Heart of the Castle

Chapter 824 The Wrath of Cardinal St. Bogdan

The news of the tragic and eerie death of the venerable Cardinal St. Belikov spread throughout the Shining Temple as if he had grown wings shortly after the bells for vespers.After learning the news of his old opponent's death from the Captain of the Guardian Knights who stumbled into the prayer hall, Cardinal St. Bogdan, who was leading the reciting of hymns, suddenly turned pale, almost letting the Sunlight Scepter fall from his hand.

"How is this possible? I saw Cardinal St. Belikov blessing several believers in the morning!"

"Yes...it's true!" The captain of the guard knights shook his head frantically, "When he walked into the bedroom, Cardinal St. Belikov looked a little tired, but he was still sane. He told me I guarded the door for him and wanted to wake him up when the bells for vespers rang. But when the bells rang for vespers, I went to knock on the bedroom door, but there was no answer. I followed the rules of St. Belico According to Cardinal Cardinal's prior instructions, he and a few companions broke open the door, only to find Cardinal St. Belikov lying on the carpet beside the bed, having lost his breath."

"Take me to the scene immediately, and..." Cardinal St. Bogdan turned around and stretched out his hands facing the stunned priests in the prayer hall, with a heavy and mournful tone, "Evening Prayer The ceremony is temporarily suspended, but I ask you brothers to remain silent and not to leave here. Brother Jean Layton." He called the name of the Grand Master of the Judgment Hammer Knights.

The blond-haired Commander-in-Chief Jean Leighton took a step forward, punching his chest, "Lord Saint Bogdan, please give me your orders."

"I would like to ask you to go to the scene with me. Maybe some things need to use your experience." Cardinal St. Bogdan said softly, "I suspect that Cardinal St. death."

A sharp light flashed in the eyes of Chief Jean Layton, "You mean...someone successfully murdered a dignified cardinal in the heavily guarded Shining Temple?"

"It's very possible...but it's just a speculation right now, and I need more evidence." Cardinal St. Bogdan said as he walked down from the altar covered with sun runes, and walked through the place full of fear and fear. The numb and sluggish crowd walked up to the pale-faced Guardian Knight Captain.

"Now, take us to see an old friend for the last time."

It took about ten minutes to walk from the prayer hall to Cardinal St. Belikov's bedroom, but due to anxiety in his heart, he couldn't help speeding up his pace. Cardinal St. Bogdan and his party only took half of the time. He rushed to the room where the body was kept.

Seeing his political opponent, who had publicly opposed him many times, lying quietly on the carpet beside his bed, his face as pale as rotten milk, Cardinal St. Bogdan suddenly showed a trace of sadness and joy on his face, The turbulent mood made him not step on his right foot firmly when he landed, and his body shook suddenly.If it wasn't for Jean Layton, who was following closely behind, the head of the regiment grabbed his arm and almost fell a somersault.

"Lord St. Bogdan, please stand carefully." Jean-Leyton commanded in a low voice, "If you feel unwell, do you want to send someone to take you back to rest?"

Cardinal St. Bogdan calmed down, then nodded lightly to thank you, "Thank you, Brother Jean Layton, I'm fine, I just suddenly realized that Lord St. Belikov really passed away, and I'm just a little dazed " His eyes swept over the corpse lying on the ground again, and then he sighed softly, "Brother Jean Leighton, please check Lord Belikov's body, I want to know how he died of."

Chief Jean Layton nodded heavily, then walked to the body of Cardinal St. Belikov, knelt down on one knee, and gently supported the old man's white-haired head with both hands.An apologist knight was standing behind him with a lantern with constant lighting. The slightly dazzling golden light spilled from the crystal lampshade inlaid with golden runes, and shone on the body of Cardinal St. Belikov.

After a little inspection, Chief Jean Leighton couldn't help frowning.On the surface, Cardinal Belikov's body did not have any external injuries, not even bruises could be found, only a red mark on his neck that was almost ignored.However, when Chief Jean Layton lifted Cardinal Belikov's head, he had already noticed where the fatal injury was.

The old man's neck bone has been broken abruptly.

For a high-level clergyman with powerful divine spells, this is not a very reasonable way to die.In particular, Chief Jean Layton also detected the remaining light divine power from Cardinal Belikov's hands, which shows that the Cardinal was not suddenly attacked by surprise, but had already displayed a power of at least the ninth energy level. The magic time.

Whether it's magic, divine art, or abilities, the ninth energy level is already the apex that mortals can reach, and if you want to surpass it, you must step into the threshold known as the legendary powerhouse. "Could it be that a legendary strong man assassinated Cardinal St. Belikov?" Chief Jean Leighton couldn't help showing a hesitant expression on his face. He didn't know whether he should express his thoughts.

"Brother Jean Layton, why are you hesitating?" Cardinal St. Bogdan saw the expression on the face of the head of the Judgment Hammer Knights, and suddenly stepped forward and said, "Because you can't judge The cause of Master Belikov’s death? Or did you find something that you can’t just say?”

"I can't confirm whether my thoughts are correct, Master Saint Bogdan." Chief Jean Leighton swallowed hard, "I can only confirm one thing, Lord Saint Belikov did not stumble, fall or He died due to some other unexpected reason, he was killed by unimaginable means."

"Killed by..." Cardinal St. Bogdan involuntarily raised a hand to hold his forehead.This answer did not exceed his imagination, but when it was proved that this was the case, he still felt a chill on his spine. "When... the defense system of the Temple of Glory can't even protect the life of a high-ranking cardinal?" He suddenly said in a hoarse voice, "Who is responsible for the security work around Mr. Belikov? ?”

"It's...it's me, Cardinal St. Bogdan." The apologist knight who led the way immediately knelt down, with his head resting on the carpet under his feet, "but...I don't know...I and None of my subordinates left the door... I am willing to swear in front of the Lord of Radiance, Flandara!"

"Master Belikov has always hated the cold, so the windows of his room are inlaid on the wall with crystal chips with protective symbols, and they cannot be easily opened." Cardinal St. Bogdan couldn't hide his anger. "Even if someone used violence to destroy the window, there must be a sound, right? Don't you hear any sound outside the door?"

The face of the Captain of the Guardian Knights became even paler, and large drops of sweat appeared on his forehead, "No...we didn't hear anything, by the way, Cardinal St. Belikov once told us Said that he needs an absolutely quiet environment to rest, so he may have cast a silence spell on the door..."

"He's right." Commander Jean Layton, who walked to the door and inspected it carefully, interjected, "There are traces of the magic of silence on the door, and apart from the broken latch here, there are also There were no other traces of being pried open or scratched, and that person did not enter through the door or window...or, in other words, he did not need to enter Lord Belikov's room through ordinary means."

"My lord of glory, this is too ridiculous!" The sudden anxiety caused Cardinal St. Bogdan to forget what politeness is. It was so strong that it seemed to be asking something sternly.

"Brother Jean Layton, haven't you forgotten one thing? The entire Glory Temple is under the strict protection of the legendary divine magic domain - the protection of Flandara. Even the innate abilities of demon nobles will be completely useless."

"I don't think that person entered the room through teleportation magic." Chief Jean Leighton replied in a tone of approval, "There are many ways to judge the traces left by teleportation magic, and I have tried them all. Of the two kinds, it is absolutely certain that ... at least not in this room."

"It didn't break the window, and the guards in front of the door were loyal to their duties and didn't leave..." Cardinal St. Bogdan couldn't help snorting, he could hardly control the suspicion in his voice, "Jean Ray Brother Dun, according to what you said, I think Master Belikov accidentally slipped and slipped when he got up, and unfortunately broke his neck——is a more reasonable explanation."

"The scar on Mr. Belikov's neck was not caused by a slip. If I were to describe it, it would be more like a broken neck bone forcibly twisted by an invisible big hand." General Commander Jean Layton The head of the corpse was gently placed back on the carpet, and then stood up with a solemn expression. "There is only one situation that makes me feel unbelievable. It is a cruel way to break the neck bone, but Mr. Belikov's body should not be completely unharmed."

"It's not difficult to explain, Brother Jean Layton." Cardinal St. Bogdan bent down and took off a golden sunburst badge from the chest of Belikov's body. "This is an ancient Alchemy props, which can only be obtained by cardinals and above, contain a seventh-level healing magic. When the wearer is fatally injured, this magic will be automatically triggered, thus gaining a chance for the wearer .”

He turned the badge over, touched the back lightly with his finger, then nodded and said, "My guess is correct, the healing spell sealed by the badge has been triggered, but it didn't save Master Belikov's life, It's just letting the superficial wounds on his body heal well."

"Then there is no other explanation." Chief Jean Layton hesitated for a moment, then raised his head, and made a gesture to the other people in the room to retreat.The guardian knights then saluted one after another, and filed out. The last one walking was the grateful captain of the guardian knights, who closed the door behind him when he went out.

"My lord Cardinal St. Bogdan, what I'm saying now is just my personal speculation, which may not be completely consistent with the facts, and may cause unpredictable and serious consequences, so I hope you can strictly keep the secret and don't reveal it. Outline the content of our next conversation."

This time it was the cardinal's turn to frown, "Is it so serious?" There was a trace of imperceptible sarcasm in his tone, "Brother Jean Layton, you need me as the Lord of Glory, Flandra Swear on your name?"

"No, of course not." Chief Jean Layton waved his hands again and again, "Lord Cardinal St. Bogdan, I am not hiding anything from you, it's just that the matter is serious and I am not fully sure, so ..."

Cardinal St. Bogdan lightly patted the head of the Judgment Hammer Knights on the shoulder, with a reassuring smile on his face, "I know, I know, Brother Jean Layton, you are A very cautious person, I believe your judgment will not be wrong at least in the general direction. Although Mr. St. Belikov has always been at odds with me, it is only a difference in ideas and practices. In the desire to shine Lord Flandara's faith is spread across the earth, and our thoughts are the same. So I can't tolerate his being killed, at least the Glory Temple must avenge him!"

Chief Jean Layton nodded heavily, "That's right, that's it, but this is exactly what I'm worried about. I don't know if my judgment will go astray... Well, I still There is one last question. Lord Belikov performed a divine spell as high as the ninth energy level before he died, and there are even some faint waves of light divine power remaining on his fingers. Can you determine what divine spell it is? "

Cardinal St. Bogdan lightly touched the dead body's cold right hand with his fingers, and then closed his eyes. "It's indeed very powerful...but it's also the very familiar wave of light divine power, the ninth energy level...this range should not be too large...I know!" He opened his eyes suddenly, with a surprised expression in his eyes, "It's the divine power. Sanctuary! The magical spell cast by Belikov before his death can form a special area that lasts for several hours, and in this area, he should not be harmed...of course he cannot harm anyone."

"Does this magical spell last for several hours?" Commander Jean-Leyton's expression relaxed slightly, "Then my judgment was wrong just now, Mr. Belikov was not able to successfully cast this magic spell." He was killed by a sneak attack before that."

"No, Holy Sanctuary is one of the few instant magic spells. If it's the kind of magic that takes a few minutes to pray, it won't be able to protect you." St. Bogdan Cardinal shook He shook his head and said, "Brother Jean? Layton, I know why you don't dare to make casual guesses... It's really scary, and I would have to think more about it. People who can easily destroy the divine art of the Holy Sanctuary... It can only be a legendary strong man who has mastered the original power!"

Chief Jean Layton nodded slightly, but said nothing. He didn't know how to continue, and he was even more worried about whether Cardinal St. Bogdan made a wrong judgment in his anger.

"Lord Belikov is a powerful divine spellcaster, and he has been on a bloody and murderous battlefield. Even a legendary powerhouse is not so easy to kill him. Facing an ordinary legendary powerhouse Or, he may not have a chance of winning, but at least he still has the ability to protect himself."

With the ferocious whisper that seemed to be squeezed out between his teeth, Cardinal St. Bogdan's cheeks were as red as blood, and his eyes showed unconcealable indignation, "How many well-known legendary powerhouses are there on the mainland? Who dares to be an enemy of the powerful Temple of Glory? Is it the Abyss Demon Realm that has just suffered a defeat and sent another demon lord? Or the president of the Magicians Guild, the famous legendary magister Lord Ermufasa? Let me be straightforward Well, apart from the regent of the Kingdom of Arthur, Levi Stern, no one dares to do this at all! Not to mention the ability to do so!"

Chief Jean Layton's face turned pale, but his expression was calm and composed, "You and I want to go together, Lord Saint Bogdan. The Kingdom of Arthur has four legendary powerhouses, and it is true that they will not be afraid of Guangyao With the power of the temple, and the fact that there was a surreptitious assassin who appeared next to the young regent, the only question now is, what is the motive of Arthur's plot to kill Cardinal St. Belikov? ?”

"Motive?" Cardinal St. Bogdan tightly grasped the sunburst scepter in his hand, so hard that the knuckles of his fingers turned white, "Then you can only ask Li Wei? Don't know until now. Brother Jean Layton, please personally lead the Knights of the Hammer of Judgment to escort Lord Belikov's body to the top of the holy mountain. We must request an audience with His Majesty Pope Nicholas St. Huaiyuan, please He makes holy and wise judgment, how to pay the blood debt of that savage kingdom that is rampant with heathen!"

Chief Jean Layton's right eye twitched. He stared at Cardinal St. Bogdan. After a full minute, he saluted with his fist in his chest and lowered his head at the same time, "Yes, St. Bogdan. Cardinal Gedan, I’m going to call for someone.”

Seeing the back of Commander Jean-Leyton disappearing at the door in a hurry, most of the anger on Cardinal St. Bogdan's face disappeared suddenly, so that his expression became a little secretive.He bent down again, grabbed the arm of the body lying on the ground with his hand, and then softly recited a few prayers.

A layer of faint white light covered the hands of Cardinal St. Belikov's body, and then disappeared without a trace.

(End of this chapter)