462 Pendan

"All pain will pass, Charles," Constantine repeated what he had said yesterday as if repeating the truth. "Everything will pass."

Charles looked at him. After a long time, he shook his head. "Mr. Constantine, give up. Are you planning on waiting another few decades for someone to save you?"

Constantine shrugged. "To be honest, the Judgement Tower might be a good retirement home."

"Then what about the Revolutionaries?" Charles asked. "The war between the Revolutionaries and Sacred City will be inevitable if they release the Dragon of Destruction after a few days. No matter how far away the New World Colony is, the nations won't allow it to exist anymore…

"Are you okay with that, Mr. Constantine? Are you okay with that crazy Gaius burying what you've spent your entire life on? Yesterday, you told me that you must decide but no matter what, many people will die. Why can't you let those innocent people survive?"

Constantine looked at him with a mocking gaze. "Are you hoping I will turn to the Sacred City?"

"Yes." Charles nodded. "This is the best for both you and the Revolutionaries. Mr. Constantine, it's not too late to stop everything."

Constantine fell silent. Suddenly, he burst into laughter full of self-mockery. "Charles, it's great to hear you say these words to me." He patted Charles's shoulder. His finger that touched Charles's neck was ice cold.

"If someone told me this before, I would kill him. Unfortunately, I'm old now." He retracted his finger. Looking dully at Charles, he chuckled weakly and waved. "You can go, Charles." Looking at the one-way glass, he said, "Now, give me someone actually important." Charles was confused. "I won't speak unless the man's clothes have a gold band."

In the Sacred City, robes with one gold band were for bishops. They were big figures who controlled an entire parish and were the upper level of the Church. Two gold bands were for the main bishops or 'archbishops.' Like Mephistopheles, they controlled the church of a nation, including dozens of parishes.

Half an hour later, the entire underground building became heavily guarded. All unrelated persons were isolated. Two giants in gospel armor stood by the door. Two red-clothed priests walked into the interrogation room. There were no gold bands on their clothing or any ornamentation. However, no one dared to doubt their qualifications.

They were cardinals.

Unexpectedly, two cardinals had come, representing the entire Cardinal Church. This meant that, if the Church was a solid object, it would be here right now. This immense entity had lowered itself to come and talk with Constantine.

-

The isolation room was crowded with the irrelevant people. Ye Qingxuan, Charles, and Wolf Flute squatted in a corner, staring at each other.

"I thought only someone who isn't even in the system would count as irrelevant." Ye Qingxuan glanced at Wolf Flute. "You count too?"

"The Silent Authority sounds impressive but it's just for the Sacred City's dirty work. We're irrelevant no matter where we go." Wolf Flute huffed and eyed him.

"Now do you know how high and mighty the church position you looked down before is? If you came to the Sacred City back then with Father Bann's recommendation and your talent, you could be a Papal Chamber secretary now. After three years of being sent out, you can come back and study further after five years and become an archbishop.

"Father Bann is powerful now. With his support, you could be close to the cardinals when you're forty. Then when one of them dies, you can take their place. If you have some f*cking good luck, you might even be chosen to be the pope!"

Ye Qingxuan scoffed. "If I'm not even a musician at that time, how could I become the King of Red?"

"You think all the cardinals are musicians? You think they need to duel when choosing the pope? Of those who become a cardinal, nine out of ten are full-time priests. They probably aren't even at the Student level." Wolf Flute looked at him with a vague smile. "The King of Red is the representative of humanity. Everything he says is law. It's hard to say if rebirth after death is real but the others might be true.

"Before the sixth pope became the pope, he were just an ascetic archbishop. There are so many cases like that. Even if you're not a musician, you'll naturally have the crown added when you become the King of Red."

Before Ye Qingxuan could reply, Wolf Flute raised a finger to his mouth. "Shush! They're getting to the critical point…they're discussing the cost."

"Huh?" Ye Qingxuan was taken aback. "You're eavesdropping?"

"No sh*t. It's the first talk between the deputy general of the Revolutionaries and the Cardinals. Why wouldn't I?" Before Wolf Flute finished, he gasped.

"What happened?"

"The cardinal…" Wolf Flute lowered his voice. "A cardinal's title! A pardon signed by the pope! Why is the Sacred City so easygoing this time?" But then he froze again and his expression changed. "Constantine is starting to recite the name list now."

"Name list?"

"He only said six names and stopped," Wolf Flute said. "He wants the Sacred City to consider his value… The cardinal title now has true power and there are six pardons… The cardinals promised he'll have his own department with men to use…" He did not dare to keep listening. Two saints of the Sacred City had already arrived. If he continued listening, he would probably be discovered.

"But no matter what, if the negotiations are successful, Constantine will really earn a lot." Wolf Flute smoked and said casually, "Charles found a nice leg to hug."

"Huh?" Ye Qingxuan was confused.

"Constantine just requested that Charles should join the church and act as his important secretary and assistant. Your senior will become a new noble of the Sacred City in a few days."

Charles stared at the food the Silent Authority gave in confusion. "Huh?"

-

Ten minutes later, the cardinals left quickly with the list of names from Constantine. The list was very long. Everyone was kept there until the morning of the next day. That was when they realized what had happened in the Sacred City during the night. Snow and blood had fallen all over the Sacred City.

The winter thunder rumbled. The explosions that built up during the night still echoed through the city. Of the church, hundreds were involved, including those with important positions and bright futures. For several continuous days, black-clothed priests brought the garrison through every corner of the Sacred City to arrest the beggars.

During the second night, there was a boom in the east of the city. Blinding light exploded. The fight between saints and four musicians ended quickly. Under the saints' control, there were no casualties. All traitors were defeated. Unfortunately, Gaius escaped.

Two days later, Constantine held the Sacred City's pardon and walked out of prison. Under everyone's eyes, he stepped into the Papal Chamber. The overall situation was set.

The Winter Festival was five days later and thousands would join in the Sacred City square. The Sacred City had already released word that after the pope announced the coming of the new year, Constantine would be given the red robe before everyone's eyes. After that, he would be an undeniable force in the Sacred City.

The aftershocks were still rippling through the nations. With this attack, the Revolutionaries had regressed ten years and lost thousands of members. Stepping on the corpse of the Revolutionaries, Constantine had climbed to the peak of power. And on his leg, was a pendant named Charles…