Demon Bible

Chapter 171: Where is the Saint Child from Back Then?

Dong He nodded, not catching the underlying issue, thinking Nemus was complimenting him.

Although an Iron-rank priest's thinking speed and calculation ability were greatly enhanced, that was merely speed; it didn't equate to their way of thinking.

Wisdom was wisdom, and speed was speed.

Hearing Nemus say this, the pent-up frustration he had felt over the past six months seemed to be instantly swept away.

For the past half-year, his grandfather, Dong Luo, had constantly compared him to Nemus.

Nemus seemed to have become the golden child, while he, Dong He, was inferior to Nemus in every conceivable way.

Although he knew Nemus was formidable and that Nemus partnered with his family in the smuggling business, being constantly belittled eventually made him harbor resentment toward Nemus, leaving him feeling deeply stifled.

But now, he felt he would never have to endure that grievance again.

Moreover, while his family previously possessed influence, they lacked actual authority.

That was why their smuggling operations required a partnership with Nemus.Yet the tavern and the distribution channels all belonged to his family, while Nemus took a substantial cut of the smuggling profits.

This had always left him indignant.

Now that he was going to become a bishop, he would fill that void of authority himself.

In that case, it seemed he could finally kick Nemus out of their future smuggling endeavors.

Of course, to maintain appearances, he could perhaps leave Nemus a small share and toss him some dividends.

Immersed in his own thoughts, Dong He failed to notice that after Nemus spoke, the majority of the people who had just voiced their support for him abruptly shut their mouths, acting as if they had never supported him at all.

On the other side, the other two competitors currently harbored their own thoughts.

Roman currently served in the Judgment Squad.

Although a noble himself, he was a rare member of the Governance Faction among the nobility.

In terms of factions, they were Gotthard's people.

Recently, the Governance Faction had used the Judgment Squad to submit several applications to enter a level-one state of alert, but they had been thwarted from multiple directions.

It was safe to say that the Governance Faction had failed to truly establish a foothold on the Azure Sky Whale.

Regardless of why Guilliman had singled him out this time, he felt he absolutely had to compete for the bishop position.

If he could become the bishop, the Governance Faction would be able to rise to power in Tail Fin Town.

Perhaps they could even use Tail Fin Town as a stronghold to gradually defeat the Enclosure Faction led by Guilliman.

Meanwhile, Isabella did not care much for power; she cared about Guilliman's true motive for dragging her into this.

Her gaze instinctively landed on Rhine.

The former bishop remained completely silent, seemingly fading into the background of the meeting.

At this moment, Isabella faintly sensed a problem—perhaps getting them to fight amongst themselves was Guilliman's actual goal.

Looking at it now, that estate definitely had a massive underlying issue.

And it was likely closely connected to Rhine.

Guilliman forcing Rhine to step down and making them compete might fundamentally be a ploy to protect Rhine.

'Once the competition begins, even if my heart isn't set on the bishop's seat, I'll still be targeted by the other two candidates,' Isabella realized.

Power struggles were the most cannibalistic of all.

Like a massive whirlpool, once dragged in, it was incredibly difficult to escape.

And at this time, Rhine, having stepped down from his position, could flee this whirlpool and attend to his own affairs undisturbed.

After all, he was "unwell."

Past disturbances would have nothing to do with him, making it difficult for Isabella to investigate him. She was virtually certain that any action she took would be obstructed by her two rivals, making it hard to execute anything effectively.

Furthermore, the Judgment Squad had also been dragged into the mud.

Isabella glanced at Roman. His emotions could not escape her perception; it was obvious Roman had taken the bait.

The moment he entered the fray, it meant the Judgment Squad and the Governance Faction had joined as well.

At this point, even if she laid out the facts and told them there was a problem with Rhine, they were highly likely to simply ignore her.

Isabella never believed the Governance Faction was truly devoted to the Church.

The Governance Faction constantly preached about governing the world, yet their very first step in doing so was precisely to centralize power.

More often than not, their crackdowns on illegal and rule-breaking activities were not simply because such actions were wrong, but rather to use the opportunity to strike at their rivals and thereby seize more power.

Because of this, Isabella could not help but feel a sense of hesitation.

Her gaze instinctively drifted back to Nemus.

Right now, it seemed the only person she could trust and turn to for a way out was Nemus.

Nemus looked at Isabella, a plan already forming in his mind: he would tell her not to participate in this competition, but rather to keep a close eye on Rhine.

While he did not know exactly what Rhine was up to, Nemus held fast to a core principle—Tail Fin Town did not need an existence more formidable than himself.

The estate was highly likely connected to the Golden Elixir, and whatever Rhine was doing right now was almost certainly tied to advancing to the Golden rank.

Under these circumstances, once Rhine successfully advanced, the entire landscape of Tail Fin Town would be completely overturned.

At the very least, many of Nemus's plans would have to be delayed because of it.

Even if Rhine was subsequently transferred out of Tail Fin Town and sent to Sky Spring City as a result.

The historical trajectory of this time period would still slip completely out of Nemus's control.

At this moment, Nemus truly felt a hint of the utter helplessness Westbin had experienced.

Being at the crossroads of history did not merely provide a tailwind; it was simultaneously an immense challenge.

If one could not stabilize the situation when struck by external forces and lost their grip, they were highly likely to crash and burn.

This was exactly the case right now.

Guilliman was that external force; his sudden appearance forcefully impacted the history of Tail Fin Town.

Or rather, a greater historical shift was influencing the historical trajectory of this small locale.

At a time like this, the only thing Nemus had to do was stabilize the situation.

As for Rhine, he absolutely could not be allowed to advance successfully.

'Or perhaps, this sort of historical change is inherently a part of history itself,' Nemus faintly realized in his heart. 'Westbin failed to grasp the change and could not use the momentum to push himself further, so he lost everything.'

'And now, this matter with Rhine might be a challenge, but at the same time, it could also be an opportunity.'

'Rhine, or rather, the thing Rhine is currently doing, is highly likely the very thing that can allow me to step into the Golden rank ahead of schedule.'

Those vague concepts Nemus had previously grasped were brought to the forefront of his mind at this moment.

Now, Nemus was fifty to sixty percent certain that his conjecture was correct.

'The Saint Child Project.'

'The old pastor has conducted numerous experiments over all these years.'

'Twenty years ago, when the Church's experiment concluded, the Azure Sky Whale was still ruled by Guilliman.'

'So, where is the Saint Child from back then?'

With these thoughts in mind, Nemus looked at Rhine.