The body seemed to be drained of strength, and there was still a spasmodic labor pain in the chest, and the stimulation of the nerves again and again seemed to tear itself apart completely.

"You're awake. ”

The cold voice was less like an inquiry, more akin to a calm narrative of a fact.

The Guardian Knight struggled to open his eyes, his blurred vision gradually focusing on the figure in front of him. After confirming the identity of the other party, he shifted his gaze and looked around.

Withered yellow weeds, a few dying trees, and an open wilderness nearby, with a town built around a hill not far away.

Here it is... On the outskirts of Crucible?

Farnesis was sitting beside him, holding an open copy of the Holy Cross, his right index finger pressed against the yellowed page, as if he were praying early morning.

At this time, the bishop had already taken off the golden red bishopric and changed into a shabby and faded pure black clerical robe, with a wooden Holy Cross pendant hanging from his chest, and the wide hood almost completely covered his face, and he could only faintly see the expressionless face under the hood.

With a soft sigh, the guard knight struggled to his feet, and his memory seemed to remain in the moment before he fell unconscious:

"I have lost, Lord Fanecis, and even with the blessing of the Holy Cross, I have lost to the blasphemer. ”

"It doesn't matter. Fanecis did not raise his head, his eyes still fixed on the Holy Cross in his hand: "Loren Turin is a very dangerous enemy, an enemy who is good at deception and disguise, and he cannot be overly cautious in the face of him, but he is not our target—at least for now, he is not. ”

"But he recognized me, and was with His Highness Brandon de Salion, and they were also preparing to go to the Broken Mountain Fortress. ”

The Guard Knight frowned slightly: "If this is true, this dangerous blasphemer will definitely become an obstacle to you, just like at Ebolden." ”

"Then he will be the test of the Holy Cross for us. Fanesis's tone was still as flat as water:

"Faith without setbacks and grinds is worthless. ”

"Rest a little longer, and stay until dawn before you're on your way. Fanesis whispered, "It's still a long way from Forgetown to Broken Mountain Fortress. Winter is coming, and we don't have much time. ”

The Escort Knight was silent.

"What do you want to say?"

"I have never doubted your piety and your choices, Lord Fanesis. The Guard Knight spoke slowly, "Not once." ”

"But this time, you're going somewhere...... Northern. ”

Fanecis closed the Holy Cross in his hand and slowly looked up:

"Are you scared?"

"Never. The knight's eyes were still resolute: "I am the one who made the oath of the 'Sword of Oath', and I am ready to sacrifice for the Holy Cross anytime and anywhere!"

"Then you should be afraid, because the Holy Cross is watching us all the time, testing us – sometimes it is not as simple as sacrifice, but it makes you face your faith. ”

"Face toe... Faith?"

The knight of the guard bit at those two words.

"Even death is so pale in the face of such trials—when you have to resort to the forces of evil, when what you see and hear is completely contrary to your beliefs, when you can't even prove that what you believe in is an absolutely transcendent being, and perhaps not even the embodiment of justice and light, as you think......"

"Will you still defend your faith wholeheartedly and without mind?"

Fanesis's voice was incomparably slow, and his meaningful eyes fixed on the eyes of the knight of the guard for a long time—it was definitely not a question or guidance, but more like a search for an answer.

After a moment, the hesitant guard knight nodded solemnly and replied wordlessly.

"I will always be ready to sacrifice for the Holy Cross. The Guardian Knight paused, also falling into some kind of thought: "But I'm afraid not all believers think so, especially those... Everyman. ”

That's why we can't tell them the whole truth – faith must be blind, and too much knowledge will only lead them to lose their way in ignorance and arrogance. ”

For this reason, all sources of confusion and confusion must be erased as much as possible, and too much mercy will only allow the glory of the Holy Cross to be questioned, opposed, and understood by their self-righteousness. ”

"Erasing the mess is what we're going to do. ”

Slowly getting up, his eyes turned to the horizon that had gradually brightened in the distance, and the corners of Fanesis's mouth trembled slightly under the hood:

"It's time to go. ”

Seeing the figure of him preparing to leave, the guard knight who remembered something suddenly raised his head: "Lord Farnesis!"

The priest turned back silently, waiting for his question.

"About the question just now. The Guard Knight licked his chapped lips:

"Have you ever ...... Have you ever faced your own beliefs?"

The expressionless Farnesis paused, then made a gesture that seemed very strange to the Guardian Knight:

He clutched his right arm tightly and stared at his bandaged right wrist, his burning gaze as if it could penetrate everything:

"My trial... Never stopped!"

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

For Crucible Town and Crucible Academy, yesterday's night was longer than a year.

After the Dean was forcibly arrested by Brandon de Salion, and with the help of clues Isaac found from the books and archives, the soldiers of the Guard recovered a large amount of "non-existent" supplies from the warehouse, large enough to arm an entire legion, which was jaw-dropping.

What made them "dumbfounded" was not that the dean was actually corrupt - many of the workshop foremen and the tutors of the academy did not seem to be surprised at this in the slightest, and even had been aware of it for a long time, but they did not know exactly what the exact amount was.

What is really terrifying is that His Royal Highness Brandon de Salion actually found evidence from the mountains of accounts and archives just overnight, and even the specific location of all the "blacklisted" materials!

Of course, they didn't know that there was a mysterious genius in this world like Isaac Grantham, who was so talented that he could memorize the entire library in just one day, and it was impossible to imagine that His Highness Brandon had doubted them from the beginning.

The asymmetry of information coupled with the unintentional calculation and unintentional calculations made these honest Sakran people in Crucible Town be ruthlessly "pitted" by their Royal Highness the Prince.

As for the dean, Brandon didn't really plan to do anything to him - after all, the other party was still a vassal of the imperial brother in law, and if he really gouged out other people's eyes, I am afraid it would be difficult to say.

But this was just Brandon's plan according to his current situation, after all, this highness once set the big living people on the earthen plane, and he couldn't do anything in the world...... It's really rare.

Naturally, the job of interrogating and getting him to confess fell to Loren.

"First of all, let me state that this is not a request from me, but a job that His Highness Brandon has forced into me. ”

Looking at the dean who was shackled in front of him, the black-haired wizard who sat down reminded "kindly": "I believe you also understand - this has been a carefully prepared plan from the beginning, and now we have enough evidence to convict you, so there is no point in dwelling on it any longer, can you just do it?"

The dean stared coldly at the black-haired wizard with a look of disdain.

Why don't they cry when they don't see the coffin? With a sigh in his heart, Loren flipped his right hand over the dagger, and the tip of the knife stopped steadily less than a centimeter in front of his right eye.

"Please don't drain my patience, Your Excellency. Loren gradually lowered his voice: "I'll give you one last chance, confess!"

"If you really think that His Highness Brandon de Salion would not dare to kill you, then you are really very wrong—I saw it with my own eyes when he hanged those free nobles at Ebonden, and I need to tell you what the deaths of those people are?"

"Confession, I'm a loyal courtier of the de Salion family, why do I want to confess?!" the dean sneered, not even afraid of the tip of the knife aimed at the eyeball: "I can see that Brandon thinks I'm helping his brother deal with him, right?!"

"Brandon... Your Highness. Loren, whose tone was cold, slowly retracted his knife: "Please pay attention to your wording. ”

"Wording, you're a bunch of idiots!" the dean remained dismissive, "I can assure you that Crucible has always been a loyal servant of House de Salion, and we have never assisted any prince of House de Salion against another. ”

"And who is your enemy?" Loren stared at him.

The dean sneered:

"It's the Church of the Holy Cross!"