Starting with One Piece, a Multiverse Simulation

He had always been a somewhat insecure person, and Wood's presence was as dazzling as the bright moon in the night sky.

More and more people are supporting Wood, to the point that Wood, who originally just came to watch the show, now feels quite caught in a dilemma.

While it's not impossible to refuse these people's good intentions, it would be a loss of face for the new Pope Cliff, since he obtained the "Pope" position by withdrawing from the competition, and it might be difficult for him to gain the support of the people once he takes office.

Moreover, refusing these people's kindness would cause Wood to lose a lot of the goodwill and reputation he had painstakingly built up for the Latorea family, which would be a loss.

So after hesitating for a moment, Wood smiled and slowly walked to the front of the crowd to accept the position of "Pope" from the Church of Milis.

When Rudy heard Wood's decision, he was stunned. He had been comforting his friend and saying that Wood would not inherit the papacy. He then turned to Cliff with an apologetic look and said, "I'm really sorry, Cliff, I don't know what Wood is thinking."

Based on my understanding of him, he shouldn't do such a thing, and he's always hated troublesome things like this...

Caught between his brother and his best friend, Rudy could only frantically apologize to his friend Cliff.

At the same time, Rudy was genuinely puzzled. Based on his understanding of Wood, he really couldn't understand why Wood would take over the position of Pope.

“It’s alright, Rudy. If it were Wood, he would definitely be a better fit for the position than I am.”

Cliff looked at Rudy in front of him and forced a smile, but Rudy, as his friend, could tell that Cliff was somewhat dejected at that moment.

Just as Rudy was furious and about to go up on stage to grab Wood and ask him what he was up to, Wood, who had just succeeded to the throne as the ninth pope, took off the crown and scepter he had just received from the priest and said, "Wood Grerath, the ninth pope of Umilis, hereby announces his formal abdication."

And I hereby hand over the papacy to the tenth pope, Clive Grimmore. Now, I invite my successor to come forward and take the papal scepter and crown.

Wood, who had just become Pope Milis, hadn't even had time to settle in before his sudden words stunned everyone present once again.

No one expected that Wood would pull such a stunt!

It's not uncommon for popes to abdicate, but this is absolutely the first time in history that one has abdicated so hastily!

When Rudy heard what Wood said, he was stunned for a moment, and then he suddenly realized what was going on.

"As expected, Wood is still the Wood I know, and he's as smart as ever. This way of letting Cliff succeed to the papacy is indeed the best solution at present."

If Wood were to withdraw from the competition or make concessions, it would undoubtedly disappoint those who supported him and could even have a certain impact on the Latorea family, since the Holy Kingdom of Milis is a religious state and there are bound to be extremists.

Moreover, the papacy was relinquished by Wood, which was clearly difficult for the people of Milris to accept, and it was not a glorious thing for Cliff himself.

But the situation is different now. Wood succeeded Milis as the ninth pope, living up to the expectations of those who supported him. Then, just minutes after becoming pope, he passed the "pope" title to Jean Cliff.

The biggest advantage of doing this was that Wood both met everyone's expectations and preserved Cliff's face to the greatest extent possible.

They both became popes of Milis, one after the other, and Cliff's papacy was not obtained through charity but through legitimate succession.

The priest presiding over the handover ceremony was stunned by the dramatic scene before him, and didn't even know what to say.

Those "papal faction" members, seeing the turn of events, couldn't help but show unusual excitement. They even kicked the priest in charge of the handover ceremony, saying, "What the hell are you standing there for? Didn't you hear what Pope Wood said?"

Lord Wood is abdicating in favor of Lord Cliff, isn't that your job? If you can't do it well, then don't get in the way. I can also act as the master of ceremonies.

Upon realizing the significance of Wood's actions, the Papal faction was ecstatic, with even the usually refined priests and clerics swearing incessantly.

And all the Papal supporters looked at Wood with gratitude and respect.

Clearly, if Wood becomes the new pope, it would be perfectly legitimate. Not to mention Wood's own exceptional combat power and the support of the Latoria family, his current prestige in the Holy Kingdom of Milis is unparalleled, even surpassing that of the previous pope.

Since Wood, with his strength, prestige, and background, would become Pope, no matter how much they supported Cliff, it would be to no avail, and he would soon be sidelined by Wood.

However, to the utter surprise of the Papal faction, Wood was so magnanimous that he not only did not pursue their previous actions, but also paved the way for Lord Cliff's rise to power, and did so much.

Generally speaking, the higher a person's status in the church, the more likely they are to be a non-believer in God. However, at this moment, the high-ranking priests and clergy sent by the Pope were beginning to believe that Wood might actually be the so-called "messenger of God."

Because the other party was too noble in terms of both strength and character, to the point that even knights felt inferior to them.

Wood chose to abdicate voluntarily. Although the people of Milis who supported Wood were somewhat disappointed, they could not say anything more in the end, after all, it was Lord Wood's own choice.

Moreover, the newly appointed Pope Cliff was quite shrewd. To thank the Holy Kingdom of Woodmillis and the Church for what they had done, he specially created a new position for Wood in the Church: "High Priest".

It was also stated that the "High Priest" holds a position in the church equivalent to that of the "Pope," but is not required to reside in the church, can move freely, and can fulfill any of the duties of a teacher without respite.

To put it simply, this position is a nominal one. Although it holds a very high status, it has no real power and correspondingly, it does not require any performance of duties. It is merely a symbol of status.

Cliff's move was unanimously approved by the "Papal Faction," who believed that although Cliff was still young, he was definitely a promising talent!

Wood's status and prestige in the Holy Kingdom of Milis are undeniable. Even if he leaves the Holy Kingdom of Milis, it will have a significant impact. It is not entirely impossible that a new cult following Wood will emerge within the Holy Kingdom.

After all, the reputation of the Church of Milis has fallen to a low point, while Wood's reputation has soared because he saved the church.

At this time, it is not entirely impossible that someone with ill intentions would use Wood's name to form a cult, causing the entire Holy Kingdom of Milis to split apart.

But when Cliff put Wood in the position of "High Priest" of the Church of Milris, the situation changed completely.

Although the "High Priest" holds a transcendent position, he has no real power, and he can also bind the powerful Lord Wood to the chariot of the Church of Milis.

Furthermore, due to the internal strife and the beast tide, many believers have become disillusioned with the Church of Milis. However, the appointment of Lord Wood, a hero, as the "High Priest" of their church will undoubtedly help him to reunite the faith more quickly.

This simple move achieved three goals at once: it prevented the theocracy from splitting, secured the support of the powerful Wood, and helped the Church of Milis to rebuild its faith. All they paid for it was a high-ranking but empty title.

Just as the Papals were praising Cliff's excellent decision, his words once again startled the Milis Church.

According to Cliff himself, he made this decision on Wood's advice!

At the time, Cliff didn't think too much about it. He didn't hesitate much about Wood, who had helped him so much. But what he didn't expect was that Wood wanted the position of "High Priest" not for himself, but for him and the church.

After learning the whole story, the other members of the Milis Church couldn't help but marvel that such a perfect person really existed in this world.

Not only is his strength outstanding, but he is also incredibly adept at interpersonal skills and strategic planning. What's even more unbelievable is that he is just a boy who is not even fifteen years old!

According to the information Wood and his group obtained from Ratar, another follower of the god of man, named Lieda Lia, is currently quite famous in the Kingdom of Asra, and her strength is far beyond that of Ratar.

The Kingdom of Asra, the kingdom where Paul "Grerat"'s family resides, is located in the northern part of the Central Continent. Starting from the continent of Milis, it would take almost half a world to cross.

The journey begins with landing on the central continent via West Port, passing through the Kingdom of Wanglong, traversing the entire Wanglong Mountain Range, then passing through the Kingdom of Sanakia, the Kingdom of Kika, the Kingdom of Xilong, and finally the Conflict Zone before reaching the Kingdom of Asra.

Because of the long distance and the uncertainty of what might happen along the way, Wood did not plan to take his family with him on this journey, which caused his two younger sisters, Noren and Aisha, to cry their hearts out.

In the past, whenever his two younger sisters used their trump card—clinging to their brother's legs and crying—their brother Wood would soften and agree to anything. However, this time Wood's attitude was quite firm. Even though the two little girls were crying their eyes out, he was not moved at all.

Senis initially disagreed with the matter, but Claire intervened and forcefully suppressed her rebellious daughter.

"I promised to help you suppress your mother this time, and I hope you will keep your promise and officially inherit the position of head of the Latorea family after things are done."

"I'm getting old, and you've seen your mother and Therese; they're both useless and incapable of supporting this family."

Claire initially disagreed with Wood's desire to leave the Holy Kingdom of Milis, but the offer Wood made was too tempting, so Claire had no choice but to compromise.

"Once the matter of the gods and humans is resolved, and my family is completely free of worries, I will keep my promise, Grandma."

However, after I leave, do not cause any more trouble for the Church. Cliff is a very capable man, unlike the old Pope; he will govern this papacy very well.

Wood's words before leaving clearly startled Claire. Then, as Wood turned to leave, she slightly curled the corners of her mouth and muttered to herself, "Did that child still find out?"

That's right. The sudden appearance of people who voiced their support for Wood when the church was electing a new pope was not accidental, but rather arranged by Claire.

In her view, Wood was fully qualified to succeed to the papacy and bring the Latorea family to even greater heights.

Chapter 513 The Two Brothers Arrive in the Kingdom of Wanglong

However, Claire did not expect that her grandson would have no interest in the position of "Pope" above all others, and would even use this favor to push Cliff to the position of Pope.

What surprised Claire even more was that her clever grandson discovered what she thought was a flawless plan.

To conceal her true intentions, she even arranged for merchants from other regions to visit the capital of Milis. Moreover, aside from the initial support, the supporters who appeared later were all spontaneous individuals from Milis, and had almost nothing to do with Claire.

Watching Wood's departing figure, and then looking at Senis and Paul behind her who were arguing again because of the children's departure, Claire couldn't help but feel a few veins popping out on her forehead.

"I really don't know how a couple like you could have such a perfect child as Wood."

If you're really free, why not help repair the manor? It's been quite busy here since the beast tide.

They arrived in a large group, but when they left, only Wood and Rudy remained.

The Grellat family is currently staying at Senis's family home in La Torreia. Cliff is about to become Pope and cannot leave for the time being, while Alina Lizzie is staying to assist him.

Tarhand thought Milis's wine was good, so he decided to stay for the time being and catch up with Paul (by drinking and hanging out).

The Wolf King originally wanted to follow Wood, but was ordered to stay behind to protect his family, since Paul and Senis alone would have a truly worrisome fighting force.

Besides the people mentioned above, there was originally also the Dragon God Orsteed, but the proud Dragon God said that he preferred to travel alone and disliked that Wood and the others were too slow, so he chose to travel alone.

However, in order to avoid further conflict with their ally Wood, the two sides have agreed that whichever side arrives in the Kingdom of Asra first must wait for the other side to arrive before taking action, so as to avoid alerting the enemy.

"This is the first time we've acted together like this since we were kids, when we practiced swordsmanship together and studied magic under Lokishi."

Both Wood and Rudy are adventurers, and often act as lone wolves.

Compared to Wood, Rudy was in a better situation; at least he teamed up with Alice and Rijrud to travel across the Demon Continent.

Two years have passed, and even though Wood has been resurrected, Rudy still feels guilty towards him. So, despite his extreme social anxiety, he is now trying his best to find topics to talk about in order to ease the awkward atmosphere between the two.

"Indeed, this is the first time that adventurers have acted together. However, with the strength of our team, we should be able to defeat even the seven great powers."

"Rudy, since we're going through the Dragon King Kingdom anyway, why don't we make a trip to the capital as well? After all, I just promised Randolph that if we passed through the Dragon King Kingdom, I would pay him a visit and apologize for the trouble I caused."

Rudy had no objection to Wood's decision, and what made him feel quite relieved was that even after two years, the Wood he knew had not changed at all.

Being with him was always so pleasant, and the events that had happened before hadn't created any distance between them. This made Rudy genuinely feel that having such a brother was wonderful.

The Kingdom of Wanglong is located at the easternmost part of the Central Continent. Although its territory is not large, it is one of the most powerful countries in the Central Continent.

Because of their status as adventurers, Wood and Rudy traveled to various kingdoms quite smoothly, even without any obstacles.

Before entering the capital, the guards at the city gate were dumbfounded when they saw the identification documents provided by the two.

Because the young twins in front of him produced adventurer identification documents that represented SS-level and SSS-level adventurers, respectively!