Wizard Earl

Chapter 349 Unexpected Calamity

"The most powerful person in the Church of Storms is Pope Ilsank. Ilsank himself is the strongest person in the wizarding world today, possessing the cultivation of a third-level wizard. He also wields the Storm Staff, the most powerful enchanted artifact known in the wizarding world. His strength can only be described as terrifying!"

"The Church's power structure resembles a pyramid. Under Pope Ilsank, the most powerful figures in the Storm Church are the three Cardinals: Cardinal Hummels, Cardinal Sabitzer, and Cardinal Elena. Among the three, Elena holds the least power because she inherited the authority of her teacher, Lord Camel, who returned to the embrace of the Storm Goddess. She was a newly promoted Cardinal, and her cultivation level is only that of a Level One Wizard."

"Sabitzer is the oldest of the three cardinals, but due to his impending death, he has basically disappeared from the church for the past five years, focusing on breaking through to the third level of wizardry! Therefore, Cardinal Hummels is the de facto second most powerful figure in the church, second only to Pope Ilsank. Since His Holiness Ilsank is also getting old, the church implicitly regards Hummels as his successor, the next Pope of the Storm Church, the apostle of the Storm Goddess on earth!"

"And this Langley is one of Cardinal Hummels's trusted subordinates. Although he is currently only a first-level wizard, he wields an extremely powerful third-tier enchanted item, making him virtually unmatched among first-level wizards. Once Langley breaks through to the second-level wizard realm, the Church will officially appoint him as the Church's new Divine Punisher!" Margaret solemnly recounted these secrets of the Storm Church to Connor.

"Margaret, do you mean that this new Arbitrator of the Church of Rune, Longley, is actually the second most powerful person in your church, sent by Cardinal Hummels?" Although he didn't understand why Margaret said she was involved in the internal power struggle within the Church of Storms, it didn't prevent Connor from forming a simple understanding of Margaret's narrative.

Margaret nodded affirmatively and said, "That's right! That's exactly what I mean. Remember the last turmoil in Rune? It seemed like Lady Elena was in charge of things on the Church's side, but in reality, the ones in charge were the Punisher Abidal and Cardinal Hummels. Besides Pope Ilsanker, only Hummels had the ability to mobilize the Punisher Jovich stationed on the New World to aid Abidal in Rune!"

"But as you know, although the turmoil in the secret society of Rune seemed to have been quelled, Abidal, the Punisher of God, was killed in battle, Jovich was seriously injured, and the operation personally led by Cardinal Hummels was a complete failure. Fortunately, Edel, who was then the leader of the Arbitrators of Rune, stepped forward and preserved the last face of the Church."

"However, in this battle, Edel's outstanding performance highlighted the humiliation of Cardinal Hummels, who had hoped to prove himself capable of becoming the new Pope during the Secret Society's turmoil. The faction within the Church opposing Cardinal Hummels, once again using Edel as an example, naturally questioned his ability to become the new Pope, offering utter ridicule!"

"Edel's achievements during the riots made him an unstoppable force in becoming the new bishop of the Church of Rune Storms. Therefore, Cardinal Hummels, who had just experienced defeat, did not choose to oppose him. However, times have changed. Cardinal Hummels seized the opportunity presented by Edel's nomination of Borja as the leader of the Rune Arbiters!"

"The significance of Langley's arrival in Loen as Hummels' confidant and becoming the Loen Arbitrator is self-evident. He came with a mission: to take down Eder. Just a few days ago, at a high-level meeting within the church, Langley began to voice his doubts about Eder, and the entry point he chose was the Loen city bombing and the Mallorca church secret warehouse bombing that you orchestrated!"

"I must say, Connor, your method of using explosions to cover up your actions is extremely effective. Edel's men haven't made any progress in identifying you yet. So, once Lenglet, as the leader of the Rune Arbitrators, solves these two bombings and captures you, Connor, the mastermind, it will be a significant blow to Edel's prestige!"

Margaret explained the whole story to Connor in one go, and at the end she directly pointed out why she said Connor was involved in the internal factional struggles of the Church of Storms.

Seeing Margaret's serious and earnest expression, which seemed to indicate she wasn't joking, Connor was immediately stunned. The amount of information Margaret was conveying was enormous. If what she said was true, then Connor Ferguson's luck had truly reached its worst point; this was a complete disaster!

He only wanted to get some Blackrock Grass so that Varga could concoct a secret potion to help him break through to the advanced wizard apprentice level. He never expected that this would involve so many relationships!

"Margaret, you mean this new leader of the Rune Arbiters, Langley, is coming to arrest me?" After a moment of contemplation, digesting the massive amount of information in Margaret's words, Connor asked her with a dark expression, seeking confirmation.

Upon hearing that a formal wizard was going to use capturing him as a means of attacking his faction rivals, Connor's first reaction was to hurl profanities, followed by his plan to run away. A formal wizard, and a high-ranking figure in the church who commanded all the hundreds of arbitrators in the Rune Church, was determined to get rid of him. Connor didn't think he could hide for long, so since he couldn't afford to offend him, the only thing Connor could do for safety was to run away. If I can't beat you, I'll just leave, right?

Margaret seemed to know Connor very well. The moment she saw Connor's face, which was so serious it was almost dripping with sweat, she knew what he was up to. She couldn't help but say with a half-smile, "Connor, you really think highly of yourself..."

(End of this chapter)