Chapter 1042: Chapter 985: 1453, The Fall of Holy Seat City (Part 2)

Under the moonlight, the cold mist swallowed the spires of Holy Seat City.

Moonlight flowed from the frozen battlements, pouring out mercury-silver coldness until it was crushed into the ground by the vampires flying in.

The war flag of Cancun shrieked like torn silk in the north wind.

The granite and little skeletons catapulted out, screaming like meteors striking the dome of the Pope’s Palace.

The gold leaf peeled away in an avalanche under the heavy strike, revealing the rotten black wooden framework inside.

A millennium of faith was torn open, revealing its withered ribs.

Monks knelt in this thousand-year-old Holy Hall, hands clasped together, praying with a devotion never seen before.

Tears, sweat, and despairing blood streamed down their heads and necks, mingling like a brook flowing on the splendid floor of the hall.

Puliano heard the muffled sound of the city walls collapsing, heard the crisp sound of ice spears piercing armor, heard the increasingly heavy footsteps outside the door.

He lifted the curtain embellished with pearls and knelt one last time before the Holy Image.

With the soil on his arm, he filled a cup of grape wine mixed with Holy Water using a gold cup.

With the triple crown on his head, he knocked his forehead against the stone slab and recited the prayers he had repeated countless times since childhood.

"Our great Lord, Your spirit travels through the heavens..."

The granite projectile flew in, shaking the entire Holy Hall with flying dust, yet Puliano’s prayer grew louder.

"...You see the sufferings of the world, yet with an infinitely merciful heart, You save and redeem, bearing the sins for everyone..."

Perhaps due to the projectile’s impact, the once warm heating duct of the Holy Hall turned cold, with cold air slithering in like a venomous snake from the doorway.

"...Thank You for Your sacrifices, thank You for Your mercy, thank You for wielding the weapon for mankind..."

The crisp clash of weapons mixed with cries of despair, and there was the rustling call of bats cutting through the night sky.

"...May Your name forever endure in the world, Amen."

Puliano straightened his body, waiting for a long time, yet he did not receive the fifth oracle.

Perhaps the divine gaze had fully shifted to Horn Gallar of the Holy Alliance?

He always referred to the Holy Alliance as heresy, but after reading Horn’s books and debates, at night, he occasionally pondered—

Might in the Lord’s eyes, the Church be the heresy?

This question would only be answered once his soul returned to Miseria’s embrace.

When the blood-colored guards pried open the doors, they did not find the living Pope, only a stiff corpse.

He knelt rigidly before the Holy Image, eyes squinted, with dark red blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.

The triple crown on his head was the only thing in the hall glittering.

"Confirm his identity and send the triple crown to Lord Cancun."

As the first ogre to break through Holy Seat City in history, Cancun’s palace was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

Servants knelt on both sides of the palace entrance, trembling, not daring to raise their heads.

Heads of high-ranking monks or Cardinals were impaled on every railing.

This was the idle handiwork of General Cancun.

Yet at this moment, this fearsome ogre warlord was pacing worriedly in the palace.

His two greasy beards dangled, with small braids at the end, and his thick, straight flesh-nose was as large as a baby’s arm.

Opening his gaping maw, revealing crimson gums and yellowing cavities, his first words were, "What to do? What to do?"

It’s no wonder Cancun was worried; for ogres, the Royal Court held exquisite blood food that could suppress the inherent curse of ogres.

Not that ogres can’t acquire this blood food; higher-ranking ogre commanders have their own channels.

But a border ogre general like Cancun had to rely entirely on vampire-produced blood food.

Otherwise, with an appetite of three hundred humans a day, Cancun was likely to be half-starved.

As Cancun fretted, crisp footsteps rang out on the steps outside the palace.

This formidable ogre warlord immediately greeted the person, yet the one he greeted with respect surprised the servants kneeling at the door.

A woman, a particularly diminutive woman.

She wore exquisite gold-trimmed high-heeled boots, exposing pale and sagging calf skin, shrouding her entire body in a vast black cloak.

Her face was not visible; only two strands of white hair fell from her hood.

Standing before the enormous Cancun, she was like a mouse before a tiger.

"Mother, mother, I’ve taken the Pope’s Palace," Cancun showed a flattering smile to the woman, "Am I a good child?"

The woman extended her hand, and Cancun immediately knelt, sticking his head beside her hand.

"Good boy, you are a good child," the woman chuckled, stroking Cancun’s head, "My very best child."

"Hehe," Cancun was initially laughing, but halfway through he couldn’t continue, his face turned mournful, "Then what about the Royal Court?"

"Are you afraid of the Royal Court? Mother has helped you uproot all its spies from the army; this army is entirely yours."

"But what about the blood food? I’m not a member of those big ganggang (ogre commander families); I have no channel for blood food..."

"Don’t worry, don’t worry, you have the army now, and my blood guards, why fear the Royal Court?"

"As long as they don’t harm Mother, I can endure," Cancun raised his head, clear snot flowing from his flesh nose.

The woman took Puleano’s blood-stained silk robe to wipe Cancun’s nose: "If they try to harm Mother, what would you do?"

"Then I’ll go kill them!"

"That’s right." The woman patted his cheek, "Once Mother gets the Blood Race Holy Grail, you’ll have a lifetime of blood food, how about that?"

"Good, good," Cancun clapped happily.

"We’ll let Mother figure out the Royal Court’s side," the woman caressed Cancun’s bald head, whispering like soothing a baby, "Good child, good child."

That terrifying, over four meters tall, square-shaped ogre now closed his eyes in enjoyment.

The mania and pain from consuming human flesh had now entirely dissipated, leaving only a dreamlike tranquility and peace.

For ogres, this was so important.

Though ogres and vampires had gained power beyond human imagination, after Lilith disappeared, they also experienced uncontrollable illness.

The vampire’s longevity represented a dysfunction of senses like touch, smell, taste, lust, requiring more stimulation for happiness.

Ogres retained senses but at the cost of uncontainable mania and insatiable appetite; their need for strong liquor and roasted meat was limitless.

After entering peace, why did the empire communicate seamlessly with the Royal Court? Even Horn, the Saint’s Grandson, secretly connected with it?

Because the Blood and Flesh Royal Court was the empire’s largest grain and precious metal production area and its biggest consumption export market.

Falan Kingdom’s embargo could drive vampires and ogres mad without sugar, spices, and strong liquor.

Cancun lay at the door like a dog, tongue out, and fell asleep deeply, with foul-smelling drool covering the floor.

As for the woman, she walked past Cancun, step by step, towards the inner palace.

Without ordering servants to clean the palace’s blood stains, the woman, referred to by the warlord’s soldiers as "Serafe Lord," slowly approached the high Pope’s throne.

On the throne’s cushion, decorated with gems, emeralds, pearls, and diamonds, the triple crown shone brilliantly in the moonlight.

Especially the three interconnected olive crowns, brimming with vivid golden hue.

The fingers touched by wrinkles lightly touched the crown, turning the golden hue into a layer of dark red, like clear water with red ink dripped in.

The bits of white brilliance it previously reflected now turned red.

With a cheerful smile on her lips, Serafe spun and sat down, her cloak swept over the Pope’s throne as she crossed her legs.

She played with the crown for a while, then gently placed it on her head.

After a while, she chuckled softly, "Hey, don’t hide from me; it’s been a thousand years since we last met, don’t you want to catch up? My dear sister."