Chapter 671 What to Do

Chapter 671 What to Do

Chu Xiaozi asked again, "Your Eminence, if I pledge my loyalty to you, could you give me an official position? I never want to be a servant again in my life! They are all noble people, but they only gained their status because of their parents. I am different; I want to make my way with my own hands!"

The Pope was somewhat suspicious of this boy's quick pledge of loyalty, but the more he listened, the more he thought he was overthinking it. This was indeed a lowly, cowardly person who had been born into a humble position.

It seems the Sacred is truly watching over them today, ensuring the survival of their Sacred Church!

"Then let's keep him for now, but tell the other side to deliver the Tiger Tally as soon as possible, or else both Tuoba Xiao and this boy will be killed!"

Chu Xiaozi quickly added, "Your Eminence, you can include me in the threat as well. After all, they don't know I've pledged my loyalty."

Such fawning was rare, and those around couldn't hide their disdain.

Their Sacred Church would never take in such a despicable person.

A prostitute's son, dreaming of becoming an official?

Of course, no one said it aloud, as he still had some use for them.

"Alright, do as he says."

Hearing this, Shu Mo glared at Chu Xiaozi, his eyes blazing with anger. "Chu Xiaozi, you will die a horrible death!"

Chu Xiaozi finally glanced at him.

But his gaze quickly shifted away, and he no longer looked at him.

The Pope and the Sacred Church members felt their confidence soar. With a wave of his hand, they instantly rallied to his call.

"Muster all our forces! While they flee, let’s wipe them out!"

Everyone in the Sacred Church's stronghold picked up their weapons and followed the Pope, charging toward the enemy camp deep in the night.

The vast night echoed with the rustling of the jungle, teeming with hidden dangers.

Prince Bei suddenly felt a chill on his neck. He touched it and glanced at Xie Yuan beside him. "Xie Yuan, why haven't they reacted yet? Could it be that they really don't care about us?"

Xie Yuan stayed silent this time, but Zhe Jing beside him whispered, "Your Highness, just keep acting. Who knows if there’s a spy among our group?"

Prince Bei instantly felt his neck grow even colder.

How could there still be traitors?

He drew a deep breath and nodded.

Anyway, his elder brother was unconscious now, and he could secretly take him back without him knowing.

The group advanced slowly. When they entered a mountain valley, encircled by dark, towering trees, Prince Bei suddenly felt that sense of unease grow even stronger.

Was this the legendary 'seeing enemies in every shadow'?

He laughed nervously, trying to ease the tension. "Hahaha, look at me, mistaking the trees around us for people, hahaha!"

Before his laughter faded, Zhe Jing barked an order: "Duck!"

Immediately, whether it was the shadow guards or the soldiers, everyone reacted quickly and crouched down. The shadowy tree figures he’d mistaken for people suddenly stirred, turning into real people. In an instant, arrows rained down, and Prince Bei’s face went pale.

Fortunately, Zhe Ying beside him suddenly pushed him down, or else he would have surely become the straw man in the 'straw boat borrowing arrows' strategy.

"Damn it, they’re dishonorable! They don’t care about the antidote anymore!" Prince Bei, snapping back to reality, felt a surge of fear and anger. He shouted towards the opposite side, "Pope, if you dare kill me, I’ll use the Holy Medicine to wipe you all out!"

In reply, a thicker barrage of arrows came down.

Prince Bei ducked in fear, but it was then that he noticed the shadow guards and soldiers around him had somehow produced shields, forming a massive, seamless shield wall in front, impenetrable to any arrow. Clearly, they were ready for this!

Xie Yuan really knew his stuff.

Prince Bei’s bravado came back in a flash, and he began hurling insults at the enemy: "You cursed Holy Church, still hoping to snatch the military seal? First, see if you’ll even live long enough to get it! Hahaha, I’ve got the antidote right here!"

Prince Bei, feeling bold, suddenly winced in pain, but he pushed through it to continue taunting: "Damn Pope, you’ve been a monster for years, and this is what you deserve! You’ve fed others the Holy Medicine without regard for their lives, now it’s your turn to taste it! How does it feel? Poisoned to hell, you old bastard!"

"When I get back, I’ll spill all your dirty secrets to the world, let the people drown you in their hate! I’ll have your family’s graves dug up, so you can really make your family proud!"

On the other side, the Pope, used to living the high life and accustomed to everyone bowing before him, shook with fury: "Whoever takes out Prince Bei tonight gets to be the Temple’s High Priest!"

Hearing this, the Holy Church crew got fired up.

The High Priest spot was just below the Pope within the Holy Church, and moving up was a real pain. Of course, they were pumped.

However, after several rounds of arrows and hidden weapons, they realized the enemy’s shields were terrifyingly sturdy. After all that, the enemy barely took a hit.

Soon, the Pope realized this approach was futile and ordered a fire attack: "Deploy the secret weapon!"

On Prince Bei’s side, seeing the enemy quiet for a moment, he wondered: "Have these bastards gotten scared? Why is there no movement?"

As he spoke, an observer beside him suddenly shouted, "Sir, Prince, it seems they’ve brought some large weapon and are assembling it now."

"Let me see!" Prince Bei grabbed the telescope and looked. Sure enough, he saw a large group of people surrounding a massive contraption, its base seemingly dozens of feet long, with parts still being assembled. "What the hell is that thing?"

"A catapult."

Xie Yuan suddenly uttered a term Prince Bei had never heard before.

"It’s a secret siege weapon the Holy Church learned from the Nanlin Kingdom. It can launch stone projectiles over a mile, but it takes over a dozen people an hour to assemble. It’s a siege weapon, somewhat overkill on flat ground."

Hearing Xie Yuan’s explanation, Prince Bei couldn’t remain as calm: "How powerful is this weapon compared to your divine arms?"

Zhe Jing interjected, "Naturally, it’s inferior."

But after saying this, Zhe Jing’s expression turned grave: "If the catapult is loaded with ammunition, its effectiveness will double. And if the Holy Church uses fire attacks from their high ground, we’re in trouble."

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the Holy Church, though still assembling the catapult, began rolling down barrels of oil.

Prince Bei, hearing Zhe Jing’s words, already felt a sense of foreboding. Now, seeing flames rising from the heights, he cursed loudly. That old bastard planned to burn them all alive in the middle!

They were planning to forcefully seize the military seal and the antidote!

And they didn’t care about the Emperor’s life at all!

It seemed the Emperor was right—the Holy Church had long harbored rebellious intentions, secretly amassing private forces. Their power had grown over the years, and every day they were left unchecked, the crisis for Dongrong deepened.

Even now, acting against them was already too late!

Prince Bei was furious. If he had the chance, he’d personally chop off the Pope’s head.

Now they had even prepared for fire attacks. Xie Yuan surely hadn’t anticipated this. What were they to do…