Cathedral of the Light, Hall of Light.

Veronica quietly said to Pope St. ?? Ivan III reported on the recent changes in the situation in the south: "...... After the capture of the Rock Fortress, Gawain?? Cecil blockaded the entire southern frontier and proclaimed the establishment of the Duchy of Cecil – or rather, the re-establishment of the Duchy of Cecil.

"At present, only caravans are allowed to enter and leave the southern border, and they can only stay around the Rock Fortress - in order to trade, the Cecil family has established a new town in the southern part of the Rock Fortress, called 'Rock City'.

"Neither the merchant nor the messenger sent by the nobles is allowed to cross the Rock City, so the situation in the hinterland of the South is completely unknown, and only sporadic news comes out, saying that Gawain?? Duke Cecil had already begun to consolidate the South, sweeping away the influence of the southern nobility of the past hundred years, and he implemented a number of new policies to ensure his rule. ”

Saint?? Ivan III listened quietly, and only then sighed softly at the end: "It seems that this ancient hero has a strong desire for control......"

Then he paused and asked unhurriedly, "Lemont's body is still in the hands of the Cecil, is it?" ”

“…… The Rock Fortress did not respond to the Church's request, and Bishop Lemont's body was still in the south and was said to have been cremated. ”

"Purify the corpse with flames...... Fortunately, the Cecilians at least did not do anything to desecrate Bishop Lemont's body, if only they were willing to return the ashes to us," the old Pope sighed softly, "so that at least we can confirm the true cause of Bishop Lemont's death." ”

The death of a regional bishop in the "War of the Nobles" in the South caused a lot of turmoil when the news first reached the Cathedral of the Light, but in this war, the supposed neutral Church fell to the nobles of the South for a false reason, and it was an indisputable fact that the Cecil family had completed de facto rule over the South in a short period of time, so the Church had no reason or opportunity to control the situation - until they finally expanded the diocese, By the time he was free from the fight against heresy, Cecil's army had already entered the Rock Fortress.

After that, the Church also sent emissaries to contact the south, but the emissaries were blocked out of the gates of the Rock Fortress, and they only received a letter from Gawain?? The Archduke Cecil's letter, in which he expressed disappointment with the actions of the Church of the Light in the southern region, conveyed a shocking message:

Although Bishop Lemont was killed in the course of the war of the nobles, he was not killed by the Cecil, but by the Sleepers.

The contents of this letter are known only to a few people in the Church, and the Pope and Veronica are two of them.

"The situation in the southern diocese is no more rosy than in the east, and although Duke Gawain has not publicly expelled our priests, according to sporadic reports, he has sealed off the city of Luan and banned all priests of the Holy Light from walking and proselytizing in the south—citing the need to investigate the corrupt infiltration of the church by the nobles of the south, as well as to maintain law and order after the war," Veronica?? "He put the entire Southern Church under house arrest in the form of postwar controls. ”

“…… The southern and eastern borders have always been tricky places, but now they are just more tricky," the old pope said indifferently with a blank face, "Now the royal family's main energy is focused on the eastern rebels, and we want to use their strength, so we can only focus on the eastern border...... Veronica, you have been in contact with the ancient duke, and now you think about it, what is his possible attitude towards the Church? ”

Veronica lowered her eyelids: "...... He was indeed a man of no faith, or rather, the power of 'faith' was a tool for him. I had only been in contact with him for a short time, and it was only a year ago, but from what he had done during the year, I can guess what he thought: he didn't really care about 'God', he was neither fearful nor resistant, but followed pragmatism. I have studied his new policies and found a pattern in them: all his systems are based on practicality, cost and efficiency second, and legal morality last, which can explain his style. ”

"Arrogance, but qualified arrogance," Saint?? Ivan III closed his eyes, "But his indifference is better than Edmund's??" Moen's hostility. Since he sees faith as a tool...... That means he won't reject the tool at least. ”

Veronica's eyebrows rose slightly: "Your Majesty, you mean ......"

"Let's wait and see what he will do to Lu Ancheng next, if the situation does not change, then we will ignore it for the time being, if the situation deteriorates...... Veronica, get ready to talk to the ruler of the South. ”

Veronica bowed her head deeply, "Do your will. ”

"Let's go down, I'm a little tired," Saint?? Ivan III closed his eyes, his body that had been trying to sit up straight gradually fell down, and his voice was ethereal, as if part of his mind had drifted to the realm of the god of light, "I want to take a nap...... Listen to the voice of the Lord. ”

Veronica bent down and whispered in the ear of the aging Pope, "Yes, the Lord is with you. ”

Saint?? Ivan III let out an even, gentle breath, and a smile of satisfaction spread across his face.

Veronica stepped down from the platform where the papal throne was located, and with a wave of her hand, a hazy layer of holy light enveloped the entire platform, protecting the Pope and isolating it from the sea of holy light clouds that lingered in the Great Hall of Light.

……

Night was falling, and the star-lit royal capital was shrouded in silence.

In Saint-Sunil, at 4 Crown Street, Jamie Giply, a military intelligence agent, stood quietly on the balcony of the mansion, looking out at the beautiful but stale complex of buildings outside.

At 4 Crown Street, some of the buildings have become purely historical relics, but there are still many descendants of the nobility who live in the rest of the old houses inherited from their ancestors, and every day from morning to night, many richly decorated carriages come and go on this street, and whenever a large number of carriages stop in the same area, the mansions there are lit up all night, and the music of the lyre and tambourine continues until the early morning of the next day, and the next day, The wagons would then carry their drunken masters out of the area and back to their estates and castles in and around the royal city.

Even as the country was in the midst of a civil war, even as soldiers died every day on the eastern front lines of the Plains of the Whitsundays, and even as refugees displaced by the war were about to spread to the area around the Giant Wood Crossing, the nobles of the country did not reduce the frequency and scale of their feasts.

Gippley was tired of that.

Fortunately, it was a rare quiet day: no banquets had been held in the recent mansions, and it was said that because the Earl of Bahrain had held a larger banquet in the south of the city, half of the nobles in Crown Street had been invited, and their departure had given the Gibrielle a chance to enjoy the night.

The sound of the wheels of the carriage crushing against the stone pavement sounded in the silence of the night.

Gypley retracted her gaze, and saw a carriage with a magic crystal lamp parked in front of the mansion, and quickly left the balcony and returned to the study.

Moments later, a tall, thin Pierce dressed in knight's casual clothes appeared in front of her.

"It's getting harder and harder to get around at night," said Pierce as he took off his coat, "the banquets of the nobles are becoming more frequent, and the curfew in the artisan and merchant quarters is getting more and more severe, and I am afraid that I would not have been able to return to-night if it had not been for the duke's mark on the car." ”

"After all, rumors have been rumoring in the city lately," said Gipley, nodding, "and things are not going well on the east side of the plains. ”

Pierce smiled, his eyes swept across the room and quietly came to the window, he closed the window, and activated the magic runes under the windowsill.

A small soundproof barrier then covers the entire room.

"There's an order from headquarters," the MIA operative said succinctly, "and we're ready to evacuate." ”

"Evacuate?" Jipley's eyes widened, "The situation has deteriorated?" ”

"The Duke has laid down the Rock Fortress, and the South has become the Duchy of Cecil, and the Ansu royal family will soon react to this - regardless of the reaction, we will receive more attention in the royal capital," Pierce quickly explained, "We've been here in public for a long time, and you've been in contact with the mage circle many times, so it's no longer appropriate for us to stay here." ”

Gibrielle couldn't help frowning slightly: "What about this stronghold?"

"There's going to be a new task force to take over from us—but they'll stay lurking in the shadows," Pierce explained, "The lords still need information about the royal capital, but we have to evacuate ahead of time when we can't hide and disguise it." ”

Gypli was stunned for a moment, then exhaled with a little emotion: "Really...... Looks like you really have to leave. ”

"It's also a good thing - it is said that the local side is developing rapidly, and the newcomers in the headquarters are much more advanced than our one in terms of skills and equipment, and we can hurry up and make up for the lessons when we go back, otherwise...... I'm afraid I won't be able to keep up with those newbies when I go back," Pierce said with a smile, glancing at Gipley, "Anyway...... Do you still have a lot of nostalgia for this place? ”

"Nostalgia? I don't miss this place," a sarcastic smile tugged at the corner of Gypley's mouth, "and the wind on the banks of the River Whitewater is fresher than the stinking streets here." ”

……

The night breeze of the Baishui River is very fresh, and since a long time ago, Gawain has liked to come to the high platform on the bank of the river, blowing the cold wind and looking at the scenery on the riverbank, or thinking about the future, or reminiscing about the past, or simply enjoying this scenery without thinking about anything.

The landscape here is changing all the time.

At the time of their arrival, there was only one barren beach on the banks of the Baishui River, and eight hundred refugees set up simple tents on the barren beach, and the guards of the camp used braziers and simple fences to protect the land, and at that time, as soon as the sun set, people had to return to the camp immediately, because the dense forest and barren mountains outside the camp were full of hungry beasts, and people could only survive the night in the tents......

Then the tents became wooden houses, the wooden houses became brick houses, the fences became city walls, watchtowers were built on the city walls, the wooden bridges over the Baishui River became mechanical bridges pushed by giant repulsive mechanisms, the temporary docks made of wood became permanent piers built of cement, and even the most desolate north bank of the Baishui River became a busy "Beicheng New District" at this moment......

At night, the glow of the magic crystal lamp illuminates the banks of the river, like bright stars falling on the earth.

All this in less than two years.

As someone who has done it all by hand, Gawain can feel the greatest sense of accomplishment from these changes.

He knew that the speed at which the city was growing was a miracle, even on Earth, and that the Cecil people were able to achieve this near-universal miracle in addition to the tremendous power of the suddenly liberated productive forces, as well as the development of magical technology.

"Magic technology......"

Gawain muttered under his breath and raised his hand in the light of the stars and the lights on both sides, and a hazy glow appeared in his palm.

It's not some knightly skill or spell, but just the glow of the free magic in the air when it is activated, and it reminds Gawain that magic is everywhere.

"Everywhere, seemingly endless energy ......"

Waving his hand to disperse the gathered magic, Gawain's brows couldn't help but furrow slightly.

A sudden rumbling sound in the river not far away interrupted Gawain's thoughts, and the latter looked up to see a splash rolling up on the surface of the river, and Tyr's head floating up from the splash.

"Yo-lord, you're lazy too?"

(Push!) Book! Time! Space! I pushed this book a long time ago, "The Four Billion Ensemble of Evolution" written by Phase Walker, science fiction, which is still serialized, tells a story that begins to evolve from a single-celled organism, even if you look at it now, this is a very novel and challenging brain hole. The book has been serialized for many years, and it is still being updated, and it is a very interesting story for those who can accept this kind of "the protagonist is not a person, and even the supporting characters are not human". ）