Chapter 470 The Saint's "Last Words"
The silver moon hangs high, and the night is deep.
Hence the creaking sound of the winch, the south gate of Dusk City opened a gap that could only accommodate two carriages parallel to each other. A group of people escorted a luxurious carriage out.
The light of the torches bounced on the cold city wall, illuminating the tired and confused faces of the guards.
The curfew in Dusk City has not yet been lifted. Those who can leave the city at this time are either the governor's confidants, or the nobles who cannot be controlled by the governor.
However, no matter who the guy was, they did not understand why this distinguished man would choose to leave the city at this time.
Although the siege of Dusk City is indeed over, the defeated rebels and rat people will not disappear into thin air just because the flag fell.
This group of people who sold their souls to Chaos will change from organized bandits to unorganized bandits, causing harm to ordinary people on this land again.
Now is the most chaotic time, just like the time when the snow melts is colder than when it snows. At least in the Twilight Province right now, there is no safer place than Twilight City. People's joys and sorrows are not the same.
In the eyes of the citizens of Twilight City, the disaster has ended. Twilight City is naturally the safest place, but sober people know that everything has just begun.
Count Theron Gard sat in his lavishly decorated carriage, opening the velvet curtains from time to time and looking out.
He has never been so punctual in his life, let alone waited for others like this. Today is an exception -
At this moment, there are a hundred light riders standing around his carriage. These cavalry are tall, well-equipped, and exude a fierce aura.
This is the last fortune of the Gard family and Theron's last confidence.
Theron waited patiently for a long time. Just when he was about to become impatient, a capable figure finally walked out of the shadows outside the city.
"My lord, I have kept you waiting for a long time." Grega nodded slightly, his attitude remained humble, but there was still a little less awe than when he was in the Governor's Mansion.
"Huh, it's good to know." Theron snorted from his nose, maintaining his aristocratic demeanor, "Where are your people? Are they all ready?"
"Of course, please come with me."
Grega made a "please" gesture, turned around and walked towards the depths of the night.
The motorcade parked outside the city gate continued on the road, and the sound of horse hooves on the soil was particularly clear in the silent wilderness.
They walked about three miles, and traces of campfires finally appeared on the plain in the distance. Count Theron's brows could not help but relax a little.
However, this feeling of relaxation did not last long.
As the team got closer and closer to the camp, the expression on Theron's face gradually became subtle, and a trace of suspicion could not help but appear in his eyebrows.
This tent.—
Is it too much?
Not just a tent.
The rising smoke does not look like food for two thousand people, but rather looks like tens of thousands of troops stationed here.
The reason why Theron feels this way is not because of his high military literacy, it is purely "speaking from experience".
The army that besieged Quemu Castle before was almost of this size. Maybe there were more teams parked at the edge of the camp. Theron swallowed hard, stuck his head out of the carriage, looked at the mercenary leader who was leading the way and whispered.
"Mr. Grega, are you sure that you are a mercenary group of two thousand people?"
Grega, who was riding a horse, grinned.
“Of course, my own brother, can I not be clear?”
Theron coughed.
"No, I mean, is it too much?"
"Please rest assured, Lord Earl, I can assure you that by this time the day after tomorrow at the latest, you will be able to lie comfortably in the bedroom of your castle."
Before Theron could finish, Grega interrupted him.
Not only that, the respectful title was also unknowingly replaced by a title of equal, even with a hint of joking meaning.
Suddenly, a horrifying possibility emerged in Theron's mind, making his fat body tense involuntarily.
His pupils trembled slightly, he coughed lightly and said with evasive eyes.
"I suddenly remembered that we haven't signed the contract yet. I have to go back to the mansion in Twilight City to get the seal-"
"Don't worry about that," Grega interrupted him again, with a bright and cold smile on his face, "Miss Sarah has already fetched it for you."
The blood on Theron's face instantly faded away.
Sarah?
Who is that guy?
He racked his brains and couldn't remember where he had heard this name, and he was even more confused about how he got into trouble with that guy.
But soon, this matter no longer mattered.
Looking over Grega's shoulder, he saw a familiar face at the entrance of the so-called mercenary camp.
The man was carrying a battle ax on his shoulder, a bearskin draped over his shoulders, and a face full of gangsterism. He was smiling at him with a welcoming smile, "Praise Saint Sith, Mr. Earl."
"We finally meet again -"
Faced with the densely raised muskets, one hundred servants were quickly disarmed and detained separately in the deepest part of the camp.
There are more than two thousand people stationed here, and even zero more can’t stop them!
Looking at Theron who was so frightened that he peed his pants, Brennan did not make things difficult for him. He just warmly invited him out of the carriage and took him for a walk in the camp.
It is almost autumn, and the weather has turned from hot to cool.
With the wind blowing on his buttocks that night, Theron felt his legs trembling, and the smile on his face was uglier than crying.
He only hates Baron Elalic.
If that guy hadn't snubbed him at the banquet, how could he have listened to the traitor's slander and fallen into the hands of a group of bandits?
However, what he didn't know was that Baron Ellarik's situation at the moment was not optimistic either, but everyone had their own worries.
His end may not be bad.
It is just a pig on the table. Who is raising it?
The king can raise him.
Of course the devil can also be raised.
Regardless of whether Theron's pants are dry or not, the "instructor" of all intelligence personnel of the Salvation Army has already obtained the seal of the Earl of Quemu for the respected Demon King.
The edge of the Salvation Army camp.
A slim black shadow quietly appeared beside Luo Yan, kneeling on one knee and holding a wooden box with gold rim in his hands.
"Sir, I got what you asked for." Sarah's voice was as cold as water, like the moonlight shining in the woods.
"Well done, Sarah, get up and report."
With a casual compliment, Luo Yan put down the hand behind his back, turned around and took the gold-rimmed wooden box from Sarah's hand.
The lid of the box is opened, and a seal carved from black agate is seen lying quietly on the velvet cushion.
The animal-shaped seal has been smoothed over time, giving it a warm texture. And under the simple seal, you can still faintly see the flow of magic light.
This seal carries hundreds of years of legal principles and glory of the Gard family, although many things have now become a joke.
Luo Yan held the seal in his hand and looked at it for a while, as if he was looking at a delicate stone.
Sarah got up from the ground and continued her report in a steady tone.
"As you might have expected, Theron Gard did not completely trust our people, but kept a cautious eye. He wrote a "suicide note" before going out and entrusted it to his butler. If something bad happened to him on his way back to Castlewood, his eldest son would inherit his title, if they still had titles at that time. "
If Theron dies, the Inquisition may not necessarily judge him, after all, he has already gone to see Saint Sith.
As for whether his children can keep their secular titles and territories, that is another story.
“Where is his suicide note?”
“I brought it.”
“Very good.”
Took it from Sarah’s hand After reading the earl's suicide note, Luo Yan glanced at it briefly, and couldn't help but bring up a playful smile. The suicide note was written like a tragic song of generous sacrifice. The whole article did not mention how Quemu Fort was lost, only how he battled wits and courage with the rebels.
Unfortunately, the Campbells did not help. Theron Gard lost the castle after all. People who don’t know may think that he is a hero.
If the king wanted to make a fuss about the Campbell people, it might be possible to use his body as waste. After all, touting the "Light of Praise" would only make him lose his face. It would be better to praise a useless pig than to do so.
The game between the Ryan royal family and Archduke Edward has just begun.
Perhaps this is the real reason why Theron chose to take a gamble. He has noticed that the Inquisition is on its way here.
It would be best if you can wipe your butt clean. If you are not able to die heroically, it might not be a decent ending.
It's not that he really can't survive. No noble from the Old World would be willing to go to the New World and be neighbors with demons for now.
Now that this letter is in the hands of the Demon King, all of Theron's rainy day plans have naturally become a joke.
"The suicide note is good, and it happened to be written by me. If one day Theron feels that he can do it again, I will give this letter to him."
Luo Yan put the seal and the suicide note back into the wooden box, and then handed them both to Karen who was waiting beside him.
"Now that the legal issue has been resolved, as for the next thing, you just do what I told you."
"Yes."
Kallen nodded obediently, then stretched out his hands and solemnly took the wooden box, his lowered eyebrows full of piety.
The box was very light, but it weighed more than a thousand pounds in her hands. She knew that it contained the future of tens of thousands of soldiers of the Salvation Army, as well as her own future.
Luo Yan nodded, then gave Sarah a "it's time to go home" look, and turned around to leave.
The envoy from the United Kingdom of Gutav is still waiting in Thunder City, and Archduke Edward is also waiting there for news about him.
There is also Taff.
His strength has improved a lot recently, but he has never had time to calm down and meditate to consolidate.
This time I went back to take some dragon eggs to replenish my body.
Looking at the back that was about to blend into the night, Kallen suddenly felt a strong sense of reluctance in her heart and couldn't help but speak.
「Your Highness.」
"What's wrong?" Luo Yan stopped and looked back at her.
Under the moonlight, Karen's figure looked a little thin.
She held the wooden box and lowered her head, as if leaving everything to God. As long as the leaves of the sage plant were an even number, she might have found it.
She raised her eyes, her gentle eyes reflected the moon in the sky, and asked softly: "Where are you going to go after?"
Luo Yan thought for a while and said.
� � logleg ccogene because it seems to be Irene's hometown.
"No, I just -" Kallen lowered her eyes, not daring to meet her god's gaze, and a faint smile appeared on her lips, "I just - maybe a little envious."
This time, she did not leave the choice to Sage, nor did she wait for Colin's answer, she just continued talking to herself.
"I had never seen the Chosen One before, and I always thought they were just a group of more powerful people. Until I met her, I began to believe that some people might really be favored by the gods."
"Her moon will always shine its bright tenderness on her body when she needs it most. But some children have to walk a long, long way in the endless snow, for a long, long time - and even so, they may get nothing in the end."
"One day, the moonlight finally fell on her as she was running desperately. However, maybe it didn't actually come for her, but just happened to pass by her."
Her voice sounded like she was telling a bard's story, or she was pouring out her inner emotions, and she carefully hid her grievances in her pretending to be relaxed smile.
She didn't want the god who was watching her at the moment to interpret her confession as jealousy, even though her mind was indeed not as simple as it seemed.
She knew very well that her soul was as humble as a firefly. She was extremely lucky to be able to reach this day, and she really had no right to expect anything more.
But Karen still wanted to say it.
On the one hand, she felt uncomfortable in her chest if she didn't say it, but on the other hand, she was worried that if she didn't say it now, she wouldn't have the chance to say it in the future.
She is not Irene after all. She does not have the luck and strength of the Chosen One. Maybe she has used up her luck all the way to this point.
Chaos is just the shadow under the candlestick, and the Holy See is the vast blazing sun.
Although she said the words "I am willing to fight against the Holy See for you" easily, she also knew in her heart that she might not live long.
But it doesn't matter, she only has a very open mind about life and death.
After all, her life was picked up.
These words seemed to have no beginning or end, and the woman's name was not mentioned throughout the whole process, but Luo Yan understood who she was talking about in an instant.
In fact, there is nothing wrong with what she said.
The vest "Colin" itself is tailor-made for the Principality of Campbell, and Irene is just one of the characters on the stage.
In contrast, the story of Saint Karen was indeed made up by him, but he felt that the story he had made up now was not as good as a well-planned script.
After all, everyone is the devil's pawn, and the devil has another big chess game in the distant hell. If this competition goes on all the way, when will it end?
Luo Yan thought so in his heart, but it was obviously impossible to be so comforting, so he thought about how to answer this question gently.
Sarah had a thoughtful expression on her face and unexpectedly glanced at Karen twice.
She has always disliked all humans except the Demon King, and Kallen is certainly no exception, but today she is impressed.
This guy.
Maybe he is a loyal minister.
"I'm sorry that you have to listen to so many of my complaints that have nothing to do with your hegemony. You may think that I am too greedy and petty, but in fact I just want to tell you that I know that I am not a special existence, and my existence is just accidental."
"However, please do not doubt my piety, I will always follow in your footsteps. Because Because you are the only god who is willing to listen to my voice and reach out to me, at least - even the accidental moonlight has illuminated me. "
"My words are over."
Karen smiled sheepishly, and the self-inflicted regret on her face quickly subsided and turned into unwavering tenderness.
Even if she was about to face a court that would scare the Earl to pieces, she would not be afraid at all.
"..—Don't say what you say like your last words. Although I am a magician, I also have my own bottom line. I never let my people do things that are certain to lead to death, and then say that this is a necessary sacrifice. Including what I tell you, every plan of mine has gone through a risk assessment. You can doubt my character, but you have to believe that I am professional in this regard."
What a risk!
This woman almost tricked him out of his last vest!
But thinking about it, Kallen wouldn't be too surprised if she found out. She would only be happy to know the secret of another "Son of God".
Luo Yan suddenly felt that he had sinned a lot. He always felt that his retribution was coming soon, but he felt that it would come as soon as it came. Anyway, he had more debts than he had to worry about.
Look at the face that was reddened by an unknown word. In a concise coughing voice, he left the last few words of warning before leaving.
"Besides, you are not a god, how do you know that you are not the one chosen by God, and that you are not favored by some god in the dark world?"
There is no doubt that "Saint Karen" is favored by the gods.
Especially after seeing the angel descending from the sky, every soldier of the Salvation Army believed it without any doubt.
even includes many citizens of Twilight City.
However, when people were carrying their bags and eager to join her, she said something puzzling to everyone - "Poor children, I am willing to answer your prayers and send you miracles to eliminate visible evil. But when you point your swords at each other in my name, what should I do? Whose side are you on? "
"You are all my children."
She seemed to have said this in the name of Saint Sith, thinking that Saint Sith had appeared. Countless believers knelt down on the spot in excitement, but when they raised their heads again, the saint standing there had disappeared.
The corruption of Chaos has been dispelled, the war between gods has ended, and the next ones will be the secular kings.
Perhaps Saint Sith didn't know who to help, so he sent an oracle to take her away. There was a storm in Dusk City, and some people with a keen sense of smell had already caught the wind.
There are rumors that the king's steward loudly rebuked the governor for treason at the celebration banquet, and scolded the Duke of Campbell for impure motives.
He is right, but the prerequisite for accusing others of impure motives is to acquiesce that you are innocent. But can the king be that kind of little white rabbit?
Fortunately, Irene is no longer the innocent little girl she was back then.
Her heart is already hard enough, just like her sword, and she will not be embarrassed by being criticized by an old guy.
Of course she went back unceremoniously and scolded the sanctimonious Sklar until he fainted on the spot.
The Campbells certainly did not work for the king for free. Most of them came here because of the governor's promise of land.
These farmers who have lost their land just want to have a piece of land to farm, and there happens to be a large area of abandoned land in the Dusk Province.
They are willing to go there to reclaim the wasteland, just like when they took a boat down the river and came to the south of the Wanren Mountains to open up territory for the kingdom.
Now is the time for them to go upstream and serve the king!
However, it was impossible for the king to make them wish.
Anyone can farm this land, except the Campbells.
Because there is really a powerful principality behind them, and they may turn Twilight Province into Twilight Principality as they grow.
A weak Twilight Province belongs to the Devalu family, and a rich Twilight Province will only benefit the industrialists and merchants of Thunder City in the end.
It's better to make it weaker.
In this matter, Baron Ellaric was flirting with the Principality of Campbell. When all the forces were eyeing the cake that was about to be cut, the Salvation Army became the only outlier among all the forces.
They did not participate in cutting the cake, but quietly packed up their bags and left Twilight City quietly, although they were not at the cake-cutting table.
Perhaps having a premonition of the coming storm, Saint Karen not only declined those believers who wanted to follow her, but also disbanded most of the army, retaining only the elite.
Most of the disbanded soldiers were farmers who made up the numbers.
These people were not professional soldiers to begin with. When they worked for their lords, they were fighting in wars and had nothing to do with farming.
Now that they have all been assigned their own land in Quemuling, it will be the busy farming season in a few days, and it is time to go back and prepare for this year's harvest.
Quemu collar is different from other places. As long as they are more honest, they can really get through this smoothly.
After all, with the efforts of the "Holy Spirits", the churches burned down by Brennan have been basically rebuilt, and there is no problem in handling inspections.
The priests and nuns hiding in the castle were all intact and did not suffer inhuman treatment due to the destruction of the city.
In return for their life-saving grace, the clergy promised the saint to protect the peasants who had forgiven them for the sake of their belief in the same god.
At the same time, this is also for themselves.
As for those elites retained by Kallen, part of them are intelligence agents trained by Sarah, and the other part are old members of the Green Forest Army like Brennan, and people like Raiden who are deeply tied to the Salvation Army.
Farmers can go back to farm, but they cannot go back.
And only if they leave can others push the problems onto them and survive. As for the intelligence officers, they did not leave with Kallen, but were scattered in the castle and villages in various identities.
Some of them are farmers, some are hunters, there are also soldiers who used to serve the lord, and servants in the castle.
They do not know each other, they only have single-line contact with their superiors, and they only gather in limited numbers when there are specific tasks.
As the eyes of the Salvation Army placed in the Birdwood Territory, they not only monitor the movements of the Tribunal, but are also the sharp sword hanging over Earl Theron's head.
On the first day the count returned to the castle, Salvation Army intelligence officers gave him a warning, putting a dagger under his pillow and replacing the red wine he drank at night with water.
Maybe the Inquisition will come here soon to clear out the so-called evil, but they cannot stay here forever.
Theron is now alone.
And those who could kill him have only left here temporarily, not dead.
At least before Saint Karen was caught and burned to death by the Holy See, he could only choose to swallow his anger and keep his tail between his legs. As for the elite Salvation Army members who left with Saint Karen, no one knew where they went.
Some people said that they were in Twilight City and didn't go anywhere. Some people also say that they went to the depths of the Wanren Mountains to train there and accumulate strength to fight against evil forces.
Some people say that they fled to the northern part of the Kingdom of Rhodes and went there to spread the gospel of the "Son of God". It seems that they took the "New Testament" given to them by the Son of God.
Perhaps what they said is right, or maybe they are just a cover-up.
Speaking of which, no one has really seen the New Testament until now, just like most people have never opened the Book of Holy Words.
But the difference is that everyone is full of curiosity about that book.
Whether it is a farmer in the fields or His Majesty the Grand Duke far away in Thunder City—