Somebody Stop the Pope – 198



Episode 198

64. Back to the North

1.

Ten minutes after the match started.

As expected human vitality is truly amazing.

I waited for my senses to come back to normal while eating the potato chips that Ja-hyeon had brought me.

Still irregulars were irregulars.

He raised the wind and supported up to 48 spears.

The ‘wind’ that was hastily created seemed to be related to the guy’s supernatural ability.

If Sun-Ri had kept her distance from the beginning and continued the fight it might have been quite difficult.

If I had used the wind to defend against long-range attacks and taken advantage of my opening the battle would have gone in a completely different direction.

“Ugh.”

Was it about 15 minutes since Sun-ri collapsed?

Thanks to my little blessing the natural order of things came to its senses.

The boy struggled to get up and soon his eyes met mine as I was eating a snack.

The point is that the moment our eyes met my body flinched.

I said smiling at Sunri.

“Are you awake?”

“What happened…..”

“You’ve been kidnapped.”

“…what?”

“Suddenly I’m thinking of a movie I saw a long time ago? There’s a 6th installment in the Crime City series. If you have time watch it. Part 6 is set in Shanghai China.”

Before I knew it I had eaten all the potato chips. I folded the bag of chips neatly put it in my pocket and shook my hands lightly.

And he said to Sunri.

“I hope you keep your promise.”

“…What on earth is your reason for wanting to enter China? You are just a religious group…”

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“hmm.”

How should I explain this?

Oh yeah. That would be a good analogy.

“There’s a fire in the big house next to ours. What will happen if we leave the fire alone? It’ll eat our house too.”

Are we trying to enter China?

To be honest it was actually a very simple reason rather than wanting to help China or protect the poor people.

If we fail to remove the purifier in time we will suffer damage.

That simple logic.

I have been waiting for a moment to enter China and subdue the Purifiers and I believe that now is the right time.

Because the power of the religious order has risen to the top and the power that can be mobilized has become incomparable to what it used to be.

If we don’t do it now they’ll get too big to handle.

Earth is a bigger world than Eden.

If the demon lords start to spread out in earnest against the backdrop of this large world it will already be too late.

“You’re talking nonsense.”

But Sunri seems to have taken it in a different sense.

“Now that you’ve taken over Korea aren’t you trying to project your influence elsewhere? You’re just another guy full of ambition.”

A voice filled with anger.

Honestly it’s unbelievable.

It was he who provoked me first and it was he who ultimately accepted my challenge.

But what on earth is so unfair?

I walked up to Sun-ri and kicked his leg with my foot.

“Ugh.”

“A pig only sees pigs. Are we eating Korea? The Remen Church and the South Korean government are not in a superior-subordinate relationship but rather in a symbiotic relationship. And I never asked a brat like you to evaluate our relationship.”

power?

I’m not interested in that kind of thing.

All I want is for my people to live safely and happily.

“We will enter China ourselves whenever we want. Whether it’s rebels or government forces we don’t care. We will only eliminate the demons. Oh and one more thing. Have you heard that the believers of our sect have been oppressed?”

Wood thud thud.

He stomped on the guy’s thigh bone with his foot and Soon-ri’s face turned red with pain.

“At that time it’s better to be really prepared. Actually I’m not that angry today. If I hear that our church has been oppressed… I’ll show you what real anger feels like.”

It was said that the Limen sect’s influence was spreading in China as well.

There is already sufficient justification for advancing into China.

To eliminate the Purifier and bring peace to mainland China.

It is more than enough justification.

It is also a good opportunity to legally expand the church.

Sun-Ri gritted her teeth after hearing what I said. Then she nodded while holding back a groan.

“…I get it.”

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“Okay I hope you keep that stance going forward. I don’t expect you to cooperate just don’t get in my way.”

It was the moment when Luna’s advance temple operation became a reality.

But before that we also had a problem to solve.

A step that must be taken before eliminating the purifiers that are parasitic on China.

Lost Land.

It was necessary to completely dispose of the remaining Purifier forces that still remained there.

I smiled faintly holding Sunri’s chin.

“Let’s get along well from now on.”

I think I gained quite a lot from this training.

All costs of the upcoming activities in China will be billed to the Chinese government.

I heard the Chinese government has a lot of dollars so they should use them to create a lot of divine punishment.

“answer.”

“…i get it.”

It’s good to be obedient. As expected those who don’t listen well need to be beaten a few times before they come to their senses.

They say there is no better means of communication than physical force.

2.

The second round of negotiations held the next day after the end of the duel between me and Sun-ri went in a completely different direction than the first round.

Sun-li who had refused to cooperate in all areas took the attitude of a person making a request only after being beaten up several times.

There were no requests for troop support but there were inquiries about purchasing several military supplies including the Punishment series.

The list of military supplies included many items belonging to our Order and I accepted the request on the authority of the Pope.

The selling price is 1.5 times the price of the holy water sold in the United States.

We currently have a shortage of intermediate-level items such as holy water.

I need to build more temples to increase the supply but I’m currently running low on sacred points because I’m building a shrine in Japan.

It was a reasonably adopted price.

Even if it is 1.5 times the price it is cheaper than the healing potions on the market.

“There is definitely a force coming from the population. The purchasing power is considerable.”

“Because it’s a country with a lot of money.”

Archbishop Laparte who was reading the results of the second round of negotiations in the temple’s office nodded with a satisfied expression.

I looked at Archbishop Laparte and said:

“Isn’t Brother Lin Tao in Shanghai?”

Lin Tao who chased after Shiyeon and then began his life as a fanatic by Archbishop Lapart.

Whenever something happened with China that person’s name suddenly came to mind.

“yes.”

“Can you connect?”

“It’s possible. I’ll connect you.”

Archbishop Lapart skillfully manipulated the tablet PC.

The stereotype that older people become less sensitive to new technologies does not actually apply to Archbishop Laparte.

According to Luna Archbishop Laparte is better at handling machines than she is and it seems like that’s true.

“Connected.”

Archbishop Lapart started a video call and handed me a tablet PC.

Lin Tao’s face as seen on the screen of a tablet PC.

Maybe it’s because I’ve had my hair shaved but now I feel a bit like a priest.

-May the mercy of Limen be with you! Your Holiness the sinful Lin Tao meets you!

“How are you Brother Lin Tao?”

-Thanks to Your Majesty’s constant care I am always doing well!

…Actually I don’t really care.

I continued talking with an awkward smile.

“What are the conditions there?”

– It’s not good. Sporadic fighting continues. Archbishop Lapart has been sending missionary funds continuously but all of those funds are being used up for relief. There are many civilian casualties… The situation is chaotic.

Lin Tao sent me some photos of the situation in Shanghai.

A house in ruins a half-collapsed building.

It seemed like it would not be an exaggeration to say that we were in the middle of a battlefield.

-Fortunately thanks to the brothers and sisters who have devoted themselves to the church the relief work is continuing without any major problems.

“How large is the congregation there?”

– It’s hard to give an exact count because of the circumstances. I estimate… it’s around 150000 people. Sorry.

“What are you sorry about?”

-I haven’t been able to gather as many followers as you expected. I will dedicate the rest of my life to missionary work.

It hasn’t been long since we started full-scale missionary work but there are already 150000 people.

somehow.

It seems like the divine power is rising steeply these days.

The real population cannot be ignored.

“What about the movements of the purifiers?”

-They are secretly supporting the rebels and not taking the lead. They seem to have moved their base in Shanghai to another place.

The fact that we’ve gone inland means that they’re aware of us too.

The US side has also given up on tracking down the purifiers.

Ultimately this means that the only way to destroy the Purifier is to thoroughly search that vast land.

-The current battle taking place inside Shanghai is between government forces and rebels supported by the Purifier. However there is something a bit strange about the battle.

Lin Tao was once a Chinese Awakener who continued his espionage activities.

If he felt something strange there was a good chance something was wrong.

So I decided to listen to him more.

“What do you mean when you say the battle pattern is strange?”

-That’s… Usually the battle should proceed in the form of subduing the rebels but it doesn’t. It’s like they’re fighting over something…

When I heard that I remembered what Sun-ri had said earlier.

Why the Chinese government took the blame and fought in Shanghai.

It is said that a unique dungeon has been created in Shanghai.

A unique dungeon where top-grade magic stones are scattered from the entrance.

According to the Chinese seers the rewards from that dungeon will change the course of the civil war?

So it is said that the battle is continuing over that dungeon.

When I heard that I thought it was really foolish.

Because countless civilians were sacrificed for a dungeon that might not even give any reward.

I ran my hand over my chin. Then after thinking for a moment I nodded and said.

“We will dispatch additional personnel.”

-If you say additional manpower…

“We will form a delegation to support relief and intelligence activities.”

Talks with the Chinese side have already been concluded.

Since missionary work was being carried out based in Shanghai it seemed like the best option would be to establish a base there as well.

We’ll need to find a place to build a temple so we’ll need to send at least one of the sect’s leaders.

Plus we need to include Lee Eun-taek who will help with espionage activities… One way or another there will inevitably be a lot of work involved.

I guess I’ll have to send one of Leona or Luna.

We’ll have to decide on that later through a meeting.

-I don’t know what to do with myself when His Holiness the Pope takes such great care of us.

“Aren’t we all brothers in Limen’s arms?”

I say this over and over again I love China.

So I always prayed that it would be divided into several parts.

Now that my wish has come true I think it’s time for me to do something for my beloved China.

We need to take this opportunity to aggressively expand our influence.

It is our church that has created a mood of reconciliation in Korea-Japan relations.

Wouldn’t a Korea-China relationship also be possible?

for example….

– Chinese people who believe in Limen are good Chinese people and trustworthy Chinese people! I will try to make those in His Holiness’ homeland think that way.

…Yeah that’s kind of the feeling.

Is it because Lin Tao is also a former spy? She knows very well what I want.

And I really hope that happens.

Limen is a god who treats everyone equally.

If we create a world where people respect each other Limen will definitely be happy.

So the call with Lin Tao ended and I returned the tablet PC to Archbishop Lapart.

The diplomatic and political issues with China have been somewhat resolved but one big issue still remains.

“Divine points and relics.”

Two things are absolutely necessary to build and stabilize a temple.

Divine points and relics.

I have to somehow get these two….

[A surprise quest occurs.]

[You can start the dungeon quest <Labyrinth of the Faceless>.]

[The quest starts at <Pyongyang> and the quest rewards are <30000 Holy Points> and <Random Holy Relic>.]

[Do you want to accept the quest?]

As if it had been waiting for this moment the system threw a bait at me when I needed two things.

This opportunistic guy.

Our Pope please stop this