Valcke Dodd remained unmoved by Wendell's threats. His eyes revealed not the light of eliminating evil and upholding justice for fate, but rather the ambition and desire for power and the papacy. As long as Wendell was killed, that position would be within his grasp!
He raised the Spear of Destiny high, its tip gleaming with the light of fate, and declared righteously, "Wendel, your crimes are obvious. The secret in your space stone is the evidence of your betrayal! Otherwise, why wouldn't you let anyone see it? I swear to the gods, if your space stone doesn't contain evidence of your collusion with the Plague Controllers, I will gladly die to clear your name. Do you dare let anyone see it?"
He burst into laughter as soon as he finished speaking, "You don't dare! Right?"
Wendell's face darkened further; he hadn't expected Valcke Dodd to become so sharp-tongued.
A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. Since the problem could not be solved through negotiation, the only option was to use force.
He stretched out his palm, and the power of destiny gathered in his palm, forming a rotating wheel of fate. The wheel was engraved with complex runes of fate and emitted an unbearable light.
"Knight of Fate Valk Dodd has defied the rules of the Church and openly insulted the Pope. I will personally execute him on the spot!" Wendell proclaimed loudly, and the Wheel of Fate spun rapidly under his control, flying towards Valk Dodd.
Valcke Dodd did not back down. He thrust out his Spear of Destiny, and a beam of light shot from its tip, striking the Wheel of Destiny. The two collided in mid-air with a deafening roar, and the shockwave of the power of destiny swept across the entire square. The believers retreated hastily, fearing they would be caught in the clash of powers.
Seeing that his attack had failed, Wendell quickly formed hand seals, summoning a phantom of the River of Destiny. The river surged and rushed towards Valk Dodd, its waters containing endless power of destiny, as if to erode and destroy everything.
Valck Dodd faced the surging River of Destiny, his figure moving swiftly across the square, dodging the impact of the water. He continuously swung his Spear of Destiny, each swing bringing forth a beam of light to contend with the power of the River of Destiny.
"That was fantastic!" Phil Gray clapped his hands lightly from the carriage, applauding the exciting battle scene.
Seeing the two dogs tearing at each other, he felt incredibly satisfied!
His thoughts drifted back to the day of God's Descent a year ago. The image of the two men colluding was still vivid in his mind. Yet today, they had turned against each other for the position of Pope, fighting to the death. It was truly satisfying!
He watched the battle coldly through the gauze curtain of the carriage.
Although Valk Dodd was morally flawed, he had served as the Knight Commander of Fate for several years, and his combat experience was unmatched by Wendell. The new pope was temporarily at a disadvantage.
Just then, a figure emerged from the crowd and shouted:
"How dare you! You have the audacity to provoke His Holiness the Pope!"
Bishop Black, one of the three archbishops of fate, arrived in haste and joined the battle. He stretched out his hands, and a powerful force of fate surged from his palms, forming a huge shield of fate that blocked Wendell's path.
With two against one, Wendell's disadvantage was instantly reversed!
The families who had pledged allegiance to Wendell also sent people to help.
For example, Wendell's younger brother, the patriarch of the Holmes family, another divinely inspired follower, and some scattered prominent figures from other families also joined the battle.
Valcke Dodd struggled against the three divine favored ones, but gradually found himself overwhelmed.
But he wasn't afraid at all, and he shouted:
"My knights! What are you waiting for! And my dear father-in-law, there's no need to pretend now!"
His greatest support came from the knights he had trained and from the head of the Fortes family, his wife's father, Bigeel Fortes, who had previously feigned joining Wendell's side.
With his command, hundreds of knights from the Knights of Destiny gathered around. A significant portion of them had reached the level of the Knight Commander and were loyal to his orders!
Bitchell was a notorious old fox in the Church of Fate. No one knew whether his joining Wendell's camp was genuine or feigned. He appeared with a frown, feeling somewhat resentful. He hadn't wanted to choose a side before the situation was clear, even though one of them was his son-in-law. But now that he had been singled out, his eyes darted around as he looked at the Dawn Knights lined up in formation, and he made up his mind.
He flashed the same hypocritical smile as Wendell, ignoring the battle unfolding nearby, and instead addressed everyone present:
"Gentlemen, the Knight Commander's words are true! There's no need to verify any space stone; I have evidence right here of the traitor Wendell colluding with the Plague Controllers! Men, bring that guy up here!"
Wendell's expression changed, and his attacks became less effective.
A ragged, emaciated man was dragged over by two priests. His skin was bluish and he reeked of a foul stench.
"This is a despicable plague creator. I pretended to support Wendell as pope in order to find evidence that he was colluding with the plague creator, and I caught this plague creator in his mansion!"
Bitchel used his foot to lift the face of the plague-maker. "Tell me, what were you doing in Wendell's mansion?"
“I… helped him deliver messages to the church, and helped him bring poison from the church to North City. He said he wanted to poison everyone who didn’t support him…”
The man answered weakly, clearly having been severely tortured for a long time.
"Oh, I see. Wait, Your Excellency doesn't think I'm slandering you too, does he? Then this letter from you shouldn't be fake, right? What a pity, I intercepted it before it could be sent out..."
Bitchell took out a letter from his sleeve and looked at Wendell, who was fighting, with a smile.
The moment Wendell saw the letter, he seemed to lose his senses and was struck in the chest by an ordinary knight of fate. Although he immediately killed the knight, blood still gushed from his mouth!
Bichel was extremely pleased with himself.
If it weren't for what happened with Valk today, this letter would have been a weapon for him to threaten Wendell and help him consolidate his family's position in the Church of Fate. But now, this letter is a fatal blow to Wendell!
Valcke Dodd laughed heartily: "Bishop Black, Patriarch Holmes, do you really intend to continue aiding and abetting evil?"
With grim faces, the two men lost their momentum in the face of the accusing gazes of tens of thousands of believers in the square. However, since they were already bound to Wendell, they could not desert their posts and could only continue as if they had burned their bridges.
They joined forces to attack Valcke-Dodd, and Bichl also joined the battle.
Since Wendell's collusion with the plague makers has been exposed, the neutral families have stopped supporting them to avoid trouble.
The power of the numerous Fate Knights should not be underestimated, but the Holmes family is, after all, one of the oldest families of Fate, and the foundation of the God-Chosen is also very rich. In addition, with three God-Chosen against two, the two sides are evenly matched!
The altar in the square had long been ravaged by the battle, and the statue of the god looked down at the chaotic scene, wondering if this was also a part of fate.
After an unknown period of time, the battle finally came to an end with a loud bang. The collision of the forces of destiny produced a huge explosion, and the believers in the square were thrown about.
Elder Glenn intervened and protected the innocent civilians, saving them from injury or death.
In the aftershocks of the explosion, Valcke Dodd was sent flying backward and landed heavily on the ground, but his spear of fate had already pierced Wendell's chest.
Wendell closed his eyes in resentment, his expression ferocious. The silver crown was thrown away, and he collapsed to the ground, disheveled.
He lost. If he had been able to break through to the level of divine descent, things would certainly not be like this today. Unfortunately, he clearly heard the divine words last year and touched the threshold of divine descent. But after harming Phil Gray, he was busy ascending to the papacy and had long forgotten the divine words...
He should have been more patient and waited until he reached the level of a god...
Until he breathed his last, he never thought of his god, nor did he recall the proverbs that had once guided him. Once the heart is tainted by power, how can faith remain as pure as before?
With defeat inevitable, Bishop Black and Patriarch Holmes, who were still alive, attempted to escape but were stopped by the Knights of Dawn.
Seeing that Dawn had finally made her move and that their greatest enemy was dead, Valck Dodd could barely contain his excitement. He stood up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and addressed the still-shaken believers in the square: "Now, by the will of God, I have eliminated the traitor, but the Holy See still has many hidden dangers. In order to better protect the Church of Destiny and to protect you, I will assume the duties of Pope. Today's Descent of God ceremony will continue!"
Then he looked at the Holy Son's carriage, feeling somewhat displeased. He had clearly asked them to come and help, but the Dawn Clan had remained on the sidelines, causing him to suffer serious injuries and severely deplete his divine power, which would take at least half a year to recover.
Fortunately, his knightly order and his father-in-law are strong enough. Once the Church of Destiny under his leadership becomes the number one church, he will definitely crush the Church of Dawn under his feet!
"The Knight Commander has rendered such great service to our Holy See, why should he act as Pope? Pope Gray has long since disappeared, presumably killed by that Wendell fellow. Why don't the Knight Commander just become our Pope directly!" Bitchell said with a smile.
Valck Dodd was about to politely decline before agreeing when a cold laugh came from the carriage at dawn: "A traitor has no right to ascend to the papacy! Has the Knight Commander forgotten everything he has done?"
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