Chapter 1111: Chapter 1048: The Era of Rival Popes Has Ended
Outside the stained glass of Bolon Cathedral, the morning sun rises, casting a gilded filter over the creation paintings on the dome.
After a seven-day recess, the Great Duke Council reconvenes, and three thousand church representatives gather here once more.
The air is filled with the scent of incense and tension, making everyone somewhat restless.
What is to be decided today is not a simple doctrinal dispute, but the future of the Miseria Church.
Grandiva sits on a high chair on the right side, repeatedly rubbing his sleeves with his fingers.
His gaze occasionally flicks towards Horn and then towards Campbelltel, yet neither of them looks directly at him.
What on earth happened last night? Why would Bishop Campbelltel’s attitude change so drastically?
It seems that His Highness Charles VIII privately met with Demon Monk Horn yesterday, could it be...
Impossible, it’s fine, he still has a role to play, and besides, there’s the Pope’s will.
The will of Puliano Pope must support the Divine Essence Sect!
As long as it’s unsealed and read, the advantage Horn has accumulated won’t be overwhelming against him.
As long as there’s no overwhelming advantage, with the backing of the Falan Kingdom, his situation won’t be too bad.
"Silence!" Xie Li’s voice echoed in the grand hall, interrupting Grandiva’s thoughts.
The hall, which was previously filled with whispered exchanges, fell silent in an instant.
The black bishop’s robes and the gray monk’s robes mixed, whether old or young, countless eyes focused on the council hall.
Xie Li stepped back, while Quivarin the Chief Justice slowly unfolded the document and read unhurriedly: "According to the content of the previous meeting, His Holiness Horn Gallar of the Holy Alliance Pope requests to read the ’Spring Castle Confession’, any objections?"
The hall was silent, even Grandiva did not speak.
In fact, over the seven days, besides smashing a few beloved vases and ceramics, he couldn’t think of any good solutions.
Montel on the other side was also useless, leaving him without any cards to play, Grandiva secretly clenched his fist.
Horn stood up, took the document from Quivarin’s hand: "The ’Spring Castle Confession’ is a creed and confession book by the Holy Path Sect explaining its meaning to everyone.
Please allow me to interpret it to you one by one: First, the Holy Father’s way exists not solely in scripture, but also in natural laws.
Believers should explore rationally and verify through experience, this is the path closer to the Holy Father..."
Item by item, the creed poured out from his mouth, totaling ninety-five items.
These creeds have actually appeared before in the ’Truth Report’ and various pamphlets.
They were also mentioned in lectures over the past few days, but hadn’t been systematically organized.
Some creeds deny indulgences, such as "Good deeds cannot be sold, just as sunlight cannot be hoarded."
Others advocate for the equality of believers, such as "Public Register Farmers and nobles are equal lambs before the Holy Father."
There is even one that directly targets the church’s monopoly on the authority to interpret scripture, such as "The authority to interpret scripture is not exclusive to priests, anyone literate can study it."
Each item was like a chisel, striking at the foundation of the Divine Essence Sect.
The most controversial was the last item: "The Holy Path Sect is not a heresy, but the true faith of Miseria Church.
All lords and cities within the empire should not arrest believers or prohibit the preaching of the Holy Path Sect due to its faith."
"Wow—"
The grand hall instantly erupted.
The monks of the Holy Path Sect trembled with excitement, while the bishops of the Divine Essence Sect turned livid.
Grandiva initially intended to stand up, but as his seat slightly lifted off the chair, he sat back down again.
His gaze swept towards Campbelltel, hoping this pillar of the Falan Church would stand up to oppose.
But the old bishop merely lowered his eyelids, lowered his head, as if he hadn’t heard anything.
Grandiva stared at Campbelltel for quite a while, but the old bishop remained silent, as if he had truly fallen asleep.
A frightening association formed in his heart, but he dared not think deeply.
After swallowing hard, hesitating repeatedly, he tremblingly stood up: "You have no right to do this! You are not yet the universally recognized pope of the empire, what gives you the authority to legitimize a sect?"
"I am the Pope of the Holy Alliance, acknowledged by its believers." Horn smiled slightly, his gaze sweeping over the representatives present, "As for whether it is recognized within the empire, naturally we should hear the opinions of those present.
After all, the meaning of the Great Duke Council is for believers and priests to jointly decide on doctrine."
"Joint decision?" Grandiva seemed to grasp at a lifeline, slamming the armrest, "Alright! Joint decision, then let’s vote!
Let the bishops and representatives present vote to see who acknowledges your so-called true faith!"
He did not believe that the three-thousand-year foundation of the Divine Essence Sect would be defeated by a newly emerged Holy Path Sect.
Those veteran bishops from Falan and Leia, those monastery representatives who have depended on the church for generations, could never stand on Horn’s side.
Quivarin and Xie Li exchanged a glance, the old judge slowly spoke: "Since Grandiva suggested, according to the old rules of the Great Duke Council, voting requires over half of the representatives to agree.
Bishops and abbots each count for one vote, monk representatives ten people combined count for one vote.
Now, please vote: Do you acknowledge the ’Spring Castle Confession’, and accept the Holy Path Sect as the empire’s true faith?"
The air in the hall seemed to solidify. Monks of the Holy Path Sect straightened their backs, while bishops of the Divine Essence Sect pressed their lips tightly.
Grandiva stared intently at the representatives from Falan, his eyes full of warning.
Horn stood quietly in the center of the hall, his black robe slightly swaying in the draft.
"Those in agreement, please raise your hand, a teller will come to your side, inviting you to sign as a witness."
In an instant, countless hands stretched out from the black robes, like a forest suddenly rising.
Grandiva’s pupils suddenly contracted, he seemed frozen in place.
This quantity doesn’t seem right, though many raised both hands, confusing the appearance, it still doesn’t seem right.
"Impossible..."
No matter how much Grandiva didn’t believe it, the number of raised hands was plainly more than half.
He wanted to maintain his composure, but when several abbots and bishops of Falan hesitated for a moment and then slowly raised their hands, he couldn’t hold it together anymore.
"You all!"
He jumped from his high chair, his sharp voice resembling a woman’s scream.
Grandiva stared intently at the bishops and abbots who raised their hands: "Have you been bribed? Have you all forgotten who funded the monastery?"
His gaze swept over the crowd and finally landed on a round-faced abbot in the front row.
This was his most loyal subordinate, from the Saint Martin Monastery near the outskirts of Huaqiu City.
In the past, even if Grandiva declared "the sun is square," this person would agree without hesitation.
But just now, the hand with the ruby ring had clearly been raised.
"Jan Bazor!" Grandiva’s voice suddenly rose, trembling in disbelief, "Why? Password, why?!"
Bazor lowered his head and muttered after a long pause, "Your Excellency Grandiva... the Holy Alliance wants to revise the Gospel, keeping the true and rejecting the false, needing some scholars of scripture..."
Grandiva seemed unable to comprehend Falan: "Just for this? You were bribed for this?"
"This isn’t bribery, Your Excellency Grandiva." Chief Justice Quivarin stepped forward with a cane, "What we need to do is to gather all the learned monks of the empire to correct the errors in the Gospel."
Just like how Rang Buluo disproved Saint Rania’s Life, correcting the transcription errors passed down through generations.
This is something immeasurable by money for all those studying theology."
It was as if Grandiva had been doused with a bucket of ice water as he looked at the bishops of Falan who hung their heads in silence, and suddenly, he understood.
His fate had been decided by Charles and Horn long before today.
He didn’t even have a seat at the table.
Stumbling backward, Grandiva’s back collided with the armrest of the high chair, but the moment he touched the chair, he sprang up.
There’s still a chance!
Grandiva’s eyes burst with one last glimmer: "The Papal Will! Puliano’s Excellency’s will!"
He screamed as if clutching at a lifeline: "According to the Great Duke’s meeting rules, the will hasn’t been read yet!
As long as the will supports the Divine Essence Sect, your votes are invalid!"
Quivarin frowned: "The voting result is out, you’ve lost. According to the rules, the loser has no right to demand the reading of the will..."
"I don’t care about any rules!" Grandiva completely lost control, he lunged at Xie Li, grabbing the other’s clerical robe, "Read it! Get Puliano’s Excellency’s will and read it! I am the legitimate one!"
Xie Li stumbled from the pull, angrily slapping Grandiva’s hand away: "Let go of me, this is not the place for your nonsense."
"Guards!" Quivarin shouted resolutely, but the guards dared not lay hands on Grandiva.
And Grandiva was already reaching to search Xie Li’s body, even trying to pull down his pants, which made Xie Li even more furious.
Amidst the chaos, it was ultimately Horn who stepped forward with the guards to pry Grandiva’s hands away.
"Excellency Grandiva, are you sure you want this to be read out loud?" Horn stared into Grandiva’s eyes.
Grandiva glared at him, his eyes red with blood: "I’m sure! I want everyone to see who the Holy Father truly chose!"
Horn said nothing more, just nodded towards Xie Li.
With a cold laugh, Xie Li turned to pick up a roll of documents wrapped in red silk.
Walking to the center of the hall, he cleared his throat.
The thousand senior priests inside the hall and the two thousand monk representatives peering in from outside all fell silent in an instant.
Even the sound of breathing seemed to disappear.
"Puliano Pope’s will, written the day before the fall of Holy Seat City in Imperial Calendar 1453, witnessed personally by me." Xie Li unfolded the document, "Considering the empire’s chaos, the church’s corruption, knowledge that the Miseria Church needs reformation.
Horn Gallar, though an adversary, aligns with the Holy Father’s true intent.
After my death, pass the triple crown to Gallar, confirm him as the True Pope, reform the doctrine, and revive the Miseria Church..."
Each word was like a heavy hammer, striking everyone’s hearts.
Silence engulfed the entire crowd.
The monks of the Holy Sect forgot to cheer, the bishops of the Divine Essence Sect forgot to retort, even Quivarin was stunned.
No one had expected the former Pope’s will to directly designate Horn.
That was the peasant uprising, the "heretical" opposing Pope Horn of the Holy Sect!
Grandiva stood frozen, the color draining from his face, as if all his strength had been leeched away.
He opened his mouth to speak, but only a hoarse gasp came out.
The pride, anger, and unwillingness that supported him shattered to dust before the words of the will.
"No... impossible... this is fake, it’s fake..." he murmured, suddenly rolling his eyes and collapsing backward like a felled log.
"Your Excellency!"
"Physician! Pharmacist!"
"Monk, hurry to grant a blessing!"
Horn stood his ground, the joy of victory fading, leaving only a complex emotion.
Sunlight streamed through the stained glass, casting the shadow of the Holy Tree at his feet.
And outside, unbeknownst to when, the wind had picked up, swirling fallen leaves across the square, while white smoke rose from the chimneys of the Sacred Library.
Quivarin slowly spoke, his voice echoing throughout the silent hall: "According to the will and the vote result, the papal opposition is ended. From this day forward, Horn Gallar of the Holy Sect is the only Pope of the Miseria Church."
