Fang Yu drank the cup of Elven Tears, but he didn't know how to drink, and immediately couldn't help coughing.

Sylvid hurriedly patted him on the back.

"This is your key, the room is on the second floor, go to the right along the stairs exit, there are six rooms in total," the innkeeper looked at it and shook his head, took out a key ring from under the counter, put it in front of the two of them, and said: "Nowadays, the number of adventurers left in the north is getting fewer and fewer day by day, a month earlier, you may not be able to find so many empty rooms." ”

Sylvid took the key and smiled at the other party, "Then it seems that we are lucky, but don't worry, this forest will come back to life once the winter is over." ”

"Excuse me, ma'am."

The two of them returned to the hall.

The guests whispered to each other, the adventurers wore long cloaks strong enough to withstand the cold, and even the natives wore coats large enough to cover half of their faces, and the dimly lit hall seemed to be carrying out a mysterious deal.

The space between the wooden tables twisted and turned, and the dark red stove flickered, and the light dragged the narrow shadows of the table legs and chair feet, undulating between the uneven stone floor. The others found an inconspicuous spot in the corner of the hall to stay here, and when they saw the two approaching, they hurriedly gave them a place.

Fang Yu pulled out the chair first, allowing Sylvid to sit down first. The aristocratic lady turned back and smiled at him.

Then Fang Yu himself pulled out a chair and sat down beside her. On the other side of him sat Luo Hao, a fat man from the military who was propping half of his body on the table very unsittingly, with a few pages of unclear light windows open in front of him, and the cold shimmer illuminated the other party's chubby face.

Luo Hao saw Fang Yu sitting down, so he straightened up, pointed to the light windows and said, "You came just in time, I probably figured out the origin of that 'temple'." ”

"Tell me about it."

"This 'Temple' was formerly an autonomous organization called the Ravental Guard, and it used to be active in the area around Charter City."

"Autonomous organization?"

Luo Hao nodded, "The Traveler's swamp in the north of Charter City has invaded the Egunn Forest, which is often an area infested with wild beasts and strange monsters, and since the force of Charter City is not enough to protect the suburbs, various autonomous organizations have emerged, among which the Crowclaw Guard is one of them. ”

Tianlan interjected at this time, "But I heard that Charter City is one of the four major cities in the north, Rodell, Elpahin, Charter City, and Gula Harbor, isn't such a big city enough to protect its surrounding countryside?" ”

Sylvester smiled and said, "Theoretically, this is not the case, but the kingdom's endless infighting has weakened its power at the local level, and in such a situation, the people living in the countryside can only seek to protect themselves." Such autonomous forces are not uncommon in the Northlands, and I've heard of a few in the past, but this is the first time I've heard of this 'Ravental Guard'. ”

Fang Yu motioned for Luo Hao to continue.

The dim light of the candle on a three-pronged candlestick tray provided all the lighting on the table, and the dim light reflected everyone's faces, Sky Blue and Kita listened attentively, Parker was absent-minded, Luo Yu lowered his head and thought about his thoughts, and the box picked and picked among the peas with a spoon.

Ai Xiaoxiao was drinking water with a cup in both hands, revealing a pair of curious eyes outside, although she had been a member of the Seven Seas Brigade for a while, it was still rare for her to go out on adventures with everyone.

Miss Maye sat quietly in her place, enjoying her lunch, slowly parting the bread, dipping it in water, and swallowing it slowly and methodically.

The knight lady did not seem to have any complaints about the harsh conditions, and looked at ease.

In front of Fang Yu were three wooden plates containing a few slices of black bread, a small piece of smoked fish, a glass of wine, and a plate of mashed potatoes and peas. Fang Yu picked up a piece of black bread and chewed it in his mouth, frowning - he had a toothache.

He looked back and saw that Sylvid was looking at the lunch in front of him a little helplessly, a little at a loss. She wasn't a very fussy person, but the bread had been stored for some time, and it was a little outrageously hard.

Fang Yu gently picked up the wooden plate in front of the other party, and then replaced his mashed potatoes.

Sylvid looked up and gave him a somewhat surprised look.

Fang Yu scratched his head: "...... Actually, I like this bread a lot, so we can eat it instead. ”

Sylvid blinked, a smile in her eyes, and nodded her head slightly.

Luo Hao looked at the two of them on the side, felt 10,000 critical hits, and couldn't help but say, "I said can you care about the feelings of a single dog?" ”

"Luo Hao, if you can lose weight, I think there will be girls who like you."

"I feel offended."

Heartbroken, Luo Hao reluctantly diverted the topic: "Let's go back to the topic, although it is because of the royal struggle, the contraction of the aristocratic forces in the area of Elpakhin and Charter City has given these local autonomy forces room to grow." However, it was the events that really contributed to the rise of the Raventals. ”

Fang Yu immediately reacted: "I guess it's what happened in Charter City. ”

Luo Hao gave him a thumbs up: "Smart, after Nicol Bolas destroyed Charter City, the northern part of Tarun was once in a state of chaos and disorder, and many local armed forces died out under the invasion of dragonbeasts, but only the Crowclaw Guard emerged and became the most prestigious local autonomous organization. ”

Fang Yu put down the hard toothy bread, a little surprised: "Suddenly emerged under the invasion of dragon beasts? ”

He had seen the strength of those knights in the square, but to be honest, a little weak.

“…… How did they do it? ”

Luo Hao replied, "Actually, it's nothing, it's just that the Ravental Guard is the strongest among all these autonomous organizations. ”

"The strongest?"

Fang Yu almost thought he had misheard.

"Yes, the strongest," Luo Hao nodded, "According to the information I found, the Crowclaw Guard has a strict internal organization, which is divided into four levels of organizational structure from top to bottom, the highest level is the Raven's Son, followed by the Caretaker, the Controller and the Gray Knight. ”

"The Raven's Son is also its sole leader, though it is almost never seen in the outside world, and only knows of such a person from the communications of the Ravental Guard's lower ranks. The four Guards are directly under his command, and are referred to as the Grey Feathers, as they are marked by grey crow feathers. Further down is the Patriarch of the Controllers, which is their internal designation, but is somewhat similar to the clergy of the regional bishops, and generally there will be at least one in each village, and there is one in Greyowl Town, codenamed Storm. And each patriarch was followed by a different number of gray knights, and these knights were also roughly divided into three ranks, the highest rank was called the Raven Knight, the middle rank was called the Feather Knight, and the lowest rank was called the Claw Knight, which is the one we saw in the square earlier. ”

When Tata heard the title of Son of the Raven, he couldn't help but raise his head.

And Fang Yu also frowned slightly.

Only then did he realize that this organization seemed to be much stronger than he had imagined.

If those knights before were only the most basic combat power of this organization, in the area of North Tower, at least the spear of the Silver Forest would definitely not have this level. Think about it, when he first met Wu Di and Liuliyue, how many levels was the other party? Anyway, there is definitely no fifteen or sixteen level.

But it was a little strange that there was such a powerful autonomous organization near Charter City, which he had never heard of before.

"This group used to be called the Crowpaws, have any of you ever heard of that?"

Luo Hao shook his head.

Fang Yu looked at the others again, and the others shook their heads as well—even Ji Ta.

This is somewhat interesting, like the Spear of the Silver Forest, the Oak Knights of Tapolis are also the Guild of the North, and Kita is still a naturalist, and she has never even heard of it, which is a bit unbelievable.

At this time, Luo Hao said again: "But in fact, in the communities of Gula Harbor, Elpahin and Charter City, there has been a lot of discussion about them recently, and you can see them at your fingertips. It's just that I looked it up and found that most of these discussions started half a year ago, which means that they should have been unknown before that. ”

He looked at Kita, "I guess that's probably why we've never heard of this organization at all—"

Fang Yu silently estimated the time.

"So after the fall of Charter City, the organization rose rapidly?"

"Let me correct you," Luo Hao replied, "To be exact, it shouldn't be called rising, it should be as bright as a meteor across the sky, which almost immediately attracted everyone's attention." ”

Fang Yu had never heard of such a bizarre thing, but he still thought of two possibilities at once.

One is that this organization has been hiding its strength in the past.

The second is that it has suddenly received support from a certain force behind it, and this force must continue to provide enough manpower and material resources in order for it to quickly have its current strength in a real short period of time.

And in the entire Tarun, there are actually not many forces with such strength.

Of course, the first possibility is almost certainly slim -

As for the second possibility, the answer can be obtained by elimination.

The Spear of the Silver Forest is definitely not good on its own, but the Rainbow Alliance behind it has this strength.

In the same way, the descendants of Flor can do the same.

In addition to the two giants of the Elector of the North, among the power of the natives, the Artisans of Elpahim, the Knights of the Silver Wind or the Archons should all have this strength.

But for these parties, what are the benefits of supporting such a force?

Therefore, the Rainbow Alliance must be excluded first, because Northern Tallen is the sphere of influence of the Rainbow Alliance, and they don't seem to be able to do so much. The second is the Fleur Descendants, although the Flor Descendants do have this motivation - to raise a force of their own in the rival's sphere of influence, for example.

It's just that Fang Yu suddenly remembered that he had seen the Spear of the Silver Forest in the square not long ago, and it seemed that the Spear of the Silver Forest should have cooperated with those knights. And at the very least, the two sides should not be in the relationship of enemies.

Fang Yu didn't think that the Rainbow Alliance would be fooled by the descendants of Flore, so this possibility could be roughly ruled out.

The rest of Elpahin's forces?

However, the Silverwind Knights and the city guards on the Prime Minister's side checked and balanced each other, and the two joined forces to monitor the Craftsmen's Guild and put the Lord under house arrest in the city, and neither of them seemed to have a chance to make a move.

What's more, he couldn't think of any need for these forces born from Elpahin to set up such a situation.

Unless, it's the adults themselves......

When Fang Yu thought of the situation in Elpahin, he couldn't help but think of His Royal Highness the Prince who was under house arrest in Elpahin.

Since the new king ascended the throne, he has been dragged by the prime minister's party on the pretext of Elpahim, but the south is his basic plate, will he want to leave from North Talon in a hurry?

Under such circumstances, muddying the waters north of Tarun seemed to be beneficial to His Highness the Prince's escape from this place. It's just that Fang Yu can't figure it out is that the other party has been under house arrest in Elpahin, under the strict guard of the Silver Wind Knights.

Does he really have the ability?

Reason told Fang Yu that he couldn't, but when he thought of the rumors of this adult in the past, it was difficult for him to be sure for a while.

There are people in this world who are called heroes, but there are people whose experiences are more legendary than heroes.

Even heroes are at their disposal—

Fang Yu had heard it with her own ears, and Princess Brian said that she owed the prince a favor. What's more, the last time, Her Royal Highness the Princess and Sylvid also successfully delivered the news from Elpahim, so it seems to show that His Royal Highness the Prince is not ignorant of the outside world in Elpahim?

Could it really be the layout of His Royal Highness the Prince?

"Speaking of which, what do the Electors and Native forces near Taren think about the rise of the Raventals?"

Kita suddenly opened her mouth.

"The northern realm is the traditional sphere of influence of the Rainbow Alliance, and Elpahim and Gula Harbor also have their own interests, even if there is a power vacuum after the destruction of Charter City, other local forces may not be happy to see a new force appear under their noses, right?"

"But the strange thing is," Miss Naturalist said in a slightly puzzled tone, "It seems that the Spear of the Silver Forest gets along well with those knights, what is going on here?" Gula Harbor was already close to the heart of the Rainbow Alliance's control, how could they watch the Raventals exert their influence in this area? ”

"I know a little bit about that." Luo Hao replied, "This has to start with the previous trial, which is actually one of the reasons why the Crowclaw Temple has developed to this extent today. After the fall of Charter City, creatures known as Shadow Men appeared all over Talen—"

When Fang Yu heard the word "shadow man", he couldn't help but raise his head, he had just heard this term from the innkeeper, and he didn't expect to discuss this creature again.

"Shadow Man?" The rest of the Seven Seas Brigade looked a little confused.

Luo Hao nodded, "These creatures have appeared a lot less recently, but a few months ago, they once caused great panic in the north. Because the shadow man has the ability to devour the souls of mortals, and can transform into the form of the person he devours, blending in with humans. Relying on this ability, they invaded the port of Gula at one point and nearly carried out a successful assassination of the consul of the port of Gula. Of course, the consul of Gura Harbor was lucky enough to escape, but even so, he lay in bed for two months. ”

"Even the Archon was almost poisoned by these monsters, and the situation of the others can be imagined, when almost the entire North was at a time when everyone was in danger, and everyone could not trust the people closest to them. But it was also at this time that the people of the Ravental Temple claimed that they had found a way to identify the Shadowmen—"

Tian Lan's eyes widened slightly: "So with this method, everyone has to cooperate with them and acquiesce to their existence?" Even the Rainbow Alliance, El Pahin and Port Gula? ”

She paused for a moment, and then said, "You mean, those people who were tried in the square before, they were all made of shadow people?" ”

"I don't know," Luo Hao replied, "Actually, it's not just me who doesn't know, but others may not know if those Nicol Bolas's minions unilaterally claimed by the Crowclaw Temple are really Shadow Artists." However, it cannot be ruled out that there is such a possibility, because what supports their statement is that the frequency of filmmakers has indeed become less and less in recent months. ”

Tianlan opened her mouth and glanced at the head of the regiment on the side a little cautiously, if you want to say this, then didn't they let go of the two shadow people before?

Fang Yu lowered his head, in fact, he had been thinking about this since before.

Those on trial did not look like dragon-worshippers in any way, much less like Nicol Bolas's minions. What's more, the dragon witch Nicol Bolas herself, whether it still exists at the moment is still a question, whether it is Miss Misu or Nicol Bolas, he still does not know.

And when it comes to filmmakers, he can't help but think of another thing. Those rumored filmmakers, he always felt that he had seen them somewhere.

He raised his head and asked Luo Hao, "You said 'Crowclaw Temple', what is the matter with this temple?" ”

There are many autonomous organizations in Aitalia, and even the Knights of the Silver Wind in Elpahin were once only a private armed force before they were absorbed by the Kingdom of Kaulin.

But whether it's a knighthood, a guild, or an adventuring group, few autonomous forces are called 'temples', because it's a term with strong religious overtones. It is most likely affiliated with an Orin deity - such as the Sanctuary of Life, the Sanctuary of Commerce, the Sanctuary of the Forest, or even the Sanctuary of War or the Sanctuary of the Traveler.

Of course, there are also those that do not belong to the gods of Orin, but those temples from the time of the Sinsas that exist in the era of the Sun Saints, which exist in the era of the Sun Saints, and are still believed in by some snake people and lizardmen, are two systems from the gods of Orin.

Other than that, it's a cult.

"That's what they call themselves," replied Luo Hao, "and since the destruction of Charter City, these knights have declared to the public that they believe in a storm god named Aidanrian. ”

Fang Ou was a little surprised, the god in charge of the storm, Aidan Rian? Is there such a god in the Orin lineage? How had he never heard such a name.

Of course, it is not unheard of in history to create a fictional god and deceive such a thing, but in a world where there are real gods, most of the time it will not end well. And Elpahim has a temple of life and a temple of commerce, and the followers of Mirera and Roman will not sit idly by and watch a gang of hypocrites illegally preach in the name of the gods of Orin?

At this moment, Miss Elf, who was kneeling at the table, finally spoke, and she spoke in a quiet tone, "Adrian, the god of ravens, there is indeed such a god in history, he was also one of the gods of Orin, but it is generally believed that he has fallen to the scourge of Athelin. After that, the deity had not appeared for quite a long time. ”

The Dead –

The term Fang Yu had only heard of in the past, and a deity still had followers long after his death, and these followers were called 'dead believers'. However, the life and death of a god is not always so easy to guess, and a god who has not responded to believers for thousands of years is not necessarily dead, let alone a god of death who has returned from that dead world.

"I have heard of this deity," replied Kita, "and his faith was once very common on the shores of the Scepter, and it is still practiced by many people there." However, unlike other dead believers, many of Adrian's followers did not think that their god had died, but that he had simply fallen into an eternal sleep. ”

She thought for a moment, and then replied, "Adrian, the god of storms, whose emblem is a one-eyed raven, because the legendary one-eyed raven holds the power of thunder, so it also has a lightning bolt on its claws—his followers worship black and white, the color of black storms, and white is the color of lightning. ”

"That's right," Alice asked, "and do the knights out there believe that Adrian is alive or dead?" ”

……

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