Chapter 1194: The Reverse of the Southern Region's Situation (Part One)
Today, Fei had to say the forever goodbye to Pato.
Those scenes where they discussed the truth of the world together with their other brothers quickly flashed in Fei's mind.
"Brother, don't feel sad for me. I will be in the stars' embrace and looking at you, Milito, Palacio, and others. I will be watching the land that I love deeply…"
Pato's image started to dissipate, and his voice faded away.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The 12 giant bodies of the [Godly Warriors] fell onto the ground, creating 12 consecutive loud noises. Then, they turned into ashes and completely disappeared in this world.
Thousands of human masters died to protect this land that they loved.
As these masters disappeared, an enormous amount of power of faith rushed to Fei and wrapped around him. Fei had to open his grand godly realm and let these massive streaks of power flow into it continuously.
At this moment, the green light prison that engulfed this space finally disappeared.
Then, the entire space started to shake violently.
At this moment, a series of random surging noises sounded from the dried heart of the goblin supreme god that had transformed into a giant green boulder. All the laws of nature in this space became chaotic.
Many goblins rushed into this space from many entrances around it.
The space inside this corpse fell into chaos without Platini's control. The power that was controlling the various incubation chambers in this corpse disappeared, and a large number of goblins that were created either rushed to the outside or started to run around in this maze-like space and kill each other. Everything was a mess.
These defective goblins were aggressive, and they killed and devoured each other. It seemed like this process was intensified. More and more powerful goblins were created.
Fei, Elena, and Maradona were humans. As members of a foreign race, they were attacked by these goblins repeatedly.
There were even a few goblin godly kings in the mix.
These goblins were all hidden cards that Platini didn't get to show. Inside the corpse of this goblin supreme god, Platini created many powerful goblins. Including the goblin godly kings that Fei killed earlier, there were over a dozen goblin godly kings. They should be created by Platini for a specific purpose; perhaps they were related to Platini's plan of becoming a supreme god himself. Now, everything was meaningless.
With Platini gone, Fei didn't need to hide his strength. He showed his power and quickly killed all the goblin masters in this space.
A ton of pure core energies was refined by Fei's golden and silver sword energies of order and got sucked into the grand godly realm. On the side, Maradona watched this and was terrified again. This method of acquiring massive amounts of energy was terrifying.
Fei tried to directly destroy this space inside this goblin supreme god's corpse, but he soon experienced failure.
Even though it died numerous years ago, and the corpse already dried-up, the bones and muscle fibers of a supreme god weren't something that Fei could destroy.
Although the Godly King Realm was right under the Supreme God Realm, the difference in strength was beyond words. This was why Platini even decided to let the goblins wipe out all creatures in the Southern Region in order for him to become a supreme god.
With Platini's death, many things became mysteries.
At least for now, Fei couldn't decode the secrets in this corpse. Even if Fei could stay in here and kill all the goblins that were being created, he didn't know how long it would take to deplete this corpse of all its energy.
Chapter 1194: The Reverse of the Southern Region's Situation (Part Two)
"Let me think of a way." Maradona shook his head and said, "Otherwise, this corpse will continue to create more goblins. With more and more goblin masters, perhaps the entire continent will be occupied by these violent creatures."
"Ok." Fei nodded and placed one of his arms around Elena's waist. Then, he summoned the Throne of Creation and jumped onto it with Elena, leaving this place with the space-traveling ability of the throne.
…
In about four days, the situation on the Azeroth Continent changed drastically.
Under the instigation of the Holy Church, the ancient empires of the Eastern Region such as Sunderland and Everton declared war against the Northern Region Empire. They already sent many troops to the Strait of Naples, getting ready for the war.
At the same time, a massive internal war among humans occurred inside the City of Allianz, one of the two last remaining cities of humans in the Southern Region.
It was heard that the troops of the Holy Church suddenly started to kill the forces in the city that weren't willing to listen to their commands. The nobles and the Royal Family of the Munich Empire that were displeased by the Holy Church's dominating behaviors in the city were being executed by the troops of the Holy Church led by Rosario. The entire city was engulfed in white terror; people were being executed on the fire cross by the Holy Church at all times.
Also, some people stated that Deputy Pope Platini made appearances in the City of Allianz.
Therefore, most of the human forces had to endure all this and be bullied by the Holy Church.
However, on the third day, the situation inside the City of Allianz turned around. The masters of the Northern Region Empire who somehow got into the city started to sneak-attack the forces of the Holy Church, Barcelona, and Juventus.
The skillful assassins of [Dark Palace], the assassin organization of the Northern Region Empire, quietly took the lives of more than 40 percent of the masters of the Holy Church in the city.
Hazel Bank, the No.1 Master of [Dark Palace], appeared and killed the god-level masters of the Holy Church such as Rosario, completely crushing the confidence of the three forces.
In terms of top-tier masters, the Northern Region Empire that was well-prepared was at the advantage.
Except for the assassins of [Dark Palace] and more than 100 silver crystal battle soul warriors, eight out of the 12 Gold Saints of the Northern Region Empire who had disappeared for a long time showed themselves. Their strength skyrocketed and entered the Demi-God Realm. Together with their golden armor, they were unstoppable gods!
During this, the legendary Deputy Pope Platini didn't appear.
This was one of the main reasons why the Holy Church got defeated in the City of Allianz.
The spies of the Northern Region Empire suddenly appeared in the city and started to spread the news that Platini was killed by Human Emperor Alexander of the North.
In the beginning, the members of the Holy Church didn't take it seriously. They expected this legendary genius warrior of the Holy Church to appear and turn the tables.
However, as the gods of the Holy Church died one after another, Platini still didn't show up. Those statements that they regarded as rumors completely crushed their hope.
Under such a momentum, the human forces that were suppressed by the Holy Church started to jump ships and stood with the Northern Region Empire.
In just one night, the City of Allianz that the Holy Church managed for half a month transferred ownership.
The entire continent was shocked.
Chapter 1195: The Corruption of the Holy Church (Part One)
The change of ownership of the City of Allianz had an unmeasurable impact on the situation of the continent.
In the Southern Region, the Holy Church and the Northern Region Empire faced off each other. Many people saw this as the first official battle between these two giant forces on the continent, and they expected this to last a long time. Especially with the appearance of the Human Emperor of the North and Deputy Pope Platini, the hype around this matter reached the climax.
It was rumored that Platini came to the Southern Region with many masters of the Holy Church and hidden cards to ambush and kill the Human Emperor of the North.
However, in the Battle at the City of Allianz, all the known masters of the Holy Church were killed, yet Platini didn't show himself.
Although rumors stated that Platini was dead, and they were passed around in the City of Allianz, demoralizing the troops of the Holy Church, many people believed that Platini wasn't dead.
Also, since the Human Emperor of the North didn't appear, people wanted to believe that the battle between these two magnates wasn't over, and they didn't appear due to the fact that they were in a stalemate.
People were wondering about where this battlefield between the two was, and they waited for the result of the battle.
To some degree, the change of ownership of the City of Allianz wasn't that significant. The thing that would truly determine the fate of the Southern Region was the battle between the Human Emperor of the North and Deputy Pope Platini. A godly king could block millions upon millions of elite soldiers.
While most people were looking at the Southern Region, shocking changes occurred at the Strait of Naples, the border between the Northern Region and the Central Region as well as the battlefield between the Northern Regional Empire and the Holy Church.
No one expected this!
The little over a dozen ancient empires of the Eastern Region such as Sunderland and Everton suddenly switched sides! These empires' elite troops got to the Strait of Naples a day ago, and they declared that they would never make peace with the Northern Region Empire. However, they suddenly attacked the troops of the Holy Church, Barcelona, and Juventus.
This was clearly a trap set up by the Northern Region Empire.
The Holy Church and its two affiliated empires didn't anticipate this at all. They were taken by surprise. Under the joint attack of the troops of the Northern Region Empire and the alliance troops of the Eastern Region, they lost millions of soldiers and had to back away for tens of thousands of kilometers.
In this battle, the Godly Execution Knight Legion that was once invincible got crushed. The silver-haired and grey-eyed Legion Commander Atkinson got nailed into the ground by [Golden Lion] Lampard, dying in the battle.
Close to 10,000 core godly execution knights died in the battle, and more than 50,000 soldiers were captured. The legion was destroyed and obliterated.
At the same time, Head Commander Quagliarella of Juventus also died on the frontline.
Head Commander Pique of Barcelona was severely injured and fainted, and his subordinates risked their lives and dragged him out. It was unknown whether he was still alive or not.
After this battle, the Northern Region Empire took complete control of the Strait of Naples, and its reach extended into the Central Region. Then, it unleashed a series of raids, and the Holy Church, Barcelona, and Juventus couldn't defend at all.
In just four days, a large stretch of the land in the Central Region was lost to the Northern Region Empire, and more than half of the territory of the former Inter Milan Empire got claimed.
The Northern Region Empire won the battle beautifully.
The core to the victory was the sudden change of attitude of the alliance troops of the Eastern Region.
Under the accusations of some people on the side of the Holy Church, the alliance troops of the Eastern Region revealed the truth to the continent.
Chapter 1195: The Corruption of the Holy Church (Part Two)
People like Johnson and Fellaini who the Holy Church said were killed by the Northern Region Empire suddenly appeared, and they clarified what had happened to them.
They stated that in reality, it was the Holy Church that tried to kill them, and the Northern Region Empire, which was the murderer in the Holy Church's story, was the savior that dragged them out of death.
With physical evidence and witnesses, all the mysteries were solved.
The entire continent was shocked.
No one expected that the Holy Church which promoted generosity, justice, and fairness was so despicable. It presented itself as the representative of the gods, yet it was so vicious.
The denouncement took the Holy Church by surprise.
For a moment, all forces on the continent were accusing the Holy Church of wrongdoings, and it was bearing a ton of pressure.
Under some forces' intentional and unintentional instigations, there were many cases where people smashed the churches and kicked out members of the Holy Church from the Eastern Region, the Western Region, and the Northern Region. The priests who were once welcomed by low-level civilians were hated, and the godly knights who were looked up to by many hot-blooded and passionate young people got pushed off their pedestals.
In comparison, the fame and reputation of the Northern Region Empire and the Human Emperor of the North continued to rise.
Such a huge change completely messed up the power dynamics on the continent.
As time passed by, the result of the battle between the Human Emperor of the North and Deputy Pope Platini, which many people looked forward to hearing, still didn't get officially announced. No one in public knew where these two magnates who could change the fate of the continent went. It seemed like they disappeared.
Surprising to most people, the Holy Church tried to clear its name and shift the blame in the beginning, but it gradually gave up on that. Instead of aggressively counterattacking the Northern Region Empire, the Holy Church started to pull back and tighten its current influence and control of territories.
Soon, many rumors appeared. It was heard that internal conflicts broke out inside the Holy Church, and many shrines fought with each other to obtain more power. Fights were taking place in the Holy Church's headquarters, Sicily Island, and blood formed rivers.
These turns of events stunned numerous people.
No one expected that this giant force that dominated the continent for more than 1,000 years would decay at such a speed. Under the pressure of the Northern Region Empire, the new rising star, it started to collapse and fade away.
During this time, the Northern Region Empire gradually stopped all its military operations against the Holy Church.
The Southern Region of Azeroth became the focus of the Northern Region Empire.
With the flow of time, many troops of the Northern Region Empire moved into the Southern Region and battled the goblins, obtaining the advantage.
After organizing a few threatening counterattacks, the goblins fell into an unstoppable downward momentum. Also, for some unknown reason, the population of the goblins gradually stopped increasing.
When the war reached the three-month mark, the number of goblins started to decrease, and these murderous creatures' proud goblin-sea-attack stopped being effective.
With the additional help from the powerful empires in the Eastern Region, the situation in the Southern Region started to look good for humans. The goblins were defeated repeatedly, and they had to retreat and lose their territories.
In the end, tens of millions of goblins were pushed back onto the highland that was the southernmost point of the continent.
Chapter 1196: The Period of Shocking Change (Part One)
After killing Platini, Fei didn't show himself on the continent. He didn't even appear in the City of Iduna to create the illusion that he was still fighting with Platini and couldn't do anything else.
That was how the Holy Church's forces in the City of Allianz got fooled, and the Northern Region Empire claimed the city in a short time.
People like Johnson who Fei saved earlier were hidden cards, and they created a huge impact. Johnson and other supreme masters of the Eastern Region hid in the forests on Ruhr Mountains with their troops. With Fei's godly power around them to achieve the perfect stealth, the goblins weren't able to discover them and report back to Platini and his henchmen.
When the expeditionary troops of empires such as Everton and Sunderland arrived at the Strait of Naples, supreme masters including Johnson and Fellaini sneaked into the campsites and reported the situation to the various troops, easily making the empires change their attitude and jump ships.
With the alliance forces of the Eastern Region's help, Strategist Aryang created a series of delicate plans, allowing the Northern Region Empire to strike the weakness of the Holy Church and obtain the victory.
Using the victorious momentum, the Northern Region Empire took control of the Strait of Naples and even counter invaded into the Central Region.
In two consecutive battles, the Northern Region Empire won with style and fashion.
At this moment, many people were still waiting for the result of the battle between the Human Emperor of the North and Deputy Pope Platini. They had no idea that this legendary Deputy Pope of the Holy Church had died about a month ago.
In the last month or so, Fei stayed in the Godly King Place in Sky City, trying to digest the fruit of that battle.
The biggest reward that Fei obtained was the pure Holy Power that belonged to Platini. The power that was close to peak level 8 Godly King Realm was insane! In terms of quality and quantity, this was the best energy that Fei had absorbed since he obtained control of the grand godly realm and the Scepter of Creation.
With the grand godly realm and the Scepter of Creation, Fei felt like he obtained one of the famous techniques in the traditional wuxia novels named the Star-Sucking Technique. By taking the cultivation strength of his opponents, Fei could obtain an endless amount of energy! It was an extremely efficient shortcut!
After spending a full month, Fei finally completely refined and absorbed Platini's power, merging it with the grand godly realm.
At this moment, Fei's degree of fusion with the grand godly realm had reached over 50 percent. In terms of individual combat strength, he was beyond level 9 Godly King Realm. He was approaching the top-tier level 10 Godly King Realm.
This was an unimaginable leap!
More importantly, this wasn't the end of this cultivation for Fei.
After killing Platini, Fei also destroyed more than 20 goblin godly kings in the Goblin Realm, sucking their core energies into the grand godly realm. Right now, their core energies were hovering in the sky of the grand godly realm like many eye-piercing suns.
Although these masses of core energies weren't as abundant and pure as that of Platini, they were godly-king-level core energies after all. They were precious resources in Fei's eyes.
After another month, Fei refined and devoured these over 20 masses of core energies of goblin godly kings.
Now, Fei's degree of fusion with the grand godly realm reached 56 percent, almost reaching peak level 10 Godly King Realm.
As long as the emperor could move forward one more step, he would reach peak level 10 Godly King Realm, meaning that one of his feet would be inside the Supreme God Realm.
After absorbing those masses of core energies, Fei didn't hurry and end his cultivation.
The emperor started to consume the massive amount of power of faith that was coming to him from all over the continent. By transforming the power of faith, he strengthened the foundation between him and the grand godly realm. At the same time, he studied [Demon King's Sword], trying to completely comprehend all the techniques and skills in it before creating the unique Martial Dao and Warrior Path for himself.
Chapter 1196: The Period of Shocking Change (Part Two)
As the fame of the Northern Region Empire grew, Fei's reputation on the continent reached an unimaginable level.
In this era full of tragedies and catastrophes, more and more civilians turned to believe Fei. Besides, Fei inherited a ton of power of faith from Pato and other masters who were turned into those 12 [Godly Warriors] after he purified them. Right now, Fei was wrapped in endless power of faith all the time.
The good thing was that the power of faith was invisible and intangible, and others couldn't detect it. Otherwise, Fei couldn't go anywhere.
At the same time, since rumors stated that internal conflicts were taking place at the headquarters of the Holy Church, Fei ordered the Northern Region Empire to stop attacking it.
That prophecy about the destruction of the world had been weighing on Fei's mind for a long time now.
In fact, the goblins and the Holy Church weren't the most terrifying enemies in Fei's eyes.
The real enemies were those world-destroying devils who were sleeping somewhere. The legends and prophecies said that these devils treated the Azeroth Continent as a farm and a hunting ground. It was hard to say when these devils were going to wake up. The last Mythical Era was destroyed by these outlanders, and the Human Era probably couldn't escape the same tragic fate.
With this external factor being present, Fei didn't want a full-on internal war among humans.
Although the Holy Church was at the disadvantage, it was still powerful with many hidden cards. As the saying goes, a camel that died of hunger is still bigger than a horse.
If the Northern Region Empire wanted to destroy this giant force, they would have to pay an exorbitant price. In the end, the Northern Region Empire would be weakened after the war, and the overall strength of humans would be greatly reduced, unable to defend against those devils from another dimension who were hiding in the dark and staring at Azeroth with preying eyes.
Therefore, when the news about the internal conflicts in the Holy Church got out, Fei stopped all military operations against it. He didn't want to pressure the Holy Church too much and make the fragmented internal forces unite again.
The best-case scenario would be a new force outcompeting the older shrines in the Holy Church. That way, the Northern Region Empire would be able to negotiate with the Holy Church.
Fei sat in his godly palace and watched the situation on the continent to develop further.
Just like this, about half a year passed with not much happening.
In this half a year, the goblins in the Southern Region were finally wiped out. These murderous creatures were killed off by angry humans. The more than 100 million goblins were forced to jump into the Sea of Mist to the south of the Southern Region, being killed and turned into dust.
The only drawback was that the human troops didn't discover the legendary Goblin Realm, so they couldn't be sure if more goblins were hiding in there.
The Southern Region returned to the embrace of humans.
The Northern Region Empire took the leadership position in this operation, and the ten Gold Saints including Robbin, Drogba, Pierce, Oleg, Dessler, and Jessie showed their strength as demi-gods and established themselves as supreme masters.
Before this, they were locked inside Sky City by Fei for an entire year. With the mystical boost coming from this miraculous city and other supporting methods, they were able to achieve many breakthroughs and experience many increases in their strength. Now, they were worthy of the title [The Most Powerful Golden Warriors Under the Human Emperor of the North's Command].
All the efforts and energy that Fei poured into them weren't wasted.
Except for Elf King Akinfeev who was still hiding in the dark, the other 11 Gold Saints all became supreme masters who were in the spotlight.
The Southern Region was re-divided.
The Northern Region Empire got the most benefits. Then, the other empires and forces such as the Elf Clan and the Dwarf-Gnome Alliance that helped in the war against the goblins were all rewarded.
Of course, the Holy Church, Juventus, and Barcelona weren't included.
Everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction.
It seemed like humans who experienced a massive race-ending catastrophe got through the tough times.
At this moment, a piece of shocking news came from Sicily Island, the headquarters of the Holy Church.
Chapter 1197: The Meeting of the Century (Part One)
Suddenly, news broke out on the continent. Officials stories stated that Deputy Pope Platini of the Holy Church died in the battle with the Human Emperor of the North about three to four months ago.
The world was shocked by this news.
In the beginning, some people were still doubtful of this.
However, with many pieces of evidence and the disappearance of Platini, people started to accept this news.
Then, Continental Martial Saint Maradona who was always mysterious and unseen made a rare appearance, confirming the validity of this news. Also, he revealed another terrifying truth that people couldn't imagine!
The catastrophe caused by goblins in the Southern Region was created by this Deputy Pope who had fallen.
Like a small stone that hit the calm surface of a lake, this news created many waves and surges of discussion.
Such news was unheard of! The goblins had appeared for more than a year, and they almost killed all humans in the Southern Region, committing unforgivable sins.
Now, people learned that the Deputy Pope of the Holy Church, which was supposed to represent justice and honor, was behind all this!
If this news didn't come from a reputable and influential figure like Maradona, no one would believe it.
This time, Maradona even provided everyone with hard evidence, a divy crystal that recorded everything about the Goblin Realm and the battle between the Human Emperor of the North and Platini. The influential figures of various human forces got to see it, and they confirmed that it wasn't faked.
In the end, the various empires came together and revealed the information to all humans on the continent.
For a moment, the Holy Church that used to represent justice was becoming demonized.
Faith was destroyed.
Many churches were smashed, and many members of the Holy Church were expelled by many empires.
The entire continent was dominated by the voice that denounced the Holy Church, and it seemed like all other human forces were trying to push down the wall named the Holy Church.
In comparison, the Human Emperor of the North was seen as the Saint Emperor who saved all humans in the Southern Region. His unparalleled strength and righteous image made him the new idol to many people.
The principles and codes of conduct the [Black-Cloth Shrine] of the Northern Region Empire started to spread on the continent in an unstoppable manner. There was now a faith vacuum with the Holy Church denounced, and the [Black-Cloth Shrine] that was supported by the Human Emperor of the North quickly spread to many places. More and more people, including nobles and civilians, started to side with the Northern Region Empire. With so many people believing in the principles and codes of conduct of the [Black-Cloth Shrine], Fei garnished a ton of power of faith non-stop.
Faced with such an unprecedented situation, the Holy Church didn't try to explain anything and counterattack, which was surprising to many.
Looking from the outside, it seemed like the Holy Church was still experiencing internal conflicts and couldn't be bothered with these things happening on the outside.
Under such an atmosphere, another month quickly passed by.
The Southern Region that was recovered was poor and impoverished after the goblins' abuse and overexploitation.
However, a ton of ownerless land attracted many people. The Northern Region Empire and many other empires and forces that had new territories in the Southern Region drafted many creative and openminded population policies and implemented various incentives and rewards, allowing the Southern Region to quickly recover some of its vitality.
At this moment, the silent Holy Church suddenly made a surprising announcement to the outside world.
The Pope of the Holy Church announced to the entire continent that he was inviting the Human Emperor of the North to a meeting at the former Capital of Inter Milan, the City of San Siro. The meeting would be about the relationship between the Northern Region Empire and the Holy Church, and Continental Martial Saint Maradona was also invited as a witness.
This news instantly attracted numerous people's attention.
Chapter 1197: The Meeting of the Century (Part Two)
"The meeting between the Pope of the Holy Church and the Human Emperor of the North? Is this overbearing force that dominated the continent for more than 1,000 years finally acknowledging the Northern Region Empire as an opponent on its level? Would it mean that the continent is going to move into the era where these two forces face off each other?" many people thought to themselves, and they waited for Human Emperor Alexander of the North and Continental Martial Saint Maradona's responses.
As long as the Northern Region Empire and the Holy Church decided to end the intense face-off, perhaps the continent could move into a new era of relative peace.
The people didn't wait for too long.
Three days later, the Human Emperor of the North responded.
"I will arrive at the meeting in the City of San Siro on time."
Continental Martial Saint Maradona responded almost at the same time and agreed to show up.
…
Time quickly passed by.
The entire continent was looking forward to the result of this meeting. If this meeting went downhill, everyone would be facing endless chaos and flames of war.
The City of San Siro was located in the Central Region and about 100,000 kilometers from the Strait of Naples. This city was in the center of the battle between the Northern Region Empire and the Holy Church. Both the mixed cavalry legion under the leadership of [Golden Lion] Lampard and the crusader legion of the Holy Church couldn't obtain control of this city in a short time.
This was a giant city that was still neutral, so it was perfect for the meeting between these two most influential magnates.
Before the day of the meeting, both sides made many preparations.
Except for sending out masters to the City of San Siro to inspect the terrains and make sure that there were no traps, the spies and intelligence workers of the two parties also fought with each other in the dark. However, they maintained sufficient self-control and didn't cause any big conflicts.
Also, the two forces placed millions of soldiers outside the City of San Siro and sent many masters, looking at each other with hostility.
Many people were waiting and predicting the result.
In just a flash, it was the day of the meeting.
For 1,000 years, the Azeroth Continent had never been this intense.
For 1,000 years, the five regions of Azeroth had never been so peaceful.
Except for the masters of the Northern Region Empire and the Holy Church, many masters of other forces rushed over and flew in the sky above the City of San Siro. They were in stealth and closely watched how things were going.
The sun rose from the east and climbed higher and higher into the sky.
Time was slowly passing away like a moving turtle.
The giant City of San Siro attracted all the attention of the Azeroth Continent.
While numerous people did the countdown, it was finally noon.
To the southwest of the City of San Siro, a giant transparent ripple appeared. It looked as if that section of the sky was collapsing.
Instantly, space seemed to have turned into a turbulent ocean, and a small floating palace slowly showed itself in the surging ripples.
A streak of powerful and indescribable Holy Power instantly filled the space, engulfing a large area like a radiant sun.
"The people of the Holy Church!"
"The flying godly palace of the Holy Church! It is said to be the special traveling device of the Pope, and it hadn't been seen in public for hundreds of years."
"Unfortunately, we can't see the Pope right now."
"The masters of the Holy Church are on the move? I wonder what level Pope Blatter is at. Can he rival the Human Emperor of the North?"
"Don't be impatient. We will know if we continue watching. The Human Emperor of the North and the Continental Martial Saint are about to appear as well."
The masters who were in stealth in the sky chatted among themselves. In reality, they didn't need to be in stealth anymore.
These masters all showed themselves and looked at each other from afar. None of them wanted to miss this grand meeting which would be recorded in the history books for sure.
Chapter 1198: The Meeting of the Century (2) (Part One)
While these masters chatted among themselves, a streak of mystical power suddenly appeared above the City of San Siro.
Like a knife, this power cut away one-third of the Holy Power that the flying godly palace of the Holy Church was emitting.
A mass of flames appeared on the other side of the sky, and a figure could be vaguely seen inside it.
Many people in the area were shocked. This figure was Continental Martial Saint Maradona who had been extremely mysterious in the last 1,000 years.
The masters who were observing in the sky all started to chat again.
"The Continental Martial Saint finally appeared! Unfortunately, I can't see him clearly."
"For the last 1,000 years, he is the most powerful human under the stars. He is the most powerful man in the world without a doubt! The only figure who is never afraid of the Holy Church, and the Holy Church can't do anything about it. Now, under the light of the Human Emperor of the North, will the Continental Martial Saint still be the most powerful?"
"It is hard to say. The Human Emperor of the North even killed Platini. Who knows what realm he is in! The younger ones are scarier!"
"Which side do you think the Continental Martial Saint will take?"
"Why are you even asking? With the Human Emperor of the North for sure! The Continental Martial Saint exposed the scandal involving Deputy Bishop Platini, and he even had the divy crystal which contained Platini's last few moments. It is clear that the Continental Martial Saint and the Human Emperor of the North have secret relationships."
"That isn't for sure. If the Continental Martial Saint is standing on the side of the Northern Region Empire, would Pope Blatter invite him here as a witness? Is the Pope stupid? If the Human Emperor of the North and the Continental Martial Saint work together, perhaps they can even kill the Pope today!"
The people chatted and held their own opinions, making many guesses.
If these masters were anywhere else, they would be god-like existences, knowing many secrets that were mysterious to others.
However, today, they were no different from the women who like to gossip in grocery markets. They were only ordinary viewers this time.
While they chatted, a huge shadow suddenly appeared to the northeast of the City of San Siro.
A series of ripples appeared in the sky, looking as if an invisible curtain was slowly pulled open.
In the next second, a giant and magnificent godly city that should only exist in legends appeared in the empty sky. It slowly revealed its graceful form in style.
This was a great city that couldn't be described with words.
All praises and comments would be meaningless for this city.
When this giant city slowly turned from invisible to visible, everyone was so stunned that their minds turned blank for several seconds, including the millions of soldiers who were stationed around the City of San Siro on both sides, the masters who were observing this historical moment, and the masters of the Holy Church in the sky.
This was a terrifying city! It shouldn't exist in the mortal world!
Compared to this giant silver city, the flying godly palace of the Holy Church looked like a toy for kids. The flying godly palace which was a great treasure looked like trash at this moment.
Chapter 1198: The Meeting of the Century (2) (Part Two)
The proud and arrogant soldiers and masters of the Holy Church instantly turned ugly.
"This… is the legendary Sky City?"
"The legend is real! The Human Emperor of the North obtained Sky City, and it is now his royal city! No wonder his strength is sickeningly powerful! He got his hands on this treasure!"
"It is heard that the Continental Martial Saint got to enter this city once when he was young, and he became a 1,000-year-old legend. The Human Emperor of the North obtained this city! Could it be that the Northern Region Empire is fawned upon by the deities? And it can unite the entire continent?"
After a short moment of silence, the masters who were observing in secret were stimulated, and they talked like sparrows on steroids.
The appearance of the Human Emperor of the North was too shocking! He completely crushed the Holy Church in terms of visual appeal; they weren't even on the same level.
Under everyone's gaze, a streak of silver light slowly flew out of Sky City, turning from a small dot into a big object. When it got the sky above the City of San Siro, people saw that this was a giant silver throne. It was cast from a legendary material, and the images of myths and legends were engraved on it while godly statues stood around it.
Also, two Gold Saints stood beside the stairs below the silver throne.
One of them was [Golden Lion] Lampard whose name was heard around the continent after he defeated the Godly Execution Knight Legion. The other person was Torres, a handsome young archer. He was carrying a golden bow on his back, and his long blond hair fluttered in the wind.
However, these two stunning Gold Saints couldn't steal the light away from the handsome young man who was sitting on the silver throne.
His black long hair looked like a waterfall, and his white robe was as pure as snow.
He was Human Emperor Alexander of the North! He lived as a legend since he was 18 years old, and he was the lord of the Northern Region Empire, ruler of the Northern Region, and someone who could change the fate of the continent.
The main characters in this meeting of the three sides that would change the fate of the continent all appeared.
Everyone closed their mouths subconsciously. All chatters disappeared.
This was a strange scene. It felt like everyone lost the courage to talk at this moment.
"I'm now here. Pope, show yourself."
This voice was clear, and it slowly echoed in the area. It contained unquestionable dignity, and it directly called out the Pope, making others' hearts shiver.
On the other side, the flying godly palace of the Holy Church slowly floated up, and a figure walked out of the gate of the palace. He was wearing a golden mask and a white godly robe, and he was holding a golden scepter.
This man walked in the sky as if he was walking on land, and he was soon about 100 meters away from the Human Emperor of the North.
"Is this man Pope Blatter? The current ruler of the Holy Church?"
Chapter 1198: The Meeting of the Century (2) (Part Three)
This was the first time that many people other than the high-level officials of the Holy Church saw the Pope. Although his face was covered in the golden mask, his appearance revealed enough information. He wasn't a muscular man. In fact, he looked a little thin, just like an ordinary person.
However, the fluttering long white hair behind the mask seemed to be trying to prove to others that the face behind the mask was ancient enough.
This man didn't have the overbearing heroic temperament that many people had imagined.
Also, this man didn't seem to have a terrifying power that could destroy the world.
This Pope made others feel like he was only an ordinary master, an ordinary senior.
The atmosphere suddenly became a little sluggish at this moment.
The three main characters in today's meeting stood above the City of San Siro, but none of them talked. In this silent and suffocating atmosphere, they observed each other.
Others couldn't guess what these three men, who were the most powerful and influential figures on the continent, were thinking about. People seemed to be able to hear their own heartbeats in this deadly silence.
It felt like the entire continent stopped breathing and paused its pulses at this second.
"Alexander…" It sounded like a sigh.
Finally, the initiator of this meeting, the Pope of the Holy Church, finally broke the silence.
His voice gave others an ancient feeling just like his white hair. His voice clearly sounded in the ears of everyone within hundreds of kilometers, "To be honest, it is hard to believe that I would meet and talk with a young man like this one day."
Fei smiled and stood up from the Throne of Creation. Then, he replied, "What? After getting used to others kneeling and crawling before you, you are no longer used to standing up and talking to others?"
"Young man, I can hear the mockery and displeasure in your voice." The Pope was calm. "Can I interpret it as that your impression of the Holy Church is terrible?"
Fei nodded without hesitation.
The Pope sighed and said lightly, "To be honest, the current Holy Church sure is disappointing, isn't it?"
A strange smile appeared on Fei's face as he said, "It depends on what you are referring to."
"Of course, I'm not talking about the Holy Church's current situation." It seemed like the Pope was reflecting on the actions of the Holy Church. "The Holy Church is terrible. Not sure when, but it started to turn into something else. It lost the principles, deviated from the core message, and started to rot and corrupt."
Everyone was shocked to hear this.
It was hard to believe that this came from the supreme Pope of the Holy Church.
In the last 400 to 500 years, such words were taboos on the continent. Regardless of who and where they were, the people who said these words were captured by the vicious masters of the Execution Department of the Holy Church, and they were burned alive on the Fire Cross on the Holy Mountain at Sicily Island.
However, these words came from the person who should be the last one to say them.
Fei re-observed this Pope in a new light and asked, "Is this the fake sentimental speech before the Holy Church loses everything? Or is this the repentance coming from a wise man and a subject of the gods for the crimes that he has committed?"
Chapter 1199: Pope? Prisoner? (Part One)
"Child, you should ditch your old opinions of the Holy Church and re-evaluate the church. After all, you are a member of the Holy Church. As the Bishop of the [Black-Cloth Shrine], are you going to look at the representative of the gods with judgment and hatred forever?" The Pope started to try to reason with the Human Emperor of the North with rare patience.
To many people, the Holy Church was admitting defeat to the Human Emperor of the North.
Of course, Fei's mind wasn't that simple. He clearly sensed that there was a hidden meaning to the Pope's words.
"Alright, enough talking. Tell me everything that you want to say." Fei didn't want to play word games, so he stood up again abruptly after sitting down and stared at the Pope with his sharp eyes. "You invited me to come here and attracted many people's attention. You didn't do it just to say these things to me, right?
Seeing Fei's aggressive eyes, the Pope sighed and paused for a second, Then, he said, "Let's do it like this. I will let you meet a person first."
Then, the Pope lightly waved his hand.
A series of crisp bells sounded in the flying godly palace of the Holy Church, and the rune-engraved bronze gate slowly opened. Three figures slowly walked out.
The two people on the two sides were godly knights. They were wearing silver armor and had white cross robes over their bodies. Although they were handsome, they looked determined and valiant.
The person in the middle was wearing a big white prisoner's uniform. He wasn't young, and his face looked quite old. Many wrinkles could be seen, and his muscles were loose, looking like a dispirited shar-pei. His grey long hair was messy like a bird's nest, and his eyes were turbid and yellow, full of red veins. Right now, a streak of faint-silver flames coiled around his wrists, looking like a rope.
[TL Note: Shar-Pei is a breed of dog known for the deep wrinkles and blue-black tongue. The breed originates from southern China.]
This person looked like a weak and ordinary old man. It felt like even wind could blow him onto the ground.
However, when this old man walked out of the flying godly palace, it was clear that all members of the Holy Church tensed up. As if they were facing a powerful enemy, their guards went up and didn't even dare to breathe.
"Who is this old man?"
"Why does it feel strange? How come the Holy Church is afraid of this old man? Why is he so important?"
"Don't underestimate him! The Holy Church is so concerned about him, and he is imprisoned inside the flying godly palace. He must be a significant figure! Perhaps he is a terrifying devil!"
"Eh, we shouldn't be fooled by his appearance… but… how come this old man feel a little familiar?"
The masters in the area talked among themselves and didn't know what the Holy Church was up to.
"Why did they escort out an arrested old man? Is he a key figure?" Some people stared at this old man and started to ponder as if they thought of something.
Fei's eyes also landed on this old man in a white prisoner's uniform.
Different from others, Fei clearly sensed an amount of terrifying energy inside this old man who looked weak and powerless. This old man was at least a godly king!
If this old man were anywhere else in the world, he would be a dominating ruler! Now, he was imprisoned by a magic method, and all his strength was sealed. The streak of silver flames around his wrists was a god-tier imprisonment device.
However, Fei couldn't recognize who this old man was.
Chapter 1199: Pope? Prisoner? (Part Two)
At this moment, a streak of light shot up from the troops of the Northern Region Empire, instantly arriving beside Fei. It was Batistuta, one of the senior elders of the [Black-Cloth Shrine].
This master who had also reached the god-level couldn't hide the shock on his face, and he got close to Fei and whispered something into the latter's ear.
"What?" Fei had been calm and casual, but his face suddenly changed color when he heard what Batistuta said. Sharp glints flashed in his eyes, and he stared at this white-haired old man who was escorted out of the flying godly palace.
The masters in the area noticed Fei's sudden change of expression, and they became even more curious.
"What is it? What can make the Human Emperor of the North this shocked?"
"Could it be…"
-At this moment-
"Ah! I got it! Blatter… Pope Blatter! This old man is Pope Blatter!" At this moment, one of the masters who had been thinking hard further away in the sky suddenly thought of something and screamed, "I remember now! I had once seen him from afar. He is Pope Blatter… what is this?"
"What?"
"This weak old man who can be blown down by the wind is Pope Blatter of the Holy Church?"
"The Pope is now a prisoner?"
"What joke is this?"
"Then, who is the person standing before the Human Emperor of the North? He is wearing a golden mask and holding the Scepter of Ragnarok…"
The people in the area were stunned, and they couldn't believe what they just heard.
"Blatter… it has been many years since I last saw you. Hahaha! But now seeing you again, how come you became a prisoner? So, it means that the rumors about the internal conflicts in the Holy Church aren't false? You got pushed down by someone? I'm curious as to who pushed you off the Throne of the Pope?"
Continental Martial Saint Maradona, one of the three magnates here, suddenly opened his mouth and spoke. His voice sounded like thunder, and the heroic laughter resonated by everyone's ears.
What Maradona said proved the statement made by that no-name master. This old man was indeed Pope Blatter of the Holy Church.
Everyone turned their eyes to this old man in the prisoner's uniform.
After Maradona mocked him without mercy, this dispirited old man finally raised his head that had been lowered all this time, and a streak of sharp light flashed in his turbid eyes. It felt like a sleeping dragon released a tiny bit of its dragon breath, making all the people in the area detect an enormous amount of pressure.
At this moment, people finally saw a trace of the presence of the former Pope of the Holy Church.
In rumors, the Holy Church was only acting low-key these couple of days since internal conflicts broke out. Now, it seemed like these rumors were true. Pope Blatter who had ruled the Holy Church for many years got pushed off the throne by someone after the hidden threat, Platini, got killed by Fei. It was truly unthinkable.
Fei looked a bit puzzled. He still remembered that Platini died in the Goblin Realm about half a year ago due to the strangeness that had happened to the Scepter of Ragnarok. This scepter suddenly flew away on its own and led to Platini's demise.
At that moment, Platini shouted, "Damn it! Blatter! You old fart! You demon… it is you who have been scheming behind my back! I got tricked!"
It meant at that time, Blatter was still controlling everything.
"What kind of an opponent did he have? In only about six months, Blatter's hundreds of years of advantage got wiped out, and this mysterious person obtained the full control of the Holy Church."
Fei's gaze turned toward the figure before him who was wearing a golden mask and holding the scepter.
All the mysteries originated from this man.
Chapter 1200: A Legendary Figure (Part One)
"Take off your mask. I'm curious as to what secret is hiding behind the mask." Fei stared at this person who showed up in front of him with the Scepter of Ragnarok and appeared to be the Pope of the Holy Church, and he demanded in an unquestionable tone.
At this moment, everyone was staring at this person.
Under everyone's gaze, the golden mask was slowly lifted.
Everyone held onto their breaths.
The face that appeared before everyone was ordinary. It looked old with many wrinkles, and his sparse white long hair looked a bit messy even though it seemed like it was taken care of. Perhaps he hadn't seen the sun for a long time, his skin was shockingly pale, which was a color that shouldn't appear on a living person. Also, the veins on the two sides of his thin and dry-looking neck turned black.
If Blatter made others feel like he was going to be blown onto the ground by the wind, this old man was like a sand sculpture. It felt like if the wind blew at him, he would turn into millions of fine particles and collapse before everything before dispersing into the air.
Fei smelled a trace of rotten odor from this ancient body.
It was clear that this old man was an ancient existence. Even though he was a godly king, his godly power wasn't able to help him maintain the youthful look, and it was only able to save his life.
From this perspective, it seemed like this old man had lived for more than 1,000 years!
He was an old monster.
However, it was clear that the people here didn't instantly recognize this face.
The masters who were watching this from afar all looked puzzled. Blatter was still young enough for some of them to remember, but this man was so ancient that he was beyond their memories, and perhaps he had experienced decay before these people were born.
As to Fei? He only came to the Azeroth Continent for a few years; there was no way that he could recognize this ancient man.
However, a confused expression appeared on Batistuta's face.
Although he couldn't tell who this man was from the latter's appearance, the presence of the energy that was circulating around this old man and fighting against death and decay made him have a sense of familiarity from a long, long time ago.
"Child, don't you recognize me?" The new Pope smiled and looked at Batistuta.
Like a thunderbolt, these worlds instantly unlocked Batistuta's ancient memories that were sealed away from for numerous years.
As if a streak of sunlight shined into his heart, he said in shock, "You are… Holiness Stabila? Old Bishop? Oh god! How is this possible? Didn't you…" Batistuta fell into total panic.
When he said the name 'Stabila', it was foreign to almost everyone here. However, like a streak of light, it made Fei recall someone from the books that he had read.
Stabila! This was an ancient name!
This name represented unparalleled glory 700 to 800 years ago! This man controlled the biggest force on the continent, was worshipped by almost every human, and had numerous believers. Glory and light were the two words that could best describe him.
He was once the Pope of the Holy Church, the man who controlled the church before Blatter.
He was also once the Bishop of the [Black-Cloth Shrine], the shrine that had an absolute advantage among all shrines at that time. His work was later named the [Code of God] and became the core principle of the Holy Church.
Chapter 1200: A Legendary Figure (Part Two)
Due to the sudden disappearance of this man, the Holy Church fell into a state of internal conflicts, and the [Black-Cloth Shrine] decayed, getting squeezed out of the core of the Holy Church and almost completely collapsed.
The disappearance of Stabila led to the rise of Blatter and the betrayal of Platini.
That period of glory fell into the long river of time and got permanently sealed into history.
Due to new Pope Blatter's suppression and the decay of the [Black-Cloth Shrine], the name 'Stabila' that should have left a significant mark in the history of the Holy Church soon disappeared in books and records, completely forgotten by the younger generations.
Also, Stabila's sudden disappearance was the most unimaginable mystery in the history of the Holy Church.
After all, right before Stabila disappeared, he had control over the Holy Church and was in his prime as the No.1 Master of the church. Also, he had the god-tier weapon of the Holy Church in his hand, and no one on the continent was able to block his sharp strikes. Unless he committed suicide, no one in the world could kill him!
Unexpected to everyone, this old man who should have returned to the embrace of the stars reappeared in the mortal world after about 800 years.
"Could it be that the internal conflicts which took place inside the Holy Church in the last half a year are caused by Stabila's return to Sicily Island? Getting back the control of the Holy Church from Blatter? Could it be that Stabila's disappearance is related to Blatter who took over? Did he get sneak-attacked by Blatter?"
After thinking for a while, this seemed to be the most reasonable explanation.
"About 800 years have passed. I didn't think that there is still someone in the world who recognizes me. I still remember that you were a little kid about 800 years ago." Stabila looked at Batistuta with a smile and said feelingly.
"It is… really you?" Batistuta couldn't hold back his emotions, and he rushed to Stabila and knelt with tears in his eyes.
Back then, he was indeed a child who was about eight years old, and he was one of the boys in the [Black-Cloth Shrine]'s choir. With his great talent in cultivating the Holy Power, he was praised by many. As the Pope of the Holy Church, Stabila had given Batistuta many 'head-patting blessings'.
In Batistuta's memories, Stabila was a kind and gentle pope. This old man would often take time out of his busy schedule and sing the holy songs with the kids in the choir, tell them the ancient stories, and teach them how to cultivate.
Many children in the choir saw this easy-going pope as their grandpa.
After Stabila disappeared, Batistuta was greatly saddened, and he cried in secret many times.
Due to the respect and admiration that Batistuta had toward this old pope, he declined the offers from other shrines and joined the [Black-Cloth Shrine]. Regardless of how terrible the condition was for the [Black-Cloth Shrine], he tried his best to support it and make it last.
The [Black-Cloth Shrine] that was on the verge of collapse finally went on the road of redemption after Fei appeared.
Batistuta never imagined that the man who he admired the most would appear in front of him.
Due to the thrill and excitement, Batistuta, a great figure of the Northern Region Empire who reached the god-level, cried unstoppably.
At this moment, under some experienced and wise masters' reminders, the masters in the area finally realized what was going on.
This change was shocking!
The old Pope of the Holy Church who disappeared for 800 years came back alive? What did this mean?
Chapter 1201: Secret (Part One)
What did this mean for the Holy Church and the Azeroth Continent?
Many people were already thinking about this in their heads, trying to measure the magnitude of shock and change that Stabila's return was going to bring.
"Child, it has been tough on you for the last few hundred years." Stabila lightly caressed Batistuta's head with his dry hand and said genially, "There are only a few children from the choir at that time who are still alive, right? You did great. The [Black-Cloth Shrine] achieved redemption in your hand; I'm proud of you."
"Sir, you have disappeared…"
"About 800 years ago, I grew a little careless and got ambushed by Blatter and the masters of a few other shrines. Although they couldn't kill me, they imprisoned me in the dungeon at the bottom of Sicily Island, torturing me with all kinds of magic spells and methods. From then onward, I couldn't see the sunlight, and I was only accompanied by the coldness and heat while the underground chilly energy and lava alternated once per day. I could only guess how long has passed with the alternation cycles…" Stabila sighed and told everyone his story.
This experience was tragic and bone-chilling. When Stabila told the story with a calm and casual tone, it was even more shocking.
It was hard to imagine being imprisoned in a dungeon and tortured by inhumane methods for 800 years. The extreme coldness of the underground chilly energy and the extreme heat of the lava alternated once per day, and drastic changes to the environment could turn most people insane.
Only those who were like Stabila could withstand it! After all, Stabila reached the Godly King Realm, and his mentality reached a high level as well. It was the only way that he stayed sane and didn't commit suicide.
However, 800 years of torture turned Stabila, once the heroic and majestic Pope of the Holy Church, into an old man who looked like a ghost.
"Until a year ago, Blatter and Platini started to fight. In order to defeat Blatter, Platini contacted me in secret, and I pretended to be willing to work with him, finally finding a good opportunity. Then, I recovered a bit of strength and escaped from the dungeon at the bottom of the island," Stabila said slowly.
"Then, the current Holy Church…" Batistuta thought of something.
"Of course, the Holy Church is now in my control…" A trace of pride finally appeared on Stabila's face as he said that, and others were able to vaguely see the presence of the pope from 800 years ago.
After all, Stabila took the Throne of the Pope from Blatter in only less than half a year after coming out of 800 years of imprisonment! This was insane and unthinkable! After all, Blatter had managed the Holy Church during this time and nurtured many henchmen.
The only explanation for this was that the conflict between Blatter and Platini weakened their strength. Also, perhaps Stabila had hidden cards from 800 years ago.
The real masters could always do what others thought were impossible.
For a long time, Fei stared at this old man whose body was almost rotting from the inside out.
After hearing the terrifying and shocking secret, he had to praise in his mind, "800 years of imprisonment where he was kept away from the sun. Others would have gone insane, but this man lasted all this time! Terrifying!"
The masters who were observing in the sky all chatted among themselves as well.
From the surface, it seemed like Stabila's return and control of the Holy Church was more beneficial for the entire continent.
Chapter 1201: Secret (Part Two)
After all, the Holy Church 800 years ago was righteous, just, and kind under Stabila's leadership. At that time, the Holy Church's reputation was excellent, and they strictly followed the [Code of God] and helped the humans around the continent.
The Holy Church's mission was saving all people and alleviating pain and suffering in the world. The priests walked around the continent to heal people, and the godly knights soared in the sky and eliminated evil.
The continent from 800 years ago was the peaceful golden age for humans.
Once Pope Stabila disappeared, the Holy Church started to change as Blatter and others came into power. Greed, corruption, lust, desire for power… all these negative factors turned the Holy Church from a righteous organization into something dark. It became violent, authoritarian, and vicious, killing those who disobeyed them, and no one dared to go against its will.
Perhaps Stabila's return was going to change this situation by a lot.
After all, Blatter who caused the corruption of the Holy Church was now a prisoner, and the other roadblock, Platini, was killed by the Human Emperor of the North.
Batistuta was finally able to control his emotions, and he slowly stood up and bowed at Stabila before returning to Fei's side.
Some of the people in the area felt a little strange. People thought that Stabila was dead, and that was how the Human Emperor of the North took the position as the Bishop of the [Black-Cloth Shrine] many years later. Also, they had to admit that the Human Emperor of the North performed well, bringing the [Black-Cloth Shrine] that was on the verge of collapse back to life. Now, the [Black-Cloth Shrine] was shining with vitality.
Here was the issue. With Stabila's return, who was going to lead the [Black-Cloth Shrine]?
Once a conflict broke out, the war between the Northern Region Empire and the Holy Church would be unavoidable.
Batistuta was clear on how powerful the Northern Region Empire really was; perhaps the entire continent didn't know what the Human Emperor of the North was capable of. A few races couldn't even handle the Northern Region Empire, and even if Holy Church was back to its prime, it might not be able to last long.
"Child." Stabila looked at Fei with a smile and took a small step forward. He said, "I think as an old monster who has lived for more than 1,000 years, I can call you 'child', right? Now, you should be able to ditch your old opinions about the Holy Church and have an in-depth conversation with an old man like me, right?"
Fei walked off the Throne of Creation and slightly bowed while saying, "Indeed. I need to pay my respect to you."
What Fei said instantly made the masters who came to watch this meeting heave sighs of relief. They thought to themselves, "Just like the rumors had said, the Human Emperor of the North is a kind and generous lord. He didn't become rude and overbearing due to the increase in his strength and power."
The slight bow was enough to show the Human Emperor of the North's intention of trying to bring back peace to the Azeroth Continent.
"Most of the heroes are the youthful ones!" Brilliant glints appeared in Stabila's old eyes, and he looked at Fei as if he was looking at himself when he was young. He sighed, "When I was imprisoned in the dungeon below Sicily Island, I was worried that a greedy figure like Blatter might bring giant catastrophes to the continent once he became the Pope of the Holy Church."
Chapter 1202: The Disappearance of Gods and Demons (Part One)
"It is fortunate that the God of Creation already arranged for everything. A true human leader was born. Child, even though I only escaped less than half a year ago, I already heard your name numerous times. I learned your legendary stories, and I'm proud of you!"
Fei smiled and humbly replied, "Your Holiness, you are the role model that we younger people must learn from."
Stabila smiled and nodded. Then, he turned toward the Continental Martial Saint who was engulfed in silver flames, and he said, "Old Friend, why aren't you coming over to chat? Are you still going to put up that cold and careless attitude?"
"Hahaha! I didn't anticipate this even in my dreams! An old fart like you who had died 800 years ago came back to life! Great!"
While the heroic laughter resonated in the sky, the silver flames gradually disappeared, revealing a slightly stout figure. He looked ordinary with a thick black beard and curly long hair. Right now, he was smoking a cigar, which was his habit.
In just a blink, Maradona flashed to Stabila and zapped his lips. He even reached out his hand and touched Stabila's skin and hair with curiosity.
The joking attitude that Maradona had made Batistuta and other masters of the Holy Church frown. However, after considering this man's status and his seemingly-close relationship with Stabila, they held back their frustration and didn't say anything.
The famous and magnificent Continental Martial Saint was the idol of almost all warriors on the continent. However, since this man was mysterious and never seen in public, only a few people in the world knew what he looked like. Therefore, most people believed that Maradona was a handsome and dashing master in white who was brilliant and eye-catching.
Now seeing the Continental Martial Saint with their own eyes, most people felt like the idol image in their minds shattered and broke.
"This man looks like the leader of a third-tier mercenary group instead of the Continental Martial Saint!" many people thought to themselves. However, they were seeing the real figure, so they couldn't do anything but accept the fact.
The good thing was that Maradona showed shocking power, redeeming himself in the minds of many warriors. When he flashed to Stabila, he used a profound technique, and no one knew how he did it.
…
"Hey, old guy! Since you are back alive, you should just tell us and invite us to tour around the Holy Mountain on Sicily Island! I heard that there are many beauties in the choir there. Why are you making it seem mysterious and invited Alexander and me to this place?" Maradona asked boldly.
Hearing his words, many warriors felt like something shattered inside their minds once more.
"Is this guy the idol of all warriors on the continent? He looks like an 'obscene uncle'!"
However, what Maradona asked was to the point, and Fei waited for Stabila's response as well.
Stabila said with a bitter smile, "If I directly invited you guys to Sicily Island, would you go? After all, it is the headquarters of the Holy Church. What if the Holy Church is setting up a trap?"
"That makes sense. If I didn't see you being alive with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe anything that the Holy Church said, and I wouldn't go to the Holy Mountain on Sicily Island," Maradona laughed lightheartedly. Then, he suddenly frowned and asked, "Wait, you old fart was already clever 800 years ago. You want to talk about something else, right? You created such a big sensation on the continent by inviting Alexander and me to come here, and all the top-tier masters came."
Chapter 1202: The Disappearance of Gods and Demons (Part Two)
Fei was laughing in his mind; he almost wanted to hug the Continental Martial Saint.
Although it seemed like Maradona was joking around and didn't look dignified, the questions that he asked were all on point, getting to the bottom of the mysteries that Fei and others wanted to know the answers to.
Now that the conversation came to this point, Stabila became serious, and he nodded and said, "That is right. I did use a small tactic and pulled the masters of our human race here by borrowing the influence of the two of you. There is something that I want to talk about."
Stabila paused for a second and looked at the magnificent Sky City that was floating in mid-air further away. Then, he continued, "Now that we are here, the sealed events that took place 1,000 years ago and the ancient secrets need to be revealed. I want to talk about an important matter, and it is related to that."
After saying that, Stabila turned around and whispered something to a master of the Holy Church, and the latter flew into the flying godly palace to get something.
"Everyone knows that the Azeroth Continent was at the peak of warrior energy and magic civilization 1,000 years ago, and the God Clan that controlled light and the Demon Clan that controlled darkness were the lords of the continent. They led tens of thousands of races, getting worshipped and admired by all. However, these two powerful clans collapsed from the peak of power almost overnight, disappearing on the continent. All kinds of rumors and theories were passed around on the continent, and many people tried to guess what had happened to the God Clan and Demon Clan. Today, I will reveal some of the secrets," Stabila spoke slowly with a thoughtful expression.
Almost everyone was intrigued by this topic.
Indeed, many people tried to figure out what had happened in the Mythical Era where the God Clan and Demon Clan ruled everything. There were many theories, but people couldn't reach a consensus.
The God Clan and Demon Clan were unimaginably powerful, and their abilities were unheard of. They were the rulers of the continent, and they had brilliant civilizations.
There were no signs of decay as they were in their primes, but they somehow collapsed and disappeared in an extremely short amount of time.
For the last 1,000 years, no one knew what had happened. Clearly, most people couldn't accept the theory that the two clans battled each other and brought destruction to themselves.
Fei's interest was piqued as well.
In fact, Fei had a vague idea about how the gods and demons disappeared.
Regardless if it was the Dwarf Emperor's bloody journal in the Last Ancestral Place behind Chambord or what Pope Zhong Dajun of the Beast God Palace had said, they all pointed to the mysterious enemies – the Polluters!
"What is Stabila going to talk about? Will it involve the Polluters?" Fei thought to himself.
"Many people believe that the gods and demons grew tired of wars, and they all left the continent. Also, some people think that they fought each other or fell into a deep sleep. There are all kinds of theories, but none of them are correct. The real reason is that they encountered enemies who they couldn't defend against!"
Chapter 1203: The Most Reasonable Explanation (Part One)
What Stabila said shocked everyone, and the masters in the area all gasped.
"What kind of enemies? Wiping out both the gods and demons?" Everyone was holding their breaths and waiting for Stabila to continue.
"They were terrifying enemies from another dimension. They had terrifying power, and there were countless of them. Like a herd of bees, they rushed to the continent. They had insane adaptability and power of destruction. At the beginning of the war, the gods and demons didn't pay much attention to these enemies. After all, the enemies looked like savage bugs and seemed to come from a civilization that was behind in development. They couldn't even speak. However, the God Clan and Demon Clan paid for their arrogance and negligence. Although the enemies seemed behind in terms of development, they weren't weak. They quickly spread like a plague and reproduced rapidly. Think about the infamous Undead Creature Catastrophes that took place on the continent, and then think about the Goblin Catastrophe that just happened in the Southern Region. It was many times more terrifying than these catastrophes." Stabila's voice seemed to contain a magical power, and everyone shivered as they listened to him.
The tragic catastrophe that took place in the Southern Region was still fresh in their minds.
In this catastrophe, the goblins almost killed all other creatures in the Southern Region with their sheer numbers advantage! It felt like the goblins couldn't be killed off.
If it weren't for the Human Emperor of the North who destroyed the Goblin Realm and killed Platini who was the mastermind behind all this, the entire Azeroth Continent would be in danger of collapsing instead of only the Southern Region.
Only the people who experienced the Goblin Catastrophe first-hand could understand how terrifying the goblin-sea-attack was.
"As the war continued, the affiliated races of the God Clan and Demon Clan got wiped out one by one, and a ton of land was captured by the enemies. Many god-level masters died, including those from the God Clan and Demon Clan. By then, these two clans realized how dangerous the enemies were. Therefore, they had to join hands and fight the enemies. However, it was already too late. In less than three months, many god-level masters died, and the God Clan's capital, Garden of Eden, and the Demon Clan's capital, City of Nightside, both got conquered. Those enemies from another dimension, those terrifying insects from another plane! They could absorb the core energies of masters to continuously evolve! There were already enemies that were strong enough to take on the supreme entities of the God Clan and Demon Clan by then! From that moment on, the momentum was irreversible! Like polluters, every place that the enemies went to got polluted! That is why the God Clan and Demon Clan referred to these damn insects as Polluters," Stabila said slowly.
Although this old man only said a few words, what came out of his mouth made the people in the area detect the terrifying power of the enemies and the cruelty of the war. They felt like they saw the scenes where gods screamed and fell from the sky, the blood stained all the land, and corpses piling up for tens of thousands of kilometers.
Fei's mind also shook, and he thought, "Polluters! He just mentioned the Polluters! That means all the information that I got was correct!"
"The proud and powerful God Clan and Demon Clan were forced into a desperate situation in less than three months. As to other affiliated races such as the orcs, elves, gnomes, dwarfs, and dragons, they were either wiped out or forced to leave the Azeroth Continent around that time. The civilizations collapsed at a speed that no one could imagine. It was too fast! It was so quick that civilizations couldn't be preserved. Almost nothing was saved or left behind intact to provide clues to the people after the Mythical Era. That explains why almost nothing is mentioned in history books about this period," Stabila continued.
Chapter 1203: The Most Reasonable Explanation (Part Two)
Everyone was shocked to their cores, and some people lowered their heads and pondered.
What Stabila said was unheard of! It was the first time that most people here heard this theory.
"Wait, somethings can't be explained. If Your Holiness is correct, then all the races were wiped out in that world-ending catastrophe. The God Clan and Demon Clan were defeat? Then, how come humans survived that? Where did those terrifying enemies named Polluters go? As the victors, how come they aren't on this continent?" A human master further away couldn't hold back and asked these questions.
Indeed, what Stabila said contained many holes. At least the existence of humans and the disappearance of the victors couldn't be explained.
Fei also nodded in secret.
In fact, he had been thinking about these questions as well.
However, according to what Pope Zhong Dajun of the Beast God Palace had said, as victors, the Polluters decided to show mercy toward the humans.
As plunderers, the Polluters had their own intelligent civilization, and they didn't want to kill all the fish in the ocean. After butchering those powerful existences, the enemies left the humans as 'seeds' since humans were weak but had strong reproductive abilities.
The Polluters had left the Azeroth Continent, one of their hunting grounds. They had gone to other hunting grounds, waiting for the 'seeds' to grow.
When the humans repopulated the continent and created powerful civilizations, the Polluters would appear again and go for another round of harvesting.
This was the most reasonable explanation.
Fei thought that Stabila was going to say something along this line.
However, a mystical smile appeared on this old man's face, and he shook his head and said, "No, in reality, even though the God Clan and Demon Clan were pushed into a desperate situation with their capital cities conquered and a few of them left, the God Clan and Demon Clan were the final victors in this war."
"What?" Fei almost screamed out loud. He thought to himself, "What? Didn't the Polluters end the God Clan and Demon Clan? This is completely different from what I know. In fact, it is 180 degrees to the opposite side! Victory and defeat; these are two completely different results!"
"Since the God Clan and Demon Clan won the war, how come they couldn't be seen on the continent? Why did the Mythical Era end with all civilizations destroyed?" Fei asked while frowning.
Stabila looked at Fei with a mystical expression. Instead of answering Fei's question, he asked, "Child, it seems like you already know about the Polluters and some of the secrets regarding the destruction of the Mythical Era, right?"
Fei nodded.
"That makes sense. You only know about the surface. Here is what really happened. Even though the gods and demons won the war and completely wiped out all Polluters, they paid a hefty price. They were almost completely killed. The Lord of the God Clan and the Lord of the Demon Clan ignited their life energy and killed all the Polluters. After that war, only ten gods and demons survived with most of the humans." Stabila also provided a reasonable explanation.
He continued, "These last ten gods and demons created the Holy Church. In order for humans to forget the tragedy that this war brought, the gods and demons used their great abilities and wiped this portion of the memory from all humans' minds. Also, some clues that proved gods and demons' existence also were destroyed. As humans grew stronger and more prosperous on the continent, those gods and demons gradually died since their longevity was drastically decreased by the injuries that they received during the war. Therefore, the last bit of proof of the Mythical Era got buried in the long river of time."
Fei fell into silence after hearing this.
Chapter 1204: The So-Called Polluters (Part One)
"The God Clan and Demon Clan actually obtained the final victory? They used the last bit of their strength and killed all Polluters?"
"So, the gods and demons who were the guardians of the continent died with the Polluters, and the humans became the sole benefactor of the tragic war? Getting the entire continent? Humans also obtained the space of development since other races weren't around and couldn't enslave them, becoming the overlord of the continent?"
This answer was completely different from the information that Fei obtained before.
"Who should I believe?"
In reality, Fei didn't completely trust Stabila.
After all, many pieces of evidence pointed toward the answer that Pope Zhong Dajun of the Beast God Palace left with Fei, and Fei had treated the Polluters as the most terrifying enemies in the future.
Could Fei's perspective on this issue completely change after hearing only a few words coming from the old pope who should have died 800 years ago? Impossible!
"Please pardon my rudeness, but can Your Holiness provide some pieces of evidence? For example…" Fei frowned and said, "After all, this matter isn't trivial; it concerns the future of the continent. From the pieces of evidence that I gathered, they showed that the Polluters aren't killed. Instead, they are hiding in the dark and waiting for the time of harvest to come. Then, they will suddenly descend in this world and bring death and destruction with them!" Fei's words sounded by everyone's ears, and the masters' faces all changed colors.
If these words came from someone else, these masters would have laughed and even doubt the existence of the so-called Polluters. But now, Stabila brought up the secrets from more than 1,000 years ago, and then the Human Emperor of the North mentioned the potential upcoming catastrophe. Anyone who had a brain could realize the importance of this matter.
If the Polluters that could even destroy the God Clan and Demon Clan still existed, the human civilization probably couldn't escape the fate of destruction.
Everyone stared at Stabila and hoped that this old Pope could bring out a convincing piece of evidence.
"Of course." Under everyone's gaze, Stabila smiled and nodded. "I also know the importance of this matter, so I wouldn't just speak without proof."
With that said, Stabila waved his hand.
The flying godly palace of the Holy Church slowly floated over, and the gate opened.
A senior priest who looked prestigious carefully walked out with a rune-engraved golden chest in his hands.
Behind the old priest, there were six godly knights who were on the god-level. They were carrying a huge crystal coffin and slowly walking out of the godly palace.
Everyone's eyes concentrated on the giant crystal coffin in the back.
It was a giant coffin that was 30 meters long, ten meters wide, and 20 meters tall. It was carved out of an entire piece of a perfect crystal, and the sunlight was refracted by the crystal and created many dreamy colors. Through the transparent crystal, people could see a giant monster inside.
The greenish-grey colored bone shell looked metallic, and it was filled with a marble-like texture. The chainsaw-like edges of the bones were terrifying, and bone spikes were everywhere. It had about five to six pairs of long bone legs, comparable to godly weapons. Also, its streamline body seemed to be designed for killing.
Chapter 1204: The So-Called Polluters (Part Two)
This was an extremely ugly monster.
However, the people who were on the ground and flying in the air were all top-tier masters on the continent, so they could tell the terrifying combat abilities of this greenish-grey monster.
Fei almost spat out.
"Damn it! This is… a bug? Like the bugs from that sci-fi movie called Starship Troopers? The monsters that were countless and would frequently crawl out of the soil on the surface of the stars? The monsters that always flooded human bases and fleets and could fly in the vacuum of space? They are the so-called Polluters? Is this a joke?" Fei thought to himself.
"This is the corpse of a low-level Polluter, and it is one piece of evidence that the Holy Church kept; it has been stored in the Holy Mountain on Sicily Island for more than 1,000 years." Stabila looked at the body of this bug and sighed, "It was these murderous monsters who destroyed the Mythical Era. This one is only a low-level Polluter, and its strength is around Three-Star to Four-Star in human terms. In that ancient war, there were hundreds of billions of them!"
"Hundreds of billions?" Everyone gasped when they heard this!
A Four-Star monster wasn't terrifying, but the sheer number was indeed shocking! Even if a godly king faced hundreds of billions of fearless monsters that knew nothing but charging forward, all the godly power of the godly king would be depleted in the end, and this godly king would have to escape.
Stabila saw the shock in everyone's eyes and continued, "The enemies weren't only made of Polluters on this level. Above it, there were more than 20 levels, and the Polluters were in different forms and had different powers. Some of them could even spat thunderbolts, fire, lava, and ice blocks, instantly injuring gods and demons. The more terrifying thing was that the Polluters were able to grow at a fast speed. With enough corpses, blood, or energy, a low-level Polluter could become a god-level monster within a month!"
"How is this possible?" all the people in the area were shocked once more.
"Going from a Four-Star Warrior to a god? Is he kidding? If this is true, then the laws of power in this world got smashed and shattered back then!"
"After all, the most talented genius on the continent in the last 1,000 years, Human Emperor Alexander of the North, took about four to five years to go from a little warrior to a godly king! You are telling me that an ordinary Polluter could evolve faster than the most talented human in recent history?" many people thought to themselves and shivered when they understood the implications.
"Due to the ugly appearances of the Polluters, the God Clan and Demon Clan didn't pay much attention to them when these invaders descended on the continent through spatial teleportation portals. The gods and demons thought of them as insects and beasts. When these enemies matured, even the gods and demons couldn't control the situation," Stabila sighed while shaking his head, "This was a terrifying race! They were born to kill!"
Now, everyone in the area believed what Stabila had said and realized that these Polluters indeed had the ability to destroy the Mythical Era.
"Let's look at this next." Stabila grabbed the rune-engraved golden chest from that senior priest and took out a faint-red scroll.
Chapter 1205: The Method for the Reverse (Part One)
This scroll seemed to have an impressive history; it emitted a terrifying presence.
"This is the [Lucidity Scroll] left by a supreme entity of the God Clan who survived that war. He used the secret techniques of the God Clan to seal some of his memory into this scroll. It will tell you how terrifying the Polluters were."
While Stabila spoke, he opened the scroll and injected a streak of holy power into it.
Buzz!
A series of vibrations appeared in the sky.
Then, the scroll emitted a streak of faint-red mist, creating a screen of light. Some visuals from the ancient times appeared on it. Even though the visuals weren't that clear, the people in the area could tell what was happening.
This was a battle scene, a battle scene from the Mythical Era.
Many high-level Polluters that were in different forms were battling the gods and demons, and countless low-level Polluters surrounded the battleground.
These powerful monsters were thousands of meters tall, and some of them were like mountain-like meatballs, some of them were like dragon-like bone beasts with wings, and some of them looked like giant spiders.
The only similarity between them was that they were all insanely powerful.
These monsters either controlled fire, spat thunderbolts, or blew out chilly energy. Under their attacks, the gods and demons fell from the sky one by one as if someone was throwing dumplings into a pot of boiling water. Then, those gods and demons were surrounded by low-level Polluters that rushed up, and these weak monsters devoured the injured gods and demons alive, sucking away their core energies.
Next, the low-level Polluters started to quickly come out of their shells and evolved into even stranger monsters.
The scene was the definition of a massacre! The lofty gods and demons were being killed left and right!
Some gods tried to escape using spatial godly spells, but a giant spider-like monster spat out many strings and pulled them out of the void before cutting them into pieces.
The sky rippled like the ocean in a heavy storm, and all kinds of Polluters came out of such hyperspatial teleportation tunnels and rushed toward the gods and demons like a flood.
Many giant fireballs fell from the sky as well and created deep craters on the ground.
In less than four minutes, many low-level Polluters crawled out of the craters like waves in a tsunami and joined the battle.
This was a terrifying battle that even made the gods and demons desperate.
The enemies couldn't be all wiped out!
The enemies were getting stronger every second!
The godly laws of nature that the gods and demons were proud of couldn't seal the teleportation tunnels of the Polluters, and they couldn't do anything but watch the enemies increase in numbers.
Also, when a god or a demon died, the enemies got a bit more powerful.
As if a partially damaged camera recorded all these scenes, the visuals that were being displayed had low quality, and it lasted for a total of about 15 minutes. Then, all the red mist dashed back into the scroll and disappeared.
Everyone felt like they just had a terrifying nightmare. Their hearts were racing, their bodies were shivering, and they sweated profusely.
Some masters even paled with fear written all over their faces as they were shocked and terrified by the scenes that were displayed.
It indeed looked like a world-ending catastrophe.
If the so-called Polluters appeared on the Azeroth Continent today, the entire continent would be conquered without a question! The humans wouldn't last long at all.
Of course, after some people calmed down, they started to doubt the validity of this scroll.
"Alexander, what do you think?" Continental Martial Saint Maradona asked with a serious expression.
Fei nodded and replied, "It is mostly aligned with the information that I obtained. Also, this scroll can't be a fake. The vicissitude of time coming from the scroll contains the ancient godly power of a supreme god."
"My thoughts are the same." Maradona nodded.