The Thoradin Highlands, which is approaching mid-July, has ushered in the second round of heat waves. The continuous local light rains at the end of June and the beginning of July did not bring much comfort to the people here. Fortunately, the local residents improved in many aspects. I have already adapted to all this happening.
Different from the more northern areas starting from Avenella, they are not built with whole stones but with wood and stone mixed hollow structures. The houses with thinner walls and better heat dissipation are built according to the local environment. changes; coupled with the shading of vegetation and the roof water cooling system built with wood and bamboo using abundant rainfall, a typical house in the Thoratin area is far more beautiful than the one on the Biavenella side. Comfortable on a hot summer day.
Humanity's ability to adapt has always amazed people, from the hot and desolate Nornstein Desert to the existence of a large number of dangerous creatures such as Deinognathus and Bowjaw pigs, as well as prairie dragon lizards and even subsaurs, and even demi-humans. The most powerful one among them, the orcs who are as intelligent as humans but have even greater physical abilities are infested in the Absera savanna.
In the far north and the boundless sea, no matter how harsh the environment is, human beings with strong resilience can always take root and sprout here, leaving behind the fire of civilization.
——But this kind of human personality is not the only benefit. This "stubbornness" is not only attached to those beautiful qualities. It will also work when encountering those not-so-beautiful persistence.
Jim "Hassan" Bauer has a face that is considered unique to the White Church in the Thoradin region. He is half steppe man and inherits his father's face and skin color, but his parents are not normal. And combined beautifully. Of course, Jim spent almost all of his childhood in beatings and scoldings. Even the middle name he had that West Coast people often have was not a real given name, but a nickname with a pejorative meaning - maybe It was precisely because of this childhood that Jim chose to follow the beliefs of the White Church.
Human beings will always have unrealistic imaginations about a certain decision, and imagine that a change in one decision will lead to many changes in everything. When Jim was fifteen years old and officially became the lowest missionary of the White Vatican, he thought he would be able to escape from all that sadness.
But he only changed a little bit of his identity and still did not leave the place where he was born. Even if they are believers, the people they encounter are also mortals who have prejudices against grassland people - even more so - so just from "lower-level civilians" to "lower-level believers", all this is really Will it make a big difference?
The answer is obviously no. After all, the reality still exists there. The people are still the same people and the place is still the same. Just the small changes he makes personally will not and cannot produce earth-shaking changes. Different place, same nightmare. Thirty years have passed. Jim has always been just the lowest missionary. Although he worked hard, he could only get the insulting title of "Hassan" and could not go any further. —This lasted until two months ago.
The sudden promotion made Jim ecstatic but also horrified. After nearly half a lifetime of experience, it was impossible for him not to understand how unprecedented this promotion was. All he has is sincere respect and humility for the regional bishop Jim who has carried out all this, and the bishop has mentioned many times a big man who is truly worthy of gratitude and will lead to a better future, which makes him almost humble. He put his face to the ground - and precisely because of this, the problem encountered this time was so difficult for Jim.
He left his home in the north of Thoradin, and the new priest position was taken by Cory Conrad, a high-ranking priest who manages the Knights of the Guardian - a force affiliated with the Holy See, in addition to orphans, there are many The aristocratic children who supported the Holy See were worried that the military would have too much power, so it was a common practice of the White Holy See to send a clergyman as a leader.
Although Jim has no experience in war or command, decades of living at the bottom of society still gave him some keen survival instincts. He is smooth in dealing with things and has a prairie face with brown skin but no bravery and submissive appearance. He deliberately gives people the impression that he is like those pets that rely on begging for mercy to avoid becoming food. Although they are cowardly, they can survive because of this. .
Of course, after climbing to his current position, no matter what he does, he will definitely attract some people who are hostile to him. Jim, who deeply understands all this, naturally keeps a lower profile and stands firmly on his master's side.
He walked quickly. He could never get used to the thick limestone walls and long robes that the White Church insisted on using. Even after so many years, Jim still felt uncomfortable every time summer came. He was sweating profusely, but today was much hotter than in the past. He broke out in a cold sweat, but he only felt that his whole body was chilly.
——As we said before, Jim is the high-ranking priest in charge of Corey Conrad's Order of the Guardians. The organization system of this Holy See armed force originating from the Laman Empire is the same as that of the original Lamanite Legion, because it follows a mature and rigorous system. Some people even think that the Holy See Arms owned by the White Holy See are independent of the number of individuals. And the Guardian Knights are more powerful than Sivalier's army in terms of combat effectiveness. The reason is that the Sivaliers only have nobles and noble attendants who have received professional training, while the troops of the White Holy See are all real standing armies that have been trained for a long time.
However, this overly one-sided statement is only based on the premise of "not mentioning quantity", and the "non-professional soldiers" used as the reason for Sivalier's poor strength are not the main force on the battlefield at all.
All in all, the White Holy See, which spends money everywhere, cannot build a large number of large legions of thousands of people like the huge empire did at the beginning. They can only symbolically equip the regional knights in each region with a uniform. An infantry team of one hundred people, this team usually stays in the city-state where the church is located to perform tasks such as maintaining public security, while the knights are stationed inside the church all year round to conduct various trainings.
The infantry did miscellaneous work and the cavalry showed off. This lasted for decades, but during this period they were suddenly dispatched. The passionate knights said indignantly: "In the name of the glory of God, to destroy those evil things", the passionate knights were eager to try - Gil's bad premonition existed from that time, and today, his premonition succeeded Come true.
In addition to the life benefits provided by some churches, one of the great benefits of joining the White Holy See is that you can read a large number of free books. During the decades of being bullied and isolated, the studious Gill read a large number of history books, and according to him The result of the experience is that every time someone starts to incite the emotions of others in history, bad things tend to happen very quickly.
——But what can he do? This is the request of his master, and he knows very well why the person above did such a thing.
Human beings will not act for anything other than profit, even the servants of gods. Of course, this does not mean that they are not pious. On the contrary, every step taken by knights and priests is to expand the greatness of the world. Actions made only by faith in God.
The people within the church who were loyal to him had been waiting. They did not take action when the demi-humans attacked for the first time. When the second demi-humans attacked, there was also the talk about demons that had been going on among the higher-ups within the church. When the time was right, that person decisively launched a coup and powerfully conquered the nagging pedantic old stubborns inside.
"Fruits must be picked at the right time." Jim, who was lucky enough to enter the conference room with others at that time - even if he was just a lowly observer - still remembers what the tall, young man said. With his words, he just touched the other person's astonishingly blue eyes and looked away. That too strong and dazzling look was not something someone like him at the bottom was qualified to look directly at.
"Tsk——" The light shining down from the patio above the atrium was blocked, and Jim walked into the shady corridor. His steps were still fast, his hands clenched into fists, and all the dissatisfied expressions on his face were turning a corner. Later, it was replaced by respectfulness.
"Dong dong dong——" "Your Excellency Bishop——" The white-painted wooden door was open, but Jim still knocked on the door. He knew that his immediate boss did not like to be disturbed, so he did it as always. With perfect humility, after calling the other person respectfully, he immediately put his hands together and bowed deeply.
"What's the matter with you?" The regional bishop was about the same age as Jim, but he was already bald and had a Mediterranean hairstyle. He was a tall and thin man. There is a large black mole under the corner of his left eye on his wrinkled face, and his stern face and the tone of his mouth always reveal a sense of superiority and arrogance.
"...It's about the Knights of Alva and the others." Jim, who had long been accustomed to the other party's attitude, carefully chose the right words to say this. He maintained a bowing posture, even though this posture was not suitable for his elderly body. He was very strong and the burden was heavy, but Gil still held on and did not dare to stand up until the bishop agreed.
He raised his head slightly and looked at the other person's expression.
"..." The regional bishop raised his eyebrows. He was sitting on a comfortable Laman rocking chair. Because the room was very dark, the incense candles were burning quietly. The bishop was still holding a hand. Using an ink pen made of goose feathers, he still had a straight face, but half of his sparse eyebrows were raised much higher.
"..." The bishop was silent. Jim understood that this was a sign of the other party's displeasure. He never liked any unexpected news to interrupt what he was doing, so the middle-aged man could only maintain his bowing posture respectfully. I dare not say a word.
"You don't have to maintain this position." It wasn't until his feet began to tremble that the regional bishop finally seemed satisfied. He said this, and Jim could finally return to an upright posture. The bishop continued: "So, what is it?"
The regional bishop, who was one-third of the Lamanite noble blood and was proud of it, deliberately spoke in Lamanite terms. Gil, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, immediately felt his cold sweat seeping through again. After thinking about it, he finally decided to tell the truth.
"It's like this, 'that' one who told his subordinates to pay attention before, the mercenary with the big sword on his back..." "What! Did you find it, that person!" His words that he spoke carefully were interrupted by the area. The bishop interrupted rudely, and the cold and arrogant look he had shown before slamming the table disappeared without a trace along with the Lamanian words: "Tell me! Where is that person carrying the burden?" But my White Holy See’s greatest treasure, Hassan, why didn’t you tell me the news from the beginning!”
Only this contemptuous title remained the same as before. Jim's eyes twitched and he quickly controlled his emotions. He did not open his mouth to talk back and said it was because you wanted to show off. The middle-aged priest who knew the way of survival just remained cautious. Choosing words, he spoke slowly while staring at the other person's face.
"That's the problem...Your Excellency..." The regional bishop's momentary gaffe was tacitly forgotten by the two of them. He once again put on his arrogant and indifferent look, while Jim carefully continued: "Al The Val Knights... attacked each other."
"..."
——"Crack"
There was a brief silence, followed by the sound of the quill being pinched.
"You mean, are they like those radicals, Hassan..." Jim had never heard the regional bishop's voice be so indifferent, and he almost squeezed out every word from his teeth. He said something like this: "Are you saying that the knights under our command are just like those stupid and brainless radicals who want to completely destroy 'that person's plan!"
"Button, button, button..." Jim could clearly hear the sound of the extremely angry regional bishop's knuckles tapping on the wooden table. He was dripping with cold sweat and almost felt that he would be separated from the body or worse in the next second. He returned to his previous life, but under pressure, the middle-aged man still had to bite the bullet and answer: "Yes... the Alva Knights said they saw a half-vampire in the mercenary team, so ...I want to take something by force on impulse.”
"Ridiculous!!" The smelly saliva sprayed on Jim's face, but he was respectful and showed no resistance at all.
"Those damn radical nobles are stupid enough to hire damn killers despite the world's disdain. Do you know what would have happened if the parliament hadn't successfully prevented further actions?"
"You steppe bastard, Hassan, your brain is as full of shit as those guys who only know how to fuck their sheep!"
"That person... that person... wants to find a chance for us prodigal sons to return..." The regional bishop is indeed a person who can climb to this position. After cursing a few words, he murmured to himself: Before he finished speaking, his expression immediately returned to a solemn look.
"Take down that brainless thing from Alva, let MacLean take the top, and contact Sir Culharlin."
"Your Excellency, Bishop?" Jim's eyes widened as he realized what the other party was planning.
"This matter cannot be exposed. Do you understand? It can't be exposed." The bishop poked Jim's chest with the index finger of his right hand. The feeling of pain was the same as the shock in his heart. He quickly resolved and accepted it. The middle-aged man did not ask, "Isn't this betraying 'that person'?" He knew exactly what he should do, so he bowed again respectfully.
"Isn't there a half-vampire in their team? Kill it. No matter how many people die, kill it to do justice for heaven. Kill it. We don't want to conflict with that man. Do you understand? We don't want to conflict with him. ."
"We are just doing justice for God and getting rid of evil." The bishop said in an accentuated tone. Jim bowed respectfully again, and then slowly withdrew.
Before leaving the regional bishop's room, he heard the other party speak with a slightly trembling voice.
"Aurora's nightmare... a terrifying and disgusting double-edged sword." (To be continued.)
