Chapter 1969: Chapter 1969

"Alright. As it happens, I have a few questions for Miss Brolignans myself. Has she been at the black tower these past few days?"

"Yes, my teacher is concentrating on her preparations to divine the tower. She believes that understanding the internal structure of each level is crucial to helping you win the final victory against the Difference Engine."

"I'm not even sure I can win against the Believers of Lies, you know,"

he countered, wanting to warn them that the tower was extremely dangerous and that they needed to be fully prepared before attempting a divination. But just then, Miss Bevanna returned, and the topic was temporarily dropped. The source of thɪs content is Nove1Fire.net

He spent the afternoon at the church discussing the matter of the King Souls with Miss Bevanna, and in the evening, he attended a banquet. His followers wanted to celebrate their victory, and the nobles who wished to acquaint themselves with the new king also used the opportunity to at least make their names known to Jenkins.

Thankfully, he had Jessica. Though she wasn't feeling well, she still had two other bodies, so the Jessicas were able to handle many things for him. If he were on his own, Jenkins would have had to seriously consider abdicating immediately after obtaining the Uncrowned King.

The banquet didn't end until ten o'clock at night. This time, Jenkins was the host, so he couldn't leave early. He had to stay until the very end, after every guest had departed and everyone who wanted a word with him after the festivities had also left.

Consequently, it was nearly midnight by the time Jenkins, cloaked in a black robe, arrived at the Sage's Church. He ascended the main steps with his white cat in his arms. There were guards at the church entrance tonight. Upon seeing him from a distance, one of them ran inside. By the time Jenkins reached the doors, Miss Bevanna was already there to greet him.

So, after receiving this information from the Sage's Church, the other churches had also sent representatives to wait. As a result, there were more people to talk with Jenkins this time.

"Why not go to the Evergreen Forest?"

The representative from the Church of Creation and Machinery posed the question once more.

"Because it's too far. Do you really think we don't live in the city?"

Jenkins offered a different reply than last time.

He first inquired about the arrangements for the final negotiations. The Church had no issues; the joint conference of the Twelve Churches had essentially formulated their policies and strategies for the coming period. Unlike the Three Great Kingdoms, whose interests were completely at odds, the conflicts among the churches could be reconciled.

As for the Three Great Kingdoms, Queen Isabella had agreed to participate in the final negotiations; the Church was gradually helping her understand what was about to happen to the material world. Communications with Salsi II were still ongoing. Although the old king was exceptionally open-minded, he couldn't give an immediate answer on such a momentous decision.

There were still some problems with Cheslan. The Believers of Lies required a national representative to participate in the talks. The second prince, currently staying in Nolan, was the legal heir according to the will of Tackwen the Proud, but he held no real power and was still waiting for the other two kingdoms to help him restore his nation.

The Church understood that the Believers of Lies intended to consolidate the full strength of humanity, so they too hoped that the one sitting at the negotiating table would be a king with true authority.

To achieve this, the Church had already informed Salsi II and Queen Isabella of the situation. They planned to use the escalating fire and the curse of the mechanized corpses in the south as a pretext for the northern kingdom and Fidektri to immediately dispatch troops and strike Dullin, the capital of Cheslan.

With the Church's cooperation and the chaos in Cheslan, quelling the rebellion might take a long time, but securing administrative power for Alecio's second son might only take a few days.

This was especially true now, with a region of spatial peculiarity near Nolan that could connect directly to Dullin in Cheslan.

A location for the final negotiations had not yet been chosen, but this time, the representatives of the Twelve Churches gave a precise estimate for the timing: this Friday.

It was Monday night, and the midnight bells were just minutes away from ringing. This implied the Church was confident in resolving the issue of the Cheslan representative quickly. With the High Tower Accord now void, if the Twelve Churches truly decided to act in unison, the mortal kingdoms stood no chance of stopping them.

At the same time, the Church hinted that they wanted to use these negotiations as an opportunity to round up all the heretical cultists entrenched in Nolan. But that matter had nothing to do with the Believers of Lies. Jenkins could inquire about the details in his own capacity, so he didn't press further.

The Believers of Lies claimed their purpose for visiting tonight was to obtain information regarding the negotiations. The Church, however, intended to use this opportunity to trade for the Dragon Soul, one of the four King Souls.

Therefore, when Jenkins, holding his cat, declared his intention to leave and return in two days to check on their progress, Miss Bevanna, the host, stopped him:

"Actually, there is one more thing we need to discuss with you."

"What is it? Does it have to do with Jenkins Williams?"

Seeing that he had guessed correctly, Miss Bevanna was pleased not to have to explain further:

"Yes, it's about Jenkins. Now, the four..."

"No need to explain. Since he was capable of exposing Miss Fabry's fraud, we won't hold it against him. We admire clever people like him. If I get the chance, I'd like to have a word with this promising young king myself. Rest assured, this will not affect our cooperation, nor will we retaliate against the newly crowned king. The Believers of Lies are not ones to hold a grudge."

He waved his hand dismissively and rose to his feet again.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way. It's late, and my cat is getting sleepy."

As he spoke, the white cat, Vanilla, gave a perfectly timed yawn.

"No, it's not about Miss Fabry. It's about the King Soul."

He rested one hand on the table but did not sit back down.

He smiled as he looked at the people around the table, all of whom did their best to avoid his gaze under the lamplight.

"You've found the other King Souls? Wait, oh, I think I understand. So that's how it is."

"What do you understand?"

"That's not important. But I assume you want the Dragon Soul, don't you?"

The room fell silent. This matter didn't directly concern the other churches, so they remained quiet. Miss Bevanna, feeling the pressure, nodded. She knew that doing this would surely invite mockery or extortion from the Believers of Lies, but she had no choice. An order had come from the Holy See: acquire the Dragon Soul, at any cost.