The Holy City Shuttle Station is no larger than the Port of Far Light. It is more like a cave than a crowded port with ladders. The paladins stood ready, their swords unsheathed and their spears like a forest, as if they would rush forward at any moment and cut the guests into pieces. The candle flame above their heads was a bright golden yellow, reflecting the dome wall brilliantly. The light fell vertically from above, and the armor shrouded everyone's faces in shadow.
He didn't come here voluntarily, and the other party was not happy to receive guests. Uriel did not need to carry a sword with him, but York and Dalton had subconsciously put their fingers on the hilt of the sword. But surrounded by these paladins, they remained frozen and motionless.
"A distinguished guest from the Tower of Sky, Croy." Fortunately, the Holy Sword Durandal of Paladin Commander Lemmons Theodore was still hanging on his waist. He slid open his visor and spoke without blinking: "Welcome to the dedicated shuttle station near Zangwill.... I have to inspect all the mysterious items you are carrying, please forgive me."
"Let me guess, you're unlikely to even check the fire, are you?" York said sarcastically.
"Good advice." was all he responded. Uriel noticed that he seemed absent-minded and extremely impatient to welcome their arrival. Something is bothering the Lord Paladin, and he sees no need to search for our mysterious artifacts. This is lucky for the apprentice. Of course, Croita's messenger couldn't be a demon, could it?
"We will do so, Your Excellency." Uriel stopped York from retorting. If he persisted in the body search, it was possible that the paladins would actually use magic to examine everyone's soul. Of course York and Dalton had nothing to fear, but Uriel didn't dare to try his luck. When he placed the scroll of oath in the hands of the priest aside, her eyes pierced his face like an awl.
Dalton silently handed over the cursed sword, and Sita York put down his helmet - Uriel had not noticed that it was a mysterious item before. The priest cast a magic spell to check it in person, and a cloud of golden smoke fell from the candle flame above her head. Then she returned the things as they were. The Ring of Sauron was not with them, and Uriel and the priests tacitly ignored it.
"Follow me," Lemons said.
If you don't look at the vigilance of the Holy Knights, the reception given by the Radiant Parliament is still quite grand. Paladin Commander Lemons Theodore is a Lord of the Sky Realm, and his status is obvious to all. To be honest, even if the Tower Prophet had communicated with the agent in advance, Uriel thought that Priestess Arabella would be the one to entertain him. Out of awe of the mysterious fulcrum, he did not dare to use his "spiritual vision" to pry. Why do the Holy Council of Radiance have to be so polite to us?
The paladin captain led them away from the rectangular staircase and the dome with candles, and moved forward along the wide artificial steps. Priestess and several knights, who were inspecting the items, followed. Instead of open fires, the path is illuminated by a clear water channel beside the stone steps, with shimmering sand covering the bottom of the river and two brilliant bands of light spreading into the dark depths.
"Familiar layout," York said, not caring that his voice carried far across the empty road. "I seem to have seen it somewhere."
Uriel thought of his and York's adventure in the Angmar Tunnels. The mysterious ore inside the snowy mountains was no less impressive in appearance than the shining waterways beneath their feet.
"During the War of Dawn, this was the protective transportation fortification of the Glittering Pool." Lemons replied, "Your hometown must be full of these things. There is no doubt that the West Towers are rarely creative in the field of architectural style."
"Ha! At least it can be used for a thousand years, which is a long time for humans."
The stairs illuminated by strips of light continue to rise, and the height they climb becomes increasingly unnerving. Uriel felt that they had probably climbed to the height of a city wall, and couldn't help but wonder if the wall under his feet was the outer wall of the Holy City. The air was not as hot as he imagined. Zangwill was said to be located on a huge oasis, and there was even a small shimmering forest on the edge. But the Kingdom of Quicksand not only has the oasis of the Holy City, most of the kingdom's territory is desert. Have we already entered the Holy City?
His doubts were quickly answered. "This is underground." Dalton looked around, as if he could see the scenery in the darkness.
"In Sodria, water is as precious as gold." Lemons said, "Mortals cannot bear the brilliance of the goddess Lucia for too long, and the same is true for the things that sustain their lives. For more details, you can ask Sita next to you, If he had done a little exploring and learning about the history of his ethnic group, I wouldn’t need to talk nonsense about the detailed status of the shuttle station.”
York shut up. Obviously, if he had been that capable he would not have come to Eastman to be a risk taker. Uriel restrained himself and remained silent. This was just verbal sarcasm, nothing to care about. He could tell York thought so too. Sita's eyes were full of curiosity. After Dalton pointed out that this place was underground, she no longer cared about winning or losing.
Deep in the darkness lies a palace half-buried in quicksand. The stone steps are steep and smooth, leading to the sloping marble pillars in front of the temple. The stream of light separated from them and sank into the bottomless quicksand trap under the stone steps. In Sodria, water is more precious than gold. I don't know if there are underground rivers below, or if the Holy City would rather waste them just to create an insignificant atmosphere on the journey from the ladder to the ground. Who let the mysterious creature have gold?
"Your Excellency Theodore." An elderly Lucian priest was waiting in the palace. Fine sand poured from the edge of the pillars, forming a curtain just behind him. The priest's entire face was covered by a veil, he was dressed in a thick and wide red robe, and he had a strange wide-brimmed hat on his head. Only the full body armor of a knight can match it in concealing one's features. He saluted the Lord Paladin.
"Send them to the sept, Sacled."
Priest Lucia took a step back, and divine writing emerged from his sleeves. The words belonging to the Goddess of Light were flying in the air, forming a familiar pattern. Before that Uriel thought he was a coachman or driver. The paladin leader distanced himself from everyone, leaving the guests to whisper in front of the light.
"Moment ladder?" York's eyes widened, "Using Lucia divine script?" Among the three people, he was the only one who knew the language of the God of Light.
"Theoretically, any mysterious text can achieve magic with a ladder effect." Dalton said, he has considerable attainments in magical literature. "But I don't know much about divine arts." He looked at Uriel.
"I don't know anything about square ladders," the apprentice declared quickly.
He relied on his own exploration of the Gaia magic. First, he picked random words from hymns, and then obtained the real collection of holy commandments in the forbidden area of Brumnot's church. He relied on the scroll of oaths and professional magic. Assist in performing magical spells. During this period, no cleric had given him basic teachings on divine arts, let alone using divine inscriptions to achieve high-end skills such as ladder magic.
At this moment, Uriel felt extremely shocked as he watched the large sections of Lucia's divine inscriptions forming a complex rectangular ladder under the command of the red-robed priest. The holy city of Zangwill, just like Brumnot, is the ultimate place that gathers the highest level of mysteries of the Holy Council of Light. The apprentice had never even attempted to manipulate such a huge amount of divine writing. While the Eastman royal family was still compromising with the Silent School in order to upgrade the kingdom's ladder, the face-covered priest Sackled was already able to construct the magic of the ladder with his bare hands using the words of the belief system.
The difference is obvious, Uriel thought. Moreover, the mysterious fulcrum that represents the highest level of magic literature is still the School of Silence, not the Glorious Council. Among the Seven Pivots, the Tower of the Sky is the representative of astrology, and he suddenly realizes what path he gave up to enter the Foreign Service. Fortunately, this didn't make him regret it.
"Come in, everyone," Sackled announced. The complete matrix descended above everyone's heads. From top to bottom, the divine drawings engulfed everyone within range in the flash of magic power.
The next second, they actually stepped on the ground of the holy city of Zangwill.
This was also indoors, but the sunlight and sound clearly indicated that they had arrived on the ground. Even though he was in a strange environment, Uriel still noticed the problem immediately. "Your Excellency Theodore?" He looked around, but did not see the figure of the Holy Knight Commander.
"Sir, you cannot pass this temporary staircase. I will guide you next." Priestess, who was following closely behind them, spoke. Uriel has never met Arabella from beginning to end, but he knows nothing about the internal personnel arrangements of the Holy Knights, so it is best to keep silent. Waiting for Croita's guests was not the most popular job, and she would most likely ask for time off.
The strange Priestess was like a wall, blocking the mercenary's arrogant comments and Dalton's hidden cynicism. Uriel remained silent. He could feel the priest's eyes poking at him from time to time, as if he was ready to draw a sword and pierce his heart at any time. At this time, even asking questions was a challenge, let alone testing her attitude with the scroll of oath.
Weird man, Uriel commented in his heart. He was sure he had never seen her, not even in Kamaria. Could it be that she hates the tower? Might as well avoid them, like Arabella. The apprentice did not come uninvited, and the prophet must have communicated with the agent... Somehow, Uriel felt that the Ring Sauron would give him the answer. She recognized it.
The process of arriving at the Holy City was full of twists and turns, almost more difficult than the journey from Eastman to the Port of Far Light. Roma was able to run away from home and go to Eastman, probably because of Otto's guidance. After receiving the order from Sauron, Uriel was forced to set off immediately to Sodria on the other side of the continent. The three people put all possible routes in front of them, and the apprentice decided to choose the most efficient one: that is, with the help of the Star Gap, cross directly from the Port of Far Light to Zangwill (Chloe is located in the center of Binya Ao, so First, all they had to consider was the distance from Eastman to the Tower). As a result, when they were only one step away from their destination, the Holy Knight Captain took them in a big circle.
Finally, before York almost became impatient, they saw the representative in the center of the church.
