Two weeks later, as the Midsummer Moon drew to a close, Roland finally arrived at Hermes.
The garrison in the north and the witches greeted him at the gate of the Holy City. In addition, he also saw a few nuns in the black robes of the church.
Although Roland had learned the news of the collective disappearance of the church's top leaders from Lightning, when he walked into this empty plateau fortress, he still couldn't believe that the expected fierce battle did not happen, whether it was God's Punishment Witch or a new type of persecution. The guns didn't come in handy. Although this result could not be better, there is always a feeling of punching the cotton.
Deciding to bring Isabella before the expedition was a very correct choice. According to the report sent by Eagle Face and Agatha, it was the former pure who noticed the abnormality of the church, and after properly disposing of the orphans in the monastery, she sent her to the monastery. The North Army made a proposal for an in-depth investigation of the Holy City of Hermes.
The results were surprising. The huge city was already empty, and only some residents in the outer city who were too late to relocate maintained the illusion that the church still existed. In fact, they don't know what's going on in the inner city, they only hear that the church is preparing for the final battle.
Afterwards, the group of nuns united by Isabella quickly entered Hermes. Under the running announcement of these people, the signs of escape gradually eased, and at least the fleeing brigade in the direction of Wolf Heart and Eternal Winter basically no longer appeared. After all, abandoning the Holy City was simply too dramatic, and the blow to the church's reputation was almost devastating. Compared with those who left without saying goodbye, the nuns who took the initiative to restore order were more like the successors of the church.
"How did this happen?" Since the letter could not be written in too much detail, the first thing Roland did after entering the Holy City was to ask the whereabouts of the remnants of the church, "There are thousands of people in the inner city, don't they? Don't they need to go through the outer walls to leave the plateau?"
"There are many natural tunnels under Hermes, some of which can pass through the holy city wall from underground. If they are evacuated in batches, the residents of the outer city will indeed be unaware." Isabella explained. , "They were designed to be single-use when they were built, and there is no way to get in or out, and I checked several tunnel entrances and found they were all damaged."
"Where do those tunnels lead to?"
"Only those who have passed by will know," she shook her head. "If this escape was planned in advance, it would be difficult to trace their whereabouts after a month and a half."
So the church is planning to cut off its tail to save its life in order to make a comeback? Roland can't help frowning. The problem is that giving up the Holy City is equivalent to losing the basic game. It is not as simple as cutting off the tail, and the loss is even worse than the severed head. They were so confident that they could find a new base to fight against Greycastle? Or plan to break it into pieces and harass his territory in batches? The thought of being on guard against these fanatics for the next few years gave him a headache.
Perhaps seeing his thoughts, Isabella smiled, "You don't need to worry about the church, they won't come back."
Roland was stunned, "Why do you say that?"
"They left a messenger," the other replied.
…
In a small church in the northern district of the Holy City, Roland saw the messenger from Isabella's mouth.
It was an old man with white hair, wearing a brand-new red-bottomed gold-trimmed priest's robe, holding a thick book in his arms, and walked out under the escort of the guards.
Although his steps were a little flimsy, he still held his head up, as if he didn't want to lose to anyone in terms of momentum. He first glanced at Isabella coldly, and then looked at Roland, "You are the King of Greycastle, His Majesty Roland Wimbledon?"
"it's me."
"Grey hair and grey eyes, he does look a lot like your father," the old man said slowly. "My name is Jacob, the high priest of the holy city. According to the secular method, he is probably equivalent to the duke... Of course, I have neither The corresponding fiefs do not need so many servants."
"I heard that you insisted on waiting for me here?" Roland shrugged, "Why, those people didn't take you with them when they sneaked
"I want to stay," he said solemnly, as if explaining his last words, "I'm old and can't run anymore... Even if I can walk, I won't have a good life for a few years. It's better to live a new life. Buried with the city."
"New life?" Roland quickly caught the key words in the other party's words.
"That's right, let go of all responsibilities and just live a new life for the rest of your life." There was a hint of sarcasm in Jacob's voice, "You won, Your Majesty, if this is what you want to see, the church won't stop Against you, the city will be handed over to you intact, and you will soon take over our nightmare."
"Oh?" Roland said noncommittally.
"Why do you think we are standing on this plateau where there is nothing?" He raised his voice a little, "Look at what you have done, mankind will perish because of you!"
"Yeah, what you said is a little too serious, I don't bear the blame." Hearing this, Roland probably understood the intention of the high priest. The church really did not want to allow itself to comfortably conquer the Holy City, and even if it was virtually powerless to stop it, it would make a mental stumbling block. Zero had played this hand before the decisive battle, but the original intention was completely different. If he was a person who knew nothing about the battle of divine will, he would definitely be surprised when he learned that the devil will soon destroy mankind. Keep your mouth shut. If you add oil and vinegar, and put the classic black pot of "humanity is your fault" on your head, its lethality is no less than spiritual pollution.
"Pot? Heh... nonsense, do you think I'm joking? Young king, it seems that the Pure One did not tell you the truth of the matter." Jacob glanced at Isabella meaningfully. , "The church shoulders an unimaginable responsibility, and this matter is only known to a few high-level people. You have no idea what kind of enemy we are preparing to face in these hundreds of years. Now that you have ruined all this, naturally you have to bear it. Consequences, even if you don't want to, it's useless When fate befalls mankind, all you can do is accept it helplessly, and watch your kingdom turn into a sea of fire!"
It seems that this guy not only wants to launch a mental attack, but also finds an opportunity to provoke his relationship with Isabella, but it is a pity that he saw the wrong person and expressed the wrong meaning... Roland looked at the righteous old priest, and couldn't help but think in his mind. There is a saying that life is like a play, and it all depends on acting skills.
"You don't have to believe me, but the facts are beyond doubt," Jacob let out a long breath after speaking, and handed out the book in his arms, "This is the Church's Holy Book, and you will know it after you read it. Understand, what stupid things have you done! We... no, it should be said that the real enemy of mankind, is"
"Devil, right?" Roland interrupted him casually, "The church did not build the holy city here to defend against evil beasts, but a vein of divine stone in the mountains. There is a secret institution under the cathedral for mining divine stones and transforming them. God's Punishment Army, this is the core of the church. Of course, I don't know if you know this. After all, the transformation ceremony can only be controlled by the Pope. Do you still want to talk about the battle of God's will or the smile of the gods? More than 400 years A war of reincarnation is nothing new, and the devils are not ghosts that come and go without a trace. In fact, I have dealt with them before. So… do you have anything else to say?”
"You and me" Jacob was stunned at this time, his mouth widened, he hesitated for a long time and couldn't say a word, it seemed like he was going to hold his breath at any time. It took a while before he pointed tremblingly at Isabella, "It's you..."
The latter shook his head gently, "I didn't tell him this. From the beginning, he knew far more than we expected, you underestimated him... Or, we all underestimated he."
"Since you've finished speaking, it's my turn," Roland sneered.