman.
That was precisely the reason that Si
nelli managed to make the Brilliance Shrine ignore the First Marshal who was in charge of the entire Ledin Kingdom army. In the opinion of others, the Brilliance Shrine's suppression was the reason Sinelli did not have to worry about Benjamin overthrowing him. However, even the Brilliance Shrine probably didn't know that Sinelli trusted Benjamin so greatly because of other reasons.
Although they had been at odds with the Felan Kingdom for nearly a millennium, King Sinelli actually envied the royal family of the Felan Kingdom. The power of the Supreme Council there was not inferior to that of the Brilliance Shrine. Yet, the royal family of Felan Kingdom had actually managed to escape the control of the Supreme Council and truly become an independent kingdom. In contrast, the Queldala Family of the Ledin Kingdom had been controlled by the Brilliance Shrine for all that time, and they almost had no freedom of choice. Even the queen had to request for the Brilliance Shrine's consent before going ahead with her decisions. If it weren't for his hostile relationship with the Felan Kingdom, Sinelli would have even gone to Felan Kingdom to learn from the royals of Felan Kingdom.
Chapter 772 - Cooperating With The King
The fallen nobles had all gotten used to being reared like pigs by the Brilliance Shrine. If anyone wanted to free them, the latter might just retaliate against them. Hence, Sinelli planned for a large number of nobles who were close to the Brilliance Shrine to be wiped out during this incident. He wasn't worried about attracting the attention of the Brilliance Shrine. Ever since Pope Rosario stopped appearing for a long time, the lofty clergymen also stopped caring about them.
However, Sinelli did not expect the Tower of Dusk, which had been remaining silent, to attract the attention of the Brilliance Shrine and Pope Rosario, who had not appeared for decades. He had no idea if he should be angry or thankful. After all, Pope Rosario's appearance proved that what he had done before was not enough. Regardless of Rosario's influence, his Sanctuary-level power alone was something that Sinelli's huge army couldn't defeat even if he had millions of soldiers.
That was perhaps a good thing. If he hadn't been sure if Pope Rosario was still alive, and had continued acting the same way, he would probably have been dethroned. Ever since Marshal Benjamin left, Sinelli remained seated for a long time as he knocked his finger against the table gently, thinking about what he should do next.
After solving the matter about the caravan, Gavin brought the caravan back onto the road, and returned to the Tower of Dusk in the Breezy Plains again. However, Lin Li did not go to the Darkness Shrine immediately. Instead, he returned to the Holy Mountain again, and headed back to the Church of Dawn. He owed the Brilliance Shrine a favor.
Giving Rosario an antidote was just for fulfilling the previous agreement. In act, Lin Li had not expected that the matter about the caravan would get Rosario to appear in person and allow the Tower of Dusk to have unrestricted business rights. Of course, the favor needed not be returned immediately. Lin Li didn't return to the Dawn Cathedral entirely for the sake of returning the favor; it was mainly because Rosario promised to allow him to freely read the classics collected by the Brilliance Shrine instead.
Previously on the Holy Mountain, Rosario had allowed Lin Li to read the Light Bible as a form of reward forgiving him the antidote. In addition, he'd also wanted to use the Light Bible to verify if Lin Li was the Son of the Holy Light which the Brilliance Shrine had been looking for. However, it was obvious that as long as Lin Li did not take out his debris of the stars, Holy Light, he wouldn't let the cat out of the bag.
Combining his own prophecy and the information that Englos and Martin had gotten back then, Rosario would never let Lin Li go just like that. He knew that Lin Li was going to the Darkness Shrine, but if Lin Li was really the Son of the Holy Light, he would be sending himself to the lion's den by going to the Darkness Shrine. Hence, in order to make Lin Li stay, Rosario not only agreed to let Lin Li read the classics freely, he also promised to give Lin Li some pointers about theurgy, which was the use of the power of the Holy Light.
Sendros hadn't mentioned what the matter was about or how urgent it was. Hence, Lin Li decided to stay at the Brilliance Shrine for a few more days, and returned to the Holy Mountain with Domingo and Holliard even though he had originally planned to leave. Of course, Lin Li's return also made the old fogies who were passionate about pharmaceutics extremely elated.
Two days later, Marshal Benjamin personally sent the information regarding the Tower of Dusk to King Sinelli.
"Is everything mentioned here… true?" Sinelli looked at the information which caused him to be in disbelief. He knew that only a powerful force would have the ability to purchase 15 Magical Crystal Cannons all at once, be it in the Ledin Kingdom or the Felan Kingdom. However, he hadn't expected it to be the Tower of Dusk, which he had never heard of. To his surprise, it had only been a little more than two years since the Tower of Dusk had been established.
It was built from scratch, and within just two years, it managed to become the top force in the Breezy Plains, and in fact, the entire Felan Kingdom. That was simply unfathomable; even myths were not that exaggerated. The information was about the description of the strength of the Tower of Dusk, the dozens of Archmages above level-15, the hundreds of Magic Shooters above level-10, and their commercial network all over the world. King Sinelli could even say with certainty that the Tower of Dusk would definitely be the greatest force besides the Brilliance Shrine even if it were in the Ledin Kingdom.
From the destruction of the Syer Bandits to the destruction of the powerful Dark Blade, the Tower of Dusk had killed plenty to achieve its current status. Everything was because of the extremely young President, who was a mage in his early twenties.
Having obtained the inheritance of Geresco, the God of Mages, and gone to the restricted area of the Haiga Mountain Range, Lin Li proceeded to explore the Seventh Sky Castle of the High Elves. He then disappeared for half a year, and returned again as a level-23 Legendary-mage. He even defeated the two Legendary leaders of the Dark Blade. It was said that he had also gained a lot from the participation in the operation of the Supreme Council—the exploration of Osric's mausoleum. Compared to the rapid rise of the Tower of Dusk, the growth and progress of Lin Li was even more exaggerated than legends, making Sinelli feel like he was reading a myth.
"Your Majesty, this information about the Tower of Dusk is actually no secret in the Breezy Plains, where everyone knows about this. This Mage Felic is not easy to deal with." Benjamin shook his head and sighed. When he'd first got the information, he thought that the person who obtained the information made a mistake, and that the Tower of Dusk might have been established for 200 or 2,000 years, and not just two years. However, after comparing the information obtained via various channels, he found out that it had really been established for more than two years.
"Deal with him? Why!?" Sinelli looked at the information in his hand, and his shock gradually subsided. His grimace was replaced by a smile, and he said, "This Mage Felic is indeed a rare talent. However, I can tell from this information that he's not someone who can be easily recruited. Even the Supreme Council had chosen to cooperate with him during the exploration of Osric's mausoleum. He's someone who refuses to submit to others," said King Sinelli, who felt rather envious and jealous.
"Your Majesty, please speak with caution," Benjamin said hurriedly to remind him. Now that Pope Rosario who had not appeared for decades finally appeared in front of the world again, the believers had become much more loyal. God knew if anyone in the palace would tell on him.
"Haha, okay, let's not talk about this. Let's talk about Felic. It's impossible to recruit him, but cooperating with him is a good choice." Sinelli looked away and glanced at Benjamin.
"Cooperation? Your Majesty, you're a king and the leader of the nation, he… " Benjamin frowned slightly.
"Leader of the nation? The real leader of the nation over there," Sinelli said as he pointed toward the Holy Mountain. He helplessly continued, "I'm afraid the pope
probably appeared this time because he was impressed with Mage Felic's abilities. We're already lagging behind, and yet we pushed him further away because of that matter."
"This is all my fault for failing to check on him clearly," Benjamin said with a look of guilt.
"It's not your fault. That Mage Felic has really exceeded our expectations. If it weren't for what the Brilliance Shrine had done to defend them, I'm afraid I wouldn't have believed the information here," Sinelli said emotionally. He felt that the glory of the Queldala Family should not be drowned in history. Although his journey was destined to be extremely difficult, he would still have to go on.
Just a few days after Lin Li returned to the Dawn Cathedral, Harquis, the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Ledin Kingdom, sent him an invitation that was similar to a diplomatic summons. Although Lin Li was a little surprised, he felt that it was normal after giving it some thought. Although diplomatic summons were generally used for foreign envoys, it was not exactly excessive given the Tower of Dusk's current position in the Ledin Kingdom. The big shots of the Brilliance Shrine who had asked Lin Li about pharmaceutics were rather displeased with the Ledin Kingdom's actions, but they didn't say anything, because the Tower of Dusk's interests were concerned.
Lin Li arrived again in Sparta, this time in a luxurious carriage of the Ledin Kingdom. When he went there a few days ago, he was busy discussing pharmaceutical problems with Domingo and Holliard. This time, he finally had the chance to observe the landscape of Sparta City. He had no idea if it was because of the doctrine of Holy Light, but the buildings in Sparta were all still clean and bright even though they were not all white.