Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam-Chapter 887 - 179: I’ve Got Your Back, Ba Zi

"Extra, extra, Pope Carlo-Esposito delivered a public speech at the Crown of Dawn Cathedral, addressing Destruction Day and the return of the Goddess of Life!"

Before departing, Ave thoughtfully prepared a thick stack of newspapers from the Far West for Ethan, which included personal information about this elder.

Carlo-Esposito was born to an ordinary family of Church Court believers in the Far West and entered a monastery for theological education at a young age. At the age of 12, he met a friend in the monastery who had a huge impact on his life, Julius. Even after Julius left the Far West and returned to the empire to become the Pope, the two maintained close contact.

As the ruler of the Papal State in the Far West, Carlo advocated for tolerance and inclusion among different sects and maintained long-term relations with leaders of voodoo, necromancy, and holy word sects, forming a force in the Far West that even the empire couldn’t underestimate.

This is also the source of Carlo-Esposito’s confidence in openly resisting the empire’s religious reforms.

Under Carlo’s guidance, the residents of the Far West still believe that Julius was victimized by the Evil God’s Followers, and that the Evil God has polluted the empire’s soil, turning it into a land of evil and destruction, while the Life Divine Teachings believers who remain in the empire, still stubborn and unrepentant, have been stripped of their legitimate believer status by the Far West.

"Theological Compatibility Argument: The pursuit of ’divine power’ by different faiths is essentially of the same origin, all preparing for the impending Destruction Day."

This is the theory Carlo proposed during his speech.

Ethan acknowledged that Carlo had both charisma and political skill. The series of theories he proposed firmly bound the many sects of the Far West together with the Life Divine Teachings. Moreover, he cleverly exploited people’s fear of "Destruction Day," making the people of the Far West believe that only the Life Divine Teachings could save them from the apocalypse.

Ethan still remembered the look in Ave’s eyes when she handed him this stack of newspapers.

She lightly coughed and specifically emphasized the barren and hot climate of the Far West, suggesting that unexpected explosion incidents were not unusual in such an environment.

Ethan felt something must have gone wrong.

Why did he increasingly seem like a terrorist in others’ eyes lately?

More than once, he stressed to Ave that his trip to the Far West was solely to visit Saint Mary, and he would never shout "I’m a magnetic pump" and rush into the Crown of Dawn Cathedral with explosives to blow Pope Carlo to the skies.

Facing Ethan’s self-defense, Ave calmly responded, "No need to be so direct. Use some covert means. You could disguise it as a fireplace explosion."

Alas!

Ave had indeed changed, turning into an iron-blooded politician.

From these stacks of newspapers, it wasn’t hard to see the diplomatic troubles Carlo had brought her internationally. Aside from the empire, not everyone was willing to buy the "Imperial Truth." After all, every kingdom had more or less its myths about True Gods and Middle-Level Gods, and the Life Divine Teachings of the Far West better fit the historical development trend.

Moreover, the diplomatic relations between the empire and the Far West almost completely ceased after Julius’s death, with the Life Divine Teachings withdrawing all teleportation points, making the only way to visit the Far West via teleportation array to the empire’s western border, and then taking the most traditional carriage to the Far West border.

To help Ethan sneak into the Far West, Ave used all her connections, finally getting in touch with a few old friends.

"Senzi."

The voice calling from the opposite seat of the luxurious carriage was faint. Based on Ethan’s experience, whenever Lindong used such a term, it meant she was somewhat unhappy.

"Ah?"

"Why are you sitting so far from me?"

Her reddish eyes stared at him, and Lindong patted her knee, "Are you afraid I’ll eat you or something?"

"Hard to say..."

"Oh?"

Lindong tilted her head adorably, but her increasingly sharp eyes seemed less cute, "There will be lots of bumps along the way, and you didn’t sleep well last night. Why not come over and take a nap?"

Hearing this, Bazatous No.3 cast a puzzled look at the two of them.

Did Old Sen not rest well last night?

"I still have a case of hornet’s honey original liquid here..."

"No, thank you."

Ethan immediately and warily hugged the fluffy Miss Keroy in his arms. Recently, Miss Keroy had just replaced her feathers, making her much fluffier. She was warm and cuddly, like a super-sized cushion.

As Ethan said, Alchemists were the most dangerous group of people in this world.

This journey to the Far West was incredibly perilous, and Miss Keroy was the only reliable partner he could trust.

Before departing, Ethan hired Miss Keroy to serve as his alchemical consultant for five lamb legs as payment.

"I’ll read the newspaper here for a while. Besides, I’m holding Miss Keroy, so lying down isn’t very convenient."

Used as a shield, Miss Keroy innocently looked around, cooing softly. Just now, Lindong had given her a fierce look, making her feel that maybe the pay of five lamb legs was too little.

As for Ethan’s other usual bodyguard, Little Dark, she was taken down by the evil alchemist Lindong before they even set out this morning.

Ethan saw with his own eyes as Lindong handed Little Dark a bottle of amber-colored drink, deceiving her that it was apple juice.