Scene 168 The Elves Cross the Sea

The dusk bell tolled over the city of Nabothus. The bell echoed in the empty twilight, far and near. The setting sun shone on the dome of the Floating Gold Palace through the fiery sunset, reflecting an orange-red light.

Teams of golden-helmeted guards lined up to change shifts on the ramp outside the palace wall. The uniform commands of the knights could be heard in the distance. The noise passed over the copper-plated treetops and even reached the inner court. At 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. Sol's snow tree leaves are prepared with sauce and black pepper on the surface. The meat is crispy and full of color and fragrance, but the diner himself has no appetite. After a brief taste, he puts down the silver knife and fork and wipes it with a square handkerchief embroidered with gold thread. After speaking to each other, he ordered his attendants to arrange a carriage for him to go to the Emerald Gold Hall.

The religious power of Faenzan is unified. Although privately, the nobles will still have quarrels with the temple due to uneven distribution of benefits, but from the secular power upward, the secular laurel crown and the sacred scepter are concentrated in the hands of one person. Because of this, The pope is often not hereditary and usually emerges from eight cardinals. After the pope of the previous generation abdicated, he was named a saint and lived in the Cuijin Holy Hall. Regardless of secular power, he was still the spiritual leader of the Holy Church. Therefore, for thousands of years, this empty position also possessed great power. Today, the current Pope can certainly make arbitrary decisions, but he is still essentially restricted by it.

Petian III has been uneasy these days, which is precisely the reason for this. He sat on the carriage and looked at the shadow of the vault of the emerald gold church from a distance. It was like a giant beast entrenched in his heart, glaring at him, making him uneasy. His predecessor, Pope Asabantu XI, was his mentor on the holy path. He single-handedly cultivated him to where he is today. Although the relationship between teacher and student is harmonious, there is always a throne that separates him. Petian knew that this was due to their respective status. This was the case for all previous popes, and it was understandable. But something unusual has happened recently. He has been advocating a jihad against the Cruz people in the south. Asebantu XI always knew what he was thinking, and now the Cruz people are in chaos without a fight. That mad queen dared to restore the Dark Dynasty. This was a God-given opportunity, which allowed him to attack Cruz in a legitimate name. He even contacted the envoys of the Wind Elves and the Knights of Gracius, and stocked up troops and food on the border. . He was preparing to display his grand plans and leave a significant mark on history. At this time, a truce order made his expectations come to nothing. This order came from the emerald gold holy hall in front of him——

This kind of thing may not happen once in a hundred years. The last time it happened was during the Rebellion of Limado, when King Gloria I used the power of the Holy Inquisition Knights to remove the then-incumbent pope from his position. This association made Petian III's expression dark and unclear. He looked gloomily at the seven-foot-tall gold-painted palace door of the Emerald Hall slowly opening in the hands of the guards on both sides. He didn't know what kind of thoughts were running in his mind. . The deeper uneasiness in his heart came from the reactions of bishops from various places. Bishops and knights from various places did not seem to react as strongly as he expected to this unreasonable edict. The interior of the empire was as smooth as a mirror, without any ripples. He knew that the old man behind the palace gate must have used some power unknown to him. Let all parties submit respectfully to it.

As a superior, no one can tolerate power beyond his control, especially when the power is so great that it exceeds his expectations.

Accompanied by his attendants, he walked through the corridor. Petian III stopped in front of a dark walnut door. Then he raised his hands to retreat, and at the same time stopped the servants from reporting. Facing this walnut door, the supreme dictator found a trace of hesitation in his heart. But this hesitation is as light and weak as spider silk. His Majesty the Pope broke free from the restraints with a slight movement, put his slender palm on the doorknob, and pushed the door open.

Since his old age, Asabantu XI liked to light the fireplace in his study, sit on a low chair, and read church classics and volumes all day long, although Petian doubted that there was any More or less sincere, but more or less envious in his heart. Since taking control of the secular power, he has inevitably alienated the sacred will - "The Holy See is not as good as the ascetic monks". This proverb is by no means a rumor in Faenzan. .

The warm breath hit his face, and the hot wind hit his cheeks. He couldn't help but squint his eyes. The dancing firelight in the fireplace seemed to flow out through the crack of the open door, like flowing warmth, spreading over his face. The golden shoes and the ends of the holy robe.

Asebantu XI was not the only one in the room. In addition to a servant in his forties, there was also an old man with white hair and beard wearing glasses. Petian III recognized this person at a glance. He was a famous scripture scholar in the temple. Asebantu XI was still wearing a simple robe today, but rarely wore a hat. He looked quite formal and serious. There was a woman sitting opposite him. Emperor Tipei'an III was a little surprised and couldn't help but look at this more. He glanced at the woman, but he took another look and could no longer look away - this woman had long dry brown hair and a pair of eyes that sparkled like emeralds embedded in the rocks. It is embedded in the rocks because her skin looks extremely dry, dull and lackluster. Her cheekbones are high, like steep rocks, and her lips are sharp and angular, as if they were carved out of it. It is obvious at a glance that this woman has extremely Determined character.

There is only one woman in the world with such a face, and only one woman with a life span of a thousand years. Ti Pei'an respectfully greeted: "Sir, Sage."

Asebantu XI looked at his students with a smile and closed the book in his hand. It was a scripture that expounded the early teachings of the church. The person who recorded it fell asleep in the soil about three to four hundred years ago. Although he was posthumously canonized as a saint. He waved his hand, indicating that Ti Pei'an should not be polite, as if he had already foreseen his coming: "His Holiness the Pope, do you have many questions when you come here today?"

The situation was beyond Tipian's control. The current pope thought for a moment and nodded solemnly.

"Let me answer you." Sage Airanta said, her voice unexpectedly soft and pleasant, completely unlike her face: "That paper edict was requested by His Excellency Asebantu to issue it."

"Why?" Ti Peian III asked.

"Because I hope that Farnzan will not be involved in this war. Your Holiness the Pope."

"Why?" Ti Pei'an still asked this question.

Assebantu XI took over the conversation with a smile: "Your Excellency, there has been a lot of turmoil in the church for half a century, and the old and new doctrines have been arguing. You have witnessed all this with your own eyes. The reason is nothing more than to discuss whether a question is just or not. The problem. The root of this problem is the war sixty years ago. We saw many things behind that war. So much so that we began to question the foundation of our existence. What do you think of this? "

Tipian did not answer. Instead, he glanced at Airanta.

"I can't give you the answer to whether history is right or wrong, Your Majesty the Pope." Airanta replied calmly: "Although I have experienced it personally, I, Gil, Saint Osol, and your ancestors are all the same." Even Enzan can't answer this question. Odin thinks he is wrong, but this can only represent his view of himself - he cannot judge history and everything in the past. In a certain stage of history we are in, there is no Anyone can judge himself correctly, let alone countless sages before him - many, many people have devoted themselves to it, anyone in this one-sided history, whether he is an eyewitness or a bystander , we can only observe a fragment of it. So we can only experience it personally and witness it. I have lived for a thousand years just to see the result with my own eyes——"

Ti Peian III frowned. "But do you think the Queen of the Cruz people made the right choice?"

Airanta shook her head. "No. It is precisely because we cannot confirm whether we are right or wrong that I want to look at the other path of history. You know the prophecy: the lost moon took away the light, the light was lost, the silver generation was lost on the earth, Walking through the darkness and ignorance, the chance encounter between the emperor and the fool. The rusty clockwork is being reset, and the sword that changes fate - it is this sword that Warnd is waiting for. "

"Do you believe what is described in the Black Prophecy, Sage?" Emperor Tipian III asked, "Everything will be born from darkness?"

"This is exactly what the Miner people are unwilling to give up, Your Holiness the Pope," the sage replied: "This is the age of black iron, the age of heroes. Martha will hand over power to mortal hands, believing that among mortals there will be Heroes are born, but from the perspective of the races of gold and silver - how can we save our world by winning against the weak? Not to mention the failed works that were lost in the dark forest, everything seems to warn civilization that this is a mistake The path of the Azure Knight. The descendants of the Azure Knight are arguing endlessly about this. The fire of civilization is declining day by day, and it is even unsustainable. The Dark Dragon Odin made a last resort choice to save everything. Today will be the moment when it shows the results. "

Airanta looked at Tipian III and replied: "Thousands of years of history seem to be returning to a reincarnation, but this may not be the beginning and starting point of everything. I will follow the agreement with Odin to witness the last thing, But no matter what, I still hope to keep a little fire for civilization and not devote all my strength to just an answer. Therefore, I hope that the Faenzan people can stay away from this mortal stage, because there is a more important war to fight Your power.”

Ti Peian raised his head slightly: "Sage, what do you mean?"

Ellenta raised her head, her emerald gaze seemed to be able to penetrate the palace wall of the emerald golden hall. The direction she was looking in the distance was across the vast hills and plains. Under the burning clouds, the waves of the emerald sea were thousands of thousands of times. Over the years, the alliance known as the Ten Cities has taken root and thrived in this vast land, tirelessly scouring the shores of towering white rocks. About 530 years ago, mercenaries and merchants from the Yinil and Machisen regions came here and spent a hundred years building the first city here. Half a century later, a new kingdom was established. Its people include humans, mountain people, as well as elves and dwarves. The teachings of the Holy Church are widely spread here, but the belief in nature is not excluded.

This is the paradise of freedom, where money and the sound of swords complement each other all year round.

But today, under the White City, the fishermen who went to sea suddenly stopped their work. Some sailors were cleaning the fishing nets and cables, some were still clinging to the mast, some were drunk and had just stepped onto the deck from the cabin, and some They were setting sail, and some were weighing anchor at the winch, but without exception, they stopped and looked back toward the sea and sky.

The fort on the city wall was firing warning shots, and groups of guards rushed to the city platform. The sea was full of blue waves, and the sea and sky were calm and there seemed to be nothing unusual about it.

But just in an instant, a dense black dot appeared in that direction——

Rand put on a piece of armor hastily and hurried to the city wall. His followers surrounded him and came to the edge of the battlement. He raised his hand to stop the noisy noise around him, and then raised the monocular telescope in his hand. ——What came into view was a white triangular sail, which almost dazzled his eyes. He cursed in a low voice and moved his vision downwards. The silver oak emblem on the sails shone brightly in the sun. Looking downwards, He saw the elegant white hull of the Elf.

"The fleet of wild elves——"

Rand spat and lowered his binoculars. "There are at least three hundred ships. This is an army of thirty thousand people. Is Airanta crazy?"

The Ellan Tower in his mouth naturally refers to the country of wild elves. He took another look to make sure that he was not hallucinating. At this time, alarm bells were already ringing in the White City, and ships outside began to enter the harbor. Lan Lan De glanced at the direction of the port and estimated that the port would be closed in about half an hour. He turned around and saw that he was just a small regiment leader and could not make any decisions on this matter. He handed the telescope to his deputy and then said to a retinue: "Go and inform the Eagle of the Far Land and the Lord of the City. They have made up their minds. If the elves are serious, it will be impossible for Baicheng to be defended. We must immediately seek support from other city-states——"

The guard glanced at him in panic, then tremblingly took his brass token and stumbled down.

"Look at that ship -" suddenly a guard pointed in the direction of the sea and shouted.

Rand turned around and saw a light boat emerging from the wild elves' fleet and approaching the White City at an extremely fast speed.

"It's the messenger."

"They sent messengers out."

"What do the elves want to do?"

…

(ps: A new month has begun, let’s keep up the good work~) (To be continued)