“Thank you so much, Bishop Belon.”
Soren was very excited after hearing Belon’s words. The Holy Land was indeed standing on his side.
Thinking carefully about it, that made sense. He had already promised to make the Holy Land the state religion. If he were overthrown by someone else, the next emperor might not go all out to provide assistance to the Holy Land.
Therefore, the interests of the Holy Land stood on the same side as his own.
It was precisely because he had seen this point that he had requested aid from the Holy Land.
As expected, the Holy Land had come to respond.
“Your Majesty, could you tell me the detailed intelligence regarding the rebels?”
Belon asked.
“These people are mostly the great city lords of the southern region. They support Stella, whom I am currently hunting, as their leader and have formed a rebel army called the New Imperial Army to overthrow me.”
“Oh, so it’s that escaped Stella. Is her ability very strong?”
“It’s hard to evaluate. Based on my understanding of Stella, she is absolutely incapable of assembling a rebel army that could threaten my position in such a short time.” Soren frowned. “However, the fact is that I sent Kaiso to lead an army to Posi City to suppress Stella, yet he was defeated, causing the rebels’ morale to soar even higher as they now advance toward the capital. In other words, besides the city lords of the southern region, there must be others assisting her. Otherwise, with her ability alone, it would be absolutely impossible to achieve this level, right?”
“Yes. According to the intelligence provided by the soldiers, it seems that a demonkin army was also involved in the battle at Posi City. Stella should have formed an alliance with the demonkin and obtained support from the foreign race.”
“Demonkin?!”
Upon hearing this, Belon was quite surprised.
He turned his head and glanced at Sophie.
“It should be her,” Sophie replied in a voice devoid of emotion.
“Damn it.”
After receiving Sophie’s confirmation, Belon couldn’t help but curse.
It seemed that the demonkin assisting the rebels were the ones led by Via.
Last time, after Sophie had fought with Via, the matter had already been reported to the higher-ups of the Holy Land, so he was aware of it.
The Holy Land had originally thought that Via, after falling into becoming a demonkin, had secretly returned to the Saint Luo Empire as a personal action.
They never expected that Via would actually cooperate with Stella, dispatch a demonkin army, and help the New Imperial Army in the civil war.
He speculated that Via had likely become a high-ranking figure among the demonkin. Based on her performance in that battle, it was very possible that the former saintess candidate had already become the Demon King.
“Bishop Belon, what did the Saintess’s words just now mean?” Soren noticed a slight anomaly. “Could it be that you know something about the mysterious person assisting Stella?”
“…It’s nothing, Your Majesty. I just feel that the matter may be a bit troublesome.”
Belon did not dare to speak the truth.
After all, if the fact that Sophie’s younger sister had become a demonkin and was assisting Stella were exposed, it would bring quite a bit of trouble to the Holy Land.
Under the current urgent situation, there was no need to say it.
“I’ll tell you the truth. In order to confront the large demonkin army at the border, we have already dispatched quite a few members of the Holy Knight Order. Although His Holiness the Pope had some foresight and left behind a portion of our combat strength, this is indeed not our strongest state.
Therefore, Your Majesty, I would like to know how many imperial troops remain in the capital and whether they can confront the rebels head-on.”
“About that… it should be barely possible.”
“Your Majesty, I have spoken the truth, and I would also like to hear the truth. After all, this concerns the future fate of the Saint Luo Empire.”
“Alright. Actually, in order to hold back the rebels, I already handed over all the remaining main forces to Kaiso!” Soren said helplessly, speaking the truth. “But Prince Kaiso lost. In other words…”
“Sigh, that’s right,” Soren sighed. “There are not many soldiers left in the capital. The soldiers in my hands cannot contend with the rebels!”
“I see. So now I can only rely on the Holy Land. Bishop Belon, you must help me defeat the rebels.”
At this critical moment, Soren no longer had his usual lofty and superior manner.
He was already in a dangerous situation. If he took a single wrong step, he would lose the throne.
If he fell into Stella’s hands, there would likely not be much chance of survival.
“Your Majesty, we are willing to do everything in our power to help you crush the rebels. However, we want greater authority.”
“Greater authority?”
“Yes. For example, arranging for the Holy Knight Order to enter the capital, set up defenses in various places, and also dispatch the remaining imperial soldiers to cooperate with our work.”
“This…”
Soren felt a bit troubled.
Allow the Holy Knight Order into the capital?
Wouldn’t that be equivalent to temporarily handing over the emperor’s power, letting others hold a knife to his neck?
“Your Majesty, this is not my proposal. It is the will of His Holiness the Pope. Please rest assured. I am representing His Holiness the Pope in speaking with you. Therefore, please think about the promises His Holiness the Pope once made to you.”
Belon took out a token symbolizing the Pope of the Holy Land.
“I… understand. Then we shall proceed according to the Pope’s will. I will transfer a portion of the authority that originally belonged to the capital’s garrison to the Holy Knight Order so that they can cooperate with you in protecting the capital.”
Soren had no choice. Although he felt somewhat humiliated, for the sake of the throne, this was the only way for now.
“Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty. The Holy Knight Order will definitely not disappoint your expectations and will present you with a glorious victory.” Belon smiled slightly and bowed to Soren.
“Excellent. As expected, this civil war is an opportunity.”
Belon was leaving the palace together with Sophie, preparing to have the Holy Knight Order station themselves in the capital according to the plan.
If the war could be smoothly concluded, the Holy Knight Order could continue to remain stationed long-term under the name of protecting the capital. The future direction of the empire would then have to seek the opinion of His Holiness the Pope.
“Sophie, don’t you have anything you want to say?”
Belon looked at Sophie, who had remained silent the entire time.
He felt that Sophie had become strange. Ever since her awakening, her personality seemed to have changed into a different person. She had become rather cold, and even her dislike toward him had disappeared.
“Via is very likely to attack the capital together with the rebels. This is an obvious situation. She has already fallen, abandoned all her identities, and sided with the demonkin. She is no longer one of us humans and has lost any possibility of returning to the Holy Land. If you face her again, what choice will you make?” Belon reminded Sophie.
Golden light flowed within her eyes.
“If I face her again, I will use the sacred flames to purify all the heretics.”