The rising sun shone on this church city with hundreds of years of history.
The huge sun rose from the horizon, and the huge sundial covering half of the sky radiated a cloud-like halo. The woodlike lines on the corona solemnly looked down at the land that had experienced blood and fire like a wrinkled face. The century-old streets of Louen, the ancient church spires, the mottled walls and towers, and the flagstone roads stained with blood and fire were all bathed in the boundless and warm morning light. A pale golden luster sprinkled over the city. This scene reminded people of the picture that Saint Dumont described to the world four centuries ago before his death.
I saw a huge city, boundless and vast. Light diffused from the bricks of the city, and the whole city seemed to be cast by light.
However, the picture described by Saint Dumont eventually passed away with his long sleep. All the imaginations of later generations about the Holy Light Godly Kingdom could only stop at the ravings of a dying man. At this time, the residents of Louen had no time to care about what a saint who had been dead for four hundred years saw before his death. They just gathered in the square in front of the cathedral and cheered for their victory and survival in the rising sun.
"We won!" "Bless the Holy Light, we won!" "Long live Cecil!"
The cheers resounded throughout the square and even the church area. The mercenaries and adventurers raised their swords and shields high and pounded them to express their excitement. The farmers and craftsmen waved their pitchforks and hammers in the air and laughed heartily with everyone. The merchants and gentry from Calore seemed to have forgotten the gap of status at this moment. They threw their canes, hats, and handkerchiefs into the sky and warmly hugged everyone around them. An excitement that no one had ever experienced surged in the crowd. Although no one could describe what this excitement was, its meaning was self-evident: the "lower class" in this world finally succeeded in resisting the "upper class" for once.
In a corner of the church square, under the close watch (and protection) of a dozen white knights and a large group of brave mercenaries, a small group of priests and clerics were cowering together, their heads bleeding, their clothes tattered, and some were even dying. They looked at everything that was happening in front of them in horror.
They were the only priests and priests left in the Louen Cathedral. They were specially kept for the "public trial" in the future. Apart from them, more than half of the priests and clerics had died in the battle. Many of them were killed on the spot by the White Knights, some of them were annihilated by the mercenaries and adventurers, and a small number of them were beaten to death by the angry civilians with stones, sticks, and hoes when they had exhausted their physical strength.
The small group of survivors witnessed everything with their own eyes. The power of the angry people frightened them from the bottom of their hearts. The sticks and stones may not be as powerful as a spell, but what was behind it was frightening.
In the corner of the square, on a tall steeple, a few young people and their mentors from Cecil's newspaper office recorded the scene in the square with the magic network terminal. Looking at the crowd bathed in the sun and the ancient city shining in the morning light, a young man could not help but exclaim, "What a miracle."
Another young man shook his head and said, "But there will be people who will call this an atrocity."
"This is indeed an atrocity, or rather, an act of violence. Any major change that involves the change of order and the reorganization of social rules is bound to be accompanied by violence. There has never been an exception in thousands of years of history," said Godwin Orlando, the robed old man standing behind the two young men. He was the most famous scholar in the Southern Territory. The scholar who had studied history and grammar for most of his life had a clear view of the matter in front of him. As a traditional scholar, he felt that he had the obligation to teach this to his most trusted apprentices. "The difference is that the changes that have occurred in history are all of the same level. One lord attacks another lord, and one royal family member attacks another royal family member. No matter how large the scale, the change to the social order is very small. Usually, it is not more than a few decrees or the right to declare a few titles. It is more like the transfer of power and clever disguise. But what happened here today is a violent change from the bottom to the top. Although this is driven by our lord behind the scenes, the change itself is participated in and completed by the public. The result is even more shocking: it directly destroyed an old order."
"After the collapse of the old order, there will be a vacancy, so there must be a new order to fill in in time. Teacher, you told us so last time."
"That's right. But this is the main concern of our lord and the archbishop of the new church." Godwin Orlando smiled calmly. "What we need to do now is to record this scene …"
Seeing that his apprentices were deep in thought and started to get busy again, Godwin Orlando nodded slightly. Then he took out his notebook, thought for a moment, and wrote on it:
Ansu 737, 30th of the month of frost, Day of Requiem, tens of thousands of people from the northern part of the southern border attacked the Cathedral of Holy Light. The faith of the God of Holy Light was overturned, and the authority of 'God' will fall to the ground henceforth …
Godwin Orlando hesitated for a moment, raised his pen, crossed out the words' faith of the God of Holy Light ', and changed it to' the rules of faith '.
…
Saint Sunil City, Cathedral of Holy Light, in the Great Bright Hall, the bishops were reporting the news from the east of the plains to Pope St. Ivan III.
Since the sacred army of the Church of Holy Light broke the rules and joined the Ansu civil war and the royal army, the balance of the war, which had begun to tilt, was restored to a delicate balance.
Like a hot knife through butter, the Army of the East broke through Sorin Fortress and a dozen other fortresses of various sizes. The Army of the East that had successfully reached the Great Tree Pass was finally stopped when they were about to enter the central region of the Holy Spirit Plains. With the support of the Holy Light, the Army of the East formed a human wall and broke the invincible Army of the East in front of the Great Tree Pass. After paying the price of thousands of lives, the Army of the East's commander, Count Sorin, successfully repelled the Army of the East and took the opportunity to push the front line thirty miles to the east. The front line was pushed back to a 'safe distance' away from the hinterland of the Holy Spirit Plains, and had to return to a stalemate.
Because the harvest day had passed, the royal army had missed the last opportunity to reclaim the grain producing areas in the east, and the grains grown in Solin Castle and the surrounding fields fell into the hands of the rebels in the east.
After filling their stomachs and regaining their morale, the Army of the East once again stood firm on the Holy Spirit Plains.
The stalemate of the war left the leaders of the Silver Fort at their wits' end, and perhaps the leader of the rebels in the east was also anxious. But as a force that had just joined the war, the leaders of the Church of Holy Light were very optimistic about the stalemate.
"Your Holiness, the activity of the Ecclesiastical Army at the front line is obvious to all. Now the desire of the people around the Great Tree Pass to convert to the Holy Light has become particularly strong, and a large number of baptized people are appearing every day. Many of them are heretical believers and soldiers of the royal army," a bishop said loudly with joy in his voice. "Count Solin has specially written a commendation and gratitude document to thank our priests for helping him hold the line."
"A temporary stalemate can let people realize the significance of the appearance of the priests and the Knight of the Holy See on the battlefield," Saint Ivan III's low and slow voice echoed in the Great Bright Hall. "But we must also be aware that if the stalemate is too long, people will question the power of the Lord. And we must be vigilant, the heretics are also taking this opportunity to grow stronger … "
"Yes, Your Holiness, a large number of heretical believers have entered the eastern region, and recently, hostile priests with the divine power of the God of War and the God of Blood have appeared on the front line. They may imitate the Ecclesiastical Army and form the Eastern Priests …"
Saint Ivan III was silent for a moment, as if he was listening to the hazy whisper from the distant Holy Kingdom. Half a minute later, he broke the silence. "The Lord does not care. Those heretics have not found the right way, and they are just a mob. We should continue to spread the gospel of the Lord and intercept those heretics who are trying to escape to the east …"
The meeting in the Great Bright Hall went on in a solemn atmosphere. Under the guidance of the old but wise pope, everything was finally arranged properly. Finally, the meeting came to an end.
As usual, Veronica Moen, who was titled as the "living saint," stayed by Saint Ivan III's side after all the bishops left the hall.
In the long silence, St. Ivan the Third sat in the spacious and luxurious chair as if he was half asleep. The brilliant holy light shone on him and cast a long shadow behind his chair. Although the light was shining from the top, the shadow was long and curved and extended far away with many branches. It looked like a strange tree, with palms, eyes, faces, and grinning mouths hanging on the tips of the branches, which were shaking and changing constantly.
Veronica turned her head slightly and glanced at the shadow behind the Pope's chair, her face expressionless.
According to the sacred teachings, no one could stand behind the Pope's chair. Except for the living saints and the archbishops, no one was allowed to spy on the scene behind the Pope's chair because it was considered to be the place where the "god" stood. The Original Codex of Holy Light described it this way: the God of Holy Light stood behind the Pope, watching his people and kingdom through the eyes of the Pope.
At a certain moment, Saint Ivan III seemed to be completely asleep. A peaceful atmosphere enveloped him, and faint holy music came from the air. This state only lasted for a few seconds before the old Pope suddenly looked up and said, "The glory of the Lord has dimmed …"
Veronica bent over slightly and asked, "The south?"
"… It's the south. I see the glory of the Lord shaking in that land. There is blood and fire spreading on the land, and there is the sound of swords …" Saint Ivan III had opened his eyes, but he still sounded like he was in a dream. "This has never happened before, not even in the east …"
Veronica's expression, which seemed to always be calm and indifferent, finally showed a trace of astonishment.
Prince Edmund in the east had begun to officially expel the priests of Holy Light and issued the order to eradicate the faith of Holy Light. Those who followed the God of Holy Light could only secretly pray in their hearts. It could be said that in that land, the faith of the God of Holy Light had suffered an unprecedented blow, but in the south … there was a more terrible and thorough decline of faith than in the east?
What was happening behind the magnificent walls of the Firmrock Stronghold? Could it be that the resurrected founding duke had slaughtered all the believers of the God of Holy Light?
Soon, Veronica put away the astonishment in her eyes and continued in a calm voice, "I would like to go to the south and witness the changes there with my own eyes."
"You may not be allowed to enter the hinterland of the south, but as long as you are close enough, you should be able to sense what is affecting the glory of the Lord," Saint Ivan III said in a low voice. The eyes of this seemingly dying old man flashed with powerful holy light. "Find it and investigate it. If it is really Duke Gwen Cecil who has done something sensational to destroy the faith, then protect yourself first and then come back to discuss countermeasures. If it is some kind of blasphemous power that has entered the world … then destroy it."
"Yes, Your Holiness." Veronica bowed slightly. "For the glory of the Lord."
"Go and prepare … It just so happens that the Silver Fort is going to send envoys to the south." The old Pope's voice lowered as if he was about to enter the next dream. "The land in the south … has been neglected by us for too long …"
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