The dense clouds obscured the silver moon, leaving only a dim halo in the sky.
The weak moonlight couldn't even outline the shadows. In the dark Imperial Dragon City, there were only sporadic embellishments.
The only exception was the northernmost part of Imperial Dragon City. There, a strange golden light fell from the sky, propping up the dark curtain of night.
It was the direction of the Holy Mountain, and also the holy land of the Church of Glory – the Cathedral of Holy Light.
This inextinguishable pillar of holy light was like an eternal lighthouse, illuminating the lost people in the deep darkness with hope and direction.
It was like this tonight, and every night.
In the crisp sound of horse hooves, a four-wheeled carriage pulled by three tall horses slowly moved towards the Cathedral of Holy Light.
The guards on night duty didn't stop the carriage. Instead, they stood with their heads held high and lined up to welcome the distinguished guests.
Those who were qualified to ride a four-wheeled carriage to the peak of the Holy Mountain must be important people of noble status.
In the middle of the carriage's side wall, there was a Purifying Scarlet Flame pattern. Obviously, the visitor must be a core member of the imperial family.
The carriage slowly stopped in front of the steps of the Cathedral of Holy Light. A knight with a sword jumped down from the open-air seat at the back of the carriage, ignoring the church guards who came forward to inquire. He held a crystal lamp in one hand and placed a golden step in the other at the door of the carriage.
Then the door opened, and a tall and slender woman stepped out of the carriage. She wore a slightly simple prayer dress, but her beautiful face made the church guards' hearts tremble. They didn't dare to look at her, and quickly bowed their heads and saluted.
"Your Highness!"
Empress Mydella nodded gently in greeting, then walked up the steps towards the church. The unique rhythm of her walk accentuated her peerless beauty, and under the illumination of the holy light that descended from the sky, there was a hint of holiness.
The prayer hall of the church was extremely large. Dozens of limestone pillars supported the twenty-four-meter-high dome, giving people a feeling of insignificance. In addition, there were four huge statues of sword-wielding angels, which made people feel even more awe-inspiring.
The dome of the prayer hall was made of a special crystal. The inextinguishable holy light passed through the dome, plating everything in the hall with a layer of gold, showing a sense of holiness and solemnity.
Empress Mydella stood in front of the statue of the God of Light, her hands clasped together in prayer.
A faint chanting sound echoed in the prayer hall. It sounded like someone was singing a hymn, but it also sounded like an echo from heaven.
Tranquility, serenity, and a soothing power filled the air.
After an unknown period of time, Empress Mydella finished her prayer. She raised her head and looked at the holy light that seemed to lead to heaven. A hint of mockery appeared on her face.
'Are you really listening?' Mydella asked in a voice as soft as a mosquito's.
The Holy Light was still as dazzling as before, as if it had not changed at all because of the Empress' disrespectful questioning.
The mockery on Queen Mydella's face deepened. "Perhaps it's as he said, you're already dead!"
There was still no response.
Empress Mydella shook her head, seemingly losing her patience.
She slowly turned around and saw a bald old priest standing behind her.
She didn't know how long he had been standing there, or if he had heard what the Empress had said.
The purple priest's robe he wore indicated his noble identity — the Pope.
The priest's robe of the Church of Light could be white, gray, or black. These colors could be worn by archbishops to ordinary priests, but there were two special colors that they could not wear, red and purple.
The red priest's robe was worn by the three cardinals. They were the three people with the highest status in the Church other than the Pope. Because of the color of the priest's robe, they were also called cardinals.
As for the purple priest's robe, only the Pope himself could wear it.
"Good evening, Your Holiness Gregory." Empress Mydella did not panic at all, as if she did not care if the Pope had heard her muttering just now.
"Good evening, Your Highness."
Pope Gregory had a kind face, and his smile had a natural affinity, as if all the sufferings in the world could be dispelled by his smile.
"Is His Majesty's illness better?"
Empress Mydella sighed, a hint of worry appearing on her exquisite face. She shook her head and said, "Not yet. He woke up for a while this morning, but soon fell into a deep sleep again."
The smile on Pope Gregory's face also disappeared, and he seemed to be very surprised. "Even Tournan was unable to improve His Majesty's condition?"
Empress Mydella looked sorrowful. "Cardinal Tournan is still unable to find the cause of His Majesty's illness, so … I'm afraid it's a little tricky."
Pope Gregory sighed and comforted her. "Then I'll personally go to Phoenix Palace tomorrow. The God of Light will not give up on His devout shepherd. Please rest assured."
Empress Mydella hurriedly bowed and thanked him, then took her leave.
Watching the graceful figure of the Empress disappear at the entrance of the prayer hall, the Pope looked up at the holy light descending from the sky with a complicated expression in his eyes.
Not long after, an attendant quickly came to Pope Gregory's side and reported softly.
"Your Holiness, Archbishop Ajani is back."
Pope Gregory raised his eyebrows and thought for a moment. "Let her wait for me in the confessional at the lowest level of the side hall."
"Yes."
Then, Pope Gregory came to the statue of the God of Light and stood still. He put his palms together and lowered his head in prayer, perhaps praying for the emperor who had suddenly become seriously ill.
After the prayer, Pope Gregory left the prayer hall, passed through the long corridor, and followed the spiral staircase to the lowest level of the cathedral.
Facing him was a smooth stone wall with a huge oak door installed on the wall.
Pope Gregory pushed the door open and entered. The furnishings in the room were simple, with only a table and two chairs. On the table was a Scripture of Light and a row of silver candlesticks.
In the soft candlelight, Ajani, dressed in a white robe, immediately stood up and bowed to the Pope.
Gregory still had a compassionate smile on his face, but the words that came out of his mouth were not polite at all. "You disappoint me!"
Ajani's heart trembled as she defended herself. "Your Holiness, there have been too many unforeseen events on the Northern Frontier. I can't …"
"Am I looking for an excuse?" Gregory interrupted.
Ajani immediately shut her mouth, as if realizing something. She asked softly in a slightly trembling voice, "Are you going to punish me?"
"Anyone who has done wrong should be punished!"
Hearing this, Ajani's breathing suddenly quickened, her watery peach blossom eyes instantly filled with fear.
But under Gregory's forceful gaze, she silently turned around and knelt on the ground, her arms crossed and her eyes closed, waiting for the impending "punishment".
At some point, a long whip had appeared in Gregory's hand. The whip was covered with spikes, and one could even smell the thick stench of blood.
* Crack! *
The long whip lashed against Ajani's back, leaving a bloody whip mark on her back.
A suppressed cry of pain came from Ajani's mouth. Her body was like a fragile flower in a storm, trembling.
A satisfied smile appeared on Gregory's face, but he did not stop swinging the whip.
* Crack crack crack! *
The long whips fell like a storm, tearing the sorcerer robe behind Ajani to shreds. Bloody whip marks appeared one after another, forming a shocking contrast with her snow-white and flawless skin. It actually had a sad and cruel beauty to it.
Ajani couldn't help but let out a series of painful moans.
And this sound of ecstasy only made the perpetrator even more excited.
The smile on Gregory's face became more and more brilliant, his eyes flashing with a perverted light, as if he had obtained great satisfaction from torturing a beautiful girl.
This satisfaction of dominating and suppressing a beauty was very similar to sexual pleasure, and even more so.
Generally, the priests of the Church of Radiance did not abstain from sexual desires. Marrying and having children did not hinder them from serving the God of Radiance.
But if this priest had lofty ambitions, vainly thinking that he could one day reach the peak of the Holy Mountain, wear the Crown of Thorns and become the Pope, then he had to maintain a pure body.
The reason was very simple. Legend had it that the Church of Radiance had a divine weapon that could communicate with heaven — the Golden Horn, which had been wielded by successive Popes.
But to blow the Golden Horn, this person had to dedicate himself wholeheartedly to the God of Radiance, and could not be tainted by the affairs of men and women.
Therefore, there were many ascetics in the Church who abstained from sexual desires, and this Gregory who could ascend to the position of Pope was of course even more so.
Between beauty and power, Gregory naturally knew which to choose.
But as long as one was human, there would always be desires and desires that needed to be dispelled.
But he did not expect Gregory's method of dispelling to be so perverted and cruel.
After a long time, Gregory finally finished venting.
At this time, Ajani was already lying on the ground weakly, gasping for breath with difficulty. Her entire back was covered with ferocious crisscrossing whip scars, dripping with blood. It was a tragic sight.
Gregory threw away the long whip, and took out an exquisite little bottle, dripping the holy water from the bottle onto Ajani's back.
Ajani's body could not help but tremble and twitch. It was obvious that the process was not pleasant.
"God has mercy on the world, the Lord heals all living beings!"
Gregory cast a healing spell on Ajani, and a compassionate smile once again appeared on his face. In an instant, he had returned to being the sanctimonious Pope.
It had to be said that the healing spell cast by the Pope himself was indeed powerful. Combined with the holy water, the scars on Ajani's back healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and soon disappeared.
Ajani finally got up, and slowly sat up from the ground.
Her mage robe had long been damaged by the whip, and now it had completely slipped off, revealing her infinitely beautiful upper body.
Ajani did not even try to hide it, and it was unknown whether it was because she did not dare to, or because she was deliberately provoking the man in front of her.
Gregory looked away as if he had been electrocuted, as if he was afraid that if he looked at her a few more times, he would not be able to control himself, and the results of most of his life's hard work would be destroyed.
Ajani seemed to have seen this scene, and she lowered her head, but the corners of her mouth were slightly raised, as if she was disdainful, but also as if she was happy that she had succeeded in her revenge.
Gregory coughed a few times and ordered, "Vera St. Hilde will arrive at Imperial Dragon City soon. At this time, the Northern Frontier has no leader, so you should immediately rush back to Winter City and see if you can take the opportunity to win over more lords."
"Yes," Ajani replied obediently.
Gregory took one last greedy look at Ajani's exquisite curves, and then he turned around, pushed the door open, and walked out.
The confessional was quiet again.
Ajani was stunned for a long time, and then she picked up the bloody long whip from the ground, and looked at it carefully, as if she wanted to see some mystery in it.
A moment later, she pressed the long whip against her chest, and let the blood on it wet her snow-white skin again.
She slowly tightened her hand, and the barbs on the long whip immediately pierced her chest, and blood oozed out again.
Ajani groaned softly, and it was a little painful.
But then, her tightly knitted brows slowly relaxed, and a look of enjoyment appeared on her face.
Ajani looked up, and her deep eyes seemed to penetrate the layers of obstacles, and rose to the sky along the holy light.
"The omnipotent God of Light, the lost lamb needs guidance, please listen to her confession …"
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