The reason why I couldn't tell her age was that the woman had a delicate and beautiful face despite her white hair. She had a pair of deep, lake-like eyes despite her wrinkles. The priest robe she wore was more luxurious than that of Roland's priest. It was not only inlaid with gems, but also tied with a golden belt. She wore a green and white scarf embroidered with flowers and leaves on her shoulders, which added a bit of elegance to her. Compared with the plain-dressed priests Xiao Chen had seen, she looked like a princess rather than a clergyman.
"Ah, it's her. Seeing her proud swan-like appearance, I remembered Margaret, who is known as the flower of the forest. She can be regarded as an outlier among the priests of the Temple of Nature. For her, beauty and dressing may be more important than oracles." Liu Yisheng said.
"Flower of the Forest?" Waver was stunned. "Isn't her nickname Temple Rose?"
"Is that so? Don't worry about it. Her nickname in this world is still so rustic anyway." Liu Yisheng shrugged.
Xiao Chen and his party walked to the square. Before the people from the Temple of Nature spoke, the city lord, Viscount Anderson, spoke first. He was a handsome young man in his twenties with long purple hair. He held a long sword in his arms, tilted his head slightly, looked at the bloodstained father and son and said, "Weber, Franco, Gram, you three are really capable. You actually killed Alfred, that violent guy. This is something that will go down in history books. Even I have to say I admire you. But you did this too recklessly. No matter what, as long as the royal family of the Purple Eagle Empire does not fall, how can the aristocratic circle of the empire accommodate you? It seems that you are determined to fight the Chinese, right?"
"Anderson, since when can you talk to me like this?" Weber said coldly.
"Weber, now you are the enemy of our empire, why should I be nice to you? Look at you, it's only been one day and you've brought your new master to seize the cities of the empire! The emperor is not good to your family, so I don't care even if he is killed. But it's disgusting that you gave the imperial city that you were supposed to defend to the enemy. I think there is more dog blood in your blood than lion blood, right?" Anderson said sarcastically.
Gram said angrily: "Anderson, insulting the blood of a noble is a matter of life and death. You are just a high-ranking person, but you dare to say such words in front of the three of us. You are really tired of living!"
"Would I be afraid of you?" Anderson raised his eyebrows. "You are the ones who should be afraid now. Do you know how many nobles would want to kill you? I want to see who will get the honor of avenging the emperor in the end, for the sake of honor and profit."
Count Duan held Viscount Anderson's shoulder and said, "Mr. Anderson, that's enough. Now that these people are here, we should give the time to Priest Margaret."
"Of course, of course. I just felt a little angry when I saw these guys change sides so quickly." Anderson turned to Margaret and said, "Priest Margaret, please forgive me for saying a few more words out of indignation. Now please."
"Masters from the Tower of China, I am Margaret, the chief priest of the Western Branch of the Imperial Temple of Nature." The woman surrounded by a group of imperial men spoke, "We are here because the temple has issued an order for you to end this war immediately."
Xiao Chen looked at the priestess and felt that she was very confident when she said this. She obviously believed that the Tower of China should and must accept their mediation.
"I am Xiao Chen, the acting chairman of the Tower of China. Priest Margaret, do you know what the best thing the Temple of Nature has done before?" Xiao Chen asked with a smile.
"What do you want to say?" Margaret asked.
"The best thing you did was to stay in the temple and not interfere in the war in our secular world." Xiao Chen said, "Since you didn't show up when the imperials attacked Black Wood Pass, you shouldn't show up in Holy Sword City now. Otherwise, how can you justify your usual neutrality?"
"Sir Xiao Chen, is this what you, as the head of the Tower of China, want to say to the Temple of Nature?" Margaret smiled. It must be said that no matter what flower this priest is called, she is indeed a great beauty, but she is like a rose with thorns, and her words are aggressive. "Don't you know? The attitude taken by the Temple of Nature has never been neutral, but to keep the situation on the continent in a proper and reasonable state. Now you have attacked all the way to Holy Sword City, which I think has crossed the line too much. The Empire has ruled this city for hundreds of years, and there is no need to change the rulers here now. Look at the other side of Black Wood Pass, you have swallowed up nearly a quarter of the kingdom's land, are you still not satisfied?"
"Ms. Margaret, what is the standard for crossing the line? Does the Temple of Nature have its own requirements for what this world should look like?" Xiao Chen asked.
Margaret said confidently, "You don't have to ask us what our criteria are. The emperors and kings seem to rule this continent, but they keep changing dynasties. Only the Temple of Nature has remained consistent for thousands of years, guarding this land for the true God. We certainly know what is best for the continent better than you rulers of short-lived dynasties. Therefore, once the Temple of Nature makes a judgment, our decision is unquestionable."
Xiao Chen said: "We are not an empire or a kingdom. Our rule is different from any country in the past. If you come to our territory, you will find that the people under our rule are more stable and happy than any other country on this continent. Even if you have not been to our city, you should have seen that our goods are sold everywhere. The wealth we earn here is used for our people, so that they can have enough food, warm clothes, get education when they are ignorant, and get treatment when they are sick. If the Temple of Nature really cares about the people on this continent, it should let us rule more areas."
Luo Ling said: "If I'm not mistaken, Ms. Margaret's shawl is a product of our China Tower."
Margaret smoothed her shawl with her hands and chuckled: "What does what you said have to do with the decision of the temple?" (To be continued)