The young officer from Janilasu's deduction seemed to inject a glimmer of hope into everyone. If they could easily reach Loen, then according to Brando, they should have a high chance of leaving Anklova. Everyone had the same thought. As long as they boarded the ship and went out to sea, the Jorgendigang people would be left in the dust. For those monsters that lived underground, at least on the surface of the sea, it was still the Empire's world. The discussion quickly became lively, but while the others were still thinking about how to escape, the countess from Yanbao thought about something else.
She asked, "After leaving the port, which route do we take? Metz or Cloak Bay? "
The others were silent for a moment, and finally Eugenie answered, "I think we should go to Cloak Bay. Metz is under the control of the White Legion. Before we confirm Her Majesty's attitude, we can't easily enter her sphere of influence." She seemed to have finally accepted the possibility that the Queen had betrayed the Empire, and took the lead in introducing this speculation into the conversation.
"No, no, no," Chiyara shook her head, "Cloak Bay has always been the sphere of influence of the Cecil family, and is controlled by the Holy Cathedral of Fire. On the surface, it seems to be the furthest from the Queen's control, but in fact, since everyone knows this, then the Queen must also know this. If it were any other day, it would naturally be the furthest place from the Empire's supreme, but now, I think it might be the center of the vortex."
"That's not unreasonable …"
"So we go to Metz, but what about the White Legion?"
"Let's not talk about the White Legion first. In the north, other than the White Legion, there are also the territories of Ludwig and Grand Duke Helix. In such a place where local forces are complicated and deeply rooted, it is the most difficult place for the imperial power to intervene. Especially at a time like this, Her Majesty won't be able to free up her hands to sort out the intricate relationships in these places, so it's safer for us to go there," Chiyara replied.
The others looked at Brando, who nodded slightly, thinking that these nobles' descendants were not really useless. At least the plan they proposed was very feasible. He thought for a moment and replied, "To Metz."
Chiyara was right. The forces of the nobles in the north were complicated. The territories of several grand dukes and the forces of the military nobles were mixed together. No matter how powerful Her Majesty was, it was impossible for her to free up her hands to sort them out in a short period of time, so the north was the best place to fish in troubled waters. But he had an idea that Chiyara did not guess. Brando wanted to wait for the situation in the north to be clearer before he took action. As he said, no matter who the Silver Queen wanted to deal with, it had nothing to do with him. Other than Scarlet, whether it was the Holy Cathedral of Fire or a duke, he did not have to stand on the opposite side of the other party, so he did not want to be involved in this whirlpool.
Going against the Dragon Queen was a last resort. But in any case, now that he knew about the Queen's' conspiracy ', what he had to do now was to try his best not to go to those sensitive areas, so as not to provoke the Queen into doing something drastic. In his opinion, Metz was a good choice. It was under the Queen's control, but also outside her control. It was a safe distance for both sides, and at least it would not cause the other party to misjudge.
In fact, civil strife in the Empire was undoubtedly what Brando wanted to see the most, of course, provided that he did not get caught in the fire. He felt that the best situation next was to watch the Queen and the Holy Cathedral of Fire fight each other from a safe distance, and then find a chance to rescue Scarlet. Of course, it was a little difficult, but it was good to have a good dream, wasn't it?
He thought for a moment, and then said, "There's one more thing. I think you don't want to make a mistake like getting sunk by the Imperial Navy after escaping from Anzlova, right? So we have to contact the Empire in advance. We have to assume that we can stop at any port in Metz. Who can do this?"
"Count … If you don't mind, maybe I can give it a try." As soon as Brando's voice trailed off, another voice stuttered. Brando looked back and found that it was the fat Young Master Avram. In his memory, Avram would never take the initiative to speak in this kind of situation. He could not help but look at him with a little surprise. "But," Avram was a little embarrassed, "I may only be able to borrow the commercial port …"
"Enough." Brando waved his hand, "Well done, Avram. I didn't expect your family to have a network of connections in the Empire. Duke Karsuk really lives up to his name."
His words were not a compliment. In the Empire, other than Yanbao, there were very few nobles in this era who had connections with the Empire. Even a powerful figure like Duke Arreck was just a nobody in the Empire. Other than the well-informed people in the southern regions of Anzeruta and the Empire, there were not many who had heard of the Duke's name.
For Duke Karsuk to be able to maintain contact with the Empire at this time, and even maintain a network of connections that seemed to be quite good, it could only be described as extraordinary.
Avram was also a little embarrassed by Brando's compliment. He could not help but chuckle. Ever since the diplomatic mission set off from Erouine, this was the first time he felt a sense of accomplishment in a formal occasion. He could not help but feel proud of himself for a moment. Although he might not have thought highly of Brando, a country bumpkin from a remote area, after a series of events, he vaguely felt that being praised by such a legendary count was also a kind of ability.
Brando did not expect things to go so smoothly. He did not have much hope in this group, but he did not expect the descendants of the nobles in the diplomatic mission to be more capable than he expected. But thinking about it, they were born in noble families. Whether it was education or vision, they were far better than the commoners of the same era. Except for a few geniuses, in such an environment, they were not really powerless. They were just degenerate. However, once they had the motivation, the knowledge and experience that they had originally grasped turned into an outstanding ability, and these abilities were integrated together to achieve what they were now.
After everyone finished their discussion, they started to work on their own. They sorted out the plan, arranged the route, counted the food, weapons, and ammunition reserves in the envoy group. Of course, the most important thing was to appease the Kirrlutz nobles and not let them see any clues. Everyone was so busy that their feet didn't touch the ground. Only Romaine, Princess Magadal, and the silver dragon Mistress Mithral seemed to be particularly free. As for Romaine, her leisure seemed to be innate, and she always found a way to slack off. The Silver Dragon Lady, on the other hand, was curious about the human world's way of doing things. She asked Brendel questions such as: "As a lord, is this how you command your subordinates?" Brendel did not know whether to laugh or cry.
"Were humans not like this a thousand years ago?"
"There is a slight difference." Mistress stared at the members of Erouine's diplomatic mission and the nobles of Cruz in the forest and replied.
"Mistress Mistress Mistress, did you not return to the human world after a thousand years?" Magadal looked back at her in surprise.
"As an adult dragon, we have to interfere with the mortal world as much as possible. Besides, most of us are lazy, and are too lazy to leave the Dragon Valley. This time, if it was not for something special, I would not have met Malthus and the rest." Mistress did not hide anything and answered truthfully.
"I see."
The three of them were silent for a moment, but Princess Magadal was smart enough to know that Brando deliberately asked her to stay behind for another reason. She paused for a moment and asked: "Count, do you want to know something about the internal affairs of the Holy Cathedral of Fire?"
Brando looked at her with slight surprise. He did not expect her to be able to guess his thoughts. He paused for a moment before nodding slightly.
"You have heard what we said before. Her Majesty's behavior is very unusual. I want to know why the Holy Cathedral of Fire does not seem to have any reaction at all."
"Count, your question is a little difficult for me." Princess Magadal frowned slightly and smiled bitterly.
"Why, does it involve some secret?" Brando asked: "If that is the case, Your Highness, you do not have to answer."
"That is not the case."
Princess Magadal sighed softly.
… …
The decline of the Holy Cathedral of Fire began a hundred and fifty years ago. When the son of Emperor Grantocrates was still on the throne, the old Prime Minister Nidevan suggested to support and win over the local and military nobles, gradually forming the tripartite balance of power that the Holy Cathedral of Fire had enjoyed for nearly six centuries since the Year of Revelation, but gradually, the transcendent position that the Holy Cathedral of Fire had enjoyed since the Year of Revelation gradually collapsed. The rising nobles and the greedy military nobles pressed on step by step, dividing the Empire into two, one in the North and one in the South. The Royal Family finally won a chance to breathe. When the eleventh son of Emperor Grantocrates, the father of the Silver Queen, passed away today, this wise emperor held a sword in one hand and a scepter in the other on his sickbed, as if to announce his life's achievements.
After the death of Emperor Grantocrates, the Silver Queen ascended the throne and gradually began to take back the excessive power in the hands of the local nobles. On one hand, she continued to suppress the Holy Cathedral of Fire, on the other hand, she began to be wary of the nobles in the North. The hidden dangers of her father's extreme methods were solved by her one by one. Although the Iron Queen did not have a good reputation among the nobles, she was still one of the toughest female emperors in the history of Cruz.
It could be said that she paved the way for the reform of Kirrlutz. Behind her, the eldest son, Lenarette, made the eagle of the empire soar in the sky in one fell swoop. At the peak of the empire, it was even the only country on the continent of Vaunte that could compete with the equally powerful Madara of that era. This was the shame of the empire's weakness for nearly thirty years since the fiasco of the Wilderness of the Four Territories in the Silver Year, and after that, the Kirrlutz Empire ushered in the heyday of royal power.
This was the original history that Brando was familiar with. The rise of Cruz's imperial power and the decline of religious power, but in this world, only a few people knew that this history had changed from the moment Jorgendy Ridge set foot on the surface world.
Whether it was a Saint like Dedess of Wagner who had an insight into the future, or a wise figure like Valla of the Leo Palace, none of them could detect this.
However, for every clergyman of this generation who was born in the Year of the Croaking Frogs and experienced the whole process of the Holy Cathedral's rise to decline, this past history was full of unusual heaviness and unwillingness. So much so that the many documents that recorded this history sealed in the Hall of Candlelight were full of helplessness and lamentation. And every clergyman who read this history would involuntarily give birth to too many ifs in their hearts.
If the previous generation of clergymen were not so arrogant and conceited, if the clergymen of Rosher's generation could face the power of themselves and the local nobles earlier, if the Holy Cathedral at that time was not so gullible to the so-called absolute control over believers and faith for centuries, perhaps today's Cruz would be a different person.
Like some low-ranking clergymen, Valla also liked to read about the past of the Holy Cathedral in the aisle of the Hall of Candlelight. However, as the head of the Holy See of the Leo Palace, he still enjoyed some small privileges after all. For example, a special seat, a comfortable chair, and a special candlestick. Most of the monks were familiar with some of the habits of His Excellency the Great Priest, so they would arrange everything in advance. And this great figure who had been in charge of the Holy Cathedral since the Year of the Lute also enjoyed this small special treatment.
This had nothing to do with whether it was comfortable or not, but it represented a symbol of power.
One of a kind, and supreme.
Rawa wasn't a person who was greedy for power. Compared to those nobles who lived in a drunken stupor, his life was more like that of an ascetic. He didn't enjoy much and was even a little too poor for someone in his position. He rarely appeared in the sight of his believers. Although he was famous in the Imperial Capital, there weren't many people who truly understood him. Among his few opponents and allies, Her Majesty the Queen might be one of them.
However, Valla valued his authority very much. He believed that this was one of the most important things that the Holy Cathedral had lost in the past century because they did not pay attention to it.
Today, as usual, after the Great Priest finished reading the last paragraph, he placed a silk bookmark, closed the book, and flicked his finger lightly. The flame on the silver candlestick flickered and then extinguished. He meticulously placed everything back in its original position, but did not stand up from his chair. Instead, he put his hand on his red frock and waited quietly.
A moment later, Sidney, who was known as the Saintess of the Lion Holy Palace, walked over from the other end of the corridor like a ghost.
The lady first glanced at the books on the bookshelf that had traces of being touched. As usual, the books that Valla read the most were still records related to that period of history. She frowned slightly without any expression, but did not say anything. She just replied in a reciting tone, "Grand Duke Helix was only injured by an assassin and is now living in the Rose Garden. As for the rumors, it was made up by a person named Nichol."
"Who is that?" Valla asked.
"An insignificant person who has been hiding in Accordion Alley recently."
"What about now?"
"He is in the dungeon of the Inquisition —"
"Did you get anything out of him?"
"This person contacted Eugene about half a month ago."
Valla seemed to be thinking about a question, so his eyes were focused on the silver candlestick, motionless. After a while, he asked, "Eugene, the High Priest of the Kocha Region?"
Sidney nodded.
Valla suddenly pursed his lips, his snow-white eyebrows knitted together. Sidney's answer made him feel that this was a split and betrayal from within the Holy Cathedral. The Kocha Region was near Lust Tower, and the importance of the High Priest in this region to the Holy Cathedral of Fire was self-evident. "He was the first to respond to Her Majesty's call, and there were eleven people who arrived at Lust Tower with him. Investigate them."
"Caesar has already begun to do so."
"Have you found out who assassinated Duke Helix?"
"It seems to be the same group of people."
Valla frowned slightly, smelling a hint of conspiracy. This was no longer just a betrayal, someone was targeting the Holy Cathedral. He was keenly aware of this.
The Holy Cathedral's enemies in the Empire were all from three sides: the rebellious military nobles in the north of Metz, the southern nobles led by the Palut family in the south of Anzeruta, and Her Majesty the Queen. Who was it?
"Recently, Her Majesty has been very close to Chancellor Nidevan." Sidney said at this time.
Valla raised his eyebrows, "Who told you that?"
"Duke Cecil."
"What else did he say?"
Sidney did not say a word. She was not good with words, but Valla seemed to have understood her meaning.
What does Her Majesty want to do?
"There is one more thing."
"Hmm?"
"About a month ago, Nidevan's daughter went to Anzeruta." Sidney replied quietly.
"Nidevan's daughter," Valla thought for a moment before he realized that Sidney was talking about little Nidevan. He was slightly dazed for a moment before he asked with some doubt, "That stubborn little girl, I remember her name, Delfien. Yes, that's her name." Valla tapped his forehead with his finger and suddenly frowned, "She went to Anzeruta, a month ago, what did she do there?"
… …
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