"If you an assistance... that would be providing clues about the Hell Monarch. After all, who understands the Hell Monarch better than the Papacy, right?"
"Of course!" the Archbishop of Justice said. "I happen to have a case here that might be related to the Hell Monarch."
"What case?" Wang Lan suddenly beca interested.
"A month ago, the Archbishop of Light t with an incident," the Archbishop of Justice explained, as Yulia translated simultaneously. "The Archbishop of Light was a close friend of mine for decades. I knew his character very well—he possessed a bright and noble spirit. Yet, he immolated himself beneath the holy cross... due to despicable and shaless slander."
As the Archbishop of Justice continued his narration, Wang Lan learned the full details of the event.
In God’s Country, faith in the God of Heaven was the spiritual pillar for most people, and its laws were largely derived from religious doctrine. Here, life was sacred, abortion absolutely forbidden, and deliberately causing an abortion was an unforgivable sin.
Even though the people of God’s Country might claim to lack worldly desires beyond their faith, the power of the spirit often succumbed to instinctual physiological urges. This led to many young n and won tasting the forbidden fruit.
A mont’s impulse always carried a price. In God’s Country, out-of-wedlock childbirth was considered impure, creating a fundantal societal conflict. What was one to do after becoming pregnant from tasting the forbidden fruit?
Abortion was not an option, yet pregnancy out of wedlock was a disgrace. Few n were willing to take responsibility for their indulgence. Most of the ti, the won alone had to swallow the bitter consequences. Moreover, the won dared not confront the n or cause a fuss. If the matter were exposed, their entire lives would be branded as unclean.
These circumstances led to many abandoned babies in God’s Country. Upon discovering an unintended pregnancy, won would secretly give birth and then send the infants to the Papacy’s welfare institutions. Every year, these welfare institutions received tens of thousands of abandoned infants—an unimaginable figure in other countries.
Yet, for so reason, God’s Country rigidly adhered to its doctrine, refusing any change. This allowed the problem to persist until it virtually beca a societal habit.
Those children who grew up in the welfare institutions effectively had no parents; or rather, the Papacy beca their parent. Growing up in these Papal welfare institutions instilled in these children an even purer faith and a stauncher loyalty to God’s Country. In fact, one-third of the Holy Knights hailed from these welfare institutions. The Archbishop of Light’s role was akin to that of a Minister of Education in other countries; he managed all national education, missionary work, and the welfare institutions.
The Archbishop of Light, as the Archbishop of Justice attested, was a man of high moral character. He not only managed the nation’s welfare institutions impeccably but also often personally visited them to spread doctrine and show care to the children. Furthermore, he would often select children with good talents and high aptitude as his disciples, ticulously nurturing them for three years. However, a major incident occurred a month ago.
In a welfare institution in the City of Angels, a fourteen-year-old girl suddenly committed suicide by jumping from a building. Suicide, according to the doctrine of God’s Country, is a grave sin. Individuals with firm faith would never choose suicide, regardless of how dire their circumstances. How could a girl who grew up in a welfare institution, whom everyone believed to possess firm faith, commit suicide? This event captured national attention. The Holy Knights imdiately began an investigation and subsequently found a diary in the girl’s room.
This diary was like Pandora’s box; no one could have imagined its horrific contents. The Holy Knight who first opened this diary is, to this day, still repenting on the Cliff of Repentance in the Temple.
The diary was written by the girl; her close friend confird she had a daily habit of writing in it. But its contents were profoundly shocking. It detailed how, since being taken as a disciple by the Archbishop of Light three years prior, she had been continuously molested and violated by him. The Archbishop of Light, outwardly a respected and great man, was secretly a pervert. Just two months prior, the girl had beco pregnant, and the Archbishop of Light had used a Star Martial Skill to terminate her pregnancy.
The cumulative effect of long-term oppression and the trauma of the abortion finally caused the girl to break down. She ended her life by leaping from the bell tower of the welfare institution. When this diary was first revealed, many refused to believe it, dismissing it as a fabrication—a vile attempt to fra an innocent man.
However, as the investigation progressed, the evidence beca undeniable. The handwriting, the girl’s known habits, and the testimony of friends who had witnessed her writing in it all confird the diary’s authenticity. It was absolutely not a fabrication.
If the diary was genuine, then its contents were true! After the initial shock, the people of God’s Country were consud by imnse anger. The depth of their previous trust and adoration for the Archbishop of Light now mirrored the intensity of their searing hatred.
Under the crushing weight of national condemnation and accusations, the Archbishop of Light, offering no defense, eventually crumbled. Beneath the holy cross, he set himself ablaze with the Judgent Holy Fire.
To quell public outrage, the Pope had no choice but to declare the Archbishop of Light a traitor who had received divine punishnt. The Archbishop of Justice, however, refused to believe it. He remained convinced that the Archbishop of Light had been frad. And he believed the one who frad the Archbishop of Light was none other than the Hell Monarch. His reasoning was that if this incident hadn’t occurred, the Archbishop of Light would have been the Pope’s successor, as he possessed power second only to the Pope.
After hearing the Archbishop of Justice’s account, Wang Lan couldn’t help but sigh. The Archbishop of Light of God’s Country, a formidable Star Soul Realm expert, driven to suicide by public opinion. It reminded Wang Lan of a hero from his mories, hounded to death by rumors and slander.
"For the past month, I’ve exhausted every ans to find who forged this diary, but to no avail. I’ve heard of the incomparable wisdom of Mr. Wang Lan of Jade Country, and I hope you can find the mastermind and clear the Archbishop of Light’s na."
"Judging by the outco, the Hell Monarch was indeed the ultimate beneficiary," Wang Lan said, looking up. "He eliminated a Star Soul Realm expert using rely a diary and a young girl. Who else in God’s Country possesses power comparable to the Archbishop of Light?"
"Besides the Pope and the Unparalleled Knight, only two individuals have reached that level in the last thirty years: the Archbishop of Light and the Saintess."
"If the Hell Monarch is the mastermind, and if I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t stop here. The next target... would undoubtedly be the Saintess."
"He wouldn’t dare! The Saintess’s status is revered. She resides constantly within the Papacy’s Holy Temple, protected by us, the Twelve Palaces. The Hell Monarch will not succeed!" the Archbishop of Justice roared with intense emotion.
"Killing doesn’t always require a knife. I’ll take this case. Tomorrow, bring all related materials; I need to review them thoroughly."
"Very well, Mr. Wang Lan. We’re counting on you," the Archbishop of Justice said, departing with a face full of anticipation.
Once the two had departed, Wang Lan and his group gathered on the sofa.
"Wang Lan, this is clearly a fra-up! Has God’s Country gone mad, letting the Archbishop of Light commit suicide?"
"Given such intense public outrage, the Archbishop of Light’s suicide isn’t entirely unreasonable," Wang Lan replied. "How could soone so highly revered withstand the pressure of universal condemnation? Besides, they are devout believers, and the actions of the religious are often driven by emotion rather than logic. What seems foolish to us might appear perfectly reasonable to them."
"Your enemy often knows you best. The Hell Monarch played this beautifully, eliminating half of God’s Country’s top-tier experts without shedding a drop of blood," Xu Xiangwen sighed, a trace of lingering fear on his face. "Lanzi, you can handle him, right?"
"It might not be the Hell Monarch..." Wang Lan mused, shaking his head slightly.
"Not the Hell Monarch? Then who else could it be?"
"The Archbishop of Justice did say earlier that judging by the outco, it’s definitely the Hell Monarch’s work, and the timing aligns. But don’t forget, besides the Hell Monarch, soone else also benefited."
"The Archbishop of Justice!" Jiang Xinyu exclaid, instantly realizing.
"Could it be the Archbishop of Justice?" Xie Sisi asked, a terrifying thought dawning on her. They were here to deal with the Hell Monarch, not to get entangled in the internal power struggles of God’s Country.
"That’s just my speculation for now," Wang Lan said. "While the Hell Monarch is undoubtedly the biggest beneficiary of the Archbishop of Light’s removal, it’s also true that because the Archbishop of Light died, the Archbishop of Justice now has a chance to beco Pope."
"But didn’t he himself bring us this information? If he’s the mastermind, wouldn’t it be incredibly foolish to arouse our suspicions this way?"
"Do you think we wouldn’t have discovered this?" Wang Lan countered. "It’s common knowledge throughout God’s Country, so we would have found out soon enough. By telling us himself, he pre-empts any suspicion that might arise when we inevitably learned of it. Isn’t that a way to dispel our doubts?"
"So this ans... the Archbishop of Justice is a major suspect?"
"That’s just a guess for now. We’ll have to wait for the files and intelligence to arrive before we can lean towards any particular conclusion. It’s getting late. Let’s get so rest."
Early the next morning, Wang Lan and his team arrived at the command center. Based on the information gathered the previous day, Wang Lan had indeed found so leads. He planned to hand these over to the International Security Council’s agents for further investigation. As the commander-in-chief, there was no need for him to handle everything personally. What would be the point of having a team if he did everything himself?
"I reviewed an overview of God’s Country yesterday, and frankly, it’s quite astounding," Wang Lan began. "Is God’s Country truly the only human civilization established to exist as a utopia?"
Wang Lan’s opening remarks brought knowing smiles to everyone’s faces. They, too, had been stunned when they first truly learned about God’s Country; it was entirely different from what they had imagined. A nation with such a seemingly backward administrative system and governntal structure was, paradoxically, highly developed, highly civilized, with an exceptionally self-disciplined populace. It was like a society still in the age of cold weapons sohow simultaneously possessing starship technology.
"Well, what can we do? Their spiritual fulfillnt is high, and the populace’s moral standards are exceptional. Consequently, we can’t expect any surveillance caras or monitoring systems to offer us convenient shortcuts.
"In the past month, public security in God’s Country has plumted. Theft, murder, kidnapping, and a series of other violent cris have been occurring continuously. God’s Country attributes these violent incidents to the Hell Monarch instigating the populace.
"According to intelligence from God’s Country, the Hell Monarch can manipulate human emotions—inciting anger, greed, arrogance, lust, and so on...
"The Hell Monarch lurks in the shadows while we operate in the open. Therefore, we must find a way to draw him out. How? By investigating these cases.
"We need to identify the perpetrators of these recent cris and then analyze when and where they might have been influenced or instigated. Among these, the most prominent missing infant case is critically important and requires priority investigation. Is everyone clear?"
"Understood!"
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