Volume 2: Funeral Song of Crows Chapter 17: The Gifted Sect
The Cult of the Gift was originally founded by Duke Simon.
An organization built according to the basic structure of the Three Goddesses Church of the ancient Blackwater Kingdom, it aims to quickly replace the Holy Spirit Church and become the pillar of faith of the new Blackwater Kingdom after the independence of Blackwater Province.
Probably to conceal his tracks and also to leave himself a way out, Simon built the headquarters of the Gifted Cult in Blacklight City, a city with a Moon Realm worship tradition that is older than that of Thorn City.
Not only that, Simon gave the head of the Grace Cult, Rudolf, great authority. Not only in Black Light City, but also in the entire Nakuland region in the west of Blackwater Province, Simon basically let the Grace Cult grow wildly.
At that time, Duke Simon's core staff had always been very uneasy about his approach, believing that giving them such great freedom might in turn threaten the Rose Palace's control over the Nakuland region.
According to the information Leiden had learned, the Church of Grace had already shown signs of losing control three years ago.
They expanded the objects of their worship of the Moon Realm to include not only the three goddesses of the ancient Blackwater Province, but the high-ranking members of the Gifted Sect even hoped to worship the Moon Realm as a whole.
But strangely, Duke Simon has not taken any action to control this chaos. Even until last year when the Grace Cult explicitly rejected the order from the Rose Palace, Simon just calmly said, let them be, everything will be back under control next year, and the influence they have expanded will easily fall back into his hands.
At that time, his face was full of confidence, as if everything was going according to plan.
Of course, no matter how brilliant the plan of Duke Simon was at that time, or how far-sighted his layout was, everything eventually came to nothing after he died suddenly in the Holy Tomb of the Great Cemetery.
The situation in the Church of the Gift naturally got completely out of control like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins.
But it is this completely out-of-control situation that has become Leiden's only lifeline.
"You mean that after Vincent took over Thorn City, he began to completely eliminate all organizations related to the Moon Realm?"
The head of the Church of Grace, Rudolf Bolton, stroked the priest's staff inlaid with thirteen gems and asked with interest.
"Yes, whether it's the secret meetings in the Mage Hall, the secret societies developing in the University of Offa, or even the loose worship groups in the Thorn Black Guards, all those involved with the Moon Realm Cult have all suffered a terrible blow recently. It is said that the entire Rose Palace dungeon is full of arrested people."
Leighton replied with a little sweat on his forehead.
For some reason, he felt quite oppressed in front of this man who was not tall and had a relaxed expression on his face.
It felt as if he was standing on the edge of a cliff.
Hearing Leiden's answer, Priest Rudolf nodded slightly with a relaxed expression on his face and said:
"So I have said it before. People like Vincent, who are extremely arrogant and have no respect for true power, should be kicked out from the beginning. But our dear Duke did not take my advice seriously at the time. What a pity. The result of trusting him so much was that he seized power and the career that I had been busy working on for half my life was completely destroyed. What a pity."
Although he said so, there was not a trace of regret on his face.
Before Vincent came to prominence, Rudolf was the former chief court mage of the Rose Palace Mage Hall, and was also the most promising master-level peak powerhouse who could break into the legendary realm.
But five years after Simon was crowned Duke of Thorns, he made an exception and let Vincent, who had not yet reached the peak of the master level, take over Rudolf's position. Rudolf, who had reached the peak of the master level for many years, challenged Vincent, who had just entered the master level and was still unknown, to a wizard duel.
The result of that battle was a draw between the two.
A peak grandmaster and a magic caster who had just entered the grandmaster realm tied in a wizard duel. Everyone knew the real winner and loser.
For Vincent, this was the beginning of his legend as the Scorch Sage.
But for Rudolf, it is a demon in his heart that will never be erased in his life.
After savoring his own foresight, Dean Rudolf continued to ask:
"So, how did he do it?"
"What and how?"
Hearing this incoherent question, Leighton asked in confusion.
"I remember that at least two-thirds of the magic casters in the Rose Palace Mage Hall have joined the Conclave of the Three Goddesses, plus the societies at Offa University and the worshippers in the Black Guards of Thorns. How on earth did he manage to throw so many people into the dungeon? Does he have so many armed forces willing to obey his orders? Or did our Lord Vincent, who is known as the 'First Man Under Legend', capture people one by one personally? Hahahahaha..."
Rudolph's last remark was an unfunny joke, but everyone else at the meeting laughed along with him.
In this atmosphere, Leighton could only smile reluctantly.
In such a joyful atmosphere, he didn't know how to .
After a while, when the laughter died down, Rudolph looked at him and continued:
"So, how did he do it?"
This time, the other party asked very calmly, and the entire meeting room fell silent.
Leighton lowered his head involuntarily, then spoke in a low voice.
"Vincent...has broken through to the legendary realm."
Rudolph was silent for about a minute.
Unable to bear the murderous look in his eyes, Leighton continued:
"It's absolutely true. Three master-level magic casters joined forces, and with their respective contracted high-level Moon Realm Spirits, they were easily subdued by Vincent alone. I was able to escape by relying on the special ability of my contracted Moon Realm monster. If he hadn't broken through to the legendary realm, then this doesn't make sense at all."
Rudolph's facial expression kept changing when he heard this, and then he took a few deep breaths, as if trying to calm himself down.
After a while, he asked in a stiff tone:
"And then? Which Void King's clan is the Moon Realm Spirit that signed the contract with him?"
Hearing this question, Leighton realized that the other party had misunderstood his meaning and felt goose bumps on , but he had no choice but to answer:
"He probably didn't advance through the Moon Realm..."
"lie!"
Rudolph's voice made Leighton lower his head subconsciously.
A terrifying aura spread throughout the conference hall along with this roar.
Leighton didn't know if it was his illusion, but he felt that at that moment the temperature in the entire hall rose by several degrees.
It's not an illusion...
Looking up, he saw sparks and ashes flying around Rudolph out of thin air, and flames like embers coming out of his body.
"He has been permanently expelled from the Star Council. Unless the Holy Spirit appears, he will never be able to advance to the legendary realm through the Star Law in his lifetime..."
Rudolph seemed to be mumbling to himself.
After a while, the sparks and ashes around him disappeared, and the expression on his face returned to calm.
“It doesn’t matter. In the new order that follows, even if he is promoted to the divine realm, he won’t be able to change anything… But right now, the Stranger Star Lighthouse in Thorn City is still under his control, which is a bit troublesome. This will seriously affect the progress of our plan…”
Rudolf said this, holding the staff inlaid with thirteen gemstones in his hand, walked to Leighton's side, put a hand on his shoulder and said slowly:
"So, let's talk about your good idea. How to take down Thorn City from Vincent, who calls himself the 'First Citizen', before the blessing of the Moon Realm descends on Blackwater Province."
This is to prove your worth.
Leighton clearly saw this meaning in the other person's eyes.
Feeling the rich magic power surging from the other person at close range, Leighton finally understood why he had felt so much pressure in front of him before.
The other party also broke through to the legendary realm.
So, under the pressure of the blazing fire magic, Leiden replied with sweat all over his forehead:
"I have found the descendants of Simon Walder and deployed a large number of hidden hands in the Rose Palace. Now, as long as there is a legendary wizard who can restrain Vincent, we can ensure that the Throne of Thorns and the Starlighthouse will be successfully taken back into our hands."
