The devout prayers had not yet ceased when Father Andrew was called out by Church Knights entering from the side chapel. Follow current novels on novel✦fire.net

Bishop Rosen, dressed in his black low bishop robes, stood waiting in the side chapel with a gloomy expression.

Although Bishop Rosen's face appeared dark and foreboding, his actual mood was rather pleasant.

He simply had that kind of unfortunate-looking face - there really was nothing to be done about it. In truth, he was a relatively kind person.

At the very least, when Father Mia had wanted to deliver Norton to the bishop in charge of Holy Lord City, Bishop Rosen had refused. Otherwise, Norton would have certainly endured a fate more painful than being burned alive.

"Bishop Rosen." Father Andrew quickly stepped forward and performed a Church salute, offering respectful greetings.

With the Holy See vacant since the old Pope's departure, Cardinal Adam's appointment as the new Pope was reportedly already set in stone. Though Father Andrew's rank wasn't high enough to receive confirmed information, he was after all a member of Cardinal Adam's faction and could catch some of the prevailing winds.

As one of Cardinal Adam's trusted followers, there was no doubt that when Cardinal Adam became Pope, everyone from the priests to the low and high bishops under him would receive promotions. This was also why Bishop Rosen was in such good spirits.

As for why the tragic situation in Holy Lord City hadn't affected their moods?

They were merely a batch of culled livestock - not worth grieving over.

Compared to the livestock in Holy Lord City, they were actually more interested in the werewolf traces outside Holy Lord City.

"Has Father Andrew adapted well recently? Holy Lord City's environment is poor - you've suffered, Father." Bishop Rosen managed to squeeze out what he thought was a kindly smile, though it came across as rather grim, as he greeted Father Andrew before him.

Ever since the passing of Father Mia, whom Norton couldn't forget, the old Pope had seemingly prepared in advance by parachuting Father Andrew into this position.

The position of priest didn't actually fall under the Pope's appointment authority, as it was a liturgical position generally directly assigned by cardinals, and all priests were trained by cardinals.

Yet Father Andrew had been directly appointed by the old Pope, which made Bishop Rosen pay extra attention to him.

"Not suffering at all - serving the Church!" Father Andrew waved his hand modestly.

But his words were anything humble - not only did he accept Bishop Rosen's concern, his "serving the Church" remark elevated his status in Bishop Rosen's eyes.

This made Bishop Rosen's attitude grow even more cordial.

"Might I ask why Bishop Rosen has summoned me?" Father Andrew held the Bible in his arms while constantly gripping the silver cross pendant around his neck.

Silver held no lethal effect against vampires, but the cross carried God's glory and had effective damaging properties against vampires. However, these creatures hadn't been seen for so many years that Church members were almost forgetting this detail.

It was only because Father Andrew had heard about a vampire being born in this area upon his arrival that he kept it handy at all times.

According to rumors, vampires possessed the ability to alter their appearance and could cause significant damage to the Church by disguising themselves as others.

Though whether this was true remained unknown.

"It's about the werewolves, Father Andrew. According to reports from missionaries returning from outside, the situation in Holy Lord City has attracted large-scale werewolf migration. The werewolves born during this period seem to have reached substantial numbers, with numerous werewolf attack cases already occurring around Holy Lord City. Therefore, I want to recall the Church Knights to ensure the safety of Holy Lord Cathedral as much as possible. And you, Father, should also avoid going outside during this period.

Let's wait for new appointments from His Holiness the Pope!" Bishop Rosen stated the purpose of his visit.

The werewolf incident in Holy Lord City had shown signs half a year ago, with the remaining poor in the city outskirts gradually disappearing. Reports about werewolves reached Bishop Rosen's desk almost weekly.

But Bishop Rosen didn't care - losing some population meant little to the Church. Besides, Cardinal Adam would soon ascend to the throne, and they would certainly be promoted and transferred away. This mess could be left for other bishops who didn't get along with Cardinal Adam to deal with.

So regarding the werewolves outside the city, Bishop Rosen didn't take them seriously.

But to prevent werewolves from harming them, recalling the Church Knights was absolutely necessary. After all, the Holy Inquisition Tribunal had already been recalled by the old Pope.

Now only slightly over two hundred Church Knights remained to protect their safety.

"Very well. The citizens of Holy Lord City have been corrupted by greed and have fallen into hell. Even God's holiness must keep its distance from such corruption!" Father Andrew nodded with deep conviction.

---

Holy Lord Cathedral, after being closed for a year following the previous incident, had shut its doors once again after a year of being open.

Although the citizens of Holy Lord City didn't understand why Holy Lord Cathedral had suddenly closed again, they knew their hell was about to return.

After Holy Lord Cathedral's previous closure, Holy Lord City's population had been reduced to less than one-tenth within a year.

This was a major city with hundreds of thousands of people! Nearly seventy percent had died, leaving only tens of thousands struggling to survive within the city.

This couldn't even be called a devastating blow - it was practically being gutted alive.

It was hard to imagine how, in such harsh conditions, these people could still reproduce their population so vigorously. It was simply... lust blinding their hearts.

As the sun set in the west, darkness once again descended upon Holy Lord City.

Compared to two years ago, the sparsely populated Holy Lord City appeared so desolate under the cover of darkness that it almost resembled a ghost town.

A gentle breeze carried the lingering putrid scent that had failed to dissipate even after two years.

The farmlands in the city outskirts had completely turned barren, though the flowers bloomed brilliantly. Those who had planted these flowers had likely long become dried bones in graves.

A strangely slender figure appeared in the outskirts of Holy Lord City. Moonlight fell upon it, yet eerily cast no shadow whatsoever.

It resembled legendary ghosts and monsters, even possessing two crimson eyes that could leave trailing red streaks in the darkness.