The procession of the legations departed from Friez and headed south along the flat avenue.

Half a month later, it crossed the southern border of Pompeii and officially entered the territory of San Jose.

The Church of Light is a mini-state of a few small cities, sandwiched between the borders of San Jose and several minor principalities. If the Pompeians wanted to reach the church as quickly as possible, they would have to make a long journey through the land of San Jose.

It's a very different country from Pompeii, with a warmer and wetter climate that fosters a welcoming art style, a more open atmosphere and thriving commerce.

Richard is still here, and for the first time he has seen the regular mercenary group among the knights, but it seems that they have little ability to change the situation on the mainland, but they are better at trivial things such as finding cats to collect debts.

The lord inquired about this with Bederick, who was immediately ridiculed mercilessly. "The kind of mercenary group you mentioned does exist in some small principalities. But for a big country, how can it be possible to allow the people to form armed forces freely?"

So Richard's mercenary group feelings were shattered.

The peasants of San Jose, on the other hand, were accustomed to growing rice, a crop that was not common in Pompeii.

Locally, rice matures twice a year. And it is said that in the southernmost part of San Jose, this crop matures three times a year, and the yield is very impressive.

Most of the members of the legation were native Pompeians, who were not used to rice made from rice, and tasted it once and never touched it again. Only the lord, who was so excited when he saw this thing that he burst into tears, built half a basin in one go, and became famous in one battle.

"You've eaten rice before?"

After half a month of getting along day and night, they can always be a little familiar with each other, and Paul will occasionally talk to the lord of Alpine Castle.

"I'm from the Southern Province and I've eaten a few times. Although Richard doesn't know why such a big man is so enthusiastic, he can't be kind, and he won't be able to give him a cold ass with a hot face.

"What do you think of the country of San Jose?" said the carriage as it drove quickly across the fertile fields, and Bishop Paul pointed to the farmers and waterwheels that were constantly flying backwards in the paddy fields on either side.

"Very rich!" said Richard sincerely, "ordinary civilians actually have the conditions to grind and chirp and pray for half a day at noon every day, which is left in Pompeii to starve to death." ”

Paul burst into tears and laughter, "This is a mandatory decree issued by San Jose to express his piety." That's how the 'saint' in front of San Jose came about. ”

"But few people know. Bishop Paul suddenly lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "Actually, the Church does not like this practice at all and even dislikes it, and the Holy Name is given by pinching its nose completely. And guess why?"

"Don't you think praying once a day is enough?" Richard didn't have a good impression of any church, and the Holy Light Church was certainly no exception.

However, it has been proved that since the Holy Light Church can firmly sit on the position of the number one church in the mainland, it is impossible without two brushes.

Bishop Paul's answer was not at all faithful, but realistic, even calculating: "Because the royal family has gained a reputation for piety, but the church bears the secret complaints of the people." ”

This made the lord stunned, "That's really the case. ”

............

In general, the officials of San Jose and the lords of all sizes generally maintained a certain respect for the Pompeii envoys. As long as the foreign affairs documents are submitted, the passage is very smooth, and there are even big nobles who hold banquets from time to time.

But in the private sector, the situation is completely different. When most civilians find out that they are Pompeian, their first instinct is to flee for their lives.

In particular, the lord of Alpine Fort also brought a lot of half-orc warriors, and it is no exaggeration to say that the body is wider than the door panel, which seriously aggravates this situation.

Richard couldn't help but lament the seriousness of the estrangement.

On the one hand, Pompeii is a descendant of the rebel Nero, and San Jose carries the past glory of the ancient human empire, and it is true that it was not dealt with in the first place. But on the other hand, in the thousands of years since the founding of their respective countries, the original estrangement has not only not been eliminated, but has gradually become more insurmountable.

Pompeii's folk culture is fierce and martial, while San Jose promotes business and prosperity.

It is not a day or two that they regard each other as robbers and profiteers, and they spit on each other. It is difficult to distinguish how much of this is natural and how much is artificial.

And when the envoys completed their seven-day journey in San Jose, leaving behind a three-hundred-mile rut, a city entirely made of Yellowstone was already in sight. The ornate Gothic spire, which rises above the height of the city walls, reveals itself to visitors.

City of Light, Vatis.

It is said that it was here that the Holy Light God first performed miracles, starting the thousands of years of history of the Holy Light Church, and the Hagia Sophia, which was built on the original site, has long since become the general court.

It is said that the area of this small city is less than a quarter of Cologne, but there are more than 100 churches of different sizes and styles, almost all of which are built.

It is said that the resident population is less than 20,000, and almost all of them are priests, nuns, and clergy such as the church.

"There are many interesting churches in the Vatis, and if Lord Richard is interested, I can take you around. ”

"Thank you, Bishop Paul. "The Lord of Alpine Fort is really a little excited

However, there was another team preparing to enter the city at the same time, holding a light blue banner aloft, and depicting a woman wearing an ice crown with white lines - the symbol of the goddess of ice and snow.

After Pompeii completely abandoned the Church of the Ice Goddess, the only one who could still hold up this emblem was of course the Stuart envoys.

Even the three major powers, in the face of such a top-level vicious event as the reappearance of the undead, have to pinch their noses and sit at the negotiating table together to find a way to explain to the world.

But negotiations are negotiations, and it is better to hope that the long-standing Stuart and Pompey will put aside their prejudices for a while, and it is better to count on solar energy to come out of the west or the tiger to go vegetarian.

The vanguard of the envoys on both sides each tried to enter the city one step ahead, but neither of them took the other but neither of them was willing to back down, and they confronted each other at the city gates.

This is the City of Light, a place where the use of force is theoretically absolutely not allowed.

But there was a lack of reverence for the Vatis on both sides - Pompeii's side had just been converted, and it was difficult to say how many true believers could there be other than Paul, while the Stuart side was directly infidels, and the clergy of the Church of the Goddess of Ice were so numerous that the Holy Light could not shine on them.

What's more, both sides are powerful people, and they are all used to roles in their own countries.

So even if it's just a trivial matter of who enters the city, they don't have any psychological burden when they are tense.

"Alas. Richard covered his face and sighed, he now knew why this mediation was going to be difficult.