Saidan Dasohan strode across the corner, then stopped suddenly. He stared ahead, his brow furrowed.

On a normal day, this is not too late for a city. The streets are still bustling with people who are happy to meet, talk, take a walk, or enter the church for a simple evening prayer in the square in front of the church. They knew that the Light and her priest were pleased with everyone who came, and that was exactly what happened.

But tonight the road to the cathedral was unusually silent and empty. Da Sohan walked all the way, but rarely saw a human figure. It was as if people were suddenly reluctant to stay on the street, but the taverns on the side of the road were bustling with people, and the bright and warm lights accentuated the coolness of the outside.

He was silent for a long time, but finally continued to take a step. The heavy boots slammed loudly on the gravel path, gradually lowered as they climbed the stairs, and finally became silent in the soft red carpet laid out in the church.

Dassaulthan walked around the cloister to the main hall and saw that it was as empty as the streets. There were no people who came to pray, no pastors who whispered to discuss, and no busy apprentices. There were only two people here, one standing in front of the cross in contemplation, the other sitting in the back seat near the doorway. The latter, keenly aware of Da Sohan's arrival, turned his head. After recognizing him, the man smiled silently and waved his hand for him to come and sit down.

Da Sohan glanced at the contemplative figure in front of him, and responded to the call as quietly as he could. They sat side by side, shoulder to shoulder. Although this was because the person sitting here had miscalculated the space his companion needed, it must be admitted that the distance was reassuring.

"You don't look very happy."

After a moment of silence, Da Sohan's companion whispered.

He didn't say anything more, but it was undoubtedly a tactful inquiry. Da Sohan hesitated to answer, but thinking about the reason for all this, he still spoke his mind.

"Here...... The streets are deserted. ”

His companion was puzzled. It was then that Dassaulthan remembered that the other party rarely visited the city. He explains: "The inhabitants of Stratholme usually gather in front of the church to spend the evening. ”

— but not tonight.

His companion smiled easily and easily, "They'll be here tomorrow night." ”

His nonchalant attitude surprised Da Sohan a little, and he couldn't help but raise his voice to express his seriousness: "It's not as simple as you think, Alexander. ”

"On the contrary, my brother." Alexandros Mograini replied calmly, "It's that you're thinking too much." ”

Da Sohan was about to argue with the other party, but then the man who was meditating at the cross raised his head, and his majestic voice passed through the auditorium: "All right, you two, come to me. ”

The two paladins immediately shut their mouths like children who were discovered by their parents when they were whispering, and obediently came to their leader. Uther glanced at them sternly with iron-gray eyes, and then spoke in his usual slow, forceful tone, "It seems that you too are being troubled by today's judgment. ”

Da Sohan was about to say a few words of justification, but Alexandros didn't give him a chance to speak.

"It's really troubling." "Especially when I'm sitting on the jury," he said calmly, "especially when I'm sitting on the jury, and the nobles here are about to see me through." ”

The innocent man, who had just gone out for a walk but was temporarily caught in the top jar, spread his hands and complained to Uther: "If you really need someone to fill the vacancy, why can't you let me be the judge while you sit on the jury with the big guys?" ”

The seasoned paladin poked indifferently, "And then let you acquit Tirio along with that orc?" ”

"Why not?"

"—Alexandros!" Da Sohan's eyebrows were almost raised to his hair, "The people of the city are already confused about the outcome of the trial. What would they think if we released that orc again? ”

The Light recognized Tirio's actions as correct, a conclusion that shocked many paladins and made it even more difficult for the populace to understand. They don't delve into the symbolism of it, because no one wants to think that an orc is innocent. They can only worry about why the Light would choose to tolerate an executioner and a traitor, and does that mean that the Light no longer shelters them as it used to?

And the idea of the aristocracy went further. When faith and law conflict, how do they choose, and how do the paladins of the Silver Hand choose?

Da Sohan saw these hidden vacillations and subtle hostilities very clearly. That's why he hurried to the message as soon as he received it. Whether or not Uther and his colleagues noticed this, it was necessary for him to remind and discuss the appropriate measures.

"What will they think?" Alexandros repeated, his eyes sparkling, "What did the nobles think when we announced that the descendants of commoners could also become priest apprentices? What did the king and the judges think when we allowed the thief, the bastard, to step into the church to receive the blessing? What do the soldiers think when we put down the sacred texts and take up arms and go to battle? ”

"What these people thought then is what Stratholme thinks now. What these people think now will be what Stratholme thinks in the future. ”

Whatever they think, the Light agrees only with the truth. And it is our responsibility to guide them, to understand them as much as we do, and to practice the will of the Light. ”

Dassaulthan pondered for a moment, still unable to accept such remarks. He shook his head helplessly, "That sounds like Tirio's tone. ”

"That's exactly what he said."

“……”

Uther frowned, interrupting the awkward atmosphere.

"The people will approve of our actions because they know that the Light forgives one criminal does not mean that it will tolerate all crimes. While we accept the penitents, we will also protect them from the unrepentant wicked," he muttered, "but the orcs are different. They are bloodthirsty, brutal, and shameless. No orc seeks peace, they are complacent about their atrocities and hungry for more. That's why we're separating these beasts from the populace. ”

"Tirio should understand that what the Light approves of is his noble act of keeping his promises, not the harmlessness of the orcs."

There was a thoughtful look on the faces of the listeners. But Uther had called them here for another purpose. Instead of going on at length, he handed them a letter: "Look at this. ”

Dassaulthan took and unfolded the paper, reading it quickly with Alexandros. It didn't take long, and when they looked up again, shock, anger, and frustration replaced their bewilderment.

Let the pastor delve into the doctrine, and let the church pacify the people. Evil is now rampant, and they, as protectors of the Kingdom and weapons of the Light, should be alert and act!

"Say it." Uther motioned for them to speak, "Tell me what you think. ”

Da Sohan rubbed his fingers against the handwriting on the letter, and took the lead in speaking cautiously: "Judging from the choice of words and sentences, and the format, it looks like a military report. Ordinary paper is used. These bumps indicate that the paper was laid on the trunk of a tree or stone when writing, but there were no scratches. The handwriting is coherent, the paper is clean, and there are no ink spots splashed when the pen is lifted or ink stains caused by the tip of the pen staying for a long time, which is obviously not deliberate for the needs of etiquette, but because of habit. There is no attribution, and confidentiality is emphasized. Judging by these characteristics, the letter writer seems to be a spy for the army. ”

"But," his face became more serious, "if you rely only on reconnaissance or search, the information you get cannot be so systematic and comprehensive." The writer is definitely with this... The Cursed Sect has dealt with each other for a long time, and has a very clear understanding of these cultists. His description of the details of the organizational structure and rituals is vague, and the methods of dealing with the various undead are very detailed, and the methods used are not hidden camouflage, but violent conflict - so they have been fighting for so long that we don't notice any traces? ”

"No, I think I've heard about it." Alexandros shook his head and said, "Not long after I left the manor, I once heard in the village where I settled that a castle near the town of Nanhai was haunted, and the dead crawled out of their graves and made a mess everywhere, and there were things like the three-headed dogs of hell. Viscount Tayster sent an army to clean up the castle and bring out a lot of corpses from it. ”

He looked up at Uther, and admitted, with some guilt, "At that time, these rumors sounded like horror stories that scared children, or ridiculous rumors that word of mouth turned out to be exaggerated. And since Viscount Tester has settled the matter, I didn't turn back. ”

Originally, Alexandros Mograini was supposed to be the lord of Nanhai Town, but he had no intention of governing a territory, so he resigned from the king's mandate and returned to the family estate to live in seclusion. But Viscount Tayster, who replaced him, has always seen him as a potential rival, after all, the populace has a better opinion of a paladin. As soon as the Viscount made a decision that upset the populace, they would talk about what they had expected of Alexandros. This was quite humiliating for a powerful nobleman. In order to avoid suspicion, Alexandros rarely intervenes in the affairs of South Seas.

Uther understood the grievances that arose because of the different ideas, and did not blame him for negligence.

"I've read Tayster's report and there's not much mentioned there." "He classifies these as the private actions of a small group of cultists, claiming that he has cleaned them up," he said. It was clear that he knew very little about it. ”

"I beg your pardon, sir." Dassaulthan offered a different opinion, "but I think the authenticity of this anonymous letter is questionable." The information it provides is more of a 'teach you how to find and destroy the undead' type of book, mentioning that many nobles and necromancers collude, but there are few tangible names and events to prove it. Moreover, we cannot be sure that the source of the information is reliable, and what is the purpose of the person who wrote the letter, whether there is a possibility of deliberately misleading us, or using us to eliminate competitors? ”

"I can assure you of the authenticity of this letter, Dassault Han." Uther replied, "This letter was sent to me by a young man who had witnessed the dead and lost his brother for it. I am sure that he has deceived me in no way. And he also told me that the person who wrote this letter was traveling with one of our paladin brothers. They took great risks and selflessly saved a town. I think you've heard its name, and that's Tarummere. ”

"In this way, we are going to face an opponent who is extremely cunning and good at concealment." Receiving an affirmative answer, Da Sohan said with a heavy heart, "What is even more terrifying is that the asylum they rely on is right there with us, watching our every move." And we can't tell at all. ”

"That's why you called me." Alexandros reacted, "Tirio's trial was a sad surprise, but you can use it to gather most of the paladins here, and it won't be suspicious. ”

"But it's the same if you stay too long. Maybe we can use an excuse to hunt down the remnants of the orcs...... No, it would cause panic among the population and would be too unfair to Tirio. ”

"We have limited time, and we have a black eye." Alexandros shook his head, "Did you mention this to Lord Fao?" ”

Alonsus Fao, an archbishop revered by all human kingdoms, is also the founder of the Paladin and the Order of the Silver Hand. It was under his encouragement and baptism that Uther, Saidan Dasohan, Tirio Fortin, Tulayan, and Gavinrad, recommended by Anduin Lothar, became the first paladins. He is the spiritual leader of the Church of Light, and has a huge appeal among both priests and paladins.

"Yes." Uther nodded, "I already talked to the teacher about this before you came. He will lead the priest in researching ways to cleanse the plague and detect undead spells, while also gathering as much information as possible. But I'm afraid it won't help much in confronting the cultists head-on. ”

"But we're not helpless. According to the sinister plan that the letter says they are going to carry out, the flow of food, and the news of the public cemetery are all directions worth probing, and they cannot hide them. Moreover, we will have new allies and the assistance of His Majesty the King. ”

He glanced at them, his eyes blazing and his expression serious.

"I want you to take a team and move quickly to find traces of these cultists, but remember not to reveal your true goals. If their plan is already being completed, they will never give up easily until they are confirmed to be discovered. And that's our chance to kill with one blow. In the name of the Light, the Silver Hand will banish these evils from Lordaeron once and for all! ”

"—For the Light!"