CHAPTER 1028: CHAPTER 1028: WARNING SIGNS OF ANOTHER GREAT WAR?

Everyone in the room was wide-eyed. This number was too much!

"Only 1000 weapons were retrieved here. All smithies, storage rooms, and possible hiding areas were already checked and none was left," Raymond said.

Everyone became silent as they understood what this meant.

Someone else out there had all the other 9,000 anti-magic weapons. And who else to use it for than the long-lived races and magicians?

It was as if they were preparing for war with the long-lived races.

"Pope Elsevier, you do know what this means, right? The total number of long-lived races born since the Great War is far from reaching 10,000. The stolen weapons are enough to wipe out the remaining population of the long-lived races if wielded by capable people," Ferdinand pointed out.

This was the gravity of the situation.

Such a number of anti-magic weapons suddenly gone from the temple and in the hands of who knows, is extremely dangerous to the remaining population of the long-lived races.

[It’s already been more than 6000 years and there haven’t even been 10,000 of the new generations of long-lived races?]

[They haven’t recovered much since the Great War?!!]

[If this is true, why would they reveal such crucial information?]

It was those from the temple who were wide-eyed this time.

Only Pope Elsevier remained calm since he already figured that the long-lived races’ population haven’t recovered much.

Rather, intermarriage with humans has already greatly increased their population. Reaching several thousands was already a great number.

The oracle system the gods designed was to ensure the long-lived races’ population recovered. And they did. But it was still much less than the human population.

However, the difference in how many humans a single person from the long-lived races could kill, makes up for this if they only think of times of conflict.

"I know. It was my oversight. They likely used the underground tunnels over the years. If it only happened recently, I would have noticed. But it seems this was a long-term plan. Someone had been planning about this from the shadows for a while. There’s no way no one would notice this many weapons if they used the usual entry and exit points in the temple grounds," Pope Elsevier explained.

"I do hope you are not in on this and trying to pretend to be innocent," Ferdinand warned.

After all, if the Pope was, it meant this was a declaration of war against the long-lived races.

"I wish I was. But as much as I hated the long-lived races, I hated my kind even more," Pope Elsevier said with a wistful look on his face.

Sandra and their comrades were surprised at the Pope’s words.

Pope Elsevier continued, "I have seen what war between us and the long-lived races resulted to. I have no desire to repeat it again. Further, you already know I was against the Great War from the start. My research and inventions were only meant for defense. But they mass produced it without my approval. They stole the result of all my hard work and used it as they pleased."

"Your research and inventions?" one of the Pope’s comrades asked.

"Oh, you still don’t know? No wonder Alvis is so furious," Ferdinand sighed. He glanced at Pope Elsevier, waiting for him to say it. But the Pope remained silent so Ferdinand said matter-of-factly, "He concocted the poison used in the Great War and invented the anti-magic weapons laced with it used during the Great War."

Everyone from the Pope’s side gasped and stared at the Pope, wide-eyed.

[This can’t be true! Why would the Pope create something so deadly?!]

[The Pope is so kind, merciful, and selfless! There’s no way he’s the one who made those!]

[Are they trying to frame the Pope for a crime he did not do?!]

[Is this what the Elf King meant by his words last time?!]

The Pope’s comrades only knew his recent self and not the one from the past. Thus, they clearly wanted the Pope to deny it and say Ferdinand was spouting nonsense. But the Pope didn’t.

Pope Elsevier had a regretful and melancholic look in his eyes as he said, "Yes, I did. Those were so far the greatest and the worst inventions I created as a researcher and magician."

[So this is why Father often has this melancholic look on his face when he’s not with other people.]

Pope Elsevier’s comrades finally realized why at times, the Pope looked so weary and sad like he was burdened by so much. An entire race was almost wiped out due to his inventions and the price that came back in turn was the human race almost perishing as well.

Pope Elsevier’s position as the Pope was not only a recognition by his Creator, but also as atonement for all the lives that were lost due to his inventions.

The use of his inventions were without his approval but he felt responsible for it anyway since he was the one who created them. He atoned for humanity’s greatest crime all alone.

The Pope had so much responsibility on his shoulders and it was why he kept working for so long, much more than any human ever did, without complaint.

He had only begun training his replacement recently after the exhaustion and loneliness finally caught up to him. He had lived a long arduous and torturous life with memories of everything he had lost. Just like the long-lived races did.

Pope Elsevier understood the long-lived races’ pain the most. Thus, he was not into waging another war with them that would only result in losses on both sides with no one coming out truly happy about it.

"But why would Your Holiness create such dangerous items?" one of the Pope’s comrades.

"You have only learned the short tales about the Great War. Now that I will likely retire in a few years, you all who are in the highest echelons of the temple must know the full truth. There are books and records I will allow you to access in the temple so you will learn the whole truth," Pope Elsevier said.

The Pope’s comrades gulped nervously, wondering what those books would reveal to them.