Myths Reawakened

Chapter 373 (2): I’ll Do the Heavy Lifting. Everyone Gets a Cut.

“Since no one is saying anything, allow me to get started.”

Weaving put on a show, launching into the topic of the growth of followers. First, he acknowledged the solid foundations in Ostarrichi and Prussia. Then, he pivoted to Prussia’s rapid expansion.

Anyone with a working brain could see that Prussia wouldn’t stop her march. Simultaneously at war with both Windsor and Franc, with the Rus Federation biding her time, Prussia’s position was far from favorable.

To break out of the encirclement, they would have to either advance north through the Rus Federation or march west to crush Franc and Windsor. Geographically, Franc and Windsor were the more logical targets. Fighting on two fronts at once was unlikely.

“I know the defense line in Franc well,” Weaving said. “It’s difficult for Prussia to break through. She’s already in a stalemate. It’s not necessarily a good thing for us to be so entangled with Prussia.”

Pope Ludwig’s eyes twitched. He shot Weaving a confused glance. His well-honed political instincts told him that something was off. No meeting was ever just a meeting. Someone was making a move on him today.

He scanned the room. Tubert was playing dead. Desiree’s head was lowered. Garvin was staring at nothing, like he had drunk himself into a stupor.

Among the four Oracle High Reverends, only Weaving was raising his voice, while the other three looked entirely indifferent.

Interesting! Ludwig straightened up and smiled. “Weaving, which path do you think the Church of Nature should go down?”

“We’ve gotten too close to Prussia. In the short term, that helps us grow our faith, which seems like a good thing. However, it isn’t. The moment Prussia stops advancing or is forced to retreat, the church will fall with her. I suggest that we distance ourselves from Prussia before we get dragged into the war.”

“Well said,” Ludwig said with a smile. “You have the makings of a pope. I have high hopes for you.”

“Um...” Weaving stammered, almost wavering and taking the Pope’s side. He had to recall the ambush that night to resolve himself to bring the man down.

“I’d say otherwise!” Oracle High Reverend McCarey cut in, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “From what I know, Weaving had been extremely cozy with Prussia until he suddenly distanced himself recently. Clearly, he’s thinking about himself. Yet he’s now trying to make the church do the same thing? Weaving’s argument doesn’t hold up.”

“You make an excellent point, McCarey.” Ludwig nodded approvingly. “You’ll make a better pope.”

The crafty old man is just stirring the pot!

The three Oracle High Reverends cursed him inwardly in unison. Weaving, seeing Ludwig for what he was, slammed the table and shot to his feet.

“Your Holiness,” Baker said darkly. “I received an anonymous letter detailing your numerous collaborations with the Prussian leadership, and every item is stained with blood, leading to damage to the church’s reputation. I’d like you to explain yourself.”

(눈_눈)

What’s going on? Weaving thought. Isn’t that my line?

Before he could open his mouth, Baker stole his script. Watching McCarey chime in to support Baker, fueling the fire, he felt a greater confusion and unease. Heart sinking, he suspected that Senna had not only set him up to take the fall, but also recruited Baker and McCarey. Was that the plan? To make the three of them compete, then keep whichever performed the best?

Weaving suddenly spotted the loophole in Senna’s oath. Yes, she had sworn not to touch his position and authority, but Baker and McCarey could.

What a vicious woman.

Panicked, Weaving grabbed the figurative microphone from Baker and listed all the crimes Ludwig had committed, his wording so aggressive and his attitude so firm that Baker and McCarey were flabbergasted.

They didn’t remember forming an alliance with Weaving.

Did you plan this? x2

Not me. I didn’t. x2

Though they had no idea what had gotten into Weaving, more firepower was always welcome. They joined the conversation, and all three Oracle High Reverends tore into Ludwig together, piling up evidence about Ludwig’s inhuman deeds.

“...” x4

Garvin was completely lost, unsure what was happening. Tubert and Desiree shared a glance and stayed quiet. Senna, on the other hand, frowned, suspecting that Weaving had teamed up with Baker and McCarey. She asked Wayne what they should do.

“Just wait and see for now. It’s a good thing that the three Oracle High Reverends are going after Ludwig together.”

As a certain sage had said, that which passes is like this river, flowing unceasingly day and night. Since Senna couldn’t understand the original saying, he helpfully translated for her: Patiently sit by the river and wait for the bodies of the enemy to float[1].

The strong sage hadn’t leapt into the river to start a fight, but had instead waited by the river, day and night, waiting until the corpses of his enemies drifted up one by one.

The three Oracle High Reverends spoke at length. The evidence was irrefutable, practically shoved in Ludwig’s face. By the end, they were even cursing at Ludwig.

The tone was meant to convey their fury at the Pope and the helplessness of being stuck in their situation. The sophisticated portrayal illustrated their character arcs and served as a transition scene for what was to come.

Ludwig watched the three idiots with idle curiosity. The evidence was real. He had done all of it. So what?

To put it bluntly, everyone in this room was garbage. It wasn’t a personal attack, but a general statement about reality. He wouldn’t bat an eye even if they attacked him at once.

Senna was the exception. She had the support of the future Nature Knight, Wayne, who was the enemy he was most wary of.

“Ludwig, after all we’ve said, aren’t you going to defend yourself?”

“You came here intent on framing me. You’ll always find something to charge me with. Whatever I say will be pointless. If I must say something, I only have one single sentence for all of you...”

His smile dropped. He said flatly, “I am the Pope.”

The four words were all it took to silence the three Oracle High Reverends. Whatever happened in the future, Ludwig was the Pope right now, and he held the absolute authority that came with the title.

“Ludwig, your faith isn’t devoted,” Tubert slowly said.

“Oh? You’re involved, too, High Prophet?” Ludwig said curiously. “Tell me, what prophecy are you planning to misinterpret today?”

“It’s not a misinterpretation,” Tubert said frostily. “I saw the future. The church will fall into ruin under your leadership. You’ll offer everyone as a sacrifice to the demons.”

“Great Prophet, I’ll accept it if you say Darkness or Death, but I’ve never had any dealings with demons from Hell!” Ludwig’s expression hardened. “Lies must at least be grounded in reality. I can tolerate slander, but not ignorance.”

“The High Prophet isn’t lying. I, too, have received a divine oracle,” Desiree said weakly. “The Pope is a demon’s instrument. The demon vessels in Prussia are undeniably connected to him.”

She lowered her head after that.

“...” x2

Baker and McCarey were stunned. For all their scheming, they had never imagined that everyone would open fire at Ludwig on the same day. They weren’t naive enough to think that everyone in the room was an ally. It was obvious that this had been planned well in advance. They instinctively looked at Weaving, suspecting that he had quietly brought the High Prophet and the Holy Maiden to his side.

Weaving wouldn’t give his rivals the time of day. He snorted to signal his refusal to side with them. That convinced Baker and McCarey that Weaving was behind everything.

“I’m the Pope of the Church of Nature, about to step into the Divine Realm with a bright future ahead of me. I would ally with anyone before I allied with demons. Do not say something like that again. I’ll pretend this never happened.”

The situation was spiraling out of control. Ludwig felt a cold anger rise in his heart. He had been too generous to these insects lately.

“Ludwig, there are things you should say plainly,” Senna said.

“Senna, are you joining as well?”

“No, I’m speaking for the reputation of the Pope and the future of the entire Church of Nature,” Senna said calmly. “The High Prophet and the Holy Maiden received a prophecy and an oracle about the same thing. This isn’t a small matter. To prevent suspicion from spreading and undermining the trust in the Pope, we should clear up any misunderstanding today.”

Senna smiled slightly. She wasn’t up to anything bad, oh no. She was simply carrying out her master’s mission.

“Oracle High Reverend Senna is right. Today, we must resolve every issue!” Weaving raised his voice immediately. “Ludwig, explain the prophecy and the oracle. A demon’s instrument? Who do you actually serve?”

“Preposterous!” Ludwig rose to his feet, scanning the room. “Are you done? I’m leaving the Chosen Land, and this position will fall to one of you eventually. There’s no need to rush. What you should be asking is who will become the next pope.”

You have a point. x3

“That said,” Senna said softly, “when exactly are you going to enter the Divine Realm?”

You have an even better point! x3

The Oracle High Reverends stared at Ludwig. Baker pressed, “It’s been a year since you said that you were leaving, during which you’ve been deepening your tie with Prussia. What exactly is going on? Has Prussia made a deal with demons, or did you broker a deal?”

“How dare you?!” Ludwig growled. His mana surged, and a vast, crushing wave of mental pressure exploded outward.

The sapphire dome above shifted and stirred, and the still lake rose into crashing waves. The pillars cracked audibly, the black fractures spreading like snakes climbing up, with chunks of debris raining down.

Everyone’s vision lurched. It seemed to them that the entire sky was shuddering in tandem with Ludwig’s will. Beneath the pressure, they were like canoes in a storm, rising and falling on incredible waves. A tsunami threatened to smash them to pieces.

Their minds went blank, and their bodies forgot how to breathe. Even their thoughts were suffocated, pushing them to the verge of total collapse.

The true gap in their power was on full display.

Weaving, Baker, and McCarey had it worst. Their faces blanched as they struggled for air. Tubert and Garvin managed to hold on with a frown, having some difficulty, but it was manageable.

Desiree... well, she was completely fine and felt nothing at all.

The battle was too high-level for a Silver-ranked mage like her. She couldn’t sense how powerful Ludwig was.

Senna’s eyes glinted. “Your Holiness, your strength goes well beyond that of a legendary mage. You are hiding something.”

Wayne had filled Senna so thoroughly that the white foam was almost overflowing, which shielded her from the suffocating pressure completely. In the memories she had been supplied with, only the chosen knights of the inner world could display the same level of power as Ludwig.

In fact, Ludwig seemed more powerful than Sun Knight William.

It doesn’t add up!

Her inner world self had killed the higher-ups of the church to become the new Pope, including Ludwig. If Ludwig was this powerful, Senna couldn’t have defeated him right after receiving Elemental Mantra.

Something had changed in Ludwig over the last two years.

“You’ve shown your hand, Your Holiness!”

“Senna, you’re the surprising one. You’ve witnessed power beyond Legendary...” Ludwig narrowed his eyes, his wariness for chosen knights deepening further.

Since he had been exposed, he decisively sealed the pocket space housing the Church of Nature with a black glint in his eyes. “You’ve betrayed the church by conspiring to assassinate the Pope...”

“None of you is getting away today!!”

1. The first quote is Confucius’s quote about how time never stops passing. The ‘translation’ is written in English. I’ve only made minor tweaks. ☜