Hero? Are You Worthy?
Chapter 574 - 413: You, Are Dead (2)

Chapter 574: Chapter 413: You, Are Dead (2)

The actions of the Holy Light Goddess left Qin Chu somewhat surprised; he only felt a somewhat warm liquid with a faint sweet and fishy taste pouring into his mouth, his throat moved slightly, sucking subconsciously.

Not sure how long had passed, Holy Light with a gentle wave of her hand, that dizzying sensation came over him again.

...

Elsewhere.

Imperial City.

Veronica and Anpton already looked completely panicked.

They had planned everything meticulously, Qin Chu was to take office today as the 103rd Pope.

Of course, they also knew that this would not be so smooth, and people like Kain would certainly obstruct in every way.

However, Veronica and Anpton believed that Qin Chu was the appointed representative of the Holy Light Goddess, and with Mr. Brave’s skill and their support, even if Kain and his group disagreed, the ultimate outcome could not be changed.

Now, all the holy men of the Holy Court were gathered, just waiting for Qin Chu to appear.

Even the Church Venerate Saint Monica of the Earth Mother Goddess Sect and Emperor Wozworth had shown up, ready to attend the new Pope’s coronation ceremony.

But at this critical moment, something went wrong.

Qin Chu had disappeared.

Veronica and Anpton had arranged everything and were preparing to go to the palace to welcome Qin Chu when Qin Chu’s maid suddenly appeared and informed them that Qin Chu had been missing for several days and had not returned, and no one knew where Qin Chu was currently.

When they heard this news from Miss Angelica, both Veronica and Anpton were stunned, and their clothes were soaked with cold sweat straight away.

This could be said to be the worst-case scenario. With Qin Chu missing, Kain, Galbraith, and Wright would surely take this opportunity to declare that the Holy Court cannot be without a Pope indefinitely and, in Qin Chu’s absence, forcefully appoint a new Pope to take office, thus creating a fait accompli to exclude Qin Chu.

To those people, this was certainly an opportunity that came once in a blue moon.

Even though these two were high-ranking members of the church and usually considered very calm, at this moment, they still couldn’t control their panic.

All sorts of terrible thoughts continuously surfaced in their minds, and the two figures paced back and forth in front of Miss Angelica, mumbling, "What do we do, what do we do?"

It was Anpton, old and experienced, who quickly forced himself to calm down and took a deep breath before looking at Miss Angelica, "Miss Angelica, may I be so bold as to ask... Mr. Qin... exactly what happened?"

"Is it someone... or..."

The most important thing now was to figure out what exactly had happened to Qin Chu.

Disappearance can mean many things—kidnapped, left home on his own accord?

Or even, is he already dead?

In this situation, they could only plan their next move based on Miss Angelica’s answers, and this was no easy task.

Miss Angelica smiled softly, her face showing neither sadness nor much worry.

This attitude slightly reassured them.

"Don’t worry," Miss Angelica’s crisp voice spoke, "The master wasn’t kidnapped. Rather, in the Imperial City, at present, there probably isn’t anyone with the strength to kidnap the master."

Perhaps, Miss Shaye had this strength, but she would not do such a thing.

"And he’s definitely not dead."

This was assured by Miss Great Shaye.

"The master is just missing, which is very normal and often happens. The master often disappears without trace due to combating demons or engaging in some research and reappears after many days."

Hearing Miss Angelica’s words eased their minds a bit.

As long as Qin Chu was still alive, that was a relief.

But what about the current situation? There was a bunch of old foxes on the other side waiting to be dealt with.

Just thinking about Kain and his group gave Veronica and Anpton a headache again.

"Before I arrived, Miss Shaye asked me to pass a message to you both,"

"Miss Shaye said... ’Please don’t forget that no matter what, the one thing that truly decides everything in this world is just one thing, and that is absolute strength.’"

"No matter what happens, just remember this sentence."

Veronica and Anpton were slightly taken aback.

This world respects strength above all, of course, Veronica and Anpton understood.

But the Holy Court is not like other places; it still highly values appearances, and some things are not done too overtly.

Does Miss Angelica mean that, if it really comes to that, Qin Chu will solve everything through force? It’s not that this isn’t feasible, but likely it will face much resistance from the believers, right?

This might negatively impact Qin Chu’s control over the Holy Court.

"Just follow Miss Shaye’s orders when the time comes," Miss Angelica said. "Of course, this is a last resort."

"As for now, just try to find a way to delay for a while. If I’m not mistaken, the coronation ceremony is today, right?"

Veronica and Anpton were even more puzzled; wasn’t this stating the obvious?

"So, until midnight tonight, it still counts as today, right?" Angelica said with a gentle voice, a smile gracing her face.

"If the master has not returned by midnight, Miss Violet and Miss Shaye will step forward to stabilize the situation."

Although the plan seemed rough with numerous loopholes,

under the backing of absolute strength, these loopholes seemed insignificant.

They were unaware of Miss Shaye’s capabilities, but they were aware of Miss Violet’s, who was over level 90, a master of the same caliber as Augustus, Wozworth, and Saint Monica.

If Miss Violet were to stand up, Kain and his people wouldn’t be able to stir up any trouble.

Relieved, Veronica and Anpton thanked Miss Angelica, took a deep breath, and left the room together, heading towards the Holy Hall.

The so-called Holy Hall was merely a temporary stone room; simple compared to its previous grandeur and could even be considered crude at first glance.

The walls lacked exquisite decorations, delicate reliefs, or portraits of the Holy Light Goddess; they were utterly bare.

Inside the Holy Hall, there was only one life-sized statue of the Holy Light Goddess and seven smaller auxiliary divine statues. The ceremonial adornments that should have been there were nowhere to be seen in this rushed setup.

Beneath the statues was a long table, surrounded by a circle of chairs, and nothing more.

In the vicinity of the Holy Hall, a massive congregation of holy men had gathered, easily numbering over ten thousand.

These holy men included priests and nuns who had been stationed at the Imperial Palace, bishops and priests from other cities of the Empire, and even members who had rushed over from other countries upon hearing the news.

All were packed tightly together, their incessant whispering a continuous hum.

From the murmurs, it was evident that the majority of the holy men strongly opposed Qin Chu taking over as Pope of the Holy Court.

The reason was simple: Qin Chu was not a follower of the Holy Light Goddess, nor was he a native of the Sky Dome Continent, completely unqualified to serve as Pope.

A few smarter individuals understood the true intent behind Augustus appointing Qin Chu as Pope.

The Holy Court was facing an unprecedented crisis it hadn’t seen for millennia.

Only Qin Chu... no, to be precise, only the title of Hero that Qin Chu bore, could sustain the existence of the Holy Court.

As a Hero, Qin Chu had fairly good relations with both Saint Monica and Wozworth. Perhaps, out of consideration for Qin Chu, they might offer leniency to the Church. Otherwise, Wozworth and Saint Monica would show no mercy and would completely devour the Holy Court, leaving not even a speck of dust behind.

Unfortunately, such wise individuals were far too rare.

When they shared their thoughts with their fellow clerics, their colleagues simply scoffed at them, indicating they were overthinking. The Holy Court had always maintained a good relationship with the Royal Family and the Earth Mother Goddess Sect; they would certainly not kick us while we’re down.

Frustrated with their foolish companions, the few clever ones felt utterly exhausted.

A gap opened in the crowd, and Veronica and Anpton made their way through.

One was the leader of the Holy Knight Order, and the other was the vice captain. Normally, wherever they went, they were met with respect and admiration from other holy men, but the looks they received now were mostly filled with contempt and disgust.

You could even hear the sound of spitting.

"Pfft, two traitors."

"How dare you attempt to give the pontifical throne to a foreigner?"

"The glory of the Holy Court, built over thousands of years, has been completely ruined by these two incompetents. It’s baffling how such trash could have risen to such high ranks."

Veronica and Anpton felt quite helpless against the stupid gazes and whispers around them; they shook their heads slightly and walked straight into the Holy Hall without paying any more attention to those people.

Inside the Life Hall, Alger, Kain, Galbraith, and six others had already taken their seats.

Saint Monica and Wozworth were also there.

Though both were powerful and held in high regard, they were still technically guests; yet, now they sat unabashedly in the seats of honor, with a bunch of vice captains and archbishops eagerly smiling beside them, clearly seeking their support.

Securing the support of either could significantly boost one’s chances of becoming Pope.

The sycophantic smiles only made Veronica feel sick to her stomach.

Upon seeing Veronica, even Saint Monica nodded slightly in greeting.

"Oh, Veronica, Anpton, you’ve finally arrived. Why isn’t there any sign of Qin Chu?" Kain asked, frowning slightly.

Veronica smiled wryly, "What’s the rush?"

"Mr. Qin still has some matters to attend to; he’ll come over once he’s done."

At this, Kain, Galbraith, and the others immediately became furious. Wright, who was notably hot-tempered, even slapped the table, "You insolent fool, do you not know that Lord Wozworth and Saint Monica are already waiting here?"

"How dare he let them wait here. How much face does he think he has?"

"Go summon that fool to come over and apologize at once!"

As soon as these words were uttered, the eyes of Saint Monica and Wozworth instantly narrowed, a fleeting chill flashing within them.

You... your name is Wright, right?

You’re dead!