Lemons doesn't like publicity on the streets, even though it's the quickest way to spread Goddess faith. Missionaries traveled through many tributary countries, and there were churches of Lucia in almost every city. The goddess of light is the sun in the sky, which people can see when they look up. She is closer to the shallow material world of mortals than Gaia and Heather. But the holy city of Zangwill does not need publicity. She is the sacred place closest to the Kingdom of Light, Lucia's heaven on earth. She has a different meaning from divine creations such as the Glitter Pool.
He stared at the flames rising with a displeased look on his face. Purification is a sacred ritual and should not be performed in such a barbaric manner. The devil begged on the firewood, the priest loudly read out various crimes - murder, theft, rape and corruption, and the people cheered wildly, as if they were watching a monkey show. The famous Black City was once a city of tobacco and slaves. One-third of the nobles there believed in the goddess Heather, so that plants could grow vigorously. They turned farmers into slaves to grow tobacco. After praying and having nothing to do, they threw the strongest ones into the arena to fight for fun. This has become a custom that has been passed down to this day. Lemmons was "privileged" to experience slave wrestling during his search for Magdalena, and the audience in the stands was so excited.
But this is a necessary measure. Bishop Edgar told him that once fear is lost, faith will not be reliable. The paladin leader did not doubt this, but people behaved differently when faced with fear: some would obey, and some would resist more fiercely. The latter are mostly unstable factors in the collective, because they often do not act rationally and cause immeasurable damage. Alexia unfortunately is the latter. His Majesty the Advocate believed that she was extending her hatred to Uriel, but Lemons knew that her strong feelings towards the White Envoy were fear.
A despicable part of him felt grateful. Hatred destroys reason, but it can also make people desperate. Fear makes Ari cautious. She chose to use Kader to take action, and the bishop who purified him, Gilbert Cocian, was her mentor. If she knelt down and begged, even the Cardinal of the Glorious Council would relent. Maybe they were colluding after all.
There was a cry from the stands, and the flames finally reached the sinner's feet. The golden sacred fire is not a collection of elements, but the flame of divine magic. It was more like a ball of leaping light. Lemons could not look away from the flames for a moment, imagining the pain when the flames shot out from between his toes, burning the soles and bones of his feet. Burn, burn all sinful thoughts. The flames burn the heart, and justice lasts forever. My faith is indestructible. The sky was almost unaffected by the hot weather in the Holy City, but he felt like he was being cooked by the armor.
The burning lasted for seven minutes. The guards poured holy water on the blackened bones, picked up the lumps and put them into a sack. Since the priests claimed that the flame of light could purify all sins, the portions remaining in the burning were regarded by mortals as baptized and pure things and they rushed to buy them. Lucia is generous in this moment, allowing mortals to use ignorance as comfort.
While the site was being tidied up, Jose came to report to Lemons on the mission. "At 8:44 p.m., they went to spend the night at an adventurer's bar called 'Long Live Easter'. It was located near the church, and Nightingale assured them that they went directly to celebrate after leaving." The Paladin stated meticulously. , "At nine o'clock sharp, the bard Saud Alper entered the bar. The Paperclip mercenary group he followed had recently stopped in Zangwill."
"Paperclip Mercenary Group?"
"A group of Western adventurers. It is said that they are escorting a caravan to Bures." The shuttle station in the Holy City can go to any vassal country of the Glorious Council, and thousands of caravans pass through Zangar every day. Will. Fortunately, the council set up a public shuttle station outside the city wall, so Lemmons only had to arrange for the paladins to go to the stairs for shifts every day.
However, Sodria Oasis is rare to see, and the flow of people coming and going is too great, so the shuttle station in the Holy City implemented a law to limit the number of people passing through every day long before Bai Zhi's prophecy. Mortal kingdoms never use ladders as the main mode of transportation. Each of the seven fulcrums has its own means. The measures taken by the council can ensure that the roads are unobstructed in emergencies, at the expense of the convenience of travelers. The Paperclip Mercenary Group are not locals. They may have been waiting here for a long time.
"The bard is not worthy of attention, sir, but there is a mist elf in the mercenary group. He is the Windrunner."
At this moment, two gangsters who robbed wealthy businessmen were hanged. There was no beauty in the scene of hanging criminals, and the audience in the audience stopped talking and watched their struggles with boredom. Lemmons stood at the railing of a shop loft, shadowed by a giant canvas drying on its side. The sun is high at dawn, but people want to see the fire. The Paladin Captain knew what they were thinking. "Did this fog elf break the law?" he asked.
"Not yet. But Fife Tanner—"
"The envoy led by the Earl of Red Valley is far away in Eastman. Broken Moon's mission has ended. Jose, I cannot prevent them from visiting the ancestral land."
"Yes, sir. But Faf Tanner will probably send Nightingale into the Holy City to find out."
"Yes, that's what Nightingale does. It's different from the Paladin. The detection station will keep an eye on him, so I don't need to worry about it." A gust of cool wind blew by, and Lemons opened his visor in time. "This fog elf also went to the bar? Did he communicate with the tower messenger?"
"No. Only Saudi Ayper."
"Then leave him alone." He began to miss Kader. "Go on."
Jose continued: "At six o'clock this morning, they left the bar and went to the Gaia Church. But the priest refused to let them in."
The Gaia Church in Zangwill is as unpopular as the Lucia missionaries in the Ice Territory. Insufficient manpower will cause many problems. Gaia, who lacks limbs and limbs, cannot accept prayers. Lemons didn't know the details of Uriel's conflict with the Church of Gaia at Eastman, but he wouldn't dogmatically assume Uriel would cause trouble by going to church. Fortunately, the detection station did not mention them. "Is he planning to force his way in?"
"No, sir. There was only one priest left in the Church of Gaia, and he sold them indulgences after refusing to open the door. The heretic bought up all his stock, perhaps to support the Church of Faith."
How childish. The wind had died down, and the priests had resumed their propaganda, followed by a wave of heat and inciting shouts. Lemons took a deep breath. "And they came to listen to Lucia's preaching?" The attic was located at the corner of the square and the narrow street, with a wide open space in front of it. From here you can have a panoramic view of the stands and the crowds surrounding it. Outside the blacksmith shop that sells weapons in the southeast corner, the young messenger and the mercenary Sita stood together, and Drow was hiding behind the horizontal bar hanging on the door curtain. He didn't expect them to come here.
"They went back to the bar in the meantime."
"Is our bard still in there?"
"Hail Easter? No, Saudi Aiper will leave with the mercenary group this afternoon. Everyone else in the bar is a low-level adventurer, so there is no need to worry."
Jose's words did not reassure him. As long as Uriel remains in Zangwill, the Radiant Council will be responsible for his safety. Not to mention Yali, there are many people who are willing to take his life. Magdalena was assassinated at the outpost in front of the Holy City. Lemons searched the entire Zangwill but failed to find the murderer who manipulated Kader.
None of the demons who died at the hands of the Paladin left corpses. He suspected that this was not the work of Lord Shimmer. Of the seven demon lords in Starless Night, Lemons only met the original Cardinal Alini. As a paladin leader, his understanding of secret societies is far inferior to that of his predecessors. In this regard, Lemons has no way to change it for the time being. Who killed Lady Magdalena? Although the agent had already known the content of the prophecy, in the eyes of the uninformed, it was Uriel who completed her prophecy. Will he be ambushed? Or maybe the secret society has sent a new nightingale?
Soon Lemons got his answer.
The firewood had been replaced and the soldiers hauled up the second criminal. This time it was a woman. She was ugly and disheveled. She scratched and cursed viciously at the soldiers who were dragging her. The crowd called her a witch. I wonder what a real witch would think after hearing this. Harp Witches are revered in the mystical realm, unlike White Moon Witches and Ice Witches. The criminal was just a mortal, sentenced to death by the Holy Inquisition for harboring an unknown person. Her curse has no effect, there is no fire, the mystery will not pay attention to her...
...But someone responded.
The sky suddenly lost its light and the square was shrouded in darkness. The audience's panic shouts suddenly surpassed those of the actors on the stage. Chaos breaks out in the execution ground. Lemmons drew the holy sword Durandal before the first scream sounded. The silver blade cut through the black curtain like a meteor, and the light shone in. He saw the railing in front of him being shattered by magic, and the huge canvas on the side fell down diagonally, falling into the street together, and finally splashing a little water amidst the sound of shouts and curses.
Then, the sun lit up the world, as if the dark moment just now was just a blink of an eye from Lucia. Lemmons immediately searched for the target in the crowd, but the blacksmith shop was crowded with strangers. Not to mention Uriel, even the conspicuous Sita was nowhere to be found. He was about to continue his search when someone suddenly shouted: "The witch is missing!"
The paladins and mortals looked up together. When they discovered that the woman waiting for purification on the rack had disappeared without a trace, the panic that had calmed down escalated again. No one knows where the witch fled to, but they all know the curse that the witch placed on the stake. So people fled in all directions, like a swarm of bees on fire under their buttocks abandoning their nest. The two soldiers raised their guns and looked around blankly, while the priest who presided over the ceremony fell into the firewood in panic, his white robe covered with oil stains. Looking at their appearance, you would believe that only a goddess descending to earth could maintain order in such a situation. Lemons thought he couldn't do it.
"Sir!" Jose nervously pointed the blade across the street, "Devil!"
Lemons turned his head and saw a smoky figure seeping into the crowd, running straight towards Uriel's back. But before he could issue a warning, the tower messenger suddenly took a step to the side and passed by the figure.
The latter simply disappeared without a trace.
