Mercenaries and Adventurers

I shivered, and I don’t know if it was because I felt uncomfortable thinking about the darkness behind the werewolf and Lanissa Knight, or because of the chilly spring drizzle.

There was a noise not far away, and Kil turned his head to look, only to find that many people were pointing in one direction.

Kil looked in the direction pointed by the crowd and discovered that it was the direction of the wooden bridge and the small temple by the river on the east side of Kendall City. He looked intently and saw something different.

-

Several adopted children put on 'magical' clothes that they only wear once a year.

It was a magical piece of clothing that had been begged from the gods by 'Mom and Dad' since they were little. This kind of clothes is only worn once a year during the spring flood, but when they wear it every year, these precious clothes that have been collected will change their size freely according to their annual growth.

It is not as colorful as the rich people who perform dramas during festivals, nor is it as noble and formal as the formal priests of other churches in the city. Praying to the gods, the clothes given by the gods change their patterns every year.

Last year, it was the elegant style of aquatic plants in the river. This year, when I took the clothes out of the stone box, the magical clothes changed into the style of a big fish with scale patterns.

The male priest who has been living in the Qiaotou Temple has gone to Hekou Town a few days in advance. At this moment, the female senior priest who is the Lord of Rivers and Lakes is wiping the children's hands and faces with a wet cloth and taking out the water from the house. A box of paint.

She dipped her fingers in the paint that had been mixed in advance, first used water to form a water mirror, and then carefully painted a pattern on herself. Then, the children’s faces and backs of hands are painted with patterns that are approximately consistent with the style of their clothing.

"Mother, mother, what you painted doesn't look like it!"

One child honestly allowed the female priest to draw a pattern for her, while the other children ran and jumped around the two of them, making funny faces and teasing the female priest for her poor craftsmanship.

"It doesn't look like it, it doesn't look like it." "Hehe, it doesn't look like it at all."

The angry female priest tapped the foreheads of all the children, leaving a small dot of paint.

"Go, go, calm down, and wait for me to draw them for you one by one. Don't say it's ugly. The great god is looking at you. You must be honest and complete the tasks assigned to you later."

The female priest who looked like an old middle-aged woman comforted the adopted children, and then painted each child with decorative patterns.

Later, the children took out fist-sized colored pebbles that had been prepared from the nearby temple. They took out the stones, and the female priest personally placed the rounded pebbles in the middle of the road.

There is no such strict formality as other churches, just large and small circles surrounded by cobblestones. But these are enough. The ancient natural gods do not pursue complicated rules and rituals, and they prefer simple and natural rituals.

Perhaps, this is also their stubborn side.

The female priest also went back to her house and changed into her 'magic' clothes. Although the decorations on this year's clothes were ordinary fish scales and ugly big fish, but paired with her natural and simple temperament, it was completely different. .

It seems like an ancestor from ancient times, living in nature, fearing it, respecting it and challenging it.

She was a little naughty and imitated the big fish in the river, swimming like a fish. Seeing her movements, the children followed suit and ran to their 'mother' with their bare feet pattering like little fishes.

After touching the children's heads, she took some roasted plant roots and filled their stomachs for herself and the children.

When the children were thirsty after eating, she stretched out her fingers and tapped the air, and the surrounding water vapor naturally gathered and turned into pure water balls floating in the air.

Thirsty children will naturally put their little mouths to the water balloon and drink water.

Soon everyone was full of food and drink, and followed the footsteps of the female priests to the circle surrounded by cobblestones that had been arranged just now.

Each child stood in his own small circle, while the female priest stood in the largest stone circle.

She clasped her hands behind her back and looked quietly to the north, waiting for her lover to first perform the miraculous magic that could communicate with the power of the gods.

The children squatted in their own small circle, playing with pebbles of various colors and arranging them neatly. Some children imitated the fish swimming skills they had just learned, and started playing with their friends a few meters away.

-

At the same time, Hekou Town.

A wooden platform of more than ten meters has been built by the townspeople in the central square of the main town. All the people in the town, regardless of high or low, have gathered around the square.

Everyone was looking at the door of Knight Elisa's house, waiting for the rarely seen male priest, the Lord of rivers and lakes, to appear.

Even though most of them did not believe in this god, they all gathered at this time.

For all the people on both sides of the Kendall River in Kendall County, today and the Harvest Festival are the most important days of every year.

The latter naturally represents the traditional agricultural society's celebration and blessing for the annual harvest, while the former represents the true beginning of the year.

Every year major floods occur on the Kendall River from upstream to downstream, when the weather gets warmer and the frozen river thaws. Floods would bring nutrient-rich soil and materials from the mountains upstream and wash away everything on the plains along the Kendall River.

Only after this day has passed can the main areas of Kendall County, the most densely populated and most economically developed, officially carry out New Year's events.

The early migrants suffered a lot from this, either their homes were destroyed by floods, or they miscalculated the date and failed to find high ground in the wild in advance, and were washed away and died by floods.

But fortunately, two high priests from the Lord of Rivers and Lakes heard about what happened in Kendall County and came here.

Two people, a man and a woman, worked wonders.

They saved the area and brought order to everything here.

-

In the mansion of Knight Elisa, the male priest was changing into the clothes given by the gods alone.

He saw this year's clothing patterns, touched them gently, and then remembered the news his son had entrusted.

The sunken fish that had been protecting part of the lake in Wumihu Village had been killed by someone, and the sunken fish had been returned to the gods through sacrifice.

He put on his clothes and walked out of the house barefoot.

Arriving at the hall of the knight's house, an old pagan priest was talking to the knight Elisa and his wife, while the rest of the knight's family sat quietly at their dining tables.

Everyone is waiting for his appearance.

When he entered the hall, everyone, regardless of status, from the owner of the place, the knight Eliza, to the male and female servants responsible for cleaning, all treated the male priest with courtesy.

The old pagan priest also gave him the second highest courtesy of the 'Warrior Hall' church.

The highest etiquette is to salute the gods. For a high-ranking priest like him who can perform miracles, using the second highest etiquette is already very important.

The male priest ignored the others and returned a salute to the old pagan priest alone.

They are both religious people. Among the people in the room, they can barely be counted together, even if they are priests of other religions.

"Everyone, can you draw me this year's style pattern. As you can see, this year's pattern style is fish. Light and dark scales and mighty fish heads."

The male priest spread his arms to show everyone the style of his clothing.

Originally, the butler of Knight Elisa came to help the priest draw the pattern every year, but this year, Padre Cook was here, so Knight Elisa invited Padre Cook to complete the work.

There is nothing wrong with male priests. The ancient church of natural gods does not have any rules. In other words, there are not many of them. They only need to follow the gods' preferences and slowly promote the power of their own gods. Other things do not exist in the first place. within the rules.

Having said this, the servants brought paints and brushes. The male priest sat on a chair and quietly let the old priest help him draw fish-related patterns.

He was not familiar with Reverend Cook, so when they met at close range, the two began to talk softly.

Father Cook had previously been responsible for clerical work in the army, including drawing maps and depicting battlefield scenes in paintings. Therefore, the old priest's craftsmanship was very high. After a while, he used a variety of paints to paint a beautiful fish pattern on the male priest's face.

Small scales are painted on the cheeks, and the pieces are connected to each other, but do not make the image too prominent, hiding the appearance of the ugly and majestic sunken fish head painted on the front of the cheek.

At the extreme corner of the face, Cook also added the dorsal and pelvic fins and tail of the fish. The dorsal fin is painted on the forehead, the ventral fin is where the chin connects to the neck, and the neck under the back of the head is a strong fish tail.

Through conversation, the male priest learned a lot about Pastor Cook. He blinked and realized that the old priest in front of him was actually much younger than himself.

The other party is nearly eighty years old this year, but his body is still strong and he has no problem traveling alone.

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly. After all, he did not look like a middle-aged man, but in fact he and his wife were both over 200 years old. The son who was stationed in the village of Umee Lake was the third child born after the two settled in Kendall County.

The other two children had already received the gods' gifts and tasks, separated from the two of them, and traveled to other areas.

Although most priests of various religions have long lifespans, they usually live to be eighty or ninety years old without dying unexpectedly. But the great and ancient gods of nature are exceptionally generous. As humans, although they cannot compare with the powerful heroes, they still have no problem living for hundreds of years.

After death, you will be personally guided into the kingdom of God by the messenger of the gods.

Or they may live in the Kingdom of God for a long time and contribute to the construction of the Kingdom of God. Or accept the mission from the gods again and come to the world again.

"Praise be to the great Lord. Thank you for your generous kindness."

After the face and hands were painted, because the male priest would perform miracles on the wooden tower, unlike his wife, the feet also had to be painted with patterns.

Old Cook saw nothing wrong with painting the feet of pagan high priests with ritual designs. On the contrary, he found it interesting to participate in it personally.

Not long after, in the square in the center of the town, the door of Knight Elisa's house slowly opened.

The knight's waiters found some fish scales from nowhere. At this time, they excitedly followed the male priest who was walking slowly, stretching out their hands and spreading the fish scales with a fishy smell.

Knight Eliza and his family also followed and came out to watch the next miraculous ceremony together.

When the people saw the pattern on the male priest's body and the fish scales scattered on his back, they all became excited. Perhaps, they took these fish patterns to mean that the fish production in the river would double this year with the blessing of the gods.

Under the cheers and gazes of the people, the male priest nodded to the fishermen who believed in the Lord of the rivers and lakes, and then lightly stepped on the stone ground with his feet. The surrounding water vapor spontaneously and quickly gathered and came to his feet. Lift him up slowly.

A cylindrical column of pure water rose from the ground, carrying the male priest with strange patterns all over his body directly to the edge of a ten-meter wooden platform.

The male priest walked lightly to the high platform with a radius of only one meter. He first lowered his head and looked at the people in Hekou Town who were looking at him. The people, regardless of age, class or wealth, were all excited when they saw him. He shouted excitedly.

Then he raised his head and looked around.

The large forest in the northeast, the Wumi River flowing down gradually, and Wumi Lake not far upstream of the river. The forest in the east, the hilly wilderness in the southeast, the Kendall River impact plain in the south, the faintly visible Kendall City and the neatly dotted farms on the plain, and another large dark forest in the southwest. To the west is still part of the wilderness and dark forest, while to the northwest are distant forest farms, the Knights' station on the upper reaches of the Kendall River, and the needle-like Griffin Tower.

To the north are the upper reaches of the Kendall River and the rolling mountains.

Legend has it that there are dwarven towns in the mountains. Beyond the boundary markers set by the gods, everything north of Kendall County is the land of another alien kingdom.

This is a place that is neither big nor small.

When you live on the ground, use your feet to measure the earth and rivers. The natural world is vast.

But when you look at it from a high place, the world is very different.

Occasionally, he would use his magical power to fly to the sky, shuttle among the clouds, and think about the connection between the cumulonimbus clouds in the sky and the gods he believed in.

Gradually letting go of these thoughts, he spread his arms, eliminating the need for cumbersome prayers and rituals.

Lift your head and look to the sky.

Under the control of his divine power, a large amount of water vapor poured out and gathered from the gradually melting ice of the Kendall River next to the town. It flew into the sky and gradually turned into a water mirror that was several times larger than the entire town.

The sky was originally clear, but as this huge water mirror gradually appeared, it gradually blocked the sky, as well as the sun and sunlight hanging in the sky.

As the continuous water vapor thickens the water mirror high in the sky, the shadow that blocks the sun gradually covers the entire Hekou Town.

"Wow!!"

Although most of the townspeople saw this scene more than once, basically every year, they still screamed in fear in the face of a completely incomparable force.

Knight Elisa squinted his eyes and sat quietly on the chair brought by the servant, carefully experiencing the starting stage of this miraculous ceremony.

What he has learned is very complicated, but there is nothing he can do about it. Everything in this life has been pieced together by him intermittently. No one can provide him with direction on the road of knighthood.

Large organizations naturally have ways to become stronger, but no matter how good his relationship with the Empire Frontier Knights is, he is not a formal member of the Knights after all and cannot get in-depth help from the other party.

Warrior Hall Church seems to be a direction as well, and he has been working hard on this recently.

But for him, the miraculous ritual that he undergoes every year to prevent a major flood is the real power he dreams of.

Even if he could not win the favor of the gods and join the church, learning something from this ritual full of divine power and power was what he had been pursuing for many years.

Pastor Cook's hand stroking his beard had stopped at some point.

The slightly open mouth was obscured by his thick gray beard, but his shocked eyes had exposed all his shock.

"Is this a miracle ritual?" he couldn't help but mutter to himself.

The wife of Knight Elisa sitting next to her elegantly covered half of her face with her fan to prevent her smile from offending the old priest: "Just kidding, Priest Cook. This is just the beginning."

"start?"

Before he could say anything else, the huge water mirror above Hekou Town changed again.

The huge water mirror that was originally parallel to the ground began to tilt slightly, and as time passed, the tilt gradually increased.

Gradually, the scenery of Lake Umi in the distance was reflected on the huge water mirror shaped by divine power.

Originally, the two sides of the lake could not be seen at a glance. At this time, the lake was completely wrapped in this water mirror, revealing that unless it flew into the air, it would not be possible to see the panoramic view of Lake Wumi.

The mortals on the ground held their heads high, looking at the scene in the mirror high above.

It was a vast lake that was gradually melting and breaking.

"Come on, come on."

The people all whispered similar words. After hearing these words, Priest Cook also raised his head and clenched his fists to look at the whole picture of Lake Umi reflected in the tilted mirror.

As the people spoke in low voices, on the mirror, the ice surface in the center of Wumi Lake suddenly exploded and lifted up. Large pieces of thick ice, either white or transparent, are pushed down by the gradually rising center of the lake and gradually fall toward the surroundings.

On the edge of Lake Wumi, the original ice surface on the lake shore suddenly broke and then fell downwards. It turned out that the huge amount of lake water under the ice surface had abnormally risen and gathered towards the center of the lake.

In the center of the lake, the lake water did not rise much. After all the ice in the center rolled and fell, it gradually dropped downwards.

Accompanying all this is a continuous roar.

All the villagers in Wumihu Village stayed away from the northern part of the village at this time and gathered under the wall outside the south gate of the village, relying on the distance and the shielding of the wall to offset the huge roar.

They all opened their mouths wide and plugged their ears with their hands and fingers. They waited until the roaring subsided and then returned to their homes one after another through the south gate of the village.

Fortunately, the northern wolf has been defeated and can hide outside the village wall. In the past few years, they could only stay in the village, unable to rely on the fence, and endure the huge roar that occurred every year.

Here in Hekou Town, when the water mirror in the sky revealed the completed scene on the Wumi Lake side, a huge roar like thousands of horses galloping came from the northeast.

"Oh!!!" The people probably knew the distance from the town to Wumihu Village, so when they heard the loud noise coming from the northeast, they all exclaimed again.

Along with the loud noise, the water mirror in the air revealed the center of Wumi Lake, where the lake surface gradually changed.

Only the lake water was left in the center of the lake, and the surrounding area was surrounded by a large amount of scattered thick ice. And in the center of the deep Wumi Lake, a huge eye made of water, one kilometer in size, gradually emerged from the water.

It was a huge eye, bigger than Wumihu Village next to it, and even bigger than Hekou Town at this time.

"Lord, ho, ho. I'm face to face with God."

Old Cook panted nervously and stared at the huge water mirror in the sky, his face red and white.