in the name of the queen.

The reckoning was always cruel, but Roland had no sympathy for the unfortunate people who were howling at the stake.

Struggle is always cruel, especially the struggle of faith.

Roland didn't even want to think about what kind of cruel treatment Christine would suffer if she failed.

This great purge was not without winners. The cardinals were all resigned, resulting in nine cardinal positions being vacant. When the bishops of various major dioceses heard the good news, some even cried for joy.

If Lao Deng doesn't leave, they will never have a chance to succeed.

Thanks to the wisdom and bravery of His Holiness, all these treacherous villains with evil intentions were captured.

The biggest winner is certainly not them, but Christine herself.

She has earned a reputation among her followers second only to that of the goddess.

In addition, the goddess can only influence the material plane through oracles, and there are very few people in the material plane who have the ability to listen to the voice of God without going crazy. It is no exaggeration to say that Tia's voice is not as loud as Christine's.

Unless Tia herself arrives, Christine has the final say on the interpretation of the oracle.

Others did not dare to tamper with the content of the oracle, but she did. Not only did she dare, but she was also very bold in tampering with the content.

The first thing she did after quelling the civil unrest was to ban "false oracles."

Any so-called "oracle" that has not been certified by her is false, and anyone who spreads it will have his entire family account cancelled.

Although some people have doubts, thinking that this will allow the Pope's power to overshadow the Goddess, and some even suspect that Bishop Mousse was the real communicator of the oracle that day, all doubts must be kept in mind.

After all, only a minority of people were doubtful. The vast majority of people who had experienced the square confrontation had an almost fanatical trust in Christine.

Some people even shouted slogans like "We have not seen the goddess in the world, but we have seen the saint in the world."

There is no doubt that this passage is indeed from Roland.

Roland, who has experienced the erosion of fan culture in another world, has some understanding of how to operate personal IP.

He was well aware that this was a great opportunity to improve his personal image and certainly would not miss it.

First, make Christine the human spokesperson of the goddess.

Then make her the spokesperson of light.

Finally it is implied that she is the light itself.

Since she is light itself, the "evil demon with light attribute" from some foreign land is naturally the target of crusade.

The final outcome of course depends on the balance of power, and these methods are all ways to change the balance of power.

The power of faith originally went from believers to the divine realm, and belonged to the Lord of Light, and was then distributed by the Lord to the gods of light at all levels who were dependent on him.

But under Roland's manipulation, more and more power of faith turned to Christine.

Many people gradually realized that it was an overstep to directly believe in the Goddess without going through the great Pope, and it might even lead to the disastrous consequence of mistaking their inner desires for the Goddess's oracles.

Just like the group of cardinals bewitched by mousse.

They had shed blood and performed meritorious services for the court of God, but their crimes were unforgivable, so they committed suicide in the fire.

In order to avoid similar tragedies, more and more believers are beginning to accept the indirect worship system.

They place their faith in the Pope, who conveys it on their behalf.

It goes without saying that this was Roland's idea.

Although some believers have doubts in their hearts, they find it reasonable when they think about it carefully.

It would be impossible for a farmer in the countryside to run to the imperial capital to complain to the emperor. He would have to first find the small town sheriff and administrative officials.

And Christine is the administrative official who collects the intermediary benefits.

Her image has always been good, and coupled with the stunning performance at the Holy Light Square, the believers did not find this change abrupt.

But only for her.

Christine was too lazy to think about the next one.

She will start the endless quest mode until the end.

Maybe she will let go of these obsessions in the new era, but not now. She needs strength now, and she wants to become a powerful helper to Roland.

Taking advantage of this reorganization opportunity, Christine firmly controlled all power in her own hands.

The Chief Judge was originally thought to be dead, but she let him go and did not include him in the list of rebels against the light. This was naturally a sign of his undying loyalty to her.

Although Martin was smooth, he successfully stood on the side at the critical moment and firmly grasped the wealth for the rest of his life.

He was appointed as the permanent vice-pope, responsible for presiding over daily work, but important matters and ideological areas were still handled personally by Christine herself.

This strange job title of course also comes from Roland.

Roland's position did not change at all, he was still an honorary knight, but his rank was upgraded to the same level as Christine, becoming an orthodox pope.

His orders have the same force as Christine's.

Christine promoted a group of young and promising regional bishops who did not have a good relationship with the old cardinals to fill the vacancies on the spot. Fortunately, the court had a rich talent pool and had never lacked charlatans, so the collective burning of the cardinals at the stake had little impact.

They gave up their positions, making the core team of the Divine Court much younger.

Most of these young bishops are more capable and qualified than the old cardinals, but they have no positions and can only wait patiently, unable to display their abilities.

Christine gave them a chance, so their loyalty was beyond doubt.

After establishing an absolutely loyal team, Christine expanded the liquidation without any hesitation.

Any clergy who were not conducive to her absolute rule would be labeled as an accomplice and ruthlessly executed, regardless of whether they were in collusion with the cardinals.

In just two weeks, tens of thousands of people paid the price of their lives for this failed square coup.

Christine's murderous intent was so strong that even Roland was a little scared.

He had to persuade Christine to hold back a little.

"Aren't you worried that they are just afraid of you, not really obedient to you?" Roland frowned slightly.

"Just be afraid."

Christine was very calm. She pointed at the goddess statue behind her and said softly, "As long as they don't dare to oppose me before the final return day, it's fine. Most of them can't get a ticket to the new era anyway."

Since she had made the decision, Roland could only sigh and fully support her.

Of course he understood the logic, but he felt physically uncomfortable looking at the bloody kill list.

He had done things like rooting out the evil and clearing up the evil, but the cruelty of the struggle in the field of faith still made him sigh.

Compared to this bunch of charlatans, the struggles among politicians seem as gentle as playing house.

No one except a madman like Marco would take political struggle so far.

Christine did the right thing, since it was uncertain whether they could win on Return Day, there was no point in thinking about the future.

She squeezed the faith power of the believers of light to the limit, preparing for the final battle.

As for what kind of aftereffects the new era will bring, let your future self worry about it.

Although Roland supported it, he couldn't help but remind Christine, "We will definitely win, but think about Marco."

Christine nodded silently without refutation.

After watching Roland walk out of the prayer room, she withdrew her gaze and looked back at the statue of the goddess.

The statue that originally emitted a soft luster was now dull and the bloodstain between its eyebrows had long since dried up.

Thinking about where the blood came from, she couldn't help but blushing slightly.

Sitting back in her seat, she silently spread out several thick books, collected her thoughts, and continued working at her desk.

She's busy with more meaningful things these days.

This matter is far more important than liquidation and killing.

Revise the New Canon.

While no one dares to oppose her now, she will quote ancient texts, revise and recompile the Illuminati Canon, and add her own new interpretations.

She would create a new canon that would allow her to take over some of the goddess' functions.

This is not easy.

She had to turn this erotic canon into something that looked very much like the original Canon of Light.

Roland once said that you can't deceive everyone all the time, and even the most sophisticated lies will be exposed eventually.

In this case, it is possible that lies will replace the truth for a period of time.

This is the effect she wants.

In order to revise the new canon, Christine stopped pretending and openly tried to steal the goddess's attention.

If the plan succeeds, she will be the new goddess. Tia? Just a false god.

She has basically completed the editing of the new canon, and the newly promoted Martin contributed a lot to the revision process.

Not only did he accurately understand Christine's intentions, but he also had outstanding professional skills. He was familiar with church scriptures and various original texts, and provided a lot of help to Christine.

Not only that, he also has a unique skill and is good at making "ancient books".

He is not only proficient in the language and writing of the ancient era, but also proficient in the aging technology. It is not an easy job to do it perfectly.

The butcher's knife is effective, but it is not omnipotent. There are many stubborn and righteous people in this world. If the scriptures used to compile the new religious canon are fake, there will definitely be iron-headed people who will come out to defend their faith with their lives.

The ancient books used to support the compilation of church canons were both real and fake, but with the support of Martin's aging and forgery technology, there were no flaws.

After all necessary preparations were made, Christine once again gathered believers in the Holy Light Square.

After half a month of bloody storm, the believers of light are a little nervous.

Tens of thousands of people are nothing among the hundreds of millions of believers, and they are basically concentrated in the middle and upper classes, so the scope of impact is not too large.

But it was a cleansing operation after all, and so many people died, how could people not be afraid.

The cleansing operation was presided over by the chief judge, who was very ruthless in order to prove his loyalty.

Although many people believe that Christine is the mastermind, most believers don't care. They think that the bad ones are the cardinals, the cruel ones are the chief judge and the church, and Christine is a good person.

She is the embodiment of light, the only spokesperson for the goddess, and a holy person who remains chaste. How could she be a bad person?
Mature politicians don't believe that Christine is unaware of this, but ordinary believers don't care.

They need spiritual sustenance and a sense of security.

Christine held a rally to give them a sense of security.

Facing hundreds of thousands of anxious believers, she raised her white arms, and her clear voice seemed to ripple like a spring in everyone's heart.

"The chief judge told me yesterday that the cleanup operation is basically complete."

Hearing Christine's words, the believers breathed a sigh of relief. The high tension they had been feeling for half a month was swept away, and some even cried for joy.

It's finally over.

The believers were ecstatic, but some heard something else.

Basically over does not mean completely over.

If new traitors jump out, they must be dealt with.

For the foreseeable future, there is a sword hanging over the heads of believers, ready to strike down at any time, and the punishment is the death penalty, which is undoubtedly false oracle transmission.

Some of the cardinal's followers who have not yet been liquidated are in a state of panic, fearing that they will be exposed.

But most believers don't care.

They don't intend to be traitors, so how to deal with traitors has nothing to do with them.

The chief judge then announced the verdict on the masterminds of the false oracle case.

The judgment is very long, and even though it is delivered in summary form, it is shocking enough.

According to this verdict, the cardinals had evil intentions and had been plotting for a long time.

They are so bad that their feet are oozing pus.

Christine listened to this verdict that was seriously deviated from the facts with an expressionless face, and her heart was not moved at all.

Yes, she was the one who falsely transmitted the oracle, but so what?

The so-called goddess of light is just a false god. What qualifications does she have to deliver oracles?
She is still climbing to the top and is in competition with Tia, who is only temporarily ahead.

The road to becoming a god is a long race. A temporary lead is certainly an advantage, but victory or defeat can be reversed at any time.

What followed was the much-loved barbecue party.

Blasphemy was a serious crime, and of course the punishment was burning at the stake.

There were many saints who were burned at the stake, but few cardinals. Bishop Mus and others filled this gap very well.

In order to avoid causing mass panic, these people had their vocal cords removed. They could not scream at all and could only twist their bodies and struggle desperately.

To the believers, the cardinals struggled and repented in the fire, but it was too late.

After the verdict was concluded, Christine came to the podium again, raised the thick scriptures in her hand, and said in a deep voice:

"Bishop Mus once had a firm faith, but after reaching a high position, he lost his reverence, stopped studying the scriptures, stopped praying sincerely, and was eventually swallowed up by ambition."

"To prevent the tragedy from happening again, I request that all clergy be organized to study the scriptures intensively, and believers should also take the initiative to go to the temple to listen to the sermons."

"In the past half month, I have read many ancient books and found that the scriptures had been tampered with by others. They are very different from the original teachings of the goddess. Some of the differences even completely violate the original intention of the goddess."

"In order to correct the misconceptions, I organized experts to revise the scriptures. The textbook used in this intensive study is the newly printed revised version."

She briefly introduced the differences before and after the revision.

The believers didn't care, but some people couldn't sit still.

The Court of Light has never lacked martyrs, especially ascetics and book priests.

They dare to fight any bad behavior, even if it is the Pope.

After Christine gave a brief introduction to the revised version, someone stood up and asked coldly, "Your Holiness, the canon is the classic left by the goddess. Modifications must be rigorously argued and have strong evidence."

"Reverend Russell, I repeat, this is not a revision, but a restoration of the scriptures to their original form."

It was a good point, but the priest representative didn't buy it. Russell asked coldly, "What's the basis for that?"

Christine knew that some people would object and was prepared. She nodded to Martin, indicating that he should explain.

Martin, who had been fully prepared, quickly walked up to the podium, holding a huge box.

He put the box down breathlessly, panting a little exaggeratedly, "Reverend Russell, the evidence is all here, you can check it at any time. If there are any omissions, we are willing to accept your criticism."

Russell looked at the huge box, walked over with some doubts and picked up a book at random. Looking at the traces of time on the book, he suspected that most of them had disappeared, but he still couldn't help asking:
"Putting aside other things, His Holiness the Pope said that clergy can also have soul mates. Where did he get this from?"

"it's here."

Christine took out a scroll of letters from under her loose robe and handed it to Russell.

"Priest Russell, these are private letters between the goddess and her partner Poseidon when she was still on earth. You can read them, but you are not allowed to spread them to others."

Russell's gossipy heart was aroused, and he quickly made sure the information would not be leaked.

He flipped through the letters quickly and was stunned. These letters were all written by Tia herself and were all authentic.

It records Tia's confession of her love for Poseidon, which is even described in an explicit way with a hint of ambiguity.

In some of the letters, Tia even believed that religious belief did not mean that one could not raise offspring.

Her reason was simple. All great gods had offspring, and if their believers did not have any, it would seem that their faith was not devout enough.

She was categorically opposed to the so-called "holy saints", and even believed that saints should communicate more with people who possessed great power and secular authority.

Although it was not stated explicitly, Russell certainly knew what this communication meant.

He was silent.

His three views exploded.

The goddess doesn't look like a goddess, she doesn't look holy and even a little snobbish.

Is this still the goddess everyone knows?

Russell returned the letter to Christine in a state of despair, and asked in a mysterious way, "Are you also looking for a partner?"

"Of course, I want to set an example for everyone by leading by example."

Christine's expression was stern and holy.

She turned her gaze to Roland.

Roland appeared in front of him like lightning, and he certainly knew what to do.

Sitting on one knee, holding a white rose in his palm, his voice was exceptionally gentle.

"Ms. Christine, may I have the honor of being your soul mate?"

“As you wish, it’s also my honor.” Christine’s cheeks flushed and her voice trembled.

She never dreamed that as Pope she could accept a request that was almost a marriage proposal in public.

Her eyes were a little moist and her voice was a little choked.

Although this was a pre-planned performance, Roland was serious. Seeing Christine about to shed tears, he took a half step forward, placed the prepared platinum pocket watch on her chest, and then put the ring on the ring finger of her left hand.

"By the light of God, before all the witnesses today, I, Roland Sussex (dozens of territorial family names omitted here), volunteer to be Miss Christine's soul mate. From now on and forever, no matter in good times or bad, rich or poor, healthy or sick, happy or sad, I will always love you, cherish you, be faithful to you, live and die with you until the end of my life."

These were clearly the words of a wedding vow, and the entire square fell silent.

After an unknown amount of time, someone finally came back to life.

"Promise him!"

"Promise him!"

Amid everyone's cheering, Christine trembled as she repeated Roland's oath.

At a sunny noon, hundreds of thousands of people witnessed and conservative forces mourned.

With everyone witnessing, Roland leaned over and kissed her gently.

The red lips were surging with heat and trembling, just like their mood at the moment. (End of this chapter)