252: Chapter 144, Hot Potato_2 252: Chapter 144, Hot Potato_2 …
Mount of Light.
Accompanied by a horrifying piece of news that was transmitted from the Alpha Kingdom, the top of the church was thrown into chaos.
“The Blood Moon Horn has appeared!”
“Moreover, it has appeared in the Alpha Kingdom.
It is suspected to have fallen into the hands of the Lord of Mountain Domain – Viscount Hudson.”
Too detailed information made it hard not to suspect someone was planning mischief behind the scenes.
However, the matter of the “Blood Moon Horn” was too significant.
As a religious organization, even if everyone knew that the church had connections with the cult, the church could not admit it.
Otherwise, if the believers saw it, it would be a big problem.
The Dawn Sect has attracted so much hatred, yet managed to survive, living comfortably, largely because it has a huge group of believers on the continent.
Although it could not deceive the major nobles, it still has a significant influence among the lower classes and some minor nobles.
All countries are making small moves continuously, but they have always refrained from destroying the church both due to the fear of divine spirits and concern about public reaction.
If anyone could thoroughly tarnish the reputation of the church, brand the Dawn Sect as a cult, and completely cut off its roots, no country would give up.
If once failed, try twice, and three, four, five, six, seven, eight times if twice failed, as long as there is an opportunity, everyone would strike back hard.
The dark history of the Dawn Sect has accumulated a lot, increasing over time, and one day it will lead to the collapse of their base.
“Blake, what are your thoughts on this matter?”
Shelter VII asked indifferently.
It was evident that he was increasingly dissatisfied with the performance of the Judgement Knights.
The trouble was caused by the Judgement Knights.
Even though they had dealt with the responsible people, the follow-up work was still a mess.
If it wasn’t for the Judgement Knights starting to show promising results in their operations against the Orc Empire, which seemed to be about to invade the Alpha Kingdom from the south, the face of Shelter VII would probably be even more grim.
As the regiment commander, Blake, his mood at this moment was even more complicated than Shelter VII.
Due to the issue of the “Blood Moon Horn”, he was already physically and mentally exhausted.
It’s not about whether to investigate or not, but after falling out with the Alpha Kingdom, nearly all their people they sent were lost.
If people can’t make it out alive, follow-up work naturally can’t be done.
Even the situation on the side of the Orc Empire is purely coincidental.
Although it appeared to have stirred up conflicts between the two countries, it actually had nothing to do with them whatsoever.
In order to mitigate his own responsibility, he gritted his teeth and took credit for it.
However, lies are still lies.
The situation in the Orc Empire was simply out of his control.
If the target of the orc invasion is not the Alpha Kingdom, but to break through from weak linkages in other two countries, Blake doesn’t know how to handle it.
A pile of troubles mixed together is enough to give him a headache, now suddenly emerged the news of the “Blood Moon Horn”, it’s simply unbearable.
“Your Majesty, the news about the Blood Moon Horn is too sudden.
Evil tools are not easy to control.
For nobles who cherish their reputation, this thing is like chicken ribs.
Only being a minor Viscount, if he has such a thing, what he should do is hand it over to the Alpha Kingdom, not to keep it for himself.
Even if it is indeed in his hands, he would strictly block the message.
Now that the news suddenly came out, I suspect that someone is deliberately trying to lure us over.
According to the collected intelligence, the Lord of the Mountain Domain is not an ordinary person.
Not only does he command two regiments of elite infantry, but he also owns a mature Earth Bear.
Without any major power backing him up, Hudson began his journey from the moment he stepped out of his home and in less than two years, he transformed from an obscure knight into a fief Viscount.
What he relied on wasn’t mainly his capabilities, but instead his terrifying luck.
It is said that no matter what happens, when it reaches him, it will just be…
Anyway, this man is very troublesome.
Those who have clashed with him have all encountered various unexpected disasters.
Even the son of a Grand Duke was totally suppressed by him.
Moreover, Hudson didn’t do anything, the situation just automatically pushed him upwards.
We are currently in conflict with the Frank Kingdom.
It is not appropriate to provoke new enemies before the matter ends.
The Alpha Kingdom has its Orc to deal with, so there’s absolutely no need for us to act personally.
We can secretly investigate the matter of Blood Moon Horn initially.
However, it is inappropriate to take drastic actions, so as not to provoke a strong response from the Alpha Kingdom.”
Blake proposed.
Taking away the Blood Moon Horn from the Alpha Kingdom was filled with uncertainties.
Especially when information leaked, if they could catch wind of it, it would not be surprising if the locals were already informed.
And just in case it was a trap laid by the enemy, waiting for them to walk right into it, it would be a tragedy.
After a series of failures, Blake’s confidence was long gone.
In order to lighten the impact of failure, he decided to hype up the “target” at first.
If you run into the “Son of Fortune”, not being able to win is normal.
There are countless historical classic examples of warriors who ended up dying horribly whenever they met opponents who were exceptionally lucky.
In its heyday, the Church dominated without fear.
No matter how formidable the enemy, they would always find ways to grind them down.
But the present Church can’t afford to do that.
If they recklessly wreaked havoc, the little essence they had just recovered would probably be exhausted in no time.
As if flattering the enemy wasn’t enough, Blake decided to drag the Frank Kingdom into this as well.
The first and foremost power on the continent, no one could ignore it.
As a matter of fact, shortly after announcing the illegitimacy of the French King, Pope Shelter VII quickly regretted it.
Politics is not a game.
Directly turning against each other might seem liberating, but the final result can be rather emotional.
In the end, he overestimated the influence of the Church, thinking that without their endorsement, the other party would not be able to keep its throne, and, in the end, would have to compromise with them.
To his surprise, without him, the Pope, to crown him, the other party simply crowned himself, thoroughly trampling on the dignity of the Church.
At the very least, they could have appointed an Archbishop, even if the Archbishop was appointed by the King, Shelter VII would have gritted his teeth and accepted it.
Regrettably, none of these occurred, and the proud Frank people did not play along with these formalities.
They did not even bother to leave the Church with a fig leaf, directly telling the world: the Church doesn’t need to approve for the monarchy to change.
Undoubtedly, this was a Pandora’s box.
If the Frank Kingdom could not be suppressed, the status of the Church would have to plummet dramatically.
Glaring angrily at Blake, Shelter VII turned to ask the others, “What are your opinions?”
The Church, severely bureaucratic, had long deviated to a “proposal made, responsibility taken” system.
In this uncertain circumstance, none of these old foxes were eager to rashly implicate themselves.
“Your Majesty, the matter of the Blood Moon Horn has always been delegated to the Judgement Knights.
All the related information is in their hands, why not let them continue their duty?
The pressing issue at hand is the Frank Kingdom.
The blatantly hostile intent of the newly acceded French King is a clear threat.
It is rumored that they are conspiring to establish a new Pope.
If they are allowed to continue their rampage, it’s feared it will be to our disadvantage.”
Gulay chimed in from the sidelines.
As old rivals, how could he, as a leader of the Arbitration Knights, hold back in such critical moments?
The more the Judgement Knights didn’t want to take on the mess, the more they needed to be tied to this mess.
Ever since the incident of the Blood Moon Horn, the Arbitration Knights have been enjoying significantly better times in the past year.
The overwhelmed Judgement Knights no longer held the energy to suppress them.
“Your Majesty, all the strength of the Judgement Knights is currently being utilized in the Orc Empire and cannot be moved to the Alpha Kingdom in the short term.”
Blake hastily defended.
It was not that he was afraid, but the matter at hand was incredibly complicated.
If the rumors were confirmed false, it would be acceptable to run a useless trip.
But if the Blood Moon Horn were to be discovered, it would inevitably spark a new round of struggles.
It would be extremely difficult to even extract the artifact from the Mountain Domain, let alone bring it back safely.
Potential enemies along the way weren’t just confined to the Alpha Kingdom, the various states across the continent could potentially prove to be a hindrance as well.
Any issues in any phase could lead to failure of the plan.
Top-tier fighters are not easily replaceable, and with continuous complications, the Judgement Knights have suffered significant losses and have hardly any elite fighters remaining.
Meeting the stern gaze of Shelter VII, Blake calmly met his gaze.
Refusing this complicated mission was always better than failing while it was in his hands.
…