"Otto, you have come"
Archbishop Nicolás of Schicksal looked at the two young women with his clouded eyes.
"And the head of the Kaslana family..."
"Yes, Father"
Otto bowed slightly and waited for the old man, who was her father, to say something.
Over the years, her father had become increasingly frail and old.
Or perhaps it was the blow of this failed Eastern Expedition that made this warlord look so old and decrepit?
"The Eastern Expedition has failed..."
"The immortal of Shenzhou is too powerful, her history is even longer than Schicksal's, before such an enemy, Schicksal's defeat is natural"
Otto responded calmly, while Kallen by her side kept a serious face, pretending to be a tree.
"Yes, that is a reason that can convince me"
Nicolás nodded, but then his tone turned somber.
"But this reason cannot convince our allies, they do not care about the strength of the immortal of Shenzhou; they only know that the most powerful military force of Schicksal in a thousand years has suffered a crushing defeat in the East"
"Instead of saying they returned defeated, it would be more accurate to say they were completely annihilated in a single blow"
Otto was sarcastic on the inside, but her face still showed an expression of respectful listening.
"Our allies could turn into hungry wolves at any moment and bite a piece of meat from our three families."
Nicolás's tone was very heavy.
"We also have Valkyries," Otto replied, pretending ignorance.
"You do not need to pretend to be like your second brother"
Nicolás coughed several times.
"You must know that, if our allies decide to attack us, they can use the so-called Valkyrie"
It was only in recent years, through the spread of the Black Death and the Honkai collapse, that Schicksal came to control all of Europe; before that, Schicksal's influence was limited.
Nowadays, is it important for kingdoms and duchies to keep Valkyries at home?
At most, they simply do not have specialized weaponry.
Besides, you can easily improvise weapons after winning a couple of local skirmishes, right?
Do you even understand what "captured weapons" means?
Furthermore, in these times, Schicksal has not completely separated itself from mundane affairs due to the technological gap...
"Are things that bad?"
After her own father told her that, Otto could no longer keep pretending.
"There has already been friction between Hungary and the Habsburg family"
Nicolás sat in a chair, feeling somewhat exhausted.
"If it does not stop, the war could soon spread to Vienna"
"Changing the puppet might not be a bad thing"
Otto said softly.
This made Nicolás look at her daughter, who was usually the least visible person in the world.
In the past, he simply thought she was intelligent and witty... but now it seems her daughter is much more ruthless than he imagined.
"Why get involved in mundane struggles? Are we not strong enough to protect ourselves? Or have we lost confidence in winning within the rules?"
"With the authority of the Church and its military strength, perhaps we are too weakened to defeat all of Europe, but can we still not defeat them alone?"
"Good idea, although there may be temporary losses, changing puppets would not be bad"
Nicolás lowered his gaze.
"I am sure I am getting old and my eyesight is failing; I have actually made a mistake. "
Otto, his youngest daughter... she not only inherited her mother's cunning and her own playfulness, but she was even more ruthless than him... the student has surpassed the master.
With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Nicolás changed the subject.
"I heard you had a conflict with Father Victor over indulgences?"
"Yes, forcing people to buy indulgences is quite shameless"
Otto nodded and Kallen, who was pretending to be a tree, had a slight change in her eyes.
"This is a necessary step; Schicksal needs to regain its strength as soon as possible"
Nicolás spoke slowly; lately he carried too much burden on his shoulders.
"I will remind him to tone it down, alright, you two can return now"
"How..."
Kallen could not maintain the act after hearing Nicolás's superficial response, and immediately wanted to explode.
However, Otto grabbed her and dragged her outside.
"Otto, why are you stopping me?"
Once outside, Kallen could no longer contain herself and pulled her hand away from Otto, demanding an explanation.
It is clear that Kallen is truly angry.
"Does it matter what you say? Unless you are planning a rebellion, a rebellion against all of Schicksal, a rebellion against your Kaslana family, the indulgences were proposed by the Apocalypse family, but the benefit comes from all of Schicksal"
"..."
Kallen paused.
Although she did not believe her father would take advantage of her, it was realistic: her family was not just her and her father.
Brothers and sisters of the same generation, uncles and elders above, and followers of the Kaslana family below.
This is a thousand-year-old noble family.
It is obvious that there is not a single line of succession, nor was whoever failed to become head of the family murdered.
She only understood it after becoming head of the family.
Although in a sense it was coercion, what could she do?
"I acted impulsively"
Kallen rubbed her forehead, looking completely dejected.
"Life goes on, you cannot stop the indulgences, but you can certainly mess with them," Otto assured her.
"Rob the rich to help the poor?" Kallen immediately laughed again.
"Yes! Since they accumulate wealth so brazenly, I will help you distribute it!"
Otto was also very satisfied to see Kallen's excited expression.
"I am leaving now, Kallen, remember not to talk about this"
"Don't worry, don't worry! I know what I'm doing!"
As she watched Kallen skip and hop home, Otto shook her head with an ironic smile.
"Otto, you don't actually want the indulgences to end, do you?"
Otto was startled by Tian Shi's sudden voice.
"It is more accurate to say that you have high hopes that Schicksal continues to grant indulgences"
"No, my God, I..." Otto's face showed an expression of panic.
"Don't forget who saw you grow up," Tian Shi said in a low voice.
Upon hearing this, Otto immediately showed a bitter and helpless smile.
That's right, Tian Shi was right.
Compared to Kallen, who is full of morals and wants to end the indulgences, Otto knows she has no morals at all.
Forget about forced buying and selling; Otto would prefer Schicksal to lead its people to loot homes and pillage the land, and then cause natural disasters and man-made calamities, ideally leaving bones exposed in the wilderness, with no rooster crowing for miles.
That way, the lower levels of Schicksal would be in complete chaos.
"Only when heaven grants indulgences can the lower classes cause chaos"
Otto hid her dangerous thoughts and expressed them in the most harmless way possible.
"That will be the best time to overthrow the corrupt Schicksal"
"Rebellion? But you are also a member of Schicksal"
"I am just a weak and powerless woman, who would recognize me? I can put on makeup, change my appearance and infiltrate the rebel army. I can even take Kallen with me," Otto said with self-deprecation.
If you truly recognize someone, find a pretext to kill them.
Dying in the chaos of battle is not a new excuse.
"What will happen after overthrowing Schicksal?" Tian Shi felt something didn't add up.
"Find an excuse to clean up my behavior, get back on the right track and start over"
Otto shrugged.
This was her plan B.
If her two older brothers did not dare to touch her father, this was a way to make them look good.
If it were re-established this way, would she not naturally become the Archbishop of Schicksal?
"Is it so easy to clean up one's own actions and get out of trouble?"
"Nowadays there are still people stupid enough to ruin themselves buying indulgences, so is it really that hard for me to clear my name and get out of trouble?"
Otto replied naturally.
"..."
Tian Shi remained silent.
The current Otto looked more and more like the Otto he remembered.
Although she still possessed some arrogant and distant qualities, her actions...
However, Otto actually had some things she didn't say.
She infiltrated the rebel army, created a new God for them and, along the way, established a new religious sect.
What?
Are you saying that those suffering the oppression of the church could never accept a new denomination?
No, no, no.
Based on Otto's experience over the years, if there were a rebellion, most likely the rebels would accept a new denomination and a new God.
To put it bluntly, the rebellion might even be anti-religious, but not anti-God.
This is a spiritual refuge.
The church is the church, but God still loves the world!
However, on the other hand, some people may believe in God their whole life and still not know what kind of God they believe in.
So Otto thought that, even if it might be difficult to establish a new sect, she could simply change the content of God's body so that the rebels wouldn't even notice.
Well, Otto's idea is that she doesn't treat common people as human beings.
Otto herself knows it, so she didn't dare tell Tian Shi.
"You are not human!"
Tian Shi couldn't help but say it.
"Are you not now a legitimate candidate for the position of Bishop of Schicksal?"
Otto's claim that she has no power or influence is true: she really has no power in Schicksal.
The problem is that once Otto's talent begins to shine, no one can stop it.
If Otto hadn't been so obsessed with Kallen in the original timeline, she would have been the Archbishop of Schicksal a long time ago, wouldn't she?
Nicolás had already begun to prepare Otto as his successor, but Otto was completely focused on Kallen, which made Nicolás feel the boy was wasting time.
So, eventually, Nicolás had no choice but to give the position to his grandson.
Furthermore, Otto now has a group of firm female followers, such as Kallen and Cheng Lingshuang.
One is power and the other, the fist.
With both combined, who can stop her?
"If we really compete, we will inevitably end up following in the footsteps of Emperor Taizong of Tang"
Otto's expression was quite strange.
She knew her own thoughts; from start to finish, she never wanted to be a "family killer".
For no other reason than to maintain her image in the eyes of God.
According to her plan, Plan A should be to sit and watch the two fight, wait for her sister or brother to kill her father, then let the two decide a winner and, finally, she would clean up the mess.
Even if she still had to kill her own father, doing so would only be a way to stain someone with a dirty accusation, like killing her father, brother or sister, and then having their crimes listed as a matter of justice and righteousness.
Her? Of course, she transformed into the selfless Bishop Otto.
A parricide? That doesn't exist!
If they fought seriously, the result could be killing her sister and her brother; at most, they could avoid imprisoning her father.
After all, some people's ambitions are impossible to suppress.
Or perhaps their ambition blinded them, preventing them from assessing the situation.
Now Otto has three paths to choose from.
Plan A: Sit and watch the tigers fight, then come out and reap the rewards, finally remaining as a pure and innocent person.
Plan B: Force a rebellion among the lower classes, then infiltrate and spread the divine faith, although if done right, one will still be portrayed as a righteous and altruistic hero... but...
But hasn't she already exposed it?
Plan C... C goes without saying, it is a direct confrontation, the only plan that is difficult to detach from competition.
Otto sighed.
"I will leave everything in God's hands"
"As long as you don't treat people like trash, you can do with them as you wish"
Tian Shi could tell from Otto that the girl already had a plan in mind, but she just wanted to follow his wishes.
"If you really want to have fun, sooner or later you will end up against Kallen... Do I have to explain Kallen's insight and her extraordinary luck to you?"
"Why don't you just say that Kallen is a troublemaker? Why do you say she has 'incredible luck'?"
Otto rarely makes sarcastic remarks.
However, Otto agreed with Tian Shi's words.
Although Otto felt her moral values were very different from Kallen's, she did not want to lose Kallen as a friend, given the option.
Although every time I see the other person's figure, I feel like I want to end the friendship.
Kallen has a terrible facility for getting into trouble.
If I go too far, I might not be able to hide it from her.
I could be caught at any moment.
Since God wants me to choose for myself, I would naturally choose Plan A; after all, Plan B is essentially a backup option in case Plan A fails.
C... well, C is the only option that Otto mentioned as an alternative out of respect for her own God.
Why rush if she can be a clever strategist?
Besides, A does not dare to do anything on her own, she just waits for her brothers to collapse on their own.
She doesn't have to do anything but clean up the mess, and no one can criticize her.
"I understand, I will be more careful from now on"
Otto nodded.
"Besides... I have one more question"
Now that things had reached this point, Otto felt she might as well take the opportunity and ask the questions she wanted to ask.
"What is the problem?"
Seeing that Otto had figured it out, Tian Shi breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Otto's compatibility is now close to 6, he still cannot say he can completely restrain Otto.
Therefore, Tian Shi's tone was very polite when Otto was about to ask a question.
"Lord God, if we part when will we be able to meet again?"
Otto gathered her courage and asked.
"..."
This was a problem Tian Shi had not considered.
To be honest, I don't think I'll have a pleasant relationship with Otto in the future, okay?
He stole Reanna, hit Otto with his weapon and kidnapped two of Otto's S-class subordinates...
Otto even threw a bunch of poop at him in "Kallen Fantasy", okay?
Although Otto will not know about these last two things in the future.
Hmm... so this question is surprisingly difficult to answer.
"Five hundred years later"
...
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