The undulating sacred sound under the towering curved vault finally came to an end, and the twelve high-ranking priests in gold-rimmed red robes turned pale and could barely stand on their feet, while the attendants and subordinates on the side hurriedly stepped forward to support them. These high-ranking and powerful figures were either the regional high priests of the area around Rushita, or the senior scholars of the scholastic academy, with a grand status and revered status, which could be said to be second only to the figures above the dome of the Temple of Fire; Matching their status is their strength, among which the Archbishop Christopher in the Cohen region, Anders of the gods, and Sutton, the master of the scholastic, have already stepped into the side of truth, and are only one step away from the Holy See - the inhabitants of Ruusta are accustomed to refer to the eleven people above the dome of the Temple of Fire as the Holy See, and over time, this saying has also spread - in addition to these three people, the other nine have also been civilized, and people of their status on weekdays have rarely personally presided over the sacraments or ceremonies, but occasionally do so, Most of them are also at their fingertips, and they will never be as wolf as they are at this moment.

"It's breathtaking." It was hard for anyone who had never seen this Supreme One to imagine that this person in charge of the entire Temple of Fire would be such a kind-looking little old man, his beard and eyebrows were already snow-white, and his figure had shrunk a lot, and he was wearing a red bishop's shawl with snow-white fur, and his hands behind his back trembled as if a gust of wind could blow him down. But only the eyes that were deeply under the drooping eyelids, with a glimmer of light flashing from time to time, and the clear lines of the pursed lips, could prove that this old man, who had controlled the temple for more than half a century, was not as simple as he appeared.

The world called him the Great Priest who brought iron and fire, the only one of the eleven Holy Sees who had experienced a complete holy war, and there was a proverb about him that was widely circulated - the Holy See was not soft-hearted, but his character, and not as kind as his appearance.

He stood on the altar with two other people. The object of his opening was a woman on the left behind him, a tall woman wearing a short white shawl, a high crown on her head, and a scepter with a golden flame insignia. The long cloak dragged all the way to the smooth obsidian floor; Her countenance was a little too thin, her cheeks seemed to have been cut with a knife and an axe, so that she could not see the softness of a woman, she looked too cold, she had short white blonde hair, a long thin braid tied at the back of her head, hanging down from her shawl, this woman was Sidney. Metfarica, the third-in-command of the Sanctuary of Fire. She is also the fourth master of the Cruz Empire, and the legends about her are innumerable since the year of the Star Gathering, and it is said that she fought with the fourth wizard leader of the Buga people, and only lost one line, although she was defeated.

Ordinary people often use the sharp eagle to describe the sharpness of a person's gaze, but such a wording seems weak in front of this lady, and her gaze is not only sharp. It's more like having substance, just looking at people. It was possible to make people understand what she meant, and there was a golden ring of flame in the depths of her pupils, which had to do with the divine power she possessed—the angel of the holy sword, Eloma, and when it came to the attainment of the Word of Judgment, no one in the Empire could match her, not even Vala had to admit it.

The other person beside Vala had a beautiful decoration on his silk robes. With a kind face, he looks more like a businessman, this person is called Caesar, and he is the lowest of the eleven people, and his name sounds domineering. But his people have been diligent and industrious in history, but they have not done much.

Sidney maintained her usual silence, even if the controller of the Flame Temple spoke in front of her, she did not mean to answer at all, it is not unreasonable for the world to call her the statue of the Holy Maiden of the Lion Palace, but Vala admires her character very much, compared to the era of the previous generation of high priests, because of the experience of holy wars, the inheritors of the Flame Temple generally seem young - young people always seem too radical, but not calm enough, except for Sidney.

"Your Majesty issued an edict on the 14th, and these people entered the city on the 17th, and those people in the scholastic responded most positively, the great priest." Caesar reminded in a whisper.

Vala nodded, of course he understood the hidden meaning of this sentence, for centuries, Cruz's imperial power had finally reached its peak in these hundred years, and he sometimes couldn't help but wonder if he had been born in the era before his teacher, when the Temple could not only develop its own power at will in small countries like Eruin and Antobro, but also meddle in worldly things, in the era of the heyday of ecclesiastical power, even the succession to the throne was in the hands of the high priest, but now?

The old man only felt bitterness in his mouth.

"After this time, I'm afraid that His Majesty's influence within the temple will rise again, Grand Priest."

"I understand," Vala shook her head, the scholastics had always been closer to the royal family, they had been wanting to carry out religious reform since the year of the Thunder, and had long since begun to criticize him as a high priest, and although they had purged a group of people after the holy war, it was clear that this did not stop the madmen. The temple is indeed about to change, and he is becoming more and more aware of this, but the authority to preside over the change must not fall into the hands of those who form a party for personal gain, otherwise there will be no tomorrow for the temple of fire.

He knew that Caesar's words were a reminder that he should not meet the request of Her Majesty the Queen, although the imperial power was increasingly infiltrating the temple, the temple of fire still had the power to decide its own internal affairs, and his decision, in vain, caused the supreme who seemed to never grow old to put his hand into the temple, which had already caused the dissatisfaction of many of the eleven. It is evident that only he, Sidney, and Caesar are present today - Sidney has no intention of fighting for power, Caesar is submissive, and the others are obviously very dissatisfied.

"But it's the Azure Spear." Vala let out a long sigh, their Empress Xià was too difficult to deal with, and sometimes he wondered whether it was Cruz's luck to have such an empress, or the misfortune of the Temple of Fire - the Azure Spear was a mortal holy relic, the Azure Knight shattered the firmament to bring about the Second Age, in the Firmament poem, it was described as the hope of mortals, the holy spear that changed fate - it is conceivable that any temple with such an artifact, if it was approved by it, would greatly enhance the prestige of the temple, public and private, There was no way he could refuse.

Caesar also kept his mouth shut. Of course he understood the meaning of this, and he couldn't help but glance back at his colleagues, even Sidney, who usually had the same expression on his face, his eyes were shining at the moment.

After all, it's the Holy Spear Firmament.

"It's a pity that the man with the gun is a mountain man." Caesar thought with regret that if he hadn't known that the Holy Lance had been transported from Eruin. Before that, he already had a master, otherwise he would have felt that it was planned by the supreme empress; Because it is well known that among the countries under the rule of the Temple of Fire, only the mountain people do not believe in the teachings of Geert, they worship the spirits of their ancestors and nature, so they are called barbarians, but such barbarians are recognized by the Holy Lance.

"Your Majesty, give the things that change your fate to the alien race. Just to suppress the temple, you are playing with fire and burning yourself—how can mortals control the future in their hands, and the gods will do it for sin. Vala was also helpless in her heart, and couldn't help muttering to herself.

The three of them did not speak, silently watching the crystal in the center of the hall thinning layer by layer, and finally disappearing into invisibility, and the girl inside closed her eyes tightly and held a spear in her hand. As if losing his center of gravity, he broke the 'ice' and fell to his knees weakly, and then fell down. He was unconscious on the ground where the layers of magic circles were poured.

Vala looked at the crystal shards that had fallen to the ground, and vaguely seemed to see the disintegrating temple, the scholastics no longer stood with them, the local priests were also snakes and rats, and Williams's defeat was a heavy blow to the prestige of the temple outside the empire. He thought of the unsuccessful guy, and couldn't help but be angry. It was a great shame for a Templar commander to be planted in the hands of a junior, but it was a pity that it was not only his face, or the face of the Cecil family. At the same time, it is also the face of the temple.

He then thought of the little Count Tonigel of Eruin, the grandson of the rumored Sword Saint Darus, and couldn't help muttering, "Why is this guy again, it's really ghostly." ”

Caesar heard this whispered mutter, and couldn't help but shudder, and his face changed. Of course, he remembered the upheaval forty years earlier, the decline of the Temple, as if it had begun with that unjust trial. He looked at the Grand Priest beside him, and suddenly thought that the Grand Priest had agreed to Her Majesty's conditions so readily, probably not only because of the Azure Spear, but he suddenly remembered that as early as the previous week's royal banquet, Her Majesty the Empress seemed to have vaguely revealed the origin of the new countess, and her relationship with Count Tonigel of Eruin.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but almost break out in a cold sweat, and hurriedly tightened his face, as if he was afraid that the supreme person next to him would see his thoughts.

But Vala didn't pay any attention to him, but turned to Sidney and said, "Sidney, take the Count down to the bath and freshen up, and treat her better." ”

The goddess was stunned, and then nodded indifferently.

……

The girl was dressed like a princess, her long baroque pale yellow dress enveloping her, her long fiery red hair falling down like a scattered flame, her slender neck and weak collarbone were exposed to the air, and a thin Mithril necklace passed through a flame diamond, clinging to it, and the flowing amber color reflected the healthy skin. The fluffy skirt was covered with rose-like folds, the folded sleeves, the tulle lining and the huge bow on the chest almost dressed her as a delicate doll, and the girdle that tightly framed her almost broke her waist and made her breathless, Akane looked at this qiē with some confusion, and her amber eyes were full of uneasy light.

The experience of this day seemed to her to be a strange dream, she dreamed that she had fallen asleep in a great piece of amber, and that she had experienced many things and seen a thousand strange landscapes in the meantime—but most of the time she had been covered with a black cloth, or kept in a box and never seen the light of day—and occasionally when she felt uneasy, a voice would chat with her, but not very often, and the young lady in the Azure Spear was very proud, I can't wait to draw a conclusion between two sentences to prove that she's a fool.

Then she 'saw' herself being transported into a magnificent temple, where a multitude of priests were performing a ritual around her, with the low hum of chanting hymns, and then, and then she felt as if she had woken up, and in the dimness she was led by a lady in a white robe, who had been bathed and changed by several maids, a scene she had never seen in her life. Almost frightened, she tried to escape several times, but each time she was stopped by the lady, whose proud strength was as weak as a child in front of her opponent. She remembered that the other person looked at her fixedly every time. A prayer was uttered, and then as if an irresistible force descended from the sky, piercing the vault of the sanctuary and exerting it directly on her, immobilizing her.

And now, she sat on a bench—a chair of luxury, almost like a throne carved out of wood, and she had never seen such a beautiful chair even in the lord's castle—staring at herself in a floor-to-ceiling mirror in front of her. Although the beautiful person inside didn't look like her at all; Several maids surrounded her, carefully grooming her, and Akane knew that she could not resist, so she simply fiddled with them like a puppet.

Several of the maids looked at their new masters, contrasting the beauty in the mirror, carefully combing her long hair, putting on sparkling studs, or whispering. Occasionally, there was a low laugh, and the laughter made Akane's face feverish. She still hasn't figured out what this place is. Why did she come here, why did she dress her in such strange clothes, she wanted to contact Owena, but the young lady in the Azure Spear seemed to have something else important today, and the inquiry in Akane's heart sank into the sea, but fortunately, she felt that she could still feel the existence of the Azure Spear. This made her feel a little more at ease.

The maids around her were all delicate and lovely, apparently carefully selected, but most of them had long or short crimson hair of various shades, so that people could understand their origins and lineage at a glance. Akane looked at these people she had never seen before, and listened to them speak softly in her ear, and it was really difficult for her to shake off their temper for a while, so she could only be patient - of course, this is also because she understood that the somewhat too strict goddess official was still guarding outside.

"Lord Earl," said a round-faced maid in a somewhat envious tone, "you are truly our princess, the most beautiful maiden among the mountain people. ”

"You...... What do you call me......" Akane is not very good at dealing with strangers, but she still can't help but be taken aback when she hears this, and she almost asks this sentence in a little stunned.

"By the way, Lord Earl, you don't know yet—you are the only earl in these centuries to be personally crowned by His Majesty the Emperor, and your fief is said to be the most abundant land in the kingdom, on the edge of the wilderness of the four realms—"

"Yes, yes, I have seen the maple groves there, and oh my God, it is so beautiful, I can see that Your Majesty admires you very much," said the maids, "and the point is that it is still close to the mountains of Wallach, the land of our mountain people, and I really want to go home and see it." ”

Akane listened in a fog, she looked at these girls inexplicably, she didn't understand what they were talking about, she was born in Chablis, there were many mountain people there, she seemed to have heard legends about the mountains of Wallachi when she was a child, but those were distant dreams, she listened to them talk about what fiefdoms, what majesty, what counts, she only felt that her mind was a mess, and she couldn't think of anything for a while.

But she could see that these girls were sincerely worshipping her, and they said to her in a chattering voice: "My Majesty, I have heard that Your Majesty intends to give you the autonomy of that land after you have sworn allegiance with your sword—that land is in your hands, and it is equivalent to returning it to the hands of our mountain people, and the independence and autonomy that we mountain people have dreamed of for thousands of years can finally be realized in your hands!" ”

The girls were discussing enthusiastically, but as they spoke, their voices grew quieter.

The condition of the mountain people in the empire was not much better, if not worse, than in the Eruin, and the Cruz regarded them as barbarians, and the nobles captured the mountain people as if they were wild beasts - once the men and women of the mountain people were driven out of the forest, they were caged like wild beasts, uprooted from their homes, and sold everywhere, and in better conditions, they could become servants of the nobles, and most of them died in some unknown mine.

Who wants to leave their homeland, but the history of the resistance of the mountain people has become a legend centuries ago, and in the empire, except for a few clans attached to the empire, most of them hid in the mountains and forests, living like wild beasts. But even those who are left are inferior, and they may be arrested and reduced to slavery at any time for various reasons.

These seemed to be the common experiences of these girls, and suddenly there was silence in the room for a moment, and several girls couldn't help but sob, and the round-faced maid choked up and said: "Lord Earl, do you know that today because you, we mountain people, will no longer have to leave our homeland, be separated from our wives, and will not be wantonly hunted down by those Cruz people like wild beasts, Lord Earl, your reputation will definitely spread throughout the mountains of the empire, and one day you will definitely be a hero of the mountain people-"

Akane opened her mouth.

She felt that she must be dreaming, and she could not help but grasp the handrail, as if to stagger to her feet—the crystal slippers under her feet were so unaccustomed to her, that she walked like a puppet—and the maids on the side hurried to hold them to her swaying to Her Royal Highness the Princess, lest she fall to the ground by stepping on the hem of her skirt, which had not happened before. But Akane looked around, and finally asked sneeringly, "What are you talking about...... I don't quite understand, my lord, where is he ......? ”

"Lord, aren't you?"

Akane shook her head vigorously and was about to refute, but at this moment someone knocked on the door outside, and then Sidney's voice came in: "Count Mitra, if you finish dressing, someone wants to see you." ”

The maids fell silent for a moment, and all of them seemed to have suddenly become puppeteers, for they understood that only who would come here at this time.

…… (To be continued......)