Cathedral of Holy Light, Great Hall of Light.
Veronica quietly reported to Pope St. Ivan III the recent changes in the situation in the south: "...After capturing the Rock Fortress, Gawain Cecil sealed off the entire southern border and Announcement of the establishment of the Principality of Cecil - or, in other words, the re-establishment of the Principality of Cecil
"Currently, only licensed caravans can enter and exit the southern border, and they can only stay around the Rock Fortress - in order to proceed. For trade, the Cecil family established a new town south of the Rock Fortress, called 'Rock City'.
“No messengers sent by merchants or nobles are allowed to cross the Rock City. Therefore, the situation in the hinterland of the Southern Territory is completely unknown. Only sporadic news came out that Duke Gawain Cecil has begun to integrate the Southern Territory. , sweeping away the influence of the southern nobles in the past hundred years, he implemented a large number of new policies to ensure his rule."
Saint Ivan III listened quietly, and finally sighed softly: "It seems. This ancient hero has a strong desire to control..."
Then he paused and asked slowly: "Lemont's body is still in the hands of the Cecil people, right? ?"
"...The Rock Fortress did not respond to the church's request. Bishop Lemont's body is still in the south, and it is said that it has been cremated."
"Purify the body with flames... …Fortunately, at least the Cecil people did not commit any desecration to Bishop Lemont’s body, but it would be great if they were willing to return the holy ashes to us,” the old pope sighed softly, “This way at least we can confirm The real cause of Bishop Lemont’s death.”
A regional bishop died in the “Noble War” in the south. When the news first came back to the Holy Light Cathedral, it caused quite a stir, but after In this war, the church that was supposed to be neutral turned to the nobles of the Southern Territory for unwarranted reasons. It is an indisputable fact that they actively invaded Cecil's territory. In addition, the Cecil family completed de facto rule of the Southern Territory in a short period of time. , so the church had no reason or opportunity to control the situation - by the time they finally freed up their hands from expanding the parish and combating heretics, Cecil's army had already entered the Rock Fortress.
After that, the church also sent envoys to contact the southern border. The envoys were blocked outside the gate of Rock Fortress. They only received a letter from Grand Duke Gawain Cecil. Expressed disappointment with the actions of the Holy Light Church in the southern region, and conveyed a shocking message:
Although Bishop Lemont was killed in the course of the Noble War, he was not killed by Sisi. They were killed, but were attacked by the Eternal Sleeper cultists.
The content of this letter is known to only a few people in the church, and the Pope and Veronica are two of them.
"The situation in the southern diocese is no more optimistic than that in the east. Although Duke Gawain has not publicly expelled our priests, according to sporadic news, he has blocked the city of Luan and banned all holy lights. Priests are traveling and preaching in the southern region - the reason is that they need to be investigatedThe corruption and infiltration of the southern nobles into the church and the maintenance of post-war security," Veronica Moen said, "He was equivalent to using post-war control to put the entire southern church under house arrest. "
"...The South and East have always been tricky places, but now they are just more troublesome," the old pope said calmly, expressionlessly, "Now the royal family's main focus is on the East. As for the rebels, we want to use their strength, so we can only focus on the Eastern Region... Veronica, you have been in contact with the ancient Duke, now think about it, what is his possible attitude towards the church? ? "
Veronica lowered her eyelids: "...He is indeed a person without faith, or in other words, the power of 'faith' is just a tool for him. I have only been in contact with him for a short period of time, and it was only a year ago, but based on his actions within this year, I can guess what he is thinking: he actually does not care about 'God', and is neither in awe nor resistance. Instead, it follows pragmatism. I once studied the New Deal he implemented and discovered a pattern: all his systems consider practicality first, cost and efficiency secondly, and legal principles and morality last. This can explain his acting style. "
"Arrogant, but qualified to be arrogant," St. Ivan III closed his eyes, "but his indifference is better than Edmund Morn's hostility. Since he regards faith as a tool... it means that at least he will not reject this tool. "
Veronica's eyebrows raised slightly: "Your Majesty, what do you mean..."
"Wait and see what he will do to Lu next. What does An Cheng do? If the situation remains unchanged, then we will ignore it for the time being. If the situation worsens... Veronica, you must be prepared to talk to the ruler of the south. "
Veronica lowered her head deeply: "I will obey your will. "
"Go down, I'm a little tired," St. Ivan III closed his eyes, and his body that had been trying to sit upright gradually stooped. His voice was ethereal, as if part of his mind had drifted to the Holy Light. Kingdom of God, “I’m going to take a nap…to listen to the voice of the Lord. "
Veronica bent down and whispered in the ear of the old pope: "Yes, the Lord is with you. "
Saint Ivan III breathed evenly and gently, and on his face, a satisfied and indifferent smile gradually spread.
Veronica Stepping off the platform where the Pope's throne is, he waved his hand, and a layer of hazy holy light enveloped the entire platform, protecting the Pope and isolating him from the sea of holy light clouds lingering in the Great Hall of Light.
...
Night is gradually falling, and the royal capital is shrouded in silence under the stars.
St. Sunil City, No. 4 Crown Street. , Military Intelligence agent Ji Puli stood quietly on the balcony of the mansion, looking at the gorgeous but outdated buildings outside the balcony.
At No. 4 Crown Street, some of the buildings have become pure. Historical relics, but there are still many descendants of nobles living inLiving in the remaining ancient houses inherited from ancestors, there will be many ornately decorated carriages coming and going on this street from morning to night every day. Whenever a large number of carriages stay in the same area, there are The mansion will be lit with lights that stay on all night long, and the music of lyres and tambourines will continue until the early morning of the next day, and on the next day, those carriages will leave here carrying their drunken masters, Return to their estates and castles in and around the royal city.
Even though this country is falling into civil war, even though soldiers die every day on the eastern front of the Holy Spirit Plains, even though the refugees displaced by the war are about to spread to the Giant Wood Crossing area, the country's nobles have not shown any signs of it. Reduce the frequency and size of their feasts.
Jipli is tired of this.
Fortunately, today is a rare quiet day: there were no banquets held in the nearest houses. It is said that the Earl of Baring held a larger banquet in the south of the city, and half of the nobles in Crown Street received it. Invited, their departure gave Jipri a chance to enjoy the night.
The sound of carriage wheels rolling over the stone road rang out in the silent night.
Jipley looked away. She saw a carriage with a magic crystal lamp parked in front of the mansion, so she quickly left the balcony and returned to the study.
A moment later, Pierce, tall and thin, wearing a knight's casual clothes, appeared in front of her.
“It is becoming more and more difficult to travel at night,” Pierce said as he took off his coat. “The banquets of the nobles are becoming more and more frequent, and the curfews in the craftsmen’s and merchants’ districts are becoming more and more severe. If If it weren't for the Duke's mark on the car, I might not be able to come back tonight."
"After all, there have been rumors in the city recently," Jipri nodded and said, "The situation on the east side of the plain is not good. "
Pierce smiled, and after scanning the room, he calmly came to the window. He closed the window, and then activated the magic rune under the window sill.
A small soundproof barrier then covered the entire room.
"An order came from headquarters," the Military Intelligence officer said concisely and clearly, "We are preparing to evacuate."
"Evacuate?" Jipri opened her eyes wide, " The situation has worsened?"
"The Duke has laid down the Rock Fortress, and the southern territory has become the Principality of Cecil. The Ansu royal family will react to this soon - no matter what the reaction is, we in the royal capital will "Receive more attention," Pierce explained quickly, "We have been publicly active here for a long time, and you have been in contact with the mage circle many times. It is no longer suitable for us to continue to be stationed here."
Jipli couldn't help but frown slightly: "What about this stronghold?
"There will be a new working group to replace us - but they will remain lurking in the dark," Pierce explained, "The lord still needs information from the royal capital, but we can no longer hide and disguise and have to evacuate early. ”
Jipli was startled for a moment, and then exhaled with some emotion: "Really...it seems like we really have to leave."
"It's also a good thing - it is said that the local side is developing very fast, and the headquarters The newcomers are much, much more advanced than ours in terms of skills and equipment. We can seize the time to catch up on lessons when we go back, otherwise... I'm afraid we won't be able to keep up with those newcomers when we go back," Pierce said with a smile. , and glanced at Jipuli, "By the way...do you still miss this place?"
"Nostalgic? I don't miss this place," Jipuli said with a sarcastic smile, "Compared to this place. Among the smelly streets, the wind by the Baishui River is more refreshing. ”
…
The night breeze of Baishui River is very fresh, and Gao Wen has been very fresh since a long time ago. I like to come to the high platform by the river bank, watch the scenery on the river bank with the cold wind blowing, or think about the future, or recall the past, or simply not think about anything and just enjoy the scenery.
The scenery here is always changing.
When I first arrived here, there was only a deserted beach beside the Baishui River. Eight hundred refugees set up simple tents on the deserted beach. The camp guards used fire pots and simple fences to protect the deserted beach. At that time, people had to return to the camp as soon as the sun set, because there were hungry beasts hidden in the dense forests and barren mountains outside the camp, so people could only spend the night uneasily in their tents...
Then the tent turned into a wooden house, the wooden house became a brick house, the fence became a city wall, a sentry tower was built on the city wall, and the wooden bridge on the Baishui River became a wooden bridge driven by a giant repulsion mechanism. The mechanical bridge and the temporary wharf made of wood have become permanent wharfs made of cement. Even the most desolate north bank of Baishui River has now become the busy "Beicheng New District"...
After nightfall , the radiance of the magic crystal lamp will shine on both sides of the river, as if bright stars are falling on the earth.
All this took less than two years.
As the person who built all of this with his own hands, Gawain can feel the greatest sense of accomplishment from these changes.
He knew that the speed of development of this city was a miracle, even on earth. The reason why the Cecil people were able to achieve this almost cheating miracle was because of the sudden liberation. In addition to the huge power exploded by productivity, there is also the development of magic technology.
"Magic technology..."
Gawain muttered in a low voice, and raised his hand under the starlight and lights on both sides of the bank, and a hazy glow immediately appeared in front of him Palm.
This is not a knight's combat skill or spell, but just a glowing phenomenon after the free magic power in the air is stimulated. It reminds Gawain all the time: magic is everywhere.
"Everywhere, seemingly endless energy..."
Waving to disperse the gathered magic power, Gawain couldn't help but frown slightly.
A sudden explosion in the river not far awaySuddenly there was a splashing sound, interrupting Gawain's thoughts. The latter looked up and saw a ball of water rolling up on the river, and Tyr's head floated up from the water.
"Hey - Lord, are you here to be lazy too?"
(Push! Book! Time! Time! I have recommended this book a long time ago, written by Phase Walker "The 4.6 Billion Reprise of Evolution" is a science fiction book that is still being serialized. It tells the story of evolution from single-celled organisms. Even now, this is a very novel and challenging idea. It has been serialized for many years and is still being updated. For those who can accept this setting of "the protagonist is not a human being, and even the supporting characters are not human beings", this is a very interesting story. Go take a look, you will be satisfied with the wild imagination inside.)