NOVPUBA brief silence fell, and a complex situation of whispering emerged among the nobles and ministers seated in the chamber.
In the outermost circle of the hall, where the nobles were seated, their eyes would occasionally dart to the Grand Sage Isis, then quickly scan over the other important figures of the Rebirth Church, seeking clues to infer.
Among them, the nobles of the south seemed more solemn, while the those from the north and east appeared slightly curious and wary.
The ministers, sitting closer to the center in the inner circle, reacted more directly.
Many ministers furrowed their brows, their thoughts scrambled by the unexpected turn of events as they whisper amidst themselves, attempting to analyze the situation.
Beneath the constantly changing gazes and expressions, the handful of those in power became the focus of everyone’s attention.
The Bishop of Hegemony, Sigrid, remained composed and looked towards Asksan with a chillingly definite intent to judge him.
The Bishop of Nirvana, Asksan, at this moment reverted back to being the most cruel and dangerous of the Cardinal Bishops, as though he was readied to unleash his peak Eighth-order power at any time, allowing everyone to witness the awe-inspiring might sealed within the Original Slabs.
Duke Morotian Berenhaldhardt seemed even more profound, sitting in the upper level of the hall on the left side, his steady gaze seemed to be assessing the impact of this sudden event.
Though Grand Sage Isis might not fully trust him as he is the second most powerful person in the empire, he would still be willing to help if required.
With these critical figures remaining silent, it seems the shadows and illuminations within Franklin Hall have all become somewhat sluggish and dimmed a bit.
"Sigrid, perhaps we can settle today a matter of life and death, there’s no need to put Isis in a slightly tough spot. If this continues, I’m afraid that the battle you’ve bravely accepted might not reach a conclusion due to various reasons."
Asksan, bearing a cruel smile, broke the overly prolonged silence in Franklin Hall,
"You who remain silent, could you be waiting for Grand Sage Isis to help extricate you from this predicament?"
Aksan stared at Sigrid, questioning.
Upon witnessing Sigrid’s acceptance of the battle earlier, Asksan roughly confirmed that perhaps Sigrid had other methods - even when her status had been locked by the seal, she could still temporarily display Eighth-order power, deceiving the Protoss Empire.
After all, despite having sustained injuries no lesser than Sigrid a month ago, even till now, he hadn’t yet quite recovered to his full might.
There are a handful of summons that can be placed on others to trigger the summoning.
Magic devices and magic scrolls, neither of them limit their users to specific persons; their disadvantages are only that magic devices are inconvenient to be carried around, while magic scrolls are solely consumables.
Who knows if that damn wolf had the potential to transfer its power; it was clearly just a Fourth-order card, but it possessed a terrifying property of growing stronger when faced with a stronger opponent.
Plus, that wolf bore a certain likeness to Sigrid, making him unbearably annoyed; merely catching sight of Sigrid again would cause Asksan to recall the endless brilliant white that erupted in flashes on the Northern Tundra.
Of course, it could also be that Sigrid, taking into consideration Isis’s current contemplation, was risking it all, waiting for Isis to realize the difficulty presented by this duel.
However, Asksan would definitely not give Sigrid such an opportunity.
"..."
At this moment, everyone in the assembly understood what Asksan meant by "there’s no need to put in a slightly tough spot."
There existed a method that could settle the disputes among the Cardinal Bishops of the Rebirth Church.
The Desperate Arena that opened up as a proof of the bishop was a barrier that could not bring in any additional helpers nor could it be interrupted or disturbed.
Both its opening and termination required the consent of both parties.
Otherwise, once it began, it wouldn’t end until one party was dead.
This formal internal battle to death within the Rebirth Church didn’t require the Protoss Empire to preside over the duel or to decide its outcome, the two cardinal bishops could start the battle on their own!
The Mourning Bishop Amiles, who was originally intending to say something, held back his words in the end.
Fundamentally speaking, the Pope did not allow the Cardinal Bishops to open the Desperate Arena.
However, it wasn’t her who was going to get penalized.
Once the Desperate Arena was opened, today, the loser would die, and one day, the victor would also be dealt with by the Pope when he returns.
"Sigrid, why aren’t you speaking? Are you feeling guilty again? "
Asksan’s gaze was firmly locked on Sigrid, not hiding the sarcasm in his eyes.
"Let Grand Sage Isis decide everything within the Protoss Empire."
Sigrid responded indifferently.
"..."
Grand Sage Isis was still considering while looking at the two Cardinal Bishops.
Although this is the simplest, most direct and most beneficial solution for the Protoss Empire, human life is short and precious, and she wasn’t sure if it’s somewhat cruel to decide life and death this way.
Seeing Sigrid waiting for Grand Sage Isis’s opinion, Asksan couldn’t help but sneer.
"Sigrid, in every single one of our battles, you’ve always wanted to fight to the death with me. But only this time, you dare not accept a one-on-one life or death duel between bishops?"
Asksan turned to Isis and bowed,
"Grand Sage Isis, win or lose, this is an internal matter of the Rebirth Church, the Protoss Empire need not bear any responsibility for it, and you don’t need to get involved in matters outside the regulation of rules. According to your duty, you should not risk hosting a battle that might harm the people of the Protoss Empire."
Afterwards, he waited for Sigrid’s response.
"As the Guardian of the Protoss Empire, as long as you don’t harm the people of the Protoss Empire, I won’t get involved."
After a brief thought, Isis finally spoke.
As a maintainer of the rules, she shouldn’t keep interfering in the internal affairs of the Rebirth Church.
"..."
Sigrid did not respond promptly, keeping her head down.
Now, she had to make a final decision.
The hints of a smile on Asksan’s face were becoming more composed.
The Southern nobles who originally considered voting for the Bishop of Hegemony now exchanged looks, beginning to waver.
For indeed, the response of the Bishop of Hegemony, Sigrid, today was too abnormal.
Under Asksan’s continuous probing, it could be seen from various details that Sigrid was somewhat lacking in confidence!
This only made what Asksan said seem more credible.
If the Bishop of Hegemony, Sigrid, has not lost her military power, and loses the bishop’s election under such straitened circumstances, she will genuinely struggle to confront the rising Asksan, considering their scores to be settled sooner or later, it might be better to fight now.
If Sigrid has indeed lost her military prowess and loses the bishops’ election to Asksan, she is likely to die!
The only way out for her now is to accept the battle and gamble everything on this last bout with Asksan.
