bookbashuk Chapter 608:107 The Great Earthquake in the Theocracy
Chapter 608:107 The Great Earthquake in the Theocracy
Chapter 608-107- The Great Earthquake of the Theocracy
The crimson light swept through the cells, and the imprisoned monsters fell asleep one after another.
That was the dream of death that Charlotte had compiled with the power of blood. They would enter into eternal rest in the beautiful dream.
After killing all the "blood demons", Charlotte felt a little heavy.
However, she did not stop.
Although the underground base of the Temple of the Sun has been destroyed, the real altar is not here.
Sebastian and Nice were right. The Temple of the Sun was indeed planning to summon the Blood Demon Duke. Although there was no "container" here, some remaining magic arrays and runes could still be used to infer some things.
The "container" is only the last step. Judging from the runes on the sacrificial altar and the surrounding arrangements, this is indeed part of the summoning ritual, or in other words, the first 99% of the summoning ritual.
But now it seems that perhaps because Charlotte's previous god-descent ceremony caused too much noise, the Temple of the Sun has obviously moved the last summoning altar.
Of course, although the summoning altar was moved, the evidence preserved in the underground cave was enough to declare the opponent's demise, and became a sharp sword for Charlotte to slash at the chief high priest.
"Master, we found a lot of secret documents of the Inquisition in the nearby palace, including the records of their experiments on using dark rituals to collect blood of the vampires, and even some approval documents from the chief high priest."
"We also found out their plan. Their original intention was to sacrifice the entire Holy City and summon the Blood Demon Duke in his full form!"
Sebastian said with an unpleasant expression.
The complete form of the Blood Demon Duke?
Charlotte frowned slightly.
"Everything has been put away. There was a lot of noise just now. Calculating the time, the Guardian Staff and the others should be here soon."
She said.
As soon as she finished speaking, she sensed a large number of priests and church knights appearing at the entrance of the underground palace complex, and the leader was the Guardian Staff disguised as Charlotte.
……
Once again, a "great earthquake" struck the Theocracy.
No one had imagined that there was such a huge underground palace complex hidden beneath the Holy City, and no one could have imagined that such a large-scale evil sacrifice would occur in the headquarters of the Holy Royal Court.
When Angus, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Selina, Chief Cardinal of the Demon Hunting Institute, and many cardinals arrived at the underground cave, they were all shocked.
And when the Knights of the Church conducted further investigations and found out the list of people who participated in the ceremony based on the secret documents of the Inquisition, the entire Holy Royal Court was thrown into an uproar.
Including the chief archbishop of the church, Gregory XII, thirteen cardinals of the College of Cardinals, and nearly a hundred clergy above the level of high priest, all of them participated in the evil ritual and betrayed the God of Creation!
Once this incident happened, the whole church was shocked, and even if the church leaders wanted to suppress it, it would be completely impossible.
Even the head of the church had betrayed the faith, and corrupt high-ranking priests accounted for almost one-third of the Holy City. This was the biggest scandal since the founding of the Holy Royal Court.
Grand Master of the Knights Templar Angus and Cardinal Selena immediately announced that the Holy City was in a state of emergency, and the College of Cardinals immediately announced the expulsion of all apostates, including the Chief Archbishop Gregory XII, and issued arrest warrants against them.
Suddenly, the holy city became bustling again. All the Knights Templar and the Knights of the Demon Hunt went out to hunt down and purge the apostates.
In the following period, clergy were arrested almost every day, the people of the Holy City were in panic, and the joyous atmosphere of the celebration was replaced by tension and solemnity.
Holy Palace, main hall.
Charlotte sat at the desk that originally belonged to the chief high priest, looking through the interrogation statements of apostates sent by the Knights Templar.
Beside her stood Sebastian, who had returned to his butler form, and the Guardian Staff, which had transformed into a human form and radiated a soft holy light.
"Your Highness, these are all the confessions for today."
Fabio, deputy commander of the Knights Templar, said respectfully.
As he spoke, he looked curiously at the "old man" beside Charlotte.
"Is there still no news about the whereabouts of those high-ranking clergymen?"
Charlotte asked.
Fabio shook his head.
"Not yet. Demon Hunter Cardinal Selina has found some traces and is currently investigating, but there is no result yet."
Summer solstice.
After the chief archdeacon Gregory XII was excommunicated by the College of Cardinals, Charlotte, a saint who performed miracles in public, temporarily became the de facto decision-maker of the theocracy.
Of course, this does not mean that all the clergy have surrendered to Charlotte, but at this moment when nearly one-third of the high-level clergy have been exposed for apostasy, no one can control the situation except Charlotte who has the "God's certification" and powerful strength.
Charlotte simply stood up at the right time when the Theocracy was leaderless, and gained the support of both the Knights Templar and the Demon Hunting Institute, and naturally became the temporary leader.
In this process, the Staff of Guardian naturally came to the fore. Its original purpose was to overthrow the traitors of the church. Now that Charlotte was in control of the situation, there was no need for it to continue hiding. It also stood up for Charlotte in person as the wisdom artifact of the God of Creation.
It even took responsibility for the battle in the underground cave on Charlotte's behalf. All the clergy believed that it was the Guardian Staff that appeared and defeated the apostates in the underground cave. The appearance of the Guardian Staff was described as the help bestowed by the God of Creation because of the piety of Saint Charlotte.
In short, Charlotte's attack was wiped out.
There is no way. With nearly one-third of the senior management rebelling, it is normal for the entire organization to collapse and disband if such a thing happens in any organization. Even if it does not disband, fighting will probably break out.
In this chaotic moment, the "attention" and "blessings" of the God of Creation will undoubtedly greatly soothe the hearts of believers. This is the significance of the Guardian Staff's public identity as a divine artifact.
Of course, despite such a huge incident, the Holy Court was still able to continue functioning without internal strife. The main reason was that after Charlotte exposed the apostates, all high-level apostates, including Gregory XII, disappeared like melting snow.
Charlotte had some guesses about this, and she probably thought they were frightened by the fighting power she displayed in the underground cave.
Although the magic concentration of the Miria continent can only support the peak of legend for the time being, and although the power of demigods still cannot be fully erupted on the continent, but when fighting in the underground cave, the power erupted by Charlotte with the help of divine power is enough to terrify all beings below demigods.
But this does not mean that Gregory XII and his men escaped. This is more like the calm before the storm. The disappearance of the apostates may be the beginning of a bigger conspiracy. Or to be more precise, somewhere in the Holy City, the Temple of the Sun may still be carrying out its plan against Charlotte.
"How many artifacts were taken by the apostates?"
Charlotte asked, putting down the file.
Fabio, the deputy leader of the Knights Templar, hesitated for a moment and said:
"Except for the artifact 'Holy Hand' that belongs directly to the Chief High Priest, and the artifact 'Mirak Shrine' that belongs to the Inquisition, all other artifacts have been found, but..."
"But what?"
"However, all the artifacts have lost their spirituality, and the divine power stored in them has almost disappeared, as if it was sucked away by someone."
Fabio replied.
Spirituality and divine power have been drained away?
Charlotte frowned slightly.
Spirituality and divine power are the foundation of divine weapons.
If a divine weapon loses its spirituality and divine power, it can no longer be called a divine weapon. At best, it can only be considered a holy weapon with the foundation of a divine weapon, and it is one without wisdom.
As for the Hand of God and the Shrine of Mirek, Charlotte had done her homework in advance. These two artifacts were considered to be the more powerful ones among the many artifacts owned by the Holy Court.
Among them, the Holy Hand is a scepter owned by all successive chief high priests. It is also the symbol of the highest power in the Holy Royal Court, and has the power to amplify various spells including divine arts, magic, curses, and blessings.
As for the Mirek Shrine, it is a divine artifact seized by the Holy Royal Court. It came from an ancient deity from the southern continent named Mirek. It is a rare spatial artifact. It is said that there is even a world inside it, which is specially used to imprison high-level transcendents, and even demigods have been imprisoned there.
Thinking of this, Charlotte's heart moved.
Could it be that... Gregory XII and others hid in the Mirek shrine?
"Have you found the extraordinary items of the vampires?"
The summer solstice road.
Fabio shook his head.
"No, the cursed pages and idols that were originally planned to be destroyed during the ceremony are gone."
Charlotte nodded slightly:
"Keep tracking them. They shouldn't be able to get too far. No... they should still be in the Holy City! Look carefully for the whereabouts of the Mirek Shrine. Maybe they are hiding in it!"
"understand!"
Fabio stood at attention and saluted.
Then, he looked hesitant again.
"What's the matter? Master Fabio, do you have anything else to say?"
Charlotte noticed his expression.
Fabio hesitated for a moment and said:
"I do have a question..."
Then he looked at Charlotte and asked seriously:
"Your Highness, may I ask... Is the God of Darkness really a subordinate god of the Lord God?"
Charlotte was stunned for a moment, thought about it, and replied:
"He is indeed a divinely recognized deity, and has a close relationship with Lord Harald."
Fabio thought for a moment and bowed respectfully:
"I see."
After saying that, he withdrew.
Not long after Fabio left, another Demon Hunter came hurriedly to meet Charlotte.
As soon as the other party saw Charlotte, he brought her an important news:
"Your Highness! Lady Selina has found a space crack in the third district of the Holy City. After preliminary judgment, it is suspected to be the entrance to the unfolded shrine of the divine artifact Mirick!"