Chapter 634: Cooperation
Chen Rui squatted down and patted the wind leopard’s head. The wind leopard rolled over, revealing the vitals of its abdomen, and made a submissive purr. It no longer had the usual ferocious aura.
The shock in Mana’s heart was simply overwhelming. As the master of the wind leopard, even with the power of enslaving contracts, I can only barely control the demonic beasts instead of the current complete surrender. This level of beast taming skill can only be described by the word ‘amazing’. Those so-called beast masters are simply sc.u.ms compared to him!
The facts are right in front. ‘Richard’ did not lie. He really obtained the manticore’s eggs with his power!
Mana recovered from the shock and looked at Chen Rui with a completely different gaze. He was arrogant when they first met; he was kind after seeing the manticore egg; he was stunned after getting the red demon gem, then he was fanatical at this time.
“Sir Richard, your abilities are really astonis.h.i.+ng.” Mana’s face was full of smiles. Even the triangular eyes were squinted by the fat. There was a strong brilliance in his small eyes as if he spotted a rare treasure.
“It’s just talent with a little secret technique which is nothing to experts like Sir Mana.” Chen Rui humbly shook his head and asked tentatively, “What sir said before, a certain channel to become a Reserve Light Knight… “
“Sir, with my current status, I really can’t directly recommend you as a candidate for the Reserve Light Knight, but with my network, it is not impossible to get the t.i.tle of a candidate…” Fatty Pastor did not go on. He held his chin with a thoughtful smile.
Chen Rui knew the meaning by listening to his words. He smiled, “Sir rest a.s.sured, the help between friends is mutual. If I can be of any service to sir, I will also not refuse. It will be ideal if we can form a solid relations.h.i.+p of mutual benefit as well as mutual advancement and retreat.”
“Talking to a smart person is easy!” Pastor Mana showed an expression of joy that could not be concealed, “Our goals are quite related. Cooperation will benefit both sides. If you don’t mind… Richard, please allow me to call you that way.”
“Of course. My friend, Mana.” Chen Rui glanced at Lucio, and Lucio immediately understood. He found an excuse to leave the hall area.
Pastor Mana admired Chen Rui’s intellect. He spoke up, “Richard, to be honest, I have been eyeing the bishop position in the capital city for a long time. I have also established some connections. For this reason, I even gave up the opportunity to serve as a pastor in a more prosperous and wealthy city. Normally, after the Divinity Temple Knight selection at the White Cliff this time is over, the positions in various places will be adjusted accordingly. This is a rare opportunity that must be seized. The White Cliff’s cardinal, Sir Roger, will come to Yang Shao Capital for inspection soon. This sir has a niece called Elisa whom he cares very much like her own daughter. He will take her with him when he travels. Ms. Elisa is a light element magician and also a beast tamer who loves to collect exotic beasts. I offer a reward for manticore eggs just to cater to this lady’s preferences. As long as Sir Roger agrees, plus the support of the sir behind me, I can undoubtedly become the bishop of the royal capital. Even the chief bishop of the royal capital is not impossible when I have sufficient qualifications in the future.”
Chen Rui finally understood the real reason Mana wanted to obtain the manticore egg. It seemed that the previous ‘beast taming talent’ foreshadowing was right. Cardinal Roger from the White Cliff attracted his attention. Perhaps, this was an opportunity to mix into the White Cliff.
“Sir Roger is 1 of the 3 cardinals of the church with a high level of authority. It is definitely not a problem for him to directly set you as a Reserve Light Knight. You who just want to use the power of the church to control the family instead of becoming a life-long clergy. The real role of the Reserve Light Knight is to have the opportunity to become a follower of the Divinity Temple Knight. As long as you can take this opportunity to attach to a Divinity Temple Knight, then I can say with certainty that your goal will be achieved very soon!”
“A follower of the Divinity Temple Knight?” Chen Rui thought about it, “Is this selection of Divinity Temple Knight a good opportunity?”
“Of course!” Mana nodded, “Ms. Elisa is not only Sir Roger’s niece, but also the apprentice under the Holy Lady who has a wide range of networks in the church. As long as you can a.s.sociate with Ms. Elisa, you can ask her to introduce a very promising contestant to you at that time.”
Holy Lady? Cardinal?
Chen Rui heard from Lucio that the positions of the Holy Church in descending order were Pope, Archbishop, 3 cardinals, chief bishop, bishop, pastor, deacon and ordinary friar or nun.
The current glorious Pope Vantis was the highest leader in the human world.
Whether it was the 2 great empires or the other empires, the empire kings could only lower their n.o.ble heads in front of this Pope. For countless years, there had been countless changes in the ruling of the empires, but the Light Divinity Temple had always stood firm. The power of the church had penetrated into every level and every corner of every empire. It could be said to be deeply rooted and unshakable.
There were 2 Archbishops second only to the Pope who enjoyed special power and status. One was Pusmeer, who was proficient in astrology, and the other was Holy Lady Eudora.
The cardinals were directly appointed by the Pope. There were 3 people in total, but in addition to the 3 cardinals, there were 2 people who also had the same status as the cardinals. 1 was the Head Judge of the Tribunal, Seus, and the other was the Paladin Captain, Parsali.
The Tribunal was 1 of the 2 armed powers of the Holy Church which directly reported to the Pope. It mainly consisted of penance cultivators with strong combat power. Its responsibility was to sanction the heretics and clear out the dark power.
Another armed power was the Glorious Knight which was responsible for defending the faith and guarding the light. Each empire capital had a Light Knight Legion branch which was not restricted by the laws of the empire. The highest level of the Glorious Knight was the Paladin under the Holy Light Mountain, followed by the Divinity Temple Knight stationed in the Holy Light Mountain or in charge of each empire branch, and lastly the ordinary Light Knight.
The same was for the chief bishop. The chief bishop of Holy Light Mountain had a higher status than the ordinary chief bishops responsible for the church affairs of each empire. The candidates for chief bishops were selected among the bishops, and the bishops were selected from the pastors, and so forth.
Chen Rui’s current goal was the low level ‘Reserve Light Knight. Of course, even the low grade clergy also represented the great might of the temple in a sense. What’s more, Fatty Pastor also suggested him to be a follower of the Divinity Temple Knight.
Holy Light Mountain has been closed… cardinal’s niece… Divinity Temple Knight candidate… Divinity Temple Knight selection compet.i.tion… These keywords were quickly turning in Chen Rui’s mind. For a time, several implementable plans appeared in his mind. There was only one purpose, mixing into the Holy Light Mountain!
Chen Rui thought for a while and finally made a decision, “Okay! In order to prove the sincerity of both parties, I think it is necessary for us to sign a related contract.”
“No problem!” Mana was overjoyed. This suggestion made the fatty completely relieved. His ‘contract’ with the wind leopard was actually a mark of slavery instead of a real contract. He could ask the beast tamer to use a special method to cancel it if it was really necessary.
As a result, under Chen Rui’s ‘link’ power, the 2 signed an equality contract which was to maintain a mutually beneficial relations.h.i.+p until they achieved each other’s goals. After the contract took effect, the fatty looked a little more highly at his partner who was able to realize the contract as he wondered how to make full use of this Richard within the rules allowed by the contract to maximize his own interests. When necessary, he could also sacrifice the other party. However, the fatty didn’t know that this seemingly unbreakable contract could be invalidated at any time for Chen Rui. Chen Rui was also tricking him.
The 2 looked at each other and burst into laughter at the same time, but each had ulterior motives in their minds.
At this moment, a friar hurried over to report, “Sir Mana, bad news. The people from the Holy Feather Mercenary Squad flooded into the church, grabbed Lucio, and threatened to take this guest away. Deacon Martier sent me to report to sir immediately.”
If this happened half an hour ago, Mana wouldn’t care about such trivial matters at all, but now things had changed drastically, so the fatty immediately showed an expression of anger, “d.a.m.n mercenary group, how dare they arrest people in the church? It’s even my guest! I can’t bear it! Let’s go and take a look!”
Chen Rui’s mind s.h.i.+fted. He clutched his temples and showed an exhausted look, “Mana, I used a lot of spirit power to acquire that item previously. Plus, I just used the power of contract just now. I have to rest for a while now. Otherwise, my spirit power will be damaged due to exhaustion. Lucio… is actually my new servant, I’ll leave this matter to you.”
“Don’t worry, my friend! Let me handle these little matters!” The fatty patted his chest to make a guarantee, and he said with concern, “You go to the hall to recuperate now. You must take care of your body.”
Chen Rui was now the fatty’s collaborator and a key figure to be a.s.sociated with Cardinal Roger. Naturally, he shouldn’t be subject to any harm, especially the spirit power related to the beast taming skill. Otherwise, the fatty would regret it if it affected the plan.
“Dhora, help my friend to rest in the hall now.”
The friar was about to step forward when Chen Rui shook his head, “It’s okay, I can go by myself, but please don’t disturb me for now.”
“Alright! Dhora, immediately deliver my command that no one is allowed to go near the hall!” The fatty commanded and walked toward the corridor with the wind leopard.
Friar Dhora noticed the close relations.h.i.+p between Chen Rui and Sir Pastor from the way they addressed each other, so he didn’t dare to neglect him. After Chen Rui entered the hall, he closed the door for him and guarded the corridor outside the door so as to prevent disturbances.
After Chen Rui entered the hall, his fatigue disappeared. He stared at the Light G.o.d statue exuding faint faith power in front with a contemplative expression. After a while, the breath on his body continued to undergo a subtle change. He seemed to be trying all kinds of methods.
Suddenly, Chen Rui’s eyes brightened. As his mind moved, there was already a figure in front of him. This person’s appearance was the same as Chen Rui except that his pupils showed faint blood.
TL: Shura? Why does he need him for? Really stealing faith power?