Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 299: The Sensation at the Eternal Flame Cathedral and the Support Provided by the Flaming Sun Knights Headquarters

The appearance of Quelik's head in front of the Cathedral of Eternal Flame really caused a sensation.

Even though Archibald arrived at the Hessen Territory with as many as 12 God-chosen knights last time, the reason they had so many God-chosen knights was entirely because the Surander Province had just resolved an unprecedented greenskin invasion. It could even be said that it was the result of direct intervention by the gods, who bestowed a large amount of divine grace, so so many God-chosen knights emerged to help the Surander Province win the war.

This is a special case for him, and the Knights of Eternal Light is a large knight order of the same level as the Knights of Flame Sun, so they can dispatch so many God-chosen knights at one time.

Under normal circumstances, the death of a chosen one would cause a stir in a province or a duchy.

The death of a legendary figure could even directly cause a great princely domain to be shaken. For example, the murder of Archibald shook the entire province of Scotland.

The local nobles were all horrified by this. They might engage in political struggles or scheme against each other, but before they had any evil intentions towards Phyllis, they had to think about the cost and whether they might be retaliated against.

Of course, Quelick's strength is not as good as Archibald's, but its notoriety and heinous crimes in Marlay Castle make its reputation no less than Archibald's.

Even the priests and clerks of the Knights of the Eternal Flame died at its hands. However, it was so elusive that the Knights of the Flame Sun were obviously stronger than it, but they could not catch it.

Now that its head appeared in front of the Cathedral of Eternal Flame, it was a great relief to everyone and allowed these knights who hated evil to vent their anger.

There were already many knights gathered in the square because of the bells, and now seeing the head of Quelik, the atmosphere of the crowd instantly became high. Some people took out the fine wine, drank it heartily, and cheered.

"Today is truly a glorious day! The Awakening Bells are ringing incessantly, the Goddess's holy lilies are floating throughout the church, and now with the scoundrel Quelick surrendering, it's a glorious and prosperous day for the Sun Goddess!"

"Yes, praise the glory, praise the goddess' chosen knight. We should have a big drink to celebrate this festive day."

"Which knight is visiting today? Does anyone know him?"

"It is said to be the Knight of the Redbud Flower."

"Is it the border princedom that's become so famous recently? Doesn't that mean that Lion King Orstein and War Saint Hildre are here too?"

"Yes, praise the Saint of War! She lets the glory of the goddess shine upon the world."

"Let me see, let me see. Is this the legendary Bauhinia Knight who has fought dozens of battles, big and small, since entering the Border Prince's territory, and has always won every battle? He is truly dazzling and a hero!"

"When will I be able to have this kind of dragon and phoenix appearance and attract everyone's attention?"

Listening to the flattery from the numerous elite knights and even champion knights around him, Su Li couldn't help but smile. Sure enough, after entering the pass, there will be great scholars to debate for me.

Once a man has created a brilliant career, even his ordinary appearance will become dazzling.

Su Li was very clear that his appearance was just average. Perhaps in Seranweier's eyes, he could be considered sunny, gentle, clean and cheerful. But listen to how these people exaggerated, heroic appearance, and extraordinary talent?
Tsk tsk, he never thought in his previous life that these words could be used on him.

People's praise and the enthusiasm of the environment are contagious. Amidst the cheers and applause, even Hector, the Grand Master of the Knights of the Flaming Sun and the Dean of the Cathedral of the Eternal Flame, became excited and serious. He solemnly stretched out his hands and took Quelik's head from Hildre.

Then he solemnly announced, "Knight Bauhinia, you have successfully earned the respect and friendship of all the knights of the Border Prince's branch of the Flaming Sun Knights."

"Originally, it was Grand Master Knight Adalbert Hof Feuerstahl who should have personally accepted this head and presented you with the Order of the Flaming Sun's Holy Lily Medal in recognition of your contributions to the Church and the Knights. However, Grand Master Adalbert has already left for Mordheim. Now, I will preside over this ceremony on his behalf. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course." Su Li lowered his head humbly and said, "It is my honor to have the dean preside over the ceremony and give the blessing."

Hector placed Quelick's head back into the box and led Su Li into the cathedral. It was tall, bright, spacious, and magnificent. It had the splendor and brilliance of the Knights of the Flaming Sun, its walls adorned with shimmering gold and countless brilliant church mottos. It also had the holiness and brightness of the goddess. The statue of the goddess stood nearly 40 meters tall, carved from pure white marble, unblemished.

The combination of these two styles appears particularly low-key and luxurious.

Hector guided Su Li to kneel before the goddess statue and proudly introduced it, "The Cathedral of Eternal Flame is the largest religious sanctuary of our Fiery Sun Church in the princely territory on the southern border of the empire. Every devout believer who arrives at Maleburg will pray and worship here. This is because visiting a holy place may earn the favor of the goddess and grant her grand grace."

"Visiting the holy site of the Cathedral of the Eternal Flame grants divine grace and devout prayer. Violet's priests are known to be exceptionally skilled warriors. For them, battle itself is a form of prayer. They practice and perfect their combat techniques, studying and researching battle strategies. This is both for themselves and to honor Violet. In this dark age of demons, war is inevitable, and seizing the initiative on the battlefield means seizing one's own life. Therefore, through a flawless battle, they can demonstrate their devotion, gain the goddess's grace, and accelerate their training."

"Of course, whether one can receive this divine grace depends on the visitor's piety. Only those outstanding knights who are extremely steadfast in their devotion to the goddesses and are determined to gain glory for them can gain the goddess' favor and blessing."

Su Li took a deep breath. If it were really that strict, there was no way he would ever win the favor of the Fiery Sun Goddess. Didn't he even know if he was devout or not? What knight of a goddess would spend their free time fantasizing about lifting her skirt and training with her?

But before Su Li could refuse, Bishop Hector was already full of confidence in him and ordered: "Next, you will recite the oath of prayer with me, praising the goddess' wisdom and generosity. I will recite a sentence, and you will follow."

"The great sun goddess Violet!

You cleanse the filth with the fire of war,

Rebuilding order with sharp edge——

Please listen to the warrior's sacrificial oath! "

Su Li couldn't interrupt his prayer at this moment under the watchful eyes of the crowd, and the knights behind him were all waiting to praise the goddess with him, so he could only force himself to do so: "Great Goddess of the Fiery Sun..."

"Our flesh and blood are firewood,

Wherever the sword points, there is a holy place!

The victor is a prayer, the loser is an ashes,
This body will forever belong to the spark that will set the prairie ablaze! "

……

As Su Li finished his last sentence, the holy marble statue's eyes suddenly shone with a dazzling golden light, causing countless onlookers to exclaim in surprise. All the knights' weapons in the cathedral were covered in a layer of brilliant golden light. As the golden light gradually faded, a layer of burning golden marks, like liquid gold, appeared on the blades.

Even Seranweier, who was visiting for the first time and had just come into contact with the Church of the Fiery Sun, was no exception.

Bishop Hetok stood up and lit the sacred fire before the religious icon. He offered the flowers, wine, and Quelick's head as sacrifices. After thanking the goddess once again, he stood up and said to Su Li with a smile, "As expected, the goddess knows whether you and your knights are pious. Bauhinia Knight, you have proved your loyalty and faith to the goddess!"

hiss~
Su Li stood up and took a deep breath. Goddess, are you serious?
However, no one would dislike this kind of divine grace. This meant that after visiting the sacred sanctuary of the Goddess of the Fiery Sun in the border prince's territory, he had gained a new ability. As long as he fought, it was like praying, gaining some meager divine grace, which could accelerate the improvement of his strength. This was the icing on the cake.

After the worship was completed, Su Li turned to Bishop Hetok and said, "I came to visit the headquarters of the Flame Sun Knights this time because I want to ask for their support on a few matters."

Hetok immediately smiled and said, "Is it a problem with the territory's finances? Don't worry. Any pioneering knight of your level, with a little bit of real strength and skill, will encounter this kind of problem and need financing. Don't go looking for loans from those unscrupulous merchants in Maraisburg. Our church generally provides some support to its believers to expand the faith of the Goddess of the Blazing Sun."

"Your visit to the Cathedral of the Eternal Flame was a wise decision. The church will naturally provide you with some support. And you've earned the respect of all of us. Within my authority, I can immediately provide the Hesse Territory with a loan of 10000 gold crowns. If a larger amount is needed, you'll have to wait. I'll convene the bishops' council to discuss increasing the loan amount to 30000 gold crowns. Furthermore, these are low-interest loans, with an annual interest rate of only 8.5%."

The annual interest rate was only 8.5%, which was incredibly low in this chaotic border princely state, meaning a significant portion of the loans would be uncollectible. After all, most pioneering territories might not survive for even a decade.

This is truly a risky investment made by the church to expand its faith.

But Su Li smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Excellency the Dean. I have already solved the financial problem and am not short of money at the moment. This time I came mainly to obtain support from other aspects of the Knights."

for free?
Hertok's calm and complacent attitude finally broke. How could this be possible?!
This was a crucial way for their church to bind its followers. Otherwise, what would happen if such a promising follower defected to another church? While it was rare for a knight to switch faiths, it was not uncommon.

The more Su Li refused the investment, the more he cared about it. He immediately said, "Don't be so hasty to refuse! This is strong support from the Knights and the Church. You should know that other pioneering knights at your stage only receive 500 gold crowns at most. This is also a unique benefit and advantage of our church. After all, our church's wealth is unmatched by many other churches."

"If you think the interest rate is too high, we can lower it. For example, we can offer interest-free loans for the first three years, and repayments at a low interest rate of 4.5% starting in the fourth year. The principal will only be repaid in the tenth year, and the loan will be fully repaid in years."

Dean Hector is obviously very optimistic about the Hessen Territory. With so many God-chosen Knights loyal to it, the territory cannot be destroyed easily. This vibrant territory must be firmly tied to the chariot of the Church of the Goddess of the Fiery Sun.

Interest-free for the first three years? This is the most favorable financing and loan Su Li has ever obtained.

He also knew that if he didn't accept the loan, Dean Hector would probably not be able to rest easy, so he said, "Then I'd better obey your order. I will first take 10000 gold crowns from the church. You can continue to discuss the remaining amount. You can give it to the Gray Market Company and have them bring it to my territory. However, my request is really not about this."

Even if Gray Market Trading Company had 100 guts, they would not dare to embezzle the 20000 golden crowns of the Flaming Sun Knights, one of the most powerful and richest knightly orders in the south.

So Hector waved his hand firmly and said, "No problem, I will arrange everything as soon as possible. What kind of request are you talking about? Is it support in terms of force and manpower?"

Su Li nodded. "I don't need to force the Knights of the Flaming Sun to serve me. Rather, my territory will be holding a grand competition before this harvest season. I hope the Flaming Sun Knights and the Cathedral of Eternal Flame can help me promote it and attract more Knights of the Blazing Sun Goddess to visit my territory."

The Knights of the Flaming Sun are the richest knightly order in the world, no doubt about it!
His wealth was undeniable, and the knights in his order were also extremely wealthy. They were simply the perfect targets for the Hessen Territory's Glorious Competition, where they could squander vast sums of gold coins.

This will undoubtedly greatly boost the territory's business, making all kinds of equipment, props and medicines in the territory popular.

But these are all incidental benefits. The most important thing is that the participation of a large number of members of the Flame Sun Knights will greatly enhance the fame of this ceremony.

The tradition of the Knights Templar is to encourage knights to travel around, and they will spread the news of this ceremony and the customs and practices of the territory.

This is fundamental to the improvement of the territory. Next year's ceremony will be even more grand, and the territory's specialties will also be famous far and wide.

In comparison, even the profits from gambling are just the icing on the cake.

The value of the consecrated wisteria pods, amethyst gold brandy, rose dew, the bauhinia holy flame foundry, various blood pine furniture, and forest gems is the real source of wealth for the territory.

Hector said decisively, "I thought it was a huge problem, but it's just a matter of a word. I can help you solve it easily. As the dean of the Eternal Flame Cathedral and the mentor of the Flaming Sun Knights, I will give the knights a trial assessment and have them go to the Blood Pine Forest for a period of time."

"Thank you very much, Dean. Can I go to the church library to select some books?"

"Of course! This is also the gift and answer I want to give you and the little girl who asked me earlier." Hector turned to look at Seranweier and said, "If you want to become a knight shining in the blazing sun, you must first be pious to the goddess, and secondly, be proficient in the art of war."

As he clapped his hands, four priests entered the church, each holding a stack of church scriptures.

"These are special products of our Eternal Flame Cathedral. Through the devout prayers of the church priests, the goddess's grace has been infused into these books. Ten of them are high-level tomes (similar to Blood of the Earth and Tears of Mercy) that can only be produced during special festivals, when the goddess' grace is felt. The other 10 are devoutly crafted by champion-level priests and divinely chosen priests, and all have certain effects."

"After careful reading, how much of the essence one can grasp will determine the degree to which the knight improves their understanding of the Goddess's teachings, the art of war, and their wisdom and strength. These are precious church texts, and their effects only last once. Once someone has read them, subsequent readings won't bring such a direct boost in divine grace. However, learning knowledge is always beneficial to the knight, isn't it?"

"Of course, reading is beneficial. This is the truth taught to us by the goddess." Su Li responded in agreement, then took the books from several priests and took a look at the titles.

Among them was the "Eternal Flame" that Vice Captain Freya asked him to help find, and others included the "Violet's Crusade", "The War of Light", and "The War of Glory" in the category of mythology and doctrine foundation, the "Original Codex of Tactics", "Goddess Strategy", and "Book of War" in the category of military strategy and tactics, and the "Violet's War Prayer", "Oath of Dawn", and "Sun Triumphal Prayer" in the category of doctrine and prayer.

There are more than forty books with basically no duplication. After reading them, it will greatly enrich the library of the Goddess Monastery in Hesse.

Then Su Li took the knights to the library of the cathedral and found the "Code of the Fiery Sun" with a metal cover with a golden sun emblem. This is a sacred book with precious attributes far exceeding the other forty books. It can continuously allow a knight to be blessed by God and gain a slight degree of strength improvement.

The effect was very significant. During the short time that Su Li and the knights were looking for books in the library, Seranweier read for a while in the sun and successfully broke through to the rank of apprentice knight!
This made Su Li speechless. How come these monsters could break through to the level of apprentice knight as easily as drinking water?

Finally, he and the knights selected another 100 books of interest and said goodbye to Dean Hertok.

Of course, he did not forget the main purpose of coming to the Cathedral of Eternal Flame. With the assistance of Bishop Hetok, he took out the [Endless Sea Navigation Star Map] wrapped in the Aurora Veil from under the base of the statue of the Goddess.

He was still very interested in the beacon of God-King Redmar, the Spear of Heaven.

(End of this chapter)