ALL NOVEL
Chapter 73: The World Alliance
In the Eternal City’s St. Peter’s Basilica, the most illustrious church in the world…
“The Khitan Caesar is too young,” the Pope said slowly.
The cardinals’ faces turned grim.
They had been wondering why the Pope had gathered them together today. It turned out that the latter was planning to have them visit all the countries to rally the emperors, kings, dukes, and nobles together to launch a huge Crusade against the Khitan Caesar!
The cardinals were skeptical about the plan’s feasibility. It was unthinkable to them.
In the first place, all the nations had all kinds of grudges among them, be it historical ones or current ones. It would be tough to gather a pile of scattered sand together.
Furthermore, the Khitan Caesar only had thousands of soldiers. Was there really a need to gather everyone together to deal with him? The emperors and nobles might just think that this was a joke.
While everyone was discussing the matter, the Pope opened his eyes, which could hardly be seen amidst his wrinkles, and slowly said, “The Khitan Caesar is too young.”
He rose from his seat and stiffly walked around. “Those who have met the Khitan Caesar, how old do they think he is?”
One by one, the Pope’s gaze fell on each of the cardinals, taking in their shock, worry, and fear.
“Some think he is fifteen. Some think he is sixteen. Some think he is seventeen.”
The Pope finally came to a halt. With his softest voice, he spoke the loudest words.
“But no one dares say he is eighteen!
“Alexander the Great, who nearly conquered the world, was twenty when he took the throne! Attila the Hun, the Scourge of God who made the world tremble, was thirty when he became king! Yet, the Khitan Caesar, a youth who may just be fifteen years old, has restored an empire!”
The cardinals shook at the thought of the implications. The corners of the Pope’s lips curled upward to form a faint smile.
“Such a young Scourge of God… Who dares let him live? Who can let him live? No king will allow that.”
At this point, the Pope raised his voice.
“There is no room in this world for another Alexander the Great!” ”
The cardinals had to concede that the Pope was right.
The lords ruling over Europe wouldn’t permit the rise of another Alexander the Great, unless that person was they themselves!
“In the name of the Holy War, I hereby invite all lords to participate in this sacred and noble fight to eliminate our Lord’s enemy!” the Pope shouted.
The cardinals widened their eyes in realization.
Ah, so that’s the reason the Pope urgently wants to make a move.
The Eastern Romain Empire was the champion of Eastern Orthodoxy, and its Patriarch had recently been making use of the momentum built by their Khitan Caesar’s war successes to spread their teaching and encourage people to convert.
If left unchecked, the Pope might just become a second fiddle to the Patriarch.
It looks like we have no choice but to go all out here, since we don’t want to be second to the Eastern Orthodoxy.
【Whew, this is much better!】
System 12345 looked at the screen with tearful eyes. Its senior had eventually provided it with some help, albeit reluctantly.
That heap of a thing you call a code won’t be easy to sort. You just need to communicate with your host, right? I’ll write an information window plugin for you.
So, System 12345 still couldn’t hold a two-sided conversation with Shu Yichao, but it was at least able to send information over to him now. This was a huge step forward!
So, it began sending messages out via the information window.
【My host, I am System! There’s something I must tell you!】
“Hm?” Shu Yichao glanced at the window that had suddenly popped out. “Are ads so rampant nowadays? They are already playing ads for me even though I’m in the middle of my game?”
He took a closer look and realized that it wasn’t an ad.
【AHHHHHH!!!】
System 12345 nearly fainted from bliss. The ‘Message read’ notification on the screen filled it with happiness like never before.
Finally, finally, finally… I am finally able to communicate with my host!!!
System 12345 hurriedly sent more messages to Shu Yichao.
【My host, you have transmigrated into a game called 】
“Ah. Is this the mod’s introduction?” Shu Yichao nodded. “Isn’t it a bit too late? I’m already halfway through the game. Looks like the mod’s developers aren’t very thorough.
“Now that I think about it, this mod is riddled with bugs and random codes. The localization isn’t properly done either. I would have probably struggled with this mod if I hadn’t played Beacons of the Otherworld before.”
Wonderful! Wonderful!!!
My host is nodding to my words! He finally understands!
System 12345 continued sending messages with an elated heart.
【This world shares some similarities to the one you know. You might see some overlaps in terms of locations and characters, though there will be divergences as well. However, none of that is important!】
【You’re currently in a tumultuous era where war is rife, though this era is also filled with beautiful and charming femme fatales too…】
【The empress who embodies both beauty and wisdom. The cold and cruel female general. The blazing hot and frosty cold twins. The cunning and calculative senator. The mature and intelligent governor-general…】
System 12345 was listing the capture targets when it suddenly trailed into silence.
Of those it had mentioned, two were definitely dead, and it was questionable whether the remaining ones were still alive or not.
【Ey, it can’t be. There’s no way, right?】
【Our host might have fought a war, but war is commonplace in this world. He might have unwittingly eliminated Venice’s Governor-General, but that doesn’t mean that he’s responsible for the other capture targets’ favorability plummeting to zero.】
【For instance, I know for a fact that Vernier died in a sea calamity. I saw it with my own eyes.】
System 12345 consoled itself.
【Indeed. It has only been a year since my host transmigrated here. Even if he decided to become a soldier, there’s no way he could have killed all those people.】
【It’s not even funny at all.】
【I mean, the Ottomain Empire is an incomparably powerful nation!】
【Yes, that must be the case.】
System 12345 chose to turn a blind eye to the fact that he could have easily confirmed Momoana and the others’ statuses just by checking their profiles. It took a deep breath before it continued sending messages to Shu Yichao.
【Yup. In summary, my host, as the protagonist of this game, your mission is to conquer…】
Pah.
Shu Yichao closed the information window.
There’s nothing useful in it. It doesn’t matter whether I read it or not.
【My host?】
System 12345 stared at the screen for a long time, but the screen reflected that its messages were ‘Unread’. That baffled it.
【My host, you were transmigrated into a game world. Aren’t you curious at all?】
【Don’t you want to know more about the plotline?】
【My host… are you there?】
—
Starve’s Trivia:
The Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) supports Eastern Orthodoxy, whereas the Holy Roman Empire supports Roman Catholicism.
I would say that the biggest reason for their conflict, ultimately, is still power. They want to be the biggest religion out there because that maximizes their influence and gives them more leverage.