Old Man, My Money!

Mas held the deepest admiration in his heart, having personally witnessed Roland defeat a Sacred Dragon in three moves earlier this month. Yet, it was precisely this admiration that made Roland's act of fleeing without a fight, of being utterly scared away, both incomprehensible and deeply disdainful to him. Thus, those unintentional words slipped out thoughtlessly, dripping with utter scorn!

Deboning shook his head in disbelief. Putting himself in Roland's shoes, he understood that an expert of his caliber possessed an inherent dignity. Even if an adversary of the Dragon God or Pontiff's level appeared, and one knew they were outmatched and wished to retreat, one would still exchange a few blows, utter some face-saving threats before making their exit!

To hear that Roland, merely by hearing his enemy's name, scurried away like a stray dog without so much as a whimper—what kind of behavior was that!?

No wonder the people of Battle God Isle called him the Old Madman!

Du Chen furrowed his brow in thought. "There's only one route to Silvermoon Island. Roland left before you sailed out to pick me up. In that time, only two groups traveled from the Tucor Seaway to Silvermoon Island: one was me, and the other was... Roland's sworn enemies, those Old Hags!?"

Mas started, his body leaning sideways with an awkward grin. "Heh, it's so much simpler talking to smart folks like you. I haven't even said anything, and you've already figured it all out!"

That wasn't cleverness; it was merely the simplest logical deduction. Du Chen suddenly suspected that Mas's way of thinking might be different from ordinary people. He chuckled, "Mars, the Battle God, do you know how Roland became embroiled in a feud with those Old Hags? And why did he seal his sword back then? Do you know?"

"Hmm, I saw something in the Enforcement Temple's Secret Scrolls... it seemed Roland personally, with his Sword of Resentful Water—"

*Smack!* Mas suddenly slapped himself hard across the mouth, then laughed. "Heh, brother, don't ask. Your elder brother will give you an honest truth: I know about this, but it's Crystal-tier classified information! You're not allowed to know it yet!"

"Stingy old man!" Beibei grumbled, glaring at Mas!

Du Chen smiled. "Alright, I can't make my superior officer difficult, right? Heh, Roland has left, but what about my brother, Aliza?"

"Roland said Aliza has completed his apprenticeship and is waiting here for you! Right now, he's with your teacher, Zigurd, by Moon Lake, monitoring the Dragon Clan's movements!" Mas seemed to recall something, hastily pulling Du Chen closer and whispering, "Oh, right, the matter of you becoming a White-Robed Archbishop and secretly gathering intelligence on the Academy—your teacher doesn't know about that yet!"

Du Chen gave a wry smile. "It's more than just that! My teacher also doesn't know that I have an expert like Brook, or that I have a mysterious friend backing me!"

"Then what should we do?" Mas asked nervously. "His Holiness, the Old One, intentionally sent Zigurd to monitor the Dragon Clan today to clear some time for us to discuss how to resolve this matter!"

"Resolve it?" Du Chen suddenly shrugged, letting out a long sigh. "Time to lay our cards on the table!"

Previously, Du Chen had kept all his secrets from Zigurd. Firstly, he feared that the Stubborn Old Coot would thoroughly investigate the origins of his power, leading to the discovery of the Yessar Church's full-scale infiltration and surveillance of the Academy back then! This would not only entangle him in trouble but could also lead to an investigation of his elder brother, Steve! Secondly, he feared that prominence attracts trouble.

But now, circumstances were different. Firstly, Du Chen had genuinely 'fabricated' Du Chen, the Divine — Dus — giving a 'real' person to shoulder all the blame! And the Holy Yessar Church had been completely reorganized into Du Chen's Divine Cult, wiping its past clean. Now, Du Chen could replace those entirely clumsy excuses with a narrative seven-tenths true and three-tenths false!

Secondly, while prominence attracts trouble, when a tree grows to a certain extent, even a hurricane can't uproot it! Though Du Chen's current assets weren't vast, they weren't meager either. Moreover, what he intended to do next was to firmly bind himself to a towering tree, so tightly that nothing could pry him loose!

Let the hurricane rage even fiercer!

After a thorough internal review, convinced there were no loopholes, Du Chen smiled at the troubled Mas. "Don't worry. I know there are some minor clashes in philosophy between my teacher and the Pontiff, and they're not always amicable on ordinary days. But they are, after all, united. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to unite against a common enemy during this Dragon Clan invasion, right?"

Seeing Mas still worried, Du Chen simply said, "Alright, after I've met His Holiness the Pontiff, I'll personally explain it to my teacher! No, go and send someone to find Teacher Zigurd right now. It's best if we explain this clearly in person, in front of His Holiness the Pontiff!"

"You'll explain it to Zigurd yourself? Heh, that's excellent! Remember, you can say anything, but *not* that you were gathering intelligence!" Mas eagerly rushed out to find someone to locate Zigurd.

After waiting a moment longer in the tent, the Pontiff's side finally saw off the Old Hags. Mas returned with the message: Zigurd and Aliza were already on their way to the camp, and now, it was time to meet His Holiness the Pontiff!

Ordering Deboning and Beibei to wait in the tent, Du Chen led Andy towards the Golden Grand Tent, which resembled a 'mobile palace.' Du Chen took a deep breath, gazing around. The sacred atmosphere of the Papal Curia's camp seemed even denser. And far in the distance, to the north, a Cloud Banner slowly rose. Judging by the direction and distance, it should be near Moon Lake.

The Old Hags had set up camp at Moon Lake! Mas said Moon Lake was a bit strange, so Du Chen figured he should scout it out before making his move...

While Du Chen was contemplating, Mas's boisterous voice, now formal, rang out from inside the grand tent: "By His Holiness the Pontiff's decree, Francis, White-Robed Archbishop of the Enforcement Temple, and his Divine Pet, Andy, are summoned for audience!"

"A grand occasion, a grand occasion! I, Chris Andy, was born for grand occasions!" the Snow Wolf grumbled to himself. "Hehe, grand occasions usually come with a lavish feast..."

Du Chen, already clad in his White-Robed Archbishop's Papal Curia robes, placed his right hand over his chest, bowed his head respectfully, and entered the Golden Grand Tent. "Andy, remember what I taught you! If you say even one wrong word, I'll deduct a month's food allowance!"

From the outside, the Golden Grand Tent looked like a mobile palace, its grandeur already astonishing Du Chen. But upon entering, Du Chen found he had still underestimated its size—he walked straight through a long corridor, passed through a front hall, and then circled half a promenade before finally arriving at His Holiness the Pontiff's command center within the Eye of Heaven Forest: the Eye of Heaven Temple!

Head bowed, seeing only the red, intricately carved carpet beneath his feet, Du Chen quickly advanced, bowing low. "I pay my respects, Your Holiness!"

"My child, favored of the gods, raise your head. Let the Gods' earthly representative gaze upon your countenance!"

With a benevolent and sacred voice, Du Chen slowly raised his head. As far as his eyes could see, at the end of the red carpet lay a golden reclining chair. Amidst a faint golden radiance, a middle-aged man, appearing around fifty, with white curly hair, wearing a golden circlet on his head and purple-black Papal Curia robes, watched him with an exceptionally kind and gentle gaze...

*This is a god!*

A surge of impulse rose from the depths of his heart, and Du Chen almost prostrated himself in worship again!

But just then, Old Five's voice resonated in his Divine Sense. "Truly overbearing! This pure spiritual pressure is even stronger than that little girl of yours! Francis, activate your Primordial Spirit, or he'll overwhelm you completely!"

The power of the Lotus Primordial Spirit activated!

Du Chen offered a slight smile, meeting the Pontiff's gaze once more. Sure enough, the urge to worship had vanished from his heart—the Pontiff was merely an Eleventh-level Battle God, after all!

However, upon clearly seeing the Pontiff's face, Du Chen gasped in admiration!

The Holy Church's Code clearly stated that Pontiff Sama IX was already one hundred and sixty-seven years old this year, older than Zigurd, who had been the dean of Battle God Academy for fifty years. Yet, his appearance of being around fifty years old made him look far younger than the aged Zigurd!

The Pontiff was also observing Du Chen. He noted how Du Chen's eyes, momentarily clouded, became as clear as water, and he nodded slightly. Ordinary Six-Star Battle Gods, upon their first meeting with the Gods' earthly representative, would invariably be pressured into bowing in worship, utterly submissive. But Francis alone was different. This could certainly not be explained by mere strong will! He must possess some Secret Technique—a Secret Technique from that mysterious friend!

His gentle voice entered Du Chen's ears: "Mas has already explained everything to you, Francis. You performed exceptionally well on your journey here, neither losing the Holy Church's prestige nor allowing the Dragon Clan to hoist themselves by their own petard!" He thought inwardly, *Especially your allowing your attendant to display strength that forced the Dragon Clan to reconsider, and your acknowledgement of my leadership—that is best of all!*

Du Chen smiled. "As a White-Robed Archbishop of the Papal Curia, Francis merely carried out his duties to share Your Holiness's worries! Moreover, this matter is not unrelated to me, it is I who caused trouble for the Holy Church!"

The Pontiff chuckled faintly. "Under the glory of God, 'trouble' is a word that does not exist! Francis, feel free to share any difficulties you face with the Gods' earthly representative!" He thought to himself: *The Francis I've seen with my own eyes matches Bairu's report; he is indeed a shrewd individual, possessing considerable influence. He's a good subordinate who can be recruited for cooperation, and I can grant him further benefits...*

Perhaps Francis would implore him to resolve the Dragon Clan's retribution!

But unexpectedly, Du Chen suddenly spoke with heartfelt sincerity and deep emotion. "Your Holiness, Francis indeed has one request! I implore Your Holiness, I implore Your Holiness's glory to shine upon the Newin River and its banks, bringing happiness and peace to its people..."

The Pontiff felt a flicker of doubt. *Francis isn't asking me to resolve the Dragon Clan's trouble? Instead, he's asking me to bless common folk like a devout believer...*

*No, Francis is certainly no ordinary believer; he's a shrewd man. In that case, what he just meant was...*

*Money!? Such a simple request?*

With that thought, the Pontiff said, "Francis, you are indeed worthy of the title 'Light of the Newin River'; truly a good lord who cares for his common folk! The glory of the gods shall be sown along the banks of the Newin River!" *Alright, I'll give you money! The Papal Curia is never short of it!*

Du Chen continued, "Your Holiness, Francis thanks you on behalf of his people! Tonight, I shall write a letter through the night to convey this good news to the people of my territory!" *Buddy, don't string me along, give me a firm figure! I need to tell my household immediately!*

"Indeed, your people will be very excited upon hearing this news! Francis, I hear your gambling prowess is exceptional, that you once won a fortune of millions, yet you distributed all your wealth to help common folk rebuild their homes—is this truly so?"

*Ugh, a million Gold Coins should be enough, right? That's not a small sum, even for the Papal Curia!*

Du Chen shook his head, letting out a long sigh. "It is indeed so, Your Holiness, though you may not know that Francis deeply regrets not having ample wealth! In my territory, we are building dams, dredging waterways, expanding cities... Alas, Francis feels ashamed before his people!"

*Damn it, what kind of joke is this? You think a million is enough to send me away? Your Papal Curia inherited all the wealth of the Holy Alliance from the Godslayer era and has accumulated millennia of riches. Not to mention, the billions of human offerings you receive annually must be far more than that, right?*

"Praise be to Your Holiness!" Du Chen declared piously. *Buddy, I've brought a Roland-level expert to pledge his loyalty to you, and I haven't even asked you to solve my own troubles, so don't be stingy!*