Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 60 I Really Don't Know Divine Magic (4)

The lead dog stood still, facing the black-clad priest in the center of the arena.

The normally irritable Caucasian Shepherd Dog suddenly displayed a puzzled expression on its face, similar to that of a human.

It circled twice, sniffed the air, and then bent its limbs and lay down on the ground.

The duke, who was familiar with dogs, knew that this was the Caucasian Shepherd Dog relaxing its guard.

The priest in black robes slowly reached out his right hand towards the giant dog on the ground. His hand was just centimeters away from the white canine teeth, and it seemed that if the dog opened its mouth, it would bite off the finger in front of him.

An amazing thing happened.

The enormous Caucasian Shepherd Dog rolled over and lay on the ground, exposing its soft belly to the black-robed priest, clearly enjoying his stroking of its fur.

The hunting dogs behind seemed a little confused, and one of the more impatient ones seemed to be barking and trying to rush forward.

The next second, the alpha dog rolled over and stood up, shaking its long fur and baring its teeth at its former subordinate in a low, menacing threat!
The Caucasian Shepherd finally realized what was happening, turned its gaze away, and whimpered as it tucked its tail between its legs.

A minute later, all the hunting dogs in the arena lay prostrate on the ground, with only the black-robed priest standing in the center, gently stroking the head of the lead dog with one hand.

There was silence in the stands at first, then after a dozen seconds, a series of exclamations suddenly erupted.

"Incredible!"

"I have never seen anything like this before!"

"How did he do that?!"

The Tsar himself and everyone around him were shocked, especially Grand Duke Nikolayevich, who, as the owner of these Caucasian Shepherds, knew all too well how formidable they were.

To be fair, even he himself wouldn't dare to casually place himself in such an environment.

Queen Alexandra turned to look at her best friend.

The knowledgeable head maid opened her notebook and silently read, "Wolves dug a well for him, and hyenas brought him bread every day. They prostrated themselves on the ground, submitting to his divine power..." (Excerpt from "The Life of Saint Anthony")
"Didn't he say he didn't feel any divine power?" the Queen whispered.

"Yes, that's what he said from the beginning, but maybe there are other reasons." The head maid whispered in her ear.

So much astonishment were the crowd that it took five minutes before someone remembered to open the kennel door and bring out the priest in black.

When the servant entered the kennel, the Caucasian Shepherd, which had just been lying near the priest, immediately stood up alertly. It was only after the man reassured it that it lay down on the ground again.

Two minutes later, the priest in black appeared on the altar.

Qin Hao could feel that everyone's eyes were focused on him.

“Father Putin, can you tell me what has happened here?” Nicholas II asked in a deep voice.

“Your Majesty, I am here to meet with His Excellency Nikolayevich on his instructions,” the priest in black robes replied with a slight bow.

Upon hearing this, all eyes turned to the Grand Duke.

"Absurd! I wanted to see you, but I never said it was this person!" The Grand Duke slammed his fist on the table and stood up, his bear-like body bringing a tremendous sense of oppression.

"Who delivered the message?" the Tsar asked loudly to his attendant.

“It must be the squire Joseph!” someone whispered in response.

The area behind them became chaotic. A tall servant was brought in, but he was in a strange mental state, seemingly dazed and unable to explain what had just happened.

"This incident is very serious! It must be thoroughly investigated!" Nicholas II sternly reprimanded the chief of guard standing beside him, then looked at the black-robed priest with a gentle expression.

“Father Pugin, can you tell me how the miraculous thing that just happened inside was accomplished? Was it some kind of divine power?”

Upon hearing this, many people around cast envious glances at the black-haired man.

As everyone knows, the Tsar and Tsarina were believers in mysticism. Based on their performance just now, this man would immediately receive the most enthusiastic adoration and unimaginable treatment if he simply nodded.

But the next moment, everyone was stunned.

“No, that’s not it.” The priest in the black robe shook his head matter-of-factly.

"I've just been more comfortable with animals since I was a child. To be honest, I was quite nervous this time too."

"Haven't you been like this since you were little?"

"Yes, I've always been like this." Qin Hao no longer needs to mentally prepare himself to lie. *Hiss*
Unexpectedly, after saying that, the image of the man in black became even more mysterious and unpredictable in everyone's eyes.

Possessing magical power can be a blessing from the gods or something one awakens later in life.

But if someone is born with it, that's another way of saying it—that person is a saint himself.

As described in the famous religious work "The Sarov Chronicle," when Saint Serafim Sarovsky was practicing asceticism in a small cabin deep in the forest, bears and wolves would often bring him honey and meat, which was not due to his ascetic practices.

"I see~" Nicholas II pondered for a moment, then clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention. "Alright, let's leave this topic at that. Father, the Grand Duke has something to ask of you today. Could you help him?"

After speaking, the emperor looked at his uncle.

Grand Duke Nikolayevich had no choice but to reluctantly say, "Yes, I have a dog that's been quite listless lately. I hope the priest can do me a small favor."

The priest in the black robe was slightly taken aback. "Although I am not a veterinarian, please let me take a look first."

A servant led the way, and the Grand Duke and his entourage followed behind. Turning the corner, they came to a quiet room where a large iron cage contained a slender black Doberman Pinscher lying on the ground.

However, the Doberman was clearly not very energetic; when someone came in, it just glanced up and then lay down again.

"Please, Father," the Grand Duke said, stepping aside. Luckily, he did have a dog that was in bad shape, otherwise he wouldn't know how to handle the situation.

Qin Hao touched the cross on his neck, pondering whether the stuff inside would be effective as veterinary medicine.

But after looking down for a while, he suddenly burst out laughing.

"Sir, it's just a minor problem. It will perk up with just a little something," Qin Hao said confidently.

"Father, do you need any medicine? I'll send someone to find it." The head sergeant, eager to atone for his sins, bowed and asked.

“No medicine needed. Go find me a smelly boot, an old, unwashed one, the smellier the better,” the black-haired priest said with a smile.

"Wh-what? Boots?" The head sergeant thought he had misheard.

"You heard me right, hurry up and go."

The next morning, the entire camp was abuzz with stories of Father Pugin’s miraculous abilities, how he could tame more than a dozen hunting dogs all by himself.

Even the listless dog, after just sniffing the stinky boots the priest handed it, suddenly became lively and energetic, as if it had never been sick.

Qin Hao walked alone in the corridor, with servants constantly removing their hats and bowing in front of him.

But as he walked over, a slightly hunched figure followed behind him.

The man seemed anxious, constantly adjusting his pace, and when he reached another intersection, he suddenly lost his way.

Quack!! Quack!!

A piercing sound came from the treetop; it was a crow cawing loudly at him.

Just as the man was about to wave him away, someone grabbed him by the neck and dragged him inside.

A cold touch appeared on his neck. Qin Hao pressed his hand against the cross mechanism, pressing it against the stalker's throat. With just a slight press, the sharp blade would spring out and kill the target.

At this moment, the priest in black unexpectedly discovered that the person following him was actually an old man with white hair.

"Who are you? Why are you following me?" Qin Hao slightly lowered the knife in his hand.

"Huff huff huff~" It took the other person a long time to catch their breath before standing up.

“I meant no harm, I was just curious about the mechanism of the cross in your hand,” the old man said, panting.

"How do you know that what I have in my hand is a mechanism?" Qin Hao became more vigilant and pressed down on the object in his hand again.

The old man pointed to a tiny mark on the cross. "Don't you know? That's the mark of my family's workshop."

"who are you?"

"Excuse me." The old man stood up, dusting himself off. "I am an attendant to His Majesty the Emperor on this trip. My name is..."

Peter Carl Fabergé

(End of this chapter)