The thick stench accompanied by the gentle breeze reached Norton's nostrils, forcing him to hold his breath.
Actually, he hadn't breathed for quite some time. The smell of Holy Lord City was becoming increasingly foul, and this odor could drift over even from such a distance, making him utterly miserable.
The small wooden cabin on the mountain ridge had been built, though crooked and uneven, it was at least habitable.
This past year hadn't been kind to Norton. His range of movement was limited to the cliff and its immediate surroundings.
Because deep in the forest, terrifying roars could be heard from time to time, he tried to minimize his activity area and avoid unnecessary dangers as much as possible.
But even with such extreme caution, he still encountered danger twice, leaving him somewhat paranoid every day, afraid to venture out easily.
In the city there was The Church, in the wilderness there were Monsters—this truly wasn't a world where humans could survive!
Norton remained as before, neither hungry nor starving. Even after a full year without eating, he felt no discomfort or Hunger Sensation whatsoever, as if he truly was a Perpetual Being.
However, his body had undergone some changes.
The withered Norton stood by the cliff's edge, gazing into the distance at the faintly visible outline of Holy Lord City.A year without eating hadn't brought about mental decline, but his body seemed to have shrunk yet another size.
His already dry and wrinkled skin had now become hard and rigid, looking no different from skin stretched taut over bones.
Norton didn't think he had been dried out by prolonged exposure to wind, because his original body didn't have much moisture to begin with.
This situation seemed more like the result of excessive consumption of nutrient-storing fat within his body.
Of course, having turned into this state, he certainly didn't have any so-called body fat left. But it could be viewed as consuming other substances within his body to maintain peak condition indefinitely.
So the most likely reason he could remain unfamished, maintain peak condition, and have no physical limitations was his body's exceptionally powerful ability to mobilize and consume energy.
Wherever there was deficiency, it would be replenished—his body would remain at its peak until death.
But Norton wasn't entirely certain about this speculation.
Because the feeling of increasing power over time had stagnated about a week ago.
However, it wasn't that he began consuming his body's stored substances after his power growth stalled; rather, after the substances were depleted and his body became more emaciated, his evolution process halted.
This meant that even without any nutrients in his body, he could still maintain vitality and immortality!
This left Norton somewhat confused about whether those consumed substances were used for evolution or for daily activity needs?
But regardless, he had learned the conditions required for his growth.
During many nights recently, he had observed Holy Lord City's surroundings but hadn't seen any unusual gathering of lights.
Therefore, Norton believed there was a high probability that an epidemic had broken out in Holy Lord City.
As for the theory of The Church massacring the city—that was completely impossible.
The people in The Church were still human. They might be insatiably greedy, they might be incompetent and foolish, but their fundamental reason for being rulers was having masses of subordinates.
If they killed all the subordinates, how could the rulers remain rulers?
Looking at Central European history on Earth, there were no so-called massacre behaviors during The Church era either, except for actions against Jewish people.
So, had an epidemic broken out in Holy Lord City?
Norton strained his eyes looking at distant Holy Lord City. Although his vision had been enhanced, it ultimately didn't have high-powered telescope functionality, so unfortunately he couldn't see anything clearly.
But an epidemic outbreak wasn't surprising either. Given Holy Lord City's disgusting appearance and filthy environment, it would be abnormal if plagues didn't occur once or twice a year.
Unfortunately, Holy Lord City's outskirts were covered with Church elements and various murals, making him dare not set foot even half a step inside.
Staying in the wilderness required constant vigilance every day—it simply wasn't a place for humans to live!
He, Norton, had stayed here for a year without daring to do anything, yet still ended up utterly worn down. His mental state was even more aged than that damn Pope's!
But thinking about the terrifying strength of the Church Knights and The Church's fearsome tracking abilities, Norton sighed deeply and decided it was better to keep lying low in the wilderness.
After all, he had already grown accustomed to it.
----
The Pope was indeed very old.
Over two hundred years old—even as the sun gradually waned and human lifespans grew longer, his age could completely be described as approaching death's door.
Precious chinchilla fur bedding wrapped around the withered old man. The gold-crafted bed platform had at least ten layers of chinchilla fur bedding spread over it to increase the bed's softness.
Yet because this small animal's fur was relatively thin, this softness didn't lack resistance like sponge mattresses, preventing the old man on the bed from suffering back pain due to excessive softness.
Gold bed, chinchilla blankets—the resplendent hall contained far more than just these two luxurious items.
Crystal-clear jade tables, deep red transparent ruby cups, light blue crystal lamps, carved patterns made from the skull of the deep-sea leviathan 'Indan'...
Any single one of these precious treasures could allow a family to live comfortably for a lifetime, yet before His Holiness the Pope, they were merely daily necessities.
And now, these countless rare treasures couldn't stop the withering of His Holiness the Pope's life.
"Cough cough cough..."
Wrapped in the bedding, His Holiness the Pope—already looking like skin stretched over bones—coughed weakly twice, sounding as if phlegm had accumulated in his lungs.
A fair-skinned, beautiful young nun waiting nearby immediately approached and leaned over the elderly Pope, then mouth-to-mouth, suctioned the phlegm from his lungs.
After a moment, the Pope who had finally caught his breath sighed deeply, then looked toward the attendant waiting nearby and said: "The Vampire in Holy Lord City... cough cough... still no news?"
"Reporting to Your Holiness, still no news... instead, Holy Lord City's population has been reduced to less than one-tenth. Bishop Adam seems to be intentionally stirring conflicts among Holy Lord City's people to divert the Holy Inquisition Tribunal's attention..." The standing attendant responded with head bowed low, showing slight hesitation when mentioning Bishop Adam.
Cardinal Adam's desire to become Pope was known to everyone, and His Holiness the Pope understood this perfectly clearly.
When His Holiness initially sent the Holy Inquisition Tribunal to Holy Lord City to investigate the Vampire, some had advised him to send someone with brains to lead the team.
But His Holiness the Pope hadn't followed this suggestion, instead insistently sending only the Holy Inquisition Tribunal's knights.
Now getting this result, it seemed the chaos in Holy Lord City was actually turmoil actively provoked by Cardinal Adam.
Hearing this news, the Pope wrapped in bedding showed not the slightest disappointment, but instead had some hint of delight on his face.
Despite not achieving his goal, he actually looked as if he had gotten what he wanted.
"Excellent, cough cough... excellent! This way, the formal successor can be decided. Summon both Adam and the Holy Inquisition Tribunal back. Some matters have reached the time when they should be spoken to him."
After saying these words, His Holiness the Pope seemed to have exhausted all his energy, visibly showing increased fatigue.
"Yes!" The attendant bowed respectfully and retreated backward. The old Pope lying in the bedding—even more emaciated than Norton, even more resembling a Dried Corpse—sank back into deep sleep.