madnovel Chapter 336
Chapter 336
Chapter 336
The damage to the Romanican Church was significant. The collapse of the newly built cathedral was relatively minor compared to the other damages. The real issue was the loss of many lives.
The death of the director of the Eastern Paladin Order, Han Dae-Ho, and the injuries and deaths of numerous members effectively disbanded the Eastern Paladin Order.
"Ah, fuck."
Yu-Hyun had underestimated Sun-Woo's determination. The Sun-Woo he knew was an eternally soft person. Even when facing an enemy, Sun-Woo would hesitate to kill them if he knew them. Sun-Woo wouldn’t hesitate to use whatever means and methods necessary to achieve his goals, but his ‘goals’ were for others and not himself.
He was similar to Yu-Hyun in a way, but also completely different from him. That was Sun-Woo’s personality. Therefore, Yu-Hyun could somewhat predict Sun-Woo's actions. At least, he thought he could predict Sun-Woo’s actions.
His assumptions had been completely wrong. Sun-Woo had killed Han Dae-Ho in cold blood, without even blinking an eye even though he had been friendly with the director during his time disguised as a Florence Academy student. Joseph also lay dead next to Han Dae-Ho. Sun-Woo had simply used Joseph as a disposable pawn.
“Your Holiness.”
Someone approached Yu-Hyun while he was muttering curses while clutching his forehead. Yu-Hyun didn’t know that person’s name, but he knew that their hierarchy within the church was that of a cardinal.
The cardinal bowed in front of Yu-Hyun and said, "Many priests, including Deputy Director Jin-Seo of the Northern Crusader Order, and Ha-Yeon from the Central Priesthood..."
They continued to report the damages that the Romanican Church had sustained. According to the cardinal, the Voodoo Cult had kidnapped Ha-Yeon and Jin-Seo. They had also taken away key personnel of the Central Priesthood and even the priest who had been conducting the inquisitor appointment ceremony.
"...”
Yu-Hyun's expression quickly darkened. The priest conducting the ordination was the 'Pope’s Proxy.' He was not an ordinary priest, but a special priest authorized to use a special blessing that only the Pope could use. In a way, that priest was like the Pope’s flesh. His abduction was perhaps more devastating than the kidnapping of Jin-Seo or Ha-Yeon.
Yu-Hyun ruminated over the painful loss, and a question suddenly popped up in his mind.
"How did he know this?"
How did Sun-Woo know and come up with such a perfect plan?
Finding out about the location of the Festival of Light was reasonable. Anyone could figure that out with basic information-gathering skills. Finding out the location and time of the ceremony and launching an attack also made sense.
However, the progression of the battle did not make sense. Joseph had appeared in the cathedral and shattered the paladin’s anti-Voodoo masks so that Voodoo spells could be used more effectively and efficiently.
The events that followed were strange. Ha-Yeon had gone to the cathedral to awaken the paladins who had lost consciousness due to the Voodoo spell.
As if anticipating that such a thing would happen, Sun-Woo had already stationed his troops there to kidnap Ha-Yeon and the priests of the Central Priesthood. Sun-Woo could not have established such a plan unless he had known that Ha-Yeon would come to the Festival of Light beforehand.
In other words, Sun-Woo had known that Ha-Yeon would be attending the Festival of Light. The information that Ha-Yeon would be participating in the Festival of Light was known only to Yu-Hyun and a few select members of the priesthood responsible for the Festival of Light event.
"Ha-Yeon."
Of course, Ha-Yeon also knew that she would be participating. So, did Ha-Yeon say something to Sun-Woo? Yu-Hyun knew the reason why Sung Yu-Da had committed suicide. It was because Sun-Woo and Sung Yu-Da had been in a collaborative relationship before Sun-Woo’s identity had been revealed.
Since that was the case, Ha-Yeon and Sun-Woo could have been in some kind of collaborative relationship. If Ha-Yeon and Sun-Woo were collaborating, then it also made sense why Sun-Woo knew that kidnapping the Pope's Proxy would deal a fatal blow to the Romanican Church.
But were Ha-Yeon and Sun-Woo really collaborating? If so, why did Ha-Yeon create all those blessings and holy artifacts, along with weapons that could be used to fight against the Voodoo Cult? If Ha-Yeon was collaborating with the Voodoo Cult, there would be no reason for her to invent such holy artifacts or weapons.
Perhaps it wasn’t Ha-Yeon. The possibility of a spy among the clergymen responsible for organizing the Festival of Light could not be ruled out either.
"Sigh..."
Yu-Hyun’s head hurt. There were many unsettling aspects regarding this battle, such as the motive for why the Voodoo Cult kidnapped the clergymen, the possibility of there being a spy within the Romanican Church, the number of Voodoo Cult forces, and so much more.
Seeing Yu-Hyun curse under his breath, then mutter to himself, and then finally sigh with a troubled expression, the cardinal interrupted him.
"Your Holiness?"
Yu-Hyun finally regained his composure. There was much to think about, making his mind dizzy and giving him a headache. But he couldn’t show such an appearance in front of others.
Yu-Hyun was losing support due to Sun-Woo's appearance. Showing weakness would only further decrease his already precarious support rate. He swiftly changed his expression and revealed a casual smile.
"Oh, Soo-Yeong. What's up?"
"You're reading that book again. How many times have you read it?"
"I haven't read this one much. Only about thirteen times."
"Urgh."
Soo-Yeong furrowed her brows as if she couldn't understand at all. Sun-Woo stood up from his seat with his staff.
Ever since he couldn't use his right arm, he had trouble maintaining his balance, so he used a staff when getting up or walking. Not having the staff didn't mean he couldn't move freely, but he found it more comfortable to use the staff.
Soo-Yeong glanced briefly at Sun-Woo's staff and said, "The priest we caught this time. The white-haired woman."
"Ha-Yeon?"
"Yes. That person."
Soo-Yeong sighed as if she was fed up and continued, "She doesn't answer no matter what I ask. She just keeps saying to call Sun-Woo. What am I supposed to do with her? Spells don’t work on her either."
"Did she really say nothing?" Sun-Woo asked as if he found that hard to believe.
Soo-Yeong wasn’t sure if he was doubting her or Ha-Yeon. She frowned slightly as if she felt a little upset.
"She didn't say anything! Torture, no, we haven’t exactly tortured her, but still, I questioned her quite forcefully."
"I think I told you not to torture her."
"I didn't torture her. I just didn't give her water," Soo-Yeong said indignantly.
Soo-Yeong had been assigned the role of interrogating Ha-Yeon this time, but under Sun-Woo's orders, she was not supposed to torture her. Not only Ha-Yeon, but also Jin-Seo and all the other priests of the Central Priesthood were not supposed to be subjected to torture. Those were Sun-Woo's commands.
"I'll do it myself. You take a break."
"Really? I was actually hoping for a break."
"Yeah, take a break.”
He then gripped up his staff and walked away. He made his way to the makeshift barracks where Ha-Yeon and the Romanican Church hostages were being held.
Ha-Yeon was alone, tied up by Granbwa’s plant stems in a corner of the barracks. Ha-Yeon stared into the void with unfocused eyes. When Sun-Woo appeared, her gaze finally shifted to him.
Sun-Woo called her name. "Sung Ha-Yeon."
Ha-Yeon raised her head and stared at Sun-Woo. There was a hint of betrayal in her eyes.
"Why did you tie me up? I don’t have any strength to escape. Even if I run away, I can't go far. Besides, I thought our conversation was over back then."
"If I give you special treatment, the other priests will suspect you," Sun-Woo replied dryly.
Ha-Yeon glared sharply at Sun-Woo and clicked her tongue. Then she said, "Then release me now. I can't breathe because it's suffocating."
"Fine."
Sun-Woo raised his staff. As he did, the plant stems restraining Ha-Yeon withered away instantly.
Ha-Yeon escaped from the corner of the barracks and stretched her body. Then she took a deep breath and exhaled.
"In this battle, I relied on the information you provided, just as you wished," Sun-Woo said.
"It seems so. There were a few parts that I didn't like, though."
Sun-Woo ignored Ha-Yeon's words. He stepped toward her and said, "Now tell me about the method to destroy the Romanican Church."