Embers of Embers

Chapter 209 Heart of Iron and Stone
The robin is praying devoutly, the kestrel is hungover in bed, the shrike is sorting out his work, and Arthur is worried about how to educate this rebellious child...
Putting aside those monsters and monsters, in fact we are all ordinary people, working hard in the world, and there will never be less things to worry about.
Time slowly passed midnight, and this ancient year disappeared. For a while, the emerald-green ancient bell rang for a long time, and the deep and melodious sound spread and covered the entire city, extending to the seven hills.
Father Anthony was leaning against the window, looking at the city by the river bank. In this birthplace of faith, people in Florence were much more enthusiastic about God's birthday. Believers took to the streets to celebrate and sing, and countless lights were almost everywhere. It sets the city on fire, it shines brightly like a torch in the night.
Even in the quiet Cathedral of San Naro, Anthony could hear the cheers coming from it.
He made the sign of the cross towards the earthly place, prayed secretly, and looked behind him. Someone was talking, as if he was instructing others.
"Is Your Majesty still busy?"
Someone came over and said to Anthony.
That man was a bit younger than Anthony and had the same attire as him. He was Anthony's former subordinate. After the Demon Hunting Order was reestablished, they were also incorporated into it and became Anthony's deputy.
Anthony nodded, as if he had been waiting for the man here, and then motioned for the man to follow him.
"My Majesty has only been in office for a short time. Although I have solved many people with thunderous means and consolidated my position, there are still some people who are unwilling to surrender to Your Majesty, let alone those sinners who took the opportunity to escape."
"Are they preparing for a counterattack?"
"Probably, I don't know about this. After all, the outcome of the matter will not be known until Your Majesty finishes the meeting."
Anthony looked behind the layers of walls, and there was a vague sound coming from there.
The Nativity of God is of great significance to the evangelical church. Normally, this time of year is the time of the most enthusiastic carnival for the evangelical church. Even the silent Cathedral of San Naro will burst into joy. The pope and cardinals gather here. Greet tomorrow with sincere prayers.
But this time it was different. The new pope brought blood and cold wind, and his code of conduct was completely beyond everyone's imagination. Some people tried to create chaos during the handover, but he suppressed all the dissidents. Qiqiu Where blood flows like a river.
He shrouded the Seven Hills like an iron curtain, and even on the God's birthday, the place was still silent and solemn.
There is no joy or prayer. The powerful ones are gathered here tonight, waiting for the Pope's order.
"Is something going to happen?" The visitor was a little confused. The Saint-Naro Cathedral was no longer sacred, but instead filled with the repression before the war.
"Maybe, Samuel."
Anthony said as he walked, thinking about the recent rumors in his mind.
"The civil war in the northern Viking kingdoms is over. A Viking named Ragnar has united the kingdoms again. They are like a group of hungry vultures, staring south."
A cold wind blows from the north.
This is not good news. For the Viking countries, everyone hopes that it will always be in a civil war and continue to wear down its power, but now that they have ended the civil war, the north is poor, and those Vikings are destined to focus on On the other side of the sea, plunder is their nature.
"The Empire of Leiber in the distance is also developing. During the Glorious War, they have not been idle and have continued to develop trade. Today's industrial technology is also constantly upgrading... Even they have left the Holy Gospel Papal State far behind. Behind me."
The rise of industrial technology has broken the already solid dominance of the Western world, and now there are a steady stream of new players joining, which makes Anthony feel uneasy.
The power of faith is terrifying. Once upon a time, the power of the Holy Evangelical Papal State could radiate to the entire Western world. In some countries, even the king could not succeed to the throne without the approval of the Pope.
But now the faith is covered with dust, the status of the evangelical church is not as good as before, and those in power must not be willing to let it rise again.
There is not much time left for the evangelical church. When all this intensifies to its peak, it will inevitably lead to the rise of a war that will sweep the entire Western world.
"The Pope must also be having a headache with this, not to mention the escapees. They know the secrets of the demon... I don't know what they will do."
Anthony walked to the end of the corridor, and a large door stood in front of him.
The doors in the Cathedral of Saint-Naro actually look the same, but the keys to open them are different. It is like a huge maze. If no one has guided you there, it is almost impossible to find the door you want to open. .
Slowly twisting the key, the door opened. The space inside was dark, only illuminated by a little candlelight.
"What is this going to do?" Samuel looked a little curious.
He had just joined not long ago, and he had a strong curiosity about weird monsters. It was like a world of shadows, now appearing in front of his eyes.
"Archive room."
Anthony answered.
"Our situation is not good. Cardinal Miguel fled with most of the cardinals. Although their remaining forces in the mainland have been eliminated, no one knows what else they are hiding, not to mention they also know that Tai So many secrets about the church.”
His hand gently brushed the document bag on the wooden table, and the yellowed paper had a sense of history.
"The night of Holy Advent caused great confusion, and many materials of the church were lost in that betrayal... Many secrets are unknown even to us."
Samuel felt the pressure of this incident. Those secrets were recorded on paper, and now they were all destroyed in the fire. All the secrets only existed in the minds of those involved.
"Are we going to hunt down those cardinals?" Samuel speculated.
As long as those fleeing cardinals still exist, the Pope's rule will not be absolutely stable. Judging from his iron-blooded methods, he will never let these people go.
"No, there is no rush in this regard, we have to do something else."
Anthony said, opening the document bag and taking out the papers.
"Countries have already begun the competition. We have no industrial base and will be left behind sooner or later... This is the Pope's order. The church will ostensibly conduct technical exchanges with Yin Erweg, exchanging knowledge of demons for support of steam technology. , but secretly it’s our job.”
Anthony looked at the paper. He seemed to have read it once, and now he was just checking it again.
"What job?" Samuel asked.
“Chasing the Book of Revelation.”
Anthony said solemnly that this is the key to the secret blood technology. Before the Holy Gospel Papal State is completely thrown away, they must retrieve it so that the secret blood can continue to be produced.
"It is certain that Lawrence betrayed the church. He stole the Book of Revelation during the Night of Holy Advent. A few days ago, the Stasis Temple detected Lawrence's Silver Bolt, and its location is Yin Erweg."
"Silver Bolt?"
Samuel had not taken over for too long and didn't know much about the Demon Hunting Order.
"A special device is used to limit the demon hunter. When his secret blood awakening level exceeds the critical value, the Stasis Temple will detect him. However, due to the loss of "Apocalypse", this thing has been discontinued. "
"It's... amazing."
Samuel lamented that since joining, something that refreshed his world view appeared every day, and he was not too surprised by the mysterious Silver Bolt.
The entire Evangelical Church is a combination of weird secrets, and no one knows what is hidden in the darkness.
Anthony picked up the photo sandwiched in the paper.
"Of course, it's not just Lawrence. We also detected another demon hunter at the same location."
At the same time, two demon hunters exceeded the critical value, and they were still in the same position. It was unknown whether the two were fighting something or fighting each other.
After obtaining this information, the Evangelical Church's forces in Yingerweg secretly mobilized. Although it is not as good as it was back then, it is still somewhat useful today. They operate efficiently, collect information and then report it.
"Based on the feedback from the Stasis Temple, we checked the code of the Silver Bolt and the original demon hunter that the code belonged to...According to the list, he should be dead."
Anthony looked at the man in the black and white photo. Due to the angle of the candid shot, the man's face was only slightly exposed in the crowd, but this was enough to determine his identity.
"Who is he?" Samuel asked.
"Lorenzo Holmes," Anthony said.
"Name? I thought witchers didn't have names."
"He asked for it himself. He is a detective by profession. It is currently suspected that he has something to do with the purge agency... This will make the situation more complicated."
Anthony didn't know whether Lorenzo was allied with the Purge Agency. Once the two were in alliance, it would make his actions more difficult. And with Lorenzo's existence, the Purge Agency must have known something about the demons. knowledge, which will only cost the evangelical church greater costs.
"So we're going to hunt him next?"
Anthony shook his head.
"The Purge Agency will not allow us to act arbitrarily in their territory. What's more, I suspect that they already know the existence of "Apocalypse". Once it worsens, this will make us go to war. We will go as a mission."
"That's what we're going to do," Anthony continued.
"As early as a few days ago, the first batch of demon hunters went to Yin Erweg. There is the best among you in the team. He will be one of the hopes of this operation.
They will secretly investigate all this in Old Dunling, while we will openly make deals with the purification agencies to paralyze them. "
"This plan doesn't look very solid."
Samuel didn't like the best, he had seen the disturbing guy.
"Because you don't need to know the whole story." Anthony said a little coldly, "And we don't know anything about the situation in Old Dunling. Many plans need to be prepared there."
This is an extremely critical operation. A slight inadvertence may lead to a siege by the purification agency. With the current influence of the Evangelical Church, it will be difficult for them to leave Yin Erweg alive.
"Anyway, that's it. Go back and get ready. We'll be setting off in the near future."
Anthony thought for a moment and then said.
"Better say goodbye to your family."
All journeys involve saying goodbye, but coming from Anthony's mouth, it had a completely different meaning.
"Will I die there?" Samuel couldn't help but become serious.
"It's very possible." Anthony said somewhat seriously.
"This is related to the pattern of the world in the future. The purification agency will not relax its vigilance against us, and the same is true for the two demon hunters. They have experienced the Night of Holy Advent, and they know very well that the new demon hunters represent What."
He glanced at Samuel from beginning to end.
"You... and the new demon hunters, who are flowing with the secret blood of secondary recovery, are not bound by the silver bolt in their bodies. If you want, you can directly demonize and maximize your combat power, but the same Yes, this also means that you will definitely die."
"Maybe I won't be pushed to that extent." Samuel said. After being implanted with the secret blood, he endured great pain and gained strength far beyond that of ordinary people.
"No, you don't understand, Samuel, you haven't seen a real demon hunter, after all, you are just a poor substitute for them... We are all, and those who are under restraint, can still slash freely Compared with other witchers, we are too fragile, just like the gap between a newborn baby and an old hunter."
Anthony said that demon hunters have been trained since childhood. They are born to fight against demons. They have no name or past and maintain absolute sanity.
These newly promoted demon hunters are all selected from the Templar Knights. Compared with those cold and cruel demon hunters, they are still too gentle.
Although secret blood flows, he has a completely different heart, a heart of ruthless iron and stone.
"Then have you seen the witcher? Father Anthony?"
Samuel asked. He knew the past of the Demon Hunter Order. He also knew that except for those who fled, all the Demon Hunters were dead. He didn't understand that Anthony had never seen a real Demon Hunter. Why are you still so... afraid of it?
Anthony was silent, and he sighed quietly after an unknown amount of time.
"I've seen it, Samuel."
Thinking of the steel mask in his mind, the burning eyes slowly rose in the darkness beneath it. Even after so long, Anthony still couldn't remember how he left the Stasis Temple, but at that time he Now we know why the Pope can survive so many assassinations unharmed.
Seine Lothair, he himself is the most terrifying predator, but no one knows it.
The aura exuding at that moment was one of fear and despair, as if he was being stared at by the most terrifying thing in the world.
"When you meet him, you can tell the difference between you."
Anthony said meaningfully.
Just like a child playing with fire, verbal descriptions cannot awe him after all. Only painful burns can wake him up. But this time it is different. The price of making a mistake is no longer cheap burns, but death.
Samuel would understand, and he would feel the same emotions as himself when he faced the blazing white flames.
That comes from the fear deep in the soul.
(End of this chapter)