Chapter 62
His majesty the pope who spreads the holy light (5)
Translated by: Niladri
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This chapter is sponsored by an anonymous supporter. Thank you very much for the coffees ^_^
Como County was located in the beautiful Darack Valley. Even though the town had a small population and trade was underdeveloped, but it had a tourist attraction. In Como County, there was a magnificent temple, and every year a large number of followers poured in from other provinces to make pilgrimages on the Day of Sacred Praise.
The Temple of Darak, built 3,000 years ago, was rumored to have been the last miracle of the G.o.d of light in the form of this remote little temple. After that miracle, the southern provinces spent five years of tax revenue to completely renovate the Darak Temple. The whole temple was built of white stone from the Raven Mountains. The base was constructed by the most skilled dwarf architects. White elves were invited to carve engravings on every pillar of the temple and to paint the portrait of the G.o.d of light and the angels below him on the vault of the temple.
Bishop Bernie’s greatest pride since he took charge of the Temple of Darak was that whenever His Holiness preached in the southern provinces every year, he always made a deliberate detour to Como County, which was situated in a remote location.
“This is a gift from G.o.d.” His Majesty the Pope said so when he first saw the Temple of Darak.
Although that was decades ago, Bishop Bernie still remembered the Pope’s praise of the Temple of Darak.
Today’s weather was still very good, blue sky and white clouds, G.o.d has given us light. Bishop Bernie lay on a big soft bed. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the clear sky. He thought it was a good day for morning prayers.
No, I went to bed in my bedroom last night. How can I see the sky? Bishop Bernie suddenly sat up and found himself sleeping in the street in front of the temple. Next to his big soft four-pillar bed, there were still people lying on the ground, all probationary priests and permanent priests of the temple.
At present, the place that should have had the Temple of Darak was empty.
Should I be glad to have woken up in bed? Bishop Bernie had such an idea in his head.
Wrong! The Temple of Darak is missing! Missing! The G.o.d of light was above. This was definitely a miracle. Has the miracle finally been repeated? The Temple of Darak must have received favor from the G.o.d of Light and was taken to the Divine Realm as his own palace. Bishop Bernie prostrated on the ground, and prayed devoutly.
The artwork-like Darak Temple was now in front of Lu Heng.
“Is this the Temple of Darak?” Lu Heng hesitated to ask.
On that day, after Lu Heng put forward the idea of practicing in a temple, Ionas had left for two days. Although the Dragon had left, the island was too high off the mainland to be helpful even if he could levitate.
In the early morning that day, Ionas returned. Lu Heng saw him sporting a deep and unfathomable expression on his face, but his eyes couldn’t help betray a trace of smugness. Lu Heng doubted if he was in his dragon form, he would certainly be wagging his huge tail.
Once he came out of the cave, Lu Heng remained frozen in shock for a while, and then repeated the same question.
“Lishcus, oh, he’s an insignificant green dragon. You don’t have to remember his name. His bard informed me that the Pope of Light had once praised the Temple of Darak. But don’t get me wrong,” Ionas continued. “I didn’t go to Lishcus specifically for this. I just slept for a long time and felt a little stiff. I exchanged a few moved with him, and then we had a little chat.”
“Io, you’ve moved the whole Darak Temple?” Lu Heng still couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Esmond’s dead anyway, and n.o.body will be coming to make trouble for me.” When Ionas thought about it, he felt that he appeared to be abusing the authority of the Dragon Lord. “Of course, even if Esmond was not dead, I would not be afraid to fight him.”
Esmond was the G.o.d of light. Ionas really knew about the fall of the G.o.ds. The Dragon Lord would rather have remained a demiG.o.d than go to the divine realm. Did he know something long ago? This Ionas may not be as simple as he seemed on the surface.
“I’m just a little surprised at your ability.” Lu Heng did not allow even a trace of what was in his heart to show on his face.
“Of course, there is nothing the Great Dragon Lord can’t do. This whole Dragon Island, I allowed it float up, what is this small temple?” Ionas was very proud. “Although with Esmond dead, I don’t know how you can practice through prayer, but it’s fine as long as you are happy.”
“Thank you great Dragon Lord, for your help.” Lu Heng bowed slightly. This demiG.o.d knows that the G.o.ds have fallen, but he isn’t asking anything.
“Isn’t it necessary to use kisses to express grat.i.tude? Isn’t it most sincere??” Ionas felt that Lu Heng’s thanks was too insincere.
Lu Heng did not know whether to laugh or cry and wondered if he had caught an illness from flying outside, bit his distracted musings could not continue: “Who did you hear this from?”
“Lishcus’s Bard.” Ionas recalled carefully, “In the long poem he had sung, he said that the beautiful girl upon having received the long-awaited gift, offered the handsome soldier her soft lips, and they rolled together in the wild flowers, and shared a song about life. Don’t you human beings all believe in the G.o.d of light? Why sing to the G.o.ddess of life? The G.o.ddess of life is the main G.o.d of the elves. Is that girl an elf?”
“… You’ll never see that bard again, Io.” Lu Heng finished, nodded to Ionas and went into the temple.
‘Deserving to be the treasure of this dragon lord, his possessive desire is as strong as that of the dragons.’ Ionas looked at Lu Heng’s back and mused about him. Although he was only a demiG.o.d and even though Esmond had fallen, he could not enter the inner hall of light out of courtesy. Ionas had to turn into a dragon and he lay at the door of the temple, ready to take a nap without wasting time while waiting for the other person to come out.
At this moment, Lu Heng was standing behind the statue of the G.o.d of light, holding the statue taken out from the outer statue in his hand. He put the statue on his forehead and closed his eyes.
Mind Sight.
Lu Heng saw the power of faith had permeated the whole temple, since it was the power of faith that was emanated from the believers in all parts of the mainland praying to the G.o.d’s image. However, Lu Heng was not looking for those who believed in the G.o.d of light. His goal was to find the one who believed in the statue in his hands, that is, believers who had faith in the Pope.
The two cardinals closest to the Pope knew everything about the collapse of the divine realm. They believed not in the fallen G.o.d of Light, but in His Majesty the Pope. Lu Heng decided to contact these two highly reliable a.s.sistants.
A moment later, from within the myriad lines, a ray of light finally plunged into the statue in Lu Heng’s hand. But the strength of this believer was too weak to be that from the two powerful Cardinals. Nevertheless, since it was the power of faith towards him, this person must be trustworthy.
Divine descension.
The surrounding scenery began to twist and change. In front of Lu Heng, it was Princess Windsor, kneeling on the ground, holding her hands in her heart and praying. Strangely enough, Princess Windsor was wearing a battle priest costume. She was dressed in light armour, with a hammer around her waist, and her blonde hair tied into a ponytail. This was usually the costume of a priest within a team of adventurers.
“Windsor.”
Hearing Lu Heng’s voice, Princess Windsor opened her eyes in incredulously, and saw that it was indeed Lu Heng. Her eyes brightened: “Holy Father, Your Majesty Pope.”
When Princess Windsor finished her disciple greeting, she stood up in a hurry. When she walked up to Lu Heng, she realized that it was only an illusion.
“Descension!” Princess Windsor m.u.f.fled her mouth and whispered, “You are able to perform the Divine descension.”
Seeing the girl’s overwhelming admiration, Lu Heng gently smiled at her and said, “Windsor, are you going out for something important?”
“Ah,” Princess Windsor blushed in an instant. “I thought you were imprisoned by the dragon, and I called in the best team of adventurers to rescue you. Now it seems that I had thought too much. You are so powerful!”
Lu Heng’s mood was somewhat complicated, and his mind could not help but conjure some strange images. In order to prevent his imagination from running out of control, Lu Heng quickly changed the topic back to proper business.
“Windsor, I need your help for something.”
“I shall follow your orders.” Princess Windsor didn’t even ask what it was. She put her right hand on her chest and promised affirmatively.
What Lu Heng told Princess Windsor, if one said it was difficult, it could be said to be difficult and if one said it was easy, it could be said to be easy. He asked Princess Windsor to pretend to be the Pope, and have the two Cardinals a.s.sist her regarding the details. After a few appearances, she could stay in the Vatican in the name of praying in seclusion. The Pope had done similar things several times before. Therefore, as long as Princess Windsor was brave enough to do it, nothing could go wrong.
This time he was taken away by a dragon, which had caused a great disturbance. If he did not appear in front of the congregation for a long time, they would most certainly panic. As of now, Lu Heng estimated that he couldn’t get rid of the Gold Dragon for the time being. He had no choice but to ask Princess Windsor for help. Moreover, Lu Heng also had other plans, and he did not intend to let the pope’s ident.i.ty restrict his actions for a while.
Princess Windsor listened to Lu Heng’s plan, which might have been a surprise to other believers. She did not regret it. She was still willing to obey Lu Heng’s orders. After consulting the two men, she decided the reason she would give her brother was that she wanted to study in the Vatican. As for Surrey disagreeing, it was no longer within Windsor’s consideration. Anyways, her elder brother has never been able to persuade her to change her mind.
After solving the issues involving the Vatican, Lu Heng returned to the Temple of Darak. He took out a black box from the storage ring, which he found in Ionas’ treasure pile. At that time, Lu Heng only glanced at it twice, and Ionas pulled the whole pile of treasures in front of him.
Lu Heng opened the box with a doll in it. The doll was only half the size of the palm, and it was only a steel skeleton made entirely of steel- which gave it a scary appearance.
The inside cover of the storage box was stamped with a seal displaying a coat of arms.
This was a goblin product.