The rising sun shines on this centuries-old city of churches.

The giant sun rises from the horizon, and the huge sun wheel that covers half of the sky radiates a hazy halo like clouds and mist in all directions, and the wood-grained lines on the corona look down on the earth that has experienced blood and fire like a wrinkled face, the century-old streets and alleys of Lu'an City, the ancient church spires, the mottled city walls and towers, and the stone pavements soaked in blood and flames, all of which are bathed in this boundless and warm morning light, and a pale gold color sprinkles the whole city with the morning light. This scene can't help but think of the picture that the saint Dumont painted to the world on his deathbed four centuries ago -

I saw a huge city, endless and wide, and light diffused from between the bricks and stones of the city, and the whole city seemed to be cast of light.

However, the scene depicted by Saint Dumont eventually passed away with his eternal sleep, and all the imagination of the Kingdom of the Holy Light could only stop at the dying words of a dying person, and for the inhabitants of Luan at this time, they had no time to care about what a saint who had been dead for 400 years saw before he died, and they simply gathered in the square in front of the cathedral, cheering for their victory - and survival - in the rising sun.

"We won!!" "Holy Light willing, we win!" "Long live Cecil!!"

Cheers resounded throughout the square, and even throughout the church district, where the mercenaries and adventurers raised their swords and shields and struck them vigorously to express their excitement, and the farmers and craftsmen brandished their pitchforks and hammers in the air and laughed with everyone, and the merchants and gentry from the Carol region seemed to forget the difference of status at this moment, and threw their canes, hats, and handkerchiefs into the sky, and then warmly embraced everyone around them— A feeling of euphoria that no one has ever experienced before stirred through the crowd, and although no one can describe what this euphoria is, its significance is self-evident: the "inferior people" of this world have finally succeeded in rebelling against the "superior people" once.

And in one corner of the church square, under the watchful watch (and protection) of a dozen white knights and a large group of volunteer mercenaries, a handful of priests and priests with ragged heads, rags, and even dying were huddled together, watching in horror what was happening before them.

They are the only remaining priests and priests of the Luan Cathedral, and they were specially kept for the purpose of a "public trial" in the future. In addition to them, more than half of the priests and clerics had already died in the course of the battle - many were killed on the spot by the White Knights, some were besieged and exterminated by the adventuring squads of mercenaries and adventurers, and a few were killed by the angry populace with stones, clubs, and hoes when they were physically exhausted.

The small group of survivors watched as they watched, and the power of the angry populace terrified them viscerally: the stick and stone might not be as powerful as a spell, but what was behind it was terrifying.

At the corner of the square, on a high spire, several young people from Cecil's newspaper office and their mentor recorded the scene in the square with a magic web terminal, looking at the crowd bathed in sunlight and the ancient city shining in the morning light, one young man couldn't help but exclaim: "What a miracle." ”

Another young man shook his head: "But there will be people who will call it an atrocity." ”

"This is indeed an atrocity, or rather an act of violence, and any major change, involving the change of order and the reorganization of social rules, will inevitably be accompanied by violence, and there has never been an exception in thousands of years of history," said the robed old man standing behind the two young men, Godwin Orlando, the most famous scholar in the South today, said in a calm tone, a scholar who has studied history and grammar for most of his life, and who sees what is in front of him very clearly, and as a traditional scholar, He believes that he has an obligation to teach these to his most trusted apprentices, "The difference is that the changes that have occurred in history are all on the same level, one lord attacks another, one royal family member attacks another royal family, even if the scale is large, the change to the social order is very small, usually no more than a few decrees or a few titles of claim, more like a transfer of power and clever disguise, and what is happening here today is a violent change from the bottom to the top, Although it was our lords behind this, the change itself was done by the masses, and the result was even more striking: it directly destroyed an old order. ”

"There will be vacancies after the collapse of the old order, so there must be a new order to fill them in time, Mentor, as you told us last time."

"Yes, but that's the first thing our lord and the Protestant pastor is worried about," Godwin Orlando smiled calmly, "all we have to do now is record this scene......

Seeing the apprentices look thoughtful and busy again, Godwin Orlando nodded slightly, then he took out his notebook, thought for a moment, and wrote on it:

In Ansu 737, on the 30th day of the frost month, Requiem Day, tens of thousands of people from the northern part of the southern border stormed the Basilica of Light, and the belief in the god of light was subverted, and the authority of the "god" would fall to the ground from then on......

Godwin Orlando hesitated, lifted his pen, and crossed out the words "faith in the god of light" instead of "rules of faith".

……

In the Basilica of the Holy Light, in the Great Hall of Light, in the city of St. Sunil, the bishops are reporting to Pope St. Ivan III from the eastern part of the plain.

Since the Holy Cult Army of the Holy Light Church broke the rules, participated in the Ansu Civil War and joined the camp of the Kingdom Army, the balance of the war, which had already begun to be skewed, has returned to a delicate balance.

All the way like a bamboo, successively broke through Fort Solin and more than a dozen fortresses of all sizes, and successfully advanced to the giant wood crossing, the eastern army was finally contained when it was about to enter the central region of the Holy Spirit Plain, and the soldiers of the kingdom army supported by the holy light relied on their boosted morale and strong battlefield recovery ability to form a human wall, breaking the invincible situation of the eastern army in front of the giant wooden crossing, and after paying the cost of thousands of soldiers' lives, the commander of the kingdom army, Count Sorin, successfully repelled the eastern army, and took advantage of the situation to push the front thirty miles to the east - the front line was pushed back to a "safe distance" away from the hinterland of the plains of the Whitsunday, and then had to regain the stalemate.

Because the harvest day had passed, the Kingdom had missed the last opportunity to regain the grain producing fields in the east, and the grain growing in Solinburg and the surrounding fertile fields fell into the hands of the rebels in the east.

Filled and reinvigorated, the Eastern Legion once again gained a foothold on the plains of the Holy Spirit.

The stalemate in the war has left the principals in the Silver Fort at a loss, and I am afraid that it has also made the leaders of the rebels in the east anxious, but as a force that has just joined the war, the principals of the Holy Light Church are very aware of the current stalemate.

"Your Majesty, the Cult Army's presence on the front lines is evident to all, and now the desire of the people around the Giant Wood Crossing to convert to the Light has become even stronger, and a large number of new baptists appear every day—among them converts to the Gods and soldiers of the Kingdom Army," said one of the bishops, his voice filled with joy, "Count Thorin has written a letter of commendation and thanksgiving to thank our priests for helping him hold off the line. ”

"A temporary stalemate can make people realize the significance of the presence of priests and papal knights on the battlefield," St. Ivan III's low, slow voice echoed in the Great Hall of Light, "but also be aware that a stalemate for too long can make people question the power of the Lord." And we must be vigilant that heretics are also taking advantage of this opportunity to grow and grow......"

"Yes, Your Majesty, there are a large number of cultists of the gods who have entered the eastern region, and recently there have been hostile priests with the divine powers of the god of war and the god of blood on the front line, and they may follow the example of the Holy Cult Army and form the Eastern Realm Priest Regiment......"

St. Ivan III was silent for a moment, as if listening to the hazy whisper from the distant kingdom of God, and broke the silence after half a minute: "The Lord does not care, those heretics have not found the right way, they are only a rabble when they gather, we should only continue to spread the gospel of the Lord and intercept those heretics who are trying to flee to the east......"

The meeting in the Great Hall of Light took place in a solemn atmosphere, and under the guidance of the old but wise Pope, all matters were finally arranged properly, and at last the meeting was concluded.

Veronica Moen, who was canonized as a "living saint", remained with St. Ivan III after all the bishops had left the hall.

In the long silence, St. Ivan III lay as if half-asleep in the large, ornate chair, and the brilliant light shone upon him, and cast a long shadow behind his chair—the light shining from above, but the shadow stretched far and wide, and branched out, like a strange tree, and the tips of the treetops were covered with visions that shook and changed like palms, eyes, faces, and grinning mouths.

Veronica tilted her head slightly, glancing at the shadow behind the pope's chair, her face expressionless.

According to the holy teachings, no one is allowed to stand behind the pope's chair, and no one is allowed to peer behind the pope's chair except for the living saints and the archbishop, because it is considered to be the place where "God" is invisible and stands, as described in the original text of the Light: The God of Light stands behind the Pope, looking at his people and the kingdom through the eyes of the Pope.

At a certain moment, St. Ivan III seemed to fall asleep completely, an atmosphere of tranquility and serenity enveloped him, and a faint sense of sacred music came from the air, which lasted only a few seconds, and then the old pope suddenly raised his head: "The light of the Lord has dimmed......

Veronica leaned down slightly: "South? ”

“…… It was the south, and I saw the light of the Lord shaking in that land, blood and fire spreading across the land, and the voice of the sword-wielding soldiers......" St. Ivan III had opened his eyes, but his tone was still a dream, "something that has never been seen before...... Not even in the East......"

Veronica's expression that seemed to be eternally quiet and indifferent finally had a hint of consternation.

Prince Edmund of the East has begun to officially expel the Holy Light Priest and issued an order to eradicate the Holy Light Faith, and the followers of the Holy Light can only secretly pray in their hearts, it can be said that in that land, the attack on the faith of the Holy Light God is unheard of, but in the south...... There has been a more terrible and complete decline of faith than the East?!

What's going on behind the majestic walls of the Rock Fortress? Could it be that the resurrected Founding Duke slaughtered all the followers of the God of Light?

Soon, Veronica put away the shock in her eyes and continued to say in a calm and quiet voice: "I would like to go to the south and witness the changes there. ”

"You may not be allowed to enter the heart of the South, but as long as you are close enough, you should be able to sense what is affecting the Lord's radiance," St. Ivan III said in a deep voice, the eyes of the seemingly dying old man flashed with a powerful glow of holy light, "Find it, investigate it, and if it is really Duke Gawain Cecil who has committed some sensational act of extermination of faith, then protect your own safety first, and discuss countermeasures when you return, if it is some kind of blasphemous force that has entered the world...... Then destroy it. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty," Veronica bent slightly, "for the glory of the Lord." ”

"Let's go get ready...... It just so happens that the Silver Fort is also sending envoys to the south recently," the old pope's voice was low, as if he was about to enter the next dream, "that land in the south...... We've been ignored for too long......"