Page 391
Even though the voting is about to begin today, there is still a lot of noise.
On the lower right side of the meeting hall, which belonged to the northern nobles and parliamentarians, Earl Milford happened to sit next to Rocky McCarthy.
In fact, the specific seats in the fixed area were not particularly fixed. When he came to the imperial capital Helrom before, his daughter Michella kept telling him that Rocky McCarthy was his brother-in-law or something like that, which made him confused. He didn't know how Miss Hyperion, the priestess from the Kingdom of Estelan, met such an extraordinary fiancé.
At first, Earl Milford was convinced that Michela was talking nonsense, but today, with the mentality of giving it a try, he spoke to Rocky McCarthy who was sitting not far away. The other party chatted with him very kindly and friendly for a long time, thanking him for his help to Miriam. In the end, Rocky McCarthy simply sat with him, so that many northern nobles around became full of respect for Earl Milford, because through just a few words, they could judge that Rocky McCarthy had a close relationship with the eldest daughter of the Milford family.
"..."
Hyperion, who had changed her appearance, sat on the seats of the great priests on the left side of the hall, feeling very uncomfortable.
Looking forward from her angle, she could just see Ranch and Earl Milford sitting on the right side of the opposite hall. The two of them were really chatting, and Milford looked like he was discussing a marriage for his daughter, which made her very embarrassed.
In addition, she recalled how the Earl of Milford's family had taken care of her as a priest of the Church of the Goddess of Destiny a month ago, and how she had now become the Archpriest of Tyrant, and she felt like a fallen priest...
As time passed, outside Franklin Hall, the Capitol clock slowly pointed to nine o'clock and rang.
At this moment, the heavy sound of bells echoed in the hall. Every strike was like the echo of history, causing ripples in the calm air of the hall.
All the discussions gradually died down, and everyone's eyes were focused on the high platform in the center, where the election of the cardinal of the Resurrection Church was about to officially begin.
When the bell rang, the elf slowly stood up in solemn silence.
Although she was petite, her presence was extremely strong, as if she was the center of the hall, and the eyes of all the bigwigs in the empire were focused on her.
"In theory, there will be a presentation and speech session before the official voting begins. The three cardinals of the Church of the Resurrection will have the opportunity to present their ideas and achievements of the past three months in any form. This will be a critical moment for them to prove their value and ability to all the nobles, parliamentarians and other important figures present. That's it."
She began to speak the following content in a lazy tone, her voice without much emotion, and every word was clearly audible in the hall.
Then Isis sat down again and handed the time over to the three cardinals.
The default order is from left to right, starting with the time of the Tyrant branch.
Sigrid did not intend to make a speech herself, as she would only scare the nobles, so she waved to her subordinate Gloria to do it for her.
This kind of thing should be what the Son of God is best at, but today before the parliament started, the Son of God had already made it clear to her that as a figure of the Protoss Empire, he would remain absolutely neutral in the parliament today and would not favor her in the slightest. As for whether they could reach a tacit understanding, it depended on whether the two of them had a mutual understanding.
Chapter 469 Sigrid is no longer at the eighth level
In Franklin Hall, the imperial nobles and ministers remained silent, focusing their attention on the area in the center of the hall belonging to the three factions of the Church of Resurrection.
Although the final speech at this moment may influence the personal opinions of the ticket holders to a certain extent, there are also many nobles or ministers who do not intend to cast their votes based on their own opinions.
The nobles of the northern snowfield province all understood that when the voting began, Mr. Rocky McCarthy would take out his handkerchief, fold it and put it back in his chest pocket. At that time, whichever direction the emblem of the Protoss Royal Academy of Magic on his handkerchief pointed to would represent who he would vote for, and they would also vote for the same bishop.
The bottom, top and right represent the south, north and east respectively, and also refer to the areas where the Tyrant Catholics, the Extinct Bishops and the Mourning Bishops belong during these months.
Next to the monarch's chair in the hall, as Isis sat down again, the atmosphere turned into the quietness of waiting time.
Sigrid, the domineering Catholic, stood in the position of bishop with a firm look in her eyes.
Her direct subordinate Gloria walked onto the stage with firm steps, dressed in a solemn dress, ready to begin her speech.
Direct soldiers are also considered high priests, but their position is higher than that of ordinary high priests.
Gloria glanced at everyone present, ready to share the changes that the Tyrant branch had achieved in the southern part of the Protoss Empire over the past few months.
"Ms. Gloria, please wait a moment."
The high priest sitting behind Asksan stopped everything.
No one knows what the Silent Branch is trying to do.
Gloria was about to speak, but something unexpected happened at this critical moment. Sigrid frowned and looked towards the seats of the Silent Branch on the right side of the center of the hall.
Archpriest Sandor, who was behind Bishop Silent, suddenly stood up. His movements were swift and decisive.
Sigrid was impressed by the archpriest.
After she and the Son of God reported and relocated Archbishop Caius of the Knights of Annihilation stationed in the imperial capital Helrom, it was this special soldier from the north named Sander who took over the logistics of the imperial capital Helrom and arranged passes for the two of them to the blockaded area in the north.
With most of Asksan's high priests now dead, the direct soldiers can be said to be Asksan's last confidants.
"Lady Isis, I represent the Silent Branch and have important matters to report."
Sandor's voice interrupted the speech that was about to proceed normally, and he looked towards Isis on the monarch's side of the hall with an urgent and determined expression on his face.
"..."
The entire hall's eyes instantly turned to Sandel, and Gloria's expression also showed anger.
She knew that the Tyrant Catholic Sigrid was now being accused by the Imperial military, and the military officer in charge of arresting the Tyrant Catholic was waiting outside Franklin Hall. If she won today's bishop election, she might be able to continue to negotiate, but if Sigrid lost, she would be arrested by the Protoss Empire, and the winning bishop might not only not help her, but might even add insult to injury and seize this opportunity to completely crush the Tyrant Catholic.
The Bishop of Silent Destruction and the Catholic Church of Tyranny have always been mortal enemies. The Silent Destruction branch will not let go of this precious opportunity. With their unscrupulous and shameless style, they are willing to use any dirty tricks today.
The nobles, parliamentarians, and other important figures of the empire present began to whisper to each other, sensing the tense atmosphere.
Originally, the behavior of the archpriest of the Nirvana branch could be said to be quite rude, but everyone present understood that his own preaching might not have such a big effect, but exposing and attacking other branches might directly and significantly affect the voting opinions of the nobles and ministers later.
Isis raised her head slightly, her eyes were calm but unfathomable, as if she could see into everyone's heart.
She nodded slightly, giving Sandel tacit permission to speak.
This simple action immediately plunged the entire hall into silence. The attention of the imperial dignitaries was focused on Sander, a direct soldier of the Silent Branch, waiting for him to announce the so-called "important matters."
"Lord Sigrid... You are not really planning to win the election today, use your power to cover up your crimes, and get away with it, are you?"
Sandor took a deep breath and stared at the Tyrant Catholic Sigrid on the left side of the center of the hall.
"I am much more upright than you."
Sigrid folded her hands motionlessly and spoke coldly.
Talking to people from the Nirvana branch made her feel sick.
"Haha, you killed so many people in the north, and you still have the nerve to maintain your image?"
In response to Sigrid's brief answer, Sander pointed at Sigrid and asked harshly without giving in.
At this time, not only the Tyrant branch, but the atmosphere of the entire hall was shrouded in this sudden smell of gunpowder.
Sigrid raised her eyes and glanced at Sandor, a soldier directly under the command of Bishop Asksan of Annihilation.
Although Asksan only had a faint smile on his face and looked indifferent, he was obviously happy to see his men scolding Sigrid.
However, Sigrid was not taken in by the provocation, and she lowered herself to argue about the issue with a soldier under her direct command.
She maintained an indifferent attitude, and her eyes seemed to be telling the Branch of Extinction that she was too lazy to reason with them and they didn't deserve to listen.
"..."
The great sage Isis supported her chin silently.
She had said before that the three bishops could preach in any form, and this debate was certainly one of them.
Now it seems a bit of a stalemate.
Sigrid chose to ignore the unfavorable topic raised by Sandor.
If there are no accidents, after this short interlude, the normal preaching process of the Batian branch will return.
However, Sandel's soldiers remained calm.
Just as he said just now, the scandal was just a greeting gift, and the real secret hidden by Sigrid was still behind.
Sandor saluted the Great Sage of the Empire, Isis, again, and then looked at Sigrid:
"Lord Sigrid, as far as we know, you have been seriously injured and your realm has permanently fallen by eight levels. However, you have been hiding your true condition in the Protoss Empire for more than a month while escaping from your crimes. This behavior is a deception to the Protoss Empire. You are not qualified to continue standing here because you have long lost the capital to become a powerful ally of the Protoss Empire."
The moment Archbishop Sandel's accusation came down, the air in the council hall froze.
The entire hall fell into silence for a moment, and then the noise quickly increased.
If the information from the Silent Branch is true, and Tyrannical Catholicism has lost the strongest force that she is proud of, then essentially, she is not the ally that the Protoss Empire needs in its current situation!
Chapter 470 Sigrid Unless there is a new power
"Archpriest Sandor, your lies are baseless! The Tyrant Catholic Church has always been the most powerful in the Northern Continent. Lady Sigrid's power and wisdom are unquestionable."
Gloria's soldiers immediately fought back, her voice filled with anger.
"What we need is an ally who is fully capable of shouldering important responsibilities for the empire. Lady Sigrid, if you really conceal something, it would be irresponsible to the empire! It would also destroy the reputation and trust of our Resurrection Church in the Protoss Empire!"
But the soldiers under Sandor from the Annihilation Branch ignored Gloria and pointed their spearheads directly at Sigrid.
"If Lord Ba Jiaojiao has no guilty conscience, would you dare to accept my challenge and see if you can kill me instantly as everyone expects? Or will you have a hard fight even against me, a level six warrior?"
"Are you worthy enough to fight with the Bishop?"
The archpriests of the Tyrant branch stood up, their chairs banging against each other with a bang. It was obvious that they would not tolerate such an insulting challenge from the other side. Their eyes seemed to be warning Sandel that if he wanted to fight, they would play with him first.
In this tense confrontation, the nobles and ministers began to whisper fiercely to each other.
The Franklin Congress Hall was filled with astonishment, doubt and discussion. Some people's expressions showed surprise, while others showed worry.
Sometimes they looked at the Tyrant Catholic Sigrid, and sometimes turned to the Bishop of Annihilation Asksan, trying to read more information from their facial expressions and body language.
Regarding this issue concerning the basis of cooperation between the Empire and the Church of Resurrection, even Isis turned her eyes slightly.
Previously, Sigrid could have answered with silence, after all, the authenticity had yet to be confirmed, and the follow-up investigation could be left to the military to decide.
The Silent Branch should not be making empty statements, because as the strongest warrior, it would be very easy for Sigrid to prove her full strength. If what the Silent Branch said was slanderous, Sigrid would quickly slap it back.
"My current practice is approaching the final stage of breaking through the bottleneck, so my state has naturally changed. It is not suitable for me to attack with all my strength in a short period of time. But this does not mean that I have become weaker. If you want to see if I still have the strength of a cardinal at my peak, you can find a guy who can withstand my full-strength attack."
Tyrant Catholic Sigrid maintained her composure and calm face as she answered.
Her sharp eyes swept across the hall, instantly silencing the nobles and ministers.
Because she seemed to be asking: Do you want to fight with me?
Although there was no sense of pressure from her at the moment, the existence of Tyranny of the Catholic Church made most ordinary people feel frightened from the bottom of their souls.
That is the gap between giants and ants as living beings.
If it weren't for the barrier protecting the venue and the great sage Isis sitting there, it would only take a moment for Tyranny to chop off anyone's head.
Sigrid's response and intimidation calmed the mood in the hall for a short time.
The voices of the nobles and ministers gradually died down, and their confused gazes were once again focused on the Silent Branch and the Tyrant Branch.