Heart of the Castle

Chapter 679 The Secret in the Temple of Storms
The rapid and dense sound of horseshoes echoed on the narrow streets of North Aura, the city of demons, as if a large cavalry unit was galloping. The residents of North Aura were awakened from their afternoon naps, but When they looked through the opened doors and windows, they didn't see any cavalry figures, only the hot sun shone on the stone floor, reflecting a blinding white light.

A tall black horse rushed across the street like a whirlwind, and didn't stop until the gate of the North Aura Storm Temple.The Temple of Storms responded immediately, and several storm guard knights rushed out from the left and right sides of the gate, holding maces and shields with lightning emblems, and surrounded them.The behavior of riding straight towards the gate of the temple is undoubtedly quite disrespectful. The faces of these storm knights were full of anger, but they turned into stunned when they saw the knight on horseback.

"He who is in charge of the thunder is above you, the friend of the storm, His Excellency the regent King Leviston!" A high-ranking storm knight in a dark blue cloak blurted out, then put away his weapon, respectfully stroked his chest and saluted, "Praise my lord, you When did you come to North Orla?"

"Praise the God of the Sky." Li Wei tapped the breastplate to greet him, and then asked in a hurried tone, "I have an urgent matter now, and I must seek help from the Temple of Storms. Is Bishop Faron there?"

"Of course, the bishop has never left the temple this week." The high-level storm knight heard the tense situation from Li Wei's tone, and his expression changed immediately, "Close the gate immediately, and no one is allowed to enter or leave from now on. !” He said to the rest of the storm knights, and then turned around, “Your Excellency the Regent, please come with me.”

Although he has already held the supreme power in the Northern Territory, Li Wei has come to this temple with the nature of a military fortress for the first time since the last time he experienced the death of the deceased in the Temple of the Storm, which led to the tragic death of Bishop Felheim.Since the teaching affairs center of the Temple of the Storm has followed the footsteps of Archbishop Povavar from Dirk City to Greencastle, the manpower of the Temple of the Storm in North Aura has also been reduced a lot. It looked empty.Occasionally, when encountering one or two low-level acolytes wearing light blue robes on the way, as long as they see the golden lightning badge on the chest of the high-level storm knight leading the way, those storm acolytes who do not have the ability to cast divine magic All the priests immediately bowed deeply, and then retreated to the corridors on both sides to stand in silence.

In the ornately decorated room that originally belonged to Bishop Felheim, Li Wei met Bishop Faron, an old friend who was in charge of the educational affairs of the city of North Aura.Compared with what he looked like three months ago, Bishop Faron has become obviously tired and older. Two big purple-black eye bags appeared under his eyes. Although the originally brown hair was combed meticulously, there were traces of it in the middle. Strands of gray and white.

Because Li Wei's status is very special, not only is the regent who holds the highest power in Northern Border County, but also has the title of Friend of the Storm, and his status in the church is equivalent to that of an ordinary parish bishop.So the high-ranking storm knight in charge of guarding didn't expect to make an announcement first, so he brought Li Wei to meet Bishop Faron.

The wooden door with many golden dark patterns was suddenly opened, which caused Bishop Faron, who was annoyed by the difficulty of carrying out educational affairs, to suddenly raise his head, with an angry light shining in his eyes, "Who is it? I have already said that no disturbance is allowed... Tomika, Your Excellency Leviston, why did you come here suddenly?"

"My lord Bishop Faron, of course I have something very important to do." Li Wei's tone seemed to point, Bishop Faron was startled for a moment, then he reacted and raised his hand to the high-ranking storm knight leading the way. . "Brother Nars, go and send four storm knights to stand guard in front of my room. I have important matters to discuss with Your Excellency Li Wei."

"I obey, my lord bishop." The high-ranking storm knight Nars stroked his chest and saluted, then exited the door.

"My lord Bishop Faron, something unexpected has happened, and we must borrow the free faith power accumulated over decades in the North Aura Storm Temple." Li Wei waited until the footsteps in his ears disappeared completely, and then bent down towards Bishop Faron , the voice was as low as possible, "I want to know, has the altar of the Storm Lord Pasaris been completed?"

Bishop Faron's whole body trembled suddenly, and his hands were clenched suddenly, "Storm...the monarch...Pasaris...yes, his altar..." His voice was very nervous at first, as if it came from between his teeth. Squeezed out like fragments.But after all, this is already expected to happen, it’s just a period of time in advance, Bishop Faron took a few deep breaths, and quickly calmed down, “It’s done, Your Excellency Levi, the last work was two weeks ago It has already been completed, from connecting the divine power transmission network to placing the altar, I have done it myself."

"Okay, Bishop Faron, let's go there right away." Li Wei's tone seemed a little anxious.

"Won't you be a little... hasty?" A deep furrow appeared between Bishop Faron's eyebrows, filled with deep worry, "The regent... no, Your Excellency, because you must strictly Keep it secret, so far, only about one tenth of the people in the Temple of Storms are willing to adjust the direction of their beliefs, and this does not include His Excellency Archbishop Bovava and the bishops of the two important dioceses of Sicily and Dirk... Therefore, the divine power transmission network lacks several important nodes, and the prayers about the Storm Lord have not been adjusted..."

Li Wei shook his head slowly, and interrupted Bishop Faron's statement, "My lord Bishop Faron, what you said is very reasonable, and I understand it, but now we have no choice." The resentment and disgust that cannot be concealed, "The battle situation in the royal capital Fermeyer has suddenly changed very badly. Beforehand, everyone did not expect that some people would be able to do such things regardless of the overall situation for the sake of their own ambitions. Come!"

As an old friend who once challenged the deceased side by side with Li Wei, and a secret follower of the storm lord Pasalis, Bishop Faron is of course entitled to receive a lot of secret information about changes in the situation. The news of forming a coalition force to counterattack the king's capital Philmeyer is also something he has been paying attention to recently. Li Wei's words pierced his chest like a sharp sword, making him stiff all over and turning pale.

"My lord, what happened?"

Li Wei sighed heavily, "Time is running out, let's talk in detail after starting the Storm Altar first."

Bishop Faron nodded, and then walked towards the depths of the room, where there was a statue of Tomica, the god of the sky. This statue is about fifty centimeters high, and the whole body is carved from topaz. The eyes of the statue are shining With the dark blue lightning light, it set off the majesty of a god on the face.

This statue is also a magic trap. Only the bishop of the Temple of Storms knows how to touch it without triggering the lightning bolts contained in it. Bishop Faron first habitually prayed silently for a while, and then stretched out his hands to hold the body of the statue , pull it back firmly.

A creaking sound came from the wall behind the statue, and then there was a narrow entrance that only allowed one person to bow down.Bishop Faron raised his hand, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said to Li Wei, "Your Excellency, there is a secret passage from here to the Storm Peak that collects the power of faith. The altar is placed there, so that it can absorb the power of faith that is dissociated nearby."

"You've done a good job, Bishop Faron." Li Wei replied in a tone of approval. "Your achievements will definitely be rewarded accordingly."

"For a priest, is there any greater reward than being able to regain the response of the gods?" Bishop Faron asked with emotion, "Your Excellency, in fact, in the heart of Archbishop Bovais, I have already had doubts about whether the person in charge of Thunder has fallen. If we had taken a little risk when we made the plan, we might be able to be like Behemoth, the earth lord of the Earth Temple. Openly spread the teachings of His Majesty the Storm Lord Passarian."

"Maybe there will be a religious war, and no matter the winner or loser, the precious power of Beijing County will be weakened." Li Wei shook his head, then bent down and got into the secret entrance.

The secret passage is extremely narrow and dark, and there is no light source at all. The stone steps under the feet are made of hollows that are dug out of the wall one by one, and only half of the foot can step on it.However, for two people who have the strength of high-level knights or above, climbing such a secret path is not a difficult task. In less than 5 minutes, Li Wei's outstretched right hand suddenly touched a steel Handle, the exit to the top of the storm has arrived.

The Storm Peak is the spire at the highest point of the Temple of Storms in North Aura, which pierces into the sky like a thunderbolt. The history of this spire can be traced back to the time when the city of demons was just built. At that time, the army king Arthur VII was ambitious. Wu's grand plan, trying to solve the threat of the evil disaster once and for all, built four dangerous and extremely strong military fortresses on the four borders of the kingdom, and tried their best to win the support of the Temple of the Earth, the Temple of the Storm, the Temple of the Silver Moon and the Temple of Radiance , each of the four major temples built a large-scale building complex in a fortress, and at the same time, hundreds of priests with titles were stationed.

That tragic war ended with the defeat of the Kingdom of Arthur. Among the four fortresses, only North Orla survived, which has something to do with the existence of Storm Peak.The surface of this tower is inlaid with thousands of pieces of topaz carved with storm talismans, which has an indescribable sacred taste from a distance, and more importantly, these topaz can absorb the lightning from the sky during thunderstorms Energy, and then store it in a special container in the tower.These lightning energies can be mobilized by storm priests who are at least at the level of the bishop of the diocese, launching a chain lightning technique that is far more powerful than the magic of the same name.

During the fierce battle that lasted for half a year, the series of lightning bolts fired by Stormtop turned at least tens of thousands of demons into scorched ashes, and made a very important contribution to North Orla's reputation as the city of demons.The legend of the sky's wrath has been circulated in country taverns along with the songs of bards for a long time, and Li Wei has also heard of it. Before coming to this ancient tower, he even prepared to witness the great miracle left by the gods psychological preparation.

However, what he actually saw disappointed the Griffon Lord.

It has been 110 years since the storm top was built. Even though the construction technology was perfect back then, dust, insects and dryness still left many mottled traces inside the tower, which looked nothing like those old buildings that were almost abandoned. Two things; the special equipment that used to store and release the chain lightning had been dismantled and piled up in a corner because it had been abandoned for a century and was rusted; the place where the equipment was originally placed and fixed was occupied by a simple topaz altar without any decoration Wisps of electric light shuttled and danced over the altar, and the special power emitted made Li Wei's hair all involuntarily twitch.

These electric glows are the lightning energy collected by Stormtop for more than 100 years. After losing the storage and release equipment, Stormtop has actually lost the ability to control these lightning energies, and because the sky god Tomika The prayers of believers have not been answered for more than ten years, and the power of faith generated by those prayers has also gathered in the top of the storm.Because there is no alchemy artifact similar to the heart of the castle to collect, these faith powers are not condensed into faith gems, but fused with lightning energy, forming a strange symbiotic state.

The lightning energy in the symbiotic state has certain rules similar to the original power, but it is far rougher and vaguer than the composition of the original power. It is too much to praise it as the prototype state.If the storm top can continue to stand for thousands of years, these lightning energies that have been fused with the power of faith may eventually condense primary consciousness and form a new God of Storms, but obviously with the arrival of Li Wei and Bishop Faron, this possibility has been made possible. no longer exists.

Bishop Faron looked at the electric lights flying back and forth in the air in awe, and subconsciously put his hand on his chest, "These electric lights have existed on the top of the storm for a long time, so long that even he served the God of Sky in North Orla for more than 40 years. His Excellency Bishop Feilheim, I can’t even remember when they first appeared.” He seemed to be explaining to Li Wei, and it seemed that he didn’t speak to a specific object, “These electric lights are really lost. Ten years of control... oh, it was 11 years ago, the control device of Sky Fury suddenly broke, which led to the first riot of Dianmang, and the five priests who were preparing for the launch of Sky Fury at the top of the storm Died instantly."

"Eleven years ago... the last time the evil disaster came?" Li Wei thought for a while, and then a surprised expression appeared on his face.

"That's right, ten years ago, when North Orla was surrounded by demon armies, we suddenly lost the powerful weapon Sky Fury." Bishop Fallon nodded with a wry smile, pointing to a spot on his cheek. The old scar said, "This scar was left over at that time. The fury of the sky could not be activated, and the situation immediately deteriorated. The city wall of North Aura was broken through by demon troops several times. The knights launched a counterattack and fought bloody battles with the soldiers of the city guards. Finally, after paying a heavy price, His Majesty the Dragon King Fidel led an army to help, and defeated the tens of thousands of demon troops besieging the city in one fell swoop."

"I know that the Marquis of Osiris, the knight of heaven, became famous in that battle. He rode alone among tens of thousands of troops and beheaded the commander of the demons, and established the invincible reputation of being invincible to the green lion." Li Wei nodded. , there was an expression of leisurely fascination on his face.

"But that prestige is built on the bones of thousands of soldiers and civilians in North Orla!" Bishop Faron's voice suddenly nearly doubled, and there was an indescribable resentment in his tone.

Li Wei's heart moved when he heard it, and when he was about to ask, Bishop Faron's expression softened again. If you pay attention carefully, you can see a trace of depression at the corner of his mouth, "I'm very sorry, Your Excellency Li Wei, I was too excited just now. Yes, what I mean is... if the Dragon King’s reinforcements could have come faster, perhaps neither the North Aura City Guards nor the Storm Temple would have had so many sacrifices.”

Li Wei was silent. He was only five years old and had almost no memory of the disaster ten years ago. It seemed that there were only terrible demons, human corpses, and a raging fire that seemed to devour the world. Then a knight came out of the raging fire. Appeared suddenly, chopped off the demon's head, and then stood in front of him.As for the bloody battle in North Orla, the city of demons, Li Wei knew nothing about it, except for some exaggerated plots from some heroic epics played and sung by bards.

Of course, heroic epics will not use a lot of space to describe sacrifice, death, and sorrow, but will only be full of victory, love, and laughter. The heroes in the bard population never scream, even in the face of death. How arrogant and terrifying the devil is, he will fall under the sword of the hero at the end of the epic.As for the lives of ordinary people, it is always just an understatement in heroic epics, and it is not even mentioned at all.

"Actually, there is nothing wrong with the Dragon King's original plan. North Orla, which has the fury of the sky, can completely resist the siege of tens of thousands of demon troops. In contrast, I should resent fate more." Bishop Faron said in a heavy tone. said, then he raised his head and regained his spirits, "Your Excellency Levi, I'm sorry to let you hear these useless whining about the past just now."

"No, Lord Bishop Faron, those are not complaints, but historical lessons worth remembering." Li Wei shook his head, trying to make his tone more solemn, "But now we must first consider the immediate crisis, Phil Meyer As well as those of Dirk City, let us activate the Altar of Storms now."

(End of this chapter)