Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

“Oh?” Lai Gou'er said with surprise, “Why are you so bold this time?”

Hope smiled: “The Pope is dead, and the Holy City has been occupied by you. With such a big advantage, what am I afraid of? But there is one thing you need to pay attention to.”

“What?”

“The Pope is not a fool. He is well aware that the monarchs of various countries are dissatisfied with him, so he has been arranging people to infiltrate other countries.”

“Although the monarchs of various countries resist in secret, some people ultimately lack the ability. As far as I know, there are six major dioceses west of the Holy City, controlled by the Pope's hardcore confidants, where royal power has already been hollowed out. If the Pope escapes back to the dioceses under his control, he can launch a counterattack at any time. Our actions here must be accelerated.”

Lai Gou'er said with a serious expression: “Why is the Pope's control over the West stronger than in other locations? How many troops can these six major dioceses muster?”

Hope shrugged: “The origin of the Taifu Church is located west of the Holy City. The Holy City was built after the Church's power grew. Their roots are in the West, so their control over that area is far stronger than over the eastern coast.”

“The six major dioceses are backed by six countries. I can confirm this, as it is an open secret within the Church. But as for the troop strength of each country, I really have no way of knowing.”

Lai Gou'er nodded repeatedly: “Good, good, this information is enough! Brother Hope, you have done me another great favor. Please set off immediately to help me persuade the other countries, preferably starting with Xiluo.”

“I will now send someone with the Church's high-ranking officials and the Pope's body to Fika to immediately stop the conflict there. As for whether it can be stabilized, I'll have to trouble you.”

Hope remained noncommittal, sighing: “I'm afraid many countries are preparing to start cleansing Church forces, and everything will be in chaos.”

Suddenly, he changed the subject and looked at the treasury: “Brother Lai, I've helped you so much. What benefits can your Great Jing give me?”

Lai Gou'er understood: “There's no need for Great Jing to give you any benefits. Take whatever you want from the treasury, just don't go too far.”

“Alright! I'll leave tomorrow!”

......

Fika's main city was filled with the sound of artillery fire.

However, this artillery fire had long since become one-sided!

The Great Jing's defending forces were unleashing their firepower on the enemy almost without regard for cost.

Meanwhile, the Xiluo army and the Temple Knights had retreated far away.

Divine punishment weapons were impossible to resist.

Catapults were also impossible to resist.

Moreover, the opponent's reserves seemed inexhaustible, and the frequency of the artillery fire was heartbreaking.

Even when there was no one around, they would fire two shots just to show off their abundant firepower.

Now, the two sides had been deadlocked for a long time.

General Mord looked at the city of Fika with despair.

As early as ten days ago, he had completely given up hope.

This city simply could not be taken.

The sophistication of the opponent's weapons was far beyond what they could match.

And the fleet they had requested for support had undoubtedly been annihilated by the enemy.

If it weren't for a judge standing beside him, holding the Pope's banner and steadfastly refusing to retreat, he would have led his men away long ago.

Today was the last round of close-quarters attempts, and there were still no surprises.

At the cost of several hundred soldiers, they managed to get the enemy's artillery to stop firing.

Mord sighed to the sky: “Withdraw, the enemy is defending the city and not coming out, we have no chance.”

The judge said weakly: “No, we've persisted for so long. Didn't you say we could win? This is the Holy See's order, you can't disobey it.”

Mord gritted his teeth: “Even if the Holy See were here, he would have to retreat! This is simply an unequal war. The opponent's resources don't seem to be depleted at all, and we have no advantages left!”

“I don't care... I don't care, you have to find a way to win for me, I don't care...” The judge tugged at his sleeve, repeating himself over and over.

He had long lost his spirit, but if he returned in such a dejected manner, he would be skinned alive.

If he fought to the death, he could at least gain a good reputation.

Mord's right hand pressed firmly on the hilt of his sword, barely suppressing the urge to chop the other party into pieces.

If it weren't for his fear of the Church, such a useless piece of trash would have been hacked to pieces by him long ago!

Just then, a soldier rushed over to report.

“General, the enemy has sent people out of the city! And they're pushing several carts!”

“What? Go and see.”

Actively sending people out of the city, could it be that they couldn't hold on anymore!? Were they just pretending all along?

Mord's spirits lifted, and he strode forward.

He hadn't walked far when he saw several people pushing carts towards him in the distance, the carts covered with cloth.

Mord's expression was strange, and he raised his hand to signal the people behind him to remain silent.

After waiting for a while, the men had pushed the carts to the front of the Xiluo army.

They stopped, and Xiluo soldiers immediately stepped forward to check.

Seeing that there were no problems, Mord stepped forward and said cautiously: “Are you here to negotiate peace?”

The messenger said: “Duke Alvis has sent us to deliver a message, informing the General that the Pope is dead, and the Holy City has been breached! A new Pope has been enthroned, and he hopes that the General can stop the war and the two countries can return to good terms.”

After speaking, the messenger lifted the long cloth covering the corpses on the cart.

Several already rotting corpses were revealed before General Mord and the Judge.

General Mord suddenly widened his eyes!

The Holy City was breached, and the Pope... was dead?

The corpse closest to him was indeed wearing the Pope's clothes and crown, but his face was so badly damaged that it was impossible to identify him.

He was somewhat dazed for a moment.

Just then, the Judge screamed, fell to the ground, and his face was devoid of blood.

“This... this... this...”

“Is it the Pope who died?” General Mord came back to his senses and quickly asked him.

No one present should know better than the Judge whether it was the Pope.

The Judge's throat seemed to be choked.

He didn't know if it was the Pope's body, but he truly recognized the other corpses.

Each of them was a highly respected figure in the Church!

That is to say... the one who died really was the Pope!?

“I don't know, but the others are indeed high-ranking Church officials...” The Judge muttered to himself in a daze.

General Mord swallowed hard.

That is to say, the Pope's body was very likely real!

Seeing this, the messenger added: “General, if you don't believe it, you can continue to wait here. Xiluo should send news soon. Until then, the city will not launch any attacks.”

“In addition, the general in our city also asked me to bring you a message.”

“What message?” General Mord asked quickly.

“He said that you fought well.”

“He... mother... f***ing...!”

Mord froze, and a flush of blood surged from his neck to his face.

The words 'fought well' kept echoing in his mind...

Insult!!

He had fought all his life! He had never been insulted like this! He had fought so frustratingly!

However, this also confirmed one thing.

The other side really had absolute confidence.

It seemed that something big must have happened to the Holy City...

After hesitating for a long time, Mord looked at the Fika city wall and finally waved his hand helplessly: “All troops... retreat!”

.....

On the Fika city wall, Zheng Hui looked at the retreating enemy army with a telescope and smiled contentedly.

This battle was fought without losing a single soldier, just wasting some shells, it was really easy!

That kid Lai Gou'er was also capable, he actually managed to stabilize the Holy City.

“Someone come! Immediately send a fleet to send the good news back to Great Jing! Do not delay for a moment!”

......

(Brothers, let me explain to everyone, I have a training and study activity in July, and I need to go to another place for a period of time. I am afraid that I will not have time to code words and update in the middle, so I dare not add more updates and want to save some manuscripts, but I have not saved it yet. The event ends on the 19th, and I will add more updates for everyone at that time. Before that, I will try my best to add as much as I can. Thank you for your understanding, and I wish you all a smooth journey.)