Unlimited Ambition

"I see." I didn't dwell on this issue for too long, and then asked, "What are your thoughts on the current situation?"

“I’m just a maid,” Sakuya replied.

"Is that so?" I asked.

“That’s right,” Sakuya replied.

I suddenly felt a bit weary. I waved my hand, signaling her to leave.

Sakuya bowed, then pushed the food cart and disappeared through the door.

Next, I connected to the Russian Catholic Church's communications, and as I had imagined, Archbishop Nicholas Tolstoy appeared in the crystal ball.

"So, Archbishop Nicholas, has your Highest Bishop Clans R. Tuarusky's health still not improved?" I asked first.

Nikolai's expression remained unchanged, his smile indifferent: "Indeed, thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I'm sure the Archbishop will be very moved upon hearing this—"

"I don't care if he dies?!" I said this unexpectedly.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince?! Please have some self-respect!!” Nikolai was taken aback. On the surface, he spoke righteously, like a loyal minister, but inwardly he felt a “thud.”

“At this moment, it is only the Archbishop and I. I am not afraid, Archbishop Nicholas… what are you afraid of?” I asked with a light laugh.

"I... what do I have to be afraid of?!" Nikolai, however, was clearly trying to cover up his true feelings.

"Oh... So, Archbishop Nicholas neither placed the Grand Bishop under house arrest nor wants to go any further and become the one who controls Russia? Tsk... That's a bit tricky..."

He feigned difficulty, then chuckled lightly, "Then, Archbishop, please consider what I just said as a drunken jest and ignore it—"

"Please wait a moment!" Nikolai was so flustered that he no longer cared about his manners and shouted, "Your Highness, please speak frankly!"

I chuckled lightly: "I can support you in becoming the Grand Bishop."

Nicholas's heart pounded uncontrollably. Ever since that night when he resolved to place the archbishop of the Protestant Church under house arrest, he hadn't slept a single night. Although for a time, he had experienced the wonderful feeling of being superior to others.

But he faced internal threats from the potential annihilation of the White Book, and external threats from the support of Cranes's state church in Jerusalem. He felt as if he were walking on thin ice, facing an abyss. He knew that if he were to make a careless mistake—and if this news leaked out—his fate would likely be worse than that of Nicholas, the last Tsar of Russia. Having his entire family murdered and then having acid thrown at him would be the least of his worries!

Heaven help him! The Crown Prince of Heaven has brought him such good news: he is willing to support him in becoming the chief bishop of the Russian Catholic Church!

Nikolai was almost moved to tears.

"But... Your Highness, why... Isn't Clans your friend?" Nikolai asked curiously.

I couldn't help but burst into laughter: "Does this have anything to do with my support for you? During World War I, there was Wilhelm of Germany, George of Britain, and Nicholas of Russia. They were even cousins, weren't they? What I need is a steadfast ally who, like me, pursues an expansionist policy! Not a pitiful brat! So what I truly need is you! Bishop Nicholas!"

"...Is that really true?!" Nikolai looked intrigued.

"That's right! The power of the Russian Orthodox Church is exactly the crucial support I need! And you, Archbishop Nikolai Tolstoy, are the ally I've been hoping for." He smiled broadly, speaking as if it were the most important thing in the world.

Nikolai swallowed hard. "Then, Your Highness, I will be grateful for your help in the future."

“Of course.” Gu chuckled, then abruptly asked, “Before this, the Roman Catholic Church had already been in contact with you, hadn’t they?”

"How did you know?!" Nikolai jumped up in fright and asked.

Chapter Three: World War III

"It's nothing, I don't care at all." I waved my hand, indicating that Nikolai didn't need to make such a fuss.

"Your Highness is magnanimous," Nikolai said, wiping the sweat from his brow.

As a long-time ally of Jerusalem, Nicholas was well aware of Jerusalem's strength. Frankly, he had no confidence in the European Union. He had only signed the secret agreement with them because he had no other choice. Following the European Union, there was always the possibility of unforeseen consequences.

But now, a better option has emerged. The European Union, that dilapidated ship, has naturally been kicked aside by him. Seeing how generous I am, and with Nikolai offering no guarantees, he's willing to go through fire and water for me without hesitation.

“Very well, then let Archbishop Nicholas ignite the flames of World War III.” Gu Ye said this without any politeness.

Nikolai was stunned for a moment, then swallowed his blood and knocked out his front tooth. He could only agree with a wry smile.

Seeing this bastard's attitude, I was afraid he wouldn't put in the effort, so I painted a big picture, just like I did with Chiarisa: "After this is done, the Nordic countries, the three Baltic states, and Poland will be ceded to Russia... Who knows, Archbishop Nicholas might even be promoted further... Nicholas III, how about that title?"

Hearing Gu say this, Nikolai finally made up his mind. Seeing the burning desire in his eyes, Gu smiled.

Three days later, I watched as a group of European ambassadors rescued me from a perilous situation. I was incredibly excited—and in my excitement, I killed them all.

Rewind to an hour earlier, and the eighteen European warlords stared blankly at the declaration of war on their desks.

Jerusalem's declaration of war came an hour earlier than theirs.

"Holy crap! Wright, you tricked me!!" Eighteen mouths, speaking in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, though using different languages, all conveyed the same meaning.

We've been outmaneuvered.

That's about it.

The course of the war was also unexpected.

The European powers maintained their tradition of defensive counter-attacking (although Germany strongly opposed this, the principle of no human rights for defeated nations was ignored). They deployed a large force along the Hungarian line, the closest to Jerusalem, and spent enormous sums constructing a massive fortification complex known as the New Maginot Line, intending to wear down Jerusalem's forces.

...Their way of thinking is really something.

Seeing such a weak opponent, I almost couldn't bear to bully him.

Thus, the first battlefield of World War III was not the Balkans as most European powers assumed, nor the Two Sicilies as envisioned by the Italians (in two senses), nor the Strait of Gibraltar as designed by the Spanish in their innovative approach.

Instead, it follows the line from Finland to the Baltic states to Poland.

The Russian Orthodox Church, a former ally of the Roman Catholic Church, has once again betrayed its allies and rejoined the Jerusalem Order. The Russian armored forces, following the route originally planned by the Soviet Red Army, are advancing towards Eastern and Northern Europe, directly disrupting the plans of the entire European Union.

In just three days, almost all of Eastern Europe had fallen, and Poland was once again annihilated. The three Scandinavian countries, though they resisted fiercely, were also overwhelmed. The tide of war instantly turned in Jerusalem's favor.

At this very moment, in the Vatican, Rome, inside the Papal Palace.

"What's going on?! That bastard Nicholas dared to lie to me?! I'm wiping away my tears! He imprisoned his family's chief bishop, so why would he continue to ally with Jerusalem?! This doesn't make sense!!" In the papal chamber, a red-haired youth was furious. He was none other than the strongest of the Right Seats of God, the highest position in the Roman Catholic Church, known as the Right Fire.

But at this moment, this usually arrogant young man felt that his brain was not working properly.

"To be honest, he's just a young man... His skill in magic is superb, but when it comes to scheming and plotting, he's a little lacking."

Upon hearing the voice from behind, Right Fire was startled and immediately turned around—who else could it be but the Pope of Rome, whom Right Fire had always treated as a puppet?

Right-hand Fire was secretly furious and sneered, "I don't know, do you?"

“Of course I know,” the Pope chuckled. “Naturally, that prince of the Holy Land promised Nicholas his support in becoming the highest bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church. Besides that, he must have promised other benefits. However, I’m not sure about those.”

"How could that be?" Right Fire couldn't believe it: "Isn't that Jerusalem madman on very good terms with the highest bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church?"

“Indeed, he has a very good relationship with the ‘Grand Archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church.’ As for who that ‘Grand Archbishop’ is, what does it matter?” The Pope, being an old and shrewd man, saw through the scheme in a single sentence.

“I see… indeed…” Right Fire sneered: “I didn’t expect you to have such abilities, old man.”

Despite being addressed rudely by the man on the right, the Pope showed no anger whatsoever. He merely let out a barely perceptible sigh.

"But what does all this have to do with me?" Right Flame, for a moment, regained its usual arrogant expression: "Who wins and who loses, what does that have to do with me?"

"Why do you say that?" the Pope asked, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Right Fire chuckled: "Because what I need is not 'victory in war,' but simply 'war' itself."

Then, under the astonished gaze of the Pope, Right Flame revealed his plan: to leverage the malice inflicted by World War III to complete his scheme; to deploy a massive magical incantation on the Bethlehem space station; and to transform this corrupt and decadent world in one fell swoop.

"...Are you an idiot?" The Pope barely suppressed a laugh. He looked down on the Right Flame with disdain: "Regardless of how you achieved this plan—don't you know just how absurd the plan itself is?"

"Absurd?! It's not my plan that's absurd! It's this world that's absurd!" Right Fire uttered the most popular phrase among chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) teenagers.

...Unbelievable that the Roman Catholic Church was manipulated by such idiots for so many years.

With this thought in mind, the Pope could no longer conceal his strength. With a wave of his hand, the papal scepter was already in his grasp: "Since that's the case, then fall down, Fire of the Right!"

Thirteen enormous orbs of light instantly appeared around Right Flame, and extremely intense magical power enveloped his entire body, imprisoning him.

Faced with such a near-miraculous binding spell, Right Flame merely whistled, seemingly unafraid.

"Wake up, you fool!" The Pope, now brimming with confidence, believed he had the situation firmly in his grasp: "After all, this confinement spell, with over two thousand years of history, the support of more than two billion believers, and cast within St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, employed the power of the Son of God and the thirteen apostles! No matter how strong you are, it's...it's...it's—"

"So what, old man?" At this moment, a huge arm resembling a dragon claw suddenly appeared on the right side of the fire's shoulder.

With a single swing of this arm, the so-called strongest confinement technique, which the Pope prides himself on, boasts over 2000 years of history, 20 billion believers, St. Peter's Basilica, and the Vatican effect, was shattered.

"Monster..." The Pope couldn't find a better word to describe it.

Unexpectedly, after hearing the Pope's evaluation, Right Flame laughed triumphantly: "You are the real fool! An old-fashioned relic clinging to the past! It seems you don't quite understand your own position. A puppet should act like a puppet. Your Holiness."

Immediately afterward, the third hand on the right shoulder of the Flame swung again. A massive magical aura struck the Pope. The Pope's pupils constricted sharply, and despite gathering all his strength, he barely managed to block the attack—afterward, a third of St. Peter's Basilica was destroyed. The Pope lay amidst the ruins, his fate unknown.

"Tsk... It shouldn't only have this much destructive power."

At this moment, a group of Papal knights rushed over upon hearing the news. Seeing the Pope lying on the ground, his life hanging in the balance, they were all dumbfounded and at a loss for what to do.

"Tch, did he protect the others too? This old man really... likes to do useless things." Right Flame curled his lip, then his face turned murderous as he charged towards the group of Papal knights.

Thus, the Right Faction, through violent suppression, seized control of the highest authority in the Roman Catholic Church. The masses didn't even bother to look at the old pope's body, busying themselves with currying favor with their new masters.

However, just as the Pope commented, the Right Flame was brave but reckless, arrogant and conceited. In the ensuing war, the European princes, who were already no match for him, seemed to be defeated even more quickly under his command.

Three days later, the Jerusalem Black Sea Fleet, the Mediterranean Fleet, the Adriatic Fleet, the North African Fleet, the Outer Sea Fleet, and the Atlantic Fleet all joined forces, and in a series of naval battles, completely defeated the combined fleets of the European powers and gained control of the sea.

Seven days later, the Jerusalem army pressed in, encircling the Iberian Peninsula from three sides and landing there.

Ten days later, Spain and Portugal announced their surrender.

Fourteen days later, the Jerusalem army feinted again, bypassing the supposedly impregnable Pyrenees mountain defenses of the European powers, and employing a leapfrog tactic to directly breach the southern French region. Their advance reached the key southern French city of Toulouse.

Seeing that the European Union was about to lose again, I felt no joy at all.

The reason lay in the fierce resistance of the people in the occupied territories—in truth, the occupation policies I implemented were quite mild. Taxes were ridiculously low, and welfare was incredibly high. It was one thing for those unscrupulous people to cause trouble in secret, but for some inexplicable reason, they all charged into the occupying army's camps like a suicide squad, recklessly risking their lives.

Faced with such an attack, the Jerusalem occupying forces naturally did not hold back. They didn't even need to deploy heavy weapons; a barrage of light and heavy machine guns, automatic rifles, and submachine guns followed. How could the civilians in cloth armor possibly break through?!

However, given this situation, the occupying forces will not only be unable to spare any resources, but they also won't be able to gain anything from the occupied territories—it's possible that all the ordinary people in Iberia will be wiped out.

And the French garrison in Jerusalem also sent a message—the French ronin are just like the Spanish bullfighters. They're all courting death!

What's going on?! This made me a little concerned. Finally, with the help of intelligence from an inside spy, I reached a conclusion.

The C document. One of the three sacred documents of the Roman Catholic Church (the other two being the Adriatic Queen's document and the Apostolic Cross). This is the reason why the people of Europe were going crazy.

It must be destroyed!

Chapter Four: The Battle for Document C

While killing everyone in Europe wouldn't be a big deal, well... how should I put it... it feels like such a hassle.

That's about it.