Tension and unease filled the parliamentary hall.
Not a soul present dared to respond to Bishop of Extinction Askesan.
Everyone was waiting for Sigrid's reply.
The premature, personal intervention of two Cardinals had initially filled the imperial nobles and ministers with anticipation for the clash. Yet as the situation escalated, many of them began to feel afraid.
Even though Franklin Hall was shielded by barriers and presided over by Great Sage Isis, they still worried that if these two natural-disaster-like supreme powerhouses truly came to blows, the fallout of a major battle breaking out at close quarters might sweep over them.
Isis listened in silence. As the Imperial Great Sage, her very presence was a symbol of authority and power.
She had no intention of intervening in the Resurrection Church's internal disputes.
Or rather, if it was a matter the Resurrection Church could resolve internally, she preferred to simply sit back and let them handle it.
"Different positions and different occasions call for different conduct," Sigrid spoke slowly. "Some people never resolve problems through rational means. Even though they are grown adults, their mindset and behavioral patterns remain like those of a one-year-old child."
She looked toward Askesan, speaking with a faint smile.
"Sigrid, don't try to change the subject. Just because I accidentally killed a few of your high clerics back then, you came looking to risk your life against me. Now I'm giving you a chance to kill me, yet you don't dare take the field. Guilty conscience, is it?"
Askesan did not treat her words as an insult at all, continuing his questioning.
"I have no need to take up your challenge. As I said, when you see me a month from now, your only option will be to scurry away like a rat."
Sigrid looked at Askesan as though he were utterly laughable.
A completely shameless man.
"Unfortunately, you're thinking too far ahead. Look at the expressions of everyone from the Protos Empire in the seats. They've already begun to doubt your strength. Taking action shouldn't be so difficult for you that you'd rather lose an election you painstakingly prepared for just to hide your power, would it?"
Askesan's provocation was razor-sharp, his voice dripping with scorn as he pressed Sigrid.
"It was because of a useless bishop like you that your Saintess died such a gruesome death... You can't blame that on me, nor can you blame Anello. If anyone is to blame, blame her for getting saddled with a Bishop of Domination like you."
Those words made everyone from the Empire break out into a cold sweat.
Every single word from Askesan seemed designed to probe Sigrid's bottom line.
Faced with such provocation, Sigrid's fingers twitched slightly. She appeared to be doing everything in her power to remain calm and avoid escalating the situation.
Everyone knew that once blows were struck, the consequences would be unpredictable.
However, Sigrid's persistent evasion and forbearance had an adverse effect, eliciting mixed reactions among the nobles and ministers in the gallery.
More and more people began to doubt Sigrid's true strength. Murmurs in the hall grew increasingly frequent, and unconcealable looks of skepticism and suspicion multiplied.
For Sigrid, this was undoubtedly enormous pressure.
The high clerics of the Domination branch could clearly sense that whether Bishop of Extinction Askesan's claims were true or false, he had achieved his goal.
Askesan's provocation struck right where it hurt. If the southern supporters wavered entirely, it would deal a fatal blow to Sigrid's chances in the upcoming bishop election.
If this continued, the Domination branch was bound to lose.
"Sigrid, shouldn't you prove yourself? We in the Resurrection Church can't go deceiving our friends in the Protos Empire," Askesan asked with immense patience, his posture conveying that he was ready at any moment for Sigrid to prove her strength to the Empire's powerbrokers—and that he was more than happy to serve as her sparring partner.
During the standoff, Askesan cast his eyes around the upper tiers of the assembly.
Right now, no one dared speak up for Sigrid.
Even though Sigrid's mysterious Holy Son of Domination might very well be an imperial noble of Protos—meaning there was a possibility he was attending today's election as a member of the House of Lords rather than sitting among the Domination high clerics—no matter where the Holy Son of Domination was hiding, Askesan was certain that the fellow had definitely come today to aid the isolated Sigrid.
"Askesan, what I wish to demonstrate to the Protos Empire is not the intimidation and brute force you so habitually rely on, but the possibility of cooperation and coexistence. However, if you insist that I prove I possess martial might surpassing yours, then I will gladly oblige."
Sigrid's voice chilled as she finished her sentence to Askesan.
Standing in the center of the parliamentary hall, her figure appeared remarkably resolute amid the near-boiling tension. Beneath the watchful eyes of all, she looked up toward Isis seated high above, her voice carrying a tinge of helpless determination.
"Great Sage Isis, I request that you witness a fair duel between bishops. Let everyone present see whether I, Sigrid, possess the strength befitting a Cardinal at this very moment."
Sigrid's acceptance of the challenge immediately set Franklin Hall into an uproar.
Although no one could yet be certain whose words were true and whose were false, at least Sigrid was willing to fight!
Upon hearing this, Askesan's expression shifted slightly as well, the smirk at the corner of his lips gradually flattening out.
That was the posture of someone ready to kill a nemesis.
Beside the seat of Emperor Franklin III of the Protos Empire...
"..."
Isis lightly tapped the armrest with her right hand, not granting approval immediately, seemingly mulling something over.
The restrictions here could not be lifted; otherwise, Askesan and Sigrid might wipe out numerous high-ranking imperial figures in one breath.
If they moved to another location, significant complications might arise en route.
As the heart of the Protos Empire, Herrom had an extremely dense population. Although it possessed several potential battlegrounds equipped with ancient barriers, which—combined with her own barrier containment and control—would allow two Cardinals to go all out, every option required careful consideration of fairness to ensure the battle's impact was kept to a minimum.
She also had to consider how to judge victory and defeat, and how to step in to stop the battle when necessary.
Otherwise, if a Cardinal were to die within the Protos Empire, it might cause no small trouble once that Pope returned in the future. If the Pope insisted that the Protos Empire had instigated and assisted in the Cardinals' internal strife, the Resurrection Church would relentlessly pursue the matter with the Protos Empire.
*Sigh, why are humans so troublesome? If I had known, I wouldn't have agreed to Emperor Franklin's request to protect the Protos Empire for him.*
If she ever encountered a historical projection of the Holy War from a century ago in a Shadow World someday, she would definitely give herself that advice.
Her left hand propping up her chin, Isis sat cross-legged on the high-backed chair, gazing out at the hall with an exasperated look.
Chapter 470