To Eleanor's surprise, Pope Omarín XXXII seemed to focus all his energy on mobilizing forces to go to the Misty Forest and dealing with "destabilizing factors" like Alfonso.
This makes the core area of the holy city...
In particular, the inner city, which should theoretically be heavily guarded, presents a strange situation of being tightly guarded on the outside but loosely guarded on the inside.
With the help of Monica's [Domain of Insight] and Mark's simulated pure holy light aura, Mark's team's infiltration and investigation within the Holy City proceeded exceptionally smoothly.
It felt as if the entire holy city was almost completely undefended.
This was the second day after Mark's team infiltrated the Holy City.
The team was following a faint, unusual magical fluctuation that Monica had detected, traversing a stone alleyway near the edge of the inner city.
Monica's figure almost blended into the shadow of the wall, her pupils flickered silently, and suddenly, her steps paused almost imperceptibly.
"Any findings?" Ellen asked in a low voice.
“…There are remnants of dragon breath nearby, well concealed by the aura of holy light, but they can’t escape my detection.” Monica’s voice carried a hint of solemnity. “There are also…magical fluctuations of orc shamans nearby, all of them at least legendary level. They must have just left not long ago.”
Enzo asked in confusion, "Dragons? Orcs? The Enlightenment Society just stole their Heart of Divinity, and they've already sneaked into the Holy City? What are they trying to do? Are they trying to capture members of the Enlightenment Society for revenge? Or are they here to steal the Heart of Holy Light, just like the Enlightenment Society?"
Mark shook his head inwardly upon hearing this: "Perhaps, it's not about seizing the Church of Holy Light? But rather the Enlightenment Society? At least, they shouldn't be interested in the Heart of Holy Light alone."
From the far north ice plains to the elven forests, Mark had gained some understanding of the divine hearts of various races.
It seems that the divine heart has long lost its original function for each race, and remaining within the race is merely symbolic.
Even the Blood Vine Heart of the Orc race can only increase the strength of one person.
Its effect on the entire race seems far from reaching the level of communication with the divinity of the main god that Ellen previously described.
Therefore, the loss of the divine heart is not a real loss for any race.
But now that they have appeared in the Holy City, there is only one possibility: they, like Elaine, know the effects of the five divine hearts coming together.
If the Enlightenment Society can use this to summon their "Lord," then why can't other groups use it to summon their own God?
And the blame can be shifted to the Qizhi Association in the end!
...
Meanwhile, in the most central and sacred part of the holy city.
The interior of the Radiant Cathedral.
Three figures dressed in ordinary white priest robes walked as if no one else was around in the solemn corridor inlaid with gold thread and painted with murals depicting the epic of holy light.
The low-ranking clergy, monks, and even some high-ranking paladins responsible for maintaining order in the church seemed to ignore them.
When his gaze swept over the three people, a strange blankness would rise in his eyes, before he would focus on his own affairs again.
"Hehehe..." One of the figures, the Time Witch Rita, let out a light laugh that was as melodious as a silver bell but also clearly mocking.
Her slender fingers twirled a strand of hair that fell down, her eyes taking in the dazzling crystal chandelier on the dome and the solemn statues of saints on either side with great interest.
"How ironic that the heart of the Holy Light, the guardians of the Radiant Cathedral... are even less numerous than the guards at the city gates who check believers."
"I can't even sense the aura of a legendary figure in charge. Is the Church of Holy Light really as arrogant as rumored, so much so that they can't even be bothered to tighten the fences around their own stronghold?"
Walking beside her, the tall, imposing Balg, whose priestly robes bulged out of his chest, slowly shook his head.
The scars on his face, which was mostly hidden by the shadow of his hood, seemed to have deepened.
His deep voice carried a kind of insight that only someone who had once been a high-ranking member of the Holy Light could possess:
“Rita, don’t be fooled by appearances. The Omarid family is full of scheming from the bone.”
His gaze pierced through the long corridor, as if he could see directly into the heavily guarded papal palace in the distance.
“If he really wanted to hold this place, let alone the three of us, even if Qizhi came out in full force, he wouldn’t be able to set foot in this corridor so easily. The emptiness here is a signal in itself.”
Walking at the forefront of the three, the Holy Son of the Abyss Church, whose temperament was as profound as the abyss, smiled knowingly upon hearing this.
His steps were unhurried, as if he were walking in his own backyard.
“Balger is right.” The Holy Son’s voice was gentle, yet contained an undeniable certainty. “From the moment we obtained the first ‘Heart of the Stars’, His Majesty, who sits deep within the palace, has probably already foreseen this day. He tacitly approved, or even… secretly guided us here.”
Rita frowned slightly, a hint of confusion in her expression:
"Since he has tacitly approved, why don't we just take the 'Heart of Holy Light' and leave? The longer we stay in this godforsaken place, the more unpredictable things will become."
She had no liking for the building, which was filled with an aura of holy light that she loathed.
The Holy Son stopped and turned to look at his two companions, his deep eyes gleaming with a knowing light.
“The timing, Rita, the timing is not right.” He slightly raised his hand, and a faint spatial fluctuation seemed to flash across his palm, as if he were sensing something.
"The Heart of Holy Light is the final link in summoning my Lord. Its stripping and transfer are no trivial matters. This requires time, and even more so..." He paused, his smile deepening.
"We need the support of many friends. The best time for us to take action will be when the puppeteers give us a signal."
“Until then, we simply need to… wait quietly. His Majesty Omarid and we are maintaining a subtle understanding right now, aren’t we?”
His gaze returned to the direction of the Pope's bedroom, as if transcending space and reaching a silent consensus with the reclusive Pope.
At the end of the corridor, the altar area where the Heart of Holy Light is located is faintly visible, radiating pure and powerful energy fluctuations, like the most alluring lighthouse in the darkness.
The three of them, like invited guests, patiently awaited the bell to ring for the start of the feast, with the host's tacit approval.
...
Misty Forest, the headquarters of the Church of Holy Light.
The rift in the abyss demonic realm is like a hideous wound on the earth that never heals, continuously spewing out chaotic demonic energy and staining the sky a murky purplish-red.
Before this chilling chasm, thirteen magnificent pyramid-shaped buildings, gleaming with a cold metallic luster, rise from the ground, forming a ring that guards the core area of the chasm.
These are the foundations of the "Earthly Kingdom" painstakingly built by the Church of Holy Light, each radiating a breathtaking magical aura.
It was covered with complex runes that flowed with milky white holy light, attempting to forcibly suppress and transform the abyssal power of the rift.
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