Chapter 107 Rest Time (XVIII)
"Everyone... the Pope has made some concessions."
Antonio came to a council hall on the side of the central church, which was full of hooded priests. They whispered and countless information was circulated in their communication.
With his arrival, the council hall returned to silence.
Everyone focused their eyes on Antonio.
It seemed that they were waiting for him to give them a final answer.
They gathered here to wait for Antonio's meeting with the Pope to bring good news, good news that would allow them to achieve their goals and demands. Some of them even wore clothes that were not priests. They were supporters of other industries.
There are not only priests in the holy city of Teran. In this super city with millions of people, priests are a minority. There are more citizens, and people representing these citizens also attended the meeting.
Antonio knew that he could not give the answers they needed, but he had to tell the facts.
Some people got up and left directly, and the rest looked at him with disappointment.
Only those priest scholars who followed him at the beginning still sat in their seats without moving their bodies. They were the real backbone of the Holy Adventists.
Antonio calmed down his emotions and continued to explain his achievements to them.
As a faction grows, internal differences will intensify. With the abnormal exponential expansion of the number of people in the Holy Advent Sect, multiple factions have begun to split from the faction that has not yet stabilized.
His control is far less than he thought.
And behind this matter, there are shadows of other people who are unwilling to follow the Pope. Their city is finally standing at the crossroads of history again.
Antonio does not want to get involved in their fierce political struggle.
The outsiders are like a spark thrown into a gunpowder barrel, causing this silent city for a thousand years to change... Everyone sees opportunities, benefits, power, and desires.
Borrowing the name of God to pursue their own desires.
Such speculators are by no means a minority in the Holy Advent Sect today.
He still remembers that many dioceses have privately contacted outsiders without the permission of the Pope, offering them one tempting condition after another, which is a complete usurpation.
He has reported it, but the Pope just said that he already understood it and did not show any other emotions.
The old man just sat quietly in his chair, thinking about the future of the Church of Light and the Holy City.
The old pope has been with this city for 160 years. The last time the pope was elected was a hundred years ago. A hundred years... four generations, five generations. Except for those immortals, all those who witnessed the old pope's ascension to the throne have returned to the earth.
Until Antonio finished all the stories, there was sparse applause from the audience.
Everyone could hear that the plan given to them by the pope was tantamount to exile.
Antonio looked at the documents in front of him again and again, trying to see something from the gaps between the words.
There was something he didn't think of, and only by reading it in detail could he feel the... deviation.
Antonio only now realized that there was an important link missing in the plan given to him by the pope. They knew what they were going to do and where to start... but where to go?
Suppressing his inner guess, Antonio took a deep breath.
The Pope had already told him all the answers. He had handed over the plan to him in a brief exchange, but Antonio didn't react until he stood here and told the people who followed him.
Outsider.
This plan still needs to be improved, but the structure is clear, and the next content is as simple as filling in the corresponding squares in the frame of a jigsaw puzzle.
Then there is one more thing to confirm...
Antonio's fingertips shone a faint light across the paper, and the emblem from the Pope emerged.
He held the handwritten document granted by the Pope, with the Pope's personal emblem, which could be used as a real order from the Pope at any time, and seeing the words was like seeing the person.
"Mr. Anthony... We have a plan, maybe... It's not convenient here..."
A noble priest stood in front of him, looking at the two crusaders standing behind Antonio with awe, wanting to say something to Antonio.
Antonio glanced at him and recognized him from his clothes that he was a priest from a hereditary family, with their unique complex patterns.
Some people whose blood is more adapted to divine arts have formed hereditary families in the long inheritance. The spread of bloodline ability naturally creates a special class, and power is transferred in their hands.
Antonio has no interest in these people.
The goal of these people is to pry open the management of divine power and take more power into their own hands.
The Holy Advent Sect may be just a pawn in their eyes. Now the rapid expansion of the Holy Advent Sect is not only due to the tacit approval of the Pope, but also the credit of these hereditary nobles who are behind the scenes.
They also think that the arrival of these outsiders is an excellent opportunity for them. As time goes by, the authority and awe of the Church of Light can be washed away from their hearts.
Secular power and divine power.
Although it is unknown why the old pope did not control and warn these nobles who wanted to pry open the management of divine power, some people who tasted the sweetness began to gradually connect with more people, and they wanted to get more power.
Then they gathered together and formed small groups.
"Sorry, I don't intend to interfere with your plan. I only intend to take away those who are willing to follow me."
Antonio understood clearly and accepted the plan given to him by the old pope in his heart.
"Wait, Mr. Antonio."
The noble priest shouted to him.
"Stop."
The guards slightly tilted their weapons and stopped the noble priest.
Antonio left the council hall without looking back.
The noble priest gritted his teeth and did not keep up with Antonio.