Chapter 366 Seeing in the Plains of the Holy Spirit

Rock Fortress, Priest Wright has a deep memory of this fortress - not because of the unique location and historical story of this fortress, but because his childhood was spent in a town not far north of the fortress of.

At that time he was only an orphan without a mother and father, a chorus adopted by the abbot, and the few years in the small abbey north of the fortress were the most peaceful and pleasant days of his life, although the He has not awakened the talent of the Holy Light, and has not yet become an "extraordinary person" revered 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 depend on the surrounding towns and villages, and the monastery where Wright lived at that time was responsible for providing holy water and holy oil to the knights in the fortress. and talisman. At the end of each month, Wright would follow the old dean in a creaking old carriage from the town to the fortress all the way to the fortress, and deliver the new relic to the fortress chief.

This sprawling military facility is full of fierce knights and combative soldiers, but they are still very polite to those who come from the monastery, and on delivery days, Wright will be under the eyes of those soldiers Rotating between the wall stacks in the lower part of the fortress, the black lacquered city walls inlaid with shiny copper bars, and the trebuchets placed on the walls were the things that fascinated Wright the most.

But after a few years like this, the old dean was transferred to the central area of ​​the Holy Spirit Plain, and Wright followed him to the central area. After a few years, the old dean died 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 have passed in a blink of an eye.

The second time I saw the Rock Fortress was two years ago. As a missionary priest, he was kicked out of the church by the bishop of the Central Diocese, and then went south along the banks of the Dorgon River. After the missionary, he returned to the place in the priest's robe.

That time, Wright did not stay in the rock fortress for too long-although there are many places in this city worth his memory, the familiar faces in the fortress are almost invisible, even the strong and fierce one The feared fortress officer 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 left here, stepping into the desolate and savage land in the south.

He did not expect that after just two years of missionary time, he would return to this place.

Before entering the city's necessary checkpoint, he saw two long lines of civilians, one walking towards the city and lining up for inspection, and the other coming out of the city. The main members of these teams are merchants driving carts, while others are mercenaries and adventurers in 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 commoners to obtain passes issued by nobles. Except for Cecil’s large and continuous immigration team, few ordinary people will make “long-distance travel”.

Wright lined up in the queue honestly, and waited for a long time before it was finally his turn. He stopped at the table where the name was registered and the paperwork was checked. The soldier said, "May the Light protect you."

Feeling a huge shadow looming over, the sleepy soldier behind the table suddenly widened his eyes, and then he heard the low voice "May the Holy Light protect you", raised his head, he saw a A man stronger than his superior was standing in front of him. The other party was wearing an old priest's robe.

And two documents were taken out from the robe - one with the mark of the Church of the Holy Light, obviously to prove the identity of the priest, and the other should be a general document issued by the nobles.

The languid soldier suddenly woke up, and while he took the paperwork swiftly, he greeted him with some diligence: "The Holy Light protects you—Mr. Pastor. Actually, you don't have to wait in line."

Although the priest in front of him is wearing a slightly outdated robe, it's a bit strange, but the priest is a priest, an extraordinary person, a high-class person, and this is the priest of the Holy Light Church, which is currently strong, of course he does not dare to neglect.

"Everyone is lining up," Wright smiled mildly, and said casually, "a lot of people - I don't remember that many people here usually."

"Cough, that was last year, this year is different," said the soldier, shaking his head, "a large number of merchants have started the potion business between the Holy Spirit Plain and the southern border, and there are also many bankrupt farmers who don't know what nonsense they have heard. , going to the southern border to seek a way to survive - many merchants carry the pass documents issued by the Grand Duke, and are specially responsible for transporting these people to the south. Have you seen those caravans with three bunches of straw? Those are, they are going to Baishui From the river pier…”

Wright blinked, with some emotion in his heart: Even here, does what the lord does have such a big impact?

While he was talking, the soldier had already checked Wright's priest's certificate and saw the mark on the document below. The soldier stopped halfway, his expression was a little weird: "It's Duke Cecil's certificate again... …”

Wright asked curiously, "What, is there a problem?"

"...Oh, of course there's no problem, this is the Duke's mark, there can be no problem," the soldier said hurriedly, and then explained a little embarrassedly, "It's just that half of the pass documents I see every day recently have plugs in them. Syr's Emblem..."

"Pioneering leaders always need people and materials," Wright said unhurriedly. "It's just that there have been no new pioneering leaders for so many years. I'm afraid everyone has forgotten about them."

"It has nothing to do with us anyway," muttered the soldier, returning the checked documents to Wright. "You can enter the city, Mr. Reverend."

Wright took the document, put it close to him, turned and walked towards the heavy door covered with black steel and copper bars that he was familiar with in his memory.

Passing through the deep city gate and 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. It is also a place for business travelers to stop and disperse. The life of soldiers, knights and mages, the interior of the fortress is actually a bustling and bustling city with complete facilities.

The city remains the same.

Wright was walking on the streets of the Rock Fortress, and the images that had been blurred in his memory gradually became clear in front of these familiar street scenes. He saw his favorite pastry shop when he was a child-the day he came here to deliver "goods" every month. Inside, he had pocket money of eight copper coins, just enough to buy a cheap cake or cookie in the shop, and he also saw the greasy "Slaughter Square" and the tall wood standing on the edge of the square. Shelf, he remembered that the wooden shelf was used to flog thieves and deserters - but since there has been no war in the south for a long time, being a soldier in a fortress is a comfortable and good job, so its main function is to flog thieves.

Basically every month, thieves are hung on wooden shelves with their hands tied and their skins are ripped apart. The residents and many soldiers in the rock fortress city have the biggest pastime to come to the "Slaughter Square" to enjoy the whipping scene, 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 to celebrate the completion of the city. One hour.

If the thief is not caught that month, the slave drawn by lot will be used instead.

Slave owners are happy to send their slaves here to be whipped, which seems to be a very good thing for them, and more importantly, the fortress commander will have monetary compensation for this - even if the slave is in the process of whipping. If you are accidentally killed, the compensation will be enough for the slave owner to buy two more healthy new slaves, so the people who have slaves in the city will even regard the festival of the Fire Moon as a lottery, and they will be responsible for flogging for this purchase. soldiers of...

Wright frowned as these memories came to his mind.

He used to think it was barbaric, he thought it was cruel, but he had never felt it as full of sin as he does today.

In Cecil, I saw so many serfs, slaves, and slave laborers exchanged for freedom after hard work, got their own houses and property, and even went to school to read and become a "Cecil citizen" like everyone else. , seeing with his own eyes that those who are regarded as "stupid and inferior" can live with dignity like ordinary people, he found it difficult to accept these so-called "elegant entertainments of civilized society" in the central region.

And there is this city that remains the same... this city that hasn't changed for decades, or even a hundred years.

Not even a newly built house was in sight.

Wright shook his head, turned and left Slaughter Square, and no longer had any interest in staying and resting in the city.

He just added some dry food, clean water, and beer that was easy to keep, and quickly left the rock fortress. After passing through the gate to the north of the fortress, he officially set foot on the land of the Holy Spirit Plain.

He walked for a long time in the wilderness outside the city, all day long, before finally seeing a small village before the sun went down.

Taking a look at the sky, Wright decided to rest in the village - his travel expenses are not much, but the villagers usually do not refuse a priest's stay, and he can help people chop wood for a dinner, which is better than staying overnight in the city To save a lot of money.

He walked into the village and walked on the pitted and muddy road, beside him were low and dilapidated thatched huts and wooden huts. He inquired about the location of the village manager and walked in that direction.

But a sudden commotion came from behind, making Wright stop.

He turned and saw the people on the muddy road behind him dispersing, while two armored soldiers dragged a man by the arms and hair and dragged him from a nearby house, a man in a tattered skirt The woman ran out of the room, crying and kneeling at the feet of the two soldiers—behind the two soldiers, came out a priest of the Holy Light in a priest's robe and a white gold-brimmed bonnet.

Apparently, Priest Holy Light, who is an extraordinary one, is the one who controls the situation.

Wright stepped over immediately.

"What happened?" He came to the robe-clad priest of the Holy Light and asked with a frown, "What crime did this man commit?"

The woman who was kneeling on the ground saw another priest appeared, and immediately cried even louder: "Sir! We really don't believe in the evil gods! It's just an old ledger—"

The woman's cries stopped abruptly, because a decree-silent magic fell on her, she could only open her mouth and stare, grabbing her throat, and the priest of the Holy Light who released the magic Withdrawing his hand, he glanced at Wright in front of him with a little curiosity - after confirming that it was a fellow member of the church, he said: "Brother, this is none of your business - I suspect that this family has an affair with the sorcerer."

The man who was dragged to the ground by the two soldiers muttered in a low voice, "Really not...really not..."

Wright frowned at this scene, and looked at the priest in front of him with the greatest patience: "What evidence?"

"A book was found in his house," the pastor held up an old booklet in his hand, "this is proof of exposure to blasphemous knowledge!"

The man who fell to the ground cried: "It's just an old ledger... I just want to teach my mother-in-law to recognize a few words..."

Before he could finish his words, the soldier next to him kicked him with iron boots and told him to swallow the rest of his words with blood foam. What words do commoners recognize! How can common people have books in their homes?"

"A collection of books in a civilian's home is a dangerous signal. This collection of books is likely to be placed in their home by the devil. Even if the book contains normal-looking words, the knowledge of blasphemy will be hidden between the lines. The illiterate civilians watch These books do not read the words on them, but the words of the devil." The priest drew a symbol of the Lord of Light on his chest and said solemnly, "This is a warning from Bishop Megall. "

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