Holy Mountain of Karenriel.
As the highest area in the Western Continent besides the Mountains of Sighs, it is surrounded by mountains, with snow-capped peaks overlooking the earth like long swords standing upright on the ground.
On the steep cliffs, iron ropes and stairs wind along the rocks. Pilgrims from all over the world climb up the stairs just to admire the angel statue remaining on the top of the mountain, the miracle that remains in the world after the chaos and disaster.
Among this group of people dressed differently, there was a man with gray hair and a windbreaker, who was inconspicuous.
Several peaks surrounding the Holy Mountain are the headquarters of various church organizations.
Among them are the Olive Leaf Palace dedicated to teaching young children, the Aquarius Palace specializing in treatment, the Mountain Elephant Palace good at construction, the Palace responsible for resting souls, the Ten Swords Palace responsible for maintaining public order, and so on.
Today, Odysseus, the Grand Master of the Knights of the Holy Lance, one of the three major knightly orders, is also in a dangerous fortress in the mountains.
He was wearing thick silver armor with golden patterns, and was nearly two meters tall. Behind him was a bright red cloak. The velvet cloak made his overall figure and armor look much thicker, making him as resolute and steady as a mountain.
He stood on a lookout tower, overlooking the numerous knights training and shouting in the valley below, his sharp face expressionless.
There was a knock on the door in the room behind him.
"Enter."
The door opened and a knight in silver armor holding documents walked in. The knight had blond hair and a handsome face, and was probably around 30 years old.
"Lord Odysseus, I have some recent developments I would like to report."
"Go ahead." He turned around, and with the sound of armor colliding, he walked to the desk and sat down.
"Currently, some members of the Knights of various chapters need to take leave and go home for a period of time, approximately one month."
"This kind of thing has always happened, and it's human nature." Odysseus commented briefly, but he knew that this clever young man definitely had more to say.
"That's right, but the proportion this year is much higher than last year. If it was 0.2% last year, then this year it's 0.4%."
"But there's no war going on, and nothing special is happening. This isn't normal."
"Most of these people were sent to the local diocesan headquarters in the form of letters. Although I'm usually busy, I deliberately found some of them and compared them with previous letters. I found that the handwriting was not from the same person."
"In other words, these people's letters were written by someone else, and perhaps something happened to them?"
"Yes. According to normal procedures, the knights of each town and city must report to the local parish headquarters every month. During this time, they will convey the latest orders and instructions. At the same time, they will strengthen communication to ensure the loyalty of the members of the Knights Templar."
"But if you take leave like this, you can only go back and forth three times at most. That means if you don't report to the diocesan headquarters for three months, then the whereabouts of these people will become a mystery."
"Interesting." The captain tapped his fingers on the table a few times, thought for a few seconds, and then continued to ask.
"Have you asked about the other palaces and knight orders?"
"I didn't ask directly, but I took the opportunity to inquire while on official business. The situation in other palaces is similar to previous years, and the situation in the Knights is somewhat similar."
"Besides our Holy Lance Knights, the Church's Knights of the Death Song and the Blue Nautilus Knights have also experienced similar situations, though not as dramatic as ours."
"I guess only you are so careful that you can notice such subtle differences in the data." Odysseus sighed.
"That means they're targeting our Knights. Those who can accomplish this kind of thing usually have to be people within the Church. Otherwise, similar situations would likely occur in the other twelve zodiac signs."
"Yes, you see..." the young knight asked in a low voice.
Odysseus did not answer immediately, but slowly analyzed the current situation.
The church is currently discussing the candidate for the next Pope. Since the death of the previous Pope, archbishops from dioceses across the country have rushed back, and voting will be held in a few days.
To become Pope, one must be one of the regional archbishops, or the leader of the twelve zodiac signs or the three major knightly orders.
Currently, there are more than 70 people who meet this condition. Excluding some who have little experience and obviously insufficient strength, there are 15 suitable candidates. Among these 15 people, only 4 people really have the hope of reaching that threshold and make everyone more convinced.
The first was himself. As the leader of the Knights of the Holy Lance and one of the Red Archbishops, he not only held combat positions but also served as a priest. He commanded a powerful faction, possessing a solid track record and exceptional strength. He was currently at the peak of Sequence 8, just one step away from Sequence 9.
Furthermore, Archbishop Sibis, the Scepter Priest of the Ten Swords Palace, is also a popular candidate. He served in the Olive Leaf Palace for ten years and was Archbishop of the Dominican Diocese, where the current Archbishop is also his student. Furthermore, the rulers of the Rest Palace and the Holy Flame Palace are also on good terms with him and are his staunch allies.
Then there was Aquarius's Wand Priest, Bines. She had previously served in Emenas and as Archbishop of a diocese. She had good relations with the Blue Nautilus Knights, the Mountain Elephant Palace, and the Hymn Palace. Furthermore, she had many high-ranking supporters within the church, including students she had taught while serving in Emenas.
Finally, there was Charente, the Scepter Priest of the Star Track Palace. This extremely senior figure, though over 150 years old, still looked as young as 30. It was said that he was blessed by an angel in his youth. Although he rarely intervened in external affairs, he was very powerful. With the support of some elders, if he became Pope, few would oppose him.
Of these four, he and Sibis were both at the peak of Sequence 8, while Bines had just entered Sequence 9 five years ago. As for Charlandre, it was said that he had already reached Sequence 9 a hundred years ago and had participated in the "Broken Bow War" between the Seven Kingdoms of Xuehua and the Cangcui Empire.
Although their only allies were the Staff Priests of the Silver Blood Palace, the Knights of the Holy Lance, as the church's largest combat legion, had more warriors under their command than the other two knight orders combined, and their prestige was even higher.
Odysseus was silent for a moment, then spoke again, "Dispatch 300 Knights from headquarters to various locations for rotation. We'll publicly announce this as training to rectify the declining military discipline."
After arriving at the local area, these teams went directly to the towns and cities with problems according to the list, and used force to check and search for missing members.
"It's so loud that it's hard to hide it from others."
"So what if we can't hide it? Since they're sneaking around, they must be plotting something. We can disrupt their rhythm and turn their shadowy schemes into an open fight."
"As for directly fighting the enemy, we, the Knights of the Holy Lance, have never been afraid of anyone."
"I understand, my lord." The blond knight lowered his head, then quickly walked out of the room with the signed document, calling out to the messenger knights on duty along the way, who would quickly pass on the order to all directions.
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