Firmrock Stronghold. Pastor Wright had a deep memory of this stronghold, not because of its unique geographical location and history, but because he spent his childhood in a town not far north of this stronghold.
At that time, he was just an orphan, a little servant adopted by the Abbot. The years in the small monastery north of the fortress were the most peaceful and comfortable days of his life. Although he had not yet awakened his holy light talent at that time and had not yet become a "Transcendent" feared by ordinary people, at that time, the Abbot of the monastery was still alive.
Rock Fortress itself was a huge city, but it was not self-sufficient. Many of the necessities in the fortress were provided by the surrounding towns and villages. The monastery where Wright lived at that time was responsible for providing the Knight in the fortress with holy water, holy oil, and amulets. At the end of every month, Wright would follow the Abbot all the way from the town to the fortress in a creaking old carriage to deliver the new holy objects to the fortress commander.
This huge military facility was full of fierce Knight and combative soldiers, but they were very polite to people from the monastery. During the delivery days, Wright would wander between the battlements in the lower layer of the fortress under the eyes of the soldiers. The dark walls inlaid with shiny copper bars and the trebuchets placed on the walls were what fascinated Wright the most.
But such days did not last for a few years. The Abbot was transferred to the central area of the Holy Spirit Plain, and Wright followed him to the central area. After a few years, the Abbot passed away, and the new Abbot took over the monastery. Wright became a pastor and was incorporated into the clergy of the central diocese. In the blink of an eye, more than ten years had passed.
The next time he saw Rock Fortress was two years ago. As a missionary pastor, he was kicked out of the church by the bishop of the central diocese. Then he went all the way south along the banks of the Dorgon River. The little servant who left in the past became a missionary and returned to this place wearing a priest's robe.
That time, Wright did not stay in the Rock Fortress for too long. Although there were many places in the fortress that were worth reminiscing about, the familiar faces in the fortress were almost gone. Even the strong, fierce, and feared commander of the fortress had left his post a few years ago due to an old injury. So, he only stayed for a short while to replenish his rations and water before leaving the fortress and stepping into the desolate and barbaric land of the Southern Territory.
He never thought that he would return to this place after just two years of preaching.
In front of the checkpoint that one had to pass to enter the city, he saw two long lines of civilians. One line was going into the city and was waiting in line for inspection, while the other line was coming out of the city. The main members of these groups were merchants who drove the carts, while the rest were mercenaries and adventurers who wore armor and carried swords. Only a small number of commoners were mixed in with these groups, and most of them were commoners who lived in nearby towns. In this era, it was not easy for commoners to obtain a pass issued by the nobles. Other than the large and unending stream of immigrants from Cecil Hill, there were very few commoners who would travel long distances.
Wright stood in line obediently and waited for a long time before it was finally his turn. He stopped in front of the table where names were registered and documents were checked. He took out a document from his pocket and said to the lazy soldier behind the table, "May the Holy Light protect you."
Feeling a huge shadow looming over him, the sleepy soldier behind the table suddenly opened his eyes wide. Then he heard a deep voice saying, "May the Holy Light protect you." He looked up and saw a man who was stronger than his commander standing in front of him. The man was wearing an old priest's robe and took out two documents from his robe. One had the mark of the Church of Holy Light, apparently to prove his identity as a clergyman, and the other was a document of passage issued by the nobles.
The lazy soldier immediately woke up. He took the document and greeted the clergyman politely, "May the Holy Light protect you, Mr. Priest. Actually, you don't have to line up. "
Although the priest in front of him was wearing a slightly old robe, which was a bit strange, a priest was a priest, a Transcendent, a superior, and a priest of the Church of Holy Light. Of course, the soldier did not dare to neglect him.
"Everyone is lining up." Wright smiled gently and said casually, "There are a lot of people. I don't remember there being so many people here."
"Ahem, that was last year. This year is different." The soldier shook his head and said, "A large number of merchants have started a potion business between the Holy Spirit Plains and the Southern Territory. Many bankrupt farmers have heard some nonsense and are running to the Southern Territory to ask for a living. Many merchants have documents of passage issued by the Grand Duke and are responsible for transporting these people to the Southern Territory. Do you see those caravans with three bundles of straw hanging on them? Those are, they are going to the Whitewater River Wharf … "
Wright blinked and felt a little emotional. Even here, what the lord does has such a big impact?
While they were talking, the soldier had finished checking Wright's priestly certificate and saw the mark on the document of passage. The soldier suddenly stopped talking and his expression was a little strange. "It's the document of Duke Cecil again …"
Wright asked curiously, "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
"… Oh, of course, there's no problem. This is the mark of the Duke. There can't be a problem," the soldier said hurriedly and then explained a little awkwardly, "It's just that half of the documents I see every day have the mark of Cecil …"
"A pioneering territory always needs people and materials," Wright said slowly. "It's just that there hasn't been a new pioneering territory for so many years. I'm afraid everyone has forgotten about these."
"It has nothing to do with us anyway," the soldier muttered and returned the examined document to Wright. "You may enter the city, Mr. Priest."
Wright took the document and put it close to his body. He turned and walked to the familiar heavy gate covered with black steel and copper bars.
After passing through the deep gate and the solid first and second walls of the fortress, he arrived at the inner city of Rock Fortress.
As a huge fortress, Rock Fortress was not just a military building. It was the most important barrier between the Southern Territory and the Holy Spirit Plain. It was also a place for traveling merchants to rest and gather. In order to achieve these functions and to ensure the livelihood of the nearly 10,000 soldiers, Knight, and mages in the fortress, the interior of the fortress was actually a well-equipped and bustling city.
The city still had not changed much.
As Wright walked on the streets of Rock Fortress, the somewhat blurred images in his memory gradually became clear in front of the familiar street scenes. He saw his favorite pastry shop when he was a child. Every month when he came here to deliver "goods", he had eight copper coins as pocket money, which was just enough to buy a cheap cake or sweet biscuit. He also saw the greasy "Slaughter Square" and the tall wooden rack erected at the edge of the square. He remembered that the wooden rack was used to whip thieves and deserters. But since there was no war in the Southern Territory for a long time, being a soldier in the fortress was a comfortable job, so its main purpose was still to whip thieves.
Basically, every month, there would be thieves hanging on the wooden rack with their hands tied and being whipped until their skin and flesh were torn apart. The biggest pastime of the residents and soldiers in Rock Fortress was to come to the "Slaughter Square" to enjoy the whipping scene. Wright also remembered that on the second rest day of the Fiery Moon every year, there would be a celebration in Rock Fortress to celebrate the completion of the city. The most important part of the celebration was to tie the first thief caught in the Fiery Moon and whip him for an hour.
If the thief was not caught in the month, the slave drawn by lot would be used instead.
The slave owners were happy to send their slaves here to be whipped. It seemed to be a very honorable thing for them. More importantly, the commander of the fortress would compensate them with money. If a slave was accidentally killed during the whipping, the compensation would be enough for the slave owner to buy two healthy new slaves. Therefore, those who had slaves in the city would even treat the celebration of the Fiery Moon as a lucky draw event and would even bribe the soldiers in charge of the whipping for it.
Wright could not help but frown when these memories came to his mind.
He used to think that it was barbaric and cruel, but he had never felt that it was full of sin like today.
In Cecil Territory, he saw so many serfs, slaves and slave workers who worked hard in exchange for freedom. They had their own houses and property, and even went to school and learned how to read. They became "citizens of Cecil" like everyone else. He saw with his own eyes that those who were regarded as "stupid and inferior" could live with dignity like ordinary people. He found it difficult to accept the so-called "elegant entertainment of a civilized society" in the central region.
Moreover, there was this unchanging city … This city had not changed for decades, or even a hundred years.
There was not even a newly built house in sight.
Wright shook his head and turned to leave Slaughter Square. He no longer had the interest to stay and rest in this city.
He just replenished some dry food, water and beer that was easy to preserve, and quickly left Rock Fortress. After passing through the northern gate of the fortress, he officially set foot on the land of the Holy Spirit Plains.
He walked in the wilderness outside the city for a long time. After walking for a whole day, he finally saw a small village before sunset.
Looking at the sky, Wright decided to rest in the village. His travel expenses were not much, but the villagers usually would not refuse a priest's lodging. He could also help people chop firewood in exchange for dinner, which was much cheaper than spending the night in the city.
He walked into the village and walked on the bumpy muddy road. Beside him were low and shabby huts and wooden houses. He inquired about the location of the village manager and walked in that direction.
But a sudden commotion came from behind, making Leiter stop in his tracks.
He turned around and saw that the pedestrians on the muddy road behind him were dispersing. Two soldiers in armor pulled a man's arm and hair and dragged him out of a nearby house. A woman in a shabby skirt ran out of the house, crying and kneeling at the feet of the two soldiers. Behind the two soldiers, there was a Holy Light priest in a priest's robe and a white gold-rimmed bonnet.
Obviously, as an Extraordinary, the Holy Light priest was the one who controlled the situation.
Leiter immediately strode over.
"What happened?" He came in front of the Holy Light priest in a robe and asked with a frown, "What crime did this man commit?"
The woman kneeling on the ground saw another priest appear and immediately cried out even louder, "Sir! We really don't believe in evil gods! That's just an old account book — "
The woman's crying came to an abrupt end because a divine spell — Command of Silence fell on her. She could only open her mouth wide and stare at her throat. The Holy Light priest who cast the spell withdrew his hand and looked at Wright with a little curiosity. After confirming that this was a fellow member of the church, he said, "Brother, this has nothing to do with you. I suspect that this family is involved with evil priests."
The man who was being dragged on the ground by the two soldiers muttered in a low voice, "I really don't … I really don't …"
Wright frowned at the scene and looked at the priest in front of him with the greatest patience. "What evidence do you have?"
"We found a book in his house." The priest waved an old book in his hand. "This is the evidence of contact with blasphemous knowledge!"
The man on the ground cried, "That's just an old account book … I just want to teach my wife a few words …"
Before he could finish his words, the soldier next to him kicked him with his iron boots, making him swallow the rest of his words along with the blood foam. The soldier stepped on his head and said sternly, "You are not allowed to bewitch people! How can a commoner recognize words! How can a commoner have a book in his house? "
"It's a dangerous sign that a commoner has a book collection in his house. This collection of books is very likely to be placed in his house by the devil. Even if the words recorded in the books look normal, blasphemous knowledge will be hidden between the lines. When an illiterate commoner looks at these books, what they see is not the words on the books, but the words of the devil." The priest drew the symbol of the God of Holy Light on his chest and said with a serious face, "This is a warning from Bishop Mayor."
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