Rock Fortress, Pastor Wright has a deep memory of this fortress - not because of the unique location and historical stories of this fortress, but because his childhood was spent in a town not far north of this fortress .
At that time, he was just an orphan without father and mother, a small handyman adopted by the abbot of the monastery. The few years in the small monastery in the north of the fortress were the most peaceful and comfortable days in his life, although at that time He hadn't awakened the talent of the Holy Light yet, and hadn't become a "transcendent" respected by ordinary people, but at that time, the old abbot of the monastery was still alive.
The Rock Fortress itself is a huge city, but it is not self-sufficient. Many of the expenses in the fortress have to be provided by the surrounding towns and villages. The monastery where Wright lived was responsible for providing holy water and holy oil for the knights in the fortress. and talismans. At the end of every month, Wright would accompany the old dean and drive all the way from the town to the fortress in a creaking old carriage, delivering the new holy relic to the fortress chief.
The sprawling military complex was full of fierce knights and aggressive soldiers, but they were also very polite to those who came from the abbey, and on delivery days, Wright would be under the eyes of these soldiers, Turning around among the wall stacks in the lower area of the fortress, the dark city wall inlaid with shiny copper strips, and the trebuchet placed on the city wall were the things that fascinated Wright most back then.
But this kind of life lasted for a few years, the old dean was transferred to the central area of the Holy Spirit Plain, Wright also went to the central area, and then a few years later, the old dean passed away, and the new dean took over In the monastery, Wright became a priest, and was incorporated into the priesthood of the central diocese... More than ten years passed in a blink of an eye.
The last time I saw the Rock Fortress was two years ago when he was kicked out of the church by the bishop of the Central Diocese as a missionary pastor, and then went all the way south along the bank of the Dorgon River. The little handyman who left here in the past became the missionaries, and returned to this place in priestly robes.
That time, Wright didn't stay in the Rock Fortress for too long—although there are many places worthy of his memories in this city, the familiar faces in the fortress are almost gone, even the strong, fierce, fearsome The chief of the fortress also left his post a few years ago due to old injuries, so he just stopped in a hurry, replenished dry food and water, and then left here, stepping into the desolate and savage land in the southern border.
He did not expect that after just two years of missionary time, he would return to this place.
Before entering the city, he saw two long lines of civilians. One was walking into the city and was queuing up for inspection, while the other was coming out of the city. The main members of these teams are merchants driving carts, and others are mercenaries and adventurers wearing armor and swords. Only a few ordinary people are mixed in the team, and most of them are civilians living in nearby towns —In this era, it is not easy for common people to obtain passports issued by nobles. Except for Cecil's huge and continuous immigrant team, few ordinary people will take "long-distance travel".
Wright lined up obediently in the queue, and finally it was his turn after waiting for a long time. He stopped in front of the table where he registered his name and checked the passing documents, and while taking out the certificates from his pocket, he looked lazily at the table behind the table. The soldier said, "May the Holy Light protect you."
Feeling a huge shadow looming over him, the sleepy soldier behind the table suddenly opened his eyes wide, and then he heard the low voice "May the Holy Light protect you", raised his head, and saw a A man who was stronger than his superior was standing in front of him. The other party was wearing an old priest robe, and took out two proof documents from the robe—one with the seal of the Church of the Holy Light, which obviously proved his status as a priest, and the other One should be a document issued by nobles.
The lazy soldier suddenly came to his senses, and while he quickly took the documents, he greeted him kindly: "The Holy Light protects you—Mr. Pastor. Actually, you don't have to wait in line."
Although the robes worn by the pastor in front of him are a bit strange, but a pastor is a pastor, a transcendent, and a high-class person, and this is the pastor of the Holy Light Church, which is currently being powerful, so he certainly dare not neglect.
"Everyone is queuing," Wright smiled mildly, and said casually, "There are a lot of people—I don't usually have so many people here in my memory."
"Hey, that was last year, this year is different," the soldier shook his head and said, "A large number of merchants have started the potion business between the Holy Spirit Plain and the southern border, and there are many bankrupt farmers who don't know where they heard the nonsense , to go to the southern border to find a way to survive—many merchants brought these people with transit papers issued by the Grand Duke, and they were responsible for transporting these people southward. Have you seen those caravans with three bundles of straw hanging on them? Those are, they are going to the White Water River Went to the pier…”
Wright blinked, feeling a little emotional in his heart: Even here, did what the lord did have such a big impact
While speaking, the soldier had already checked Wright's priest's certificate and saw the imprint on the passing document below. The soldier stopped in the middle of his words, and his expression was a bit strange: "It's Duke Cecil's certificate again... "
Wright asked curiously: "Why, is there a problem?"
"...Oh, of course it's no problem, it's the Duke's mark, so there can't be a problem," the soldier said hurriedly, and then explained with a bit of embarrassment, "It's just that half of the current documents that I see every day carry Sisi Er's emblem..."
"A pioneering territory always needs people and supplies," Wright said unhurriedly, "it's just that no new pioneering territory has appeared in so many years, and I'm afraid everyone has forgotten about it."
"Anyway, it has nothing to do with us," the soldier muttered, and returned the checked documents to Wright. "You can enter the city now, Mr. Pastor."
Wright took the document, put it close to his body, and turned to the heavy door covered with black steel and copper bars that was familiar in his memory.
Passing through the deep city gate, passing through the strong first and second walls of the fortress, is the inner city area of the Rock Fortress.
As a huge fortress, the Rock Fortress is not just a military building, it is the most important customs clearance barrier between the southern border and the Holy Spirit Plain, and it is also a place for business travelers to rest and gather. The lives of soldiers, knights, and mages, the interior of the fortress is actually a bustling city with complete facilities.
The city remains unchanged.
Wright was walking on the streets of the Rock Fortress, and the blurred images in his memory gradually became clear in front of these familiar street scenes. He saw his favorite pastry shop when he was a child—on the days when he came here every month to deliver "goods" , he had pocket money of eight coppers, just enough to buy a cheap cake or cookie in the store, and he saw the greasy "slaughter square", and the tall wooden shelves standing on the edge of the square He remembered that the wooden frame was used to whip thieves and deserters—but since there had been no wars in the southern region for a long time, being a soldier in the fortress was a comfortable job, so its main function was to whip thieves.
Basically, every month, thieves would be hung from a wooden frame with their hands tied, and their skin would be torn apart from the whipping. The biggest pastime for the residents and many soldiers in Rock Fortress City was to come to the "Slaughter Square" to enjoy the scene of whipping, and Wright still remembers that on the second rest day of the Fire Moon every year, there will be a celebration in the Rock Fortress City to celebrate the completion of the city. The most important part of it is to tie the first thief caught by the Fire Moon to it and whip him One hour.
If no thief is caught that month, a slave drawn by lot is substituted.
Slave owners are very happy to send their slaves here to be whipped. Be careful if you are beaten to death, then the compensation is enough for the slave owner to buy two healthy new slaves, so those who have slaves in the city will even regard the celebration of the fire moon as a lottery, and will buy the whipping for it Soldier…
These memories popped up in Wright's mind, and he couldn't help frowning.
He used to think it was barbaric and cruel, but he had never felt it was full of sins like today.
In Cecil, I saw so many serfs, slaves, and slave laborers working hard in exchange for freedom, owning their own houses and property, and even going to school to read and become "Cecil citizens" like everyone else. After seeing with his own eyes that those who were regarded as "stupid and inferior species" can live with dignity like ordinary people, he found it difficult for him to accept the so-called "elegant entertainment of civilized society" in the central region.
And there's this unchanging city... a city that hasn't changed for decades, or even a hundred years.
Not even a new house in sight.
Wright shook his head, turned and left the Slaughter Square, and no longer had the interest to stay and rest in this city.
He just replenished some dry food, water and beer that is easy to store, and quickly left the Rock Fortress, passed through the northern gate of the fortress, and he officially set foot on the land of the Holy Spirit Plain.
He walked for a long time in the wilderness outside the city, and walked for a whole day, before he finally saw a small village before the sun set.
After taking a look at the sky, Wright decided to rest in the village—his travel expenses were not much, but villagers usually would not refuse a pastor’s lodging, and he could also help people chop firewood for a meal, which was cheaper than staying overnight in the city Save a lot of money.
He walked into the village and walked on the potholed mud road, surrounded by low and dilapidated thatched huts and wooden huts. He found out the location of the village manager and walked in that direction.
But a sudden commotion came from behind, which made Wright stop.
He turned and saw passers-by on the dirt road behind him spreading out, while two armored soldiers dragged a man by the arms and hair and dragged him out of a nearby house, a man in a worn skirt The woman ran out of the house, cried and knelt down at the feet of the two soldiers—behind the two soldiers came out a priest of Holy Light wearing a priest's robe and a white gold-rimmed soft hat.
Obviously, Priest Shengguang, who is an extraordinary person, is the one who controls the situation.
Wright immediately walked over.
"What happened?" He came to the priest of Shengguang who was wearing a robe, and asked with a frown, "What crime did this man commit?"
The woman kneeling on the ground saw another priest appeared, and immediately cried out even louder: "My lord! We really don't believe in evil gods! That's just an old ledger—"
The woman's cries came to an abrupt end, because a divine law of silence fell on her, she could only open her mouth wide and stare at her eyes, grabbing her throat hard, while the Holy Light priest who released the divine spell Withdrawing his hand, he glanced at Wright in front of him with a little curiosity—after confirming that he was a member of the church, he said, "Brother, this is none of your business—I suspect that this family has an affair with the witch priest."
The man dragged on the ground by two soldiers muttered in a low voice: "Really no... really no..."
Wright watched this scene with a frown, and looked at the priest in front of him with the utmost patience: "What evidence is there?"
"A book was found in his home." The pastor raised an old booklet in his hand. "This is evidence of exposure to blasphemous knowledge!"
The man who fell on the ground cried: "That's just an old account book... I just want to teach my wife how to read a few words..."
Before he finished speaking, the soldier next to him kicked him with iron boots, making him swallow the rest of the words with blood foam. The soldier stepped on his head and said in a very stern tone: "Don't deceive people. ! What characters do common people recognize! How can common people have books in their homes?"
"It's a dangerous signal for common people to have a collection of books in their homes. This collection of books is likely to be placed in their homes by the devil. Even if the books record normal-looking words, blasphemous knowledge will be hidden between the lines. In these books, what you read is not the words on them, but the words of the devil," the priest drew a symbol of the Lord of the Holy Light on his chest, and said with a serious face, "This is a warning from Bishop Megaul. "