In the square in front of the church in Louen City, there was a sea of people.
Two days had passed since the unprecedented battle, but the whole city was still shrouded in a strange atmosphere. For the people of Louen City, it was the first time they fought for the right to live on the next day with their own hands. For the people and heroes from all over the Southern Territory, it was the first time they gathered together and acted for a great goal regardless of origin, status, or the whips and swords of the lord. And today was the day when all their actions bore fruit.
People gathered in the square. Everyone had a high-spirited and fervent look on their faces. Their gazes fell on the front of the square because a high platform had been set up there. And on the high platform were the high and mighty priests who used to be high and mighty in the past.
The adjudicator had become the adjudicated. Putting all the justice and morality aside, this was enough to stimulate the excitement of many people.
This was a trial, but different from the countless heresy trials that had been held in Louen City, its process and form might be very novel and difficult to understand for the locals. The adjudicator was not a high-ranking priest, but a three-person tribunal composed of a White Knight, a Judge Cecil, and an arbitration consultant. In addition to the three-person tribunal, there were many jurors sitting next to the high platform.
Some of the jurors were wearing the robes of the priests. Some people recognized them as the priests in the small church of Louen City. These priests had been punished together with the civilians in the square of the heresy trial and acted as allies when they attacked the cathedral. Therefore, although they were priests, they still received a lot of friendly glances. Another part of the jurors were ordinary civilians who had put on clean and decent clothes. They were the highly respected people in Louen City, and many people knew their faces. The last part was the clerks from Cecil.
These people were called the "jury". They were the witnesses and supervisors of the trial, and also the representatives of all classes who had experienced the event.
The Louen people had never seen this wonderful and complicated form of trial, but there was no doubt that it exuded a fair and reliable atmosphere. The judge could not be arbitrary, and all the laws would be interpreted in the court. There were also people from all classes as witnesses to supervise the whole process of the trial. For the Louen people who only knew the "heresy trial" all their lives, this new "rule" from Cecil even made them feel a little shocked.
As for the Heavenly Priests who were tied to the high platform and waiting for their trial, they probably didn't feel so good.
These priests who were lucky enough to survive until now looked at the square below in horror. They looked at the untouchables who could only crawl in the mud in horror. They felt that the eyes of the people even had tangible heat, and they were going to burn them alive on the high platform.
They had not been stoned to death by the angry crowd two days ago, nor had they been killed on the spot by the White Knights and the Righteous Mercenaries. Now, they finally realized that they had survived not because of luck, but because they had "other uses."
The Cecil people had allowed them to live until today just so they could die today.
"Silence. The public trial begins now."
The "judge" next to the high platform spoke. This was a middle-aged administrative officer from the Cecil area. He was once a well-known scholar in the Kant area, but now he was going to judge the spokespersons of the Church of Holy Light in the south in the name of Grand Duke Gwen and the people of the south. This fact made him tense, trying to hide all the tension and emotional fluctuations under a solemn face.
After introducing the two sides of the trial, the members of the court, and the jury according to the Cecil law, the judge looked at the White Knight sitting next to him. Because this was a trial involving the church, Wright came to the court as a representative of the Protestant church. Noticing the judge's signal, the tall "Grand Patriarch" wearing the White Knight's armor slowly stood up.
There was a slight commotion in the square immediately. Many people had seen the White Knight in the "Battle of Dawn" two days ago. Wright was nearly two meters tall, the majestic White Knight's armor, and the holy light all over his body. These distinctive features impressed Wright in the hearts of the people of Louen.
Wright waved to the square and then looked at the priests in the center of the high platform. He noticed the fear and tension in their eyes, but his expression did not change.
He put his hand on his chest and solemnly swore, "I am Wright, the Grand Patriarch of the Protestant Church of Holy Light. I hereby swear in the name of the Holy Light that I will ensure the fairness and truth of this trial, and ensure that it complies with the sacred law of Cecil. The people will supervise all my words and deeds here."
The "public trial" that would go down in history began.
At first, many people thought that the trial would be an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a tooth for a tooth, and an eye for an eye. They thought that the priests of Louen would soon be tied to the stake and then burned, just like they had done to many innocent people. But in fact, the trial strictly adhered to the law of Cecil.
Cecil's judges and other members of the court clearly pointed out the crimes of the priests of Louen — embezzling people's property, killing innocent lives, deceiving the people, blaspheming the Holy Light. Then, one by one, civilians familiar or not, were brought to the stage by Cecil's soldiers. They testified against the priests in person and confirmed the crimes. The court also showed the accounts, files, and letters of the priests found in the cathedral on the spot, especially the "heresy elimination order" from the North Church, to confirm the authenticity of all the crimes.
People watched the trial with a strange emotion. They could not wait to see the priests of Louen burned to death immediately. This was a simple and straightforward revenge mentality. But as the trial entered the "testimony in court" segment, they felt a more vivid and powerful emotion than pure revenge.
They wanted to see the priests of Louen convicted and nailed to the pillar of shame forever after all their crimes were confirmed.
They wanted to hear the judge declare that those who had been casually burned to death were innocent. They wanted to hear that their relatives and friends who had been whipped, had their hands and feet cut off, and had been branded with the mark of sin were innocent.
They not only wanted to vent their anger and revenge, but they also wanted justice.
This was the most difficult thing for civilians to get in this world.
A woman with a crippled leg was helped up to the platform by a soldier. This woman's leg was broken by a knight of the Holy See. She let everyone see her deformed leg and complained that those cruel knights of the Holy See had done this to her just because she accidentally stepped on a priest's robe.
An old woman brought her son to the stage. Her son could not speak because the priest ordered the young man's tongue to be cut off. The crime was "talking about the sacred words in the Holy Codex."
The trial was destined to last all day.
At the edge of the square, on the high wall of the church area, Gwen and Amber watched the trial together.
"What will the priests be sentenced to in the end?" Amber looked down curiously. "It feels like the crimes and evidence are particularly complicated."
Gwen replied casually, "They will all be hanged. There will be no pardon."
"… They will all be hanged?" Amber looked at Gwen in surprise. "So it was decided from the beginning?"
"According to Cecil's law, the lightest of their crimes will be hanged twice. And for the promotion of the new religion and to completely eliminate the influence of the old church, these loyalists can't be kept alive."
Hu Po looked as if he was deep in thought. "... You allowed them to live until today for this trial, right?"
"Yes, it's for this trial." Gawain nodded slightly. "Not only must there be a trial, but the process must also be strict and fair. Even if each of the crimes committed by the priests is enough for them to die once, they can only die after the trial is over."
Amber quickly understood Gwen's intention. "It's to establish 'order', right?"
"Yes," Gwen sighed slightly. "Letting the priests be killed by the people and the White Knight, or setting them on fire during the trial may be the simplest and most satisfying way to deal with it. But if we do that, it will be no different from the 'heresy trial.' This great battle will also become a muddle-headed atrocity. In any case, we must pass on some of Cecil's ideas to everyone in the process of rebuilding the order in Louen City. Let them know that we are different from the Church of Holy Light. The heresy trial must be completely abandoned. "
A voice came from behind Gwen and Amber. "So even if those priests and priests have to die, they must die after a fair trial. This is the rule you made, right?"
Amber turned to look at the man and raised her hand to greet him. "Hey, Priest."
Gwen looked at the tall and thin middle-aged priest in a white robe and nodded slightly. "Sevin? Priest Terry, right? Thank you very much for your help in this operation. "
The man who appeared in front of Gwen and Amber was the leader of the chapel district, Sevin? Terry.
He didn't appear at the high platform of the public trial. Instead, he came here to meet Gawain.
"The Holy Light guides us." The tall and thin priest drew the symbol of the holy seal on his chest. He looked at Gwen curiously. "You are … different from what I imagined."
Gawain smiled at the clergyman who had been praised by Wright. "What's different?"
Sevin?? Terry answered frankly. "After listening to Miss Amber's description, I thought you would be a gloomier, colder, and more arbitrary ruler. For the sake of the greatest benefit, you would not care about the word 'justice'. But now it seems that … although you are tough, you still have your own moral code."
Gwen thought for a moment and turned to Amber. "… What did you say to him?"
Amber was with Sevin?? Terry wanted to slip away before he could finish his sentence. But considering that Gwen would probably throw her off the wall the moment she tried to escape, she braced herself and did not run away. At this time, she immediately shouted, "I'm not talking nonsense. It's all what you taught me! I think this priest has a problem with his understanding and imagination … "
"You should learn from Rebecca. Your intelligence did not improve much, but your head is getting stronger day by day." Gwen commented bluntly. Then he looked at Sevin?? Terry said, "No matter what you understand from Amber's words, I hope you can understand one thing: I am working hard for a better tomorrow for this land and its people. On this basis, I have no malice towards the Holy Light."
"Leiter told me the same thing. I believe in his judgment, and I also believe in my own vision at this moment," Savin said. Terry bowed his head in front of Gwen. "Thank you for arranging this trial. You showed me your 'justice'. It has no conflict with the Holy Light."
Gwen accepted the priest's evaluation calmly. Then he turned around and looked at the spires in the church district. "We will leave soon. This city … will still be the city of the Holy Light. Wright and I have discussed it. We want to use this city as a training and research facility for the new church of the Holy Light because it has the most Holy Light scriptures and the best magic environment. It is a ready-made holy city. Wright will be in Cecil City most of the time, so he wants you to manage the church here for him. Of course, the way the city is managed will change a lot. The church will no longer be the highest authority in the city. I will send someone to build a government office here to be responsible for the operation and construction of the city. You will only be responsible for the church affairs and the corresponding facilities. "
Sevin?? Terry nodded. "As long as you can continue to spread the Holy Light, I have no objections."
"Very good." Gwen breathed a sigh of relief. "I will gradually move the White Knight's training facility here. I hope you and your colleagues can cooperate actively. As for the cathedral … "
Gawain paused for a moment. He looked at the cathedral in the distance, which was shining brightly under the sun. After a while, he slowly said, "Give it a new name … Holy Light Academy. It will be used to spread the new doctrine and knowledge of the Holy Light to the people. From now on, all institutions that research and teach the Holy Light should be called Holy Light Academy. It should be separated from the churches that spread the doctrine and provide services to the community. "
Sevin?? Terry's eyes changed slightly. He subconsciously repeated the words Gwen used. "… Academy …"
Gwen smiled and looked at the priest in front of him quietly. "Yes, since it is a place to spread knowledge, of course it should be called an academy."
Sevin?? Terry met Gwen's eyes. In those eyes, he seemed to see the deep meaning behind all this.
Desacralization.
The Holy Light was a kind of knowledge. The belief in the Holy Light was a kind of culture. The church would become a simple service facility. As for the belief in the God of Holy Light …
Would it become a history class in the academy?
A few seconds later, Sevin?? Terry's expression became calm. He seemed to have finally put down some burden, and as if he had made a major decision in his life. He bowed his head again and said, "As you wish."
The tall and thin priest left. For a while, only Gwen and Amber were left on the city wall. Below the city wall, the public trial of Priest Lu An was still going on.
Gwen did not pursue the matter of Amber "slandering" him behind his back. However, the half-elf was obviously a little worried. After several hesitations, Amber finally could not help but say, "That priest said that you have your own moral code!"
Gawain could not help curling his lips at the half-elf lady's obvious attempt to find a topic. "That's nonsense. Who doesn't have morals?" He glanced at her.
Amber scratched her head. Unfortunately, she was not Rebecca. No matter how hard she scratched her head, she could not find any spark of wisdom. So, she could only speak her mind frankly. "You once told me that the so-called 'noble spirit' is hypocritical and outdated. The Knight's code has not kept up with the times. The 'doctrines and virtues' promoted by every church are also stained with the stench of money and power. You have abandoned these things. So, what is the justice in your heart?"
Gawain looked at Amber, his amber eyes glowing with an inexplicable brilliance under the sunlight. He found that this annoying, noisy and cowardly fellow had actually changed a little after this trip to Louen. Although he could not tell what the change was, it seemed that this wild and untameable half-elf had finally begun to treat her work seriously and seriously consider her career. Gawain looked at Amber, his amber eyes glowing with an inexplicable brilliance under the sunlight. He found that this annoying, noisy and cowardly fellow had actually changed a little after this trip to Louen. Although he could not tell what the change was, it seemed that this wild and untameable half-elf had finally begun to treat her job seriously and seriously consider her career.
This was a good thing.
"Look over there, those people in the square. Do you see them?"
Amber nodded and said, "I see them."
"Everyone has enough to eat and clothes to wear. This is the greatest justice."
… …
This was an endless and vast city. It stood in a distant and unreachable place. It existed today, in the past, and in the future, it would exist forever.
The magnificent holy light was the bricks and cornerstone of this city. It was the sky above it and the earth rooted in it. Every brick, every wall, every tower, and every door condensed the light and was filled with endless holiness.
Just as Saint Dumont had said: --
I saw a huge city, endless and vast. Light diffused from the bricks and stones of the city, and the whole city seemed to be cast in light.
And in the center of this city of light, on a magnificent square that was difficult to judge with the naked eye, countless streams of light rushed from the distant sky and gathered above a huge crystal that was constantly changing its shape.
The dazzling and sacred crystal rotated silently, ruling the city of light for thousands of years as if it was a day, and spreading the various Truths it contained — tranquility, light, peace, and protection. The streams of light that converged from various places were both the source of its converging power and the channel through which it released its influence.
But today, there was a slight change in the eternal order of this city of light. Among the streams of light that gathered from all directions, some of them quietly changed their color and direction. They became clearer, and as if they were uncontrollable, they passed through the crystal in the center of the square and freely flowed into the distance in the sky …
The crystal was still operating as if it was a day for thousands of years, and a pleasant chime surrounded it. This chime was ethereal and holy, but it was like the most chaotic noise without any rhythm or rhythm. In this chaotic and holy chime, the crystal changed its shape again, as if it did not care about the streams of light in the sky that had changed their direction and did not care about these insignificant "losses" …
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