The priestess wearing a brand-new nun's uniform stood in the open space in front of the team. The cold wind in late autumn blew across the square, blowing up the nun's long pale golden hair and skirt decorated with black lace. She focused her attention on the distant sign. Target, listening to the orders of the superiors.
"preparation"
Following the instructions from her superiors, the nun in charge of the demonstration raised the magic "staff" in her hand, laid it flat on her side in a clean and neat posture, held the middle of the staff tightly with one hand, and held it tightly with the other. Then he grabbed the gauntlet wrapped with scripture cloth at the front, and a low and pleasant humming sound came from the mechanisms at both ends of the staff, and a faint holy white light began to flow between the gaps and runes in those mechanical structures.
"put!!"
The seemingly slender finger pulled the trigger, the body of the priestess trembled slightly, and a cloud of white light spewed out from the opening at the front of the staff. A flame exploded on the pillar.
After completing a beautiful shot, she extinguished the flame in the focusing crystal according to the instruction, put the "Gospel Angel" beside her again, and turned back to the team.
"This is the weapon improved by the Institute of Magic Technology and the Design Bureau according to the needs of female priests," Wright nodded to Veronica, "Although it looks like a staff made of all metal, because of the weak Effective weight reduction rune, the actual weight is much lighter than it looks. The attack method is essentially the holy light impact hand cannon used by the white knight, but changed from double shots to single shots, so the weight is reduced by half. The reason why it is designed The style of the staff is because close combat is also taken into account. You are right, the Priestess is not suitable for wielding the mechanical power hammer of the white knight, and the protective staff is a more suitable weapon... "
"I...actually, I think you may have misunderstood... no, it's nothing," Veronica felt a little tired for some reason, and swallowed it halfway through the explanation. She hadn't had a similar feeling for a long time in the past hundreds of years. At that moment, I couldn't help but want to sigh, "Patriarch, it seems that these nuns have also conducted melee training?"
"The training is only preliminary, but it is quite effective," Wright said, "His Royal Highness Rebecca and Ms. Hetty provided some guidance..."
"They provide guidance?" Veronica froze for a moment, feeling a little incomprehensible, "Why did they guide this?"
"The Cecil family has always been martial arts, and has many quick martial arts skills, especially Ms. Hetty, who is quite proficient in the staff protection technique," Wright explained, "Of course, they only guided a few instructors, and the follow-up The training is done by the instructors."
Veronica thought about it for a while, and decided that it's better not to go any further, but she still had a lot of questions that she couldn't help but ask: "Then what about their gloves? Why do nuns need gloves?"
"Lighter and more flexible melee weapons can further improve their survivability in close-range encounters, and fighting has always been the strength of Protestant priests, regardless of gender. In addition, their gloves are not just weapons. There is also a single-dose 'salvation' mixture built into it, which can save lives on the battlefield."
"... This sounds like a weapon tailored for the battlefield," Veronica said with an effort to maintain a smile, "but... isn't it a bit too much?"
Hearing this sentence, Wright's expression suddenly became serious, he looked into Veronica's eyes, and said very seriously: "We were born in an era that is not safe, and the priests are supposed to be ready to go to the battlefield of."
Having said that, he paused for a moment and shook his head slightly: "I know that in the past many years, the Church of the Holy Light has enjoyed wealth and power, and the powerful Holy See knights and convenient magic power have made the priests forget How did the missionaries who passed the dark age come over...
"The original missionaries trekked in the wilderness, accompanied by beasts, hardships and death, far from the improved convenience magic, and without the help of guarding knights and nobles from all over the world, it was in such a difficult situation for themselves to survive, Preachers temper themselves and protect everyone they meet on the road with immature Holy Light, and only then spread the original concepts of Holy Light such as light, redemption, and protection...
"Today we are lucky. We no longer have to wear tattered equipment to open up the wilderness, and we don't have to face the shadow of hunger and beasts at any time. But His Majesty once said that people have no long-term thoughts, but they must have near-term worries. In the long time in the future In such a vast world, there are always some dangers waiting for us, and since we have chosen the 'Holy Light', we must fulfill the responsibilities brought by the Holy Light."
Looking at the serious and serious patriarch, Veronica felt a little bit of emotion that as a rebel, she was taught by a "young" ordinary person today. She thought it was a bit funny, but when she saw When the faint holy light lingered around Wright, she still smiled.
He is qualified to break the spiritual seal with his own thoughts, and with this achievement alone, he is qualified to sit on an equal footing with any disobedient one.
Wright also realized that he had accidentally entered a state of professional preaching, and before the embarrassment spread, he quickly changed the subject: "Of course, not all priests are incorporated into the White Knights or War Sisters. Civilian priests are also retained, and even these armed priestesses are engaged in normal church work in the church to receive believers, listen to confessions, and comfort the wounded when they are not in a combat state. These are their daily tasks. White Knight There will be similar day jobs, but more manual labor.
"In addition, whether it is the armed priestess or the white knight, they must study the holy light classics and learn all kinds of new knowledge. This is their right and their obligation. They can neither deviate from the holy light because they are busy with secular things The Tao, and we cannot become old-fashioned people who resist advanced knowledge and solidify their thinking just because we only focus on studying the scriptures.
"The entire southern church does not support mediocre idlers."
"It's not just the Southern Church," Veronica smiled, "The North will also carry out this transformation, and jurisprudentially, there is no difference between the so-called 'Southern Church' and 'Northern Church'. We only have one Holy Church." Light Protestantism."
"I know, but this is only legal, and the substantive gap still exists," Wright said quite seriously, "We have carried out a very thorough remodeling of the church in the south, but similar 'remodeling' methods are not available in the north. Applicable, I have received reports from many regions that the priests of the old school have been trying to obstruct and delay the reform process, especially in the western region. They seem to obey the new church center, but in fact they have been doing a lot of small things."
"...Leave this part of the work to me," Veronica nodded after a short pause, "Cooperate with you in carrying out the Protestant Reformation. This is the content of the contract between me and Gawain Cecil."
Wright looked at Veronica fixedly, and was silent for a moment before speaking: "I'm curious, is it really just because of the deal with His Majesty that you are doing these things for us now?"
"... In many cases, 'deal' is the most stable way of cooperation." Veronica took a deep look at Wright with her gentle but lacking eyes, and after leaving this sentence, she mentioned the The platinum scepter that never left her body, turned around and walked away slowly.
…
A few days later, the eastern part of the Holy Spirit Plain.
The dry and cold wind blows on the face, and there is a slight burnt smell in the air. The fertile land that was once lush with greenery has turned into wasteland in the war zone, spreading endlessly into the distance in the field of vision, with dilapidated village ruins and charred The wreckage of the forest kept receding. During the long journey, similar scenery kept appearing, repeated over and over again.
Bud Wendell closed the car window a little strangely, isolating the dry and cold air from the magic car, and an old and a little unscrupulous voice came from beside him: "How is it? Seeing this stricken area with your own eyes. How do you feel about the plain that has been tossed into ruins?"
Bud turned his head and saw the old druid named Pittman looking at him with a half-smile, and he didn't know how to respond for a moment.
This unremarkable and scruffy old man is actually a big man. He bears the name of the chief druid of the empire and the head of the alchemy project. He has a respectable status and power in this huge and young empire. After seeing this dazzling halo, after a period of personal contact, he realized that this old man was actually so bad that he almost needed to be beaten. He seemed to be able to say a lot of words that choked people to death every moment to provoke the victim's mood , and unlike the princess Rebecca who has a similar talent, this old man did it on purpose...
The biggest problem Bud is facing is that he has not been able to fight this old man. It is not because there are soldiers watching or following the virtue of "respecting the elderly", but because he is 100% sure that even if he accidentally touches the old man, the other party Dare to lay down on the ground immediately, and then swindle the last copper coin in his pocket.
Why is this Pittman always targeting himself
Bud couldn't think clearly for a while, so he shook his head after a moment of awkward silence: "I don't want to defend myself, but I wasn't in Anzu when they started the plan in the Holy Spirit Plain. I was sent to the east of the mainland at that time, to Contact the Son of the Storm."
"Ha, it's just a change of place to do bad things." Pittman laughed, "The Son of the Storm... so you know what those guys are doing? Are they planning to return to the mainland?"
"... I don't know about their affairs. They put almost all their energy into the deep sea. Even the Dark Sect's Death of All Things and the Sleepers find it difficult to communicate with them now," Bard said quite frankly. , "I spent a long time on an offshore island in the eastern continent, but it was basically a waste of time. I helped them collect some supplies, but most of the time I was dealing with their limbs that were mutated by the deep sea. Work Like a doctor…”
"Limbs that have been mutated by the deep sea?" Pittman raised his eyebrows. "It's interesting... I'm interested. What's the specific situation?"
"They have been obsessed with occupying several sea areas controlled by the Kraken, but they do not allow members of other dark sects to participate in their frontline battles. I don't know what they did and what they went through. I only know that some were sent back The sons of the storm have grown fish scales and fins, and always mutter 'Eva is calling' at high tide..." Bud shook his head, "To be honest, the mutations in them seem to me even It is more terrifying than the many dark rituals of the Doom Society, the deep sea... There are too many incomprehensible things hidden in the deep sea, and I don’t know what the children of the storm are attracted to, and they are obsessed with it.”
"... Yes, leaving you, a cult member, can still have some extra effect."
Pittman grunted, and then stopped paying attention to Bud, whose face changed slightly, but turned his eyes to the distance, looking at another car driving ahead.
In the magic vehicle ahead, Gawain finished his routine communication with the government affairs office, and after turning off the magic network terminal on the vehicle, he couldn't help sighing: "The engineering team sent by Wald is between Solinburg and the Fertile Woodland. With the repair of two additional obelisks of magic energy, the communication problem between the southeastern region of the Holy Spirit Plain and the southern border has finally been partially resolved."
"Recently, the Rock Fortress has sent engineering teams to the north. They are either rebuilding the Kingdom Avenue or building infrastructure in the Holy Spirit Plain, or assisting in organizing a joint reconstruction team. Some people say that the Second Corps under Wald's hand is about to complete road and bridge construction. It's all over," Amber lay on the back of the seat in front of her, mumbling to herself, "Thinking about whether the Rock Fortress was still a portal barrier two years ago, it's really like a dream..."
While muttering, she moved her head and glanced at Gao Wen: "Then again, it's quite surprising that you decided to come and check the situation yourself... It's a good thing you can rest assured."
"The existence of the Consul system and the Government Office is to ensure that the entire empire can still operate normally when I leave Cecil City," Gao Wen said casually, but his eyes couldn't help but look in the direction of Solinburg, "and...here What happened really caught my attention. After all, it is the lair of the End of All Things Society. Almost all the great changes and turning points that this country has encountered in the past two years were brewed by this lair. How could I not come and see it for myself? ?”
"Ha, I just admire your ability to make up a lot of reasons for sneaking out." Amber said in a tone that was not afraid of being slapped on the wall (because there is no wall here), and then knocked on her in Gawain. He sat up straight before his head and looked into the distance in surprise.
"Holy crap..." she exclaimed, her eyes widening, "the report called that thing a... 'tree'?"