Wind Howl City is divided into inner and outer layers.
The inner city is Howling Castle, the residence of the Earl of the Blue Mountains. The whole body is built of thick granite, one head higher than the city wall. It has arrow towers and bunkers. Once a war breaks out, it can be fully armed to the teeth immediately.
In the previous blue blood civil war, Howling Castle set a record of guarding with one hundred people, blocking the siege of ten thousand troops, and persisting for one year!
Outside of Wind Howling Castle are the residences of civilians and free folk. The entire outer city of Wind Howl City is divided into four regions. It is an exquisite small villa with a garden or two attached.
The West District and the South District are the residences of the poor, and they are also the two places where the law and order are the most chaotic. Some black markets and slave trades are also opened here.
As for the North District, it is where the church is located.
Wu Ming was wearing a white shirt, starched black trousers, a crossed sword hanging from his waist, and moccasin boots stepped on the cobbled ground. There was a crisp sound, and he slowly came to the North District.
The building of the church is magnificent, with a pointed top and some Gothic styles.
Dangdang!
At this time, in the square, the sound of the bronze bell sounded, a group of ragged, linen shabby clothes, mostly barefoot poor people gathered together, waiting with a little eager expression.
bang!
The door of the church opened, and a group of priests poured out to maintain order.
"The Lord came from chaos to bring light to the world!"
A bishop in red with gray hair and compassion on his face started his daily preaching and giving.
Several strong men came out carrying the pot, which contained thinly boiled oatmeal, and the nuns next to them carried the baskets, and after removing the white cloth, they could see pieces of black bread lying there quietly.
Many poor people swallowed a mouthful of saliva unconsciously and squeezed forward.
If they hadn't seen a row of strong priests and a few glorious knights in armor, they might have stepped forward to loot them.
"Don't worry! Come one by one!"
The cardinal maintained order: "Women, the elderly, and children come first!"
Holding a spoon, he scooped up a spoonful of oatmeal for every dirty wooden bowl, broken pot with a hole missing, and even his hand. Less, but enough to barely survive for a day.
"The Lord says we are to love the world as the world loves us..."
Seeing the cardinal preaching tirelessly and leading everyone to pray, Wu Ming watched politely, but his eyes were full of puzzlement: "This church..."
In his eyes, the whole church was gray, with almost no aura.
He didn't even feel any extraordinary aura from that cardinal, as if he was an ordinary mortal old man.
The only thing that caught his attention were those honor knights.
These honorary knights, also known as church knights, are true knights who have been selected by the church system and have undergone holy oil and rituals!
Of course, they have the strength of knights, but due to the restrictions of the church, no nobles are willing to canonize them and give them fiefs and fiefdoms. Therefore, they have the strength of knights, but there is no reality of knights. The church claims that they have dedicated everything to the supreme Lord. , is the glory of the church, bestowing upon them the name of 'Knights of Glory'.
But in Wu Ming's view, they were just a group of high-level thugs trained.
"However, there is one thing that is the same. This kind of relief every day... This church really has a lot of financial resources..."
Wu Ming rubbed his chin and thought of more.
On Fengying Plain, there are only three factions that hold the secret of knight promotion. If those minor nobles want to remain neutral, and do not want their knights to be penetrated too deeply by the earl and viscount, they have to ask the church for help.
For this, they have to pay a large sum of money as a price.
Not to mention, based on the church's propaganda, there are always a group of free people and even minor nobles who hope to find spiritual comfort from the scriptures, choose conversion and baptism, and receive a large amount of donations every day, so they are naturally rich.
The armor of those glory knights was bright, and the cross swords were decorated with precious stones and gold.
After the crowd dispersed, Wu Ming came to the gate of the church.
"Strange brother, where are you from?"
The cardinal just now looked a little tired and was praying, but he spotted Wu Ming immediately.
"My name is William, from the town of Nia!"
Wu Ming stared at the statue in the church. It was a tall figure with perfect muscles but no face.
From it, Wu Ming vaguely felt a bit of extraordinary power, but it was hazy, with a feeling of speciousness.
"What god do you believe in?"
The cardinal asked slowly with a solemn expression.
"I believe in the spirit of nature!"
Wu Ming replied without blinking.
The belief system of this world is still relatively primitive, and many gods do not have specific names, and even primitive beliefs like ancestor worship and nature worship also exist.
Moreover, since the power of the church was suppressed by the nobles, it did not develop to the level of religious persecution, otherwise Wu Ming would not say that he is a heretic so carelessly.
He asked again, "Why don't gods have faces?"
"Because our Lord was born from chaos, He is the God of all, the God of dominion, with thousands of incarnations, and the spirit of nature is also a carrier of His great power!"
A voice came from the side, answering Wu Ming's question.
"archbishop!"
The previous cardinal immediately bowed his head respectfully.
Wu Ming looked at the person who was coming. He was dressed extremely plainly, with only a linen robe, bare feet, and no decoration at all. He looked no different from a poor old man on the side of the road.
But on his body, Wu Ming clearly felt the traces of extraordinary power: "Is it a real priest?"
But after hearing the archbishop's answer, he was immediately speechless.
With this doctrine of the only God, the Supreme God, it is no wonder that the church is so unpopular, and even boycotted by the nobles.
The enfeoffment of nobles is actually a division of power. They are the masters of their respective territories and can do whatever they want in the territories.
But the church's theory of the only God and the Supreme God, in the present world, is a naked, naked unity! No nobleman would blatantly support it unless he aspired to unify the king of the entire continent.
"Praise my Lord, I see the return of another brother!"
The archbishop smiled: "Brothers in the same church, are you here to seek spiritual comfort, or something else?"
"Actually, I am an adventurer, confident that my skills have reached the peak, but there is no way forward!"
Wu Ming said frankly.
"You want to be a knight?"
The cardinal shook his head: "I'm very sorry, unless you are canonized and recommended by the nobles, and you pay five hundred Jin Delong, or swear to give up everything to join the church and become a knight of honor, otherwise, according to the agreement, we cannot provide you with any help !"
What he said was very familiar, and he didn't know how many people he said.
"So that's it, I'm taking the liberty to disturb you!"
Wu Ming bowed slightly: "I donate a Jin Delong to the church!"
He took out a gold coin and handed it to the cardinal, looking disappointed to leave.
"Wait a minute!"
At this time, the archbishop suddenly said: "Dear child, the door of the church is always open for you!"
"Thank you!"
Wu Ming was startled, then saluted again and exited the church gate.
"archbishop?!"
The cardinal looked at the old man with some surprise.
The old man's demeanor also seemed a little confused: "I saw a layer of fog of fate on him, which seemed to carry the revelation of our Lord..."
"My lord?"
The cardinal was agitated and a little ashamed: "Did you get any oracle?"
"God loves the world, but he will not interfere easily in the world. He will only give you hints in the subtleties... feel it, listen to the whole world..."
The archbishop rolled his eyes and said slowly.
…
"To obtain holy oil research, do you have to join a church or a nobleman?"
Wu Ming walked out of the church with a sneer on the corner of his mouth: "If that's the case, how did those wandering free knights come here?"
Although there is a contract to abide by, he does not believe that the nobles and the church are so impeccable on the surface.
No matter how precise and perfect the rules are, people need to abide by and maintain them.
As long as there are people, there can be flaws.
"In the black market, there must be clues to the holy oil, and even for sale..."
Almost without time to think, an idea came to Wu Ming's mind.
"Of course... Before that, I should visit a few more scholars, I need more knowledge!"
…
Three days later, in the East District, inside a villa.
"Respected Scholar Lulun, I found poor Mr. Evans in a wolf den according to the route you provided. Sorry!"
Wu Ming put a blood-stained leather armor and a ring with a peculiar pattern on the table, and said to a pale old man.
"It is indeed Evans' ring... Oh! My poor little one!"
Scholar Lu Lun looked at the ring and rubbed it on his chest, the corners of his eyes suddenly became a little crystal clear.
"No matter what, I still want to thank you! Brave adventurer!"
After an unknown amount of time, the voice of Lulun Scholar came over: "You will get what you deserve!"
He stood up and put a key and a small bag of Jin Delong in front of Wu Ming: "The seven Jin Delong and the seven-day reading rights to all the books in my study are yours!"
"The rest, let Gavin tell you!"
Scholar Lulun leaned on the couch, obviously exhausted.
Wu Ming bowed out, found the old butler Gavin, and came to Lu Lun's study.
The brass key was inserted into the keyhole, and there was a crisp sound. Immediately, the door opened, and several rows of quaint bookshelves appeared in front of Wu Ming.