Night envelops the city. From www.biquge.info the window you can see the mountain at the other end of the field of view, and the stately church built on it, one of the holy places of the Church, which they regard as a miracle the majestic structure erected on the top of such a high hill, on which the banner of the Holy Cross of God, which symbolizes the Church, and the flag of the Knights of Judgment of Philias, which is a silver-white horse.

Dragon's Landing City was built on the backs of a huge mountain range, but it was not until the territory became vast that it slowly lost its role as a strategic fortress. After losing its military role, its role as a trade artery became prominent, and it slowly developed from the former fortress to the current Dragon's Landing City.

Gesself sighed in his office. No matter how beautiful the scenery outside the window was, the two bright moons hanging in the sky could not illuminate the haze in his heart at all.

"Hmph...... Do you have to be self-righteous and self-controlled...... It's just a cliché full of hypocrisy and emptiness. ”

Remembering what happened today's meeting, Gesself pressed his lips and looked out the window.

"My good general, you've been like this since you came back today, is there anything you care about about this textbook-like answer?" Ann slammed the pile of papers in his hand directly onto Gesself's desk, "Compared to these, there are a pile of documents waiting for you to deal with, reports on recent new cases, inspection reports, applications for the deployment of troops, and letters of appointment from above, please trouble me to deal with them all tonight." If there are no accidents, Her Royal Highness will be here tomorrow, and you must not have made arrangements for her escort, right? ”

"Tsk, I don't want to be teased by you all the time. By the way, do you have any results for what I asked you to investigate? ”

"Ahh Lyle Laljos was completely illiterate, except that he could barely write his own name. The evidence of the investigation was several documents left behind by him in the Adventurers' Guild, on which were written by others. ”

Knowledge is valuable. This is not to say how much knowledge can be sold for, but that there is a price to pay for getting it. In an era when most people have difficulty in providing food and clothing, spending money to learn to read and write has become a luxury for a few wealthy classes. One reason is that it is expensive, and the other reason is that knowledge does not help them much. Even among those adventurers with money in their pockets, the literacy rate has not changed much compared to that of the peasants, and is very low.

So in Ann's cognition, except for the rich and magicians, it is not surprising that adventurers do not know words.

"Do you think it's possible that someone who can say something like that can't even read and write basically? And according to the reports of the past few days, this guy has almost exhausted all his connections...... Spend all his time looking for books, such as ancient books, fairy tales, legends, canons, all kinds of books are within his scope. ”

"Books...... On the battlefield, Lyle Raljoth has used many spells in a row, so he should have at least the basic literacy to read the gods and magic characters, because too preconceived ideas have become blind spots. I see, no wonder you asked me to find evidence that he didn't know how to read...... Isn't this guy the real Lyle Ralhos, it's an impersonation? But what is the point of pretending to be such an unknown adventurer, tsk, completely incomprehensible. ”

"If you just want to blend into the city, there's no need to even fake your identity, as long as you keep a low profile, you won't be able to detect it at all with the current chaotic security system, and the identity of a C-class adventurer is not worth impersonating. What's more, he also showed his strength at that time, and the person who would commit such a high-profile act could not be impersonated by others no matter what he thought. Because it's completely out of common sense. ”

But that doesn't explain the reason for Lyle Larjos' change. According to the report, it can be assumed that this person used to be quite a scumbag. Almost all the people who have a relationship with him that can be regarded as a friendship with him, without exception, think that he is ...... Never mind. Such filthy words should not come out of the mouth of a gentleman, in a word, this person is not normal now. Compared to the words and deeds that we have seen in today's talks, the gap is simply difficult to put into words. ”

"What do you think is the reason?"

“…… I don't know, is it brainwashing? However, although I have heard of some psychic magic that can change personality, it is completely unheard of to allow an illiterate person to gain knowledge. ”

"Actually, I don't think so." Gesself shrugged his shoulders. "This is something that the church and the magical power have dreamed of, and if it is feasible to impart knowledge through magic, an army of magicians can be installed in an instant. It's like the legendary Central Powers, the Battle Mage Regiment, which can directly reign over the world and regain the hegemony of the Central Continent. ”

Anxin's doubts were denied, and he sighed helplessly, and his golden hair hung down because of it.

"Sure enough, it's still fake."

"Ann, have you heard of Aalis the Blasphemer's theory about \?"

"Yes, that's why he was hunted down by the church and fled all the way to sea. Remember that he came up with the rebellious idea that gods are born of faith, not gods. As for the hypothesis he put forward at that time, he believed that human blood was the most special of all living things, that the gods were born from faith, and that the time of Genesis was postponed to the appearance of man......"

"Excuse me from the detailed theory. In short, this is an explanation of why humans are occasionally able to give birth to individuals with extraordinary powers, and according to his vision, the history of the Central Empire is not fiction, and the humans of that era know how to artificially make the power of the bloodline visible. The substitute of the gods, the Chosen One, the Chosen One, the Holy Blessed One, the Chosen One, the Shining Son. Although there are various names for this, the common denominator is that they have powers that are not like those of humans. According to legend, those beings who are called heroes carry a legacy of knowledge at the beginning of their existence, such as the legendary heroes of Willsnard the Skybreaker, Convidor the Lord of Regeneration, Robes the Sorrowful, and Zarros the Broken Steel. Gesself glanced out the window, "Even our great hero, the Sword Saint Hallest, who was only seven years old and knew the art of war, beheaded hundreds of bandits on an entire mountain with the strength of just a few people. ”

"So you suspect that Lyle Ralhaus is a replacement for the gods?"

"The things of this world cannot be denied only by two words, otherwise they cannot be explained. Let's consider it as a possibility, and we will soon have a chance to see its power and nature. ”

"Admittedly, it does."

Those who have great power are fortunate to do good, and evil is a disaster. Gesself sighed and continued.

"Anyway, just go according to the plan. By the way, you said that Her Royal Highness the Princess will arrive here tomorrow...... This is much faster than expected. ”

"It's a bit fast, it's supposed to come with the supporting army." An glanced at the documents on the desktop, "The reason seems to be that I want to reach the territory as soon as possible to appease the people...... to be honest, this is not the royal capital, so it is useless to engage in these political shows." ”

"It seems that the rumors are true, this princess is serious about wanting to compete for the throne. Still," Gersself's voice paused, and he looked at Ann Si, both of whom showed the same wry smile. "Probably no fun. Regardless of the outcome of this vampire incident, the credit will definitely not go to her. Her Royal Highness will probably stay in this place until the new king ascends the throne, and then find a foreign royal family to marry. On the contrary, if something goes wrong, you will probably be executed...... Even the fact that she was banished is unconscious, it seems that this princess is quite naïve. ”

"After all, the powerful nobles in the country are basically concentrated in the two factions of the first prince and the second prince, and those old guys have been holding on to this opportunity to shuffle for decades, and they won't let such a little girl outside the door do things casually. Speaking of which, General, your hometown seems to be the faction of the second prince, right? ”

"Well, after all, the southern nobles are basically from the second prince's side. My father seems to admire His Royal Highness the Prince, but I don't like it very much, he doesn't feel very comfortable, he is too cunning. ”

"I feel the same way, but fortunately, the Knights, as a military, must remain neutral, and my hometown is on the side of the First Prince. To be honest, the first prince feels too strong. ”

The other remediator to the throne is not so much a strong man as a man who makes no secret of his desires. With an upright attitude and a corresponding sense of action and determination, if you ask how a powerful king would feel, there is no doubt that he is a person like the First Prince.

Ann, who had a handsome appearance, nodded, he felt that the gossip was almost enough, so he pulled out one of the papers at the bottom of the pile.

"This is the latest letter of appointment, and in the future, the command of Longlin City will be transferred to General Zaf, and he is also the commander-in-chief of this combined army, and Your Excellency will serve as his deputy."

“…… It's good to die, but it's Zaf's guy. ”

The moment Gesself heard the name, his voice became muffled. It was clear what unpleasant things had happened between the two, and just as Gesself frowned and looked at the Chinese book in his hand, there was a knock on the door.

The night was already quite thick at this time, and it was probably what was going on to disturb him at this time, but from the rhythmic footsteps of the comer, Gesself could hear a hint of panic and impatience.

"Come in."

"Yes."

Entered, a knight in bright white armor, glanced into the room, and then saluted the two knight captains, Gesself and Ann.

"It's so late, what's the matter?"

"Yes, Captain. I just got an urgent letter, so I took it. ”

Puzzled, Gesself took the letter, glanced at the wax seal, and opened it.

“…… Quiet. ”

"Yes, what's wrong?"

Gesself's somber voice seemed to fulfill the foreboding in his reassurance, and the deputy head of the Order straightened up and waited for Gesself's order.

"How many people can be mobilized now?"

"Except for those who are unable to move due to the vampire incident, the two hundred knights currently stationed in Dragon Landing City can move at any time."

"Get ready now, and set off as soon as dawn - the beast tide has appeared, and the location is east of the dragon realm, at the junction with the Rosemary Forest."

"What scale has it been?"

"The date of the payment was three days ago, and the letter said that it was about 1,000 birds detected at that time. Judging from the time of going to the rescue now, I am afraid that it is only a matter of time before a powerful individual appears. ”

The beast tide, which is known as the world's seven major calamities, is also one of the seven pillars of divine punishment, regardless of the place, time and cause of the natural disasters are unknown, the full name is \. There is no convincing theory about its origins, but there are testimonies from survivors who have witnessed his furniture transform into ferocious beasts. It will see everything devoured, and new instances will be born, and only this will be confirmed.

An endless wave of beasts, a natural disaster that will continue to spread if left unchecked. This is the beast tide.

"Understood. But," Ann's voice paused. "As for what to do with Her Royal Highness's guards, after all, being a member of the royal family can't be hasty. At least some of the men should be left to guard ......"

"No, the matter is directly in the hands of the consuls. Although there is a slight smell of conspiracy, the beast tide has appeared, and it is more priority than the vase royal family who don't know what to do. ”

Soon the others were out of the room because something was going on.

Looking at the empty room, Gesself looked thoughtful.