Chapter 53 Special Competition
"Attention, attention, everyone, gather at the gate of the monastery. The Pope wants to make an announcement."

"Everyone go to the gate of the monastery, and all eyes are on the Pope!"

At the shouts of the decurions and the Apostolic Guards, the refugees were unwillingly driven to the gate of the monastery like a flock of sheep.

They touched their rumbling stomachs, gathered in twos and threes, shook off the dust on their bodies, and chatted lazily.

"What does the Pope want to do?"

A refugee pinched a black spot from his companion's body and crushed the round louse that was full of blood. "Actually, I have a question. Does the church know about our Gulag Pope?"

"Yeah, let's not let anything go wrong and get us involved."

"Hmph, don't talk nonsense. There is only one pope in the world, and in my heart there is only one pope, Crown Horn!"

"Yes, yes, you haven't seen the miracle that night, so you don't know how great it was!"

"What does this have to do with my harvest of 3,000 pounds of corn a year?"

The villagers helped each other catch lice, and amidst the noise, shouting, cursing and complaints, they finally waited for the new Pope to appear.

On the second day of the Coup, September 1444, 9 in the Imperial Calendar, the Pope of the Gulag Papal State finally had the opportunity to deliver his oath-taking speech.

"My fellow believers, I have good news to announce to you today." On the high wall of the monastery, Horn wore the Pope's vestments and held high the scepter that was about to fall from the cross.

"The church has sent a decree." Standing next to Horn, Madeleine picked up a piece of paper full of words and held it up to show, "When the Holy Father first came, he told them through oracles and prophecies.

The church has already recognized His Majesty's identity as the Holy Grandson, the Eye of God, and the Chosen One, and we, the people of Thousand River Valley, are about to elect a Pope.

But unfortunately, the Pope, as the patriarch of the world, feels that this is unfair.

His Holiness the old Pope has been the Pope for so many years, just like you have worked hard for so many years to become a forest ranger, but suddenly someone comes and asks you to give up your position.

This is too insulting and cruel.

So he proposed a duel so that he could exit with dignity.

But considering the old pope's age, we changed the way of dueling."

Taking over Madeleine's words, Horn continued loudly: "The duel will be a sacred knight competition witnessed by Amma Myrcella!"

Horn smiled and spread his hands, as if inviting the villagers: "Those who will fight must be selected from the people of our Gulag Papal State!"

As soon as Horn finished speaking, the refugees in front of the monastery were silent for a moment, and then the sound waves spread out like an explosion.

The so-called Knightly Tournament is a large-scale event held by the empire's nobles and knights to practice martial arts and simulate actual combat.

It serves the purpose of both entertainment and sacrifice, and is also a way to show off military strength.

Some poor knights often had to participate in knightly tournaments to gain fame, qualifications and money.

At the same time, with the development of the times, the Knights' Tournament has also taken on some functions of promoting talents.

A knight who shines in the arena is likely to gain the favor of aristocratic lord and get the opportunity to accompany him into battle, obtain fiefdoms and ransoms, and thus cross the threshold of high nobility.

Some armed peasants who accompanied the troops into battle would occasionally be promoted to become sergeants.

In an empire where the class ceiling for farmers is lower than their knees, this is a rare activity that allows people to cross classes.

But this is too far-fetched. Electing the Pope through knightly competitions?

But considering the deeds of this holy grandson of the Pope, it doesn't seem so strange.

"The competition is the business of the knights, why should we get involved?"

"How can we defeat those church soldiers and temple knights?"

"Everyone, fellow believers, don't panic!" Horn opened his arms and gently pressed down. "In this competition, since we don't have knights, for the sake of fairness, the church did not send knights."

“But in this case, won’t we still have to go to war with the church?” an armed farmer said with a worried look on his face.

"No, no, no. This is just a friendly competition, an exchange of martial arts within the church. It is just to let the old pope pass away in a more dignified way."

"What is friendly competition?" A question came from somewhere.

"That's a good question." Horn leaned against the edge of the courtyard wall and poked his head out from the six-meter-high wall. "Did you wrestle and fight when you were kids?"

"Of course I will."

"Friendly matches are just adults wrestling and fighting," Horn said with a gentle smile, "except that the sticks are replaced with spears and the branches are replaced with real swords."

For a moment, the villagers' whispers turned into waves, rising and falling in the sea of ​​people. "Does this mean we have to fight the sergeant from the church?"

"What do you mean by fighting? This is a competition. Do you see the knights in the knight competition fighting?"

"Will that kill anyone?"

"Nonsense, there are always deaths in every sports competition. Even if there is no sports competition, those kids will occasionally die when they fight."

"Then I'd better not go. I'm afraid of death..."

"Don't worry. I asked my mother yesterday. She hopes that those who died in this competition can be allowed to enter Paradise Mountain." Horn shouted loudly to the villagers.

The villagers who were originally hesitant immediately pricked up their ears. Whether they could enter the paradise of heaven after death was something they cared about very much.

"My mother said only three people are allowed. I said, OK, young people, middle-aged people and old people."

"My mother said only two people are allowed. I said, OK, a man and a woman."

"My mother said, only one person is allowed. I said, OK. My mother asked me, which one? I said everyone."

Horn picked up a piece of wood with traces of melted candles on it: "After waking up from a dream this morning, I saw the traces left by the burning candle last night, which means I agree!

Therefore, those who died in this sacred competition can directly ascend to Mount Paradise without having to go through the Hellfire. "

More people's eyes lit up. His Holiness the Pope was so wise that he actually secured the opportunity for them to enter Mount Paradise.

Cry to death.

"Of course, I mean those who die in battle and deliberately seek death will still go to hell." Horn immediately corrected his words.

"But I have two children at home. If I die and enter Mount Paradise, what will happen to them?"

"Coward, if you don't dare, don't play. We are still short of you. If you don't do it, there are plenty of people who will!"

"I'm afraid of pain. Besides, we have nothing. If we fight with bare hands, won't we definitely lose?"

"It would be such a waste if my newly married wife died."

Under the guidance of these pre-arranged secret party members, the villagers' thoughts, as expected, began to move in the pre-set direction.

The decision to keep Chilvis turned out to be the right one.

Although Grampven is a peripheral member of the secret party, unlike old secret party members like Chilvis, he is just a newcomer.

He couldn't control those secret party members who were stirring up trouble. Only Chilvis could control them and make them do what they wanted.

"Don't be afraid, my followers. I will provide you with weapons and train you so that you will have the strength to defeat them."

Horn held up five fingers and said, "I repeat again, this is not a war with the church, this is a special competitive event.

As long as you win this game, you will all have the credit for supporting the Pope.

Delicious white bread and a warm big house, don’t you want it? "

The villagers were speechless for a moment, but after thinking about it carefully, they realized that this was indeed the truth.

Anyway, it's not a war, it's just a special competitive event, and the ones being fought are not people from the church, but foreign forces.

Those young villagers who are interested in doing good things are even ready to try.

"I hope you can work hard to defeat the enemy and survive, because I will provide a generous bonus for those who survive."

Seeing that the time was right, Horn said loudly, "Each team will receive a battle merit ranking, and the team ranked first will receive an indulgence for the Beast Sin worth 40 gold pounds, and will be conferred the title of Baron!

The same goes for the rest of the people. Even the last one in line can be granted 20 mu of land."

Many people began to breathe heavily. It was a title. That was a title.

If this competition is won and His Holiness Horn becomes Pope, will he go back on his word?
Rector, in particular, was trembling with excitement. He really needed the indulgence for the crime of blood-related innocence.

Ever since his crimes were exposed, the respectful and friendly looks from before have disappeared, leaving only contempt and hushed discussions behind his back.

He needed an indulgence to clear his name.

"I won't force you to participate. If you don't want to participate, you don't have to." Horn put on a mysterious smile. "If you want to participate, go to Armand to sign up. The number of people I need is limited, so it's first come, first served."

(End of this chapter)