The twilight bell rang over the city of Napersius, and the bells reverberated in the empty twilight, far and near, the setting sun sprinkled on the dome of the floating golden palace through the burning sunset, reflecting an orange-red light.
Teams of golden helmet guards lined up on the ramp outside the palace wall to change shifts. From far away, the uniform voice of the ceremonial knight was heard. The noise passed over the copper-plated treetops and even passed into the inner court. In the Winter Solstice Palace, Pope Petian III hurriedly finished his dinner-half a carefully cooked roast lamb, a silver sea mackerel, and exquisite pastries were all served on a snow-white porcelain plate. Meat dishes were served with basil leaves and Saint Osso The leaves of the snow tree are made from the leaves of the snow tree, and the surface is topped with sauce and black pepper. The meat is crispy and the color is full of fragrance, but the diners themselves have no appetite. After tasting, they put down the silver knife and fork and wiped their lips with a square pajama embroidered with gold silk. After that, he ordered the attendants to arrange a carriage for themselves to the Cuijin Sanctuary.
Fa Enzan’s religious power is unified. Although privately the nobles will still have feuds with the temple due to the uneven distribution of benefits, but from the secular power upwards, the secular laurels and the sacred scepter are gathered in the hands of one person. For this reason, The pope is often not hereditary, usually from eight cardinals. After the abdication of the previous generation, the pope named him as a saint and lived in the Cuijin Sanctuary. He did not ask about secular power, but he was still the spiritual leader of the temple church. For thousands of years, this vacant position also possessed great power. Although his majesty the current Pope can be dictatorial, he still has to be restricted in essence.
Petian III's restlessness these days stems from this. He sat on the carriage and looked at the shadow of the vault of the emerald church from a distance, like a giant beast entrenched in his heart, staring at him, making him uneasy. The former Pope Aserbantu XI was his mentor on the Holy Way, and he cultivated his position to this day. Although the teacher-student relationship is harmonious, but there is always a throne separated from each other. Petian knows that this is due to their respective status. Successive popes are all so, and it is understandable. But recently, something abnormal has emerged. He has always advocated a holy war against the Cruz people in the south. Asaibantu XI has always been aware of his mind. Now that the Cruz people do not fight on their own, the mad queen dared to restore the dark dynasty. This It was a god-given opportunity that allowed him to become a teacher of Cruz in a proper name. He even contacted the wind elves and the envoys of the Graysius Knights, hoarded the army and food on the border, and prepared to display his ambitions. Fortunately, in history There was a lot of money left on it. At this time, the decree of dismissal made his hopes come to nothing. This decree came from the emerald holy hall in front of him—
This kind of thing may not happen once in a hundred years. The last time it happened was in the era of the Rimato Rebellion. Gloria I used the power of the Order of the Order of the Order to dismiss the current Pope. This association made Petian III's face gloomy and unclear. He looked gloomily as he watched the seven-foot-tall golden palace gate of the Emerald Sanctuary slowly open in the hands of the guards on both sides, and he didn't know what thoughts were turning in his mind. . The deeper level of anxiety in his heart came from the reactions of the bishops everywhere. The bishops and knights of different regions did not seem to react as fiercely as he expected to this unreasonable edict. The empire was like a mirror-like water surface, and it did not rise. With the slightest ripple, he knew that the old man behind the palace gate must have used some power he didn't know about, so that all parties were submissively surrendered.
As a superior, there is no one who can tolerate power beyond his control, especially since this power is so great that he exceeds his expectations.
Passing through the corridor accompanied by the attendants, Petian III stopped in front of a dark walnut door, then he raised his hand to hold back from side to side, and at the same time stopped the follower’s notification of the move, facing the walnut door, the sage judge The arrogant Supreme unexpectedly found a trace of hesitation in his heart. But the thread of hesitation was as light and weak as a spider thread. The pope broke loose with a slight effort, put his slender palm on the doorknob, and pushed in.
Ever since he was old, King Asaibantu XI liked to light the fireplace in his study, sit on a low chair, and read the classics and books of the church all day long, although Petian was very skeptical that there were some of them. How true, but he was more or less envious in his heart. Since he mastered the authority of the world, he inevitably alienated the divine will-"The Holy See is not as good as the Ascetic". This proverb is not a rumor in Faen's praise.
A warm breath rushed over his face, and the hot wind hit his cheeks, making him squint his eyes. The beating fire in the fireplace seemed to flow out through the opening of the door, like flowing warmth, flowing over him. The golden shoe and the end of the holy robe.
There was not only Asaibantu XI in the house. In addition to a forty-year-old minister, there was also an old man with all white beard and hair and glasses. Petian III recognized this person at a glance. He is a famous scholar in the temple. Asaibantu XI still wears a simple robe today, but rarely wears a hat, and looks quite formal and serious. There was a woman sitting across from him. Timothy III was a little surprised and couldn’t help but look at this. The woman glanced at it, but he glanced again, and he could no longer look away—this woman has long dry brown hair and a pair of eyes that sparkle like emeralds embedded in rocks. The reason why it is said to be embedded The rock is because her skin looks extremely dry, dull and lacklustre, and her cheekbones are high, like a steep rock. Her lips are sharp and angular, which seems to be carved out of it. One can see that this woman is extremely firm. Character.
There is only one woman in this world with such a face, and only one woman with a lifespan of one thousand years. Ti Pei An respectfully greeted him: "My Lord Sage."
Asaibantu XI looked at his students with a smile, and closed the book in his hands. It was a scripture expounding the early teachings of the church. The people who recorded it lay in the mud about three to four hundred years ago. Down, although he was chased as a saint after his death. He waved his hand, indicating that Pei An needn't be polite, as if he had already foreseen that he would come: "Your Excellency, are you here today, do you have a lot of problems?"
The situation was beyond Ti Pean's control, and the current pope pondered for a while and nodded solemnly.
"Let me answer you," the sage Ellanta said, with a soft and pleasant voice unexpectedly, completely different from her face: "The paper edict was issued by my request to Your Excellency Asaibantu."
"Why?" Ti Pean III asked.
"Because I hope that Faenza will not participate in this war, Your Excellency the Pope."
"Why?" Ti Pean is still the problem.
Asabantu XI smiled and accepted the conversation: "Your Excellency, the church has been harassed for half a century, and the old and new doctrines have been disturbed. You have witnessed all this. The reason is nothing more than a discussion of justice or not. The problem of this problem. The root of this problem is the war sixty years ago. We saw so many things behind that war that we began to question the foundation of our standing. What do you think of this?"
Ti Pean did not answer, but glanced at Ellanta.
"Which history is right or wrong, I can't give you the answer, the Pope." Ellanta replied calmly: "Although I am a witness, I, Jill, Saint Ossor, and your predecessor. Enzan can’t answer this question. Odin thinks he is wrong, but this can only represent his opinion of himself—he can’t judge history and everything in the past. In a certain historical stage we are in, there is nothing People can judge themselves correctly, not to mention that there are countless sages before him—many, many people have devoted themselves to them. Anyone in this piece of history, whether it is a witness or a bystander, only We can observe a fragment of it, so we can only experience it personally to witness it. I live for a thousand years just to see the result with my own eyes—"
Timothy III frowned. "But do you think the Queen of the Cruz people chose the right thing?"
Ellanta shook her head. "No, it is precisely because we can't confirm our right or wrong, that's why I want to see another path in history. You know the prophecy: The lost moon takes away the light, the light is lost, and the silver generation is lost on the earth, Moving forward in the darkness and ignorance, the coincidence of the emperor and the fool, the rusty clockwork is resetting, and the sword that changes destiny—Vaughan is waiting for this sword that changes destiny."
"Do you believe what is stated in the prophecy of the black, sage sir?" Timothy III asked in return: "Everything will be born out of darkness?"
"This is what the Miner people don't want to give up, Lord Pope," the sage replied: "This is the age of black iron, the age of heroes, and Martha has given power to the hands of mortals. Heroes are born, but from the perspective of the gold and silver races-how can we save our world by winning the weak? What's more, there are works lost in the dark forest and failed, everything seems to warn civilization that this is a mistake The road. The descendants of the Azure Knights have been arguing about this, the fire of civilization is declining, and even unsustainable. The dark dragon Odin made a last resort to save all this. Today will be the moment for it to show its results."
Ai Erlanta looked at Timothy III and replied: "The millennium of history seems to be back in a cycle, but this may not be the beginning and starting point of everything. I will follow the agreement with Odin and witness the last. But in any case, I still hope to keep a little bit of fire for civilization, and not to put all the power into just one answer. Therefore, I hope that the Faenzan people can stay away from this mortal stage, because there is a more important war. Your strength."
Ti Pei An raised his head slightly: "My sage, what do you mean?"
Ellanta raised her head, her emerald eyes seemed to penetrate the palace walls of the emerald golden hall, the direction she looked at, across the vast hills and plains, under the burning clouds, the waves of the emerald sea were thousands of waves. Over the years, tirelessly scouring the shores of white rocks, on this vast land, the alliance called Ten Cities has taken root and multiplied here. About 530 years ago, mercenaries and merchants from the Iner and Macedonia regions came here and spent a hundred years building the first city here. In the following half a century, a new kingdom was established. It There are humans, mountain people, elves and dwarves. The doctrines of the temple are widely spread here, but the belief in nature is not rejected by people.
Here is a paradise of freedom, where money and the sound of swords complement each other all year round.
But today, under Baicheng, the fishermen who went to sea suddenly stopped their work. Some sailors were clearing fishing nets and cables, some were still clinging to masts, some were drunk and Lingding just walked from the cabin to the deck, and some They were sailing, and some were hoisting anchors by the winch, but without exception, they stopped and looked back in the direction of the sea and the sky.
The fort on the city wall was firing warnings, and a team of guards swarmed up to the city platform. The sea was like blue waves, and the peace between the sea and the sky seemed to be no different.
But just in an instant, a dense cluster of black spots appeared in that direction—
Rand hurriedly put on a battle armor and hurried to the top of the city wall. Hu Cong surrounded him to the edge of the battlement. He raised his hand to stop the noises around him, and then raised the monocular in his hand. -What caught your eye was a white spinnaker that almost dazzled his eyes. He cursed in a low voice and moved his vision down. The silver oak emblem on the sail was shining in the sun, and then down, he Saw the elegant white hull of the elves.
"The Fleet of Wild Elves—"
Rand took a sip and put down the telescope. "There are at least three hundred ships. This is an army of thirty thousand people. Is Iranta crazy?"
The Ellanta in his mouth naturally refers to the country of wild elves. He glanced again and was convinced that he did not have hallucinations. At this time, the alarm bells were ringing in Baicheng city, and the ships outside began to file into the port. De took a look at the direction of the port, and estimated that the port would have to be closed in about half an hour. He turned his head, he was just a small group leader, and he couldn't make any idea about this matter. He handed the telescope to his deputy, and then said to a sergeant: "You go and inform the distant eagle and the lord of the city, let They decide that if the elves are really playing, Baicheng cannot be held. We must immediately seek the support of other city-states—"
Na Hu Cong glanced at him in a panic, then tremblingly took his brass token and ran off.
"Look at that ship—" Suddenly a rebel yelled, pointing in the direction of the sea.
Rand turned his head and saw a canoe emerging from the fleet of wild elves, approaching Baicheng at an extremely fast speed.
"It's a messenger."
"They sent messengers out."
"What the hell do the elves want to do?"