booktalesy Chapter 197 The Pope Can Die
Chapter 197 The Pope Can Die
"This place is really weird!"
After saying that, Lin Jianguo walked over, picked up Paul VI, and carried him out of the church through the main entrance as if he were a bag of garbage.
Although he also wanted to kill the old man, he knew that Paul VI was more valuable alive than dead.
After all, this old guy is the Pope of the Holy See.
It represents the face of the entire Vatican.
Even if you don't need it yourself, it's still good to let Dark Night operate it.
As the group walked out of the church, they were met with a scene of utter devastation.
Broken armor, shattered swords, cracked shields, and the corpses of Papal knights lying scattered on the ground.
The skeleton soldiers, having lost their target, stood in twos and threes, lost in thought.
Lin Fan glanced at the scene, then communicated with Da Wu to recall all the skeleton soldiers to his mental space.
"Have you made contact with the plane?"
Lin Jianguo abandoned Paul VI and looked at Levi.
"Coming right away."
Upon hearing this, Lin Fan and Lin Jianguo stopped talking and stood quietly at the entrance of the cathedral, waiting.
The square fell silent.
The wind howled through the cracks in the ruined dome of St. Peter's Basilica.
Soon, the transport plane from Dark Night arrived.
Lin Jianguo carried Paul VI and boarded the plane first, followed by Lin Fan. However, at the last moment before boarding the plane, Lin Fan turned back to look in the direction of the cathedral.
Although he wanted to figure out what was going on with the underground statue, he knew it wasn't the right time.
He looked away, turned around, and boarded the plane.
The transport plane's engines hummed softly as it slowly rose into the air and disappeared into the Vatican's night sky.
however.
Just as Lin Fan and his group left.
In Vatican City, a few hundred meters from the cathedral, candlelight flickers in an unassuming stone hut.
From the outside, this room looks like a dilapidated storage room, but behind the thick stone walls lies a secret passage leading underground.
At this moment, five people were sitting in the secret room of the hidden passage.
Five cardinals.
The core leadership of the Vatican.
They are not in the church.
From the moment Lin Jianguo and the others appeared at the holy site, these five people had already retreated into this safe house through the secret passage.
It's not because they're timid.
But...
There is an ironclad rule within the Vatican!
The Pope may die, but the College of Cardinals must not be disbanded.
As long as the core members of the College of Cardinals remain, the Vatican can elect a new pope and continue its operations.
The room was small and the air was stuffy.
Five people sat around a stone table with several nearly burnt-out candles on it.
The oldest bishop was named Andreas, with white hair and a silver cross pendant clutched in his thin hand.
"Have they left?"
"Yes, but Paul was arrested."
The speaker was an elderly man sitting in the corner, Cardinal Domingo, the Vatican's Director of Internal Affairs.
His tone was unusually calm, showing no sign of sadness about the matter.
"The First Legion of the Knights Templar was completely annihilated."
Domingo continued,
"Twenty-seven locations worldwide were attacked simultaneously. Three key churches in the Middle East were burned to ashes. The North African branch lost contact. Covert operations in seven Eastern European countries were completely eradicated."
He read out the items one by one, his voice as steady as if he were reading a menu.
"Our three intelligence networks in South Asia have been paralyzed, and the local government has taken the opportunity to shut down all of our charitable foundations, which were the core channels through which we infiltrated South Asia."
"What about the US?" Andreas couldn't help but ask.
"Don't mention those bastards, the US reacted the fastest."
Domingo gave a cold laugh.
"They immediately froze all of the Vatican's assets in North America. They said it was to 'cooperate with the investigation,' but everyone knows those people were just taking advantage of the situation."
"In the European Union, four countries have issued public statements demanding that the Vatican 'explain the supernatural events of recent years.' The wording is polite, but the meaning is clear—they want to distance themselves."
This last sentence silenced everyone present.
This was not a simple military defeat.
This is the most devastating blow the Papacy has suffered in its centuries-long history.
It's not just about loss of life.
Credibility, deterrence, and a global network of influence all collapsed in large part overnight.
"That dark organization has been lying low for so many years, just waiting for this day."
The young bishop, leaning against the door, muttered something in a low voice, his tone filled with hatred.
The room was quiet for a while.
Until Domingo spoke again.
"Paul VI is no longer fit to be pope."
In short, without any preamble.
The expressions on the faces of the people present varied, but no one raised any objections.
In fact, their hiding here already speaks volumes about their attitude.
If they were truly loyal to Paul VI, they should rush out now to protect him to the death.
But they didn't.
"We need to elect a new pope as soon as possible," Domingo said, "and then immediately begin the reconstruction."
"What will we use to rebuild?"
The young bishop couldn't help but speak up.
"The First Legion has been completely wiped out. More than 60% of its global strongholds have been lost. The number of clergy killed in action is still being tallied, but a conservative estimate is no less than three thousand."
"These are not problems."
Domingo's voice was very soft, but everyone in the room could hear it clearly.
Andreas was taken aback, then his expression changed as if he had thought of something.
"You mean...?"
"Icon Room"
Domingo spoke those three words with certainty.
The atmosphere in the room changed instantly.
The cardinals exchanged glances, and some instinctively clenched the crucifix in their hands.
"As long as the holy statue remains, as long as the primordial crystal remains..."
Domingo said slowly, "The Papacy will never truly perish."
"How do you think those Templar soldiers came to be?"
This statement stunned the young bishop near the door.
Of the five people present, only he was unaware of the Vatican's core secrets.
"The Knights Templar...aren't they selected from all over the world for their awakened talents?" the young bishop asked hesitantly.
Domingo didn't speak, but looked at Andreas.
Andreas paused for a moment, then spoke.
"no."
"None of the Templar Knights are Awakened Talents."
The young bishop's pupils contracted sharply.
"Their power comes from the Primal Crystal."
Andreas said,
"To be precise, it involves infusing the energy from a crystal into an ordinary person's body through a special ritual. The person who receives the infusion will gain the power of holy light and become a clergyman or a Templar Knight."
"The more energy infused, the stronger the power. A cardinal-level energy infusion requires soaking in a crystal for a full month. An ordinary knight, on the other hand, only needs three days."
The young bishop opened his mouth: "Then... the manpower lost..."
"You can add more."
Domingo took over the conversation,
"As long as the crystals remain, we can continuously produce new Templar Knights. The loss of three thousand men can be recovered in six months."
"As for higher-ranking clergy with even greater strength, it will take longer, but it's not impossible."
At this point, Domingo's tone became meaningful.
"More importantly, the icon."
"As long as the icon remains, the new pope will receive guidance upon entering the icon room."
He paused, then looked around at everyone present.
"Paul lost because he was too stupid, not because the Vatican was not strong enough."
"If a smart enough person had been put in that position, the outcome would have been completely different."
Silence fell over the room once more.
But the nature of this silence is completely different.
It's not despair.
It's ambition, not just ambition.
"So, who will be the next one?"
Andreas leaned against the wall, looking at Domingo.
Domingo did not answer immediately.
He closed his eyes, seemingly deep in thought.
However, a moment later, he opened his eyes.
"No rush."
"Let them make a scene first."
"Waiting for the birth of a new pope, waiting for the Knights to be rebuilt..."
"This debt will be repaid with interest!"