Chapter 355: Who Dares Arrest Me?

The entire meeting was stunned by Anthony's words; after a long silence, Di Lu Ni weakly said, "How can we vote on your internal Church affairs? Any resolution we form would have no binding power."

Anthony smiled slightly: "So it's not about removal—it's about rejection. Reject his identity as Pope. All contact with the Church will now be handled by me."

Gu Li An Ni's face darkened; he realized Anthony had come prepared.

Power consists of only a few elements: internally, personnel and finance; externally, diplomacy, trade, and war. If all these are seized by others, no matter how loud your title, you're merely an empty shell.

Anthony used division to seize control of the Eastern Diocese's personnel and finances—and now he wants to steal his diplomatic authority too?

As long as he lives, the Pope won't be re-elected—but if diplomatic power is stripped away, he's effectively hollowed out: a title without substance.

Moreover, Anthony's scheme might succeed. Other powers are hard to seize, but this one isn't. Had Anthony not been the Archbishop of the Eastern Diocese, Eastern independence would have been impossible.

In fact, even as Archbishop, it's unbelievable. The kings, dukes, and great families acted as if drugged—they supported Anthony without hesitation, utterly irrational.

This is a high-risk, low-reward move. If Anthony succeeds, their territories gain no extra profit; if he fails, they all face the Church's purge—possibly annihilation of their families.

What do they gain by risking annihilation to support Anthony?

Even if a few fools exist, the entire Eastern Diocese can't all be fools. What kind of benefit did Anthony offer them to make them all choose the same path?

Now, seizing his diplomatic authority is easier than making the Eastern Diocese independent—it requires no action. Just have everyone at this meeting recognize Anthony's control over the Church and deal only with him, and the diplomatic power transfers naturally.

If no one recognizes you, and everyone goes to Anthony for everything, what diplomacy does the Church have left?

Knowing Anthony as he did, Anthony wouldn't act without certainty. Had he allied with others?

No, this resolution must not pass. Gu Li An Ni said sharply, "This is an internal Church matter. Please do not interfere."

Tong Chui shrugged: "If internal matters have reached this point, what's left of 'internal'? If you had any ability, you'd have solved it internally long ago."

Gu Li An Ni's throat tightened with rage—he wanted to strangle Tong Chui. That remark was poison, directly pointing at his face and calling him incompetent.

Why? Why does this dumb, thick-headed dwarf speak so viciously? With those bushy brows and big eyes, why does he imitate Anthony?

If Anthony could hear his inner monologue, he'd wave his hands: No, not my doing.

Some words carry more weight when spoken by a bushy-browed, big-eyed dwarf like Tong Chui. Right now, his single sentence shattered the "internal matter" argument.

Gu Li An Ni's eyes darted, and he said grimly, "Bringing internal matters here wastes public resources. I apologize, but this is still a Church affair. Allow us to deliberate internally first…"

"Fine. I'll block everyone else's vote. Only your three internal votes remain. Vote now: Should this matter be brought to the meeting for resolution? Begin." Di Lu Ni said impatiently.

Gu Li An Ni frowned: That's not what I meant…

What's going on? He meant "don't vote at all"—how did it become "vote internally first"?

No, something's wrong. He'd been getting along fine with Di Lu Ni just moments ago. Why this trick? Was it accidental?

The act of "voting" is, by its nature, interference in Church affairs—it shouldn't happen at all. Once it happens, interference has occurred.

Gu Li An Ni took a deep breath. At this point, whether Di Lu Ni intended it or not, he had no choice but to act.

But thinking back, this might even be beneficial. Internal voting first—he, Dai Sen, and Anthony each have one vote. He already holds two. He can contain this within "internal affairs."

Watching the flickering teleportation array, Gu Li An Ni gritted his teeth and pressed "reject."

No matter the outcome, this hand pressing down had set a precedent—the first time anyone had interfered in Church internal affairs.

Di Lu Ni's voice rang out: "Result: one vote against, two in favor. The motion to bring this matter before the meeting is officially passed. Now we proceed to vote on whether to reject Gu Li An Ni's papal status and recognize Anthony instead…"

Gu Li An Ni heard none of what followed. His mind flashed only two words: two votes in favor… passed…

Why two votes in favor? One was Anthony's. Who was the other?

Dai Sen!!!!

Gu Li An Ni erupted in holy flame, engulfing himself in fire.

The God of Light frowned, glancing over in confusion.

The God of Shadows emerged from his shadow, leaning close to the God of Light's ear: "Powerful. Damn it—he's been hiding his strength."

The God of Light nodded: "Human powerful beings are formidable. A Truth-level human's power rivals ours."

"Then why do so many still worship us?" the Shadow God asked.

"Faith is the hope of the weak," said the Light God.

"Then why does he still ignite divine fire? He already possesses power equal to ours," the Shadow God asked, puzzled.

Gu Li An Ni had long possessed a semi-divine body capable of helping Dai Sen ignite divine fire, yet he himself never became a god. He'd had the power to ascend for years—only two days ago had he inexplicably ignited his divine flame. If he was already this strong, why become a god?

The Light God said: "Lifespan. Humans live too short a time."

The Shadow God's mouth hung open, speechless. The Light God's reason was simple, plain, yet utterly reasonable. Without godhood, a human's century-long lifespan meant even a single nap could cause them to wake up and find their former champions gone.

Yet this also revealed the terrifying nature of humans: with mere centuries of life, they continuously produce Truth-level powerful beings. What if they lived thousands or ten thousand years? How terrifying would they become?

"That's why we classify undead and witches as heretics. The undead possess immortality; witches worship themselves. Both are the greatest threats to the Light."

"What about demons? Demons are also heretics—did you forget them?"

"Filler."

"..."

Boundless fury never clouded Gu Li An Ni's mind. As the holy flame ignited, he slowly calmed. Watching the flickering teleportation array, he pressed "reject."

The result was announced: Di Lu Ni said, "Result: six votes in favor, one against. The resolution passes. All future contact with the Church will now be directed to Anthony."

The result stunned everyone. First two votes in favor, now six—who could fail to see that Dai Sen had voted in favor too?

Good heavens, Dai Sen and Anthony were mortal enemies! He'd tried to assassinate Anthony twice; Anthony had tried to kill him. How did they become allies?

From the teleportation array came Gu Li An Ni's sharp voice: "Dai Sen, why betray me?!"

He didn't even say "betray the Church"—he said "betray me." He was tearing the mask off.

Dai Sen's voice came softly: "Your leadership has been inferior to Anthony's. The Western Diocese has been ruined by Nicolas, yet you turned a blind eye. I returned and struggled for months to restore order, yet countless starved to death—and you did nothing. They are the Lord's children."

"Anthony tirelessly saves lives and delivers aid—I've seen it. He's far more capable than you. My Lord, stop clinging to power. Step down. The Western Diocese firmly supports Anthony."

Gu Li An Ni could no longer hold back—he spat out a mouthful of blood.

All blame was dumped squarely on Gu Li An Ni, wrapped in righteous, logical justification.

It was Gu Li An Ni's negligence that ruined the Western Diocese—yet no one mentioned how, upon his return, he'd only looted the land and done nothing.

But to outsiders, it sounded reasonable. Dai Sen had returned only half a year ago; the famine couldn't have been caused in that short time. The greatest blame lay with Nicolas.

Nicolas was dead, unable to defend himself or take responsibility—so the greatest blame fell to Gu Li An Ni: his negligence.

After neglecting, he did nothing as the famine worsened, watching people starve to death—until Anthony stepped in. Without him, even more would have died.

This was even more glaring because the Eastern Diocese suffered famine too—yet Anthony not only handled his own crisis but also aided the West. In comparison, the Church was invisible.

They pay so much in tithes every year—and when trouble comes, the Church vanishes?

Di Lu Ni pondered; Gai La De Dai frowned; Tong Chui puffed his beard; Bu Lu Si scraped off his scales.

If they'd initially supported Anthony only out of loyalty to Ang, now they realized: the logic itself seemed to favor Anthony.

Loyalty plus logic—this was public consensus.

If the accusation had come from someone else, Gu Li An Ni had a hundred rebuttals. But it came from his own man—stripping him of all rebuttal grounds. Even the phrase "clinging to power" shut down every possible defense.

To reject the outcome was to admit "clinging to power"—a murder of the soul.

"Bear the wrath of the gods," Gu Li An Ni finally said, severing the teleportation link.

Anthony quickly bid everyone farewell and severed the link, then immediately connected to Dai Sen's array. Dai Sen's voice came through—no longer calm as in the meeting, but frantic: "Lord Anthony, come save me!"

"Don't panic. I've already arranged everything. Open the teleportation mode." Anthony said.

The Dimension Security Meeting was held via teleportation arrays, which had built-in communication. Only enabling communication allowed meetings; to teleport, you had to activate the teleport function too.

Anthony teleported first, confirmed safety, then allowed Ang, the little angel, and Lu Se to teleport over. The others remained sealed in the Palace of Rest.

"Can the four of you handle it? Gu Li An Ni might have placed dozens of people around Dai Sen. If there are too many, Ang won't be able to cope without transforming." Nai Ge Li Si projected onto Ang, worried.

"Do your best. If it fails, transform, release you all, and kill everyone. That's the solution," Anthony said—classic "kill everyone who knows the secret" thinking.

He waved to Dai Sen: "Come, pay homage to the God of Undeath. Offer your soul to him, and you'll receive his protection."

"The God of Undeath?! You? But you're just the ascetic An!" Dai Sen's eyes bulged—he'd only betrayed the Pope, and now he was being asked to offer his soul to the God of Undeath?

"Yes. I am also the inheritor of the Scale God and the God of Undeath." He leaned close to Ang's ear: "Lord, show the Scale Ring."

Ang pulled his hand from the space, revealed the Scale Ring, then slipped it back inside.

"Th-this-this-this…" Dai Sen stammered, speechless.

Anthony smiled: "You have no choice. From the moment you covered up Dai Sen's head, you had no other option. Choose: God of Undeath, or Scale God."

Dai Sen's face fell: "So it's the Scale God… I offer everything to you. May your glory illuminate the darkness."

Yes, no choice. From the moment he decided to impersonate Dai Sen, there was no other path. But he'd only betrayed the Pope—how had it come to this?

Anthony, this treacherous bastard…

Ang accepted Dai Sen's soul flame and began pulling people from the space: four-winged angels, two-winged angels, second-rank angels, second-rank, second-rank, second-rank…

To everyone's stunned silence, Ang pulled out one third-rank four-winged angel and fifty second-rank two-winged angels.

Added to the fourth-rank little angel, the room was now packed with holy angelic bodies.

Nai Ge Li Si gasped: "You resurrected all those holy relics? How so many? Waste! Dozens of skeletons wrapped in holy skin have zero combat value!"

Ang shook his head: "Not skeletons."

Not skeletons? Then they were holy spirits like the little angel? But their intellect was too low—holy spirits were useless. Unless…

"You raised their intellect? How?" Nai Ge Li Si asked, stunned.

Ang tilted his head: "You."

Nai Ge Li Si choked on a mouthful of blood. When had she raised these holy spirits' intellect? She didn't even know!

The only thing she'd done was have Ang stack the holy relic skeletons with their skulls facing inward and place her body in the center. Could it be…

Nai Ge Li Si looked back—sure enough, half the skulls in the usual pile were gone. They'd been pulled from there.

Could she really raise the intellect of skeletons?

Nai Ge Li Si flew above the skulls, peering left and right, leaning close to their eye sockets.

One skull, annoyed, punched the Huang Tong Book, sending it flying.

It was actually going to hit people—its intelligence had indeed improved. Negrilis, pleased, removed its own hand bones and flew away contentedly.

At that moment, there was a rapid pounding on the door, and outside, one of Dai Sen's subordinates called out: "Archbishop, Archbishop! The Holy Legion has arrived with the Pope's imperial decree, saying they've come to arrest you—what's happened?"

Looking at the room full of Holy Spirit Angels, Dai Sen laughed bitterly and said: "Let them in. I'd like to see who dares arrest me."