The living are the lambs of the Father, and the priest is the shepherd dog, and Merlin understands why the consul relies on the church to collect the taxes of the territory.

To the subjects of the realm, the lord was nothing more than an ornament, and they lacked the least reverence for this ornament, and if any tax collector dared to set foot in their private domain, he was treated no differently than a robber.

The church collects one-fifth of the tax, while the Arian school collects only one-tenth. That's why Stiricus wanted to tie up with the Arian school. The tax rate has been cut in half.

"The Arian school has half the tax rate of the church, can the church agree?" Merlin's gaze fell through the open window and onto the heather outside. A white butterfly perched on it, gently flapping its wings.

"They call us heretics," said Augustine's face with a gleam of pride, "but to no avail, the fact that the Arian School has a great Templar is proof enough that the Holy Father is on our side." ”

Sure enough, strength is the foundation of standing, whether it is in the empire before crossing or in the kingdom of Selis. The essence is the same, whoever has a hard fist, whoever says it makes sense. Heresy, heresy without force has now been reduced to ashes.

"The Templar of the Arius Academy can't be that old fellow. Merlin guessed.

"Well, I don't think I told you about it!" Augustine was very surprised, and then a little gloating, "I warn you quietly, of course, you can not take it to heart, you can continue to call him old fellow, if he is angry, come to Ashfurnace Mountain with such a punch, you can go back to Stirico to change territory." ”

Destroy a mountain with one punch, this is a humanoid nuclear weapon!

"I don't believe it, the Xingyue Lake outside Hippo City is the trace left by the teacher after the battle with the Templars of the Church. Augustine looked at Merlin with some disdain, as if to say, you don't even know this.

At this point in the conversation, someone stepped on the bamboo hut again. It seems that on Sundays, the priests of the church will be busy.

Leah hesitated for a moment as she stepped into the bamboo house. She couldn't wait to come over when she heard Lance say that Elder Augustine was in the bamboo house, but she didn't expect to meet His Highness Merlin here.

"Good morning, Your Highness!" Merlin had a very good impression of this beautiful woman, she did not have the casual dress of ordinary vagrants, and she always cleaned herself up very neatly, a simple flower on her head, or a beautiful folding handkerchief on her chest. In short, she is not an ordinary woman at first glance. If you change your clothes, you will be a guest in the castle.

"Good morning, nice lady. Merlin said.

"Your Highness is a friend of the saints," said Augustine, who seemed to sense Leah's hesitation, pointing to the magnificent badge on Merlin's chest, "Your Highness can witness the confession of all." ”

Augustine's show-off was very successful, he could see that the lord of Ashfurnace Mountain was interested in the ritual of confession, and if Merlin could be successfully enrolled in the Arius Academy, Augustine was 100% sure that he would become the youngest white-clothed priest in the church.

Merlin is not interested in the ritual of confession, but in the content of confession. Lance told Merlin in front of Merlin that he was taking more water from the stream, in fact, he wanted to tell Merlin. But what does Leah want to say?

"I'm guilty!" Leah said, "I've betrayed my husband, I'm guilty." ”

There was nothing strange about Leah's confession, but Augustine's realization made Merlin notice something different, the hand that should have been on the penitent's forehead was released at some point, and sweat droplets the size of soybeans appeared on the forehead of the Arian Academy elder.

"The baby is going to be born next month, what should I do!"

Leah's words were like the last straw that broke the camel's back, and the elder's lips trembled, and he couldn't control his hands anymore. "Parker went to the pilgrimage trail and he won't be coming back. He won't come back. ”

"No, that's not true. ”

"The Guardian Knights and the Heretics fought for three months outside the city of Salem, and the blood that flowed from them made the shields fly. Ninety-eight of the hundred guardian knights who went out this time died. Unless Parker is one of those two. ”

Merlin couldn't remember how Leah had left the bamboo hut in the pine forest, and the elders of Arius College were happy and sad for a while, like a child.

The land of Ashfurnace Mountain was barren, and the nomads who rented the land for cultivation left the rest of the work to the women and children after the sowing was completed, and the able-bodied men went to the nearby cities to work as mercenaries or artisans. It seems that left-behind children are a stubborn disease that is difficult to solve, both in the empire and in Ashfurnace Mountain.

It's not surprising that such a thing happens to a young and lonely left-behind woman, Merlin has seen too many things in the years when she was the women's director, and one party cheated on each other. The emotional things between men and women cannot stand the test, and human nature is nothing more than a piece of paper that can be broken with a slight poke in the face of physiological desires.

After noon, Merlin used to take a nap, and I don't know if the effect of the saint's medicine had not passed, or if it was because of chickenpox. Merlin lay down and was groggy. I slept until it was dark, and I didn't wake up.

"Your Highness, you have finally woken up. Raj climbed up the bamboo tower lightly, and said to Merlin with a smile outside the door, "The banquet is about to start, and everyone is waiting for you?"

Ever since Sulla left the stone house, she has consciously or unconsciously alienated Merlin. In the past few days, taking care of Merlin's daily life and diet has become Kate again, but Raj has gone up to the small bamboo house in the pine forest from time to time.

The three captives brought back from the dungeon, two women and an old goblin lived in a small hut in the pine forest. Merlin remembered the words of the saints and did not remove the chains from their feet. The humanoid nuclear bomb should be more authoritative, and what Merlin wants is just the population of Ashfurnace Mountain above the system, so he doesn't restrict the activities of these three people, as long as he doesn't leave Ashfurnace Village.

When Merlin stepped out of the bamboo house, the Ash Furnace Village in front of him was shrouded in the afterglow of the setting sun. Miao Miao rose the smoke and rose straight into the sky, the gray eaves were plated with a layer of golden sunset, and children chased the flying red dragonflies on the grass behind the house. This Merlin forgot his identity and had a strong sense of belonging to Ash Furnace Mountain.

"This is my territory, this is my people. Merlin ignored Raj's gaze and strode forward towards the sunset.