Hearing that there was still a chance, Noel was overjoyed and could hardly contain his excitement!

“However—” Tianlong suddenly interrupted, slowly turning around: “There’s a small condition.”

“Lord Tianlong, please speak,” Father Nor hurriedly pressed.

Tianlong's words were earth-shattering:

"I need all the faithful in your Vatican, from the Pope and cardinals to ordinary missionaries and believers, to publicly acknowledge my status as archbishop!"

I, Tianlong, am the 'Archbishop of Central China' appointed by your Holy See!

My dragon form is not that of a demon, but that of a divine messenger!

My words are the will you should follow!

“This…!” Father Nor suddenly looked up at Tianlong, whose answer was completely unexpected.

He had anticipated Tianlong's greedy demands and expected him to refuse outright, but he never expected it to be such a request.

To require all believers in the Western Vatican to recognize a "dragon-shaped devil" as an archbishop? This condition is tantamount to demanding that the Vatican completely overturn its core doctrines!

Father Nor felt his throat go dry, his body grow cold, and cold sweat poured down his back. The secret excitement he had felt when he arrived had completely vanished.

Only now did he finally realize that Tianlong was different from the other people of Zhongzhou.

The demon from the Central Plains before him was not only powerful, but also far more cunning than he could have imagined. He was not someone who could be tempted by profit or blinded by doctrine.

The imposing presence and all-knowing wisdom hidden beneath that calm gaze filled him with unprecedented fear and pressure.

Tianlong, seeing Noel's face turn deathly pale and the undisguised panic in his eyes, as if he had expected it, turned away indifferently, leaving only a detached silhouette and a light, airy sentence:

"You can go back first and have a good discussion with your supreme 'Lord' and the Pope who interprets divine will."

His voice carried a hint of playful mockery:

"After all, only by making the believers of the Papacy truly believe in me, the archbishop, can the lost sheep of the Central Plains also believe in the Papacy and be saved."

Father Noel froze, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

He kept thinking about it, and as a priest, he dared not agree at all.

Seeing that Tianlong had already turned his back to see the guest off, Noel stood up somewhat dejectedly, his steps unsteady, bowing in farewell, his voice dry and hoarse:

"I will bring back every word of Lord Tianlong's conditions, and the Holy See will give you a reply as soon as possible."

Tianlong didn't turn around, but spoke with a hint of deeper meaning, reminding him: "Remember, whether the Holy See exists in Zhongzhou or not makes little difference, but our cooperation has great potential!"

Noel nodded and slowly withdrew.

Tianlong raised his head expressionlessly, his gaze piercing through the heavy rain curtain, locking onto the tallest and coldest building in Jincheng's power center—the Central Continent Joint Command Tower. In his eyes, there was no anger, only a deep, chilling disappointment.

At this moment, on one of the towers that symbolizes one of the highest powers in the Central Plains, the atmosphere on one of the floors is as oppressive as the deathly stillness before a storm.

General Zhou Zhenbei, who should be guarding the northern border and deterring all sides, has mysteriously appeared here.

He stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, but the bustling scene of Jincheng outside the window appeared gray to him.

Kneeling behind Zhou Zhenbei was a special investigator soaked in cold sweat; he was the very special investigator in charge of investigating the disappearance of Zhou Xuan's entire unit.

"What did you just say?!" Zhou Zhenbei's voice was as if squeezed from ice, each word carrying a chilling killing intent, and the temperature in the room plummeted.

"One arrow?! One arrow wiped out Zhou Xuan and my two teams of Awakened Ones?!"

"Yes...yes, General!" The investigator lowered his head even further, his voice trembling with fear.

"The residual energy trajectory at the scene points to a devastating arrow! Its power and flight distance far exceed conventional understanding!"

"I'm asking you who did it!" Zhou Zhenbei turned around abruptly, his violent aura like a tangible shockwave, crashing into the special investigator.

The investigator was terrified, almost collapsing from fright, and hurriedly began to explain:

"General, please forgive me, but that arrow traveled an extremely long distance. My abilities are limited, and even with all my supernatural powers, I was still unable to find its source... I am truly powerless..."

"Useless!" Zhou Zhenbei squeezed out the two words through gritted teeth.

Although there is no conclusive evidence to prove who the murderer is, there are very few people in the entire Central Plains who can use arrows in such a devastating way!

Zhou Zhenbei immediately and roughly took a black iron token from his waist and slammed it onto the carpet in front of the investigator:

"Take this! You can use all the military's intelligence resources!"

"Go and investigate! Find out every single one of the Awakened archers in Zhongzhou, especially those who can achieve this level of power!"

If you can't find out, bring me your head!

"Yes! Yes! Your subordinate obeys! I will do my utmost to investigate thoroughly!" The investigator felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He practically crawled to pick up the heavy token and scrambled out as if escaping from hell.

The investigator had barely left when a soldier from the Central Continent government came to report the latest news—the "total annexation plan" led by Tianlong had been officially approved, and all resources were being mobilized!

The war machine of Zhongzhou is about to bare its fangs!

Upon hearing the news, Zhou Zhenbei's face instantly darkened to a point where it could drip water:

"Someone come here."

A Zhou family awakened individual rushed in from outside the door in an instant.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhou Zhenbei decisively issued an order that was completely contrary to the annexation plan:

"Issue my secret order: All defense zones in the North, immediately abandon your current positions! All troops, cease all planned missions, and immediately regroup towards Jincheng! Anyone who disobeys will be court-martialed! Execute immediately!"

The order was delivered quickly, and the relevant military personnel stationed in the north acted swiftly upon receiving it, immediately beginning their retreat.

This strange and unusual scene left the Xiao family's iron cavalry, who were also in the northern border, feeling bewildered. They even suspected that it was Zhou Zhenbei's trick, a prelude to Zhou Zhenbei taking action against them!

At this point, Zhou Zhenbei had already ordered the complete abandonment of the border and the return of all his troops.

Compared to annexing foreign tribes, he seemed to have something more important to do.

The military forces controlled by Zhou Zhenbei, as if drawn by invisible threads, disregarded the official order to "cooperate in the annexation" and moved in a large-scale and high-profile manner toward Jincheng.

This unusual behavior made all parties in Jincheng sense an extremely dangerous atmosphere!

The massive operation was like throwing a boulder into a calm lake! The high command of the Jincheng military was instantly thrown into an uproar!

Countless inquiries and probing questions flooded the command tower where Zhou Zhenbei was located. Many forces even sent people to inquire in person, but without exception, they were all coldly rejected by Zhou Zhenbei.

"What is Zhou Zhenbei trying to do?!"

"Openly defying orders! Ignoring the annexation plan! Is he planning a rebellion?!"