Chapter 742: Harboring kindness is often the root of chaos! (Please

Pamilian's red lips parted slightly, her voice carrying a unique magnetism: "Bishop Derrick's words are reasonable. Being leaderless is indeed a great taboo. However, the choice of this generation's Pope also needs to be carefully considered; it needs to be someone who can unite all parties and whose ability can convince the masses, only then can they shoulder this heavy responsibility."

Her words appeared neutral, but in reality, they implied that Derrick was not the only candidate, and she herself also had powerful supporting forces; several bishops and a female Saint Knight Commander beside her showed agreement.

And on the other side of the round table, an old man with white hair and beard, a kind face but deep eyes, Cardinal Augustine, shook his head slowly.

He was a veteran in the Holy See with extremely deep qualifications.

He placed his hands together in front of him, his tone slow but carrying unquestionable weight: "Acting Pope? Easier said than done. His Holiness the Pope is only missing, not fallen. Hastily pushing for an Acting Pope—if His Holiness returns in the future, how will the situation be handled?

At that time, the Holy See will split; who can bear this responsibility? This old man believes that the most important thing right now is to exhaust the power of the Holy See to find the whereabouts of His Holiness the Pope! See the person alive, see the corpse if dead!

Before that, everything should be maintained as it is, and we, the several Cardinals, should jointly decide on major matters; that is the way of stability."

His supporters were mostly some older, conservative bishops and bitter ascetics, who nodded upon hearing this.

Derrick retorted unceremoniously: "Maintain as it is? Bishop Augustine, you are pedantic! Jointly decide? Low efficiency, arguing over everything—how can we deal with potential crises?"

Pamilian interjected neither warmly nor coldly: "Bishop Derrick, you are too impatient; could it be that you feel you are already the only candidate for Acting Pope?"

"Pamilian, you!"

"Enough! This is a sacred council chamber, not a marketplace!"

On the round table, arguments, rebuttals, and mediation sounds intertwined; the round table meeting, which once represented holiness and unity, was now filled with the restlessness of power and irreconcilable contradictions.

The vacant Pope's throne was like a huge vortex, attracting all ambitions and calculations.

And among these arguing Cardinals and Saint Knights, several key eyes and ears had long been planted by the Yongzhou Emperor Charles.

Their task was not to facilitate any side's victory, but to cleverly fan the flames, intensify the contradictions, ensure that the internal chaos of the Holy See continued, and that it could not form a unified voice, even hoping to see the Holy See's strength greatly damaged due to internal fighting.

Only in this way could imperial power better suppress religious power, and Charles's plan could proceed smoothly.

At the same time, deep within the Yongzhou Imperial Palace, Emperor Charles's bedroom was filled with an oppressive smell of blood and medicine.

"Cough, cough... pfft..." Charles suddenly coughed violently, actually spitting out a small mouthful of dark red stagnant blood, his face pale as paper, his breath also much weaker than usual.

He leaned on the gorgeous brocade couch, the bandages wrapped around his chest faintly seeping with bloodstains.

"Your Majesty!" The trusted attendant standing to the side was scared out of his wits upon seeing this, hurriedly stepping forward to wipe it with a silk handkerchief, while simultaneously lowering his voice and ordering another absolutely trusted Captain of the Guards beside him urgently: "Quick! Go invite the imperial physician again! Remember, go through the secret passage; absolutely do not let anyone know the news of His Majesty's injury recurring!"

The Captain of the Guards received the order and disappeared behind the screen like a ghost without a sound.

The reason Charles was seriously injured was not because of the Holy See's black hand as speculated by the outside world; the Holy See would simply not do such a thing, at least not now.

But a betrayal and assassination from within the imperial family that caught him off guard!

The perpetrator was his own younger brother born of the same mother, Prince Chete!

Charles, similar to Li Chen, also had the habit of visiting undercover, often going to some secret locations to meet with the secret agents he had planted to understand the true situation of the empire.

However, his strength was far from reaching the unfathomable level of Li Chen, who could ignore the vast majority of threats.

Just a few days ago, during a secret trip, he encountered a carefully planned ambush. ===== CHAPTER 743 =====