Sword of Dawn

Page 210

Seven Terry nodded: "As long as the Holy Light can continue to be spread, I have no objections."

"Very good," Gao Wen breathed a sigh of relief, "I will gradually transfer the training facilities of the White Knights here. I hope you and your colleagues can actively cooperate. As for the cathedral..."

Gawain paused when he said this. He looked at the spire of the cathedral in the distance shining in the sun, and said slowly after a while: "Let's come up with a new name... called Holy Light College, which is used to educate the whole people. New doctrine, popularize the knowledge of the Holy Light. In the future, all institutions that research and impart the knowledge of the Holy Light should be called the Holy Light Academy, and they must be distinguished from the churches that spread the teachings and provide community and neighborhood services."

Seven Terry's eyes changed slightly, subconsciously repeating the words Gao Wen used: "... College..."

Gao Wen smiled and looked at the priest in front of him quietly: "That's right, since it is a place to spread knowledge, of course it should be called an academy."

Seven Terry met Gawain's eyes, and in those eyes, he seemed to see the deep meaning behind all this——

desanctification.

The Holy Light is a kind of knowledge, the belief in the Holy Light is a kind of culture, the church will become a simple service facility, and as for the belief in the God of the Holy Light...

Will it become a history class in the academy?

A few seconds later, Seven Terry's expression became calm. He seemed to have finally let go of some burden, and seemed to have made a major decision in his life. He lowered his head again: "According to your arrangement."

The tall and thin priest left, leaving only Gawain and Amber on the city wall for a while, while the public trial of Priest Luan was still going on under the city wall.

Gao Wen didn't pursue the issue of Amber "slandering" him behind his back, but the half-elf lady herself obviously had something on her mind. After she wanted to say something and stopped several times, Amber finally couldn't help but speak: "Speaking of...that priest Say you have your own moral principles!"

Hearing the half-elf lady's obviously out of words, Gawain couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth, and he glanced at the other party: "This is nonsense—who doesn't have such things as moral principles?"

Amber scratched her head—it's a pity that she's not Rebecca, and she couldn't scratch her head without any spark of wisdom, so she could only frankly express her thoughts: "You once told me that the so-called 'aristocratic spirit' They are all hypocritical and outdated things, the code of chivalry has not kept up with the times, and the "doctrine virtues" promoted by every church are also full of the smell of money and power... These things have been abandoned by you, so what you think What does justice... exactly look like?"

Gawain looked at Amber, seeing that pair of amber eyes glowing with an inexplicable brilliance under the sun, he found that this guy who was still annoying, troublesome and cowardly had actually changed a little after this trip to LuAnn Yes, although I couldn't tell exactly what the change was, it seemed that this untamed half-elf had finally started to take her work seriously, and also began to seriously think about his career.

This is a good thing.

"Look over there, those people in the square, do you see that?"

Amber nodded: "I see."

"Everyone is fed and clothed, that is the greatest justice."

……

This is an endless and vast city, it stands in a remote and inaccessible place, it is present, it was in the past, and it will always exist in the future.

The majestic holy light is the bricks and cornerstones of this city, the sky above it and the ground on which it is rooted. Every brick, every wall, every tower and door of it is condensed with brilliance and filled with endless sacredness. .

As Saint Dumont said:

I saw a huge city, endlessly wide, and light diffused from between the bricks and stones of the city, and the whole city seemed to be forged by light.

And in the center of this light-forged city, on a grand square whose size is difficult to judge with the naked eye, countless streams of light rush from the distant sky, converging on a huge crystal that is constantly changing in shape.

This brilliant and sacred crystal is running quietly, governing this light-forged city for thousands of years, and constantly conveying the various truths contained in itself-peace, light, peace, and protection. Diverge, and those streams of light that converge from everywhere are not only the source of his gathering power, but also the channel through which he releases his influence.

However, today, the eternal order in this light-forged city has slightly changed. Among the streams of light gathered from all directions, some of them have quietly changed their color and direction. It crossed the crystal in the center of the square like a control, and flowed freely in the sky to the distance...

The crystal is still running for thousands of years, and a melodious ringing like a wind chime surrounds it. The ringing sound is ethereal and holy, but it is like the most chaotic noise without any tune or law. In this chaotic and holy ringtone Among them, the crystal just changed its shape again, as if it didn't care about the light flow in the sky that changed its direction, and didn't care about these tiny "losses"...

Chapter 0499 God's Rules

After returning to Cecil City, Gawain immediately found Kamel, who was tossing a small arcane focuser in the Institute of Magic Technology, and Nicholas Egg, who was researching gearboxes in the Machinery Manufacturing Institute. The three of them (Strictly speaking, it is a satellite spirit, an LED spirit, and an iron ball star person) Gathering together in the cutting-edge laboratory built by Rebecca, studying the crystal that remained after the death of Fran Berenger.

The crystal is still glowing slightly, even though it has been placed for several days, it still emits a little heat, and when the crystal is placed next to the ear, some indistinct sounds can be heard faintly, It seems to be some kind of resonance sound, and it seems to be a whisper full of pain.

Kamel lifted the crystal into the air with his evocation hand, carefully observed its shape under the light, and from time to time stimulated the surface of the crystal with a small arcane fire light, sensing the energy reading it transmitted.

Gawain followed Kamel's work and asked curiously, "How is it? Can you see anything?"

"In terms of shape, it is indeed very close to the crystal growths on the early failure products of the gods... The energy response is slightly different, perhaps because of the interference of the power of the holy light..." Kamel put the crystal on the experimental table in front of him, And began to use a crystal resonator to detect its fine structure, "In short, I have to observe carefully before I can draw a conclusion-the collection process is too rough, and the internal magic power balance has been severely damaged."

Gao Wen was a little embarrassed: "This collection process...maybe a bit rough."

Kamel asked casually, "How did you get it?"

"It was blown up with a howitzer..." Gao Wen coughed dryly, "Ahem, strictly speaking, there is only so much left after the bombing..."

Kamel's movements froze in mid-air, and Nicholas' egg floating beside him exclaimed, "Oh my god—"

"The situation is special. It's a battle. The enemy won't just stay where they are and wait for others to dig crystals from their bodies." Gao Wen waved his hand and looked at the iron ball star. Are the crystals the same as those on those experimental subjects back then?"

"I was mainly researched back then, and I didn't have much contact with the details of the project," Nicholas shook his body and said in a rather serious tone, but then he continued, "But if you don't mind losing some samples... …I can do a destructive analysis of it."

Gawain looked at the crystal sample fixed in the center of the crystal resonator - it was slightly smaller than a palm, the edges were uneven, and some places had cracked: "How many samples do you need?"

"A little bit, as big as a fingernail."

Gawain looked at Kamel again: "Will cutting this sample affect its stability?"

"You're all blowing up with a howitzer and you're asking me this?"

Gao Wen: "... Then cut a piece out."

The texture of the crystal is not very hard, and the assistants in the laboratory quickly completed the cutting, and then a small piece of the cut sample was sent to Nicholas Egg. Under Gawain's curious gaze, the Iron Ball star first Carefully touched the sample with his chubby body, and then the sample was directly sucked into his body, and quickly absorbed into his body.

Not to mention Gao Wen, even Kamel was taken aback: "You... ate it?!"

"Just analyze the ingredients—of course it can be considered as eating," Nicholas's egg buzzed, "When I was researched, I tried most of the substances that I could come into contact with in order to understand the environment. I have tried the crystal shards from God's body by chance, and I can tell the slight difference in the subtle composition of these things..."

The Tieqiu star took all this for granted, and Gao Wen could only sigh in his heart - the world is so big that there are no wonders, this is probably the hardest "attempt" he has ever seen in his two lifetimes combined...

And just when he began to worry about whether the habit of picking up and eating Nicholas eggs would ruin his stomach, the iron ball star finally said: "This thing...it seems to be the product of the gods and evils. At least the ingredients are completely unanimous."

The crystal left by Fran Berenger was indeed a growth of the abomination—that Bishop Lu An actually activated the abomination genetic factor in his body?

Although some inferences in this regard had been formed in his mind, Gao Wen couldn't help being a little surprised after the evidence was conclusive, but he quickly controlled his surprise and looked at Kamel: "Using a stable genetic factor Is it possible for the descendants of Gondor to become an out-of-control abomination under the right conditions?"

Although Kamel had no expression, his whole body was already yellow, and his tone became extraordinarily serious: "Theoretically impossible! Although we did rewrite the genetic factors to combine the divine cells and human cells of Julu Amoen Merged together, but the uncontrollable nature of the gods is not entirely a problem with the genetic factors, but because of the separation and loss of control of the divinity-those crystals that grow from the flesh and blood are actually the 'divinity' that cannot be controlled by humans It was generated after the power was separated out, and this part of divinity was because our technical level was not enough at the beginning, and we couldn't completely filter the divinity when combining the genetic factors, which caused them to pollute the experimental body——afterwards, we improved the filtering technology, and the human The uncontrollable divine power was completely wiped out and a stable injection was made to ensure the stable survival of the inoculated. In other words, as long as they are human descendants who survived, the genetic factors that their ancestors had been inoculated must be 'clean', and as long as there is no divinity lurking in their bodies, it is impossible for a mortal body to generate any divine power on its own..."

Kamel's explanation is full of technical terms that are too difficult for people of this era, but Gao Wen easily understood what the other party meant - the reason why the body of the gods collapsed and grew crystals was because of the existence of Uncontrollable divinity, and as long as the descendants of Gondor have not collapsed and survived, there must be no such "divine pollution" in the body, and with a mortal physique, it is impossible to produce this kind of divine pollution by itself-even if Inoculation with the genetic factor of the giant deer Amoen will not work either.

So... why does François Berenger appear in a state of "pollution"?Who polluted him?Or... Where did the pollution of his "divinity" come from? !

Thinking of the possibility behind this, Gao Wen couldn't help but become serious.

"We have no way of knowing what happened in the chapel of the Cathedral of Louane when the White Knights stormed the cathedral, but there is no doubt that François Bereng was received by unknown sources during that time. His divine nature was polluted, the evil factor in his body was activated, and he himself became a monster made of crumbling flesh and crystal," Kamel analyzed seriously, "considering that he is a fanatic Believers of the God of Holy Light, considering what he might do in the prayer room, there may be only one answer..."

"The God of Holy Light cast a glance at the southern border..." Gawain took over Kamel's words, "And this glance directly twisted Fran Bereng into a monster."

Nicholas Egg: "...Mom."

However, despite such a horrifying conjecture, Gao Wen was still full of puzzles: "If it is true that the God of Holy Light once descended on Luan for a short time...how could He sit back and watch the cathedral be breached? How could the power that descended upon him Even a small group of white knights who just finished training can't match? Even if Wright and Amber were there at the time...their two strengths can't compete with God, right?"

Kamel, who has studied the power of the gods for thousands of years, fell into deep thought. After a while, he began to talk about his conjecture: "According to our summary and analysis of the laws of the gods, the gods seem... to be a kind of logic and regularity. A very strong presence."

"What do you mean?"

"The power of the gods is far superior to that of mortals, but they seldom directly help or hurt any mortal individual. They only strictly follow certain rules, and lower their power through prayer ceremonies, blessings, and revelations, or lower their power. A very vague will for mortals to figure out, when a mortal individual directly violates a specific ritual rule, they will send down divine punishment, but on the other hand, even if believers or unbelievers who are hostile to the gods never live according to the teachings, they will You will not be punished by the gods... This may indicate that it is extremely difficult for the gods to directly interfere with our world—even if they are as powerful as them, they must follow certain strict laws to act..."

Listening to Kamel's description, Gawain couldn't help showing a thoughtful look: "This sounds like some kind of automatic answering logic machine..."

"To be honest, in the age of Spark, many scholars who studied theology also had this kind of speculation," Kamel's color gradually changed back to a calm and wise light blue, and he responded to Gawain's conjecture while recalling, " There are even a group of radical scholars who believe that the essence of gods is an automatic system of unknown origin. They operate automatically like answering organs, manage a huge amount of divine energy, and distribute energy according to the needs of mortals... just like It's like the artificial intelligence array responsible for distributing magic power around the deep blue reaction tower."

Gao Wen did not expect that there would be a group of scholars in this world who could come up with such radical hypotheses. Although considering the level of civilization of the Gondor Empire in the past, it is not unimaginable for scholars to conduct such extreme research, but he is still very excited. Curious about the results of such a group of people who dare to study the nature of gods in a world where gods exist—after all, according to Kamel’s tone, those people don’t seem to be members of the “Rebel” project: “These scholars’ ideas are a bit Meaning—where did their research go after that?”

"The funding was not approved in the second year, and I switched to selling aquatic products..." Kamel sighed, "I thought they would be selected for the rebellious plan..."

Gao Wen: "???"

Fortunately, Kamel was not too immersed in the memory, and he quickly returned to the topic: "This kind of radical research is unimaginable in this era, but the Gondorians in the Starfire Age were proud and fearless, too Well-developed magic technology and sufficient resources give scholars the opportunity to do such unorthodox things - without this foundation, the 'Disobedience' project would not have been established. But it is precisely because of participating in the disobedience project that I Only then can we be sure that the gods are by no means as simple as the so-called 'automatic response mechanism'."

After thinking for a while, Gao Wen understood what Kamel meant: "Is it because you saw the giant deer Amoen with your own eyes?"

"That's right, the giant deer, Amoen, is a real, flesh-and-blood god. Although he has fallen, according to the analysis of the remains, we believe that he is intelligent. He can think and act independently, so we are more I tend to think that the gods are a kind of existence with a high degree of intelligence and at the same time strictly follow certain 'rules' to act... Maybe it is their 'racial characteristics' to act strictly according to the rules."

After Gao Wen listened to Kamel's narration quietly, he took a deep breath, and his eyes fell on the "Sinister Crystal" on the experimental table.

It was a long time before he broke the silence: "In other words, according to the 'rules' strictly followed by the God of Holy Light, even civilians attacking the cathedral is not considered a real 'blasphemy'?"

"We can only guess at that."

It seems that there will be no more progress.

Although Gao Wen really wanted to understand the nature of the gods, understand their laws of action and restrictions, but the fact was before him: he did not have enough means to fully understand the secrets of this aspect.

The only thing that is certain now is that the God of Holy Light may have "contacted" Fran Bereng and "contacted" the Luan Cathedral at a certain moment, but he did not pay attention to what happened on this land in the end. matter.

"The research in this area can only be put aside for now," Gao Wen breathed out, "I will let the Cathedral of Luan carefully investigate the clues and pay attention to the 'divine will'."

Chapter 0500 Two Visits

The first ray of sunlight in the morning shines on the tallest clock tower in Cecil City, coating the city with the first ray of light from the giant sun. With the operation of gears and levers, the mechanical clock driven by the core of magic energy The bell rang loudly—

when - when - when -

With the ringing of the mechanical clock, the city of Cecil faded from the laziness of a peaceful night's sleep, and the whole city began to come alive quickly under the sun.

Workers in overalls came out of the brick and tile houses, past Cogwheel Square and Lever Street in the industrial area, and marched in droves to the rune foundry, machine shop and other factory facilities to replace the late shift workers. Colleagues; merchants opened their shop doors one by one, took off the wooden signs in front of the windows, and knocked on the brass rings hanging under the eaves to announce the opening of the day; newsboys and postmen were sweeping clean against the morning mist Weaving through the streets of the city, delivering the latest issue of the newspaper and letters to every home.

And in the streets and alleys that are rapidly becoming lively, you can still see busy early vendors everywhere - they have already gone out before dawn, and started the most important business of the day at the street near their home, shouting and greeting people The sound of the sound can be heard everywhere in the blocks, and these sounds are mixed with the sound of the mechanical clock, echoing throughout the city of Cecil—like a sigh of satisfaction and comfort in the early morning of this newborn city.

In the dining room of the lord's mansion, Gao Wen was sitting on his own seat, and Hetty was sitting on his right. The "Cecil Butler" was cutting the bread in front of him while talking about the recent situation in the territory: " ...The news reports about Luan City have been released through Monet Radio and newspapers. According to your instructions, in addition to reporting the cause, process and results of the incident, we have also emphasized the solidarity of people from all over the world, regardless of origin, status, or region. The one-hearted situation, so far, seems to be working well, people are excited, and 'we Cecilians' has become a popular saying."

Gawain nodded slightly, feeling very satisfied with the work of Godwin Orlando and Hetty.

The liberation of Lu'an City has extraordinary significance. It not only means the complete retreat of the Church of the Holy Light in the southern border, but also means that the new order he has worked hard to promote for the past two years has truly affected the people at the bottom for the first time. It means that another plan of his is progressing smoothly:

Lay the foundation for national consciousness, and let the southern border truly transform from an ordinary aristocratic territory into a country.

During the operation in Luan City, thousands of people from all over the southern border stood together because of a common goal. They came from different social classes, and also from different regions and families. The people who come and go never pay attention to each other, and never agree with each other, but for that common goal, these people gather into a force-this goal is beyond their origin, occupation, place of residence and even personal beliefs. The emergence of this phenomenon means that these originally scattered people have the basis to become "Cecile citizens".

On this basis, relying on continuous guidance and enlightenment, the Cecilians will sooner or later awaken into a community, they will have similar moral standards, similar living customs, they will use a common text, a similar language, and Celebrating common holidays and honoring common heroes, they will proudly call their people "We Cecilians" and will take every inch of it as rightfully ours.

According to Gao Wen's experience, this sense of identity will lay the people's psychological foundation for "territorial unity", and it will develop along with the trend. Coupled with the pioneering ancestors of the Cecil family, it may be possible to embark on the path of "poor and put aside disputes." , up to the road of "since ancient times"...

Okay, this might be a little overthinking.

But even if you don't consider "Da Ze since ancient times", it is not easy to realize the awakening of national and national consciousness. It will take many years, although people in the streets and lanes will say "We Cecilians" with excitement and pride. But this is at best a temporary upsurge due to the current situation. Just two or three years is not enough to establish a solid and lasting national belief, but as long as this upsurge takes the first step, as long as Gao Wen Make no big mistakes in governing the land, as long as the land continues to develop as a whole, it will only be a matter of time before the "Cecilians" become whole.

"In addition, the Northern Rock Fortress sent a message, and the Holy Spirit Plain sent a messenger to deliver a letter from the royal family to the Commander of Walder Perici Fortress," Hetty continued, "They seem to have finally made time to pay attention to the situation in the south. Already—Victoria Weld, Grand Duke of the North, wants to visit in person, and this will be a 'private' visit. The letter is still on the way, and the news came directly through the magic network communication."

Gawain's hand holding the soup spoon paused for a moment, and a strange smile appeared on his face: "A northern duke crossed half the country to visit another frontier duke in person, and it was at the juncture of the kingdom's civil war... I'm afraid It can only be called private."

"Do you want to agree?" Hetty looked into Gawain's eyes, "Rejecting the Duke of the North may irritate the royal family even more, making them more wary and resistant to the southern border, but if you agree... the Duke of the North will enter the Rock Fortress .”

"There is nothing to refuse," Gawain replied casually, "We are just using the rock fortress to block the troubles in the north, and we don't want to completely seal off the southern border—that girl from the Wilder family has somewhat inherited some of the qualities of her ancestors, I'd love to talk to her."

Hearing the words "inherited some of the qualities of her ancestors", Hetty couldn't help but glance at Rebecca who was sitting on the other side of her - this girl was struggling with a piece of steak with her head down, wielding a knife and fork. He looked as if he was facing the enemy who killed his father. Seeing this, Hetty could only sigh imperceptibly, and then looked back: "Okay, I will let the commander of Wald Fortress reply to the messenger. But there is one more thing I'm afraid this matter is more sensitive."

"Ok?"

Hetty showed a look of embarrassment: "The living saint of the Church of the Holy Light in the North, the Holy Princess Veronica Moen... She also sent a letter, wanting to visit the southern border, and the time is the same as that of Duke Victoria Wilde. The visit time is almost the same..."

Amber, who was sitting across the table studying how to spread the cream evenly, raised her head when she heard this, with a look of surprise on her face: "Come here to smash the scene? Because we smashed their place in Luan City? You came to the door so quickly? "

If it was in the past, Hetty would have been quite dissatisfied with Amber's sudden interruption when she was talking with her ancestors, and she also used rude words. Maybe she would shoot a Frostbolt on the spot and hit the other side behind her. The wall was broken, but since the incident in Luan City ended, Hetty had some changes in this seemingly unreliable half-elf—she realized the ability and role of this half-elf, and began to answer the other party's questions seriously : "It is impossible for the matter of Luan City to be transmitted to Saint-Sunil so quickly. This is beyond the limit distance of ordinary communication spells, and there is no high-level powerhouse in the Luan Church who can send the information back. Veronica Moen is in The letter stated that this was just a normal visit..."

"The detailed information may not be sent back, but the headquarters of the Church of the Holy Light may have some way to find out the general situation of the regional headquarters," Gao Wen said, "We must try our best to make our opponents think smarter and more capable."

Hetty asked Gawain's opinion: "Then...do you want to reject that 'Saint Princess'?"

"You don't have to refuse, if she wants to come to visit, then come," Gao Wen said indifferently, "I still have the courage to do so."

"Aren't you afraid of her coming to mess things up?" Hu Po blinked her eyes, "We really screwed up their shit..."

"The split between the Protestant Church of the Holy Light and the old sect is already an established fact. What happened in Luan City will eventually reach the headquarters of the church. The entire southern church has disappeared. Is it possible that we can hide this matter? What's more, from the beginning I I didn't want to hide it," Gao Wen said, and tapped the table lightly, "I'm more curious about how the Northern Church will react after knowing this fact... If they really organize a wave of crusaders to attack The Rock Fortress will be fine, we can save a lot of food and grass on the road."

Gao Wen was just joking, but Hetty shook his head seriously: "Then they probably don't have the leeway—according to the news from the north, the Church of the Holy Light has publicly announced that it will join the Royal Army camp to participate in this civil war. The teaching army is now on the battlefield in the east of the Holy Spirit Plain with the Kingdom Army, and they are fighting with the eastern rebels in full swing."

Rebecca, who lowered her head and fought wits with the food in front of her for a long time, finally caught a sentence or two of the conversation. The girl raised her head in surprise, her face full of cute circles: "Huh? They haven't finished fighting yet? The Eastern Army and the Is the royal army still fighting?"

As soon as this remark came out, the people at the dining table looked at her in shock. Gawain looked at Rebecca's simple and easy-to-understand expression, and he was stunned for more than ten seconds before asking Heidi next to him: " Is the child awake yet?"

Hetty was in a cold sweat: "...she was busy with the experimental project, so she probably didn't pay much attention to the situation outside..."

At this moment, Rebecca realized that she might have made a mistake. She shrank her neck, but she couldn't help but said, "How long have you been fighting... With this effort, we've already brought down the entire southern border. And by the way, they kicked out the Church of the Holy Light..."

"You can't measure Ansu's civil war with our war form..." Gao Wen looked at Rebecca helplessly, "But there is no way, you are still young, and you have never seen what a traditional noble war is like. ..."

The civil war in Anzu is still going on, and the rebels and the Royal Army are in a long-term seesaw and stalemate in the eastern part of the Holy Spirit Plain. Whether it is the chaos created by Prince Edmund's use of the nobles of the royal capital or the changes in the situation caused by the entry of the Church of the Holy Light, nothing can be done. Let this war speed up, and if there are no accidents, it is likely to continue, even for years to come-this cannot be avoided.

The "normal" wars of this era are like this. They are cruel and bloody, but slow and long. The low killing efficiency of cold weapons and the slow speed of the army make each battle take a long time, and the gap between battles becomes It's been a long time since the two cold-armed armies with no decisive difference in force are killing each other bit by bit, and a battle can last for as many years as possible.

In particular, this is still an irreconcilable and unstoppable civil war, a civil war against the royal power. It can be said that as long as the food and population can support it, the warring parties will inevitably be dragged into the vortex and fight until this point. Until the strength of the country is exhausted-unless one of the parties in the war is willing to voluntarily give up its claim to the throne.

The "quick war" in which the Cecil family directly pulls the magic cannon into the field and destroys all the enemy's main force and fortress with a round of bombing almost does not exist in this era.

"Then this matter is settled," Gao Wen said, "The Duchess of the North and the 'Saint Princess' of the Church of the Holy Light... Now that the frost moon is more than half past, it should be the foggy moon when they come here—— The winter in Cecil City must impress them."