The changing of the seasons went on unhurriedly around the port of Ampere Seale. The increasingly dense forest began to cover the green hills, and the excavation work outside the port could not completely cover up the news. Since the Buga craftsmen left, the rumors about the Azure Lance still spread.
"What an eventful time."
Wood rubbed his eyebrows and stared at a page of letter on the mahogany table. The paper was snow-white and came from the eastern part of Cruz, adjacent to the forest border of the four-leaf clover. There was still a faint burnt smell in the corner of the letter, which was the unique trace of the magic imprint left by the flame magic. Before this imprint was erased, it should have been four pairs of eagles with their wings spread, representing the Holy Cathedral of Fire — or rather, the highest level of confidential documents in the Cruz Empire.
He looked up and sat at the mahogany table for a while, staring at the opposite wall under his thick eyebrows. For a moment, his eyes seemed a little illusory. Then the former archbishop of the Holy Cathedral suddenly ignited a golden flame in his hand. He shook his hand gently, and the charred letter suddenly turned into ashes.
Wood carefully tidied up the embers on the table, then straightened up and tidied up his golden priest robe. The news in the secret letter confirmed the news that had been circulating in the port in recent days, but in fact, he had already learned all the relevant information from the young Count Tónigel.
The people of Erouine did not intend to hide it from him, or at least did not intend to cover up the apparent fact — the Azure Lance did exist in Ampere Seale. But it was meaningless because the Buga people had already taken it away.
Wood's expression was uncertain, and his mind was repeatedly trying to figure out the information contained in this incident. He didn't know if it was the decisiveness of the little princess of Erouine, or the shrewdness of the young Count, but the benefits they had exchanged with the Azure Lance from the Buga people were very obvious.
He couldn't help but look back and cast his gaze out of the window. Outside the window was the light red undulating roof of the port of Ampere Seale. Emerald green vines hung down from the glass, splitting the sunlight sprinkled on the mahogany table into strange shapes.
This was really a vibrant city, but now it no longer belonged to the Holy Cathedral of Fire.
Wood did not feel anything about this matter. The Temple had made a mistake and should pay the price for it. The key was that at least this kingdom still believed in the way of the Golden Flames, and their people did not deviate from their reverence for the Holy Cathedral of Fire. As for secular interests, Wood had never been too concerned.
However, what really worried him was the inner circle of the Holy Sanctum — no, it should be said that the upper echelons of the Empire coveted the Azure Lance. Greed could blind a person's heart, and this was especially true for the nobles. Even he himself had suffered greatly from it.
However, judging from the words in the letter, His Majesty the Emperor himself should also be interested. After all, it was the Azure Lance, the most famous weapon in the Pale Poem. At this level, it was no longer something he could change. In the past, he might have been able to come up with some solutions when he was the Archbishop, but now it was not something he could worry about. He could only hope that the people in power within the Holy Cathedral of Fire could be more rational and see the true teachings of the Flame King.
He sighed, took off the Archbishop's square hat and put it on his head, then opened the door. The Knight loyal to the Holy Sanctum had already been waiting outside. His deputy — was no longer the former Friar Guet. Since he became the liaison between the Holy Cathedral of Fire and the Erouine Royal Family, his deputy had been replaced by a more shrewd officer. That person must have come from the core diplomatic agency of the Empire. Wood only had to look at his clothes and habits to know the details at a glance. This person was called Peter, and he was extremely tactful. When he saw Wood, he immediately bowed his head deeply, revealing his shiny bald head, and respectfully asked, "Lord Archbishop, is it about the Holy Sword Oderfeiss?"
Wood glanced at him, as if he wanted to see through this guy, and then replied lightly, "This is a secret of the Holy Sanctum. If necessary, I will tell you."
"I understand," Peter replied with a smile.
Wood looked back. The fragment of the Holy Sword Oderfeiss that Williams lost in the battle of Ampere Seale was not important. The Holy Sanctum had also agreed to exchange a new frigate with Brando for the fragment of the Holy Sword, but the key was the will and soul of the Holy Sword.
The identity of Count Tónigel was very special. He even had the shadow of the Silver Elves and the Dragons behind him, which made the Holy Sanctum's higher-ups feel very troubled. What's more, the other party did not seem to have any intention of joining the Empire, so the opinions of the higher-ups were not unified. On one hand, they believed that they should follow the choice of the Flame King, while on the other hand, their opinions were much stronger.
This was another troublesome matter.
Too many years of being high and mighty had made the Holy Sanctum of Fire somewhat arrogant and even indifferent to things outside. Some of the elders even had thoughts of assassination. Not to mention how ridiculous it was to assassinate a noble under the rule of the Holy Sanctum of Fire. What really made Wood angry was that these people seemed to have forgotten the teachings of the sages.
Whether it was the Empire or the truth, it would not have been a problem for the Holy Sanctum of Fire a hundred years ago. Since Cruz's reform, although the unity of the Empire had strengthened day by day, the weight of the royal power had increased day by day, and it had begun to threaten the foundation of Cruz's existence.
The funny thing was that some people had not realized this problem at all.
Wood was still going to meet the representatives of the northern nobles who were still in the port of Ampere Seale today. Although the things under the table were getting more and more onerous, the war was still the top priority for the affairs left in Erouine.
The war against the Golden Mane Toquinin. Wood did not know if the eldest son of the king was fully prepared. Although he made a solemn vow when he made the promise, the Seifer family had already suffered a great loss in this war. What's more, as a puppet, it was still unknown how much prestige he could have.
The Holy Sanctum would never invest much energy in a bet that was bound to fail. In this regard, Wood could only hope that the eldest son of the king would also understand this point. Fortunately, he was a smart guy, and presumably would not be too naive.
He walked out of the door with his deputy, but it was at this time that a servant came to him and bowed, saying, "Lord Archbishop, there are special visitors."
"Special visitors?"
Wood stopped.
The bald Peter had already stepped forward and wanted to drive them away, "You, can't you see that the Lord Archbishop has something important to do? If there are any visitors, as long as they are not from the Empire, just let them wait a moment — "
Wood interrupted him and reached out to stop the guy, "Are they guests from the Empire?"
Peter froze for a moment.
"Yes," the servant replied deferentially.
"Let them wait a moment, I'll be right there," Wood thought for a moment and replied with a frown.
But before he could finish his words, a serious woman's voice rang out, "There's no need, Archbishop Wood. You know my habits. We are already here. "
Wood heard this voice and was slightly startled. He raised his head. Sure enough, he saw the woman with a prominent reputation in the Empire.
She actually came.
… …
Unlike the sunny area of Ampere Seale, after crossing the vast Frada Forest in the north and entering Pedalson, the weather in the countryside became rainy and rainy. The heavy rain in the past few days had caused the Maj River to surge, and the roads around Magitan had become muddy and difficult to walk on.
In the torrential rain, a black, ghost-like carriage jolted through the woods. A corner of the window curtain was lifted, and in the pitch-black carriage, an eye that was faintly white like a dead fish's eye stared motionlessly at the shadowy scenery outside the window.
The gloomy clouds twisted into a ball over the forest like a shroud. Although it was only noon, the sky was dim.
"What is the Commander of the Azure Skies doing in Ampere Seale? Declaring war on the Erouine people? "A hoarse voice asked, and then he sneered, as if he thought this joke was very funny.
The sneer in the carriage was chilling. After a while, another voice said, "I'm afraid it's for the war in the north."
"If that's what you think, you're not far from the gallows. The Cruz people don't need to be distracted by a small Toquinin. They suffered a great loss in the battle of Ampere Seale, and they don't want to give the Bugas any more leverage. "The third person to speak had a calm, serious, and dignified voice.
As soon as he spoke, the others fell silent.
"The Holy Cathedral of Fire lost both face and power in Ampere Seale. On the surface, they didn't gain anything from us, but in fact, the final winner was neither us nor them." The voice paused for a moment, "Erouine has a wise princess."
"Duke," someone finally dared to speak up, "Are you saying that we have attracted the attention of the Holy Cathedral of Fire?"
"Very likely. It's impossible that the Cruz people didn't notice anything wrong. Do you really think you can do it flawlessly?" The dignified voice replied.
"Then what should we do?"
No one answered. The carriage was silent for a moment, and only the creaking of the carriage could be heard. After a while, the hoarse voice said, "As long as we find a way to delay —"
"So that's why we're here."
The dignified voice replied.
At this time, the carriage finally stopped in the middle of its journey, and a dark green castle appeared in front of them in the rain. The soldiers on the battlements shouted, but it was difficult for their voices to pass through the rain. At this time, the door of the carriage finally opened, and a swordsman in a cloak jumped down.
The swordsman looked up, and the unshaven face under the hood looked like Arreck or a wandering Knight from the north, but if Brando was here, he would have recognized his name.
The Eagle Swordsman, Devard.
"Hurry up and open the city gates, this is your Count's most distinguished guest," he shouted.
"Who are you?" The soldiers on the battlements questioned.
"We are the allies he wants to see the most. Go tell him, if he doesn't want to be hanged by the princess, immediately open the gate and let us in!" Devard replied arrogantly.
This question and answer was extremely rude, but just as the soldiers were about to flare up, the Eagle Swordsman threw an item far away on the battlements. He watched as the item drew a beautiful parabola in the rain and fell into the city, then shouted:
"Take this to Count Radner, he will understand!"
"Go, idiot!"
… … (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to qidian.com to vote for me. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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