The Duchy of Byrne, in the middle of the lake, a small church in an unknown fishing village.

As the midsummer morning sun shines on the crystal clear Silver Mirror Lake, fishermen walk to the small church next to the village, and the humble stone gate is already full of worshippers ready to pray.

Of course, it is impossible for the small fishing village to have so many believers, many of whom are residents of the surrounding villages and towns, and some of them even wear gold and silver, and are richly dressed—from the city in the middle of the lake on the other side of the lake before the sun rises, just to catch a short morning lecture.

The young clergyman with the scriptures in his hand stood behind the pulpit, his black robe washed to gray and white, with a few patches.

Sleepy-eyed, he still had the same smile on his lips as usual, greeting familiar believers cordially, and more admirers were shocked by the priest's age.

At the moment when he stepped onto the podium, an old man who was quite excited suddenly got up.

"Excuse me......?!"

In the next second, when he found that the eyes of the people around him were looking at him, the old man suddenly realized that he was the only one standing in the church, and he was instantly at a loss and in a dilemma.

The young priest was startled at first, then smiled and raised his hand: "It's all right, old man, if you have anything to say, please tell me - the Holy Cross has asked us servants to walk on the ground on his behalf to answer the questions of the faithful." ”

"Please, excuse me......" The old man swallowed, his eyes flashing with disbelief shock: "Do you really think that wizards can also be blessed by the gods and become believers in the Holy Cross?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a boo inside and outside the church—almost everyone shook their heads with a "that's what he asked" expression on their faces.

The priest smiled and waved his hand, first signaling the rest of the faithful to be quiet.

"Well, although you're the twenty-fourth person this month to answer this question for me, but... I don't think you're going to give up unless I tell you why to your face. Smiling helplessly, the priest solemnly lowered his head:

"Yes. ”

"Why?!"

The priest smiled at first, and met the old man's eyes gently.

"I believe the reason you ask 'why' is because the wizards have some mysterious knowledge and have said something that seems to you to be very rebellious, contrary to the holiness of the Holy Cross Heaven in your heart, so you are asking why. ”

The old man was stunned for a moment, and then nodded violently.

"So, do you know Brandon I?"

"Sage Emperor, of course you know!"

"He was consecrated as a saint by the Church of the Holy Cross. But it was the wise, pious, and virtuous Brandon who gave wizards all the rights they deserved as citizens of the Empire. The young priest said softly, "His Majesty Eckhart II has added the position of 'Royal Wizard Advisor' to the cabinet. ”

"Why, because they have knowledge that we don't know, because the Holy Cross teaches us that curiosity is not something terrible, it's really terrible... It is arrogant and arrogant ignorance. ”

The whispers, like waves crashing on the reef, silenced the whole church.

"In the past, there was a notion that true believers must be illiterate, uneducated, and living in the countryside all their lives... They are the true lambs of the Holy Cross. ”

I don't deny that these believers are simple and kind, but this statement is obviously biased. The young priest paused slightly: "Because it regards learning as a sin." ”

"But how can we, who are mediocre, understand the will of the Holy Cross by studying?!" retorted the old man again.

"We can't understand the Holy Cross, never will. The young priest shook his head, and a calm voice sounded in the church: "But we can learn to understand ourselves." ”

"By studying, one can understand the terrible sins of extravagance, extravagance, and greed, and the terrible poisoning of the spirit of too much wealth and erosive pleasures."

"It also enables us to distinguish right from wrong, to understand things, to answer doubts, and to teach lessons, for a good believer must be polite, loving one's family, and being kind to one's friends."

"It is through study that we can understand how blessed it is to be born as a man and not as a beast, and to be a lamb favored by the Holy Cross;

Not only do we live in happiness, but we also know how happy we are by comparing ourselves with wild animals and birds. ”

"That's what learning is all about, always... There is never a knowledge in this world that is full of iniquity, and the sinners are always the ignorant and arrogant and ignorant who abuse and misuse knowledge. ”

"Ignorance... is the most terrible sin. ”

The old man's expression was shocked, but he still refused to sit down: "This is the will of the Holy Cross?!"

"That's my understanding. The young priest shook his head and smiled implicitly: "As for the will of the Holy Cross... Maybe I can't get a glimpse of it all my life. ”

"But at least through my studies, I realized clearly... He is ignorant and guilty. ”

As soon as the words fell, it was like a flame falling into a pan of oil, causing an uproar in the church!

Newcomers, old people, locals and out-of-towners... Almost immediately, the believers split into two distinct factions, angrily scolding at the other side, and only because they were in the church did not dare to resort to fists and kicks.

Faced with the noisy and noisy church, the young clergyman still did not care, and stood behind the pulpit intently sorting out the scriptures, oblivious to everything around him, as if he had become accustomed to it.

Right now......

"Bang ————!"

There was a muffled bang, and the church door was slammed open.

The noise immediately stopped, and just as everyone was still unaware of what was happening, a group of guards in armor and carrying spears and shields suddenly poured in, flooding the water surrounding the church.

There was a moment of dead silence, and the faces of the believers who looked at each other almost immediately showed a look of horror and uneasiness.

The equally stunned young clergyman stood on the podium, looking bewildered.

"What's going on, what are they going to do?!"

I don't know where the words sounded, and the church that was still in doubt just now immediately resounded with a violent storm!

"I know these people, they are the church guards of Byrne Cathedral, from the Red Blood Castle!"

"Who brought them in?!"

"Coming from the cathedral, could it be that you're here to catch the priest?!"

"Which bastard told the secret, if you have the courage to sue, you have the courage to stand up!"

"Your Excellency, I am the Baron of the City of the Lake, the tax collector of the Count of Rammales, and I assure you that there is absolutely no problem with this priest!"

"And me! I'm the City Guard of Stormwind, and I can vouch for you in the name of our Earl Grenwell!"

...... Instead of fleeing, the noisy, questioning, shouting, panicked believers confronted the guards who blocked the church, and several nobles, who were clearly knights, stood on either side of the pulpit, as if they were the "guards" of the little priest.

"That's the end of the farce. ”

A sigh rang out from outside the door.

Almost at the same time, the guards on either side of the gate moved out of the way, and a middle-aged man in a blood-red gold-rimmed clergyman's uniform walked into the small chapel, the muddy floor leaving little place for the elkskin boots to stay.

Glancing at the mud on the hem of his clothes and boots, the middle-aged man who frowned slightly took out a lake-blue silk scarf handkerchief from his arms, wiped the sweat from his forehead with a sigh, and the jewel cross on his neck shook loudly.

Raising his head, the middle-aged man's gaze inadvertently touched the young priest, so he smiled a little embarrassedly: "...... Good morning. ”

"Good morning, Sylvik. The young priest nodded, smiled and waved his hand to the believers around him: "Don't be nervous, this is Deacon Sylvik of the Imperial Capital Cathedral, the right-hand man of Archbishop Innocent, and he will definitely not hurt everyone." ”

Soft words, nothing works.

The feud between the Duke of Byrne and the church has long been no secret among the people and nobles of Byrne - who knows whose orders and calculations this "deacon" from the imperial capital is.

"That's right, as the plenipotentiary of Archbishop Innocent, I will never hurt you - in fact, we are still very close friends. ”

The middle-aged man smiled as he gestured between himself and the young priest, his gaze inadvertently falling on an old man in front of him, his wrinkled face squeezing out a smirk.

"But first, please allow me to solve some personal problems......" Frowning slightly, the middle-aged man took out a money bag from his clothes and threw it to the old man:

"Thirty gold coins, a reward for you - we say well, the servants of the Holy Cross will not deceive anyone. ”

"Thank you! Thank you! I will ...... Wait, what are you doing here?!stop! stop!"

Suddenly, the old man, who was twenty years younger, caught the money bag that had fallen from the air with astonishing speed, and quickly stuffed it into his arms, and before he could raise his head, two guards directly lifted him up and dragged him out of the church door.

"The servants of the Holy Cross do not deceive anyone, but neither will they spare any sinner who dares to deceive and frame the good. ”

Glancing in disgust at the old man who was dragged out by the guards, the middle-aged man deliberately said loudly: "Malicious accusations, slander of the clergy - repent in the dungeon with what little life you have left, untouchable!"

As the words fell, Deacon Sylvik, who sighed, turned around and turned his gaze back at the young priest.

The atmosphere inside the church not only did not ease, but became more and more cold.

Far from letting their guard down, the "decisive" deacon became more nervous, and the nobles who gathered around the young priest tensed their nerves and clutched the hilt of their swords at their waists.

"I said it was almost time for the farce to end. ”

Deacon Sylvik looked around and sighed helplessly again: "Devotional members of the Holy Cross, are you going to kidnap our esteemed bishop so that he cannot go to Byrne Cathedral to complete the oath ceremony?"

Well?!

Bishop?!

The church was quiet again, but the believers, who had been shocked and angry just now, were looking at each other with different expressions, not knowing what to do.

"Hey, Sylvik, you're joking, aren't you?" the young priest, who was stunned for a minute before reacting, stammered:

"It must be a joke, how can a priest who has just finished his probationary period and has never held any priesthood in the cathedral ......"

"No, that's true—more real than real money. Looking at him deeply, Deacon Sylvik said in a deep voice: "To be honest, I still don't know exactly what happened, but I did get this order from the archbishop, and the letterhead has the seals of the archbishop and the Duke of Byrne, and I can't be wrong." ”

"You received your nomination for the Byrne Cathedral a day ago, twenty-seven hours to be exact, and the three hundred voting priests of the Byrne Church voted overnight, and three hundred votes passed unanimously, and all of them unanimously elected you as the new Bishop of Byrne!"

"Then it's up for you to go to the Crimson Castle, meet with the Duke of Byrne, and take the oath of office at Byrne Cathedral to receive the scepter, ribbon, crown, and ring... You're truly and truly the Bishop of Byrne. ”

There was a dead silence in the church.

"I—I still can't believe it... I'm a little ordinary clergyman... How could it be ......"

"Believe it or not, he's true. Deacon Sylvik looked a little impatient, sighed again, and handed over a delicate crescent white letterhead:

"This is a letter from the Duke of Byrne, with the seal of Archbishop Innocent on it—if you still don't want to believe it, we can go directly to the Red Blood Castle and confront His Excellency Loren Turin, Duke of Byrne. ”

The moment he heard the name of the black-haired wizard, the young priest's expression darkened visibly.

"Fellow believers, please get out of the way. Deacon Sylvik coughed lightly and became serious: "The carriage is already waiting outside the door, please be sure to arrive at the cathedral before tomorrow morning to meet with the Duke and take the oath." ”

"Can we wait a little longer?" the young priest struggled, "I—I think I might need some time to ......"

"I can wait, Duke Byrne can wait, so can the archbishop—but Byrne can't, and the believers of Byrne can't. ”

Deacon Sylvik shook his head and looked to the sides pointedly: "The bishop has been vacant for three years, how long are you prepared to make these simple and kind believers who trust you and love you wait?"

The young priest struggled for nearly a minute, and finally sighed heavily.

Overwhelmed camels, the last straw was put on them.

The guards moved out of the way, and the confronting believers retreated to both sides of the church, freeing up a wide passageway.

"May the Holy Cross bless you and bless you. Deacon Sylvik, who looked respectful, bowed his head and said in a loud voice:

"Mentor of the Lambs, Mentor of the Land of Knights, Incarnation of the Saints, Bishop of Byrne......"

“...... The most devout of all, Lord Weber!"