Heart of the Castle

Chapter 293 Miracle or Blasphemy
The people of the Earth Temple had heard about the desolation and barrenness here before they came to Beijing County, but they didn't expect that what they saw in their eyes would be even more inaccessible than the legend.When passing through the Twilight Forest, you can often see farmhouses on both sides of Glory Avenue, and there is still a place to rest after sunset.However, if you continue to move forward, the people will become less and less populated. There are old oak trees, ivy and thorn bushes growing in the forest. Occasionally, the shadow of a village appears. When you look closer, they are all ruins that have been looted.

After all, the end of the disaster is still short. Although this territory has begun to recover, it is far from reaching its previous state.On the third day of walking through the dusk forest, I saw that the golden face of Flandara had disappeared on the top of the mountain.As night approached, the howling of wolves in the distance continued one after another, and the strange howling of hyenas was erratic. Traveling overnight has become a very dangerous thing, and the people of the Temple of the Earth had no choice but to choose to camp in the deserted village.

Whether it is setting up tents, collecting firewood, taking care of horses, or lighting bonfires, the people in the Temple of the Earth are doing very hard, even the majestic deputy head of Jerome is no exception, because these apologists have lived in the In the temple, they lack experience in field travel. Compared with these chores, they are more familiar with wielding a warhammer and rushing forward, smashing the heads of defilers and temple enemies.

However, they were all strong men after all, and these tasks were slowly completed amidst the noise and panic.But before that, the elderly Vice Archbishop Beria couldn't bear the chaos, and staggered away holding a heavy religious book. A senior priest held a bull's-eye lantern in one hand, and Help him.

The two walked to a clear stream that passed through the dense forest. The pastor laid a thick cushion on the rocks by the stream, and then helped Vice Archbishop Beria to sit down.Next to the stone was an old oak tree that was half fallen. Its huge body just formed a barrier against the cold wind behind the two of them.The stream was gurgling, the torrent was rushing, and a sense of tranquility and coldness enveloped him immediately, leaving all the hustle and bustle of the camp behind.

The deputy archbishop of Beria sighed in satisfaction, and opened the tome in his hand by the light of the bull's-eye lantern. This precious volume with a cowhide cover was written by the first archbishop of the Temple of the Earth, and it recorded many About the miracles of Caggino, the god of the earth.On one of the pages, Beria read such an account.

"The finger of the monarch of the distant mountain touched the earth lightly, the earth sang, the vegetation grew, and the greenery was unobstructed. After a while, the wheat field matured, the golden wheat waves rolled, and the grains were full like pearls..."

"Praise be to my lord Caggino," Beria whispered suddenly.

The senior pastor who accompanied him froze for a moment, and hurriedly put his hand on his chest, "Praise forever, Your Excellency, Vice Archbishop, what are your orders?"

"Bring some corn, my boy."

The senior priest hastily untied a small bag from his belt and opened the mouth of the bag, which was full of oatmeal.He poured out a handful into his palm, and held it in front of Beria.

Beria picked up a few grains of wheat, carefully felt the full and swollen touch from his fingertips, and then placed them on the classics to compare with the ears of wheat in the picture.When those grains of wheat fell on the scorched yellow parchment, all the writing on it suddenly flickered, and the picture in the middle of the painting showing the miracle of the God of Kagino immediately turned into a hazy khaki color. The light, the ears of wheat on it seemed to come alive, swaying in the light.

"Kagino, this is..." the senior priest couldn't help blurting out in surprise, but Beria immediately put his palm in front of him, blocking what he was about to say.

"This is just the resonance of divine power, my child. It shows that the power contained in the grain of wheat is indeed the divine power of my lord Caggino, but..." Beria closed his eyes wearily, and wrapped his clothes tightly around his body. Robe, leaned against the old oak tree and meditated.

At the same time, at the lower reaches of the same creek, Bishop Bomano and another senior priest were whispering something. The cold wind passed through the forest, and the shadows of the swaying trees cast mysterious lines on their bodies. It seems that these two people describe them as sneaky.

"Those bumpkins from the past two days are really damned." Bishop Bomano completely tore off the mask of kindness that he usually wears on his face, and cursed in a low voice, "Those apologist knights are trash, even a wild girl walking on the road I can’t see it, and I was intercepted by those country bumpkins, I really don’t know how I can carry out the majesty of my lord Cardeno with just these people.”

"Your Excellency, Bishop Bomano, the teachings of the God of the Earth have not been officially spread in this land, so it is not surprising that the bumpkins here do not know the upper and lower ranks. After all, we are walking on an unfamiliar land in the northern border. Apologist knights If the regiment rashly kills them, it may cause other troubles.

"Of course I know." Bishop Bomano replied a little irritably, "Then they should lower their stance and solve these troubles quickly. Now that old guy Beria has come into contact with the wheat seeds that contain divine power, some things are even more serious. Trouble."

"You mean to say that the divine power contained in those grains of wheat does not belong to my lord Caggino?" the senior priest asked with a frown.

"Those divine powers belong to the god Caggino, there is no doubt about it." Bishop Bomano said in a stern tone, "But this does not mean that those who use these divine powers to ripen the wheat seeds are bound by the god Caggino. Favor. There are many ways to steal divine power, doesn't it include you too? Dear Brother Barton, or should I say... the Magister Barton."

The muscles on the senior pastor's face trembled, and his voice became hoarse, "That was not my intention, Bishop Bomano, you know, without the instruction of you and the archbishop, I would never... do that. "

"But you did it after all, Patton." Bishop Bomano said coldly, then he sighed and his voice softened. "In the past ten years, the power bestowed by my lord Caggino has become weaker and weaker. The beliefs of those parishes alone are no longer enough to support the consumption of all the magical users of the entire Earth Temple. Therefore, according to the archbishop's intention , this time it is imperative to open a new parish on the northern border."

"Since this is the case, wouldn't it be easier to promote the doctrine if the miracle of the God of the Earth and a new divinely favored person appear here?" Barton asked a little strangely.

Bishop Bomano pursed his lips, carefully hiding the contemptuous expression on his face, "Dear Brother Nabaton," he said almost with a sigh, "of course it is easy for a lord of the divinely favored to promote doctrines. , to attract believers." His voice changed, and the wrinkles on his face overflowed with ferocity, "But what about the interests of the temple? If you can't control this territory, then the northern border can become the northern border of the earth temple ?"

"So that's how it is..." Nabaton murmured, suddenly felt that the wind around him seemed to be even colder and biting, and couldn't help shivering, wrapping his robe tighter. "This damn place is so cold," he shrank his neck, "I don't want to stay here and freeze into an ice lump."

"Power is the best kind of firewood. It can warm people up." Bishop Bomano looked at Barton's blank expression, so he shrugged his shoulders and said, "It's meaningless to tell you, Brother Barton, anyway. You never considered studying anything other than magic."

"Yes, as long as I can continue to borrow the divine power of the God of the Earth to do research, I will be very satisfied." Patton stomped his legs that were about to freeze and said, "Bishop Bomano, tell me, what is the matter?" What do you want me to do?"

"Of course it's the lord's business. If he is unwilling to admit that he has stolen the divine power of our lord Cageno, then according to the procedures for identifying miracles, the seance ceremony of Cageno will be carried out..." Bishop Bomano said. Stop here, because this has already made Barton have a disgusted expression on his face.

"That's not a small real estate nobleman or businessman. If you murder a powerful lord, do you want me to be burned?" The muscles on Barton's face twitched a few times, and he raised his voice angrily.

"It is of course very difficult for the pious senior pastor, Brother Nabaton, but for the magister Nabaton, who is proficient in the divine power of the God of the Earth, it is a piece of cake." Bishop Bomano pointed out with a smile, "I have seen it with my own eyes. I have seen the great power of the Barton magister, and in the turbulent flow of the god of the earth, even the person who is also the magister was torn into pieces?"

"It was a tragedy, a tragedy caused by a mistake!" Barton's voice dropped immediately, "My mental power is not strong enough to manipulate such a powerful divine power of the earth, that's why that tragedy was caused." He said here , gritted his teeth as if to strengthen his confidence, "The justice of Firmes has confirmed it, and this is the final conclusion."

"Of course I know, because His Excellency the archbishop entrusted me to submit the most critical evidence." Bishop Bomano's indifferent words made Barton's face turn pale.But Bishop Bomano did not let him go, but leaned close to him and whispered in his ear: "That's why the old man asked you to preside over the seance ceremony of the God of the Earth many times. You really did not disappoint the Archbishop. expect."

"I, I see." Barton's face was pale, his lips smacked a few times, and finally he replied in a low voice, "I will find a way to make that lord... do something during the seance ceremony."

"Please make sure that he never wakes up." Bishop Bomano regained his kind expression, then he shrank his shoulders and cursed in a low voice.

"This damn weather is really cold. When I think that I will be a district bishop in such a cold place in the future, I feel like a knife has been stabbed in my bone marrow..." Bishop Bomano said in this way. Holding his shoulders tightly with his hands, he walked towards the camp, where there was a lot of people, and the apologists leaned on a broken wall that hadn't collapsed to build a sheep felt tent, and the warm bonfire was already burning.

The wind had stopped at some point, but Barton felt the chill become more intense, and even penetrated into his bones.

This chill did not dissipate until everyone sat around the warm campfire. Although the experience of the guardian knights in the field camping was poor, the supplies prepared by the Earth Temple were indeed abundant. In the cold night, I felt even more warmth, and the aroma of stewed meat exuding strong pepper and cinnamon penetrated into people's nostrils.

The aging Vice Archbishop Beria was the last one to move his feet and take his seat. Deputy Head Jerome took a few golden and crispy guinea pigs from the grill on one side, and brought the fattest one to Beiria first. Archdeacon Lia, and then put one in the wooden trays for Bishop Bomano, himself, and two senior priests.

Vice Archbishop Beria took a deep breath of the scent of guinea pigs, and smiled on his wrinkled face: "It's been a long time, everyone, let's start."

No one spoke for the next ten minutes, because everyone was dealing with the steaming stew and rusks in front of them, and the vice archbishop Beria was the one who ate the least and the fastest. He only ate The senior priest beside him had cut up a few slices of guinea pig meat and a small bowl of hot soup, and stopped chewing.

"I'm full." The old man whispered, then gently pushed the plate away, and cast his eyes on Deputy Head Jerome across the campfire.

"Jerome, how far is it to the lord's residence?"

Hearing the vice-archbishop's inquiry, deputy head Jerome hastily swallowed the dry rusk in his mouth, then took out a beautiful sheepskin map from his pocket, and spread it on the stone in front of him.

"We are here now... Kodo Village, or rather, the ruins of Kodo Village." Deputy head Jerome found a pattern representing a village on the map, and then started from this pattern and gestured to the left For a moment, "We should be able to walk out of this forest tomorrow morning, and then we can have lunch in Zabotin Town, and we should be able to reach the castle where the lord lives before sunset."

"Oh, that means, if everything goes well, we can see Levi Stern in person tomorrow." Beria nodded and said.

"Presumably his despicable and blasphemous behavior cannot escape the eyes of His Excellency the Vice Archbishop." Bishop Bomano stretched out his thumb and forefinger to twist a pinch of salt, sprinkled a circle on the sliced ​​meat on his dinner plate, and smiled at the same time speak.

"This conclusion is still too early." The vice-archbishop of Beria pointed his finger at his forehead, "The divine power of the earth in those oats is very pure, it doesn't seem to be polluted by any evil force, and such a miracle, in the It has been recorded in ancient books."

"God Kagino has not performed miracles for more than ten years. Even if he did, he would be in Giant Rock City, which has the most devout people, not in this desolate Northern Territory." Bishop Bomano still insisted , "Your Excellency, Vice Archbishop, I know that you hope to see the miracle of my lord Caggino, but please consider carefully, there are many doubts about the miracle that happened here."

"You're right, Brother Bomano." Beria thought for a moment and said, "There are indeed many unusual features in the miracles that happened here, and we, Caggio believers, need to identify them one by one. Study and discuss carefully. Brother Bomano, I hate the blasphemer who tries to steal the power of my lord Caggino as much as you do. If the lord here is found to be a blasphemer, I will let him taste the wrath of the god of the earth .”

"You are right, let the blasphemer taste the wrath of the God of the Earth." Bishop Bomano replied happily.

"Tomorrow we will know whether he is the favored one favored by my lord Caggino, or the blasphemer who stole the divine power of the earth." Beria said slowly, "I am too tired today. , Bishop Bomano, and other brothers and children, please forgive me for the time being. Praise my lord Caggino." As he spoke, Beria stood up tremblingly, and the senior pastor beside him Hastily reached out to hold his arm, and helped him walk towards the tent.

"Praise forever!" Everyone stood up in awe, watching the deputy archbishop disappear at the door of the tent.

Contrary to the reason he said personally, Vice Archbishop Beria did not rest immediately after entering the tent, but leaned on the cushion and meditated.The senior priest serving him lit the bull's-eye lantern and was about to exit the tent when he was stopped by an old voice.

"My child, wait a moment."

"Your Excellency, Vice Archbishop?" The senior pastor stopped in surprise, then bowed deeply and said, "What are your orders?"

Beria didn't speak immediately, but sat quietly on the bed, his face was gloomy and dignified, like a stone carving, only his eyes reflected the light of the bull's-eye lantern, looking like burning stars.

The senior priest felt a little strange, and straightened his body. His movements seemed to awaken Beria as if from a dream, and his rock-like dignified expression loosened. "My child, you have been serving such a useless old fellow like me, taking care of three meals for me, helping me change my clothes and take a bath, has it been five years? Seeing brothers who are also high-ranking pastors like you, there is Some of them became the priests of the temple, and some became the abbots of the monastery, don't you feel very depressed?"

Beria's words made the senior pastor's face stiff for a moment, and then he smiled bitterly and said: "If it was five years ago, when I first received this order, I would have felt a little depressed. But now I don't Yes, it is my honor to be able to serve you as a believer of the God of the Earth, and by your side, I have learned a lot more than those brothers who are also senior priests..."

"But as a pastor, only by becoming the priest of the temple can you get more divine favors and your rank can continue to rise." Beria softly interrupted his confession, making his face a little more embarrassed. "Speak your true thoughts, because in this way... I can help you."

"I..." Although the insulation effect of the tent is quite good, it is definitely not stuffy, but the head of this senior priest is covered with large beads of sweat, which even slipped down along the corner of his forehead.Under the bright eyes of the deputy archbishop of Beria, he uttered a few words with difficulty: "I want to be an officiant who presides over the Temple of the Earth!"

After saying this, the senior priest let out a long breath, lowered his head, and prepared to meet his fate.

"I see, my child, there is an opportunity in front of you now." Beria said with a smile, "If this land is really blessed by my lord Caggino, then... that Man's way will definitely not succeed, praise the god of the earth."

(End of this chapter)