Shortly after the mysterious pagan murder of the minister more than half a year ago, a shear team in Airy's lumber yard was looking for good timber when they suddenly discovered a strange wood.

This is an ancient forest, and the trees inside are all ancient trees that require dozens of people to hug at every turn. An old lumberjack, the most experienced in the cutting team, immediately went to cut a few axes to check them, and found that the material of these ancient trees was surprisingly good, and he had never seen such good wood in his decades of experience of dismembering countless trees, and it was said that he once admired that where the wood was, it was as delicate and spiritual as human flesh and blood. Such timber can definitely be sold for a high price, and such a forest with no end in sight is definitely worth as much as a huge gold mine.

But this forest is indeed strange, there are hardly any birds, beasts, insects and ants in it, it seems unusually silent, a kind of terrifying atmosphere makes everyone a little frightened, they only dare to wander on the edge, dare not explore the depths of the silence. But the excitement of discovering such a treasure was that they left a few men to camp at the edge of the forest, while others went back to report.

When the timber farmer saw the wood fragments he had brought back, he immediately became excited and set out to see for himself. They didn't see any workers left behind at the edge of the forest, not even the tree they had cut down. No matter how much they shouted in the gloomy woods, no one responded, until someone smelled the smell of blood emanating from their feet, took out a candle and shone it carefully, and the traces of these colleagues were discovered. They had been flattened and shattered by something, and the deformed corpses were crushed by some tremendous pressure like squeezing okara, so that people would have the solid touch of the ground when they stepped on it without noticing.

The horrific scene caused immediate panic. But after a moment of panic, it seemed that they could not find out what was going on, and no one wanted to probe into the depths of the forest.

Someone rode around the woods and found them huge. So some people began to think that it was incredible: how could such a huge forest without friends seem to have been discovered by no one before, and the corpses of those workers were even more strange, and everyone felt the smell of the silent forest. But no matter what, there is no doubt about the countless trees in front of you that can be exchanged for gold coins. Putting aside their fears for a moment, the timber farmers began to get excited about this huge timber production area. The illusory and hazy sense of mystery and danger immediately seemed so insignificant in the light of the benefits that were within reach in front of him. Moreover, they did not need to do it themselves, so under the command of the timber owner, a large number of workers came to the edge of this new virgin treasure to start work.

In the first few days, many ancient trees on the periphery were cut down, and the high-quality timber was immediately popular in the trading market, and it was sold for an unexpectedly high price. The high price was so powerful that the owners ordered the workers to set up camps and tools directly in the woods, ready to cut down the trees day and night. But one day, the people outside the forest heard strange noises and shouts from inside, and when the people outside had gathered enough courage and numbers to go in again, they found that all the people inside had been found to be like the workers who had been left behind the previous days, and had become flattened corpses like rats that had been run over by wheels countless times in the street.

When the news broke, the local elders said that this previously undiscovered forest did indeed exist, and according to ancient legends, there was a forest god in this forest, and those who offended Kamui could only die in this way. The strange rumors came from the old man's mouth, which was even more deterrent, and with the hundreds of lives, no worker dared to enter the woods this time, no matter how urged and ordered by the timber owner.

But even if Kamui can intimidate civilians, it will be difficult to deter the rich who have a thirst for gold, and the allure of gold coins can hardly be matched by few illusory legends. Convinced that some strange beast lurked in the forest, the owners gathered a team of magicians and horses into the depths of the forest, ready to dispel these vulgar superstitions with a spirit of exploration. However, this extraordinary courage did not have the desired effect, and none of the people who entered the depths of the forest returned, and were quietly swallowed up by this mysterious forest.

Such a strange place has attracted the attention of those who do not believe in the Church and are looking for a new faith, and the forest has a sense of convincing quality that suits the taste of these mystics. They formed a pagan order called the 'Gods of Nature', imitating the druids of ancient legends, who wanted to worship nature and transcend the mundane world by joining nature as one. With the mysterious and strange charm of this wood, the number of people in this order has skyrocketed over time. Even small pagan groups have come to change their teachings and throw themselves into the majesty of this truly awe-inspiring forest.

This kind of behavior is naturally not allowed by the church, not to mention that most of the timber yards in Airy are the property of the Elney family, and the magistrate is naturally under a lot of pressure. As a result, the conflict between the 'gods of nature' and the official army continued.

The turning point was more than a month ago, when the local army and the Church gathered nearly 1,000 troops to disperse the infidels and set up camp in the meadows outside the forest, intending to completely clear the forest of the roots of the paganism and exterminate the wild beasts in it. But the next day, the cultists of the 'God of Nature' who returned to reconnoiter found that the army was only a mutilated corpse, and dozens of huge stone statues that had never been seen before stood in the meadow outside the forest. There are one of these stone statues every few tens of meters, all in a half-kneeling position forming a semicircular fan towards the forest.

This strange event was taken for granted by the 'gods of nature', and the huge stone statues were undoubtedly created by their gods to guard the forest, and they used it as a reason to show that the gods they believed in did exist and were more powerful than the gods of the church. Living facts are always more convincing than any profound theological theories and philosophical truths, and since then the number and power of the 'gods of nature' have skyrocketed, and now they are almost forty or fifty thousand. Deservedly the worst pagan scourge of the Empire.

"Forty or fifty thousand?" Asa was immediately dumbfounded when he heard the magistrate's words, and Rodhart was also taken aback. Although they found that the situation in the city was not quite right when they came, they did not expect it to be like this. You must know that even the population of the entire Airy region is only seventy or eighty thousand, and it can almost be said that the entire Airy region has become the territory of the 'gods of nature'.

The magistrate sighed with a bitter face: "There is no way, there are not so many when I send urgent reports to the royal capital, and those heretics have increased faster than cockroaches in the past month, not only the local villagers, it seems that there are many people from other places who have participated." ”

The magistrate who succeeded Dow after his murder was a thin man, a rare exception among officials, and one of his thin faces had been turned into a bitter gourd by wrinkled wrinkles. "Two adults, I've really done my best. As you can see, this is a cathedral that was built at great expense, but the people of the Diao are not convinced of our God. At the beginning, I was able to strictly arrest those people who had a tendency to cling to the pagans, but then the number of pagans was already dozens of times more than the number of troops in the city, and they threatened me to release those people, and in the end I had to use all my forces on the defense of the city, but fortunately those heretics were only obsessed with their own ghosts, and did not think of attacking the city. But they first destroyed the timber yards, then occupied many villages, and destroyed the town hall when they threatened me to release them. Now almost the entire production and work of Airy has come to a standstill. Probably thinking that most of his eunuch journey would end here because of these bad lucks, his bitter gourd face turned green, and he looked more and more bitter. "Two adults, please think of a way, I've really done my best. ”

The situation was far more serious than expected, and the two walked out of the cathedral with gloomy faces. The troops were stationed outside the city, and for the convenience of movement, and because some words could not be made known, they did not bring any retinue.

This church was built by the previous unlucky ghost magistrate Fat Pig Daote who was turned into a dried corpse by Vidnina, and Asa had only half of it repaired when he last came, and the rest of the work was completed under the current bitter gourd. This is a gorgeous and magnificent church that is not much worse than the cathedral of the Academy of Magic, and the majesty and solemnity are still not lacking in the slightest, but it is obvious that it has not received any practical effect, and now it has been reduced to the office of the bitter gourd magistrate who has lost the town hall.

Asa shook his head and sighed and said, "Instead of spending so much money to repair such a useless thing, it is better to save the money and give everyone a few silver coins to refresh themselves." I'm sure there aren't many followers of that god of nature. ”

Rodhart asked, "Bishop Ronis said that you should know a lot about the situation in that forest, why are there so many heretics gathered?"

"I don't know what's going on. Asa shook his head. Judging by the magistrate's words, the workers who died in the Whispering Forest appear to be at the hands of the Deadwood Guard. But that's all he could see. As for how the shocking power of the Sunwell Enchantment, which could have been awe-inspiring and dare not face or even recall, weakened and disappeared, and what happened to those inexplicable stone statues. He couldn't figure it out either. After thinking about it, Asa decided, "Let's go find those who have seen it with your own eyes and ask about it." ”

The lumber yard outside the city had been torn to pieces by the heretics of the 'God of Nature', and the two went to the lumber yard's office in the city. When several timber millers heard that the minister had arrived, they hurriedly greeted him, and Rodhart asked the timber millers to call the workers who had witnessed these events for questioning.

Naturally, the timber mill owner complied immediately, and said that the big boss behind the scenes also happened to have come from the royal capital, and wanted to invite him out to meet with the two ministers.

"Aren't these guys bosses?" Asa asked Rodhart quietly.

Rodhart replied, "These are just small bosses below, and Airy's timber industry is almost entirely owned by the Elney family. ”

Surrounded by the owner of the timber planter, the man behind the scenes stepped out. Asa and Rodhart were startled and looked at each other.

This big boss behind the scenes does not have the slightest wealth and kindness characteristic of a businessman. Leng Jun's face seemed to have a hint of murderous aura because of his seriousness, and his tall and straight figure exuded the condescending sense of oppression he was used to, and even the timber owners next to him felt uncomfortable. He looked coldly at the two ministers, without showing any respect or surprise.

"Captain Clauvis, I didn't expect to meet you here. Rodhart smiled and nodded at him. "I don't know what you're doing here. ”

Clauvis sat down in the chair opposite him and replied coldly, "This is my family's property, and I don't need to worry about it if I come to take care of it." Do whatever you want. ”

"Yes. Rodhart smiled kindly. Naturally, he made a quiet gesture to Asa.

No matter how big the property is, there is absolutely no need for the captain of the Holy Knights, the deputy of the Duke to take care of it. Needless to say, Clauis came here for another purpose. As for the purpose, I don't know what the purpose is, but I don't think it's just to help the two of them.

The lumber millers had already brought in all the workers who had gone through the strange things and were still in the city, and there were only a dozen of them in all. They lined up in a row, and listened to one of the timber millers say, "Listen, these two Chincha lords want to know what you are doing in that damned forest those days, and you have to tell all the details." ”

Among the "yes" and "got it" answers, there was a prominent voice "Huh". The voice was loud, and the person who spoke was undoubtedly amazed.

Everyone looked at the man who was screaming. It was a lean little man, with no fat on his body but as if he could squeeze iron juice, his skin was dark, his hair was strangely tied together with a cloth towel, and he had a small goatee. He didn't care about the eyes of the crowd, but stared straight at the two Chinchas, and that look was like seeing the strangest animals in the world.

Asa only thought that this man was familiar at first glance, and after thinking about it for a while, he remembered that he was the leader of the remaining villagers of Rodhart, Levin the Hunter. I just didn't expect him to return to Airy and work as a laborer in the Elney family's lumber factory.

The look on Rodhart's face must have been surprised, but by the time Asa looked back at him, he had already stood up, walked over and took the hand of his long-lost countryman, and said, "This big worker brother looks so familiar..... Oh, by the way, we're fellows. ”

"How can you...."Hunter Levine still glared and did not relent, he did not expect to meet them here more than Rodhart, and the two of them had actually become ministers.

"We have a lot to ask you, and we ask you to tell us. Rodhart gripped Hunter Levin's hand tightly, and the smile on his face did not change in the slightest.

"Ahh Yes. Oh. Good, good. The hunter seems to have finally understood Rodhart's hint.

Clauvis's face was still cold and expressionless, but there seemed to be a flash of light in his eyes. Asa saw it.

After listening to the workers' accounts, Rodhart motioned for Asa to prepare to leave. As if suddenly he remembered something, he said to the hunter: "Please come back with us, this fellow." I still have a lot more to ask you individually. ”

"No, I can't. Clauvis, who had been there as silent as a statue, suddenly spoke. His voice was even colder than his expression. "He is a member of our lumber mill for the duration of the helper agreement. ”

"I just want to ....." Rodhart was still smiling, and his voice was kind.

"You can't do anything if you want to, and I can't do it if I say no. Crowvis's attitude was still as cold as a rock.

Asa suddenly said in a deep voice, "We are now the ministers of the Imperial Mission, and we can make decisions on all matters in Airi. ”

"I'm the squad leader of the Paladins. In case of emergency, I have absolute control over the local army. Crowis stood up, his voice and expression sharpening.

Asa snorted coldly: "What kind of emergency is this...."Rodhart stretched out his hand to stop Asa, just smiled at Clauvis, and said, "Since that's the case, there's no way." Only another day. ”

Walking out of the lumber yard, Asa immediately asked Rodhart, "Why don't you take the man away by force?" ”

"Of course he didn't have a good heart. He should have been sent by the Duke to spy on or deal with us. Rodhart's expression sank as soon as he walked out of the lumber yard. "And he's discovered that there must be some secret relationship between the hunter's communication and the two of us. I was so careless to make such an obvious hint. ”

"Then why did you stop me from forcibly taking people away?" Asa asked again.

"It's not to stop you from taking people away, but to stop you from revealing again that we have to take them away. Levine would never come back on his own, and even if we forcibly took him alone, Clauis knew there must be something very important in it, and he would definitely go to someone else who was related to him. Rodhart walked briskly out of the city. "We're going to take everyone away at once. Now I can only hope that my senior brother will not be able to ask anything during this time. ”

As soon as Rodhart and Asa left, Clauvis took the hunter Levine to a separate room.

"Now I'm going to ask some questions about your fellow countryman and his friends. What did he mean by the hint to you, and why did they want to take you away so much?" Clauis ordered the lowly pariah in front of him forcefully. "Hurry up and answer. ”