As a villain, he could do whatever he wanted.

Page 73

"Yes, sir, we understand."

As he said this, the two young nuns stepped forward, like two well-trained maids, and followed behind Lius, looking very obedient and cute.

"Okay, let's go."

As Lius spoke, he exchanged a glance with Xiaoyou beside him, and then, surrounded by the nuns, headed towards the church to meet with the local bishop...

Chapter 135 The Road to Esoteric Buddhism (Part 3)

As he continued along the road, passing through a meadow full of lavender, Lius noticed countless fireflies emerging from the grass and slowly swirling around him.

Like butterflies drawn to flowers, these fireflies clung to the remaining wounds on his body, and with each firefly's touch, the wounds visibly healed, gradually filling Lius with power, which filled him with astonishment.

"This is the first time I've ever seen such a creature, and looking at the sky, it seems like nothing has changed at all. Could it be that this place has always been like this?"

"Yes, Your Holiness, this is the holy site found by our Holy Church. It was built by countless predecessors with painstaking efforts. Just to build such a church here, it would take an immeasurable amount of power. Even the black curtain and stars in the sky were created by our predecessors day and night using magic."

Supporting Lius's arm, Xiaoyou nodded slightly and, just like him, raised her head to gaze at the sky above.

"I don't know much about the history of this place either. The only thing I know is that when the Goddess left this world, the highest judge of the church ordered the establishment of this place in the soul world as a secret location of the Holy Church. There are too many secrets about this place that I don't know. If you are interested, Holy Son, I am willing to accompany you to explore it later."

"Ha, then I'll have to look forward to it. Hmm? Is that church over there where the bishop is located?"

Seeing a church on the plain in the distance, Lius pointed ahead, and Xiaoyou nodded slightly. She led Lius to the church, knocked on the door, and called out to those inside:

"Your Excellency, I have returned, and I have brought His Holy Son with me."

"Hmm? Your Highness?"

Upon hearing Xiaoyou's voice, the church doors slowly opened, revealing the veiled beauty wearing a hood.

"Oh?"

Peeking out from the crack in the door, the bishop looked at the blond boy in front of him, his eyes, peeking out from under the hood, blinked slightly, then looked at Xiaoyou on the other side, nodded gently to her, and then opened the church door completely, welcoming Xiaoyou and Lius into the church together.

"Shirley, Shirley, you two can wait outside for now. I have some things to discuss with Xiaoyou and this gentleman. I'll call you in later."

As he spoke these words to the other two twins, the bishop gently patted their heads. The two little girls blushed and nodded, standing obediently outside the church, watching the three people enter the church, and then slowly closing the heavy doors again.

"..."

In the center of the church, Xiaoyou held Lius's arm, accompanying him as they slowly followed behind the bishop. The bishop led the two to the cross, turned to look at Lius, and after a few seconds of silence, finally spoke to him:

"So, you are the companion that Xiaoyou found outside, right?"

“Yes, my name is Lius Frenn, the eldest son of the Frenn family outside. Auntie, are you... the bishop here?”

“Well, my name is… Nottica. I am the bishop of this Holy Church and also Xiaoyou’s teacher. She explained some things to me before, saying that you were the one who rescued her. For this, I am truly grateful to you, Young Master Lius. Please accept my thanks.”

As he said this, the bishop named Nottica bowed slightly to the boy in front of him, and Lius quickly stepped forward to help the bishop up.

"No need for that, no need for that. This is what I should do. I'm very happy to have saved Xiaoyou. Auntie, you don't need to be so respectful to me."

As he said this, Lius looked at Xiaoyou beside him, trying to get her to offer some advice as well. The girl tilted her head slightly, seemingly puzzled by Lius's request.

“Your Majesty, your words deserve our respect. It is only right for the bishop to bow to you. There is no need to stop him. Come, Your Majesty, if you do not mind, please allow me to express my gratitude once again.”

Xiaoyou stepped forward and put her arm around Lius's shoulder again, gently rubbing against it. The voluptuous red-haired beauty in front of her did the same, constantly being affectionate with Lius.

"what……"

Looking at the cute girl wriggling on his body and Bishop Nottica beside him, the two different feelings intertwined, making Lius feel extremely comfortable for a moment.

Of course, the enjoyment never lasts too long. After lingering with the two beauties for a while, Lius, guided by the bishop, took his seat in the prayer area in front of the cross, facing each other, his face showing a serious expression.

"So, regarding you, Young Master Lius, as Xiaoyou mentioned before, is it true that you are the Holy Son our church has been searching for?"

"Well... isn't it a bit unconvincing to ask me? If you really want to find out my identity, shouldn't you find a way to test me yourselves? Just my own words aren't enough to convince you, Auntie, are they?" Lius asked the bishop.

"Ha... Young Master Lius need not worry so much. Just reply according to your own thoughts. If you are indeed the Holy Son, then it is a great honor for the Holy Church to receive the blessings of the Holy Son and the God. Such a fortunate thing is what we have always longed for. So please give us a definite answer, Young Master Lius."

Approaching Lius, the bishop revealed a pleading look and earnestly inquired:

"Are you... truly the Holy Son we've been searching for?"

"I……"

Upon hearing this, Lius was slightly taken aback. After a brief hesitation, he looked at Xiaoyou beside him and received a look of affirmation from the girl.

“Your Holiness, I trust you and am certain that you are the leader we need most. Moreover, God has already blessed me directly. Now, please give the Bishop hope and lead our church to the Promised Land!” Xiaoyou said with a smile.

"Forehead……"

Seeing the expectant look in Xiaoyou's eyes, Lius felt that he was being watched too much and felt a little embarrassed for a moment.

After calming himself down a bit, he looked at the veiled beauty before him again, swallowed hard, and then resolutely spoke to Nottika:

"Yes, I am the Holy Son, blessed by the God. The God now resides within me and can manifest himself at any time. If you wish to receive the God's blessing, Auntie, pray before me, and you will see the goddess you have been longing for."

"!"

Upon hearing Lius's words, Bishop Notica was stunned. He seemed to be considering the truth of the young man's words. He couldn't help but cross his arms over his chest, making a praying gesture, and silently stared at Lius with an unusually strong desire in his eyes.

"Aunt Nautica..."

Sensing the serious expression on the bishop's face, Lius tilted his head slightly, seemingly puzzled by the young woman's sudden reaction.

Bishop Notica, realizing what was happening, took a deep breath and lowered his hands from his chest, seemingly giving up his prayer. But his gaze toward Lius held a newfound respect and trust, along with a surge of excitement and exhilaration.

“Hmm… I understand, Young Master Lius… no, Holy Son, welcome! I apologize, I may have been a little too excited, but at this moment, I… I am truly honored to receive your and the God’s blessings…”

"Oh? Aunt Notica, you trust me that much? Don't you need the gods to come out and bless you personally?"

Seeing the red-haired beauty approaching, Lius was slightly surprised, while Nottica smiled and nodded, explaining to the boy in front of her:

"This space contains a part of the formation I set up. Once I step into it, I can sense the flow of everyone's aura. If someone tells a lie, I will be able to detect it. Even if it's just some unclear words, I can sense them all."

With a slight flick of his fingers, Leus noticed only faint red magic swirling around him.

This magic condensed on the ground, forming a complex magic circle, the complexity of which even surpassed that of Leus, who had a deep understanding of magic.

"Wow, amazing... Aunt Nottica, you seem to know a lot about formations to be able to create such a complex magic circle."

"Of course, while I will remain humble in other matters, I have absolute confidence in the matter of magic arrays, and no one can surpass me."

Bishop Notica straightened his expression and answered Lius in a serious tone:

"It is because of this confidence that I examined you just now, Your Majesty, and found that there were no lies in what you said earlier. Therefore, I am willing to believe in you and believe that you are the Your Majesty we have been praying for."

Taking a step closer, Nautica grasped Lius's hands and spoke to him in her most sincere words.

Although he couldn't see her face clearly, Lius could still feel a blush on her face and a warm sensation from her hands amidst her captivating fragrance, which was quite intoxicating.

“Furthermore… I used this method on the Holy Son without His Highness’s consent, which was an offense to His Highness. I ask for His Highness’s forgiveness.” Notica pursed her lips.

"Ha, it's no big deal. As I said before, you can judge me in your own way. So, it's perfectly fine to do so."

"Your Holiness..."

Nottica looked at Lius with gratitude, while Lius took another step closer, gazing at the bishop who remained respectful to him, and suddenly felt a desire to manipulate this beautiful veiled woman, using this as an excuse to enjoy what it felt like to "wield power."

At that moment, Xiao You also leaned closer, looking at Lius with longing, then glancing towards Bishop Notica. After straightening her expression, she earnestly spoke to him:

"Your Excellency, now that we have confirmed the identity of the Holy Son, it is time for him to explain his purpose in coming here. There are some matters related to formations that require your assistance. Please help us, Your Excellency."

"Hmm? About formations?"

Upon hearing Xiaoyou's words, Nottica, whose voice had been ambiguous, suddenly became serious. She broke free from the somewhat inappropriate atmosphere and maintained a distance from Lius, looking at him face to face.

"Then, Your Holiness, what can we do for you? Just tell us, and we guarantee that we will do our utmost to help you achieve your desired goal."

"Indeed, I have something very important to ask you. You mentioned before, Bishop, that you are very knowledgeable about formations, right? I also have a formation structure here, which has been set up for a long time. I wonder if you have any way to dismantle the formation?"

Nodding to Nottica, Lius didn't hold back, drawing a pattern of an array on the ground with his hand and explaining the series of events that had happened to her.

"A magic circle that has spread throughout the entire country..."

Meanwhile, as Nautica listened to Lius's series of statements, she also showed a thoughtful expression, staring at the six-pointed star pattern that Lius had drawn on the ground. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, as if she had recalled something, causing her to fall silent for a moment.

"..."

Remaining silent, Notica finally shook her head, looked back at Lius, and spoke to him:

"No, Your Highness, it has been set up for too long. There is no way to remove it in a short time. If we forcibly destroy the array core, it may even cause a backlash of magic power, which will further aggravate the damage caused by the array. Therefore, I strongly advise against Your Highness doing this."

"So there's still no other way... Do we have to search for any 'offerings' that might exist in the town? I wonder how much effort that will take. I hope it's not too late..."

Lius frowned and muttered to himself, while Nottica paused for a moment before continuing:

"Actually, based on my deduction, if Your Excellency wants to weaken or even completely eliminate the effectiveness of the magic array, you don't necessarily need to destroy it. Besides eliminating the array's core, you can also disable it through another method."

"Hmm? There are other methods?"

Upon hearing Nottica's words, Lius cast a focused glance at her, while the bishop in front of him nodded slightly, her expression seemingly revealing a hint of difficulty.

"If you want to remove the effect of the formation, you can transfer the magic power within it to a suitable creature or object while activating the formation. This will greatly weaken the original effect of the formation. However... there are some difficult aspects to this."

"A difficult situation?" Lius asked further.

"Yes, His Holiness the Holy Son said that this magic array has spread throughout the entire country. To absorb such a vast amount of magic power, it must have a host capable of containing it. I cannot offer much help in this regard, I'm sorry His Holiness the Holy Son. Moreover, even if a suitable host can be found, this is the first problem."

"Finding a host who can absorb this magic power... isn't too difficult. What other problems are there?"

Lius continued to ask, and Nottica pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and continued to speak to Lius:

"Another problem is... if we want to transfer this magic, the manpower of our church alone is not enough. It requires the participation of a large number of monks and mages. If we really want to carry out this plan, not only will the entire Holy Church need to participate, but we will also need to unite with the false churches and cooperate with those false believers. Only in this way can the magic be transferred smoothly..."

"The false religion... are those orthodox monasteries in the kingdom? Do we need to unite to successfully thwart their conspiracies...?"

Listening to Nottica's words and gazing at her troubled expression, Lius fell into deep thought...

Chapter 136 Cooperation with the Church

"Does the cooperation of both churches require the magic to be successfully transferred...?"

Muttering to himself about what Nautica had said, Lius pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly, gradually forming a rough idea.

"Hmm...that does sound difficult, but perhaps it's not entirely impossible. And if we can really get these two churches to cooperate, we might be able to use that as a reason to resolve the conflict between the new and old churches..."

Thinking this through, Lius looked at Bishop Notica again and asked him in return:

"In that case, what are your thoughts, Bishop Aunt? If the kingdom's crisis truly escalates to an uncontrollable and dire state, would you be willing to set aside your prejudices and cooperate with those Protestants?"

"I……"

Feeling the questioning gaze from Lius, Nottica pursed her lips, seemingly somewhat surprised by his question.

"..."

After hesitating for a moment, she finally exhaled and nodded to the blond boy in front of her:

"According to the teachings of the Goddess, she taught us in ancient times to protect the world and its people. Therefore, in the face of a major crisis, any conflict can be temporarily resolved, including cooperation with those false believers."

After saying this, Nautica bit her lip, forcing herself to make up her mind, and looked at Lius with a determined gaze.

"If this is your idea, Your Majesty, then we... can also accept those false believers. Please rest assured, Your Majesty."

"Well, it's good that you have that awareness. Also, regarding how you refer to those believers... please stop calling them 'false religion'. Since we're going to cooperate, we're all one family. If you show any discrimination in front of them, it will seriously affect our cooperative relationship!"

"Should we temporarily become comrades with those false believers...?"

Taking a deep breath, Notica seemed to be making an internal effort to change. When she finally looked at Lius, the confusion in her eyes had disappeared, revealing her composure and calmness as a bishop, and she gave the answer most appropriate for the current situation:

"Yes, just as Your Holiness said, if we really want to cooperate, then we should put aside our prejudices. In that case, I will also tell the other believers about Your Holiness's thoughts and persuade them to accept Your Holiness's suggestions as well."

“Alright, as long as you’re willing to cooperate, leave the rest to me. Whether it’s choosing a host to absorb magic or cooperating with the Protestant Church, you don’t need to worry. These matters are very important, so we’ll have to trouble you, Bishop Auntie.” Lius smiled and thanked the veiled young woman in front of him.

"It is we who should be troubling you, Your Highness. We feel extremely ashamed to have to entrust so many matters to you. We are truly sorry that we are unable to solve your problems..."

With her hands resting on her chest, Nottica closed her eyes and slowly lowered her head, expressing her apology to Lius. Lius, in turn, gently raised his head, stroked the hair of the veiled beauty before him through his hood, and offered words of comfort:

"It's alright. Knowing so many secrets is already very worthwhile for me, including you, Bishop Aunt. Without you, I wouldn't even know how to deal with the formation. I hope you can give me more guidance in this area in the future, including cooperation. Everything depends on you."

"Speaking of this... please forgive my rudeness, but there is still something I need to explain to you, Your Holiness."

Approaching Lius, Nottica hesitated slightly before looking at him earnestly and voicing her concerns:

"Regarding the cooperation between the two churches, I also believe that those false churches... cough, the members of the new church will not give up this opportunity to deal with the crisis in the face of such a huge crisis. This will allow them to enhance their prestige among the people and thus cooperate with us. Even though we were once enemies, I believe there will not be much resistance now."

“Yes, isn’t this great? Is there a problem?” Lius continued to ask.