The Night Sanctuary gathered in the Dream as usual and opened another round of meetings.
This time, the Pope of the Morning Star brought Garcia in again, but recently Garcia seemed to be in much better condition, no longer appearing as he did before when he was just pulled into the Dream, still seemingly unfocused from alcohol.
However, the Pope did not pay much attention to this; after all, Garcia had been increasingly devout lately, even resembling a true believer more and more.
This time, the Old Pope was considering whether to officially incorporate Garcia into the Church.
As this Night Sanctuary Dream became increasingly real, the Old Pope at times could hardly tell if he was dreaming or participating in an actual meeting.
Perhaps it was this sense of reality that caused this Pope to become increasingly drowsy even within the Dream.
After a brief nap, the Pope quickly awoke, seeing the Cardinals in the midst of a fervent discussion, originally feeling pleased that although he was absent, this group of Cardinals could still find a way out. But upon looking around the environment again, the Old Pope instantly felt a sense of discord.
The Morning Star had no anthropomorphic icon, but why did the Old Pope just glimpse a figure reflected in the glass?
Listening to the Cardinals discuss matters that he could not comprehend, this Pope, having escaped the persecution of the Dragon Church and being battle-hardened, felt his heart pounding violently in this Dream.
Thump~ Thump~
Feeling each heartbeat, seated at the long table symbolizing the sovereignty and glory of the Morning Star, amidst the bustling discussions, the Old Pope slowly turned his head.
He saw a compassionate female statue erected in the grand court behind him, and the statue was looking at him with a slightly pitying expression.
This cannot be the Morning Star!
In that instant, the Old Pope felt as if something in front of him had shattered, as if some mist had been penetrated.
The Old Pope turned back and found that the Cardinals, who had been arguing intensely a moment ago, had all stopped their disputes and were silently turning back to stare intently at him.
“You’ve noticed, haven’t you?”
Lavian was the first to ask through the mask.
“You’ve finally noticed?”
The other Cardinals also inquired together.
“Who… who are you?”
The Old Pope finally squeezed out this question through his dry throat.
“Your Majesty, we are the Cardinals you appointed. Don’t you remember?”
Hearing Lavian say this, the Old Pope broke into a cold sweat that almost soaked his entire body.
Yes, these Cardinals were indeed appointed by him, one by one replaced during this time, he should remember clearly, but why did his memories feel so hazy upon reflection?
Looking at the silent Cardinals, the Old Pope prayed constantly to his God, but it was evident that his God did not respond to him.
“You woke up faster than anticipated.”
At this moment, a cold female voice rang out from the side.
The Old Pope then noticed that under the statue of the goddess, there was a Sister who was praying devoutly. The Sister turned around and looked at the Old Pope with a hint of regret: “It’s really unfortunate, you woke up at the worst time, the countries under your control have already slipped from your grasp and entered the embrace of the Goddess.”
Carrying a lantern, Bernice approached the Pope of the Night Sanctuary, and the Old Pope felt his consciousness grow increasingly vague: “Either you shouldn’t have fallen into this beautiful dream from the start, or you shouldn’t have woken up from it; it’s just unfortunate that you chose the most painful option.”
The Old Pope’s figure faded away in the dream, as if he had never existed.
“Is he dead?”
Garcia asked with a cold tone.
“No, I merely kicked him out of the Dream, causing him to wake up; unfortunately, it’s probable he’ll find it hard to survive now.”
With that, the Old Pope’s chair disappeared, replaced by a new chair, and as Bernice sat down, the long table symbolizing the Night Sanctuary was replaced by an even more solemn and exquisite stone table.
“Alright, let’s continue discussing the plan for the remaining three nations to join New Castile.”
……
The three nations under the control of the Night Sanctuary directly joined New Castile, which didn’t even stir up any waves, as those three countries were originally puppet states, already drained by the Night Sanctuary, and as long as the nobles and the Night Sanctuary’s Sisters were controlled, it would be easy to control the remaining three nations of Castile.
However, the lack of upheaval was only from the perspective of these three Castiles; for other nations, especially the Avars, it could be said to be a stormy sea.
The Avars were originally a nation that collaborated with the Dragons, even to the extent of being said to be the Dragons’ servants, and now even the Dragons were running away. Among the imperial ships returning to the M Continent, many Solun Giants had already followed along, not to mention the likelihood of more to come; relying on the protection of the Dragons was impossible for the Avars.
“That Sean has asked us for more territory again.”
During the Avars’ meeting, a leading noble pointed at the map behind him with his cane.
By ceding just a part of the territory, they could exchange it for a temporary peace, even gaining many advanced crafts and luxury goods.
“Today give up five cities, tomorrow give up ten cities, and soon enough, that damned Lars Knights will be at our borders again!”
Another Avar noble slammed the table angrily, standing up to shout: “As Avars, where’s your pride? To be so easily destroyed by the Empire’s cannons?”
“If we continue ceding like this, the Avars will sooner or later perish, merging into that Empire, they’d be even worse off than Castile, because you can’t even preserve the name of Avar!”
Hearing this noble speak, the other Avar nobles also lowered their heads.
“Actually, merging into the Empire isn’t bad.”
One Avar noble muttered to himself.
Others looked helpless and asked, “Then what do you propose we do?”
“Prepare Supremacy Magic and fight to the death!”
Hearing this noble speak, the other nobles shook their heads and sighed.
“Everyone, let’s take a look at the conditions offered by the Empire.”
