Cardinal Jacob, lying in the cathedral's rest room with a damp towel on his forehead, looked at his subordinates and asked weakly, "Have we found that madman Leoric and his two sons yet?"

The group looked at each other and shook their heads.

Jacob glared at his men and asked, "How far is our army from here?"

Someone replied, "We can get there before sunset today."

Jacob nodded, and just as he was about to say something more, he heard hurried footsteps outside the door, which made him frown.

A papal knight rushed into the room, shouting, "Your Grace! An army has entered the city!"

Jacob glanced at the other man and said, "They've arrived already? How come our reinforcements came so quickly?"

The Papal knight paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "It's not reinforcements, it's the Knights of Twilight!"

"What?!" Jacob was so shocked that he sat up abruptly from the bed, the wet wipe on his forehead falling to the floor.

In the ceremonial hall of the Holy Guard City Palace, Cumberland stood in the very center of the hall, looking at the bloodstains on the ground that had not yet been washed away, and smelling the thick, lingering stench in the air.

How many died?

Upon hearing Cumberland's question, the adjutant quickly flipped open the logbook: "A total of one hundred and nineteen people were killed."

"Are they all prominent figures from Holy Guard City?"

“That’s right. All the nobles who were qualified to participate in the succession ceremony were from prominent families in Holy Guard City.” The adjutant looked around the hall, which was covered with dried blood, and couldn’t help but shudder as he imagined the cruel scene at the time. “According to the list and confessions, when the King of Holy Guard City carried out the massacre, it seemed like a random act of violence, but it had very precise targets. The powerful figures, warlords and tycoons of Holy Guard City were almost all killed or wounded.”

Cumberland stroked the hilt of his sword and asked, "Wasn't a single capable nobleman alive?"

The adjutant flipped through the booklet, and after a moment said to Cumberland, "Sir, there is one person who is unable to attend the ceremony due to illness."

"who?"

“You should be familiar with this person, Earl Gordon of White River Fortress.”

Cumberland scratched the back of his head, looking confused: "Earl Gordon?"

The adjutant covered his lower abdomen with his hand and squatted down.

Cumberland's eyes lit up immediately: "Oh! The leader of the Holy Guard City delegation! The guy who brought his 'Shit-Bombing Banquet'!"

Just then, a group of people dressed in church robes rushed into the ceremonial hall. The leader shouted at Cumberland, "How dare you! How can such barbaric behavior occur under the Father's rule?!"

Cumberland looked in the direction of the voice and saw a cardinal with a hawk-like face, his face flushed with anger, yelling at him.

The old knight looked down at the cardinal, his eyes wide with anger, and snorted coldly.

Startled by the other party's fierce appearance, the cardinal unconsciously took a step back and lowered his voice by three points: "I am Cardinal Jacob of the Papacy. The Kingdom of Musi's unauthorized encroachment on its brother city-state is disrespectful to the Father! It is an act of heresy!"

Cumberland laughed: "Who said we're here to invade the city?"

Jacob was taken aback: "Are you still trying to argue at this point?! The army of Muxi City has already entered the city! Now, in the name of the Holy See, I order you to leave the city immediately!"

Cumberland nodded: "We will not station troops here, nor will we occupy this city. The army of Twilight City came here for only two reasons."

"Two things?!"

"First, we will do everything in our power to protect the Muxi delegation from harm."

Jacob jumped up in anger: "I have never heard of a country's army entering another country's city to protect its own mission!"

Cumberland turned to Jacob, gesturing for him to look at the bloodstains on the ground, and said sarcastically, "Moxi City gave Holy Guard City a chance, hoping they would protect our mission, but look at how well they did?"

Jacob's eyes widened, and he said through gritted teeth, "Then take the Muxi delegation and leave Holy Guard City as soon as possible. The others here don't need your protection!"

Cumberland shrugged. "That won't do, because we have a second thing to do."

"Damn it! What's the second thing?!"

Cumberland pointed to the throne directly above the ceremonial hall: "We must help the Holy Guard City complete the succession ceremony."

"What did you say?!" Jacob was first shocked, then furious. "That's utter nonsense! The succession to the throne of Holy Guard City is none of Muxi City's business! I'm going to report this to His Holiness the Pope and let him judge your sins..."

Jacob spoke as he strode quickly outside.

Before he could take more than a few steps, a group of soldiers from the Twilight Knights sealed off all the doors to the ceremonial hall, raised their shields, and prevented anyone from leaving.

Jacob stared at the gleaming blade before him, his voice a mixture of bravado and fear, and roared, "What do you mean by this? What do you mean by this?!"

Cumberland stepped forward from behind, put his arm around Jacob's shoulder, and said "affectionately," "Your Excellency, now that you're here, why the rush to leave? Why not stay and be a witness..."

Looking at Cumberland's irresistible smile beside his ear, Jacob's face turned pale, and a bead of cold sweat slowly slid down his forehead.

An hour later, the surviving low-ranking nobles and officials in the city were "invited" to the ceremonial hall by the Knights of Twilight, one by one.

Looking at the room full of Muxi soldiers in full armor, the people huddled together in fear, wondering what awaited them next.

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