allendalepharm Chapter 609 108 Subversive Mural
Chapter 609 108 Subversive Mural
Chapter 609-108- Subversive mural
St. Benedict Street, 3rd arrondissement.
The Knights Templar in silver armor were fully armed and had put the entire street under martial law. In the manor at the deepest part of the street, dozens of high-ranking priests were led by several purple-robed cardinals and protected by more than a dozen black-robed demon hunters. They had set up a magical array to isolate the inside and the outside.
After a loud dragon roar, a silver-horned flying dragon belonging to the royal court descended from the sky.
Then, Charlotte, wearing a saint's robe, jumped down under the protection of Fabio, the deputy commander of the Knights Templar, and Aaron, the acting chief judge. Behind her were Sebastian, Nice and the Guardian Staff.
"Your Highness the Saint!"
Angus, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, and Cardinal Selina, who were leading the priests and demon hunters in the manor, stepped forward and saluted respectfully.
Charlotte nodded slightly, and then looked at the huge gap in the center of the manor garden.
It was a black space crack with faint purple lightning constantly moving inside. Around the crack were flying platinum photons. Golden runes and space fragments like broken lenses could also be seen faintly.
"How's it going?"
Charlotte looked away and asked.
Grand Commander Angus said respectfully:
"It has been confirmed that this is indeed the space crack opened by the Mirek Shrine. However, we did not detect any fluctuations in the power of the artifact. We speculate that this is just a passage leading to the hiding place of the Mirek Shrine."
"In history, the third district once suffered a space collapse disaster during the Rose Rebellion. It is also the weakest place in the entire Holy City. So... Ms. Selina and I speculated that the apostates might also be hiding here."
"However, this crack is too unstable and may collapse at any time. We also cannot rule out the possibility that this is a trap, so we discussed and decided to use a divine ritual to solidify it first, and then Ms. Selina and I will lead the team to go in and investigate."
"Considering that the ritual of solidifying space requires a huge amount of divine power, we plan to set the time of action for tomorrow afternoon. We have already dispatched the twenty most powerful clergymen in the Holy City. By that time, the crack should be almost solidified."
Summer solstice.
Although Grand Commander Angus said that this space crack was the hiding place of the apostates, it was just his and Cardinal Selina's speculation, but from Charlotte's perspective, she was very sure that this space crack was her target.
The reason was simple. Standing here, she once again felt that mysterious sense of threat.
That was the crisis she had sensed since she entered the Holy City, and it reached its strongest point after she moved into the Holy Palace.
However, after she successfully established a connection with the Holy Court's faith network, this sense of threat was reduced, and after she destroyed the Inquisition's underground base, the sense of threat in the Holy Palace completely disappeared.
But Charlotte knew that it had not really disappeared, but had been "transferred" with the disappearance of Gregory XII.
And now, following the mysterious sensation, Charlotte can give a clear judgment that the end point of the transfer of that "sense of crisis" is in this space crack.
Not only that, Charlotte also vaguely felt a kind of vague calling.
It was the call of blood and also the call of the soul, as if something important was calling her deep in the crack of space.
After thinking for a while, she took a step and walked towards the space crack.
"Your Highness the Saint!"
Seeing Charlotte walking towards the space crack, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar and the Demon Hunter Cardinal Selina were shocked and shouted at the same time.
They stepped forward subconsciously and stood in front of Charlotte:
"Your Highness, this space crack is too dangerous. Even you cannot enter it until it is completely stable!"
Charlotte was noncommittal.
Of course, a mere space crack could not hurt her who was already a demigod.
Of course, the clergy were unaware of this.
After she approached the space crack, she further confirmed her judgment because she felt that the vague calling became stronger.
Thinking of this, Charlotte looked at the crack and shook her head slightly:
"We can't wait any longer. Tomorrow is too late and there are too many variables. I'd better give it a try."
After saying that, she stretched out her hand and pointed at the divine ritual that was being constructed.
A platinum-colored light burst out from Charlotte's fingertips, and then spread rapidly, soon enveloping the divine ritual.
Amid the astonishment, fanaticism, or admiration of the clergy, they saw the divine magic array that was being constructed perfect itself and light up in an instant.
Sacred runes rose up one after another, transforming into eight platinum-colored holy locks that locked the space cracks from different directions. Soon, the space cracks with lightning and thunder became quiet, and the black cracks were replaced by a white halo like a calm lake.
This space crack... was completely solidified into a space channel within just a few seconds!
Angus, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, and Cardinal Selina, the Demon Hunter, were stunned and looked at Charlotte with even more surprise.
Using divine power to solidify space cracks is called divine solidification, which is itself one of the many high-level divine arts possessed by the Holy Royal Court.
But it was the first time in their lives that one person could perform such a spell that required at least dozens of high-level priests working together for a whole day. Even for the legendary priests, this was the first time they had seen one person perform such a spell.
"Your Highness, your holy power is so strong... It is truly rare in the world and worthy of admiration!"
Demon Hunter Cardinal Selina couldn't help but say.
夏洛特笑了笑，不置可否。
Of course her holy power is strong. After all, she is now connected to Harald's faith network. Almost all of the holy power accumulated over thousands of years can be called upon by her. She can use as much holy power as she has.
Of course, this is a bit of an exaggeration. Mobilizing divine power also requires spiritual strength, and that is not her own power, so mobilizing it consumes more mental energy.
The space crack solidified in an instant, and even with the body of a demigod, Charlotte felt a little tired.
Of course, she was just a little tired, which did not affect her strength.
"Let's go, let's go into the gap and explore now."
Charlotte said.
After saying that, she took the lead and walked towards the stabilized space channel.
Grand Master Angus and Demon Hunter Cardinal Selina were stunned for a moment, but they quickly reacted and hurriedly summoned other high-level clergy to follow.
A platinum light flashed.
Soon, everyone's figures disappeared in the soft light.
The familiar feeling of weightlessness came over me, which was the "confusion of the five senses" caused by traveling through space.
And when their senses were fully restored, everyone found that they had come to a solemn and dignified palace.
This was a very magnificent palace, grand and sacred, but the clergymen stared with their eyes wide open, and even Charlotte was slightly startled.
"Holy...Holy Palace? Isn't this the Holy Palace? Have we been teleported to the Holy Palace?!"
Deputy head Fabio looked incredulous.
That’s right, the Holy Palace.
The familiar columns and identical palace structure all indicated that after crossing the space rift, everyone actually returned to the Holy Palace and came to the main hall of the Holy Palace - the Temple of Creation.
But Charlotte soon noticed something was wrong.
Outside the tall and magnificent stained glass windows of the palace, there was not the garden scene she was familiar with, but a vast expanse of white.
Not only that, the sculpture of the God of Creation enshrined in the center of the temple also has subtle differences.
There were many exquisite patterns on his holy robe, and when Charlotte saw those patterns clearly, her eyes quickly became strange.
That... is a pattern composed of a cross and a rose.
Charlotte was not unfamiliar with those patterns. They were the emblem of the First Legion led by Harald when she traveled through time and space to lead the Alliance of Free Cities to defeat the Old Gods. It was the legion emblem designed by Harald based on the holy emblem that Charlotte deliberately erased.
In the later era of bloodlines, it once had a more resounding name, but it was eventually buried by history - the Bloodline of the Kingship, the emblem of the Kirali clan.
"No, this is not the Holy Palace!"
Grand Commander Angus also quickly noticed these differences. He frowned and looked at the decorations on the statues of the gods, his expression unable to hide his anger:
"This is not the holy emblem of our Lord. This is a blasphemous idol of our Lord! This must be the base of those apostates! This must be the blasphemous idol worshipped by those apostates!"
After that, he took a step forward, clenched the holy cross emblem in his hand, and said in an angry and pious voice:
"Praise the Holy One! The glory of our Lord cannot be offended. I, Angus, swear here that these apostates who blasphemed our Lord will pay a heavy price for their evil deeds!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a platinum-colored light bloomed in his hand. The holy emblem in his hand emitted a sacred light. At the same time, the statue of the god in front of the palace was also shrouded in the holy light.
Spots of photons flew up from the statue, as if responding to Grand Master Angus's oath, dancing around him, and then... covering his body.
For a moment, everyone felt that the sacred power of Grand Commander Angus seemed to have been further refined.
Angus's angry expression suddenly turned into astonishment.
"Sacred oath? What's going on?! Isn't this blasphemy against the statue of our Lord? How come the oath of the captain is actually effective directly?!"
The other Templar Knights who entered the palace also widened their eyes.
Sacred oath!
That is the highest oath made by devout believers in front of the statue of the Lord God. It has the strongest constraints on the continent of Miriam, and will also gain the Lord God's affirmation and the reward of divine power!
Making such a vow not only requires piety from the believer, but also requires a way to "reach the ears of heaven", that is, there must be a statue that is recognized and blessed by the God of Creation.
The more powerful the deity's blessing, the easier it is for believers to swear a sacred oath before the deity.
Grand Commander Angus made a sacred oath out of a casual roar of anger...
This only means one thing - the statue of the Lord God in front of them, which is regarded as blasphemous by the clergy, is actually more recognized by the gods than those statues of the Lord God enshrined in the real holy palace!
Or to put it more simply, it is easier to resonate with the divine power and is more...orthodox...
The priests and knights who enter the temple are basically high-level clergy, and their grasp of doctrine and divine power is stronger than that of ordinary priests.
They soon realized this unbelievable fact, which was absolutely shocking even to the priests, and their expressions became shocked and subtle.
A statue with a holy emblem that is completely different from that of the God of Creation is actually closer to the gods than those real statues!
"No...impossible...this is impossible!"
Grand Commander Angus also widened his eyes, and even his tall figure staggered.
“Your Highness, the Saint! Lord Angus, Lady Selina! Quickly… look at these murals!”
A trembling voice came from the other side, its hoarseness carrying endless fear and confusion, immediately attracting everyone's attention.
Everyone looked towards the source of the sound, and saw a high priest on one side of the palace pointing at the relief mural on the wall with a trembling body.
He was pale and looked terrified, as if he had seen something horrible.
Charlotte also looked over there.
She immediately noticed the most eye-catching relief in the mural.
He was a tall young man, his cloak was painted with a cross and rose symbol, and there were faint bite marks on his neck. He knelt on one knee and worshiped the throne not far away, his eyes full of admiration and gratitude.
On the throne, the woman with her legs crossed rested her chin on one hand and held a goblet in the other, her posture lazy yet majestic.