Pedi and his Paladin Mentor, Jeffrey, haven't seen each other since Pedi left Suker City three years ago.

The master and apprentice, who have been separated for three years, chatted about some interesting things that happened to each of them during the time they were separated, and they would not send out bursts of hearty news.

Soon their conversation naturally began with the fall of the Empire, then the division of the Church of the Holy Light, and then the scholarly question of the way in which the Divine Power would exist.

In this regard, Pedi also has his own research.

As early as when he was studying the Holy Power at the Church of Divine Light, Pedi often had similar conversations with his mentor, and the two had many differences of opinion, but they also had a lot in common.

Jeffred was a true scholar who would not use his mentorship to suppress Pedy's thoughts. He was amazed by Pedi's intelligence, and sometimes he even took a very good note of Pedi's opinions.

However, today's conversation is clearly not suitable for discussing academic issues.

But the truth is, not only did Jeffred bring it up, but it was a topic that he and Pedi had been avoiding discussing before.

In what way does the Holy Force exist?

The question may seem simple, but it is very serious for the paladins themselves, because it is related to the strength of each paladin, or the degree of favor of the holy powers.

There is a clear rule in the church that paladins are not allowed to talk about such topics, because it has been proven countless times that when one paladin convinces another paladin on this issue, the persuaded person will soon lose the favor of the holy power!

After all, the persuaded are doubting his power, and the paladin must not doubt the power he believes in.

While Pedi was amazed, Jeffred spoke again, "Do you find it puzzling?"

His eyes flashed with an inexplicable look, "Some people believe that our power comes from the gods, or the power given to us by the goddess Lisa, some people believe that our power comes from the divine atoms that exist independently in the rift of space, and some people believe that our power comes from a contract, which you can understand as a contract similar to that between the Holy Force and the body of the Paladin. ”

"I, on the other hand, are more inclined to contract power. Jeffred continued: "Remember the first session of paladin training? this is a course that all paladins must go through, a paladin mentor uses the holy power to channel the apprentice's body and resonate with the holy power, without this step, no one can feel the presence of the holy power, and this... It is the most effective proof of the power of the contract. ”

Pei Di was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously asked, "Then how did the first batch of paladins form?"

Jeffred was not surprised by Pedy's question, and without even thinking about it, he explained: "They were baptized by the Grand Duke of Patweed himself... But the origin of the Holy Power of the Grand Duke of Patved is not something we can understand, according to the church documents..."

"Grand Duke Partved is the equivalent of the Holy Power itself!" said Pedi in place of his mentor... Immediately, he spread his hands, "But is it possible?"

"Research itself relies on existing phenomena plus logical conjectures. Jeffred smiled, "You told me that." ”

Pedi didn't answer, and he didn't want to refute the mentor's opinion, he smiled noncommittally and said, "Every paladin has a different understanding of power, this question..."

Jeffred saw that Pedi was trying to avoid the question, and immediately interrupted him, "This question must be studied... In the past, it was precisely because we were always doubting that our power would slowly weaken, but when we were able to prove the way the Holy Force existed with strong evidence, and truly touched its essence, our warriors would have a stronger faith!"

"Well, Teacher, maybe you are doing something great, but I will only believe in the existence of the Holy Power itself, and will not investigate the value and mode of existence of the Holy Force. "Archduke Patved once said, 'Be true to your choice, and eternal loyalty will be favored forever.'" ”

"The weakening of the Holy Power is not because we have not found the existence of power, but because there are doubts in the hearts of our warriors. Pedi had a serious expression: "Our paladins were particularly strong for a certain period of time, and that was because they had a strong faith during that time, but as they grew older and more experienced, they began to doubt their faith and everything they had held on to before!"

"Therefore, the fundamental reason why paladins become weaker and weaker with age is because of themselves, and no longer with the way of existence of the Holy Force!" said Pei Di, "If you want to cultivate stronger paladins, you must first cultivate their strong faith. ”

Jeffred immediately said, "To find out how the Holy Force exists is to help our warriors to strengthen their faith." ”

"There's no way to prove it, at least not yet!" Pedi shook his head, "However, we can cultivate the faith of paladins at the same time. ”

"There are strict rules inside the church that you can't dictate the paladin's mind. ”

"Do you want to prove the existence of the Holy Force, and don't you also want to influence the minds of the paladins to ensure their strength?"

Geoffred was stunned for a moment, then said with a very serious expression, "These are two different things, young king. ”

"In my opinion, almost. Pedi shrugged, "I've seen the Paladins of the Radiant Force, and most of them are very powerful, at least stronger than most of the Paladins in the Church. ”

"But their strength is only relative, and they simply can't cultivate a paladin like you. Jeffred looked at Pedi, "Bound minds can't cultivate true powerhouses. ”

"Isn't your academic research just now also used to bind the paladin's mind?"

"But my thinking is correct, and only by correct faith can we cultivate more powerful paladins and ensure the continuation of human civilization. ”

"Whew" Pei Di patted his forehead lightly in some distress.

After discussing the problem for half a day, I went back to square one. But Pedi wasn't bothered by this, because he knew full well that it was a doomed argument.

After all, at this stage, no matter how the two argue, there is no way to prove their respective arguments, and in the absence of factual basis, the problems of both sides will always return to the original point.

Jeffred frowned, not intending to continue, and Pedi looked down at the already cold coffee.

After a long time, Pedi looked up at his mentor and said, "The Church of Glory in Crewe City, I have changed its name to the Church of the Light, and Bishop Tamik is working on training the paladins of the kingdom... If you are interested, I would like to invite you to be the Archbishop of the Church of the Holy Light. ”

Jeffred was stunned, and Pedi continued: "What do you think of the Tammick Bishop's Church training the paladins I need according to my requirements, and I also allow you to train your disciples according to your own requirements?"

"Okay!" said Jeffred, who had already stood up before he spoke, "I'll prove my point and show it to all." With that, he took two steps back and made a courtier salute to Pedy, then looked up and said, "I want to go and see where I work now." ”

Pedi stood up and sent the Mentor to the door, and commanded his chief of guard, "Take Archbishop Jeffred to the Church of the Light, where he is the new master. ”

Sir Willy-Jon nodded respectfully and disappeared into the hallway outside the office with Jeffrey with him.

The door to the "click" office was closed again,

Looking at the office that was too familiar to be familiar, Pedi shook his head silently.

The discussion with the Mentor reminded him of his apprenticeship in the Church of Holy Light, when he didn't have to think about anything but focus on his paladin training and researching his favorite subjects.

As always, the Guru put his research and the pursuit of holy power first. But Pedi is no longer the same Pedi as before, he no longer cares about these issues, and the occasional research is only a dialysis of his own strength, and there is no time for other aspects to do.

"I really miss the old days..."

Pedi whispered, his gaze involuntarily moving to the few books on the ancient history of the elves on the shelves that had not been touched for a long time.

"Tuk Tuk"

Just as Pedi was about to take out a notebook and take a look at it, there was a knock on the office door.

The Secretary-General, Knight Otwood, pushed the door open and said, "Your Excellency Morinda needs to see you, Your Majesty. ”

"Morinda?" many things immediately came to Pedy's mind, "let him in... Also, let Sir Benje Alva come in and record. The increasing burden of government affairs has taught Pedi the importance of a clerk, and now he accompanies his clerk every time he meets with important ministers.

When Pei Di finished speaking, he subconsciously walked to the guest sofa in front of the window and sat down.

When meeting with important ministers alone, Pedi usually chooses to sit on the reception sofa and chat like a friend when he is in a good mood.

It was a subconscious move on his part, one that he wasn't even aware of.

But as one of the important ministers of the kingdom, Morinda knew this very well, and when he walked into the office and saw Pei Di sitting on the guest sofa in front of the window, he couldn't help but feel a lot more relaxed.

When the two cups of cold coffee were served away on the coffee table, and the hot coffee was brought back to the table, Morinda had already sat down at Pedi's motion.

"Is there any news from Shikan-Silveraxe?" asked Pedi patiently as he waited for the old orc to sit down.

"Yes. "Morinda wasn't surprised that Pedi was able to guess the purpose of his visit," the battle for Crane City had just begun to enter the confrontation phase, and Shikan-Silveraxe was in a hurry... With the help of goblins, Feiduo forcibly uses teleportation magic on the surface of the sea. ”

"What do you think they'll talk about?" asked Pedi.

"The strength of the unified orc tribe is completely enough to capture the Klan Territory alone, but because of the continuous battles, the orcs are now very weak, and their offensive against the Klan Territory seems to be ferocious, but in fact they do not have much lethality, let alone the strength to face off with the elves. ”

Morinda calmly analyzed, "I guess he wants us to convince the dwarves to send an army to deal with the war in the Crane Territory, or to ask for a large amount of supplies... According to the conditions prescribed by Kesai above, the estimated value of the supplies for this war was about 500,000 crowns. ”

"Well—" Pedi leaned back on the couch and stared up at the ceiling, not immediately commenting on Morinda's analysis.

After a few minutes,

As if he had enough rest, Pedi said to himself, "Recently, the Marquis of Daisiri has been urging me to form an alliance with the Duchy of Twak..."

Peidi's sudden words made Morinda's face change slightly, and when he was about to say something, Peidi continued: "500,000 kroner of supplies, although it will not hurt our muscles and bones, but it cannot be ignored, and more importantly, we can't be sure whether this war can really be won!"

"But Your Majesty..."

"This is the first war we have organized under the Trade Commons, and this war does not allow for us to have the slightest possibility of defeat!" Pei Di usually stared at Morinda with his eyes, "but the Klan City Alliance is not weak, and the elves behind them have not even sent their main forces, and the army of Shikan-Silver Axe has been blocked." ”

"You want to give up this war?" Morinda said with a solemn face.

"No, I just want to settle this war in a different way, in a more secure way. Pedi shook his head and said, "Didn't Daisily Pombo want to ally with the Duchy of Twak, but he didn't make a clear covenant with us and the orcs. "He also needs to be able to really convince Andy Barrett..."

"Are you trying to secretly unite with the Duchy of Twak and break up the Klan City Alliance from within?" Morinda Halinda's eyes lit up, "but is this likely to succeed?"

"Success depends on the sincerity of Shikan-Silver Axe!"

"You want to hold a tripartite meeting?" Morinda frowned, "but it's not good for secrecy. ”

"Why should I keep it a secret?" Pedi stood up and walked to the window, "I'm not only going to talk openly with Andy Barrett, but I'm also going to send my messengers to the Duchy of Suluk, the Kingdom of Misha, and the city-state alliance of the Suke Plains, and I'm going to talk to all of them, but not to the Elven Kingdom." ”

"That's good!" Morinda nodded, "but I'm afraid I'll anger the elves and make them send their main forces to support the Klan Territory." ”

"Don't you think that's the best?" Pei Di turned his head and looked at Morinda with an inexplicable smile, "The current Elven Kingdom has a very dangerous feeling, and it makes me very uneasy that they are shrinking their power in the shadows, I need to see them in action... And when the main army of the elves is caught up in the Klan War, won't our chance come?"

Morinda furrowed his eyebrows, then stood up suddenly, "You want to take this opportunity to destroy the Duchy of Suluk?"

"It's an opportunity, isn't it?"

"Yes, but the chances are slim," Morinda regained his composure after a brief moment of excitement, "There is too much uncertainty in this, and a little carelessness will lead to failure." ”

"But we don't have anything to lose, we just have to watch and then we know if we actually do it. ”