Two days later, the bishop presided over a special blessing ceremony in the city of Tournest.

The ceremony itself mimics the prayers, but is not held in the morning, but in the evening, and the people of the city are divided into categories such as men, women, children, monks, laymen, and local pilgrims, and each is guided by a group of priests with unlit candles, who follow a pre-planned route through the Tournest Hospital, the makeshift shelter where the inhabitants were evacuated during the siege of the day, and the gates that were fiercely contested during the siege......

They had seen the place where the Lackadian battering rams had beaten that day, and the scars on the ochre-red walls were visible.

They walked along the banks of the Teng River, where the prosperity of the past was long gone, and as far as the eye could see, there were neither merchant ships from all over the world that came to trade, nor the busy merchants and workers of the past.

They eventually gathered around the ruins of the new town, and the man in charge of the guide told them what kind of workshops were planned to be built here, and what kind of workshops were expected to be built there. They could see the roads that had been dug up and were just waiting to be paved - no, in some places they could see that the stones had been paved, but had been dug up by the hateful Lackadians and used as stone projectiles to be thrown into the city.

At the intersection of the circular ruins was to build a fountain comparable to that of the ancient empire, with St. Aubrey at the top, and angels and unicorns at the bottom, making it a new sight for pilgrims from all directions.

But now, the marble that had been carved was smashed to pieces, and there were horrible brown spots flying on it.

The guide told the crowd in a low voice. The unfortunate Humphrey craftsmen were killed on the spot, and the gold and bronze that had been used to decorate the fountain and St. Aubrey were taken by the pagans.

This is just one of many devastations.

Some of the trees along the road that have been planted are now not even left with their roots. Because the aggressor needs to chop wood. They left their horses in small gardens where citizens and pilgrims rested and entertained, and spoiled the place.

At last. All the people gathered together at a wall that had not been completed, where the bishop was to preach to them and lead the people to pray.

The guides lit candles and the crowd fell silent.

The bishop began his sermon, and it soon became clear that it was not a sermon, but a lecture.

Here's what he said:

"Dearest brothers, dearest sisters, I have noticed that many of you think of your suffering brothers and sisters when they see the ruins of our looting and burning by the infidels. Thus mourn and weep - yes! Who would be indifferent to this tragic scene? Even a complete stranger will sigh at the sight of these ruins, at the sight of those newly erected graves! ”

He begins with this, and then goes on: "We have suffered great misfortune at the hands of the infidels, and all who have eyes can see it, but apart from sorrow and weeping, are we still indifferent to the calamity that befalls us? ”

These words made many people raise their heads in amazement.

The bishop continued his oratory: "If a shepherd. After losing his sheep, he neither bought a shepherd dog nor mended the sheepfold, but continued to get drunk every day and did not take care of his flock at all. So is he really sad about his lost sheep? If a vineyard owner neither prunes the branches nor waters the grapes. Then his lamentation during the harvest season is just hypocrisy. O citizens of Tournest. O inhabitants of the diocese of Tournest, all those who lament and weep over the recent catastrophe that has befallen Tournest. If you don't repent, if you don't act, I foresee an even greater calamity coming to you! ”

He paused for a moment, waited for the crowd's astonishment to pass, and then strengthened his tone: "No, I don't think you will act, because you have always been like that, greedy for comfort, otherwise, how could you allow Tournest to fall into the situation he is today?" ”

The astonishment of the crowd was even louder, for the bishop had never rebuked them so harshly, and this time the bishop did not wait but went on in one breath: "My dear hometown of Tournest, it is so beautiful and fertile—the mountains provide us with all kinds of trees, from oaks, king of all trees, to tender birches, so that we do not have to resort to the land for the repair of churches or for chopping wood; Our pastures are suitable for all kinds of livestock, our wool is famous among the nations, and our cattle and horses are no less than anywhere else in Neustria; Our fields are rich in cereals and fruits, four kinds of wheat, grapes, wicker, and all kinds of vegetables, but what can be grown elsewhere in Neustria but not in Turnest? No! In addition to the water they bring to our fields for irrigation, the rushing Arrow River and other rivers are rich in fish and shellfish, and ah, the sea! The sea is especially rich! The sea brought us sacred scriptures, and foreign merchants and craftsmen brought in many fish, shellfish, shrimp, and seaweed that could be used as fodder for the sheep...... We can find agate and jasper in the streams of the mountains, pearls and amber on the seashore...... In Leeds, we have iron mines, in Cattelan we have copper mines, and in Trobaz we have lead and zinc mines......"

After proudly enumerating the production of the diocese of Tournest, he said of the city of Tournest: "The city protected by St. Aubrey can be called the crown of the diocese of Tournest, which was famous among the nations in pagan times and has not diminished its splendour, whose churches and monasteries are full of saints and relics, whose bells never cease to sound like the sea breeze, whose workshops and workshops produce goods that the merchants of the country and the nations of the world are vying to buy, and who have come to buy them with real money, The nations praised Neustria for the blessing of having such a city, and they thought that we would make it our honor...... Yet, we have left the princesses of the city to wander the streets, unclothed, and humiliated by the scoundrels and even more unbearable! Make her bruised! Whether it's a northerner, a Rakkadian, or a nobleman from her own country, anyone can bully her! ”

At this point, the bishop bowed his head, and he was standing on a high platform to address the crowd, so that this bowing did not prevent the crowd from seeing the look of self-reproach on his handsome face.

"I'm guilty."

The crowd was in an uproar of astonishment, and the bishop waited for their voices to subside, and then continued his speech in the name of the sermon in an even deeper voice: "I have allowed my diocese to fall to this point. ”

No, the crowd says that you are more diligent and loving this diocese than any of us, and who has not seen it? If this is not the bishop himself, they will consider it blasphemy!

"However, I believe that as long as we start today, with our hearts and not with our mouths, with our actions and not with prayer...... Then it's not too late! The bishop raised his head, he closed the holy book and pressed it to his chest, and his expression was solemn, "I swear that I will put an end to the war, so that no robber can invade Turnest again, neither the pagans nor the outlaw nobles of my own country, and not defeat them as a victory, but bring them all to justice, and let them be judged and punished justly; I want peace for Tournest, so that even a young woman can carry her baby in her arms, from border to border, and no one dares to beat her and her baby, no one dares to make an act of tying her and her child to sell her, so that all the people of Tournest, whether on the ecclesiastical estate or elsewhere, can live happily, peacefully, and peacefully, so that the whole diocese of Tournest will have no power except for justice! That's my minimum goal. (To be continued......)