"Hahaha...... Heather laughed, "it's impossible to expect the pieces to do exactly what they're told, just be consistent with our ultimate goal." It doesn't matter where he's fighting, just keep consuming the fighters. Anyway, the Grey Keep is the last kingdom to attack in the plan, and there is still time for them to fight. Didn't Roland Wimbledon refuse our pills last time? Tell Tifeco to put more pressure on the West, maybe he'll accept it. ”

That being said, Queen Bishui's blatant turn of face still made Mayne a little unhappy, after all, this chess piece was personally chosen by him. If Tifeco occupies the rest of the Grey Keep and still does not fight Garcia, but instead maintains a confrontation with his troops, the order will not have the desired effect. It seems that some other means will have to be taken.

"We'll wait for the news of the envoys to come back before making a decision," he said, "That's all for today, two lords, please follow the plan, and I'll go to the Hermes Agency." ”

"Ah, by the way," Heather said, as if suddenly realized, "today is Transformation Day, right? How many people have applied to participate in the Transformation Ritual?"

"It's a secret. Mayne stood up and walked out of the chamber without looking back.

......

After a long hanging staircase descending to the bottom of the cave, the archbishop stepped over the mirror-smooth white grinding stone and headed for the depths of the mechanism.

Unlike the usual quietness, today's office was quite lively, and a group of vetted inquisitors were standing outside the office, most of them entering the place for the first time, and they were all looking around curiously. Seeing Mayne, everyone straightened their chests and clenched their fists in salute, "Lord Bishop!"

He smiled and nodded in return. These Inquisitors were the elite warriors of the Church, devout and willing to sacrifice to the gods - the conversion of the Divine Punishers was not a ritual that would necessarily succeed, they knew it before they submitted their applications, and even so, they were willing to give their lives for the great honor.

Under the reverent gaze of the samurai, he passed through the third level and came to the front of the Privy Quarter. The Pope's bodyguards are waiting here. They bowed, then pushed open the metal door behind them.

Mayne followed the guards into the door. From here, it is the heart of the Hermes Institution, where all the Church's research and inventions are carried out.

There were no torches in the privy quarters, and his vision darkened suddenly, and when he had gotten used to it, a narrow passage appeared before him. The walls and ceiling of the passage are made of iron and flanked with fluorescent stones—a strange stone of divine punishment that glows green when stained with the blood of evil beasts.

At the end of the passage is a cage. Stepping into the cage, the guards pulled off the mechanism, and the chains above their heads creaked and creaked, making it particularly harsh in the silent passage. With this sound, the cage slowly sank into the hollow in the ground, and then Mayne's eyes suddenly brightened.

An extremely empty underground space appeared before his eyes.

No matter how many times he saw such a shocking scene, it would make him feel small.

According to common sense, the cavern buried in the ground should be pitch black, and you can't see your fingers, but here, the entire cavern is illuminated by the light of the Divine Punishment Stone, which is like countless prisms rising from the ground, forming clusters of crystal flowers. The smallest prism is also body thick, the largest one can be surrounded by more than a dozen people, the height is uneven, and the highest one almost reaches the top of the cave, which is taller than the tower of heaven in Hermes Cathedral.

They also vary in color, with the densest clusters of Divine Punishment Stones being light purple, a few on the sides that vary from dark blue to light green, smaller ones white, and some prismatic bodies that have just emerged from the ground, almost transparent. The purple stone of divine punishment emitted the most conspicuous luster, especially the one that surpassed the Tower of Heaven, which was close to the full moon, allowing the bottom of the cave to faintly see the ground without the help of torches.

Under the influence of such a dense and huge Divine Punishment Stone, the interior of the mountain's belly is in an area where the magic power cannot take effect. And all the Divine Punishment Stones sold by the church are mined from here.

The cave was large enough to accommodate five or six Hermes Cathedrals, and they did build a building that looked exactly like the cathedral here, and named it the Privy Temple. However, compared to the church on the top of the hill, this one looks much older. Mayne could see from mid-air that there was a black iron gate on the mountain wall behind the temple, which was the entrance and exit to the foot of Hermes, connecting the old holy city. So this ancient building is, in a sense, the body of the mechanism, and it existed here long before the establishment of the New Holy City.

It took a quarter of an hour for the cage to reach the surface, and Mayne stepped out of the cage, straightened his robes, and followed the messenger to the temple.

The transformation ceremony takes place in the lobby on the first floor.

Upon entering the hall, the bishop felt the light return to his surroundings - no longer a cold blue-purple glow, but the orange glow of a thousand burning candles. Overhead is a three-tiered tower of candle chandeliers, and there are many candlesticks around the hall, which look like countless stars shaking in the blink of an eye. Thanks to the open fire, the chill in the cave was dispelled a lot.

The man standing in the middle of the two conversion tables is the supreme leader of the church, Pope Oberlinen. Dressed in a striking robe with gold trim on a red background and a crown of glittering gemstones on his head, he was scusing the transformation utensils to make the final preparations for the ceremony.

"Your Majesty," he said, kneeling before Oberline and kissing his fingers.

"Get up, child," said the Pope's hoarse and sluggish voice, "there is no one here but the guards, and there is no need for elaborate etiquette. ”

"Yes," Mayne stood up, stunned, his crown looked much older than the last time they had seen him, his face was full of deep wrinkles, his skin was unhealthy white, loose and dull, and the dense brown spots were very conspicuous. The bishop's eyes were hot, "You...... Great work. ”

"It's a trace of time," Oberline said calmly, "and no one can fight against time." I don't have much to live for, and I'm afraid I won't see the day when humanity will defeat the devil, so I don't have to endure the unknown pain. But you have to keep fighting until you finally defeat the enemy, or be defeated by them. ”

And one more failure, we will be completely destroyed, Mayne nodded, "I will do my duty until the last moment." ”

"Very well," the old man smiled, "you have done a good job lately, adding more than a thousand Inquisitors to the church, and there are sixty-two people who have applied for conversion this time, which is already the largest number in the history." ”

"Your Majesty, can you tell me how many Divine Punishment Armies we need to defeat the Devil?" Mayne asked after a moment's hesitation, "All I know about the Devil comes from the Holy Book. But the records in the holy books are not complete, there is no record of their origins, no records of their numbers and methods of warfare. I know that these secrets will have to wait until I become Pope to be qualified to know, but ......"

Oberline stretched out his hand to stop his words, "You're too anxious kid, be patient." It won't be long before you will be able to take over the crown and become the next pope, and all your questions will be answered in the collection at the top of the Privy Temple. Now all I can tell you is that the more the merrier. He gasped, "In addition, although I didn't come to you for the transformation ceremony, but since I met, you will try to preside over the transformation of this session...... Ahem...... Experience. ”

Mayne hurriedly patted the Pope's back, and waited for him to breathe a little better before bowing his head and saying, "Obey, Your Majesty." (To be continued.) )