Firefly Journey

Chapter 169 Youth is a hastily written poem (12)

Every day, a steady stream of worshippers come to St. Philharmonic Cathedral to pray for blessings from the sun god and to have their wishes fulfilled.

In fact, Julius has been dead for ten thousand years and can no longer hear the cries of his believers. What is in his heaven now is still unknown.

However, among those who pray, there are also those whose dreams come true, and the stories spread by word of mouth, so they have a certain degree of credibility.

As for whether it was divine intervention behind it, that remains unknown.

Among the pilgrims was a kind-faced old man who slowly queued with the crowd. Several hours later, it was finally his turn to enter the temple to pray.

Inside the cathedral, although it can accommodate thousands of people praying at the same time, there are so many believers that queuing is a normal phenomenon, especially on holidays when it is completely packed.

The elderly man followed the crowd, quietly performing his prayer ritual.

After the ceremony, everyone left the main church. The old man also left, but instead of following the crowd out of the hall, he took a side path. The guards on duty did not stop him, because they knew the old man.

His name was Texas, and he was known as "Thunderbolt." He was the High Priest of the Conquest Division of the Papacy, one of the three most powerful figures under the Pope.

Normally, he and another high priest of inquisition, "The Tide" Matthew, are often away from home and generally do not return unless there is a major event in the Holy See.

The academy competition in late spring and early summer next year is crucial to whether the Holy See can maintain its position as the leader of the seven ancestral churches, so it is certainly a major event. Not only him, but "The Rage" Matthew is also on his way. For such a grand event, all three high priests will surely be present.

After completing the prayer ceremony, Texas walked along a familiar road, reflecting on her inner feelings as she went.

Back then, he was just an ordinary believer in the Sun God. After graduating from St. Louis College with excellent grades, he was assigned to work in the Vatican.

His years of diligent work caught the attention of His Holiness the Pope, and he steadily rose through the ranks until he finally became a high priest.

Time has passed and many things have changed, but this road remains the same, as does the Basilica of St. Phileun.

The end of Texas lies deep within the Papacy, where the ancestral artifact "Julius's Sun" is kept.

There, Conrad the "Flame" had been waiting for a long time.

When Texas arrived, Conrad was standing with his hands behind his back, staring blankly at the Ancestral Artifact.

Texas stepped closer and said with a forced smile, "Is it His Holiness the Pope's order to send us back to Iowa?"

Conrad turned his head and said, "His Holiness the Pope has been missing for many years, and neither you nor I know his whereabouts. Why joke around?"

Texas sighed: "He left us without a word back then, which was really willful. Over the years, the prestige of the Vatican has declined. It's tough."

"That's why we've been pushing so hard to make the college competition happen, in order to prove to other churches that the Vatican is still the same Vatican."

After Conrad finished speaking, a hint of worry flickered in his eyes.

The disappearance of His Holiness the Pope was known only to a few high-ranking members of the Vatican, and was never mentioned to others.

It is not even known whether he is missing or has perished.

The official explanation given was that the Pope's spiritual practice had reached a crucial stage, and he had disappeared to avoid being disturbed.

Even with members of the church, they claimed they could be contacted, but in reality, there was no information whatsoever.

The Vatican urgently needs to make changes to solidify its position as the head of the ancestral Church.

Conrad continued, "There's something else very strange, which is why I asked you all to come back."

Texas raised an eyebrow: "What is it?"

Conrad said, "A marquis died in Ilham recently."

Of course, Yicheng is so big that even if a marquis or a duke died, you wouldn't need to come back.

The marquis was killed by the Black Knight in front of a crowd of celebrities, which could be considered a form of justice. What is truly thought-provoking is that on the same night, a banker also died.

According to the cavalrymen who arrived at the scene that night, before the banker died, everyone at the banquet was controlled by a mysterious force, and when they came to their senses, only a corpse remained.

"Why didn't you say these things when you sent the message?" Texas asked.

Kondra sighed softly, "To my shame, I have been staying in Yicheng ever since His Holiness the Pope left, but I never imagined that an evil god would be born in the shadows."

I didn't mention it in the letter because I was worried about being overheard. I don't believe that the evil god could lie dormant in Yicheng for so many years without anyone supporting him.

Now that I've suddenly realized this, it's too late. Once the evil god has amassed enough faith, there's a very high probability it will descend upon the mortal realm, inevitably unleashing a catastrophe that I cannot handle alone.

Even the weakest evil god is still a genuine "god" level existence. A demigod-level Grand Priest of Judgment is clearly no match for a true god.

This concerns the safety of millions of people in Yicheng, and we cannot afford to be careless.

Texas paused for a moment, then said, "I'll leave it to Matthew, but he and the Dawn Cavalry have been guarding the Abyss Gate for years. I don't need to tell you how heavy their responsibility is. If he leaves, no one can guarantee whether the Dreadlord inside will make a move."

Conrad said, "When faced with two evils, choose the lesser. We can't worry about that now. Ira is the Papacy's territory and cannot be lost. As for the Abyss, each of the seven major churches has its own followers stationed there, so a short-term departure shouldn't be a problem."

"Do you have any clues? Where is that evil god now?"

Conrad's expression was grave: "That's exactly what worries me."

……

……

Xu family.

It's unclear when exactly, but the Xu family's household became bustling with activity. The servants and laborers were all out shopping, creating a lively and bustling scene.

Fengling watched all this without making any comment.

With the engagement ceremony imminent, the Xu and Dimos families are busy preparing day and night.

If the engagement was already like this, Fengling could already imagine how grand the wedding would be three months later.

But what does that have to do with her?

By then, she had already gone to the Dark Temple and no longer concerned herself with the affairs of Yicheng.

Would the Vatican really go to the Dark Temple, which is also part of the Church of the Ancestral God, to demand people for the sake of two grand ducal families? That's wishful thinking.

Since she was destined to travel far away, with few, if any, opportunities to return, she decided to spend these three months with her parents and leave no regrets.

She knocked on her mother's door, and before her mother could react, Fengling rushed straight into her arms.

"mom!"

The sudden display of affection caught Xu's mother off guard, but she was quite pleased. Her daughter hadn't acted like this in a long time, so it was nice to do it once in a while.

Xu's mother smiled and stroked Fengling's slender back, saying, "Why don't you have your father talk to your grandfather again and tell him we're not getting married?"

Feng Ling said, "I wasn't going to get married anyway, but don't worry, I have a way."

Xu's mother wondered what she could do, but she couldn't help and could only pray silently.

Fengling hugged her mother without saying a word.

Her eyes held a mixture of coldness and warmth, a very contradictory look.