When Weber arrived at the gate of Holy Sword City with a team of about a hundred defeated soldiers, a city guard officer was already waiting there with several soldiers.
According to the strength of these people, any expert from Xiao Chen's side could capture this gate city. However, they still did not intend to alert the enemy, but wanted to sneak into the city, reach the city lord's mansion and control the city lord, Viscount Anderson. As long as Viscount Anderson could surrender, they could take over the entire city without bloodshed. Xiao Chen and others could be said to have made perfect preparations, but they acted extremely cautiously.
Gram said to the officer as he had rehearsed, "I am Gram, the blood master of the empire. This is my father, Duke Weber. The empire's army suffered a disastrous defeat at Blackwood Pass. Emperor Alfred has passed away. The empire's army has been dispersed. Let me in quickly. I want to report the specific situation to the Prime Minister who is far away in the imperial capital."
The officer was a man in his thirties, looking a little nervous. But what he said was beyond everyone's expectation: "Lord Weber, and all the lords from the Tower of China, Lord Anderson is already waiting for you in the square in the city, and Earl Duan is also waiting for you there."
"What?!" Several people present exclaimed. Gram grabbed the officer by the collar and asked, "What's going on? Did you set a trap?"
His brother Franco looked up at the top of the city, but saw no ambush. Luo Ling and others behind them also prepared defensive magic, and a faint magical light began to cover the group of people.
Xiao Chen seemed very calm. He signaled Gram to put the officer down, and then asked, "I am Xiao Chen, the great magician of the Tower of China. Answer me a few questions."
The officer looked up at him. Although his eyes flickered, he said firmly, "Sir, I am only a low-ranking officer, just a messenger. I don't know any secrets. If you want to enter Holy Sword City, just go to the square from here. If you don't want to go in, please go back."
Xiao Chen said: "You are quite courageous. But what I want to ask you is not a secret. I want to know when did Earl Duan get here?"
The officer probably thought this was not a big deal, so he said, "About three hours ago."
"Who else besides him?" Xiao Chen asked.
Seeing the officer hesitate to answer, Xiao Chen said: "Since you are waiting for us here, it means that the people inside are actually ready to see us and want to talk to us. Tell me, who are they?"
When Xiao Chen spoke, he was both intimidating and charming, causing the officer to speak involuntarily, "It's the people from the Temple of Nature. The nearby Silver Leaf Priestess Margaret is waiting for you in the square with several priests and Templar Knights."
"Oh? Why did they appear in this city?" Xiao Chen asked again.
"Lady Margaret is the chief priest of the nearby temple, responsible for a large area in the southern part of the empire. They got the news of the fall of Heimu Pass from somewhere and suddenly came here early this morning." said the officer.
"People from the Temple of Nature are actually getting involved... Is the Temple starting to change its stance? They didn't get involved in this war from the beginning and have been keeping a wait-and-see attitude," Luo Ling said.
"Everyone who is watching actually wants to get out, but they just feel that the time has not come yet. The Temple of Nature did not participate before, not because they have no interest in this war, but because they are waiting for a certain result." Xiao Chen said.
Liu Yisheng said: "This is not surprising. In many worlds, a war similar to the current one has broken out before. Basically, whenever there is a major imbalance of power in the middle of a war and it is nearing its end, the Temple of Nature will intervene."
Luo Ling asked: "What is their purpose?"
Liu Yisheng said: "The purposes of the Divine and the Present-world factions in interfering in the war are different, and the outcome will be different each time. But for those who are interfered with, it will definitely be a troublesome thing."
Luo Ling asked: "Then which sect does this Priest Margaret belong to?"
"I don't know. My memory is incomplete and I have no impression of this person." Liu Yisheng said.
"Margaret should be a close confidant of the Golden Branch Priest Gibran, but since Gibran died in the kingdom, her position is not very clear." Weber said.
"As long as we see them, we will naturally know what they want to do." Xiao Chen narrowed his eyes and looked at the city gate. His gaze seemed to pass through many houses and reach where those people were. "Since others are waiting for us, let's go meet them."
Since their identities had been exposed, Xiao Chen and the others took off their hoods. Xiao Chen walked to the front of the team and headed into the city first.
Walking in the city, Xiao Chen found that the rhythm of the city had not changed at all. It seemed that ordinary people did not know the news of the fall of Heimu Pass, nor did they know that their emperor had passed away. They just lived their lives as usual, and did not know that the people walking in front of them were the leaders and top masters of the hostile countries on the other side of the mountain.
Weber saw this scene and said, "It seems that Viscount Anderson and Count Duan trust the Temple of Nature enough to have given up even the most basic defense. Whether it is civilians or guards, the situation is not much different from usual."
"If we fight an offensive and defensive war, our way will definitely cause a large number of civilian casualties. Maybe they hope to avoid such a result this way." Xiao Chen's eyes fell on the children running by. "No matter what the outcome of today is, it would be best if we can not disturb the lives of these ordinary people. To be honest, the conflicts of interests between countries or the conflicts of ideas between the upper class are too far away for them, but the trauma caused by war is too close to them. In fact, I can understand the concerns of Saint Morales."
Weber said, "You are so kind. In fact, this is in line with the tradition of our Radiant Lion bloodline. Protecting those who need protection is our family's motto."
This group of people exuded the smell of blood. When they passed through the streets, the noisy people would quiet down, the adults would take the children away, the residents would close the doors and windows, and everyone realized that something unusual was going to happen.
After passing through the main road at the city gate, Xiao Chen and his companions soon arrived at the city square mentioned by the officer. From a distance, they saw more than a dozen people waiting there.
The person standing in the middle was not Viscount Anderson or Count Duan, but a woman wearing a priest's robe, but her age was not obvious. (To be continued)