Sword of Dawn

Page 152

"How does it feel to be hands-on?"

"not bad."

Chapter 0365

In the west of Cecil City, there are many trees and lush plants. The vast jungle here provides the new Cecil Territory with a steady stream of building materials and industrial raw materials—even food sources. Along the Baishui River, Shuanglin Village is gradually bustling with the rising sun.

This is a newly-born village, but it is orderly and vibrant. Neatly arranged wooden houses are shrouded in cooking smoke, and "new houses" built of cement and bricks are dotted among these wooden houses. Wide cement roads connect them. Several main buildings in the village, due to frequent cleaning and strict sanitation system, these roads are clean and tidy, and there is no common defecation and defecation on the roads in other areas in this era.

All these characteristics are the embodiment of "Cecile Order".

Lumberjack Buddy went out facing the morning sun. He carried the heat accumulated after a hot meal at home, which helped him resist the cold wind in early spring in the forest. The man who had cut down trees all his life walked to On the street, he wiped his nose which was slightly itchy in the cold wind, and then walked towards the report office.

When crossing the street, he glanced at the houses on both sides, and the appearance of this place last year vaguely emerged from his mind.

He still remembered that when Cecil's [-] refugees first came to this land, it was just a poor logging camp - dozens of loggers and a small group of soldiers came here with axes and swords , set up tents and lowered the fence, the original camp was not as big as the square in the center of the village today, but now it has become a village in less than a year, and it is a beautiful and big village——the tent has become The lumberjack's hut was built, and the lumberjack's hut was expanded and increased into a street. Support resources from the city were continuously sent here, just like the wood cut here was continuously sent to the city, cement appeared, and shops appeared. Well, the village turned from a logging camp even got a name—the lord himself named it Shuanglin Village.

If he hadn't experienced all this personally, Buddy couldn't believe that all this happened under his nose.

More lumberjacks appeared on the street. Buddy greeted these friends, and everyone walked forward together talking and laughing. On the way, someone suddenly sighed: "This place has changed a lot."

"That's right, after all we are not idle in winter," a lumberjack with a big beard laughed, "We even built the bell tower."

"I don't know what's changed in the city recently," Buddy muttered, "It changes faster there than here."

"The last time I entered the city, I saw that new houses were being built on the west side of the city. It was said that another 2000 people in the buffer camp had obtained that... oh, citizenship," said the first lumberjack, "but recently I I haven't been to the city yet..."

There are convenient roads and rivers between Shuanglin Village and Cecil City, but in fact, the loggers here do not often enter the city—since it became a fixed settlement and various village facilities were established, Shuanglin Village has been Gradually gaining self-sufficiency, the workers who came here at the beginning have become settled villagers. Due to the large number of work tasks and the fact that there is nothing to do when they go to the city on weekdays, the people in Shuanglin Village usually work every month. They only went to the city once or twice, and they often relied on the descriptions of the occasional people who went to the city to come back, or listened to the convoy guards who transported supplies between the village and the city.

During the chat, everyone's topic gradually turned to speculation about the changes in the city, guessing whether the lord had made something new, but they didn't chat for too long, and the report office had already arrived.

Buddy wiped his nose and looked at the shed of the report office. According to the work flow, he will get the tools after reporting here, and then go to the designated area in the forest with the foreman to start work. But something seems to have happened at the report office today. Things—he saw many people gathering in the small open space in front of the newspaper office, even his own foreman standing there.

Buddy and a few loggers approached curiously, and found that it was a convoy delivering supplies. Although Shuanglin Village had been established, it was only a new village after all, and a lot of things like cloth and wine had to be brought from the city. Basically, there will be at least one such convoy coming from the city every week.

It is indeed a good thing for the convoy to enter the village, but it is a bit strange for everyone to gather together - in order to unload the goods and hand over the things ordered by the villagers individually, the convoy will stay here all day. Everyone gathered here early because the convoy Did you bring anything new?

When Buddy was wondering, he saw his foreman squeezed out of the crowd with a smile on his face, and the foreman was still holding a few large sheets of paper full of words and pictures that smelled like ink.

"Boss," Buddy hurried over, "What good things did the team bring?"

"Oh, Buddy," said the foreman, apparently in the right mood, and with a certain interest in showing off, waving the paper in his hand, and exclaimed, "Look, newspaper! Something new in town!"

"Newspaper?" Buddy was stunned for a moment, the team really brought something new, and it was the same as every time before—as long as it is something new in the city, it must be something that everyone has never heard of, "You Are you talking about these pieces of paper? What... is this for?"

"Civilians can also buy 'books' to read." The foreman glanced at Buddy with pride in his eyes and tone - although he only bought the newspaper a little earlier than others, he was very proud , "There are a lot of things written on it, even the recent changes in the city."

"Where is it?" When Buddy heard it, he immediately moved closer, "Where is it written...what is it written?"

"Here, the 'Baimu Street' community in Xicheng District has been built, and the new immigrants who have obtained citizenship are moving. And here, it is said that the price of wheat and furs will be lowered recently, because the trade route with Gelenling has been opened up, and this Bian—hey, is the Church of the Holy Light in the Holy Spirit Plain crazy...they have started burning other people's churches?"

The foreman pointed to each section of the newspaper, and as he spoke, a surprised expression appeared on his face, and then he read the news seriously. Buddy stared at the side, but suddenly felt a burst of frustration ——

he can't read...

He can recognize words, but only a small part. At most, he can spell his name, age and address, and understand the form on the work card. This is the result of several days of night school—— There was a night school, and there was a teacher from the city who came to teach us five days a week, and Buddy went to it a few times, but he didn't pay attention at all!

Looking at the newspaper full of words, he couldn't help feeling annoyed.

The foreman was reading the contents of the newspaper seriously, not caring about Buddy's annoyance at all, and he laughed out loud when he saw half of it—there seemed to be some interesting jokes or funny stories written in the newspaper, but for Buddy As far as Di is concerned, everything is missed.

Even if this newspaper is said to only cost a few copper coins.

He knew that he couldn't ask the foreman to read the newspaper for him, even if the foreman usually had a good relationship with everyone, such a request was unrealistic.

Several familiar workers squeezed out from the crowd. Buddy raised his eyelids and saw that one of them was also holding a newspaper in his hand, and was taking apart the newspaper in his hand while walking. to someone else.

They may have bought a copy—although a newspaper is so cheap that it only costs a few copper coins, for many loggers who have just had some spare money, spending money to buy a few sheets of paper to read is probably still a kind of "no". "worthy" behavior, but they are curious about the contents of the newspaper after all, so it is very likely that they will pool their money to buy together.Anyway, a newspaper contains several pages, and these people's congresses can be broken up and read in turn.

Buddy looked at those people with a little envy, and muttered in his heart—they were poor people who were born as coolies and dealt with axes and saws, but now they walked straight up like scholars, and they still carried newspapers decently. Rolled up and tucked under the arm like a book, it's...

How decent...

Buddy touched his pocket, gritted his teeth suddenly, and turned his head towards the direction of the convoy.

The foreman was reading some things at this time, and when he looked up and saw Buddy's actions, he couldn't help shouting curiously from behind: "Why are you going? The roll call is coming soon!"

"I'll buy a newspaper!"

"Can you see it?"

Buddy didn't turn his head back: "I'll buy it back and study it slowly—at worst, wait for Mr. Bernard to come and ask him for advice!"

"Mr. Bernard" is the teacher who was sent to give lectures in Shuanglin Village, a second-level clerk who works in the government affairs hall.

Seeing Buddy walking like he was angry, the foreman shrugged and looked down at the newspaper in his hand.

He said to himself: "I have to put it away when I go back, save a few more copies and stick it together... I have a book at home."

……

Holy Spirit Plain, in front of the Rock Fortress, Wright Aviken raised his head and looked up at the ancient fortress standing in the southernmost part of the Holy Spirit Plain.

The high black wall of the fortress glows with a slight grid-like brilliance in the sun, which is the copper poured in the cracks of the city wall bricks is shining. The builders of the Rock Fortress melted the copper and mixed fine gold and copper into the copper juice, This magical alloy will absorb the magic power from the sun when the sun shines, and slowly release it throughout the day and night, making the entire city wall extremely strong, and this magnificent and strong fortress was exactly the fog 100 years ago The product of the chaos within the month.

It stands between the mountains at the junction of the southern border and the Holy Spirit Plain, and controls the only way from the southern border to the Holy Spirit Plain. Even the Dorgon River, which connects the north and the south, also flows through the pass on the side of the fortress—it It is a great irony, symbolizing the kingdom's complete blockade of the entire southern region-for a full century after the completion of this fortress, the southern region became a deliberately exiled land, and the second dynasty feared the ancient and huge fortress. The Cyr family will make a comeback and shake the royal family, so they built this fortress while constantly separating and weakening the southern border, as if to use the Rock Fortress as the new "Southern Frontier" of the kingdom, and take the survivors of the Cecil family They threw it to the wasteland in the south.

This extremely strong fortress is used to guard against the founding family of this kingdom.

However, in the past entire century, the Cecil family has never crossed this hurdle. They silently endured the failure price of the Brumaire civil strife, and silently accepted the separation and suppression of the royal family. Until last year, the Cecil family After the resurrection of the ancestors, the members of this family crossed the Rock Fortress for the first time and headed for the Holy Spirit Plain.

Wright looked up at the high black wall of the Rock Fortress, and the history of this fortress and the short time he experienced in the incredible land in the southern border appeared in his mind. Then he looked back and sorted out his old Priest robes, stepping towards the checkpoint.

Chapter 0366 What I saw in the Plain of the Holy Spirit

Rock Fortress, Pastor Wright has a deep memory of this fortress - not because of the unique location and historical stories of this fortress, but because his childhood was spent in a town not far north of this fortress of.

At that time, he was just an orphan without father and mother, a small handyman adopted by the abbot. The few years in the small monastery in the north of the fortress were the most peaceful and comfortable days in his life, although at that time He hadn't awakened the talent of the Holy Light yet, and hadn't become a "transcendent" respected by ordinary people, but at that time, the old abbot of the monastery was still alive.

The Rock Fortress itself is a huge city, but it is not self-sufficient. Many of the expenses in the fortress have to be provided by the surrounding towns and villages. The monastery where Wright lived was responsible for providing holy water and holy oil for the knights in the fortress. and talismans.At the end of every month, Wright would accompany the old dean and drive all the way from the town to the fortress in a creaking old carriage, delivering the new holy relic to the fortress chief.

The sprawling military complex was full of fierce knights and aggressive soldiers, but they were also very polite to those who came from the abbey, and on delivery days, Wright would be under the eyes of these soldiers, Turning around among the wall stacks in the lower area of ​​the fortress, the dark city wall inlaid with shiny copper strips, and the trebuchet placed on the city wall were the things that fascinated Wright most back then.

But this kind of life lasted for a few years, the old dean was transferred to the central area of ​​the Holy Spirit Plain, Wright also went to the central area, and then a few years later, the old dean passed away, and the new dean took over In the monastery, Wright became a priest, and was incorporated into the priesthood of the central diocese... more than ten years passed in a blink of an eye.

The last time I saw the Rock Fortress was two years ago when he was kicked out of the church by the bishop of the Central Diocese as a missionary pastor, and then went all the way south along the bank of the Dorgon River. The little handyman who left here in the past became the missionaries, and returned to this place in priestly robes.

That time, Wright didn't stay in the Rock Fortress for too long - although there are many places worthy of his memories in this city, the familiar faces in the fortress are almost gone, even the strong and fierce back then. The fearful fortress commander also left his post a few years ago due to old injuries, so he just stopped here in a hurry, replenished his dry food and water, and then left here, stepping into the desolate and savage land in the southern border.

He did not expect that after just two years of missionary time, he would return to this place.

Before entering the city, he saw two long lines of civilians. One was walking into the city and was queuing up for inspection, while the other was coming out of the city.The main members of these teams are merchants driving carts, and others are mercenaries and adventurers wearing armor and swords. Only a few ordinary people are mixed in the team, and most of them are civilians living in nearby towns ——In this era, it is not easy for common people to obtain passports issued by nobles. Except for Cecil's huge and continuous immigrant team, few ordinary people will take "long-distance travel".

Wright lined up obediently in the queue, and finally it was his turn after waiting for a long time. He stopped in front of the table where he registered his name and checked the passing documents, and while taking out the certificates from his pocket, he looked lazily at the table behind the table. The soldier said, "May the Holy Light protect you."

Feeling a huge shadow looming over him, the sleepy soldier behind the table suddenly opened his eyes wide, and then he heard the low voice "May the Holy Light protect you", raised his head, and saw a A man who was stronger than his chief was standing in front of him. He was wearing an old priest's robe, and he took out two proof documents from the robe - one with the mark of the Church of the Holy Light, obviously to prove the identity of the priest, The other should be a document issued by nobles.

The lazy soldier suddenly came to his senses, and while quickly taking the documents, he greeted him kindly: "The Holy Light protects you—Mr. Pastor. Actually, you don't have to wait in line."

Although the robes worn by the pastor in front of him are a bit strange, but a pastor is a pastor, a transcendent, and a high-class person, and this is the pastor of the Holy Light Church, which is currently being powerful, so he certainly dare not neglect.

"Everyone is queuing," Wright smiled gently, and said casually, "There are a lot of people——I don't remember that there are usually so many people here."

"Hey, that was last year, this year is different," the soldier shook his head and said, "A large number of merchants have started the potion business between the Holy Spirit Plain and the southern border, and there are many bankrupt farmers who don't know where they heard the nonsense , to go to the south to find a way to survive - many merchants brought these people to the south with the passage documents issued by the Grand Duke, and they are responsible for transporting these people south. Have you seen those caravans with three bundles of straw? Those are, they are going to Baishui Went to the river pier..."

Wright blinked, feeling a little emotional in his heart: Even here, did what the lord did have such a big impact?

While speaking, the soldier had already checked Wright's priest's certificate and saw the imprint on the passing document below. The soldier stopped in the middle of his words, and his expression was a bit strange: "It's Duke Cecil's certificate again... ..."

Wright asked curiously: "Why, is there a problem?"

"...Oh, of course there is no problem, this is the Duke's mark, there can be no problem," the soldier said hurriedly, and then explained with a little embarrassment, "It's just that half of the current documents that I see every day carry the seal Sierra's emblem..."

"A pioneering territory always needs people and supplies," Wright said unhurriedly, "it's just that no new pioneering territory has appeared in so many years, and I'm afraid everyone has forgotten these things."

"Anyway, it has nothing to do with us," the soldier muttered, and returned the checked documents to Wright. "You can enter the city now, Mr. Pastor."

Wright took the document, put it close to his body, turned and walked towards the heavy door covered with black steel and copper bars that was familiar in his memory.

Passing through the deep city gate, passing through the strong first and second walls of the fortress, is the inner city area of ​​the Rock Fortress.

As a huge fortress, the Rock Fortress is not just a military building, it is the most important customs clearance barrier between the southern border and the Holy Spirit Plain, and it is also a place for business travelers to rest and gather. The lives of soldiers, knights, and mages, the interior of the fortress is actually a bustling city with complete facilities.

The city remains unchanged.

Wright was walking on the streets of the Rock Fortress, and the blurred images in his memory gradually became clear in front of these familiar street scenes. He saw his favorite pastry shop when he was a child—the day when he came here every month to deliver "goods" Here, he had pocket money of eight coppers, just enough to buy a cheap cake or cookie in the shop, and he saw the greasy Slaughter Square, with the tall wooden The frame, he remembered that the wooden frame was used to whip thieves and deserters - but since there had been no war in the southern region for a long time, being a soldier in the fortress was a very comfortable job, so its main function was to whip thieves.

Basically, every month, thieves would be hung from a wooden frame with their hands tied, and their skin would be torn apart from the whipping. The biggest pastime for the residents and many soldiers in Rock Fortress City was to come to the "Slaughter Square" to enjoy the scene of whipping, and Wright still remembers that on the second rest day of the Fire Moon every year, there will be a celebration in the Rock Fortress City to celebrate the completion of the city. The most important part of it is to tie the first thief caught by the Fire Moon to it and whip him One hour.

If no thief is caught that month, a slave drawn by lot is substituted.

Slave owners are very happy to send their slaves here to be whipped. If you are accidentally beaten to death, then the compensation is enough for the slave owner to buy two healthy new slaves, so those who have slaves in the city will even regard the celebration of the Fire Moon as a lottery, and will be responsible for whipping for this. soldiers...

These memories popped up in Wright's mind, and he couldn't help frowning.

He used to think it was barbaric and cruel, but he had never felt it was full of sins like today.

In Cecil, I saw so many serfs, slaves, and slave laborers working hard in exchange for freedom, owning their own houses and property, and even going to school to read and become "Cecil citizens" like everyone else. After seeing with his own eyes that those who were regarded as "stupid and inferior species" can live with dignity like ordinary people, he found it difficult for him to accept the so-called "elegant entertainment of civilized society" in the central region.

And there's this city that hasn't changed...the city that hasn't changed in decades, maybe even 100 years.

Not even a new house in sight.

Wright shook his head, turned and left the Slaughter Square, and no longer had the interest to stay and rest in this city.

He only added some dry food, water, and beer that was easy to store, and quickly left the Rock Fortress. After passing through the northern gate of the fortress, he officially set foot on the land of the Holy Spirit Plain.

He walked for a long time in the wilderness outside the city, and walked for a whole day, before he finally saw a small village before the sun set.

Taking a look at the sky, Wright decided to rest in the village—his travel expenses were not much, but villagers usually would not refuse a pastor’s lodging, and he could also chop firewood for dinner, which was better than spending the night in the city Much cheaper.

He walked into the village and walked on the potholed mud road, surrounded by low and dilapidated thatched huts and wooden huts. He found out the location of the village manager and walked in that direction.

But a sudden commotion came from behind, which made Wright stop.

He turned and saw passers-by on the dirt road behind him spreading out, while two armored soldiers dragged a man by the arms and hair and dragged him out of a nearby house, a man in a worn skirt The woman ran out of the house, cried and knelt down at the feet of the two soldiers——behind the two soldiers came out a priest of Holy Light wearing a priest's robe and a white gold-rimmed soft hat.

Obviously, Priest Shengguang, who is an extraordinary person, is the one who controls the situation.

Wright immediately walked over.

"What happened?" He came to the priest of Shengguang who was wearing a robe, and asked with a frown, "What crime did this man commit?"

The woman kneeling on the ground saw another priest appeared, and immediately cried out louder: "My lord! We really don't believe in evil gods! That's just an old ledger—"

The woman's cries came to an abrupt end, because a law-silence divine spell fell on her, she could only open her mouth wide and stare at her eyes, grabbing her throat hard, while the Holy Light priest who released the divine spell Withdrawing his hand, he glanced at Wright in front of him with a little curiosity. After confirming that he was a member of the church, he said, "Brother, this is none of your business. I suspect that this family has an affair with the magic priest."

The man dragged on the ground by two soldiers muttered in a low voice: "Really not...really not..."

Wright watched this scene with a frown, and looked at the priest in front of him with the utmost patience: "What evidence is there?"

"A book was found in his home." The pastor raised an old booklet in his hand. "This is evidence of exposure to profane knowledge!"

The man who fell on the ground cried: "That's just an old account book... I just want to teach my wife how to read a few words..."

Before he finished speaking, the soldier next to him kicked him with iron boots, making him swallow the rest of the words with blood foam. The soldier stepped on his head and said in a very stern tone: "Don't deceive people. ! What characters do common people recognize! How can common people have books in their homes?"

"It's a dangerous signal for common people to have a collection of books in their homes. This collection of books is likely to be placed in their homes by the devil. Even if the books record normal-looking words, blasphemous knowledge will be hidden between the lines. In these books, what you read is not the words on them, but the words of the devil," the priest drew a symbol of the Lord of the Holy Light on his chest, and said with a serious face, "This is a warning from Bishop Megaul. "

Chapter 0367 The Dim Holy Light

Bishop Megall, who happens to have the same name as the Pope of the Dream Church 700 years ago, is the head of the church in the Central Diocese. Wright is no stranger to this name—the Holy See decree that ordered him to go to the southern border to preach, signed Magall's name.

It's just that Bishop Megall who signed the decree may not even know that there is such a person as him, and that bishop has to sign a lot of things every day.

The Holy Light priest in front of Wright sternly stated the reasons for his judgment, his tone was unquestionable, and his expression was extremely devout, while the man who was declared an evil heretic whimpered in a low voice—the soldier’s heavy voice One kick might have broken his ribs, and there was great pain in his voice, and the woman in the ragged skirt tried hard to beg the soldier to let her husband go, but the magic spell of the law of silence still bound her throat , making her unable to make a sound.

Wright fell silent for a moment.

Therefore, the words of those who fled from the Holy Spirit Plain to the southern border are true.

Therefore, the news from the merchants that the Church of the Holy Light is persecuting believers of other gods in the Holy Spirit Plain and amassing wealth is also true.

He raised his head, looked at his "brethren in the church", and asked aloud, "Will they be judged?"

"They have already been judged," the pastor said casually, "what I just said is judgment."

"Then what will they face?" Wright asked again.

"Do you still need to ask?" This time it was one of the soldiers who spoke, "The men will be dragged to the square to whip dozens of lashes, and the women will be imprisoned in a water prison for a few days, and then we will see if they are willing to plead guilty. Send it to the church in the town, and then it's up to the priests to do."

"Holy Light will give them a chance," the priest wearing a white gold-rimmed soft hat continued. He probably thought that Wright was an ascetic monk who was practicing asceticism in a remote monastery, and his tone was full of impatience, "They You can convert to the Holy Light, and then hand over half of your property as a ransom, and you will be innocent in the future, and of course they don’t have to pay it—then they can only go to the fire to test whether their souls are still saved.”