king of ros

Chapter 70 The Church Crisis
The Hagia Sophia in Kyiv is undoubtedly the biggest miracle of Ross. It is juxtaposed with the Hagia Sophia in Knox, both of which have a strong Eastern Empire style—their construction was originally participated by designers and craftsmen of the Eastern Empire— —Represents the close connection between the Grand Duke of Ross and the imperial capital, and the strong control of the Grand Duke over the Ross land.

The people of Kyiv are also quite proud of this grand cathedral. After all, this is the spectacle of Kyiv, it is their spectacle. The glory of Grand Duke Yaroslav's victory over nomadic invaders when he was still in the wilderness makes this place even more special. Because of this magnificent existence, many people converted to Christ, and it has become the manifestation of the power of God in Ross.

It is also for this reason that when Perun believers set off riots that swept across the city, this place became their primary target of destruction, and Christians, especially many Kyiv dignitaries, came here to take refuge, hoping to rely on a strong church to hold on until the chaos was eliminated .

After all, chaos cannot last forever. When people's passion dissipates, the cherishment of life and the fear of force will surface, and then the chaos will disappear.

And those who set off the riot knew this too. Surrounded by fanatical mobs, they set off an attack on the palace of the Lord.

Today's Hagia Sophia is like a fortress. There are barricades made of furniture in front of the church gate, and the guards of the church stand behind them. The blood on the armor and weapons, together with the barricades and the corpses on the square, Describe the fate of the previous attacker.

"Go to hell! Damn Christian!"

Holding the stolen weapons, fanatical mobs flocked to the towering church, and at the next moment, countless arrows shot out from the broken glass windows, hitting their heads and faces.

The mob was shot down dozens of people immediately, death and blood curbed their frenzy, and finally made them sober. The mob left the corpses of their companions and dispersed like birds and beasts.

There was a cheer from inside the church, cheering for another victory over the mob.

Before the icon of God, Metropolitan Hilarion, who had already put on chain mail, was praying for it. When the news of victory came, the Metropolitan muttered "God bless" and stood up to look at the praying crowd behind him.

"Thank God for the gift and the soldiers to use their lives, the mob has been defeated again!"

"Thank God!"

The powerful monks in armor shouted in unison, and in their hearts they all knew that the emphasis was on the metropolitan's last sentence, but they couldn't say that on the scene, this is the palace of the Lord, how could they say such disobedient words.

On the dome of the church, the mosaic portraits of saints and rulers silently watched all this, watched the world, but never interfered.

Everyone present was ready to fight, their wives and daughters were sent to the basement, and the entrance was well concealed.As long as the mob breaks through the defenses in front of the door, they will come to the church door for the final fight.

After finishing the prayer, everyone immediately returned to their respective posts. The wounded needed to be transported, the supplies needed to be replenished, the defense needed to be strengthened, and there was still a lot to do.

And the Metropolitan called a close priest and gave him a silver cross.

"Go to the red house in Rostislav and tell there we need help, this is my token, they will understand. I have been told by believers that a large group of heretics is approaching, not Kyiv these things, but serious Heretic lunatics, we need support, otherwise we will not be able to defend the palace of the Lord."

"Yes, the Metropolitan, but I don't understand why we are going to find the prince's subordinates, so there is no one else in Kyiv to look for?"

The confidant agreed to the Metropolitan's arrangement, and at the same time expressed his doubts, why did he go to the prince, wouldn't it be better to go to the Vladimir Palace or those Kyiv dignitaries for help?

"The guards of the Vladimir Palace will not leave their fortress, so we can only seek help from that prince."

The godly dignitaries are already here, and none of the rest will help a man whose political future is dead—except for Vladimir's son.

These are words that the Metropolitan did not utter.

He used to belong to Vladimir (the protagonist's father), and this label has always followed him.He also wanted to switch camps, but those people were unwilling to accept him. After all, the pits had been taken up, so how could there be more for him?His political prospects were all but dead.

In the previous years, he had greatly assisted Vladimir's son. Later, seeing Rostislav's excellence, he increased his investment out of speculation, hoping that the prince would achieve even more outstanding achievements. For helping the son of an old friend, and on the other hand, Rostislav is his last resort after all.

He still had illusions about switching camps in his heart, so he didn't clearly express his side, and continued to express his intention to seek refuge with those people. After all, if he fell to Rostislav, he would have to leave the prosperous Kyiv no matter what the future was. For the prosperous old man in the city, it was too much torture for him to leave this place.

He used to fanatically spread the Lord's faith in the wilderness, but now, the superior life in Kyiv has changed him.

However, although his thinking is two-sided, his actions have convinced those people that he is from Rostislav. Regarding this, our lord metropolitan is just pretending to be stupid. After all, the reality is too cruel, so it is better to imagine.And now, the threat of death made it impossible for the Metropolitan to play dumb anymore.

The metropolitan swore secretly that as long as he survived today's disaster, he would completely fall to Rostislav. After that, what else was he fantasizing about.

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"My Lord Metropolitan wants us to save the Hagia Sophia?"

About an hour later, the red mansion of Prince Ross ushered in a visitor covered in a black cloak and hood. When the guards asked him, he revealed his identity. He was a priest from Hagia Sophia, and he was also a confidant of the Metropolitan.

The next step is naturally to invite this person to the red mansion to meet the hostess Zoe who is currently in charge of the situation.And after the pastor revealed his purpose of coming, he came up with the above exclamation.

"Yes, we can only rely on your husband's strength. The siege of the pagans is very fierce, and the palace of the Lord is at stake!"

The pastor's words were full of sincere hope, hoping that the lady in front of him could send her strength to help the church.

Zoe sat on the main seat and put her hand on her forehead. She was very embarrassed. She knew that Metropolitan Ilarion helped her husband, but she also knew that his attitude was ambiguous.

Zoe faced a dilemma. Helping Ilarion would weaken the Red Mansion's defenses. After helping, this ally might remain ambiguous. If she didn't help, her husband might lose the biggest political ally he could win in Kyiv.

Everyone present was silent, waiting for Zoe's decision. Everyone knew how huge the risk of this decision would be, and how difficult it was to make, so they just waited, no one raised their opinions, and the pressure was all on this 16 year old girl.

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(End of this chapter)