Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 107: The Gift of the Sun Goddess and the Brilliant Grace

Flowers and swords are the distinctive features of the Sun Goddess. As the goddess of tactics and strategy, her grandest celebration is the celebration of victory after the end of war.

Knights and believers of the goddess would parade Violet's beautiful statue in a sedan chair adorned with flowers, human skulls, and gold, enjoying the cheers and colors of the territory's army, people, and subjects.

In this world, flowers symbolize beauty, gold represents wealth, and human skulls symbolize the purity of mankind. Their significance not only proves that this person has never been corrupted or degraded until death, and is pure and innocent, but also represents a noble sacrifice.

The Knights of the Flaming Sun in the Church of the Goddess of the Blazing Sun are the most famous and powerful knights. Their knights always wear the most high-profile and luxurious armor and charge forward fearlessly on the most dangerous battlefields.

So Su Li prepared four kinds of offerings for the goddess on the way back, namely a wreath made of beautiful flowers blooming at the turn of spring and summer, four pounds of spider silk from the giant spider Anarrek, a dagger made of gold by the goblin, and the powerful giant wolf under the seat of the leader of the Broken Toe tribe.

In short, this battle brought us huge gains. If we don’t show the gods the precious items we have gained, how can we demonstrate our strength in defeating the enemy in this battle?
This has been the case throughout history, both in China and abroad. Before setting out on a campaign, one would first boast about the size of one's own forces and their powerful combat capabilities in order to enhance military prestige and morale.

After victory, they would praise the opponent for being powerful and terrifying in order to show the glory and triumph of their victory.

After Su Li selected the spoils, the knights of the territory and the believers of the Goddess of the Fiery Sun followed Su Li to the Monastery of the Goddess of the Fiery Sun. A knight in shining armor knelt on one knee before the statue of the Goddess, devoutly praising the glory and grace of the Goddess.

Hilde and Knight Orstein personally held the offerings and followed Su Li and Captain Ron into the monastery, reverently placing the offerings on the goddess' altar.

After Su Li knelt on one knee, Hilde and Knight Orstein knelt behind him, one on each side, and listened respectfully to Su Li's declaration to the goddess:

"Praise be to the just and generous Sun Goddess, the great Violet. You are the embodiment of strategy and strategizing. Your light illuminates us, enabling us to bravely advance in battle, fearless of all odds. Thank you for granting us the strength to overcome all obstacles and defeat our formidable foe. We will forever follow your guidance, uphold our faith, and protect our home."

At this time, Captain Rong En slowly walked to the altar. Holding a dazzling golden sword, he touched each offering one by one, and then said in a loud voice: "Today, we are not only celebrating victory, but also proclaiming the greatness and selflessness of the Goddess of the Fiery Sun. The offerings we offer are the victory and glory we have won in battle. May the Goddess accept this gesture, and may her glory always illuminate our journey!"

Following Captain Ron's declaration, in an instant, the fragrance of flowers and the golden light intertwined together, and a sacred light descended from the sky, penetrating the entire dome of the monastery and covering the altar.

At this moment, the entire territory could hear the otherworldly and holy chorus from the Kingdom of God, like angels praising the kindness and generosity of the gods, and like thousands of believers praying devoutly to the gods.

The golden light began to spread outward from the monastery, from the monastery to the castle, from the northern highlands to the riverside grasslands, all were shrouded in the sacred golden light.

From the knights kneeling on one knee outside the castle, to the armed servants sorting the spoils, to the halflings cooking, everyone had an expression of irrepressible surprise on their faces.

This is a miracle! Most people may not even see it once in their lifetime.

Su Li also widened his eyes in surprise. A miracle really happened.

Brilliant golden light poured continuously from the monastery dome onto the altar where the offerings were placed.

When the golden light faded, the offerings on the altar had disappeared, replaced by an eagle shield shining with golden light.

Cheers immediately erupted in the monastery. The golden eagle was the symbol of the Sun Goddess, and this goddess had bestowed her divine grace!

Although Ron was the leader of the Combat Pilgrims, this was the first time he had seen such a scene of divine grace descending upon him. His eagle-like sharp eyes were filled with shock and surprise.

Then he walked forward, reverently held the golden eagle shield in both hands, and then turned around and solemnly handed it to Su Li.

"Respected Pathfinder Lord, when I touched this eagle shield, I clearly heard the goddess's teachings to the priest."

"This eagle shield is called the Blazing Sun's Glow. When your army equips it, it will reflect brilliant light under the scorching sun, reducing the chance of enemy ranged damage hitting your soldiers by at least 30%."

"When you activate this shield on the battlefield, for a short period of time, the shields equipped by your troops will transform into magical weapons. After parrying an enemy's attack in melee combat, the damage will be completely reflected back at the enemy in the form of magic. However, for the rest of the battle, they will lose the ability to interfere with ranged bows. This passive ability will only reactivate after you have decisively defeated your opponent and returned to the monastery to pray."

Su Li immediately grasped the sacred shield. Powerful divine energy flowed through the eagle symbol on the shield. As he grasped the shield, a strong sense of heaviness filled his body. Although the gods had not revealed the defensive capabilities of this shield, Su Li had a feeling that if the enemy directly hit it, the backlash of divine power would cause the opponent unbearable pain, no less than a wyvern crashing into Knight Orstein's Fiery Sun Shield.

Then, Su Li handed the shield to Hildurd with a beaming smile and said, "Hang this shield on the wall of our castle hall and show the grace of the Sun Goddess to everyone. We are a territory protected by the grace of God, and this is the medal of our glorious victory!"

Hildre immediately nodded happily, took the shield with both hands and hugged it to her chest. However, she did not rush out. Instead, she smiled and said, "I can hear the cheers of the subjects outside. Lord, please leave the monastery first and accept the support and cheers of the knights."

What Xilude said made sense. Su Li laughed and nodded, saying, "Come on, follow me out. Today's honor is earned by all of us working hard together."

Of course the three of them were happy to do so, so they turned around and followed Su Li, walking towards the monastery gate.

When they walked out of the monastery and passed through its ancient gate, the sunlight shone in from outside, and the whole world suddenly became bright and cheerful, and waves of warm cheers resounded from the bottom of the hill.

Countless knights raised their swords and cheered excitedly for Su Li. The subjects of a large number of surrounding territories carried wreaths of flowers and pottery jars of clear water, enthusiastically celebrating the army's triumph and the divine grace obtained by the territory.

Both soldiers and civilians were inspired and cheered for the sacred glory of the territory today.

Phyllis was nominated by the Minister of Seals from the crowd and presented a wreath to the lord as the purest and most beautiful girl in the territory.

Her beautiful cheeks were flushed with excitement, and she was also shy about being the center of attention, but more of it was joy for the triumph of the territory's army and the blessing of the gods.

Holding the wreath in her hand, she approached Su Li, her voice trembling with nervousness: "Lord, I... I present the wreath to you on behalf of the people of the territory. Everyone in the territory will remember your glory and achievements today for generations to come. Your brilliance and achievements will be spread thousands of miles away."

"We sincerely pray that the goddess will always favor you, and that divine grace will remain as it is today. May the white dove of victory and the laurel wreath of honor always be with you."

She was so nervous that she forgot an important blessing: when the sun rises, the morning light shines, divine grace descends, and the beer is filled, it's time to sing a hymn like a priest. The greatest hymn of the territory is the hymn of the redbud. You are the most glorious warrior. Your victory gives us hope.

But in this celebratory moment filled with happiness and excitement, no one would care about this small mistake. Flowers, beauties, knights, and heroes intertwined into the most romantic picture at this moment.

The afterglow of the setting sun cast upon the earth. The armor of the knights in front of the monastery and the flowers on the ground were all dyed with golden light. Accompanied by the joy of victory, everything was beautiful beyond words.

After putting on the wreath Phyllis had given her, Su Li leaned over and lifted the startled girl into her princess-like arms, announcing with a hearty laugh, "I'd like to take this joyful moment to solemnly declare my love for you. From the moment I first saw you, I've fallen deeply in love with you. Despite the vicissitudes of life, this love will remain eternal, standing tall until the end of time."

"I would like to invite you to be my third female courtier, to live in my castle from now on, and to bask in the glory of the Bauhinia family together."

Listening to this touching love poem, the girl covered her gaping mouth with her delicate hands, her eyes widening in disbelief. The lord had actually confessed his love to her, a farmer's daughter, in public!

Even as a young girl in love, she could not imagine in her dreams that there would be such a romantic scene.

She was just a farmer's daughter, a commoner without any awakened supernatural powers. Even if she married a knight, she could never become his legal wife. Being able to become a courtier of the lord, and to be announced as such in public, was the most perfect ending anyone could imagine.

How could she possibly refuse such a confession? How could she refuse such a moment of flowers and romance?

The knights and commoners in the territory also stared at this place in amazement, but thinking of the peerless beauty last night, they all understood the lord's excitement. What man wouldn't be impulsive for such a peerless beauty?
After all, this is a man's most successful and exciting moment, so he should be in high spirits and do whatever he wants.

The women in the territory were also deeply moved, especially Hilde and Avril. The lord had just solemnly announced that Phyllis was the third female courtier, which was equivalent to publicly clarifying the status of the two of them.

This is undoubtedly a happy and joyful moment for everyone!

(End of this chapter)