Out of her instinct as a citizan of Holletta, Becky was still very nervous in the face of the powerful people, whom she had heard about since she was just a child. However, Hao Ren did not feel that way. He had been to the Helcrown; every single one of Y'zaks'officers was more imposing than all of the ones in front of him at the moment. The protectors of Helcrown could establish law and order with just their faces. Hao Ren's nerves had since been hardened.
So he just nodded to His Majesty, Mhoren as he said, "Nice to meet you, Your Majesty."
Mhoren did not feel offended by their bluntness. Like ordinary elderly folk, he smiled and said, "Please have a seat, save the formality. This is a very special meeting. I hope everyone can be open and honest."
They then sat down at the long table. Vivian skilfully carried out a small talk with the officers, and Ophra spoke to the king about a few things: she could be reporting some serious business to the king, but Hao Ren had no clue what it was about. Shortly after, the pope and the king looked up and began to ask about the First Born. Just as they were about to open their mouths, Lily who was sitting next to Hao Ren could not help but grimace. "Where's the food... When will we start eating?"
His Majesty, Mhoren choked. The old pope, who was straight-faced all this while, just stared at Lily in astonishment. Obviously, they had not expected this. They treated the meeting seriously like it was an encounter of the third kind. From the outset, the state's affair was the only thing on their mind, the banquet was to be rightly put off till the end of the meeting. Conversely, Lily had come solely for the dinner...
If it was not because of the fact that honest people and politicians were always at odds, then it had to be that the politicians' minds could not keep up with Lily's appetite.
"Did I say something wrong?" Lily was not that stupid. She noticed the odd atmosphere as she scratched her head and looked around. "I can wait if the meal isn't ready yet. Meanwhile, can I have a snack or something? Because, I didn't have enough at noon."
As Lily's voice trailed off, Becky as well as the Nangong Wuyue also followed suit and nodded. The two of them were also hungry. They only had a couple cups of tea in the afternoon when they heard that they could dine with the king and the pope. Grub was their only purpose there.
Vivian and Hao Ren could only hide their faces in their hands for having such embarrassing mates.
Ophra hemmed and glanced at Mhoren. "That's why I told you not to use the practice of the court."
Mhoren had a queer look on his face as he told the valets to prepare the meal. Hao Ren sensed that things would be ruined if the current atmosphere continued. So, he quickly went straight to business before the old pope raised his platinum scepter and whacked them. "I believe Ophra has told you about our situation, but let me stress it again: we've come from another world, hence we are what you call 'foreigners'. My task is to deal with all sorts of nasty things, such as the First Born on this planet. Our rule is to not interfere with the development of the civilization. I have no interest in your politics, military, religion, economy or any other things. My only purpose is to solve the problem of the First Born as it is a threat to this planet."
Mhoren as well as the old pope nodded slightly, and said that they had learned about it before hand. It was on this premise that the secret meeting was arranged.
"Now, tell me about the two sacred caves. What's the situation of those two First Borns at the moment?"
"According to intelligence and ancient manuscripts brought back by Marshal Ophra, we did find strong evidence of the existence of the First Borns," said Cardinal Orben with a hoarse voice. The scary runic tattoo on his face moved as he spoke. "We found the outer door and managed to open the first barrier. We also found a large number of strange tentacles and secret chambers with ancient texts deep in the ground. We also discovered relics of the first pope. All the evidence conclusively point to the existence of the First Borns. However, we haven't opened the last door, so no one has seen the First Borns in person. The biggest progress now is the discovery of only a few tentacles and sarcomas.
Lily had been slobbering as she eyeballed the valets, who were serving the grub on the table. She curiously asked as she heard what Cardinal Orben said, "Why didn't you open the last door? Aren't the First Borns still sleeping?"
"We were worried that we would wake them up," the old pope said. His voice was soft, but clear. "I personally went and took a look at those tentacles. They really possess the primitive energy that created the world in the beginning. It is beyond the comprehension of us mortals. We can't take any risks. Once another First Born wakes up, no one can summon a pillar of fire from the clouds to destroy that creature."
Ophra looked at Hao Ren. "So, we've been waiting for you."
"Very well to be cautious." Hao Ren exhaled. "The sounder the thing sleeps, the better. By the way, how is the safety device?"
"After we learned that the suppressor of the First Born was in the Divine Sarcophagus, we moved it deeper underground, so that it was closer to the First Borns," said Prince Hoffman. "But, we do not know the conditions required for them to work. No one knows how to inspect the device. It is a great device created by the goddess, and no one understands how it works. We only know that the First Born is still asleep... just asleep for the moment."
Mhoren sighed. "All along, we have misunderstood the functions of the sacred caves and the Divine Sarcophagus. Only a few people know the existence of these things. Had we disclosed these information earlier or had the church scholars studied them, perhaps we would have long discovered the existence of the First Born."
The old pope shook his head and said, "But it could have also meant waking the First Born prematurely. We can't afford to let that happen. Cautiousness may have delayed our understanding of the sacred relics, but at least we avoided an early destruction."
"The key now is how to solve this problem. Even if the suppressor works well, it can only last for less than a year," said Ophra as she turned to look at Hao Ren. "At present, it seems that you are the only one capable of eliminating the First Born. But honestly, after examining your 'measures' in the Beinz area... I think it's better to think of a better solution if possible."
Prince Hoffman shrugged wackily. "Although it brought us a crystal jungle, it was a bit too overwhelming. And to be honest, the places where the other two First Borns lie aren't exactly suitable for the Beinz method to be employed."
Hao Ren waved his hand and said, "Rest assured, the orbital bombardment is only the last resort. I'm not willing to use it to risk collateral damage. Now, we have several months to consider a more gentle way to deal with the First Borns. In the meantime, I would like to take a look at the site first—see how the suppressor is doing and how the two First Borns are getting along. I hope you that can help with arrangements."
Cardinal Orben lowered his head slightly. Some of the weird runes on his forehead emanated a soft glow as he cautiously said, "Of course, but I hope the entire process can be conducted under the supervision of the Church. After all, it is our sacred land. Inside the cave is not only the First Born, but also the earliest heritage of the Church."
Hao Ren gladly agreed. Then, something he had almost forgotten suddenly crossed his mind. He took out a thick, black book from his Dimensional Pocket. "There's another thing. It's sad that the clerics of the Disciples of Glory need to go through a sacred ritual known as the Branding Ritual to gain the blessings of the goddess, and grasp the power of divine skills as well as the ability to have dialogue with the goddess. We are curious about this ritual."
"Is that our scripture?" A weird expression flashed across Orben's eyes. "It's an internal secret book for high-ranking clergies... Where did you get it from?"
"The four ascetics gave it to me," Hao Ren explained. "They hope that the teachings of the goddess can be spread, and I do know some of the things related to the Disciples of Glory. I guess the ritual isn't something wicked, is it?"
Originally, in order to learn more about the goddess of creation, Hao Ren had asked for a canonized piece of scripture from Big Beardy. It not only recorded the dogmas of the Disciples of Glory and the legend of the goddess, but also many sacred rituals that only the clergy knew. This included the Branding Ritual, which each official priest had to undergo. It was said that after the ceremony, ordinary people would be able to use the divine skills from the goddess and get in touch with the voice of the goddess.
Hao Ren used to think that this was just superstitious, but he soon discovered that the four ascetics could really establish connection with the voice of the higher being through meditation. So he was immediately interested in the Branding Ritual.
Did the Disciples of Glory really have the means to establish contact with the goddess of creation? If this was the case... could they find the whereabouts of the goddess of creation?
This might be a breakthrough in revealing the veil of the goddess and the First Born. Hao Ren was very much looking forward to this.
After Cardinal Orben, and the pope heard the request, they were silent.