Chapter 346: The Variable (Part 10)

  Adela whispered another passage, again words only Lancelot could hear clearly. The look of astonishment on Lancelot's face finally slowly subsided, settling into calm. The killing intent in his eyes was completely gone. Looking at Adela, he nodded and replied slowly, "I understand... Since this is His Majesty's wish, then I will surely assist you..."

  "Mm." Adela smiled and nodded. His smile was still as beautiful as a woman's, but now it held an added layer of indescribable authority and gravity. "His Majesty truly did not misjudge you. Lord Lancelot, you are indeed trustworthy."

  "That's good, that's good." Although the Cardinal and the several high priests were not entirely clear on what had happened, they finally breathed a sigh of relief as well.

  In stark contrast to everyone else, the brilliant smile on Bishop Inham's face had vanished. The gleam that had just been in Lancelot's eyes was now in his. It was his turn to stare at Adela, as if he wanted to pierce that smiling face with his gaze and see what lay beneath.

  "Talise, show the thing that Bishop Inham claims is his to Bishop Adela."

  "But, teacher..." Talise still hesitated. She knew the identity of this acting Pope.

  Lancelot, however, paid it no mind and said lightly, "Bishop Adela is now acting as Pope. He is now His Majesty the Pope. You need not have any reservations."

  "Yes." Talise nodded. She took out the jade-green leaf from her bosom. The radiance it emitted immediately dyed the faces of those nearby green. "It's this..."

  "Oh?" Lancelot and Adela both let out a low cry of surprise. Not just their faces, but even their eyes were illuminated by the leaf.

  "Your Majesty, I don't think this can be Bishop Inham's." The look of surprise on Lancelot's face flashed by for only a moment. Then, he sneered and took the Leaves of the World Tree from Talise's hand, looking towards Inham. Whether it was a slip of the tongue from a distracted mind or he had already completely acknowledged Adela's identity, even the form of address had changed.

  Inham's eyes suddenly lit up, then dimmed. He also sneered, though this sneer was more than half a bitter smile. His face had already taken on a slightly greenish pallor.

  "It seems it truly isn't his. It appears Bishop Inham was mistaken." Adela glanced at Inham and nodded. "Did this little girl bring this thing? I'll have to ask her properly later..."

  "I'm sorry, Lord Adela. Lord Lancelot. I was indeed mistaken. That is not mine." Inham suddenly sighed and bowed to the two of them. "I was just agitated for a moment. I saw it wrong. The dispute with Knight Talise was completely a misunderstanding..."

  "Oh, so that's how it is." Adela and Lancelot looked at each other.

  As he continued to retreat, Inham immediately followed up, "I just remembered I have some urgent business. The friend who is helping to treat my son may have finished by now. With orcs everywhere now, I must hurry to see."

  As Inham began to retreat, Lancelot immediately took a step forward, but Adela waved his hand, stopping Lancelot. "Mm, you may go, Bishop Inham. I also hope that Mr. Stephen can truly cure Bishop Javi..."

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  Watching Inham's figure recede rapidly into the distance, Lancelot said softly, "He seems to know... Isn't this letting the tiger return to the mountains?"

  Adela shook his head slightly and said in a voice only Lancelot could hear, "That is also something that cannot be helped. The current environment and situation are not suitable... Besides, he probably doesn't dare to do anything. From how desperately he wanted this Leaves of the World Tree, Stephen probably doesn't have the ability to completely cure his son. He might come back to beg us..."

  The faces of Talise, the Cardinal, and the high priests standing nearby were all filled with extreme confusion. They were completely baffled by the words and actions of these three men, utterly unable to imagine what was really going on.

  Adela's appearance was still gentle and beautiful, but his tone and demeanor had completely lost their former frivolity and volatility. He looked at the crowd of orcs gathering in the square and said lightly, "What's most important now is here. As long as we take care of this, everything else will be much easier to handle. I really find it quite strange... How could Sedros use such a risky method, risking it all in one throw? And also, why only Gru alone? Where is he himself? Could there be something in this..."

  "Regardless of what it is, we will win once we annihilate all these orcs. Oufu has already lost, because he is already dead." Lancelot said lightly, but there was no joy of victory on his face.

  "Although there have been so many twists and turns, so many unexpected dangers, in the end, we are still victorious. Everything is once again within our grasp." Adela took the Leaves of the World Tree from Lancelot's hand and gripped it tightly. In his hand, the white Ring of Kings and the green Leaves of the World Tree shone in mutual reflection. He touched his own face, even pinched it, as if he wanted to specifically feel the elasticity and texture of this body. He sighed, "To think that the all-or-nothing gamble actually succeeded. Was it luck? I'm really starting to think this is the Lord's favor..."

  "Reporting..." A swordsman covered in blood yelled as he charged over here. His steps were staggering, and he stumbled. It was clear he was seriously injured. He tried to rush directly into the Grand Hall of Light. "I must see His Majesty, I have an extremely urgent military report to make..."

  "What report is there? Speak quickly." Lancelot frowned and shouted in a low voice.

  "Where is His Majesty? Where is His Majesty?" The swordsman swayed, unable to stand steadily, his consciousness seemingly a bit unclear. He had several not-so-light wounds on his body. Two high priests quickly stepped forward to support him, using healing magic.

  "I saw... I saw him, it seems he was charging out from the orcs..." said Talise, who was supporting Aimee.

  "I am Souza, a court swordsman under General Orrin of Erathia. I have an urgent military report for His Majesty..." The swordsman bent over and coughed, coughing up a large mouthful of blood. To be able to break through the large number of orcs surrounding the teleportation magic array alive, this swordsman's strength was already quite considerable. But no one cared about that anymore. The words he said while coughing up blood had already stunned everyone. "A dragon... a dragon is coming..."

  "A giant Black Dragon has already destroyed the royal palace of Erathia and is now flying towards Celeste..."

  On the other side, Inham had already rushed back to that basement.

  Completely different from his usual low-key way of doing things, he had almost blasted and killed his way back there. Whether it was swordsmen, priests, or orcs and Scale Oxen, all living things that blocked his path were blown to pieces, burned to charcoal, or corroded into zombies under his hand. He had even used Necromancy without any regard.

  His mood had never been this terrible; it was an almost uncontrollable rage. He had already guessed what was going on.

  Things like slips of the tongue don't really exist; what is blurted out unintentionally is a person's truest thought. Inham knew this very well. The moment Lancelot said "Your Majesty," Inham knew. That Adela was no longer Adela, not some Cardinal acting as Pope, but Gervin Magnus, the real Pope.

  His appearance, physique, voice, even his scent hadn't changed at all, but it was undoubtedly the real Pope Magnus. Or rather, Adela's body with Magnus's consciousness. This was the only way to explain the abnormal reactions of Lancelot and Adela.

  Reincarnation Resurrection, the highest-level spell of Soul Magic. Soul Magic was a magic system that had been regarded as heresy by the Church for hundreds of years and was nearly extinct. It was harder to master than psychic magic, and even fewer people studied it. But to think that Magnus could still use this spell with the help of the ring in the end, and that he actually succeeded.

  Was it because that idiot Adela thought he had killed Magnus and then eagerly put on the ring...? Or perhaps, Magnus had been cultivating him as his own replacement body all along. Even so, that spell only had a one-in-ten chance of success...

  Was it luck? This was something that even the most calculating person could not calculate, something ethereal and uncertain, yet it could change everything. Now that it had come to this, were all his arrangements and all his efforts to be washed away just because of a stroke of luck?

  But since it had happened, no matter how unwilling he was, he had to face it. Inham composed himself and walked into the basement.

  "Oh, you're back. How did it go?" Stephen was already sitting on a wooden chair to the side, asking.

  The soft bed was already stained with blood. Javi lay quietly in the center of this pool of blood. His exposed body was covered in wounds, but he looked much stronger than his original body. In a corner of the basement, a pile of garbage-like things was piled up; those should have been the bodies of two Death Knights.

  "Nothing." Inham's expression had returned to normal. He just shook his head lightly. "What about you here? Teacher Stephen."

  "I have some good news to tell you." Stephen had a very triumphant smile on his face.

  "Good news?" Inham was taken aback. Hearing this word at this time and in this situation made him feel very uncomfortable. He really couldn't imagine such a thing could still appear.