Blood Holy Scripture: True Ancestor Charlotte de Castel
Chapter 156: -144- Sir Linus, you have been arrested

Chapter 156: -144- Sir Linus, you have been arrested

The days of waiting were long and excruciating.

Amid apprehension, tension, and anticipation, time passed day by day, and the Great Priest finally welcomed the day when the Church Assessment Team from the New Moon Diocese arrived.

After these days of preparation, he had managed everything quite well, even the various omens in Bold had been skillfully suppressed with the unspoken yet mutually beneficial cooperation of the old Duke.

In fact, it was also thanks to the opposition of the Dark Night God against the Blood Demon Sect that he was able to cleverly take credit for resolving the troubles caused by the Blood Demon Church and turn it to his advantage.

He really did make a lot of preparations.

For the sake of safety, he had even temporarily set aside that little beauty from the Castel family.

Next, as long as the Great Priest himself could pass the Church’s inquiry and examination, he would be able to completely extricate himself from this crisis.

The incidents in Bold City definitely couldn’t escape the scrutiny of the legendary, but if he wanted to fool a Blazing Sun Priest... and with the covert aid of a deity, the Great Priest still had some confidence.

Of course, he also prepared for the worst-case scenario.

He had already preemptively disabled the Holy Emblem Guardian of the Grand Cathedral, and carried with him a high-level directional teleportation magic scroll; as soon as anything amiss was detected, he would decisively flee.

That was the worst case, which the Great Priest hoped would never come to pass.

But should it really occur, by then his only option would be to seek the full support of the mysterious Dark Night God.

He had often prayed to the Dark Night God these days, not just hoping for protection during the assessment, but also making plans for the worst case.

The melodious tolling of the bell rang out from the bell tower of the Church, and with the rise of dust, an impressive procession appeared outside the gates of Bold City.

It was the Assessment Team, comprised of Judgement Knights and Church Priests.

The entire procession exceeded a hundred people and entered Bold City with great fanfare, while the Great Priest Linus led the priests of Bold to personally welcome them at the city gates.

The leader of the Assessment Team was named Gast, a Senior Public Domain Chief Priest of humble birth, blessed with profound Divine Grace and just one step away from legendary strength.

He was also one of the three Dukes who were Divine Authority Lords in the New Moon Kingdom, ruling over the Lantis Church Authority Public Domain located in the central region of the New Moon Kingdom, also known as Lantis Main Priest.

The Great Priest Linus caught sight of the Lantis Main Priest surrounded by priests at a glance.

As a high-ranking cleric of the Holy Royal Court, he had advance knowledge of many high-level Church personnel movements and knew that the Lantis Main Priest was already favored by the Cardinal Group, soon to be summoned back to the Church Authority Country to undergo the Divine Grace test.

Once he passed the test, he would be officially promoted to Great Priest with legendary powers, relinquish his position as Lantis Public Domain Chief Priest, and join the Cardinal Priest Team.

The position of Main Priest that the Great Priest Linus was competing for was actually that of the Lantis Public Domain!

With this in mind, the Great Priest took a deep breath, put on a friendly and appropriate smile, and approached the Lantis Main Priest, saying warmly,

"Praise the Holy! Lord Gast, welcome to Bold!"

The Lantis Main Priest was a tall, white-haired, stern-faced old man.

However, he gave no response to the Great Priest’s overture; instead, he just gave him a cold look and, with the members of the Assessment Team, made for the Grand Cathedral.

The smile on the Great Priest’s face became rigid.

Though the Lantis Main Priest governed a Divine Authority Public Domain as a Church Vassal, in terms of rank, he was actually on the same level as Great Priest Linus.

Both were of Duke rank; at most, because of his Main Priest status, the other was half a rank higher, akin to the distinction between Court Rank and Fiefdom and title among the Nobles.

For clerics of the same rank to meet with such cool indifference, not even offering a greeting – even for a Vice Examiner adjudicating fairly, this situation was abnormal.

The Great Priest had a vague feeling that the attitude of the Lantis Main Priest seemed a bit off, yet he couldn’t think of any offense he might have given.

Nevertheless, as the examiner for his candidacy for Main Priest, he had to manage the relationship well.

Maintaining a stiff smile, the Great Priest turned and followed the Assessment Team’s procession.

He approached the Lantis Main Priest and enthusiastically began introducing Bold’s local customs and the Church’s situation.

However, Lantis Main Priest remained expressionless and unmoved, leaving the Great Priest feeling quite embarrassed.

If it weren’t for the other two Vice Examiners of the Assessment Team occasionally contributing to the conversation, the Great Priest felt that he might quickly become overwhelmed by the atmosphere that was simultaneously solemn, awkward, and indifferent.

Not normal!

Absolutely not normal!

Even if the Church prohibited extensive interaction between the Examiners and the priests under evaluation, Lantis Main Priest’s attitude was excessively abnormal!

The Great Priest found himself growing increasingly irritable.

The Assessment Team hadn’t even started their investigation of Bold’s situation, and already such an attitude had emerged. Could it be... had the Diocese discovered something?

The Great Priest felt a sinking feeling in his heart.

But upon further reflection, he believed he had covered all potential slip-ups, leaving no loopholes.

If there were any oversights, it would be due to the failure to prevent the resurgence of the Evil God.

Yet, he also had the merit of "uprooting the Blood Demon Church," as well as the future credits for transforming Castel into a domain of Divine Right.

These were his advantages.

Not to mention, he had the covert protection of the Dark Night God.

Suppressing the unease in his heart, the Great Priest continued to smile and chatted amiably with the members of the Assessment Team, all the way back to the Grand Cathedral of Bold.

As the Examiner, Lantis Main Priest was the first to enter the Church, naturally taking his place on the raised platform in the hall.

The Judgement Knights who followed the Assessment Team also lined up on both sides, their expressions solemn.

The Great Priest also grew tense.

He knew that, as was customary, the Assessment Team would next read the Church’s evaluation documents and related procedures.

Indeed, validating his guess, once the Lantis Bishop had taken his position, a priest respectfully handed up a parchment scroll to him.

However, the moment the Great Priest glimpsed that parchment scroll, he was suddenly taken aback.

That scroll’s cover... was not the Church’s usual golden color for issuing regular decrees, but an ominous black.

Within the Holy Royal Court, black documents were used only for suspension of duties, investigations, sanctions, or arrests.

The "creak, creak" sound coming from behind alerted the Great Priest that the Judgement Knights had closed the Grand Cathedral’s main doors and locked them from the inside.

As for the two Vice Examiners, each possessing the strength of a Blazing Sun Third Tier, they were now standing to his left and right, seemingly ready to act at a moment’s notice.

This is bad!

The Great Priest’s expression subtly changed.

Meanwhile, the Lantis Main Priest on the platform opened the black parchment scroll and read out with a grave voice,

"Based on an anonymous tip-offs, the Holy Royal Court’s Bold division Great Priest Linus is colluding with the Blood Demon Church, inflicting harm on the civilians, with clear evidence..."

Having said this, he put down the scroll and looked coldly at the Great Priest,

"Lord Linus, you are under arrest."

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