The solemn and majestic bells echoed in the sanctuary, and a low resonance resounded in the Great Sanctuary of the God of War under the steel dome, Matilda got up from the pews and said to the old Pope in front of her, "The bell has ringed, and it is time for me to return to the Obsidian Palace." If you are still interested in my experience at Cecil, I can tell you more about it next time. ”

"I'm looking forward to it," said Malm Dunit with a peaceful and loving smile on his face, a gentle temperament that made him hardly look like a battle officer who served the god of war and once charged on the battlefield, only his burly body and a hint of sharpness in his eyes were still wordless proof that the old man still possessed strength and his authority over the church, "bring my greetings to Rosetta, who has not been to the Great Sanctuary of the God of War for a long time." ”

Matilda lowered her head slightly: "...... I will. ”

No matter how the Augustan family kept a respectful distance from the gods and the church, it was the responsibility of the royal family to have regular contact with church representatives and set foot in the church, and this kind of thing to be seen by the nobles and people below still had to be done.

Taking her attendants and guards with her, Matilda left the imposing temple.

From the inner sanctuary to the exit, there is a long corridor.

The Cult of the God of War uses "iron" as a symbol of sacred metal, with black steel frames and classical iron sculptures decorating the corridors leading to the exterior of the sanctuary, illuminated by countless candles in niches, and between columns and narrow windows, scripture cloths depicting various war scenes or sacred proverbs hang from the roofs and decorate the walls on either side.

Matilda walked down the long hallway, the flickering candlelight in the alcove flickering in her vision, and as she approached the entrance of the Sanctuary, she couldn't help but slow down slightly, and a figure with black hair and black eyes, a dignified and feminine face, and a maid's dress came to her in the next second.

The figure was one of several maids following Matilda, but no one noticed her presence until she stepped forward, and even when she came to the princess, no one could see how she had overtaken the other maids and attendants and quietly appeared beside Matilda.

"Lady Diana," Matilda whispered to the dark-haired maid who came to her, "do you feel ...... There is a strange ...... in the Great Chapel today Atmosphere? ”

"I don't feel it, Your Highness," replied the black-haired maid in a low voice as Matilda, as she walked forward, "do you notice anything?" ”

“…… No, it's probably because I've been here for too long, and I'm a little uncomfortable with the relatively heavy décor here," Matilda shook her head, and then changed the subject, "It seems that Pope Malm has also noticed the recent changes in Aldernan, and the fresh air is blowing into the Great Chapel." ”

Diana spoke softly: "Although His Majesty Malm does not pay attention to the world, he has never been a conservative and stubborn person, and he is happy to understand new things when they appear in his sight. ”

As a "maid", she still spoke in a rather nonchalant tone when talking about the papal dignity.

Matilda nodded slightly, as if agreeing with Diana's judgment, and then she quickened her pace and led her followers through the long corridor.

The candlelight in the alcove shone brightly, and there was no wind in the hallway, yet all the candles were gently swaying in different directions, as if an invisible wind was swirling in a dimension unperceptible to humans, disturbing the silence of the sanctuary.

……

Malm Dunit finished another brief prayer, opened his eyes, breathed a sigh of relief, reached for the herbal wine offered by his attendant, and took a small sip in moderation.

The spicy, sweet and bitter taste of the herbal wine escaped in his throat, stimulating the old man's spirit, and he quietly waited for the feeling of rejuvenating vitality to ferment in his body, and at the same time asked casually: "Her Royal Highness the princess and her party left?" ”

An assistant priest in a dark black priest's robe stood beside the Pope and respectfully reported, "They have left the Great Templar, Your Majesty." ”

"Well," Malm nodded, "then we'll move on to the festival later." ”

"Your Majesty, are you ......" The assistant priest glanced at the old pope with some concern, and said hesitantly, "Do you need to take a break today?" You've had a lot of receptions today, and it's easy to lose your energy at times like these. ”

"I'm not that fragile yet," Malm shook his head, "and there is no escaping the Lord's trials, especially around the annual festival. ”

As he spoke, the old pope ran an X symbol across his chest and whispered the name of the god of war.

There was a power in the Great Sanctuary that was imperceptible to mortals, a divine and vast but indescribable "aura" lingering in the sanctuary, and Malm could faintly perceive the vague ripples that it was the power of the gods that were rising and falling between the present world and the kingdom of God.

The god of war is a god who is very "close" to humans, even closer to humanity than the Holy Light, which has always been known for its mildness and righteousness. This may be because humans are inherently a war-loving race, or it may be because the god of war is more concerned with the mortal world than other gods, and in any case, the impact of this "proximity" is far-reaching.

It brings more powerful and accessible magic to the gods of war, and it also makes it easier for the power of the gods to have some kind of "staggered infiltration" with the present world, and this "infiltration" that occurs at the borders of the real world has periodic ups and downs - now, a new round of infiltration is approaching, and in this large sanctuary closest to the will of the gods, certain signs have begun to appear.

This is a normal state for a senior God of War Divine Officer, and it is a natural phenomenon that is nothing more than normal.

It's just that this year's infiltration ...... It seems to be stronger than ever.

"Your Majesty," the voice of the assistant priest came from the side, interrupting the Pope's thoughts, "Recently, more and more clergy have been hearing noises during prayers, especially in or near the Great Church. ”

"The Lord is periodically approaching the world," said Malm, in a deep voice, "and the human mind cannot fully comprehend the words of the gods, so it is normal for the knowledge beyond our minds to become noise-like noises—keeping the priests religious, and keeping their minds in sync with the teachings of the gods, will allow us to understand the will of the gods more effectively, and the 'noise' will will be much less." ”

The assistant priest bowed his head deeply and replied respectfully, "Yes, Your Majesty." ”

Then the assistant priest was silent for a few seconds, and finally couldn't help but say: "Your Majesty, this time the 'resonance' seems to be extremely strong, is this a precursor to the will of the gods?" ”

Malm glanced at the priest, lowered his eyelids, and crossed his hands in front of him: "Do not speculate on the will of the Lord, but respectfully fulfill our responsibilities as clergy." ”

Immediately after receiving the teaching, the assistant priest lowered his eyelids, crossed his hands in front of him, and reverently whispered a prayer to the gods. His voice was low and steady, and the sacred words flowed between his lips and tongue, but Pope Malm on the side suddenly frowned—he suddenly heard a few strange mutters between the words of the assistant priest, as if there was a strange echo mixed in the human voice, as if the heterogeneous throat was making a whisper that humans could not make, but the noise lasted very briefly, and the next second the short prayer of the assistant priest ended, and the pious priest opened his eyes, and his eyes were calm and clear, and there was no abnormality in his eyes.

He didn't seem to know anything about what had just happened.

Malm Dunit withdrew his gaze from the aco-priesthood, calming the supernatural power that had just been mobilized in his body, and he said calmly, "Gather the bishops, and we will discuss the matter of the festival." ”

……

The Guardian's Shield lay quietly on the table, the ancient Cecil insignia solidified into a rusty and blurred patch on the shield, Gawain's fingers slowly brushed over the weathered and corroded metal surface, but Amber's voice came from beside him: "Anyway, you've been staring at this shield in a daze these days—do you remember what happened back then?" Stuck in a memory? Can't help but sigh about life? This is a sign of old age......"

Gawain glanced back at the Imperial Shame who was blatantly skipping work next to him: "Is it just to come to me to beg for a beating?" ”

Amber immediately waved her hand, "I'm not running around - I'm here to report back to you." ”

Gawain temporarily put aside his attention to the Guardian Shield, and looked at the half-elf in front of him with a slight frown: "What's the matter?" ”

Amber stepped forward and casually took out some folded documents from her arms and put them on the high desk: "I've sorted them all out." ”

Gawain opened the papers with the imprint of the Internal Security Department, his eyes quickly swept over the printed text, and after seeing the contents clearly, he raised his eyebrows, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "So, our Shadow Drama is very popular among the burghers of Aldenan?" ”

"After solving the initial promotion problems, this novelty has effortlessly captured the appetite of the citizens - even a very simple plot can keep the audience entertained, and the Shadow Theater itself happens to cater to the psychology of the citizens of Aldenan," Amber said casually, "It is not expensive, but it does require a little extra money, and decent citizens need to prove that they have the ability to 'enjoy life' in this cheap and trendy entertainment investment, and the Shadow Theater is no matter how it is." Theatre', which made it a 'symbol' for the commoners of Typhon to show their improved taste in life.

"Of course, these reasons are secondary, and the main attraction of the Magic Shadow drama is that it is 'fun' enough - in this invisible battlefield, 'fun' is definitely the most powerful weapon I've ever seen."

Gawain listened to Amber's analysis and couldn't help but smile and glance at the half-elf—in the past two years, her growth has become more and more obvious.

"That's a good thing, our first phase is succeeding," Gawain smiled and nodded, casually placing the papers on the table, "After that, what we have to do is much simpler and clearer."

"Produce a lot of new magic dramas quickly and mass-produced, and the production doesn't have to be well-made, but it must be interesting enough, which can attract more Typhon people's attention; It is not necessary to directly promote Cecil in a positive way to prevent arousing alarm and resistance on the part of Aldenand, but it is necessary to frequently reinforce Cecil's advanced impression in the Shadow Drama......

"Increase investment in foreign newspapers and magazines, recruit some locals, and create some 'academic authorities' - they don't have to be real authorities, but as long as enough newspapers and magazines declare that they are authorities, there will naturally be enough Typhonians to believe this......"

Gawain spoke of his ideas one by one, about his plan to dismantle the cohesion of the Typhonians and shake the foundations of Typhon's society, while Amber listened attentively in front of him, and when his voice finally fell, Amber couldn't help but sigh: "Seriously, I think this is something more terrible than killing on the battlefield......"

Gawain glanced at her: "Why do you think so?" ”

"Killing on the battlefield will only bring down soldiers, but the weapon you're building can bring down an entire nation," Amber pouted, "and the latter won't even realize it until they fall." ”

After two seconds of silence, Gao Wencai said, "You would never have thought of such a far-reaching thing before. ”

"I wouldn't have been exposed to such far-reaching things before," Amber shrugged, "If I had become cunning and treacherous, you would have brought it out." ”

Gawain listened to Amber's big teasing, but he didn't get angry in the slightest, he just was silent thoughtfully for a few seconds, and then suddenly laughed self-deprecatingly.

"Sometimes I feel like I'm not doing it right, but we're dealing with a Typhon who wants to take a bite at any moment...... I'm really a little jealous of such an old empire with bad intentions, so I can only keep increasing the dose of 'poison'," he said, shaking his head and skipping the topic, "I don't talk about that, I'm going to try something next, and I need you to watch over it." ”

Amber suddenly smiled: "Hey, I'm good at this, and I'm a ...... protector Wait, isn't the Eternal Sleeper's psychic network now nationalized and don't have to venture into it? ”

Gawain knew that the other party had misunderstood what he meant, so he couldn't help but smile and wave his hand, and then curled his fingers and tapped the Guardian Shield on the table: "It's not about sneaking into the network - I'm going to try to 'communicate' with this shield." ”

As soon as Amber heard this, she suddenly looked at Gawain's eyes with something strange: "...... You're going to talk to a shield? Hey, I think there's something wrong with you've been staring at this shield every day lately, and you've always said it's okay. Aren't you reminiscing too much about the past lately, leading to ......"

Gao Wen glanced at Amber quietly, and tapped the shield on the table again: "I don't mind slapping you against the wall with this." ”

Amber suddenly shrunk her neck and glanced at the legendary shield - it was obviously much wider than the Pioneer Sword, and if you slapped yourself on the wall, it would be very evenly embedded, let alone picking, I am afraid that I will not be able to brush it off......

"Won't I just make a joke," she said, holding her neck, "don't be so cruel all the time......

Gawain ignored the whispering BB behind the imperial shame in front of him, and he refocused on the Guardian Shield in front of him.

After a few days of hesitation and weighing, he finally decided...... According to the method of contacting the Eternal Stone Tablet in the first place, let's try to get in touch with the "starry heritage" in front of you.