Myths Reawakened

“A nation cannot go a day without a sovereign, and a church cannot go a day without a leader...”

“I support Pope Senna. She is the one with public support!”

In the temporary council hall, the higher-ups of the Church of Nature gathered. Weaving slammed the table and stood up, glaring at Baker and McCarey.

The two weasels hadn’t died of friendly fire but had instead become contributors to the exposure of Ludwig’s sins. How could that happen?!

“Why are you looking at me?”

“Weaving, give up on sowing discord. We are also loyal supporters of Pope Senna. If anyone else becomes the pope, McCarey and I will be the first to object.”

“Ha, you only fear Her Holiness’s power. Unlike you, I’ve submitted myself because of her incredible character. My loyalty is genuine.”

“Son of a beach!”

The three Oracle High Reverends dissolved into petty arguments. They were proof of the advantages of a parliamentary system.

“Alright. Enough. You’re Oracle High Reverends. This is unbecoming of you.” Senna took the seat of the Pope, still wearing Life Armor with the Elemental Mantra laid on the table. She said solemnly, “The choice of a pope will determine the future development and overall interest of the church. It’s an important matter that has to be taken seriously. No rush to a decision. It’s not a decision that should be made by the three of you anyway.”

“Your Holiness, it’s exactly because of how important the matter is that the decision must be made as soon as possible.”

“Ludwig, the traitor, is a demon’s pawn. His death will result in the violent retaliation of Hell and Prussia. If we don’t choose a new leader promptly and leave the church ununified, more lives will be lost.”

“That’s right. The church is too closely connected to Prussia, so a new leader has to sever that connection quickly. If this goes on, the future and overall interest of the church will be undermined.”

For the greater good, you have to be the Pope!

“I’ve already made up my mind. We’ll reconsider this matter at a later time!”

“As you wish, Your Holiness.” x5

Tubert and Desiree joined the flock of parrots.

(ಠ_ಠ)

Haven’t you decided already?! Garvin thought darkly.

Senna was on the trajectory to become the Pope. He had no right to object and couldn’t find a reason to object. He didn’t like her. In his mind, all four Oracle High Reverends were ambitionists who had wasted the church’s resources for their own gains. The only difference was that Weaving, Baker, and McCarey were more shameless about it, while Senna had more pride and a more aggressive personality, a well-known war hawk among the leadership.

Once she became the Pope, she would definitely tear up the peace treaty and launch attacks against the other churches in the name of attracting more followers. She wouldn’t be a strictly good leader. However...

Garvin looked at the Elemental Mantra, and all the words he wanted to say got stuck in his throat.

Senna’s backer was the future Nature Knight. The goddess had chosen Wayne, and Wayne had chosen Senna. The goddess had effectively chosen Senna.

He only hoped that Wayne would discipline Senna and have her reel in her aggression, avoiding a war of faiths between churches.

“Vice Captain Garvin, why are you staying silent with a long face?”

“Why, do you have any objections?”

“I know you’re up to no good. Be honest. Do you want to be the Pope?”

It was the golden time for the three weasels to pledge their allegiance. When Garvin remained silent with his usual holier-than-thou attitude, they targeted him together.

Yeah, you’re noble and impressive. You’re the only one with a chivalrous spirit. We’re all inferior to you! Isn’t that what you think?

“I do not plan on becoming the pope. I’m willing to support Oracle High Reverend Senna, too,” Garvin stated, interrupting the targeted attacks.

They preened, feeling like they had successfully corrupted a moral man.

No matter how Garvin emphasized the virtues of being a knight and always held himself like he had the moral high ground, in the end, he was just like them. He groveled and submitted to absolute power.

Speaking of absolute power, Weaving, Baker, and McCarey glanced at the Elemental Mantra unconsciously.

Ludwig had been so powerful that when he created a vitality domain as a demigod and held a Philosopher Stone made of a demigod, they couldn’t help but despair. He could even turn into a hellish black dragon. However, Senna and Wayne had merged and killed Ludwig with the power of friendship and love.

Of course, in other people’s eyes, the mysterious Nature Knight had never made an appearance. He had simply given the divine artifact to Senna, and that alone allowed her to kill a demigod + demigod.

Who would they possibly support if not Senna? That was absolute power!

When the usual aloof Garvin chose to support her, Senna curled her lips into a smile, stroking the Elemental Mantra. She felt like she had won in life. The support of the weasels didn’t matter since the fencesitters were always going to jump in to help the clear victor. Garvin was different. He only ever stood with the just and righteous side. He was a knight of principles.

She still remembered how Garvin always gave her the cold shoulder when she greeted him. She couldn’t feel any better. Though she had just ended an epic fight, she was itching for more.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t do it now. Today’s meeting was incredibly important. Moreover, Wayne wasn’t inside her at this moment, but in the dark domain in the Pope’s basilica, opening Ludwig’s safe.

“I’ll get to the point. The selection of the pope is crucial. Only someone capable, powerful, and righteous can take the position. However, the church is standing on a cliff now. We need a capable acting pope to take a stand...”

Senna pretentiously rejected the title several times before she reluctantly became the acting pope, leading the Church of Nature. Except for Garvin, everyone praised her for her indifference to worldly gains, lack of interest in power, willingness to shoulder responsibilities, and readiness to sacrifice herself. She was truly a model knight among them. It was the entire church’s honor to have an acting pope like her.

With the acting pope in office, the Church of Nature would be peaceful. With the acting pope in office, the sky would be clear.

(ಠ_ಠ)

Whatever nonsense flattery you’re going to make, Garvin thought, just keep the word ‘knight’ out of your mouth.

“Ludwig’s death has to be kept a secret. The church is based in Ostarrichi and has a great number of followers in Prussia. That’s our foundation. If Prussia retaliates...”

“The priority is to deal with all remaining Ludwig supporters in the church. Weaving, Baker, McCarey, you three will be in charge. I’ll assign a clerk to record everything...”

“This is a sensitive time. If anyone dares to get any ideas, I’ll send them to Ludwig with Elemental Mantra!”

“Once we root out Ludwig’s supporters completely, we’ll sever our ties with Prussia. The church must not allow the tank of insanity to drag us into an abyss...”

Senna made a series of orders before warning, “Weaving, Baker, McCarey, I know about your collaborations with Prussia. I’m giving you three a chance to redeem yourselves. Do not disappoint me.”

The three men were each a better actor than the last. While emphasizing their loyalty vehemently, they sobbed in gratitude for the acting pope’s clemency.

“Holy Maiden Desiree, High Prophet Tubert,” Senna said amicably, “You have helped expose the traitor, but you’ve only been fulfilling your duty. I will not grant you additional rewards. You’ll continue your work as is. Any objection?”

“You jest, Your Holiness,” Tubert said, nodding with a smile. “I’ve only relayed the prophecy. I would not dare to claim any credit.”

Desiree’s expression brightened. It seemed that the acting pope would honor her word and fulfill her promise to them.

“Vice Captain Garvin, maintaining the order of the church is imperative going forward,” Senna continued. “Be ready. Your knight order will have no time to rest.”

“It’s only my duty. I’ll maintain order with my knights!” Garvin nodded. The woman was decisive if nothing else. Perhaps she could become a good pope.

Then he added, “Your Holiness, it won’t be difficult to hide Ludwig’s death for the time being, but once the church cuts ties with Prussia, Prussia will quickly realize what has happened. What is the church going to do then?”

Garvin was worried. Once Prussia turned on the Church of Nature, the other churches would surely enjoy the show on the sidelines. Perhaps they might even jump in to get a finger into the pie.

If Senna fought back to ensure mutual destruction, the Church of Nature would suffer a great loss; if Senna chose to endure, the church would still suffer. What should they do?

“Ludwig’s connected to Hell, and Prussia is essentially on the demons’ side,” Senna said calmly. “I’ll contact the Church of Heavenly Father and have them keep Prussia at bay.”

“Would that work? We don’t have a good relationship with the Church of Heavenly Father. They certainly wouldn’t act immediately.”

“It will work.” Senna nodded with certainty. Wayne had said that he held influence over the Church of Heavenly Father, that he was connected to Heaven in an unorthodox way. The Pope would take him seriously.

If he said that it would work, it would.

“How about the other churches...”

“They won’t be a problem, either!”

***

Dark domain, Pope’s basilica.

The dark domain was Ludwig’s personal warehouse. Over the past hundred years he was in office, he had accumulated a great amount of treasures here, like an evil dragon’s lair. After defeating the dragon, the dragon’s inheritance naturally went to the hero.

It should include the coins and the princess—both business and love.

Unfortunately, Ludwig was single with a clean private life, and even his secretary was a man. Wayne could only inherit his business and not his love.

It had been two days since the previous pope’s sudden death. Senna, as acting pope, had been so busy that she didn’t have the time to step into her home even after passing the door thrice[1]. Wayne had been guarding her house for her, and the harvest was great.

Sitting on a pile of magical items, he marveled at the profit margin of raiding someone’s house; it was much more cost-efficient than robbery.

“Look into the past, and I see the bygone glory. Look at the present, and I realize how long the path forward is...” He had put on a good number of magical items. So overwhelmed with feelings, he couldn’t help but start singing. “The sorrow of the destruction of one’s home country quietly breeds sadness. The resentment, like the ocean, will never fade. How many years and how many days would it take to get what I want~[2]”

Below the hill, his two secretaries were too busy to rest their feet.

They had sorted the documents into another pile, which contained records of all the knowledge that Ludwig had accumulated in his lifetime. In addition to magic, there were also compilations of the research data of multiple experiments, so precious that Wayne considered this the greatest loot of this visit.

Research was training for him, and an incredibly efficient training at that. The data was essentially an XP pill.

Ludwig was one step away from becoming a demigod, having established his own unique understanding of the evolution paths of the Astral Plane, Hell, and the Divine Realm. The amount of experience he could provide was self-evident.

Oh, there was also a Philosopher’s Stone. Wayne had tossed it to Senna after putting his pants back on, letting her rule over the church with it.

Due to the sheer amount of XP pills in the dark domain, the two secretaries weren’t enough to take care of everything. At the same time, however, Wayne didn’t trust outsiders. He thus had Regina call on her older sister, Nilsson, planning to make her into a secretary—not his, but Senna’s.

Nilsson watched the Nature Knight as he sang a meandering tune about his concerns for the church, her eyes bright with admiration.

Everyone had an important role model. It was human nature to admire great power, and Wayne was undoubtedly a powerful being.

In Nilsson’s eyes, the Pope was a mighty figure with an untouchable status, but the Nature Knight, even more so. The chosen knight was like a god to her.

Though the Nature Knight wasn’t the Pope, he could put whoever he wanted in the seat. Senna was a good example. She had been promoted to acting pope from an Oracle High Reverend, one ceremony away from being the official Pope.

The Nature Knight not only had great power, but he could also grant his squires great power. Nilsson had witnessed it herself and couldn’t envy her younger sister’s work more.

If it were anyone else, Nilsson wouldn’t have done anything about her envy, but since it was her sister, Regina, she started to get ideas.

She wanted what Regina had!

Dear sister, we’ve been in the same womb. Give your older sister a helping hand, wouldn’t you?

1. A reference to Yu the Great, a king who was known for mitigating floods in Chinese mythology. It’s said that during the process, he was so devoted that he passed through his home thrice without stepping in. ☜

2. It’s a song from Stephen Chow’s movie, Royal Tramp, which the protagonist sang after he raided a treacherous official’s residence. ☜