Comprehensive network wizard, magic emperor.

Chapter 315 Taking Over the Papacy
The grey-blue night sky covered the vast land of the bountiful continent. Most of the children of the sea in the Sail Islands were visiting a world dominated by a continental climate for the first time. The summers here were hot and dry, but the nights were cool.

Different countries have different customs and local languages. After installing the Magic Brain Machine, the residents of Stone Tower Town learn very quickly. Even if they don't understand it themselves, the Brain Machine Elf can collect data, integrate real-time translation modules, and correct pronunciation details, allowing them to communicate with foreigners very quickly.

Once one brain-computer interface user learns the local language, all members can share data through a network connection.

Now, most of their white silkworm angels have completed their first evolution, becoming more intelligent and agile. They are very good at reading human facial expressions and analyzing psychology, which is also their reliance on facing assassination activities and identifying danger in time.

This is a rural area in a province within the Holy Kingdom of Sinvi, famous for its enamel production, about 50 kilometers from the holy city of Sina, where the Papacy is located.

Based on the convoy's horsepower and speed, it should arrive before noon tomorrow.

They camped out in the suburbs for the night, and the pilgrims who followed them scattered into long lines, their lanterns stretching for dozens of miles across the land like twinkling stars.

The monks knelt peacefully, facing their homeland and the direction where the gods resided, and chanted their sect's scriptures in a low voice.

The banner erected on the flagpole sang loudly under the night sky, exuding a vivid and melodious ode. Several seagulls perched on the car roof and the top of the flagpole, looking around, while white gulls also flew across the nearby sky, scanning the earth.

A huge seagull, having traveled across the ocean, flapped its wings and delivered a box of supplies from the lighthouse to the mage apprentice, containing mushroom oil potions and various alchemical preparations.

As dawn broke, the convoy set off again.

The old priest had studied at the Papal ecclesiastical college, a time before automobiles were common, when students from various countries rode mules or horses, enduring bumpy journeys. Now, sitting in the stuffy, enclosed carriage, there are spells cast by the priest's apprentices, and a gentle breeze makes it cool and pleasant.

He gazed at the scenery along the way; the Holy Kingdom of Sinvi was also experiencing the impact of industrialization, with towering buildings in its towns.

However, the streets were still as crowded with oxcarts and horse-drawn carriages as they had been years before, and the farmers, dressed in tattered clothes, revealed their sweaty skin and bulging ribs. There were no newspapers here, only scriptures; there were no radio broadcasts, only hymns emanating from loudspeakers.

Priests in white robes and brocade led a procession of knights through the city of Sina, while worshippers along the way stopped, knelt, and offered coins, as was their custom.

At this moment, the black-clad monks came from the outskirts of the city and broke into this religious holy site that was almost isolated from the outside world.

The local people did not know where they came from or where they were going.

Even the orthodox monks on patrol hesitated before approaching to ask which province they came from, whether they had given prior notice, and what business they were there to conduct.

“We will take over the mortal world,” the old priest replied.

"Take over the mortal realm?" the young white-robed cultivator repeated, then asked, "Which department is the mortal realm?"

"The world under God is the mortal world, and the world of all living beings is the mortal world. From now on, miracles will reign, and the bountiful continent has no need for a church of hypocrites."

"..." The horrified cultivators cried out, "The Knin heretics! The Knin heretics have arrived! Seize them, lock them up, no, drive them out!"

Knights and guards gathered, and the crowds gathered upon hearing the news.

Nine lighthouse apprentices stood in a row, chanted a spell, and created a soft energy field that enveloped the guards. Their bodies floated and spun as if trapped in a water balloon, emitting screams that caused an uproar in the street.

As the monks of the Church of Miracles marched on, more and more pilgrims poured in from outside the city, tens of thousands of them crowding into the city, spreading like the sea toward the Papacy's grand palace.

The old priest looked around thoughtfully. They passed the square in front of the monastery, where novice priests were chanting scriptures, practicing rituals, and feeding doves. At this moment, they all looked at the black-robed monks in astonishment.

Memories of the past slowly emerge from the depths of the mind through many old scenes. The old priest remembers his brief stay here, witnessing the grand spectacle of Pentecost, and then the papal inauguration ceremony during the New Year.

The current pope was a very young man back then, not even twenty, but he defeated a host of high priests in the selection process and was successfully elected. Many people still believe that this was due to the previous pope's favoritism.

The old priest had only seen the Pope from afar, so far that from the crowds across a square, he could only see a tiny dot, like a sesame seed, when he looked up at the carved limestone balcony railings of the Basilica of St. Mary.

Since taking office, the current pope has focused heavily on scriptural matters, and the trend of promoting the miracles of the five gods also began with him. His several diplomatic visits to various countries were exceptionally successful. This pope enjoys the deep trust of the powerful and wealthy, and has sold a large number of sacred relics and blessed objects, bringing the Vatican's revenue to an all-time high.

The old priest sent messages to the lighthouse apprentices via brain-computer interface.

[Hugh Norway]: Contemporary popes may also be favored by miracles.

[The Shepherd's Magician]: Understood.
The Lighthouse Apprentices exchanged glances, realizing that the Pope might be a recipient of the Blessed One, which was hardly a cause for alarm.

There is only one Grand Master in the world, and they are his disciples.

The guards who had rushed to the scene on orders all hesitated in fear. In this era when the Papacy proclaimed miracles, even the most greedy priests feared the sacred principles represented by supernatural phenomena. The people of the Holy Kingdom and Holy City were even more astonished, cheering for their gods. The great bells of the Holy Church rang out.

At midday in the sweltering summer of the Northern Hemisphere, the sky was an extraordinary, bright blue. The sparse clouds were as thin and wiry as fish in a wild pond. The pink apples, white wings, and golden halos of the church's stained glass windows were reflected in the square in front of the church, like a beautiful rainbow floating on the ground.

The Pope appeared, slowly emerging from the ornately carved doors, supported by pageboys on either side.

The old priest was separated from him by a sea of ​​people in a square. The ranks of the white-robed priest and the handsome knights were majestic and noble. They looked at each other from afar and felt that the other was as small as a sesame seed.

The black-clad monks moved forward, their lances, adorned with prayer flags, blocking their view like a curtain.

The old priest looked at the knight with his spear and said, “Child, make way for the path beneath your feet, for I am about to perform miracles; you must not hinder his messenger.”

The young knight's arm trembled. After hesitating for a long time, he lowered the prayer flag and stood sideways.

The old priest advanced, while the Pope slowly descended the long steps. Two straight paths opened up from the crowd, the gleaming tips of lances retreating to either side. Along this path strewn with weapons, cold glints gleamed, and eyes gleamed.

The two met in the center of the square.

“I am St. John XII, the current Pope, the representative of the Five Gods on earth.” The Pope’s voice was hoarse. “There are only the Five Gods in the world, and no miracle workers.”

“I am Hugh Nove, the High Priest of the Tower Keeper Order, the messenger of miracles on earth.” The old priest’s face was dark, and his voice was booming. “First came miracles, then came the five gods.”

"Miracles are merely tricks of the gifted. Just like those nine people beside you," the Pope said with a faint smile. "I too have been blessed. If the five gods commanded me to be your enemy, why do we all possess the power of miracles? Are there any distinctions in the quality of miracles?"

The old priest remained expressionless and, after a moment of silence, said, "The gifts you received did not come from the five gods; you are a saint who has wandered far from home, a miracle worker."

"If that's the case, where is He right now?"

The old priest held up the demonic eye pendant on his chest, "This is the eye of God." He then pointed to the seagulls on the monks' shoulders, "These are the spirits of God." Finally, he pointed to himself, "I am the vessel of God."

He looked around and shouted, "Today, I will summon the gods!"

The three lighthouse apprentices took out white paper, pricked their fingers with needles, and wrote talismans with their blood. The white paper burned and turned into short messages that were sent to the other side of the sea.

The crowd and the white-robed priests witnessed this scene and whispered among themselves.

In the crowd, the old priest raised his arms.

At one moment, his figure blurred, his outline expanded, and his posture became upright. No one could remember the old priest's appearance or name. In the public's view, a tall figure appeared before the Pope, wearing a deep skull mask and looking down at the crowd with three eyes.

This person seemed to appear out of nowhere, yet also seemed to have been standing there all along—this was the common thought among everyone.

The Pope was shocked and trembled violently.

The lighthouse apprentice bowed in reverence, and the black-robed monk fell to the ground in worship.

Linbo's avatar replaced the old priest and descended upon the Holy Kingdom of Xinwei.

He silently admired the scenery of the distant land, then looked at the withered and aged pope before him.

The miracle worker said nothing, but simply extended his hand. The Pope also extended his hand, and there was a wound on his wrist, a scar left by the recipient when he used the spell.

The Pope knelt before the towering three-eyed skull, and the miracle worker grasped his injured wrist, gently stroking it until the wound instantly healed.

Moments later, the miracle walker disappeared, and the old priest reappeared before the people.

Afterwards, the current pope announced his resignation from his lifelong position, and the orthodoxy of the five gods was transferred to the state religion of the Kening Empire.

Above the Church of the Holy One, a banner fluttered like a vibrant ray of light in the sky. The five-god faith that had ruled the bountiful continent for nearly a thousand years came to an end at this moment.

The Pope himself did not remain in the Holy Land, and no one knew where he went. However, not long after, a simple wooden house appeared on a promontory outside Stone Tower.

(End of this chapter)