Now there is a question that stumps us: What is the intention of the Church of the Goddess to block all pre-war literature?
Previously, I did not think this was a problem at all, because the impression of the Church of the Goddess has always been that of a conspirator: it distorts history, blocks knowledge, allows the people to be exposed to a limited world view, and puts everything in the name of the Goddess, so everything it does should be to strengthen its divine authority, even if not to strengthen its ruling position, at least to eliminate threats.
But now that Icetis has found the forbidden books sealed by the Church, the content of the forbidden books is a bit strange.
Icetis grabbed the book of ancient war history that was a size bigger than a paving brick and tossed it up and down, while saying her opinion. "The most obvious comparison between what is recorded in these forbidden books and what the Church has promoted is whether the 'Age of Heaven' was peaceful or not. Now it seems that that period of real history was the worst period of this world. Even with the Dark Moon War now, it is still better than the ancient world war. The Dark Moon War only breaks out once every few hundred years, and every time it is stopped by the Goddess in time. The rest of the time, the world on the surface at least maintains a general peace, no matter how big the conflicts between the countries are, it is not like in ancient times, where people often go to war. You can also look at the mercenaries outside, think about the three Iron Knights we met during the day. They come from different races, and many of them are not natives of the Gondor Empire. These people can live in peace, and it seems that this peace is the norm. I have also inquired a lot of things in the past two days. This Gondor Empire is a kingdom ruled by humans, but there are a lot of other races in the country. The total number of aliens is almost equal to the human population, and there is no racial discrimination here. Look at the history before the Dark Moon War, which country allowed aliens to move freely in their own territory, and even join the army and rule the country? "
Speaking of this, Icetis slapped the big book in her hand on the short table. "In summary, the current world is not just a little better than the world before the Dark Moon War!"
"Although his culture has regressed," Lin Xue added in a low voice.
"Yes, cultural retrogression and historical discontinuity are a problem." Icetis nodded, "Because the Dark Moon War is too easy to mess up. We messed up during the first and third time. The first time caused the discontinuity of history, and the second time caused the gradual paralysis of the global transportation network. These two things are enough to push a civilization back thousands of years. But other than that, from a cultural point of view, I feel that this world is more lovely now?"
I thought of a vivid example. "One is to let you live a fully automated life, but there will be natural disasters and man-made disasters every few days. The other is to let you live in the urban-rural fringe. Apart from being unlucky to be born during the Dark Moon War, you can enjoy peace for hundreds of years. Most people would rather live in the latter environment. At least they can live in peace."
At this moment, I felt a slight movement in my chest pocket. Jingle popped her head out and joined in the discussion. "Jingle heard from Liliana that the core idea of preaching is to let the believers feel that they will have meat to eat if they follow you …"
That Lolita Pope's words really hit the nail on the head. Her words were crude but not crude. Isn't that what preaching is all about?
Even an experienced old faker like Bryndis nodded. "Well, to put it bluntly, that's it. If you want the believers to support you, you have to let them feel that they will have a bright future if they follow you. The ideal situation is to save people when the world is in chaos. That way, everyone will remember the days when they were in dire straits. Also, they will feel that ever since they got to know God, the wind has changed and the rain has become smoother. Not only do they have food to eat and clothes to wear, even their legs that have been suffering from cold for twenty years are showing signs of improvement. Preaching is just that simple. "
"But the Church in this world is the opposite." Shallow Shallow could see the problem even with her reasoning ability. "Originally, the official history was beneficial to the Church. Before the establishment of the Church, the world was in chaos. After the establishment of the Church, the world was peaceful. Although there are many details that need to be changed, it is still better than the 'Heavenly Era' that they made up. Compared to the Heavenly Era, it seems like they were the ones who ruined the world. "
I frowned as I looked at the few books on the short table that were sealed by the Church and forbidden from others to read. I felt that the Goddess's religion in this world was getting more and more unreasonable. They covered up the official history that was beneficial to them and made up a 'Heavenly Era' that made people feel that the world was dark and gloomy. What were those monks thinking?
"Speaking of which … This Goddess's Pope seems to be in the North Fortress, right?"
Icetis seemed to have thought of something. She lifted her head and looked in a certain direction, as though she was trying to find the figure of a certain Pope through the tent and the city walls.
The corner of my mouth twitched. "Are you going to kidnap him and interrogate him? Is there a need for that? "
"What kind of person do you take me for?" Icetis glared at me angrily. "What I meant was to follow and monitor him. Since there is a louse spirit wandering around the North Fortress now, I'll let it keep an eye on the Pope for the next two days."
I heaved a sigh of relief. "Of course, that's not a problem."
Icetis rubbed her chin and her eyes flickered. "But then again, your suggestion just now was a good idea. Heh, why don't we kidnap that old man and pour chili water on him? We can ask him if the Goddess's Propaganda Minister grew up eating sh * t … "
All of us, including Jingle, let out a 'tsk' in unison. No one bothered with this unreliable female rogue anymore.
Early the next morning, we were woken up by a commotion outside the camp. I tidied up and rubbed my eyes as I walked out of the tent. The first thing I saw was a female rogue running out of another tent. She had a little girl dancing under her armpit. She came over and hung the little girl around my neck. "Who taught you to control your sister? She's so curious and lively. When I woke up early to comb my feathers, she plucked two of them and said that she wanted to use them as pens. Who taught her to do that?"
I woke up from my daze and pulled the octopus off my neck. I realized that it was Visca. She was holding two black feathers that were half a foot long and glossy. Noticing that I was looking at her, the cat-eyed loli happily handed one over. "Brother, brother, the people in this world use quills to write. Can you make one for me?"
Icetis covered her face and turned her head away. "Damn it. She learned it without a teacher."
I rubbed Visca's head. I didn't know how to educate this weird little sister of mine. But when I glanced over, I noticed that Pandora, who was following behind Icetis, was also holding two black feathers that looked exactly the same. I instantly became dissatisfied. "Didn't Pandora pluck two of them too?"
"Nonsense. I asked her to pluck them." Icetis rubbed her shoulder as if the pain of plucking the feathers still lingered on her body. "The two that Visca plucked were from the left wing. I asked Pandora to pluck two from the right wing to balance it out."
I was speechless for a long time. I could only stretch my neck and change the topic. "… Where's Shallow Shallow?"
Lin Xue came out from the tent in the middle. She tried her best to tie her long black hair into a ponytail as she walked. She lifted her head and looked at me. "Shallow Shallow? Wasn't she in the same tent as you last night? Speaking of which, you left me alone in my room. I haven't found you yet. "
"Who knows where she went. I haven't seen her since I woke up. Besides, you were the one who insisted on occupying a tent to yourself yesterday. Why are you blaming others? " As I spoke, I went forward to help Missy tie her hair. Beautiful people are different. If an ugly lady tied a ponytail, it would only make her look like an Amazon warrior from the back. But when Missy changed her hairstyle, she would look like … Mm, a beautiful Amazon warrior. I didn't read much, so that's all I could use to describe her.
At this moment, the mercenary camp was getting more and more lively. The surroundings were filled with the rough shouts and laughter of men and women. There were also the sounds of weapons clashing and shouts from the warriors who woke up early to exercise and spar. Occasionally, there would be the sound of horses neighing and dogs barking from afar. These desperadoes from all over the world were seizing the time to warm up their bodies. As long as today wasn't the last day of their lives, they would continue to risk their lives for the reward. Then, they would come back and enjoy their lives. I noticed that a new gray tent had appeared not far away. When I slept last night, there was still an empty space there. This meant that a new person had arrived.
I didn't expect that someone would take a liking to such a remote corner of the camp. This place was at least a few miles away from the camp's exit and the nearest 'market'. Needless to say, this was probably for the sake of peace and quiet. Among the rowdy mercenaries who liked to gather together, there weren't many who liked peace and quiet.
I looked for Shallow Shallow through our mental connection and asked her where she was wandering around. At the same time, I wanted to greet our new 'neighbor'. At that moment, the tent's curtain was pulled open from the inside. A tall, white-haired woman bent down and came out.
I didn't expect this new 'neighbor' to be a lady. Moreover, she looked like a solo mercenary. This was definitely a rare resource in this profession. I was momentarily stunned. At that moment, the person on the other side also noticed that there was a stranger standing in front of her. She raised her head and looked at me suspiciously. With a hoarse voice, she asked, "Who is it?"
I quickly sized her up. This was a woman who looked very cold. She wore an ordinary dark-colored leather armor. She had short white hair and pale skin. Her lips were light purple. I wasn't sure if it was natural or if she wore lip gloss (considering the seriousness and life-risking nature of the mercenary profession, I felt that it might be natural). The most eye-catching thing about her was her eyes. They were purplish red pupils that I had never seen among the locals in this world. Furthermore, they were vertical pupils …
Among the people he was familiar with, there were two with vertical pupils. One was Lyn, because her original form was the Dragon God, and the other was Veska, because that girl had mutated her body for fun and couldn't change back. Of course, this was a digression.
I only looked at her for a second, but the woman in front of me had already noticed me. She frowned slightly. I pointed behind me and said, "Oh, I just came to say hello. We are over there."
The white-haired woman raised her head and saw Icetis and Lin Xue chatting not far away, as well as the two little girls who were 1.2 meters tall. Her expression didn't change at all. However, there was a hint of surprise in her eyes. Then, she asked, "Oh, do you need me to move?"
I was a little stunned by this strange woman's train of thought. "… No, I just came to say hello."
The white-haired woman nodded expressionlessly. "Oh."
I could tell that this was a person with facial paralysis. Under normal circumstances, people with facial paralysis weren't easy to communicate with. However, what was there for me to be afraid of? I had been facing Pandora's cement-like face all day long and I still managed to survive. As for the person in front of me …
However, before I could open my mouth, the white-haired woman in front of me turned around and walked away, leaving only the silhouette of her back to me.
"That woman doesn't look very happy." Seeing me scratching my head, Icetis raised her eyebrows. "Did you ask about her measurements or the color of her underwear?"
I maintained a distance of more than 2 meters from this female pervert. "Can't you say something nice in front of Lin Xue … That woman is weird. Maybe she isn't good at socializing. She didn't even say her name before walking away. Also, I feel that she is a little strange. "
"I don't feel anything," Icetis shrugged. "I think that all living things in the world are the same."
I chuckled in my heart. That was true. In the eyes of a True God, it wasn't easy to differentiate the different races in the world. It was just like looking at the mechanical language of a computer. Regardless of whether it was the nobles or the plants and rocks, they were all similar to a long string of numbers. Of course, the world in Icetis's eyes wasn't that boring. However, to her, the 'difference' between all living things in the mortal world was basically the same.
However, a white-haired woman with facial paralysis wasn't something worth paying attention to. I casually pulled Pandora and Visca's arms. "I contacted Shallow Shallow. She was hungry and went to the fortress to look for food. Right now, she has reserved seven seats for us in a small restaurant."
Hearing that we were going to a restaurant today, Icetis turned around and left excitedly. Halfway through, she came back to her senses. She looked at the number of people and was confused. "Why are there seven seats?"
"She must have counted wrongly." I gazed at the sky. "It's not like you don't know that the lass lives in another world."
North Fortress was originally a rather large militarized 'city'. A large number of troops were stationed here for a long period of time. Furthermore, it was far from the interior of the Empire. Hence, a market, a bar, and a restaurant slowly appeared in the fortress. They were basically maintained by the retainers of the Knights. It was the only place for the soldiers stationed here to spend their time outside of their boring lives. (There were only rocks and primordial jungles around the fortress. Even the officers didn't dare to use the teleportation station to go to the nearest town for entertainment.) As North Fortress was built on a mountain, it was divided into several levels. The higher one went, the stricter the security became. The military camp and other facilities were located on the upper level while the taverns and markets were located on the lowest level. The latter level was like a small town. Most of the time, the second-rate troops and mercenaries outside the fortress could only move around freely on this level. Further up was the territory controlled by the Knights. Anyone who wanted to enter would need a pass.
Now, as more and more reinforcements, especially the freelance mercenaries, gathered at the foot of the Longbridge Mountains, forming temporary villages and towns outside the fortress. The small markets in the fortress were also bustling with activity. If you didn't look at the watchtowers and the barracks not far away, walking on the lower level of the fortress would feel like walking into a typical medieval city, the most lively kind. We wandered around in the crowd for a while before we followed the signal that Shallow Shallow sent us to find the restaurant that she mentioned.
This was a restaurant run by the squire guards. The owner and the waiters in the restaurant were also soldiers under the name of the knights. However, they were all retired soldiers or soldiers who were injured and could no longer go to the battlefield. They kept their military status and stayed here as if they were working in the city. Qian Qian told me all this. I chatted with her through the mental connection. That girl was as good as the lice spirit in Bindis when it came to finding out the local situation. Of course, this had to do with Qian Qian's easy-going personality.
"Ah Jun, Ah Jun! Over here! " The moment we entered the restaurant, we heard Shallow Shallow's voice. We looked towards the direction of the voice and saw that she was sitting at an empty table. There was a pile of strange trinkets in her hands. I had no idea where she bought them from. We did 'create' some local currency for emergencies. However, it seemed that only Shallow Shallow could spend them. No one else was as hoarding as her.
Probably because we came out a little late, there were very few people eating here. There were two empty tables in sight. This made me feel a little less guilty about Shallow Shallow taking up seven seats. We sat down at the heavy oak table. Pandora and Visca skillfully took out two cannon shells and placed them on the wooden bench so that they could reach the table. After that, an old man who looked to be in his fifties stood behind the counter and called for the waiter to serve us. He should be the owner of the restaurant. Shallow Shallow introduced him as a retired soldier who seemed to be quite experienced here.
Shallow Shallow excitedly distributed the 'gifts' to everyone. She divided the pile of pebbles and metal pieces into several portions. "This is a protective amulet. This is protective amulet number two. This is protective amulet number three. This is protective amulet number four …"
"Why are they all protective amulets?" Icetis looked at the strange accessories that she bought from a retired soldier or a mercenary on the street. She was confused.
"People on the battlefield need this kind of psychological comfort the most." Lin Xue said as if she understood. "I heard something similar in the organization. There was a superstitious combatant who had to wear a pair of lucky socks at all times when he was on a mission. After that, his team was sent to the Amazon region for a fourteen-day mission. When the mission was exposed, the entire team was wiped out. Only he survived because his teammate broke his leg on the tenth day of the mission. He had to rest in the camp to recover from his injuries …"
"…"
While we were chatting, we suddenly heard an imposing set of footsteps coming from the entrance of the restaurant. It was followed by a loud and honest voice. "Ah! You guys are here! The four of us have been looking for you all the way … "
I turned my head and saw a tower-like humanoid blocking the entire door. There was a lazy black cat lying on his shoulder. Through the gap between the giant's body and the door frame, I could vaguely see a few pairs of hands and feet trying to squeeze in. Joseph's hoarse voice shouted angrily from outside, "Big Blockhead, hurry up and move away. Who can get in with you blocking the door …"
Big Blockhead!
And those three strange iron knights!
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