"Yes, sir!" Constantine's heart sank when he heard the Pontiff's methods.
This was not a good thing for the Pontiff's Citadel.
Panicking at the slightest sound would only make a joke of themselves. But the Pontiff must have his reasons. Not everyone dared defy an angry Paragon.
Constantine hurried away. The Pontiff's Staff of Light glowed brighter than ever.
The Pontiff didn't expect to find the culprit directly. If they dared to make a move inside the Cathedral, then they had to have a backup plan.
But under the holy light of the Staff of Light, it didn't matter what plan they had, they couldn't escape the Holy City!
With the Pontiff in charge, the Ecclesiastical Inquisition moved quickly. It didn't take long for people to be brought in from all directions.
Lan Jue stood unmoving, leaning against the stone pillar in front of him. A pale white light began to emanate from his body. Slowly, the light faded to grey. Lan Jue looked as if he had become one with the pillar. No one was likely to pass through this corner. Even if they did, they wouldn't be able to see him.
Lan Jue's heart rate had dropped to ten beats per minute. It was weak.
Even with infrared and thermal scanning, it would be difficult to detect a living person here.
Reims wasn't a particularly large city, but it wasn't small either.
The Pontiff's Citadel's manpower was limited.
They couldn't possibly dig three feet into the ground.
The Pontiff's presence increased the intensity of the search by a notch.
Before long, the square in front of the Cathedral was filled with people. Most of them were clergy.
There were also people of different faiths.
They'd been brought here without rhyme or reason, and there was nothing they could do about the power of the clergy.
Especially with the Pontiff hovering in the air like a giant light bulb. Who would dare resist?
"Your Holiness, the Light of Faith has brought all the heretics here.
Not a single one was missed. "Constantine reappeared in front of the Pontiff, the sun rising in the east.
The Pontiff nodded.
"You've worked hard.
Let's go down and take a look. "
As he spoke, the Pontiff descended from the sky, escorted by the Archangels. His gaze fell upon the heretics.
After searching one by one, he actually found a few spies.
It came from all sides.
However, none of them existed in his heart.
Among these spies, there was not even a single Arcanist above Level Six, let alone Level Nine.
The Pope's face was so ugly that it looked like water was about to drip out. He had spent so much energy.
Even after causing such a huge commotion, they still couldn't find the other party.
This caused the rage in his heart to rise to the limit.
Of course, only he himself knew how much of this rage was fear.
"Your Holiness, what do we do now?" Constantine asked in a low voice. He was a direct descendant of the Pope, or else he would not have been able to sit in this position.
The Pope said in a deep voice, "Inform the Western League Parliament and ask them to assist us in our search.
Investigate everyone in the Eastern Alliance.
Temporarily ban all Eastern Alliance citizens from leaving the country. "
"This …" Constantine was taken aback.
If he really did that, the impact would be too great.
The Pontiff's Citadel was a force to be reckoned with in the Western League, but that was all.
Let's not talk about whether the Western League Parliament would agree.
Even if they did, it would have a negative impact on the Pontiff's Citadel.
"Your Holiness, this is not appropriate."
Metatron's voice was low. "This will affect our relationship with the Eastern Alliance. Skyfire Avenue may even intervene.
Please reconsider, Your Holiness. "
The Pontiff's stoic face grew calm, and his eyes grew distant once more.
"Very well. Send word to the Western League Parliament.
Ask them to assist us in our search for the two terrorists.
Have the Eastern Alliance soldiers leave Europa. Have them increase the number of interrogations.
Conduct energy scans. "
"Yes, Your Holiness." Constantine breathed a sigh of relief.
The Pontiff waved a hand.
"Let them go for now. Make sure they don't leave the Holy City for the next day."
With that, the Pontiff made his way to the Cathedral.
Metatron hurried to catch up. He could sense something was off about the Pontiff today. Normally a Pontiff wouldn't act like this.
The light of the Staff of Light and the Light of Faith slowly faded away. Even now, Lan Jue stood motionless in the distance.
When he could no longer feel the threat, he returned to his human form and quietly made his way back to the hotel.
"Your Holiness, are you alright?" Metatron followed the Pontiff all the way back to the Pontiff's chambers.
The Pontiff shook his head. "I'm fine.
Just a little unstable.
We almost caught him, but I could sense Jueti's presence on him. "
"Jueti!" Metatron gasped.
"Your Holiness."
The other Archangels followed. Gabriel took a step forward, a strange expression on his face. He had something to say.
The Pontiff nodded.
Gabriel's voice was low. "Before Uriel's death, he told me some of his suspicions about the enemy. He mentioned Jueti." He went on to explain Uriel's analysis.
The Pontiff nodded. "Uriel was right. It's possible this man is a descendant of Jueti.
There's no mistaking that aura. I was surprised when he mimicked Jue Di's aura. That's how he got away. "
The atmosphere in the bedchamber suddenly became heavy.
This enemy wasn't all that scary. Two of the Archangels had been captured, but he was still an Adept, not a Paragon.
What was truly frightening, however, was the one behind him!
Even in the Pontiff's eyes, Jueti was like a demon. Otherwise he wouldn't have lost his composure.
Metatron's brows furrowed. "Your Holiness, do you have a guess as to what this enemy's goal is?"
The Pontiff shook his head.
"Could it be Jueti's revenge?" Gabriel asked.
"Jueti's revenge?
I can't believe you could come up with something like that. "
Ramiel couldn't help but snicker. "It was Jueti who challenged us, and he caused us great losses. If there's revenge, it should be us.
Besides, Jueti's been in seclusion for decades. Even if he wanted revenge, he wouldn't have waited until now.
If it was Jueti himself, do you think we'd be able to stop him? "
Gabriel's face darkened at Ramiel's words. "Ramiel, don't go too far!"
His friends Raphael and Uriel had been captured, and he was already in a foul mood. Ramiel's words angered him.
The Pontiff's brows furrowed. "Enough."
The Archangels hurriedly took two steps back and bowed respectfully.
The Pontiff turned his head to Metatron. "Tell me everything you know. Tell me everything you know."
Metatron nodded. He told the Pontiff everything from beginning to end.
"The Dark Citadel?" The Pontiff frowned, his eyes flashing.
Metatron explained. "At the time, we thought it was a ploy to lure us away from the Dark Citadel.
We didn't do anything. "
The Pontiff shook his head. "Jueti had a habit of keeping his word.
If this person is Jueti's heir, then his words may not be a lie. "
Metatron blinked. "You're saying Raphael and Uriel could've fallen into Satan's hands?
This person could be the Dark Citadel's reinforcements. "
The Pontiff nodded. "We can't rule out that possibility.
Keep a close watch on all transportation to the Dark Citadel.
Look for suspicious individuals. "
"Yes, sir!"
… …
"Whew …" Lan Jue let out a long breath, her chest heaving.
The curtains in the room were drawn. He wouldn't even look at the Cathedral now. An enraged Pope was no laughing matter. If the Pope's psychic power were to sweep in his direction and sense his gaze, he might be in trouble.
The best course of action was to keep a low profile.
Zhou Qianlin had already changed and was sitting beside him.
Her face was pale.
Although Lan Jue was in control of her body, she could sense everything that was happening around her. She knew exactly what was going on outside.
Fear still gripped her heart.
The Pontiff was far more powerful than she'd imagined.
"I didn't think your Queen of Heaven Law would be so useful." Lan Jue smiled at Zhou Qianlin.
Zhou Qianlin's expression turned strange. Wasn't that right?
When Lan Jue had fought Uriel, she'd used her Queen of Heaven Law.
Uriel had assumed the pervasive power of protogenia would cause him great harm, but it was actually healing and rejuvenating.
It was healing from the inside out.
But the Queen of Heaven Law was far too comfortable. Who would've thought an enemy would suddenly heal themselves?
Naturally, Uriel would fight back.
But the Queen of Heaven Law's support and healing was at the level of protogenia.
Although it wasn't the ultimate healing ability of Shifter, it was still pervasive and far superior to Uriel's own.
The resulting penetration made Uriel panic, but at the same time, his body relaxed.
Lan Jue took advantage of the moment to subdue Uriel's superior Discipline and Discipline in the shortest time possible.
After that, Lan Jue used her Queen of Heaven Law to blend in with her surroundings. In this regard, the Queen of Heaven Law was far more effective than his Ascension Transformation.
(To be continued)