If nothing unexpected had happened...
Mil should have been announcing his plans amidst the adoration and genuflection of the demons.
He would have discussed with the Black Magician Theron how to continue the incident of the girls falling into a coma; he would have conferred with the Chief Skeleton Knight on the routes and strategies for invading the empire; and he would have chatted pleasantly with the Blood Clan Princess, probing the Vampire Grand Duke's attitude towards him.
But now, all these people have been captured...
Mil, feeling utterly lifeless, sat blankly at his doorstep:
“It feels so quiet, and there are no Holy Knights on the street, it’s really different from before.”
“Yes, they probably transferred all the combat power from the Holy City.”
Lady Alice, with an innocent expression, also sat obediently beside him.
Looking out at Rigres Square in the distance, the families of over six thousand girls were cheering joyfully...
They woke up, all of them woke up!
Nani? Was the data sheet fake?
Human joys and sorrows are not interconnected; Mil only found them noisy, like watching dancers gesticulate on a stage with the sound muted.
The Holy Knights, through Mil's “connections,” had already ascertained the strongholds of various forces in the Holy City and launched multi-pronged operations to capture them all.
Fortunately, it wasn't a complete disaster.
Mil opened the succubus’s book and found it filled with messages from the succubus girl Miley...
It turned out that she and her mother had learned about this operation half an hour in advance through the Holy Flame Knights of the Duchy.
In other words, if Mil hadn’t overslept, he could have, to some extent, notified the others and salvaged the situation a bit.
“Toot—!”
The triumphant horn sounded from afar, and cheers erupted at the city gate.
The Holy Knights, clad in silver armor and riding warhorses, slowly passed through the flower-bedecked crowds.
In the procession, there were also two iron cages; in one cage, a tall Skeleton Knight, the commander of the Undead army, was imprisoned;
The other cage was covered with a black cloth, and a Blood Clan Princess in a luxurious gown was curled up under the black cloth, trying to avoid the lingering rays of the setting sun...
The song of triumph had already spread throughout the streets and alleys; in the tavern across the corner, the dwarf uncle was wiping glasses while shouting to his neighbors—
“Hahaha, did you hear just now? The Holy Knights not only rounded up the lurking Cultists, but also captured a Blood Clan Princess and a high-ranking Skeleton Knight!”
“That Skeleton Knight is the commander of the Undead army! Now we don’t have to worry!”
“Those hateful Cultists, who knows how many innocent people they captured as live sacrifices, they truly deserve to die!”
“My daughter finally woke up too... Thank God, thank the Church.”
Although the Demon God's Child was defeated a thousand years ago, the people of this land had never lived a day in peace.
Unending monsters, heretics causing havoc everywhere, gangsters and slave traders oppressing men and women, mages who were both good and evil;
And the corrupt and incompetent Church and Holy Knights, and the powerless adventurers and mercenaries...
These were the long-standing shadows hanging over the people, until Mil’s plan emerged.
“The leader of this operation is the valiant Holy Knight Captain, Lord William!”
“But such a resourceful plan must have been arranged by the Inquisitor, Lord Klama!”
“No, it doesn’t seem like it; such a mobilizing, long-term ambush, and complete sweep is more like the work of the Papal Scribe, Lord Ross!”
“I think... although Lady Alice is young, she is intelligent and clever; such a wild and imaginative plan might very well be hers!”
It wasn’t until the scout, who had just dismounted, finished an entire glass of water that he told everyone the name of the person who saved the Holy City, and the crowd burst into exclamations—
“Holy cow, who is Mil?”
Mil is the Demon King.
Don't laugh!
The person involved felt a mix of emotions but was unusually calm:
“Alice, I remember telling you to play the long game, to catch a big fish, and not to act on your own...”
“Don’t worry, Brother Mil! The follow-up plans are all arranged!”
Seeing Alice’s confident smile, Mil felt a chill in his heart...
He was inwardly pondering how to explain this to the Lord of the Great Tomb and the Grand Duke of the Blood Clan?
Just then, a nun rushed to the Leia Tower family's mansion and, from a distance, called out to Mil, who was sitting at the doorstep:
“Lord Mil! Why are you still here? Pope and the bishops are looking for you everywhere!”
The young nun’s face was beaming with joy, and when her gaze met Mil's, it was filled with admiration and respect, along with a hint of shyness.
The eyes of the surrounding crowd also turned towards Mil:
“Oh my goodness! That young man next to the Saintess is Lord Mil!”
“It’s Lord Mil! You are simply the sun of the Holy City, so dazzling!”
“The Leia Tower is truly a family of talents!”
“Hero! A hero of the new era! Quickly spread the word, tell the bards! Let his great achievements be sung and echoed across the ends of the earth!”
Mil’s fists clenched.
Sure enough, people still shouldn't eat too much; this group of people in the Holy City has been at peace for too long, with nothing to do;
Once he got back the chaos holy stone, he would definitely kill all the bards first, kill them all!
“Lord Mil! Lord Mil! We can never repay your kindness!”
Flowers and applause surrounded him, and amidst the cheers of the crowd, Mil was pulled onto a carriage and taken all the way to Saint Bahari Cathedral.
The cathedral’s ten-meter-high doors were wide open, and the last ray of sunlight, passing through the massive stained-glass windows, bathed the majestic cathedral in golden light;
A group of cardinals, with relieved smiles, stood on both sides, applauding thunderously...
William, clad in armor and holding his helmet, was laughing like a two-hundred-pound child.
In the entire hall, only Mil kept a straight face, unsmiling.
Even his teacher Klama couldn't help but exclaim:
“Mil has become so steady! I’m truly happy for Count Lyata! I told you this child is meticulous and ambitious; he will surely achieve great things! What did I say? This is what you call a strict teacher producing outstanding students!”
The children of the choir hummed clear and melodious harmonies, and the piano music was graceful, accompanying Mil’s steps as the Pope Knights on both sides raised their longswords, solemn and majestic.
The Pope was an eighty-something old man, with one foot in the grave, standing against the light in front of the Pope’s main seat, looking at Mil with a benevolent smile:
“The heretics lurking in the Holy City have always been a thorn in the Holy City’s side, Lord Mil, it is your wisdom and courage that have allowed us to completely eradicate the underground organization that the demons have operated in the Holy City for a hundred years! From your determined eyes, we see the resolve to protect the Holy City!”
After the Pope finished speaking, another round of thunderous applause erupted.
Me protecting the Holy City? Is that true or false?
Upon hearing this, Mil’s heart tightened, aching so much he could barely breathe...
However, if this news caused Mil pain, then the whispers of the Holy Knights nearby made Mil restless, even wanting to find a crack in the ground to crawl into...
“Especially those Abyss worshippers, no matter how many you catch, you can’t catch them all; the previous Tribunal bishop spent his entire life toiling away and still couldn’t solve this major problem, yet Lord Mil only needed to make a slight move to capture them all! The younger generation is truly formidable!”
“Indeed! That Skeleton Knight once single-handedly held off tens of thousands of Holy Knights and was the lifelong enemy of Marquis Guan over there. When he hears about this, he’ll probably wake up laughing in his dreams.”
“And that Blood Clan Princess, they say she’s the most promising envoy of the Abyss!”
“And also, that Black Magician, the coma magic he cast imprisoned the souls of countless girls; if it had been any later, the seal of the chaos holy stone would have been in danger!”
The Pope clapped his hands, signaling for everyone to quiet down, then announced:
“Hereby, we propose to appoint Lord Mil as Cardinal Deacon, temporarily ranking as a third-tier divine official, serving as the Saintess’s attendant while also assisting the Tribunal. Does anyone have any objections?”
Mil had objections; he was the Demon King of the Abyss!
Not a damn hostage of the Papacy!
But he didn’t dare to say it...
Moreover, if he could truly enter the Tribunal, perhaps he could make some amends for the current situation?
At the very least, he had to find a way to save the Skeleton Knight and the Blood Clan Princess, to prevent them from also ending up on the pyre.
Just then, a clear, cold female voice came from the entrance of the cathedral:
“Please wait!”
Everyone looked over and saw a young woman of elegant temperament, clad in armor, slowly walking forward.