Though held like a chicken in Caesar's hand, Arthur displayed no hint of concern or panic on his face.
Instead, he shrugged with a remarkable composure:
“Otherwise?”
“You don’t seriously believe that His Holiness the Pope is just a kind-hearted fool who dotes on everyone, do you?”
“Without some power and iron will, how could we possibly fight the Dark Council? How could we fight the European nations that are increasingly diminishing our influence? How could we fight that entity hidden within…”
“Uh… never mind…”
As he spoke, Arthur nonchalantly prepared to dislodge Caesar's hand from his collar.
However, the agitated Caesar would not let him escape so easily and tightened his grip on the collar:
“I understand… I finally understand…”
“Your so-called Crusade is not about spreading faith and reclaiming sacred land, nor is it about fighting cults and propagating doctrine…”
“It’s purely because you covet the land of Sakura Country, intending to tear a piece of flesh from them to allow the Holy Light Pontificate to completely break free from its reliance on European nations and possess territory it can fully control!”
“And the prerequisite for achieving this is to cleanse all inhabitants of Kyushu Island…”
“But I never imagined you would resort to such a bloody and brutal slaughter!”
Having been held by the collar and spoken to by Caesar for so long, Arthur's expression was clearly becoming impatient.
At this moment, killing Caesar would be no more difficult than crushing an ant.
For Caesar, this idiot, to not realize this, and moreover, to show no respect to him, the current Chief Justice of the Holy Light Pontificate…
However, due to Caesar's special status, and perhaps a touch of Arthur's sentimentality, he did not openly break with him. Instead, he patiently replied, “138 Reading Net”
“Otherwise? Are we supposed to play the benevolent saviors and relocate all these residents one by one?”
“The sheer magnitude of such an engineering feat and the cost are unimaginable!”
“As for your statement…”
“If you think His Holiness the Pope’s appetite is limited to just Kyushu Island, then you underestimate him far too much!”
Caesar’s body trembled involuntarily, and he immediately dropped Arthur, who was holding him:
“What did you say?! Not just Kyushu Island?!”
“Are you planning to swallow Sakura Country whole?!”
Arthur, finally free from Caesar's grasp, slowly smoothed his slightly creased clothes and said with a relaxed air:
“Otherwise?”
“The law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, is the greatest law of this world!”
“Since the people of Sakura Country lack the ability to defend their land, it is only natural that we should take it over…”
“Otherwise, wouldn't that be a waste of resources!”
Caesar was speechless.
At this moment, he truly didn't know if he was the one going mad, if Arthur was mad, or if the Pope in Europe was mad.
He opened his mouth, and after a long pause, finally managed to stammer out:
“This… this is impossible?!”
“Let alone cleansing, the entire Holy Light Pontificate cannot even control a portion of an island!”
“Even with your elite force, you've only managed to spread the flames of war to a single town…”
“Even with five, ten, or a hundred times more manpower, you still couldn't control a small island like Kyushu!”
“Let alone coveting the entire Sakura Country!”
Looking at Caesar's dazed expression, Arthur finally couldn't help but sigh softly:
“Brother Caesar, are you teasing me?”
“Do you truly not know that within the current Holy Light Pontificate, there is something called the 'Dark Side'?”
At this, Caesar was completely bewildered:
“Dark Side?! What Dark Side?!”
Arthur finally showed a hint of surprise:
“Oh? You really don't know?!”
“I never expected that even you, the prince of the Holy Empire, wouldn't have access to this information…”
“If that's the case, then I have no reason to tell you.”
“After all, sometimes knowing too much is not a good thing…”
“As one of the few good friends I have in this world, I sincerely hope that you, Brother Caesar, can live a little longer!”
After saying this, Arthur expected Caesar to faint from anger.
But to his surprise, Caesar showed a look of deep sadness:
“Arth… Arthur…”
“Are… are you really… really still you?”
Arthur's lips curved slightly. He had no intention of indulging in shared sad memories with Caesar and maintained his nonchalant smile as he replied:
“Haven't I already answered that question directly?”
“It doesn't matter! It absolutely doesn't matter!”
But Arthur never expected that his resolute statement would provoke a furious reaction from Caesar.
Caesar lunged forward, clutching his own neck with both hands and yanking himself into the air, his feet leaving the ground.
“Scoundrel!”
“Who are you! Who exactly are you! What have you done to the real Arthur!”
Caesar roared madly, increasing the force of his grip.
This time, Arthur was truly in a bind.
It was far from the casual ease of grabbing his collar; Arthur was clearly suffering.
Even a rabbit will bite when cornered, let alone Arthur in his current state?
Already seething with anger and having been tormented twice by Caesar, he finally revealed his ferocious visage:
“Cae… Caesar…”
“Don't… don't push your luck!”
“I treated you with courtesy out of our past friendship, but you are ungrateful and have laid hands on me…”
“Let go… let go quickly!”
“Otherwise… otherwise, I cannot guarantee… guarantee your life!”
Caesar, at this point, seemed completely driven to madness:
“Come on! Kill me! Kill me then!”
“I want to see… how much further you, who have become so insane, can go!”
Saying this, Caesar moved forward instead of retreating, increasing the force of his grip.
Now, Arthur's expression turned utterly grim.
This guy seemed genuinely intent on strangling him to death. If he didn't act now…
And just as Arthur finally made up his mind and reached into his pocket for a silver crystal, a voice like thunderclap suddenly echoed within the carriage:
“My, my! What a thrilling scene!”
“I never expected to witness such an internal conflict play out in Kyushu Island, a place so far removed from the Holy Light Pontificate!”
“Excellent! Truly excellent!”