Buzhaqi looked at the dagger in his hand, then at Gelifende’s tall, solid armor beside him, and finally turned his gaze to Muxuan. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the words caught in his throat, unable to come out.
Muxuan’s eyes flickered slightly as he spoke in a gentle voice, “This is the guidance of the gods. What extends from you is precisely what suits you best… As long as you possess devout faith, the blessings of the gods will never be stingy…”
Buzhaqi’s eyes darted around, and then he no longer dwelled on it.
“Now, are you willing to follow the guidance of the gods and resolve this predicament together with me?”
Muxuan didn’t force them. In their current desperate situation, anyone could see that unless it was resolved, there was only one path—death. Point out the danger, then offer some hope. Maybe not everyone will be completely willing, but absolutely no one would refuse.
“It is our honor, Your Eminence!” The three exchanged glances, then all knelt down and declared loudly.
Gelifende purely wanted to do his best for the Church, to let the Light Church’s glory once again illuminate the world. Beikeze simply wanted to survive. As for Buzhaqi… profit above all else; if they failed, death awaited either way; if they succeeded, perhaps he could even become one of the elders who rebuild the Church.
Listening to their responses, Muxuan nodded in satisfaction. Character wasn’t important—their value was. After all, every personality had its own vulnerabilities to be exploited.
“Remember, after waking, you must not show any sign of abnormality. If you draw the attention of Hel and the polluted idol, this operation will fail completely. I’ll explain the specifics of the plan after you sleep tomorrow…”
As soon as he finished speaking, the pitch-black space was sliced apart by golden threads, rapidly disintegrating. The three’s consciousnesses instantly plunged into silence, and Muxuan also withdrew from the place.
Waking up in his room, a look of joy appeared on Muxuan’s face, but it quickly faded back to normal.
The results this time gave Muxuan quite a pleasant surprise. This scepter offered enormous possibilities. Not only could it collect the power of faith to feed back to himself, but it could also grant the collected faith to his followers.
More importantly, within the scepter was a space that could draw in followers who possessed the power of light. Furthermore, the power of faith could be used freely to remodel that space and could be retrieved at will.
This was also why Muxuan didn’t worry at all about consuming faith while using it inside.
The scepter’s abilities truly surprised Muxuan, but at the same time brought more questions. This faith, in theory, should be transmitted to the goddess. So why did it linger in the scepter… Was it that the goddess didn’t exist, or was there something wrong with her?
And, with such a powerful scepter, why had no previous pope ever truly harnessed its power? All those bestowed by the gods had relied on the central grand idol of the Church and holy water…
Many doubts arose, but with his current level of insight, Muxuan simply couldn’t deduce any answers.
Now was not the time to ponder these things. The most urgent matter was still figuring out a way to solve the crisis at hand.
The reason he didn’t explain the plan today was because he himself hadn’t figured out what to do yet. Anxious to confirm the scepter’s power, Muxuan had temporarily put Hel and the idol to the side.
But now…
Even with the help of Buzhaqi, Beikeze, and Gelifende, Muxuan still wasn’t confident he could destroy the idol. Hel could be killed if given a chance, but as for the idol—he couldn’t get a read on it at all.
The malice there was so thick it was almost tangible, making Muxuan hesitate. Tomorrow’s prayer still had to go on; he himself could endure that malice, but who could guarantee Buzhaqi and the others wouldn’t react abnormally?
Tomorrow, he would still have to find a way to fool Hel.
His fingers drummed slowly on the scepter as time ticked away. Muxuan’s gaze shifted back and forth between the blade on the ground and the helmet.
From observation, Hel didn’t seem to fear the threat of the blade at all… Was it because he had something to rely on, or…?
Perhaps, without the scepter’s power, trying to strike back with the blade would be a dead end. But fortunately, the scepter had shown him a new path.
With that thought, Muxuan took the scepter and slowly walked out of the room.
“Your Eminence, it’s so late. Is something the matter?” Hel’s soft voice sounded, tinged with inescapable exhaustion. Coupled with the way he leaned against the door as if keeping watch at night—if Muxuan hadn’t known Hel’s true nature, he might really have thought this was a good man.
But… late? Looking at the sky shrouded in black mist, Muxuan couldn’t help but sneer. There was no way to tell the time at all now…
Hel’s voice also prompted several others to open their eyes and look, including Buzhaqi and the other two.
“Bishop Hel, come with me to visit the idol once more…” Likewise, Muxuan’s voice also carried a hint of weariness.
Hel glanced at Muxuan, a bit puzzled, but soon stood up, placed a hand to his chest, and said, “As you wish, Your Eminence…”
Watching Hel salute, Muxuan’s gaze grew complicated. The reason everyone here could still maintain Church rituals was precisely Hel’s strict discipline… But, for someone who was polluted, why…?
No longer looking at Hel, Muxuan headed straight out the door, with Hel following close behind. As the main door closed, a burst of subdued chatter rose up.
Buzhaqi and the others exchanged a glance, finally shook their heads, and closed their eyes once more. Throughout, none of them betrayed any sign of abnormality.
“Bishop Hel… Why do you think the goddess doesn’t answer us…”
“Your Eminence, what do you mean? Didn’t the former pope already receive the goddess’s protection?” Hel asked, deeply puzzled.
“Bishop Hel, I am not a fool. There’s no need to hide anything from me… You all never actually received the goddess’s protection, did you…” Muxuan sighed, pain lingering in his eyes, “The previous pope never returned, but you did… If I’m not mistaken, the former pope traded his life for something strange, didn’t he?”
A trace of shock flashed across Hel’s face, then he immediately fell into conflicted hesitation. After a long silence, Hel too let out a sigh, “Your Eminence… The former pope told me not to tell anyone, including you… But since you’ve already guessed it, there’s no need for me to hide it any longer…”
“But, this isn’t the place to talk…”
Muxuan was a little surprised. Wasn’t he supposed to make something up? Why couldn’t they speak here?
Wait…
A smear of blood-red flickered at the edge of Muxuan’s vision, but he didn’t dare turn his head to look. It was in the direction of the idol…
For a moment, Muxuan felt unreal… Hel was wary of the idol!?
Countless thoughts surged in his mind, but Muxuan didn’t dare linger here any longer. Understanding Hel’s meaning, he immediately led him through the hall and into a room.
“Can we talk now?”
“Your Eminence, I tried every way to test you, and you never showed the slightest sign of abnormality. I must say… you are a clever man…” Hel exhaled long and slow, his expression seeming a bit more relaxed.
“But precisely because you are clever, I’ll tell you this… The idol outside that door has already turned bizarre…”