Realm of Power

Among the ruins of the Saint Nicholas Temple on the top of the mountain, the wind is blowing the wild grass among the stones. Here is an abandoned ruin of the temple. A half-collapsed stone house is on the ruins.

Hundreds of years ago, this place existed as a stargazing room for the disciples of the temple. The conditions at that time were not good. The simple style advocated by Prophet Phelan has been fully interpreted here. It is so remote that it is almost impossible to see it. If you don't see a single person, you usually don't pay much attention to these places, not to mention that hundreds of years of wind and rain have already turned this place into a wasteland with wild grass. There are only some scattered fragments mixed in the grass, proving that there were once people here. lived in

From here, you can see the conditions of the road down the mountain at a glance.

An old man wearing a high priest's uniform stood on the cliff, looking with bright eyes at the horse team that was slowly climbing along the winding mountain road a hundred meters away. His two white eyebrows were tightly twisted together, shining with luster. His eyes fell into an inexplicable deep thought,

He is High Priest Monroe of the Holy Presbyterian Church in the Sky,

Responsible for presiding over the daily affairs of the temple, after the high priest Parstina fell ill, Monroe has gradually become the person in charge of the holy religion. The mountain wind blows his short white hair, and he wears a large priest's robe with gold on the edge. The breath of majesty came to my face,

Behind him, there were two old men wearing the same long priest attire as him. One of them had thick hair, a thin body, and an unforgettable curved hook nose. He was responsible for explaining the doctrine. Theological House Adonis,

Because he has been in the company of dry and rigid doctrinal books all year round, he looks a bit sinister. Because he is responsible for explaining the doctrine full-time, he is also responsible for supervising the worship and preaching of the middle and lower classes. His serious and ruthless style has attracted many The middle- and lower-class priests' legs tremble when they hear the name. Coupled with a pair of unique sinister triangular eyes, they give people a fierce and threatening feeling.

The other one is a fat old man with a rosy face and not very tall. Standing there gives people a solid feeling. His plain and bright eyes always seem to bring a sense of calm. He is responsible. The person in charge of the support ceremony, Archpriest Ivan Brown,

Compared with the other two, the presence of High Priest Ivan Brown is relatively low.

Although they are both members of the Presbyterian Church, the first two hold a lot of real power, while this one is only in charge of the ceremony layout and ritual preparations, and cannot be put on the table at all. Under normal circumstances, if it is not for the encounter For such a major event as the establishment of a new saint this time, the high priest can only be seen once a year during the Winter Veil Festival. Therefore, under normal circumstances, the temple gives the impression that there are only three high priests in charge. Only those on the inside know. There were four high priests in the temple

The three of them and the high priest Deimos who went to greet them constitute the current Presbyterian Church of the Sky Holy Church. In name, they assist Parstina in managing the Holy Church. In fact, they are the core of the Holy Church. The reason why they appear On this deserted cliff. It was entirely because they suddenly received a panic report that Statunko, the southern governor of the empire, came to St. Nicholas. This was a good day for the Presbyterian Church, which was secretly planning to establish a new saint without telling the empire. thunderbolt. Just like the embarrassment and embarrassment of being caught and raped in bed

The mountain breeze was blowing on my face, which seemed a little cold. My eyes paused for a moment on the large wooden box on the carriage in the distance. The oldest high priest, Monro, turned around from the front and said with a depressed face to the two high priests behind him who also had ugly faces.

"What do you think of this matter? At this time, the southern governor of the empire suddenly came to our Saint Nicholas with his army. It can't be just a coincidence! Although we don't know the other party's true purpose, we also need to deal with it carefully. ,

Especially since the ceremony of the new saint is coming soon, we need to be even more careful. Otherwise, if the empire forces early intervention, we will lose face. We are afraid that the little prestige that the Holy Church has finally recovered will also suffer hardships. What a heavy blow! "

"What the chief priest said is that I also think this matter is not simple!" The person who responded was not the stern-faced Adonis of the Academy, but the slightly fat Ivan Brown.

He subconsciously shrank his head and analyzed it seriously.

"First of all, the Battle of the Black Forest has been over for several months. Why did the empire just think of handing over the statue to us now? Second, although this is the only large statue of the prophet from the First Generation Ceremony era that has been discovered, it needs to be alarmed. A Vecian Falcon confidant, the Governor, personally escorted It's really unreasonable! The southern governor of the empire, who has tens of thousands of troops, needs to travel hundreds of miles to deliver a statue for such a trivial matter. What a joke! I can guarantee that this governor is definitely responsible. A special mission for the Vekia Falcon!"

I have to admit that this high priest Ivan Brown, who is rarely seen in a year, is so eloquent. He is worthy of being the high priest responsible for guiding newcomers to understand complex rituals. He can analyze and speak clearly about a problem, no matter whether it is true or not. Fake, it will make you dizzy first, making people fall into it unconsciously, a typical magic stick! "What does special mission mean?" The oldest Monroe's eyebrows twitched. He was obviously frightened by this word. What is special mission? It means too much. Anyway, what falls on the Holy Cult will not be a good thing. Otherwise, it will not be a good thing. Why bring so many guards? "It shouldn't be enough! The relationship between the upper echelons of the empire and us is not that bad!"

The cold-looking Dean of the Church, Adonis, spoke in a tone consistent with his appearance. He said coldly, "At least not yet, because the Holy Church is the spiritual sustenance of millions of Salanders. Even the empire does not dare to directly What action should be taken against us!" "It's hard to say!" Seeing the flash in Adonis's eyes. Feeling uncertain, the high priest Ivan Brown emphasized his tone and continued, "Think about it, who is the Vekia Falcon? He is a butcher who has killed at least millions of people!" "So what? , I don’t believe he dares to kill all the Salanders!” Dean Adonis looked arrogant and unmoved!

Ivan Brown continued, "To be honest, I have been paying attention to the expeditionary force during this period. No one can tell the specific situation, but I feel that the empire is very polite to us now, and it is really going to fall out." There will be absolutely no mercy at all!"

"Is it possible for you and me to fathom the cold heart of a king?"

Ivan Brown's voice stopped. He sighed and said in a cold tone, "Think about the situation of the expeditionary force. In order to mobilize 20,000 Salanders to participate in the expeditionary force, Vecia Falcon could give the best to all participating Salander soldiers without hesitation." Training, weapons and equipment, and officer deployment, but Normandy had just been conquered. In less than a month, the expeditionary force went from a hero praised by everyone to a rebel army surrounded and suppressed by the imperial army.

The tens of thousands of troops didn't even have any room to resist, and they were all wiped out by the Vekia Falcons! What does this mean? The empire's butcher knife has never been slow, and the speed of turning against it is too... tsk tsk! "

Ivan Brown shook his head and did not want to say any more, but the look on his face undoubtedly showed that the emperor's cruelty was not an empty intimidation, "In terms of killing and decisiveness, even if the three of us are tied together, we can't compare." The lame Southern Governor "Ivan Brown" He said without hesitation, "Not to mention. The governor is known as the Invincible God of War, the Vecian Falcon! And as far as I know, for some unknown reason, the temple has not concluded the expeditionary force incident. I heard that in some cases Where are the sacrifices made by the middle and lower classes? There are still many people who are aggrieved by the expeditionary force."

"This is why the Southern Governor came in person! I can only say that this is very dangerous. You are challenging the empire's patience!" High Priest Ivan Brown's voice stopped and he looked at the Dean of the Doctrine next to him from the corner of his eyes. Adonis took a look and said,

That look was like saying. This kind of thing is under the jurisdiction of the Institute of Teaching. Look what all this fuss is about! As a result, people are now coming to kill me directly. There's no way to deal with it here

"It has nothing to do with me. It's just the personal behavior of some priests! It's not within the scope of doctrinal deviations that need to be corrected!" The doctrinal dean Adonis looked north, flipped a white smoke at him, and insisted on his face, "And I I don’t think this is wrong either,

"For hundreds of years, the Holy Church has been subjugated to secular kingship. It would be fine if we, the Salanders, were the rulers before, but now it is outsiders who rule the Salanders." Dean of the Doctrine of the Faith Adonis The decisive voice echoed in the air, revealing a bloody "The original teachings of the Holy Religion are to shoulder the responsibility of teaching the Salander people freedom, integrity, and bravery. We are not puppets of the empire. They can dominate the Salander people." ,but We are the spirit of the Salanders. The expeditionary force is not wrong. In the face of national hatred and family hatred, no matter whether they have caused any horrific killings in the rumors, they are the heroes of the Salanders. "They only killed us." "The enemy" Adonis turned his head, looked at the beautiful land of Salander in the distance, and said deeply, "The rejuvenation of the earth cannot conceal the trauma of the war. In my mind, I still remember the tragic scene of the broken mountains and rivers.

The ferocious Normans continued to invade our beautiful country. During that period, I felt like I was living in a nightmare every day. When I opened my eyes, all I heard in my ears was the news of the defeat of the frontline troops and the painful groans of the wounded soldiers. , more than a million people died in that disaster, countless people fell under the slaughter of the Normans, and the only thing I can do is pray for them! I cannot go against my conscience and accuse these warriors who bear the humiliation of the entire Salander and raise the sword of revenge against the Normans as traitors, because if I can still afford weapons, I will go and obey the will of the empire. To declare them rebels is to insult me, the Temple, and all Salanders themselves! "

Monroe next to him had a heavy face and said nothing. Obviously, Adonis was not the only one who had this idea. In fact, the high priest's radicalism was also well-known in the temple. Many Mamunuks who belonged to the temple In fact, they were all his loyal followers. During the war between Salander and Normandy, these The chief priest, who was over sixty years old, had been on the front lines of war many times. Even though his priest's robes were stained red by the blood of wounded soldiers, he still prayed to the God of the Sky in a calm tone for each of the soldiers who died of serious injuries. This war is a disaster for the entire Salander. It is a family hatred and a national hatred!

"Okay, it's up to you." Compared to the insistence of the two companions, the fat priest Ivan Brown could only compromise. He rubbed his temple with his right hand painfully and said, "A blind man can see it. It's obvious. , this powerful Governor came here because of the two of you and did not express his position! It is really distressing. If he does this, it will not work for us to confirm the Saintess without telling the Empire.

If we suddenly announce a stop, although we can temporarily escape the crisis, it will also be equivalent to admitting that the temple has succumbed to secular kingship. This move is too powerful. We have absolutely no choice. We can neither hold it nor stop it. The time is approaching moment by moment... What kind of rubbish is this! ""Actually, I have a way! "

Dean Adonis hesitated for a moment and said mysteriously, "Since we can't avoid it, if we face him directly and he catches us off guard, we can also catch him off guard. Why don't we make the situation bigger?"

"Well? What do you mean? Please explain it clearly!"

The aquiline-nosed dean sneered, "Anyway, the selection ceremony of the new saint will be in three days. Even if the other party knew it, they would not be able to tell the Vecchia Falcon in Normandy across the sea in a short time. We You can completely use this opportunity to announce the new appointment to the entire Salander The saint's ceremony will be held in the holy land of Nicholas, and the entire ceremony is open to everyone. I believe that that day will be an unprecedented event! In full view of the public, even if the empire wants to put pressure on us or stop the ceremony, it is not a south. Something the Governor can decide on his own!"

"This method seems feasible!" Ivan Brown, the head of the sacrificial hall, hesitated. He nodded in agreement,

"Haha, what a brilliant idea." Monroe glanced meaningfully at the long black line in the distance that had already traveled halfway up the mountain, and smiled excitedly, "Let's do it this way. I will immediately send someone to tell Deimos, Place the Governor in the Basilica of St. Pedro, where he will be able to visit at any time in a beautiful environment. You can see the beautiful mountain scenery. The most important thing is that it is in the middle of the mountain road. Whether you are going up or down the mountain, you will be under our surveillance for three days! Once the time passes, even if the other party wants to react and make adjustments, it will be too late!”

In the dark night, the fat man stood in the courtyard halfway up the mountain, looking up at a bright fireball slowly rising in the black night sky. "Bang!" There was a loud sound, and in the distant sky, beautiful fireworks were blooming in the sky. The flowers exploded, illuminating the fat man's dark pupils filled with longing, as well as the environment around him.

The green color is hazy, and more than a dozen palm trees swaying in the wind are caressing in the night. Compared with the ornately decorated Vecchia-style courtyards, there is a green stream flowing down here. This is a curve of turquoise spring water drawn from the top of the mountain. The spring water hits the mottled rocks, and the tinkling sound is like a melodious nocturne.

Simple to the extreme, spiritual realm to the extreme, revealing true movement in silence.

The sound of people singing and dancing happily came from the bottom of the mountain. Looking from a distance, the lights illuminated the square of the city below the mountain like daylight. The celebration celebrating the birth of the prince aroused the weakness in the fat man's heart. Father and son were connected. The fat man looked at it with bright eyes. Fireworks bursting in the sky,

This is an observatory outside the temple where you can look straight up into the sky. Standing here, the fat man can see the scene below the mountain more clearly. Several guards were going to follow him, but the fat man turned around slightly angrily. "I am just an ordinary guard now. Who will harm me? If you follow me, you will really harm me!" Several guards did not dare to follow, so they had to return to where Statunko was staying.

There was no wind in the quiet night, and time passed like water. The celebration at the foot of the mountain seemed to have begun. Someone shouted long live the prince, and there was also the melodious sound of the organ fluttering in the wind. Even the most hard-hearted person will be melted by such a scene.

The fat man listened to the laughter and laughter coming from far away. He suddenly raised his head and looked up at the stars in the sky above his head like lightning. A feeling of shock came over him. The huge galaxy of light and illusion was like a long river hanging horizontally, which made people feel uncomfortable. It is almost impossible to feel one's own existence. In this world, human beings are so small. Perhaps, as Plais said, under the powerful In front of the river of time, everyone is just a passer-by. Only bloodline is the trace of the past. Unknowingly, Fatty has completely relaxed his tense body, and fully feels this rare and long-lost feeling. Only at this moment, Only then did he feel that the dynasty's hegemony was only a decade in time and space, and that all he had worked hard for was just to live a better life!

After an unknown amount of time, the sounds of celebrations at the foot of the mountain gradually calmed down, and footsteps returning from city celebrations were also heard on the mountain road. There were men and women, and it seemed that most of them had stopped at the foot of the mountain, where the low-level priests lived. , there is only a faint sound of footsteps approaching from far away,

Suddenly, the fat man heard an unpleasant female voice humming in his ears, "It's so unlucky to meet an imperial dog here!"

The fat man opened his eyes and saw about ten meters away from the front of the observatory, seven or eight heavily armed Salander women with wide-eyed eyes.

In the middle of several women, stood a beautiful young woman. She was a rare woman wearing Mamunuk armor. She had a slender figure, a strong and attractive beauty, a heroic demeanor, and a charming figure.

The girl looked at the fat man coldly. The man's self-esteem made the fat man not avoid her gaze. A strange magic flashed in the girl's eyes, and she frowned and said, "Where have I seen you before?" "Little... miss, you look like that silly fat man across the street!" Another timid female voice said, and the fat man was stunned. I have definitely heard this voice somewhere. To be continued.