After coming to this world, Li Yuebai followed the strict religious rules and visited the Pope every 14 days.
At first he imagined this event to be very solemn and sacred, with a strong sense of ritual.
After all, there are popes in the real world. We often see them on TV news. They are usually elderly men with kind smiles on their faces. They wear gorgeous and complicated robes, a tall hat that symbolizes theocracy, hold a cross, and place luxurious scriptures beside them. They stand on the top of a mountain to accept the cheers of the people. As for the popes in antique paintings, they have a sense of distance, as if they are in a holy land and are not in the same world as ordinary people.
It was not until he actually met the Pope that he realized that he was the most solemn, sacred and ceremonial person.
The high priest is the Pope's spokesperson and the walking signboard in the temple. He is the person who should best embody the characteristics of religion and communicates with believers on behalf of the Pope. The Pope himself lives in seclusion and only needs to show up in major events.
The Pope's residence, named the Tower of Babel, looks solemn and dignified on the outside, but is very sci-fi on the inside, especially the Pope's reception room, which is no different from the reception rooms of politicians in the Empire and the League, and is equipped with all modern facilities.
The Pope himself, from the outside, is a politician through and through. He is in his sixties or seventies, in good health, and pays great attention to health care. He has several personal doctors who follow him all the time. He wears secular clothes that have no religious feeling, wears a lot of accessories to monitor vital signs, and can skillfully operate various remote control devices that Li Yuebai can't name.
When Li Yuebai went to visit him again, he deliberately concealed the holy aura that radiated from him.
This time we met, it was still the same, we were all familiar with each other.
The Pope and the high priest are master and apprentice, and their relationship is originally very close. When the two are alone, they can discuss any deep political topics.
Li Yuebai knew that the situation was urgent and that there was not much time left, so he stopped beating around the bush and went straight to the point, explaining the Marshal's danger.
After listening to this, the Pope just nodded without making any comment.
It is obvious at first glance that the Pope thinks his followers are overly sensitive.
"Tsk tsk." The system sighed: "Host, it's not easy for you to be a lobbyist."
Even though it's not easy, you have to do it. After all, this is the job that's closest to your old profession.
Li Yuebai took a breath, drank a glass of water, and was about to continue his long speech. But the Pope raised his hand and interrupted him, saying, "Pardel, that's enough."
"..." Seeing that the Pope was already impatient, Li Yuebai had no choice but to keep silent.
"The Prime Minister will be visiting in a few moments." The Pope said, "...Regarding the alliance, Palder, please help me."
"Of course, respected Godfather." Li Yuebai agreed obediently.
Looking at the time, it's almost noon. The Prime Minister always visits at noon recently, and today will be no exception.
The Prime Minister and the Pope have been getting close recently and have been visiting each other frequently. To outsiders, it seems that they are very close and are discussing how to deal with the Marshal together. However, Li Yuebai knows that there are also major differences between the Prime Minister and the Pope.
The point of disagreement lies in the attitude towards the alliance.
The Prime Minister is a thoroughgoing pro-Alliance faction. Ever since the discovery of the illuminati mine, he has been trying, overtly or covertly, to hand over the mining rights to the Alliance, taking the opportunity to seek the Alliance's protection and even join the Alliance.
The Pope disagreed and believed that the Alliance was no more trustworthy than the Empire.
The two of them were arguing.
Therefore, every time the Prime Minister came to visit, he would try his best to persuade the Pope that he was a political figure and his eloquence was undoubtedly one in a million, and that the Pope was annoyed by him, so he hoped to let his apprentice help him to take over the conversation.
Soon, the Prime Minister walked into the Pope's reception room as the bell rang.
The Prime Minister is relatively young, only 45 or 46 years old, with two very elegant black mustaches, and he usually wears a suit or tuxedo, and is very elegant. He is a lawyer by training, and has rich political experience. When facing the public, his expression is always solemn and deep, but when he is with the Pope, his eyes will reveal a sly smile, a bit like a magician on the stage.
After taking his seat, he first asked about the Pope's health as usual, then praised the Pope's taste in selecting household appliances, and finally talked about the topic of the alliance with extensive references...
The Pope sat in his chair with a kind smile on his face, as steady as a mountain.
In the end, the Prime Minister always asks the Pope: You said that we can neither succumb to the Empire nor turn to the Alliance, so what should we do? Should we rely on our own strength to deal with two superpowers? This is obviously impossible... Since we all hate the Empire, why not...
Li Yuebai could only feel the blood vessels in his forehead throbbing.
I have to admire the Pope for his stability. If it were me, I would have collapsed under the Prime Minister's barrage of questions.
Of course, he didn't have the heart to argue with the Prime Minister right now. All he was thinking about was how to trick the Prime Minister into letting the assassins get away with it.
"Mr. Prime Minister," Li Yuebai asked, "Have you paid attention to Marshal Augustine's movements recently?"
"Marshal?"
"I'll just say it directly." Li Yuebai said seriously: "The Marshal's position is to be close to the empire..."
"Indeed." The Prime Minister nodded nonchalantly.
"So, don't you think we should be more vigilant?"
"His Holiness and I have always been extremely vigilant towards the Marshal."
The Prime Minister understood what the High Priest meant. He had to be even more vigilant than the highest alert, which was to assassinate the Marshal directly.
"Pardel, your proposal is too radical." The Prime Minister said meaningfully: "Now is not the time..."
As expected, the Pope and the Prime Minister were both at a low level of vigilance, and both thought that now was not the best time to take action against the Marshal, and that they should wait and see for a few more days.
Only Li Yuebai knew that if he waited any longer, it would be too late.
As expected... I still have to make that move... Only in this way can I force the Prime Minister to take action.
Li Yuebai silently sent a message to Lei.
Lei was driving his private aircraft, hovering over an ocean on the planet Amiens.
The display screen in front of him was flashing wildly, it was a call request from Marshal Augustin.
Lei sneered and refused the call.
Since returning safely, he has not contacted the marshal once.
At this time, I'm afraid the marshal is already on the verge of exploding.
After leisurely circling around again, Lei nonchalantly pressed the button to agree to the call.
"General Ares." The Marshal's voice was as cold as hell: "Since you have returned safely for more than 12 hours, why didn't you report it?"
"Marshal Augustin." Lei's voice was aggressive: "How dare you ask your subordinate this question?"
"You..." The Marshal was so angry at his rebellious attitude that he was choking on his words, and his heart was filled with gloom.
"I'll ask directly, Marshal," Lei said word by word, "Did you tamper with the star map and erase the existence of the deformed black hole?"
"What a rebellion!" the marshal said angrily, "I have already sent people to investigate the cause of the accident. It was you who modified the star map without authorization, General Ares. You have gone too far this time!"
"Oh?" Lei sneered again.
Sure enough, Longyue was right. The Marshal would definitely put all the responsibility on himself.
"For the sake of your military achievements." The marshal sighed, calmed down, and said in a low voice: "There is still a chance to make up for your mistakes, Ares. As long as you come back and surrender yourself, there will always be room for maneuver in the military court."
"Okay." Lei smiled and said, "In three days, I will surrender myself to you."
The Marshal ended the call.
At the moment the call ended, the anger, disappointment and other emotions on the Marshal's face disappeared in an instant, and his expression returned to normal - once a decision is made, there is no need to show any expression.
He was eager to contact Lei because he wanted to find out how much Lei knew about him.
None of this could be guessed from Cecil's account.
Now, it is clear that Lei already knows that he was the one who ordered the modification of the star map. There is nothing to say and he must keep silent about it.
Moreover, the call just now lasted long enough, during which time, his men had already found Lei's location.
Next, no matter whether he is dead or alive, as long as Lei is brought to the military court, the frame-up procedure prepared in advance can be activated to completely get rid of this disobedient subordinate.
At the junction of the sea and the sky, countless aircraft appeared densely. They were the marshal's private troops.
In the phone call just now, Lei Man nonchalantly agreed to surrender, which was false. The Marshal accepted this surrender without hesitation, which was of course false.
Lei calmly pulled the joystick, shot up suddenly, then made a tricky turn and fled in an unknown direction.
On his screen, a coordinate number flashed. It was sent by Longyue.
As long as you escape to the location indicated by this coordinate, you're done.
In fact, Lei did this purely because of his trust in Longyue. This coordinate was very unfamiliar to him, as it was an area he had never set foot in.
Behind him, the Marshal's private troops were chasing relentlessly.
"Mr. Prime Minister." Li Yuebai politely poured tea for the Prime Minister himself: "I am very curious, when will someone like you adopt the most extreme response strategy?"
The aroma of boiling black tea mixed with whiskey and sea salt fills the air.
The Prime Minister was slightly annoyed by his questioning, frowned, and replied: "Of course, it is when there is no other choice."
"I hope Mr. Prime Minister will always be vigilant." Li Yuebai said meaningfully: "The so-called last resort often comes very quickly."
The Prime Minister sensed a hint of danger and squinted his eyes. He jokingly asked the Pope, "Your Holiness, your beloved disciple... did he know something?"
"Pardel," the Pope rebuked, "Don't be so mysterious. If you have anything to say, just tell the Prime Minister directly."
"Yes." Li Yuebai said, "Someone just sent me an urgent report saying that the Marshal may have learned something recently - the location of your private manor."
When the Prime Minister heard the word "manor", his heart sank.
The Prime Minister has been in politics for many years and has many secrets. Many of the evidences are hidden in a private manor. The location of the manor is secret and impossible for outsiders to find.
The Marshal had always known that the Prime Minister had such a manor, but he didn't know where it was.
If the Marshal could break into the manor and search, it would really push the Prime Minister to the brink of collapse.
Thinking of this, the Prime Minister felt uneasy and immediately opened an instant message with his subordinates.
The subordinates first reported that the manor was safe and secretive as usual, with no outsiders visiting. Then, they reported in a panic - something went wrong, and suddenly a large number of military aircraft broke in!
According to the coordinates given by Longyue, Lei swooped down towards the rugged and dangerous mountain on the ground.
The military aircraft behind him were chasing relentlessly. Perhaps because the marshal had promised them high positions and generous salaries as rewards, some of them even followed him fearlessly and rushed through the narrow passages between the mountains.
The movements are the same, but there is a certain difference in driving skills.
Many aircraft rushed too hard or were deceived by Lei's fake moves, and eventually lost their direction and crashed into the hard mountain.
Fortunately, today's military aircraft are equipped with a safety ejection system. Once out of control, the pilot will be ejected. Here, close to the ground and in the atmosphere, the parachute will automatically open, allowing the pilot to land safely.
In an instant, parachute flowers bloomed in the sky.
"Mr. Prime Minister!" The voice in the instant messenger became more and more unstable: "The military personnel, they have parachuted! The landing place is exactly the manor!"
"What are you panicking about!" the Prime Minister shouted in a deep voice.
"Too many military personnel have landed, and it's hard to ensure that they are all killed!" The men kept complaining.
"Silencing them may not be effective." Li Yuebai said, "As soon as the pilot lands, the automatic tools he carries will start collecting information and transmit it to the marshal immediately."
Marshal...
The Prime Minister's face was clouded.
Regardless of whether Marshal Augustin did it intentionally or unintentionally, since he sent people to break into the manor, it is very likely that they will quickly get hold of evidence against him.
At this point, there is only one way to go.
After three seconds of silence, the Prime Minister made his decision.
"Thank you, system." Li Yuebai said.
"It's just a coordinate. Any system can get it." The system said, "This is what I should do."