Heart of the Castle

Chapter 708 A Bitter Banquet

When his footsteps stopped beside the huge round table, Li Wei Stern secretly heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that most of the plan had been successful this time.Queen Frasier on the high platform cast an inquiring gaze, her four eyes intersected, and her heart was conveyed to each other. Her Majesty showed a relieved smile on her face, and slowly sat down on the steel throne with a dark and cold light, and then turned to The steward of the court standing under the high platform of the throne nodded and ordered, "Sir Bamilyan, let's start."

The palace chief bowed deeply with a smile on his face, and then walked to the middle of the hall, "His Excellency the regent, Levi Ston, all the important ministers of the kingdom, and all the envoys of the Temple of Radiance, please take your seats together, the sumptuous banquet is about to begin."

Although the round table in the hall of the Green Castle is large, it is impossible to accommodate hundreds of noble lords at the same time. There are two neat rows of pine long tables and high-backed chairs placed under the corridors on the left and right sides. The red tablecloth with hints of gold is used, and the high-backed chair is decorated with colorful silk, which reveals a luxurious taste in the solemnity.The servants of the Greencastle have set up mirror-like silver dinner plates, horn cups inlaid with crystals, and silver knives and forks with exquisite carvings on these long tables. Cans of wine and ale have also been placed beside the tables. , just waiting for the guests to take their seats one by one.

Levi Stern was the first to take a seat at the round table. Sir Rodriguez and the handsome young man in a white burqa sat on his left and right respectively. Yang and Earl Cedric, who greeted the guests in front of the gate, also entered the table one by one, followed by several other important ministers of the kingdom who came from the left and right corridors.After some commotion, there were only two places left for the Radiant Mission on the round table, and it seemed that the other members of the mission had to go and have dinner with the lower-status noble lords in the corridor.

If there is no what they saw and heard in Greencastle after the flying ship Sunmang landed—especially the shock that Sir Rodriguez and the young man holding the holy sword of light "Golden Dawn" brought to the two of them, Even Cardinal St. Nemok, who has a relatively calm personality, would leave in a huff because of such a cold reception, let alone the head of Triune Sean Oita, who has all the qualities of a fanatic, even if he asks for a duel. No wonder.

If it was only for friendly purposes such as sending greetings to Queen Frasier of the Kingdom of Arthur, expressing apology, or bridging relations, etc., the Temple of Radiance would certainly not choose the head of the Knights of the Sword of Condemnation Oita as the deputy envoy.The alchemy flying ship itself is a giant aerial fortress that integrates offense and defense. There is no need to worry about safety at all. Even if it is a necessary guard of honor for the mission, it is better to have high-level knights from the two units of the Fortitude Shield or the Holy Armor. Good choice.Taking a step back, even the Knights of the Hammer of Judgment, which also used force externally as the Temple of Glory, was much better than the notorious Sword of Conviction.

As a sword-wielding grand duke and the commander of the Oita Sword of Condemnation with rich combat experience, Triuni Sean, the symbol of the kingdom of Arthur's force - the Marquis of the Sky Knight Osiris staying in the Emerald Forest, should be the only one at present. King Arthur's court, who can defend a corner of the northern county, cannot resist it.The Regent King Levi Ston did have a few knights with extraordinary strength, but judging from the information, the highest is that Sir Rodriguez may have more strength than ordinary sword-wielding counts. Ni Xien couldn't defeat it quickly, but at least he could gain an absolute upper hand in the contest.

Therefore, in the purpose of Guangyao Temple's mission to the Kingdom of Arthur this time, there was originally a plan to provoke a competitive duel, and even planned to kill that Rodriguez as an excuse to miss in the duel if the time permits. Jazz, in order to cut off Levi? Ston's right-hand man.

The plan of the Glory Mission will not change because of the tough or humble attitude of the Kingdom of Arthur, but the current situation is different.Triuni Sean is a fanatical believer of the Lord of Radiance, but he is not a lunatic without basic judgment ability. For the victory of the Temple of Radiance, he will sacrifice anyone without hesitation—including his own life , but to humiliate oneself in a fair duel is not something the head of Oita can do willingly.

The principal and deputy envoys of the Radiant Mission looked at each other with a bitter taste in their eyes.Cardinal St. Nemok first sighed, and stepped forward. After hesitating for a few seconds, Triune Sean also stepped forward to follow. At the same time, he made a gesture and ordered the rest of the mission to Members go to the seats under the corridor of the hall.

Twilight had already fallen, but tallow candles as thick as arms were already burning on the chandelier-style candlesticks hanging from the ceiling. The bright candlelight drove away the night and illuminated the entire hall.However, the atmosphere of the banquet was rather dull. Although Levi Stern himself did not drink at all, the important ministers of the kingdom sitting around the round table seemed relatively reserved. Only the Bamilian manager stood up from time to time to toast, and at the same time made fun of clever and vicious puns Looking at everyone at the table, try to make the atmosphere more lively.

Cardinal St. Nemok toasted with everyone, and then sipped the bright red wine in the glass. The wine was chilled with ice cubes, and the taste was quite mellow and sweet, but the cardinal felt that his mouth was full of bitterness.He knew very well in his heart that although King Arthur's court was unexpectedly strong, it was absolutely impossible to ignore the envoys sent by the Temple of Glory. The reason why they put on such a cold-eyed attitude was precisely because of the Temple of Glory's initial practice of standing on the sidelines. Protest.

In addition, the attitudes of the Earth Temple and the Storm Temple are also worth considering.Perhaps the ordinary people and small and medium-sized nobles don't know it well, but people with high-level status in the church like Cardinal St. Nemok are very clear that the power of the gods has been weakening since hundreds of years ago.

The lower god with the weakest strength and the fewest believers—Rukia, the goddess of spring—was the first to fall silent, and then surprisingly, the resting temple of the upper god—the long-sleeping guide Kuximo also lost her pale flame forever. of blessing.Tomica, the god of the sky, and Kagino, the god of the earth, have persisted for a long time among the gods, but they have not responded to the prayers of believers for decades.

There is only one god who has always answered the prayers of the believers and has never shown any signs of weakening, and that is Flandala, the Lord of Radiance.This has also allowed the power of the Radiant Temple to continue to expand for hundreds of years.Although the original Temple of Glory was considered a major force, the Temple of Rest, Temple of War, and Temple of Wisdom were also comparable to it. The temples of the three Moon Goddesses, who were extremely closely related to each other, were far more influential than the Temple of Glory. force.However, after hundreds of years, only the Temple of Wisdom and the Temple of War are still barely supporting, and most of the temples of other gods have died out, or there are only a negligible number of fanatical believers still insisting on hopeless beliefs.

The priests who lost the protection and response of the gods are far more panicked than ordinary people, and the degree of strength decline is also very large. Cardinal St. Nemok still vaguely remembers that when the Temple of Radiance annexed the Temple of Liberty a few years ago, the people of the Temple of Liberty The Archbishop's desperate and stern eyes.The Holy Morata of Liberty is just a low-god, and the power of the church cannot be compared with that of the Glory Temple. However, when the archbishop desperately resisted, the divine magic he could issue was only at the level of an ordinary regional bishop, which still made him Cardinal St. Nemok was deeply surprised.

The power of the Earth Temple and the Temple of Storms was not strong in the first place, and after this period of decline, they became weaker, and they were not even comparable to the larger regional temples under the Temple of Glory.Cardinal Enoch Sebasta of the Kingdom of Arthur's Diocese once vowed to His Majesty the Pope that if he was given ten years, he would be able to completely eradicate these two declining beliefs from the Kingdom of Arthur, so that The majesty and love of the Lord of Light permeates every corner of this northern kingdom.

Ten years have passed since then, but Cardinal Enoch Sebasta failed to fulfill his promise, and even he himself died with the fall of the capital of Fermeyer.Marked by the fall of Philmeyer's Glory Cathedral, the belief in the Lord of Glory has been completely destroyed in the Kingdom of Arthur. Most of the believers either abandoned their beliefs or converted to the God of the Sky or the God of the Earth. These two dying churches have again grown considerably.

Since both are rivals of the next pope, the relationship between the cardinals cannot be said to be very good. However, after hearing the news of Sebasta's martyrdom, St. chill.Since even he, the cardinal, was dissatisfied with the practice of the Shining Temple standing by and watching, it is not surprising that the middle and lower class believers of the Shining Lord were disappointed, sad and angry, and even converted in anger.

Even so, the speed of development of the Temple of the Earth and the Temple of Storms is somewhat unusual. Without a large number of qualified priests who can perform divine magic, it is simply difficult to implement the teachings.Reminiscent of Levi Ston's title of "Father of the God of the Earth" who was once scoffed at by the senior officials of the Glorious Temple, Cardinal St. Nemok was even more worried, and he didn't even hear his name was suddenly mentioned.

Although Treuni Sean was also preoccupied, he was a powerful knight after all, and he still kept his due vigilance. After hearing the name of Cardinal St. Turning his head instinctively, what appeared in his field of vision was the cardinal's dull face due to contemplation, apparently he hadn't heard anything just now.

"Lord Cardinal?" Treuni Sean lightly kicked Cardinal St. Nemok's ankle from under the table. He felt that there was no force at all, but made the latter's body sway suddenly. If Earl White Wolf was not sitting on the other side Cedric clapped his hands in time and almost fell off the seat.

"Oh, thank you, thank you..." Cardinal St. Nemok muttered in a vague voice, leaning on the edge of the table with both hands, trying to maintain his body balance, but obviously his efforts were not successful, because the next moment, he The body fell in the other direction.

Treuni Sean hurriedly stretched out his hands to support the body of the cardinal, but found that he seemed to have no ability to sit still, and put all the weight of his body on his arms.

"Oh, my lord Bishop St. Nemok, what's wrong with you?" Bamilian, the head of the court, exclaimed in surprise, "Could it be because of the exhaustion of the journey. Did you catch the wind and cold unfortunately? But it doesn't matter, I Go and help you invite Lord Beria, the deputy archbishop of the Earth Temple, his healing magic is very effective, and he will definitely be able to cure the disease."

If the cardinal of the Temple of Glory needs the priests of the Temple of the Earth to perform healing magic, it will become a big scandal and a joke.Although I don't know exactly what happened to Cardinal St. Nemok, Treuni Sean is very clear that this is not caused by any disease. The physique of the clergy is much stronger than that of ordinary people. Infestation, and will not fall ill so suddenly.

"Thank you for your kindness, but we have some clergymen who can perform healing spells in the Temple of Glory, so there is no need to trouble the vice archbishop of the Temple of the Earth to do it himself." Treuni Sean replied in a polite tone, but in the "deputy The word "archbishop" has emphasized the tone, insinuating that only priests of this level in the Temple of the Earth can barely have the ability to perform medical magic.

Levi Ston stopped the knife that was cutting lamb chops in his hand, raised his eyes, and explained with a smile, "Lord Treuni Sean, I have met Cardinal Enoch Sebasta My lord has used medical magic before, and the healing effect on trauma is indeed very powerful, but I am afraid it is a bit too intense, and it is not so ideal for treating diseases. The effect of the earth temple's medical magic is relatively mild, maybe it is more suitable for weak patients? "

"Your Excellency Regent Li Wei Ston, the Cardinal is probably just a little too drunk, so we must leave." Treuni Sean shook his head, then half-dragged and half-armed the body of St. Nemok Cardinal to stand up Come on, before Li Wei could speak again, he simply nodded his head as a salute, and then left the hall of Green Castle as fast as he could maintain his manners.

Seeing the two leaders leave in a hurry, the members of the Radiant Mission, no matter whether they were full or not, got up and left one after another. In a blink of an eye, only members of King Arthur's court were left in the banquet hall of the Green Castle.

Seeing the back of the last member of the Radiant Mission disappear at the door, Queen Frasier immediately ordered the table in front of her to be removed, then stood up from the high steel throne, and quickly walked down the steps.

"Those guys finally left." Queen Fleischer walked all the way to Levi Ston's side, then stopped and complained, "In my opinion, we shouldn't lie to them at all and directly order The Knights of the Griffin Sky just drive them away."

"Your Majesty, you can't say that." Li Wei stood up with a wry smile, and pointed to the still noisy banquet hall around him, "In any case, the Guangyao Temple is always in the same camp as us, and its strength is quite strong. With their help, the road to the Kingdom of Arthur's restoration will be easier, and the trauma it will bring will be lessened a lot."

"Your Excellency the Regent, your idea is certainly very good, but with all due respect, I'm afraid it's a little too wishful thinking." Chief Bamilian led a team of servants from Greencastle to escort the members of the Shining Mission all the way to the accommodation. Just turned around, and happened to hear the conversation between Li Wei and Queen Fleischer, "As I was worried before, the members of the mission sent by the Temple of Glory this time are very problematic, and the head of the mission, Cardinal St. He is a moderate faction, but that Treuni Sean is the key point. He is not only an important member of the famous fanatic and cold-blooded butcher organization - Knights of the Sword of Sin, but also a battle-tested swordsman. Grand Duke, although his position is only the head of Oita, his strength is comparable to the head of the other three branches of the Guardian Knights of the Shining Temple."

Hearing these words, Marquis Jeros, an important minister who was born in the royal capital, stood up, "Director Bamilyan, what do you mean to say that the Temple of Glory sent this mission here with malicious intentions?" His His tone was somewhat questioning, and his expression was full of suspicion, "There is no need for Guangyao Temple to do this, right? I think that the purpose of their sending envoys here is to make up for their behavior of sitting on the sidelines a while ago."

"You're right, Lord Marquis Geros. The Kingdom of Arthur should be regarded as an important parish for the Temple of Glory. After all, although the kingdom has suffered heavy losses, it still has a population of several 10." Director Bamilian shook his head. Shaking his head, his tone and gaze also turned sharp, "However, the Shrine of Glory's indifference has already chilled the hearts of the subjects of the Kingdom, and now there are very few people who still insist on believing in the Lord of Glory, at least in Northern County. filled with the Temple of the Earth."

"I know what you mean." Li Wei nodded in agreement with a heavy face, "If the Temple of Radiance wants to re-spread the belief of Flandala, it will definitely conflict with the Temple of Storms and the Temple of the Earth, and as the God of the Earth, I, who is the enemy and the friend of the storm, has become the object they must get rid of and quickly."

"They don't even think about it!" Cedric, Earl of the White Wolf, put the ox horn cup heavily on the table, and didn't even wipe off the ice cubes and red wine spilled on his body. This group of guys stood by while the disaster was coming, the capital of Fermeyer would not fall so easily, and His Majesty Arthur XII and the important ministers of the Nine Pillars family would not die because of this! Obviously they gave up voluntarily, Now you want to sit back and enjoy the benefits through conspiracy, and the subjects of the Kingdom of Arthur are all idiots with no memory?"

(End of this chapter)