Heart of the Castle

Chapter 561 Declaration of integrating the army to prepare for war
Cageno, the god of the earth, and Tomica, the god of the sky, are called the ancient gods, and they are also one of the five mainstream beliefs in the Kingdom of Arthur.Most of the nobles believe in Flandara, Lord of Radiance.Soldiers mostly believe in Barud, the god of war, merchants believe in the red moon goddess Mafa, who can bring luck, and sailors and fishermen believe in Tomika, the sky god who is in charge of storms and thunder.

Caggino, the god of the earth, is the object of belief of most farmers.

The number of believers usually determines the power of the gods. From this point of view, since the number of farmers is the first among all classes, Caggio should be the most powerful god under the Father God.Yet the Earth God's gentle (or, more accurately, dull) temper makes him one of the least aggressive of the gods, and most of his followers are only generalists.

The influence of the Earth God Temple also ranks last among the five mainstream beliefs, but in Northern County, the belief in the Earth God has a considerable scale.Along with the rise of the Griffin Lord, his identity as the patron of the God of the Earth has also been known to more people, whether it is the endless grain bags of oats flowing out continuously, or even when the north wind hits and snowflakes fall. As the oatmeal that is still thriving, Caggino seems to be preparing to use up all the diligence accumulated over tens of thousands of years at once, and keeps performing miracles one after another in various parts of the northern border.

Although most of the villagers in Luoka Village are not natives of Northern County, their support for the griffin lord who protects them is not weaker than that of the natives all the way from the capital. The astonishing scenes that took place on the land of the land, the belief of the villagers who were originally believers in the God of the Earth was greatly deepened, and the villagers who were originally pan-believers of other gods could not help but be deeply in awe of the majesty of Caggino.

The old village head is also a believer in the God of the Earth, and he can be considered devout.When he heard what the deacon of the temple said, he couldn't help showing a look of surprise and excitement on his face. "The God of the Earth issued an oracle?" He lowered his voice and confirmed with a trembling voice, "My lord pastor, are you not mistaken? Haven't the gods issued an oracle for more than ten years?"

The old village head's questioning was considered a slight offense to the temple deacon, but the priest who was also in the excitement and excitement didn't care about this, but corrected loudly. "To be precise, it is 23 years, but the last miracle was also performed 23 years ago, if you don't count the series of miracles performed by my lord Caggio last year."

He paused, looking around at the villagers who had walked out of their homes because of his words, and then tried to raise his voice so that as many people as possible could hear. "The gods have been silent for 23 years, but today, my lord Caggino sent a definite oracle! Come and see, the sacred words floating on the altar, come and listen, the sacred words from the depths of the earth sound!"

Cheers and discussions suddenly erupted, covering up the last sentence of the temple deacon's words. Many elderly villagers had dubious expressions on their faces, but the young villagers all showed their hearts. rejoice.

The words of the deacon of the temple are actually very easy to verify. There is no need to mobilize at all. All the villagers in Luoka Village gathered in front of the door of the room where the earth altar was placed. The deacon of the temple of the storm in sky blue attire stood there early, with a very calm expression , but the slightly trembling hands revealed the loss and anxiety in his heart.

Seeing the deacon of the Earth Temple and the villagers coming together, the deacon of the Temple of the Storm nodded slightly, and then said in an envious tone: "Congratulations, the devout disciples of the Monarch of the Far Mountain, who can listen to the gods you believe in." Only issuing decrees is the highest honor of being a believer."

"Thank you very much. The one who controls the thunder is the same ancient gods as my lord, and the day when he should wake up will not be far away." The assistant priest of the Earth Temple replied humbly, but he couldn't hide the smile on his face.

"I firmly believe that it must be so." The dean of the Temple of Storms replied simply, then closed his mouth and looked towards the altar of the earth.The villagers also stopped making noise and talking, and looked at the earth altar in the room with breathless concentration.

Different from the luxurious altar of the god of the sky, which is inlaid with golden runes and topaz, the altar of the god of the earth fully reflects the gentle and honest character of this god. Looking at it coldly, this black altar is carved out of a whole piece of obsidian. It is made, and countless runes with rigid lines are etched on it.However, if you look closely, you will find that the so-called whole piece of obsidian is basically a mass of soil solidified by some kind of force, but a thick layer of obsidian powder has been smeared on the surface.

But now no one will notice the material of the altar, because the whole earth altar is surrounded by a layer of gentle and hazy khaki light, this layer of light is extremely thick and steady, it looks almost solid, and the surface seems to be the most perfect Slowly reflecting the moving luster like pure amber.

Almost everyone's nose smelled a kind of earthy smell, but the smell was not unpleasant. It didn't have the smell of humus usually contained in the soil, but the fresh smell that emerged from the earth after the rain.The deacon of the Temple of the Earth was the first to kneel down and sang loudly a hymn praising the God of the Earth, Cageno. Immediately afterwards, the villagers also knelt down one after another, and the voice of calling the name of Cageno resounded over the village. .

Only the acolyte of the Temple of Storms took two steps back with a gloomy expression, clasped his hands in front of his chest and bowed deeply, showing the polite attitude of a person of different beliefs when he saw miracles from other gods.

The divine power on the earth altar continued to gather, and then a series of dark golden words appeared from the surface. "It's the oracle!" "The oracle of my lord Caggino!" The villagers made a commotion, and the acolyte of the Earth Temple hurriedly raised his head to carefully identify the newly appeared words.

"My lord will send his envoys to convey the orders issued by the gods." The altar of the earth temple quickly announced loudly, as if to prove his words, the altar of the earth that had calmed down suddenly trembled, and the entire altar The ground of the village was shaken, as if it was a low-intensity earthquake.

The villagers were shocked, but no one got up and fled, because neither the priest in the khaki robe nor the old village head had the intention of getting up to hide, but bowed deeply to the altar instead.

"My lord Cageno, the thick chest bears the earth, my lord Cageno, the rocks and bones protect all things! As strict as you, as loving as you! Send your messenger to convey your voice, praise my lord, praise the monarch of the distant mountain Caggino!"

Amidst the low and soothing chant, the light above the earth altar suddenly fluctuated like a disturbed water surface, and a mound slowly rose from the center of the room, gradually forming a huge clay puppet.The height of this clay doll is far higher than the strongest and tallest man among the villagers. Its limbs are made of rocks and mud and are as thick as tree trunks. Its head is inlaid with two gray-blue crystals as eyes, and its mouth is completely hollow.

"Large earth element!" The deacon of the Earth Temple recognized the identity of Kagino's envoy at a glance, and the voice of surprise and joy came out hoarsely from his throat.

He did have reason to be surprised. As the ancient gods, Cageno and Tomica are different from other gods. They each have an elemental race called family. Cageno is an earth element, and Tomica It is the air element.When they send these family members to appear as envoys, in addition to conveying the oracle, they will also let the family members stay forever and become the protectors of the altar or the temple.

It is certainly something worth celebrating that a small village altar can have a powerful large earth elemental.What is even more ecstatic is that this also proves that the priest who presides over the altar has a pious belief.The deacon of the Earth Temple felt that his chest was about to explode with ecstasy. His lips trembled as he made a prayer of thanksgiving. He couldn't even recall what he said.

The large earth elemental took a step forward, and at the same time, there was a sound like stones rubbing against each other in the room.It was the language of the earth element, and no one could understand it except the assistant priest of the Earth Temple, but the repeated names at the end made every villager feel very familiar.

"Leviston the God's Favored!" The large earth element repeated for the last time, and then its body slowly changed shape as if melting, and finally merged with the altar, forming something like a wall.The khaki-yellow light quickly covered the surface of the wall to form a light curtain, and then something on it gradually became clear from blur.

Seeing the figure slowly emerging from the light curtain, more than one villager yelled in surprise.

"Blessed Father! That's..."

"It's the Griffin Lord, Lord Levi Stone!"

"The Lord Lord has appeared on the altar!"

These villagers were not mistaken at all. The figure that appeared on the light curtain indeed belonged to Li Weiston. This young lord was wearing a full set of metal armor, and even the helmet was properly put on his head. Only the visor was not put down. Showing a vigorous and determined face.A cloak woven of gold thread hung behind him, and hung from the shoulders of the armor with griffin-shaped clasps.

This image perfectly suits the titles of anti-magic hero and Dawn of the North, but it does not match Li Wei's character, so it is rarely shown in front of everyone.In fact, the griffin lord standing in front of the crystal ball felt uncomfortable all over his body. The palm of his right hand holding the sword hilt was damp and cold, and his body wrapped in armor was stretched like a bowstring.

"Okay, relax, Master Levi, raise your chin a little bit, and keep your eyes cold...Okay, very good!" On the other side of the crystal ball, Mr. Dish, who was dressed as a butler, gestured and gestured for a while, then turned his head. shouted back. "Yan, how is the divine power network connection of the Earth Altar?"

"All earth altars have been included in the coverage of the divine power network, the connection is in good condition, the transmission efficiency of divine power is 98.5%, and the consumption rate is within a controllable range." The strong voice of the alchemy giant Xiang Yan rang from behind the old magician.

"Can you guarantee it?" Mr. Dish raised one eyebrow suspiciously, "This speech is very important, and it is related to whether the military forces of Northern Border County can be smoothly integrated. If something gets stuck in the middle...Hmph, you know the consequences - very serious!"

"Sure, simultaneous video and sound transmission is possible, the distortion rate is less than 1%, and the delay rate is less than 5%." Yan patted his chest with his thick arm like a pillar to assure, and let out two dull roars. "I use the reputation of Moti, the god of craftsmen, to guarantee that I will never get stuck."

Mr. Dish nodded in satisfaction, then took out a white handkerchief from under his straight jacket, waved it in his hand. "Okay, Master Li Wei, get ready, one, two, three... start!"

Several rays of light shot from different directions immediately, Li Wei swallowed hard, told himself for the last time that he must remain calm, and then began to speak.

"Loyal subjects of the Kingdom of Arthur! I am the guardian of the entire kingdom, the head of the important ministers, the commander of the northern border, the head of the Griffin Knights and the Viscount Leviston of the Kingdom! Please listen to me!"

Li Wei's voice entered the divine power network of the Castle Heart through the crystal ball, and then was transmitted to every earth altar along those illusory but real networks. The clear voice unique to young people made a firm and powerful voice. The air echoed across the northern border of the kingdom.

"...Now is the most difficult time for the Kingdom of Arthur, but the kingdom still has so many loyal subjects, and every noble and lord should be grateful. Because it is these unwavering arms that work together to support the kingdom. Raise the cornerstone of the precarious kingdom! Long live the Kingdom of Arthur!"

The initial tension was gradually overwhelmed by passion, and Li Wei found that he could look directly at the crystal ball without fear, as if he could see countless pairs of expectant eyes inside.He clenched his fist and put it on his chest, then hit it hard, and gave a knight's chest salute to everyone who saw this scene.

The next moment, Li Wei, who was in the heart of the castle, seemed to be able to hear shouts suddenly sounding from all directions. "Long live the Kingdom of Arthur" and "Long live the Griffin Lord" and even "Long live the Northshires!"

"Demons are powerful and terrifying, there is no doubt about it! But please recall, what is the result of the onslaughts launched by those powerful and terrible demons? Frustration! Heihe, in the Green Castle, and in the Holy White Rock Fortress! They were all defeated by our brave warriors! They were defeated and defeated! But the capital of the king fell, and the never-falling land favored by the gods became an amusement park in the hands of demons! Why? ? Why is this happening?"

"It's those corrupt royal nobles!" In the ancient palace of Green Castle, a northern county lord suddenly raised his arms and shouted.

"It's Grand Duke Raul who killed the king's brother for his own self-interest, regardless of the overall situation!" Another knight from the capital expressed a different opinion.

"It's the devil's trick. They have prepared for many years, corrupted many people, and placed their eyeliner in many places." In the eternal frozen castle, a middle-aged man wearing a scholar's robe explained to the people around him, " It was the sudden rebellion of those people that caused the rapid fall of the four southern counties and the appearance of the demon army in the capital."

"It's because many people's beliefs are not firm enough. Facing the oppression of demons, they shrink back and become cowardly." In front of the gate of the Earth Temple in Dirk City, the Archbishop of Storms, Povava, carefully concealed his disappointment, and turned to the believers around him. Talk eloquently. "Only piety can be redeemed. Those who betray their own beliefs will forever fall into the river of purgatory and turn into ugly worms."

Li Wei was silent for nearly a minute, as if he was listening to everyone's reasons and venting his anger.The expression on the young lord's face was firm and sad, pain engraved a deep line between his brows, and the corners of his tightly pursed mouth outlined a firm straight line.

When the griffin lord spoke again, all the earth altars became silent again.

"Everyone must have their own answers in their hearts, but what I want to say is that these reasons are one-sided. It was not the fault of any one person that really led to the fall of the capital, not Grand Duke Raul, not His Majesty the Dragon King, let alone those People who have died. The responsibility lies with each of us, not that our will is not strong enough, let alone that our army is not brave enough, but that although we are all members of the Kingdom of Arthur, we all fight side by side under the banner of two swords and a crown , but they are not united at all, the pressure of the demon army is slightly relaxed, and we are fighting endlessly for a little bit of power, wasting all our precious power in internal friction!"

"My lord is right!"

"Unity, must be united!"

Voices of approval sounded out one after another, but almost all of them were knights and soldiers. Those noble lords—whether they were from the northern border or the capital, most of them showed expressions of hesitation or stiff disgust, but there were not many of them. People dare to oppose openly, but express their dissatisfaction with abnormal silence.

"Rise up, kind-hearted subjects who are unwilling to become slaves, the road to the revival of Arthur's Kingdom is at our feet! When the survival of this kingdom is in danger, what is more important than solidarity? The only way out for the kingdom is One, that is to integrate the army and prepare for battle with all our strength! As long as we can squeeze all our strength into one fist, the demons will collapse in front of us, and only the abyss and purgatory will be their eternal exile!"

The last sentence was like a sharp blade cutting through the twilight, lighting up the eyes of many people. The morale that had been depressed since the fall of the king's capital was revived. Looking at Levi Stone, who raised his long sword high in the magic image, Many knights couldn't help but draw out their swords and point to the sky in the same gesture.

"Integrate the army and prepare for battle!" The initial voice sounded from the mouth of a White Wolf Guard, and then quickly expanded, Griffon Knights, Death Knights, Dreadfort Jailers, Northern Knights and City Guard Knights were all shouting loudly , all the weapons were raised above the head, and the powerful palms were tightly clenched together. "Integrate the army and prepare for battle!" Everyone shouted in response, and even many northern lords and royal nobles joined in.

Amidst the cheers resounding through the sky in the northern region, a few royal nobles left in a hurry with gloomy faces, preparing to advance the plan they had already negotiated, and the star mentor Sat Enheer was also among them.But Bamilian, the head of the court, stood motionless in front of the Earth Temple in Zabotin Town, with a half-smile on his face, and slowly tore a piece of parchment with many things written on it into pieces with his hands in his sleeves. .

(End of this chapter)