The First Vampire

Chapter 563: 561 Cardinals Council Meeting_1

The towering spires of the Holy Light Cathedral shimmered in the morning sun, casting a resplendent array of colours like a delicate oil painting.

Into a meeting room located in the cathedral’s western wing, members of the cardinal council began to assemble.

In the power structure of the Glorious Church, the Pope held the highest authority but was also subject to checks by the cardinal council.

The appointment and dismissal of the Pope needed to be approved through a vote by the cardinal council. Similarly, important papal decrees also had to be ratified by council votes before they could take effect.

However, the cardinal council only had the power to vote, lacking any executorial authority.

Under normal circumstances, the cardinal council would not challenge the authority of the Pope, except when he had done something that aroused the fury of both heaven and man.

Pope Gregory’s actions had not quite triggered such wrath but had undoubtedly done severe damage to the church’s stature.

Furthermore, many members of the cardinal council blamed the unrest in the Diocese of the East on Gregory’s inaction. Consequently, sentiments demanding Gregory to step down had been gradually brewing within the church.

More than half of the 120 seats in the conference hall were filled. On the raised platform centrally located, only one person sat in the three seats reserved for cardinals.

Cardinal Mensai stared blankly towards the hall entrance, lost in his thoughts.

After returning from negotiations with the North Territory, the mood atop the Holy Mountain had instantly become tense.

This was evidently due to the two conciliatory terms proposed by the North Territory.

Pope Gregory’s abdication and the independence of the North Territory Diocese.

Both terms were extremely excessive, but the church’s senior members understood that to calm the North Territory, it was impossible to reject both terms. At least one must be agreed upon; otherwise, the negotiations were pointless.

As for which one to accept…

Needless to say, Pope Gregory certainly refused the first option.

However, the members of the cardinal council were even less willing to lose the North Territory Diocese.

Thus, the undercurrent demanding for Gregory’s abdication transformed into a wave of outcry in broad daylight.

For this reason, Gregory had sought Mensai the previous night to suppress this dangerous trend emerging within the cardinal council.

Mensai was reluctant to assist. He had been hoping for Gregory to retire. As Pope Gregory’s successor, if Gregory were to step down, he would have the opportunity to sit atop the Holy Mountain.

But the only thing that made Mensai hesitant was that even if Gregory was forced to step down, his successor might not necessarily be him.

Ever since the eastern diocese had been swept through by the Blood Knight Army, Mensai’s stature in the church had diminished significantly. If Gregory were to abdicate now, the most likely successor would be Cardinal Noputon.

If the chances of him succeeding were low, then Mensai was not so eager to see a change. He even begun to enjoy the leisure of observing events from the sidelines.

On the other hand, Mensai was more inclined towards maintaining the status quo.

After all, a change in the pope would inevitably trigger upheaval. At such times, it was for the best that the Empire remained stable…

“Lord Mensai, everyone has arrived.”

The attendant’s voice pulled Mensai back from his reverie.

He nodded to show that he acknowledged, then straightened his posture, smoothed his collar and tapped his gavel three times.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“All right, everyone is here. Let us begin.”

Once the conference hall had gradually quieted down, Mensai picked up the sheepskin scroll in front of him, saying:

“Today’s meeting has three topics. The first…”

“Hold on!”

Just then, a voice was heard from the entrance of the hall.

Mensai was puzzled as to who dared to disrupt the order of the cardinal council meeting. But when he saw the face of the person at the door, he cried out:

“Noputon?”

Noputon nodded to the guards at the door and then walked confidently into the conference hall.

Of course, the guards dared not stop a cardinal and had no choice but to let Noputon in.

However, after Noputon went in, one of the guards immediately turned and ran off, evidently going to do some reporting.

“Noputon, weren’t you sent to Westland? How did you return so quickly?” Mensai watched as Noputon approached, his face full of surprise as he asked.

Noputon smiled slightly but did not immediately answer. Instead, he moved unhurriedly towards the platform and took a seat in his designated spot.

Compared to the shocked and bewildered Mensai on the platform, the attitude of most of the members below seemed a lot more composed.

No, it was too composed.

As though they already knew Noputon would appear.

Mensai scanned the room, taking in the expressions of everyone and immediately realized that something was amiss, and suddenly he understood:

“You never went to Westland at all and were hiding in Dragon City all along, secretly instigating and rallying…”

“Lord Mensai, this is a cardinal council meeting. Let us not discuss irrelevant topics,” Noputon cut Mensai off immediately and sent him a warning glance.

Mensai inhaled deeply and calmed himself before reminding Noputon in a low voice:

“Lord Noputon, I advise you to act cautiously. Gregory is not that easy to deal with, and the timing right now is not right…”

“East Diocese.” Noputon suddenly interrupted, stating calmly. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

“What?” Mensai looked puzzled.

Noputon smiled faintly, explaining, “if you assist me now, once we succeed, the choice of the new archbishop of the East Diocese will be yours to decide.”

Mensai was stunned, his interest piqued.

The East Diocese was originally his domain of influence. It was just disturbed and thrown into chaos by Colin. If he could regain control of the East Diocese now…

Unfortunately, Mensai was unaware that the choice for the new Archbishop of the East Diocese had been sold to Emperor Reinhardt by Noputon…

After pondering for a moment, Mensai still hesitated, asking, “Have you settled things with the Temple Knight Regiment?”

Noputon smiled confidently, “Do you think I would risk acting without absolute certainty?”

Mensai bit his lip, finally declaring, “Fine, I’ll help you this time!”

Thud!

Taking the gavel, Noputon struck it hard and loudly commanded:

“Gentlemen, after discussions with Cardinal Mensai, we have decided to prioritize voting on an urgent motion.”

Mensai’s heartbeat accelerated, his breaths becoming short. His gaze slowly swept over the room and he noted that the expressions on faces of most of the cardinal council members were eager. Only a few seemed surprised and seemed unaware of what was about to happen.

Beside him, Noputon’s booming voice continued:

“…During his tenure as Pope, Gregory has acted recklessly, abused his authority, seriously damaged the reputation of the church and tarnished the glory of our Lord. Therefore, I propose an impeachment against the sitting Pope Gregory!”

Thud!

The gavel sounded once more.

“Now, let the voting begin!”