Wing hall of the church in Twilighttown.

There was a knock on the door.

Todd agreed, and Huggins pushed the door in. The former gestured to his seat and motioned for the latter to sit down first.

"All settled?"

Hearing the priest's question, the man's expression looked a little heavy: "The monks who are proficient in medical skills are treating the wounded, but one of the knights is too seriously injured to survive in the end. ”

Todd sighed, drew a holy cross on his chest, and looked around the side hall, where Richel, Alfonso, Monk Joe, and Huggins all watched him, waiting for his next words.

"I'm sure everyone knows what Queen Mary and Baron Cumberland is all about......" Todd sat down in his chair, touched the bridge of his nose with his hand, and said embarrassedly, "Let's think about what to do next." ”

Seeing that everyone else was silent, Alfonso straightened his spine and chose to be the first to speak: "When I was a secular knight, I served in Baron Cumberland's army for a while. It seemed to me that the Baron was a man of high character, and I trusted his character and judgment, and I felt that they should be given refuge. ”

Huggins glanced up at Todd, opened his mouth slightly to say something, but eventually gave up.

Richer listened to Alfonso's words, but her face turned to the ground, and her eyes rolled to the monk beside her.

Joe, who had lived in the monastery for a long time, and who had always been in contact with brothers of the monks and pious people, and who had always been an outspoken and talkative person, refuted the remarks of the papal knights on the spot: "Before we talk about asylum, shouldn't we first talk about self-preservation? There are more than a thousand unarmed inhabitants in the town of Twilight, and taking in the fugitives of the kingdom at such a time is tantamount to pushing these inhabitants into the crucible of war!"

Alfonso was a little anxious, he stood up and said, "Shall we not save ourselves from death?

Monk Joe touched his chin with his hand and said uncertainly, "Maybe we can find a few small boats in the town and give them some necessary supplies to get them out of here." ”

Rachel spoke at this time: "When the savage soldiers outside asked for the fugitives, if they knew that we let them go, guess what the angry fellows would do?"

Alfonso slammed his fist against the wooden table in front of him and shouted, "If they dare to do that, I will fight to the end, defending justice and honor with sword and blood!"

Looking at the people in front of him talking about it, Todd held his cheek with his right hand, and suddenly asked: "I heard the baron say that the Holy Acropolis is going to declare war on the Silver Ring City?"

Hearing this, Huggins quickly stood up and said, "According to the news brought back by the merchant recently, the armies of the two countries are indeed gathering towards the border. ”

Todd fell silent again.

——————————————

"You have the right to resent me......"

Cumberland, whose upper body was covered with bandages, sat in the chapel of the church, looking at the speaker, Queen Mary, who was dressed in cloth, and the old man frowned: "If you are talking about my son, then I am afraid you will be disappointed." ”

With the help of his subordinates, Cumberland put on his armor again.

He took out the cross that once belonged to Herman from his bosom, placed it in the palm of his hand, and gently rubbed the surface of the pendant with the tip of his thumb. Then he looked at the wounded and the corpses covered with white cloth in the chapel, and sighed heavily.

"Think of how many people have struggled and fallen in vain between sickness and pain, rather than dying honorably on the battlefield. Cumberland took the cross back into his bosom and looked at the bewildered Queen Mary: "My son, who died in battle with the glory of a knight, protected those whom he considered more important than life. ”

The queen looked at the miserable situation of the knights around her, closed her eyes in despair, buried her face deep in her hands, and whispered, "I, I am nothing but a sinner. ”

"Your Majesty!"

Cumberland's roar woke up the woman who was immersed in grief and self-blame.

"If you deny your own worth, you are denying my son's sacrifice!" The old man picked up the long sword at his waist, strode to the door, and dropped a sentence: "Live, find a reason for yourself to live!"

Cumberland pushed open the door, walked to the square in front of the church, glanced at the people who cast curious eyes not far away, and whispered to his subordinates, "The pursuers have arrived?"

"The cavalry company of the Eastern Legion has arrived, and there are about 25 'cavalry guns', and they do not seem to have any intention of entering the town, but are constantly roaming and patrolling the vicinity. ”

(The "cavalry lance" was the smallest size of cavalry units in medieval Europe, generally consisting of one heavy cavalry, two horse archers, and one light cavalry.) This composition varies depending on the country and the era. ）

Cumberland thought for a moment and said in a deep voice, "It looks like those guys aren't stupid enough to turn against the church. ”

"My lord, what shall we do now?"

The baron looked back at the cross at the top of the church in Twilight, "I need to talk to someone." ”

——————————————

Todd sat at his desk in the expository hall, frowning at Cumberland, who was walking around the room, casually visiting.

At last he couldn't bear it anymore and asked, "Lord Baron, I heard you want to see me?"

Cumberland looked back at Todd, and the old god sat down opposite the latter, and said calmly: "Father, don't call me an old man by a baron, you and I should understand that it is only a matter of time before my title is taken away." ”

Todd shrugged his shoulders indifferently, "Okay, Mr. Cumberland. ”

The old man stroked his silver beard and looked at the still immature face opposite: "Father Todd, maybe you don't know, I have been following you since the beginning of that heresy trial. After all, this should be the fourth time I've seen you......"

Todd interrupted in surprise: "Four times?"

Cumberland counted on his fingers: "The first time was at the Inquisition of Heresy in the Cathedral, the second time was at the Queen's Dinner, the third time was when I invited you to the palace, plus this time, exactly four times. ”

Todd was stunned, and then asked, "The Queen's dinner?" was the gambling game, and you were there?"

"That's right, I've been there from the time you jumped out of the carriage to the time you left with that xenomorph girl. The old knight nodded, raised one eyebrow, and a narrow smile slowly appeared on his face: "Originally, I was curious if you would send that girl to the Inquisition, but it wasn't until today that I saw the convent next to the church that I knew that my guess was right." ”

Looking at the 'all men, I understand you' expression on the old man's face, Todd couldn't help but laugh.

Cumberland stood up, looked out through the blinds of the room, and turned around with a solemn expression: "Father Todd, let's get down to business, I want to take my men to join the church and join Twilight." ”

Todd's heart jumped, and he said quietly, "Want to join the church? Shouldn't there be many better options than a small place like Twilight?"

Cumberland shook his head: "The St. Co. Cathedral in the Silver Ring City can't provide shelter at all, the war maniacs in the Holy Acropolis, I've fought with them for so many years, naturally there is no place for me to stay, and as for Lone Rock City, it's too far away. Come to think of it, there's only Twilight Town that is the most suitable place......"

Todd stretched out his hands to the old knight, "Mr. Cumberland, as you can see, in the face of those enemies outside the town, it is difficult for Twilight Town to even protect itself, so why should he accept you?"

"Cleaning up the cavalry outside the town wasn't a problem for me. Cumberland walked over to the bookshelf, took out the top Bible, and ran his finger over the cover, a thick layer of dust clinging to his skin.

Todd laughed when he heard the other man's "bold words". Cumberland's next sentence brought a smile to his face.

"I have a two-hundred-strong infantry regiment on our way here. 』

————————————————

"The cavalry outside the town began to set up camp. Todd turned to Cumberland and said, "What are your plans?"

The latter looked at the sun in the west and said slowly, "I plan to do it tonight." ”

Todd suspected something was wrong with his ears: "Tonight? Are you sure? All of your men are wounded! Your army hasn't arrived yet!"

Cumberland stretched out his index finger and shook it at Todd: "War is often not an imaginary confrontation between two armies, and as a commander, you need to think outside the box. ”

Todd looked at the old knight with a look of "confidence", and kindly reminded him: "I heard Huggins say that those cavalry are from the 'Eastern Legion', and they are the most elite garrison troops in the Silverring Kingdom. Your army is only 200 men, and all of them are infantry, so you are at a disadvantage in terms of military strength. ”

Cumberland laughed and said with a full sense of anger: "Winning a battle depends on ability, not strength. ”

Todd saw that the other party did not appreciate it at all, and his anger rose to three points: "Mr. Cumberland, it is not a good thing to underestimate enemies and be proud. ”

The old knight patted him on the back: "This sentence is true, whenever you treat your enemies, you should always remember to leave yourself a way back. However, in this battle, I feel that the advantage is mine. ”

Todd's eyes widened and he looked at the other in bewilderment.

Cumberland looked at the church door and said slowly, "What the enemy wants, I have, and what I want, the enemy doesn't know." ”

Todd seemed to be listening to the Book of Heaven, completely incomprehensible, and said hesitantly, "Are you sure you don't need help?"

"No, Father, I've been in a more dangerous situation many times. You might as well use this battle as a test to see if my old bones are qualified to join Twilight. ”