The horses galloped, the scenery kept flying backwards, and the wind whistled in my ears. The sound of hooves is as dense as raindrops, the speed is blurred, and the trees, houses, and fields along the road seem to be separated by a curtain of rain, and it is impossible to see it realistically. The dirt beneath your feet is like a flowing river, winding in and out from afar, and then rushing away. A green hill rose on the horizon, and halfway up the hill sat a beautiful castle of sky blue, above which a white thundercloud was suspended, in which golden lightning danced and holy white light sprinkled over the earth.

It was the Holy Three Castle, the southernmost point of the Sunset Mountains, on the border between the Duchy of Aria and Feinberg. The mountain on which the Blue Castle is located, and the forty-mile radius at the foot of the mountain, are under the jurisdiction of the Church, a land of abundance and abundance, as is the case with the two nations on either side of the border. It's just that a prolonged confrontation can lead to desolation, and ordinary people who want peace try their best to get into the areas administered by the Church—obviously, this creates disparities and contrasts.

The road along the eastern side of the mountain has always been well maintained, but only paladins can run on it. Didriet and her elven friends moved fast, and no centaur could compete with them. The inns that made money by providing resting services to travelers on the road rejoiced in listening to the sound of horses' hooves, and could hardly hide their disappointment in sending them away. "What are these elves doing? My grapes/apples/pear wine are so sweet!"

Unfortunately, despite the abundance of orchards along the way, each farm has its own character, each inn has its own welcoming hosts and delicious cuisine, and every lake, river valley and mountain forest has beautiful views, none of them can compare to the Holy Three Castle. It is a city built on a hill, backed by a lush green mountain, built of hard boulders taken from the belly of the mountain, and it is said that only the power of the gods can shake its solid foundation, and only the sky is the only limit of this castle.

From the top of the hill to the bottom of the mountain, a huge wall stretches to protect the Holy Three Castle in the middle. The walls of the city are magically used, and the height of the attacker changes according to the size of the attacker, and both human bandits and giants will be suppressed in the same way. Such a wall has a total of five layers, and the magic used is more complex than the first. The innermost layer of the Guardian Hub, although it looks the thinnest and can only be passed by a single horse, is said to be able to turn into a wall of thunder, which can not only strike at the mortal world, but also cross the barriers of space to prevent threats from trying to sneak into hell or the abyss.

Most of the 180,000 inhabitants of the city work on farms at the foot of the mountains, and some live in the cities, working as craftsmen to provide services to the church. Originally, the size of the city could continue to grow, but in order to avoid irritating the two warring countries not far away, the Holy Three Castle chose to operate in a relatively conservative manner. This time, the Model Leader will be established, and the Holy Three Castle will take the opportunity to disperse about 60,000 residents and enrich them into each Model Leader, continuing to reduce the number of residents in the city. This doesn't make the city any less fortified, as militia is never used here, and the high-ranking knights and priests in the center of the church are the main force in battle.

At noon, the seven men and seven horses passed through the wall gate at the foot of the hill and continued up the mountain road, passing through three more gatecards to enter the castle area. For hundreds of years, no one had been able to breach a single fortress gate, and even the mighty red dragon of eighty years ago had only left a scorched black mark on the city walls before being shot. The paladins and priests stationed at the Holy Trinity Castle were full of pride in their hearts for their victory, but they never boasted that the castle would not fall - and because of this, it would not fall.

"Ellenita, you take care of the horses and are ready to go. I went to the church with others. Didrite straightened her wind-blown hair, and her fingers gently stroked the emblem of the Thunder Cross on the front of the breastplate. "The Goddess has given me strength," she said, and strode to the Catholic House on the right side of the square, holding the hilt of her sword.

There were many people coming and going, and the rank and class could be seen from the emblem on the priest's chest, and the paladin's medallion and shoulder armor could be distinguished. However, in the Holy Three Castle, the only thing that needs to be paid tribute is the goddess of truth and thunder, and there is no need to grovel between people and believers. When acquaintances meet, there is no difference between greeting each other with farmers in the fields and villages, except that "go for a drink together" becomes "how about going to pray together". Didlett had urgent business to do, and this time she didn't even have to say hello, so she kept a serious expression on her face and pushed open the door to the office of Archbishop Mackintosh of the "Heart of the Word".

Half-elf, half-elf, with no hair and a curly blond beard, Mackintosh has just crossed the threshold of seventy this year, but he is already a legend among the priests of the Word, and he has single-handedly persuaded three blue dragons to break away from primitive superstition and become believers in the goddess of truth and thunder. The three blue dragons had been standing guard in the mountains behind the Holy Three Castles, and they were both guilty of ruining the archbishop's hair and proud of it, after all, it was the only time Archbishop Mackintosh came to defeat. Today, Archbishop Mackintosh is the first person responsible for the Word Center of the Holy Trinity Castle, and is also responsible for overseeing the affairs of the model leader.

"Knock, remember to knock next time. Mackintosh glanced back, then beckoned, "Didlett is back again? ”

"Still playing with mud?" Didlette walked around the large table with paper scrolls next to the door, jumped over the rolled-up old carpet, and stood shoulder to shoulder with the archbishop. In front of her was a large wooden platform, in which only a topographic map was made of clay, thin iron rods, and wood chips. The fortresses of the Sunset Mountains, the Duchy of Aria and the towns of Feinberg are all marked on them, and the main rivers, lakes and roads are all marked on them.

"Tell me, what do you think?" said the archbishop, who had just finished his work and was wiping the mud from his hands with a rag. "I rode the Mashadi around the sky several times and froze my hair to the point that it was done. ”

"I don't care about your hair, I'm just always curious why your beard is so strong as a half-elf? Dedewlett narrowed her eyes and looked at the topographical map for a while: "Hmm...... There was a place that was not quite right, the hill was low, and the fortress should be on a higher position. ”

"Where? Ice Peak Fortress? Oh, I remember you went with Bishop Nathaniel last year, so you should be right. The archbishop looked at it and shook his head: "From the sky, the position will not be wrong, but there will be some problems in the height, but unfortunately I don't have time to walk around and have a look." Di Li, is there anything wrong with you coming to me in a hurry?"

"I'm going to apply for a territory, and it's right there. The Elven Paladin drew his sword and drew a rough line in the direction of the Ice Peak Fortress and its northeast. "I just came back from there, and I've got the consent of Pastor Kiplin, this is the paperwork for Icepeak Fortress. Their Divine View Great Prophecy Ceremony was attended by me, and I took over the area as the lord. ”

The archbishop took the scroll, opened it, looked at it carefully, and then pondered. He paced around the room, then walked to his desk and opened the normative document for establishing the Model Collar, studied it carefully for a while, and then nodded: "Since the Ice Peak Fortress has made its choice, and the Great Prophecy Ritual will not be affected, then it is completely procedurally okay, I can approve it." But can you tell me who came up with the idea? I'm curious. ”

"I went to Icechorn Fortress last winter and met a few friends there, one of whom was called Feige Snowman Icepeak, formerly known as Feige Hale, who came up with it. ”

"Hall, is it from the Templar House of Hale?" Archbishop Mackintosh frowned, returning to the mud map to look. "Strange, it doesn't make sense. Why don't the people of the Hall family like to be their lord, but are willing to serve you?Deedlet, you can get a snack, I remember that Feige of the Hall family is greedy and lustful, don't he have any intentions for you. ”

Didrite raised her eyes to look at the ceiling, her mind going through all the memories of Feige. "I didn't see him thinking about that...... But don't worry, if he behaves like that, I'll break his leg. ”

"You don't have to do that, normal behavior is also human nature. My parents' relationship has always been very good, but unfortunately the difference in life expectancy is too big, and the grief left for one party is too long. The archbishop coughed, "Heh, what am I telling you about this?" Getting back to the point, you can decide on your territory now, just send someone to sit in on the lord's meeting, and the key is to start acting early. But ......"

The archbishop thought for a moment and said, "The two large areas are the main body of each lord's jurisdiction, but there are some small plots that are adjusted, mainly for the sake of fairness to each other. You chose the big piece first, what about the small piece?"

"It's good if you can give it to me, and if you can't, it's better to leave it blank, that is, according to the dispute between the two parties, and don't take it at all. Anyway, my territory will definitely be better than the surrounding ones, and everyone will choose ours. ”

"Oh, so confident? I think this Feige Hale must have given you some other ideas, right?

"Each lord can receive some support from the Church, in addition to the authorized instruments. Feige calls this start-up capital – he always has a fresh vocabulary. He made a list and asked for these things. ”

So, the archbishop had in his hand an extra parchment scroll, filled with beautiful elven writing, which looked pleasing to the eye. "Feige's lingua franca was so ugly and messy that I copied it. Didrite said.

"Farm implements, farmer, carpenter, stonemason...... These are all normal, after all, castles and new villages are to be built. But you want so many magic potatoes and purifying turnips, what, do you want to grow them yourself?"

"Yes, that's the plan. There is little land in the mountains, so I will plant this. ”

"What about purification? The unpurified cannot be eaten, because it has the curse of the devil in it. ”

"Feige is a confession of atonement priest who can perform atonement purification rituals. I will supervise the rituals, and the Sacred Heart can also send someone to supervise the food and ensure that the food is purified. ”

"Feige is a confession priest, is this certified? and wait, he wants to use the ritual of atonement on the magic potato? ...... This...... This ......"

He discovered the combination of the seven runes and seals, solved the puzzle of the goddess's bracelet, and thus became the priest of atonement and confession, and the goddess sent an angel of light to assist him. Maybe it's because the Ice Peak Fortress is mainly managed by the Holy Body, and some of the documents haven't been reported here yet, right?"

Archbishop Mackintosh touched his bald head. "From the perspective of divine rituals, atonement is much more advanced than purification, and it is wasteful to use it on magic potatoes, but ...... The effect is there. Hehe, he's going to hold an atonement ceremony for the magic potato, so he's going to be busy! He's going to have to get it one by one! Haha, I suddenly want to see it. ”

Do you have to come one by one?Duddlet's mind came to Feige picking up a potato and talking to it cordially, asking it what sins to confess and what curses to dissolve...... It was so funny.

But would Feige do that? Didlet shook her head, agreeing that Feige was very clever, if not cunning, and that he had always tried to solve the problem at hand, such as dragging her to hunt griffons. Didriet made up her mind that she must be optimistic about Feige when the time comes, and she can't let him be lazy. Purification is no joke, and the devil's curse must not hurt anyone.

"I read the list, there is nothing wrong with these things you want, but they are all converted into things, and there are too few gold coins, so you will be short of money. But...... Anyway, it's all a test, just come on. The archbishop smiled: "Didlet, this matter is settled, and I will prepare the paperwork for you." Do you want to give your territory a name?"

"Minas Isil," said Didlet, "I love the moon, and it is called the City of the Moon." ”