Chapter VII

Winters in the Empire are very cold, and in this world of magical civilizations, the heating is nothing more than a fireplace at best.

Therefore, most people in this world are reluctant to go out in winter, whether it is a snow-covered road or an unusually hungry beast, it will cause them a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Winters in the Empire were colder than in the south, and most of the time, there were hardly a few pedestrians on the roadside, but some wild beasts could be seen, staring at the snow with blood-red eyes from hunger, waiting for their prey.

For example, the five or six mountain wolves in front of you......

They were far behind a team of humans, looking for an opportunity to hunt, and their flattened bellies and bloodthirsty eyes meant they were hungry.

"Rustling ......"

In the wolf's view, it was a team of creatures called humans.

In their understanding, human beings are very complex creatures, some humans are very weak, and when they see them, they will only turn around and flee in a hurry, this is the prey that can be preyed, but some humans are very strong, so strong that they are afraid from the bottom of their hearts......

"Woo!" the beast was not without intelligence, and several mountain wolves glanced at each other and followed the team from a distance.

Wolves are very patient creatures, and they are very cunning, they will test the reaction of their prey many times, and finally decide to hunt or leave, but these humans in front of them make them a little dazed.

The humans looked very weak as they kept their heads down, but from them, the wolves felt an oppressive force, a sense of fear that came from the instinct of the beast.

These humans are very dangerous!

"Archbishop, those brutes have followed us all the way, do you want to ......?" whispered a man dressed like a monk in a white cloak, and as for the person he was talking to, it was the old man at the front of the line, the old man in the bright red robe.

It was a group of nine people, and the leader was undoubtedly the old man, his beautifully crafted bright red magic robes, and the dense patterns of golden runes on the robes, all of which showed the dignity of the old man's identity.

Not surprisingly, this old man is one of the twelve cardinals of the Holy See, and one of the strongest in Thessalonia, and the white magician Andrew Ashwarn, who enjoys great honor in both seniority and fame.

The cardinal, also known as the cardinal, is the most effective assistant and adviser to the pope, is a person who is qualified to participate in the Senate, and is generally selected and appointed by the pope.

"What an energetic bunch of 'little guys'!" said Father Andrew, smiling and looking back, shaking his head, "Yves, God says that prejudice arises from sin, provokes anger, and degrades people...... Everything in the world is a gift from God, be merciful and merciful, cherish every life given by God, and not be angry or despise......"

Listening to Father Andrew's tirade, the two white-robed friars behind him smiled wryly and bowed their heads, and said respectfully, "Yes, yes, Archbishop......"

The two of them were Father Andrew's assistants, Eves James and Laurel Neber.

In the Holy See, the bishop and the assistant friars are not only subordinate and superior, but also have the flavor of mentors and apprentices, each assistant friar will deal with the ordinary things of the Holy See under the guidance of the bishop they follow, and when these monks are proficient, they will be sent to various Holy Sees, become a priest, and then, after a series of strict examinations, even qualified to become a bishop, which is the basic means of cultivating talents in the Holy See.

But if it is an assistant friar to a cardinal, then it must be some young man of outstanding talent, who is likely to reach the status of cardinal in the future.

In this regard, the Holy See followed the rules of knights hundreds of years ago: to become a knight, one must first be taught by a knight, as a subordinate of that knight, even if it is a nobleman.

Therefore, the monks around the cardinal are usually treated far beyond their rank.

As Father Andrew spoke, the nearby wolves were a little nervous, as if they couldn't stand the pain of hunger, and they roared and leaned forward, but then they were frightened away by a cold snort.

"Humph!"

The one who let out a cold snort was one of the six guys behind Father Andrew, unlike Andrew, the six people covered themselves in dark red robes, and they couldn't see their faces at all, the kind of robes that resembled human blood were printed with a series of runes, black, and their bodies exuded a depressing aura.

Unlike Father Andrew, they come from another department of the Holy See, a department that the Holy See does not want to make public, the Inquisition of Heresies!

Neither monks nor priests, they are holy judges!

If the Cardinal is the most powerful guardian of the Holy See, then the Holy Inquisitor is the sharpest spear of the Holy See.

They have a devout, almost fanatical faith, and they will treat and eradicate all those who are unfavorable to the Holy See and disrespectful to the gods as infidels.

Crazy, paranoid, fanatical, the Holy Inquisitor is more of a combat unit than a clergyman, like the royal knights and royal magicians of the Empire, and in some ways, these Holy Inquisitors who believe in the Holy Light are far more feared, even disgusting, than the dark magicians!

Although the leader of this team is Andrew, in the final analysis, Andrew does not command the authority of the Holy Inquisition, and the Holy Inquisition of the Inquisition is directly under the command of the Pope.

It is worth mentioning that in the eyes of the Holy Inquisitor, all the black magicians of the empire are heretics and should be judged by the divine.

Fortunately, although Andrew did not have the authority to order these holy magistrates, his status was enough to deter them.

At this moment, the wolves surrounded them, and they stood in front of the group, as if they were making a final test, and if the prey before them appeared to panic at all, they would roar and pounce on them to feast on them.

Helplessly, the team stopped, and one of the Holy Inquisitors raised his head slightly, glanced at the wolf, withdrew his hands from his wide robes, and said in a flat and emotionless tone, "Believers who dare to stop God don't know whether they live or die!"

That kind of tone that was cold to the bones, even the mountain wolves couldn't help but feel frightened, and subconsciously took a few steps back.

"I, listen to the will of God, ...... in the name of God"

"Stop! Brother Cheshe!" Just as the Holy Inquisitor was about to eradicate the wolves in front of him one by one, Andrew stopped him.

Walter Chescher was the leader of the six Holy Inquisitioners.

I saw him raise his head and glance at Andrew, and after a moment of silence, he finally retracted his hands into the sleeves of his wide robes, and from beginning to end, the other five Holy Inquisitors did not show the slightest expression.

"Alas!" said Father Andrew, shaking his head and sighing after looking at the six companions who had given him a great headache, and then went straight to the wolf, holding a piece of dried meat in his right hand stretched out from his robe, and whispered, "Stand back, little one!"

It could be seen that the wolf was wary of Andrew, and he roared at the priest, hesitating to pounce on the human in front of him, but the instinct of the beast told him not to do so.

In a short silence, the head wolf looked up and took the meat in Father Andrew's hand, and roared at the wolves beside him, and they retreated.

When retreating, the wolves turned back one by one, maybe the rest of the mountain wolves were still a little unwilling to the prey in front of them, just out of not daring to disobey the leader's orders, and the wolf's eyes were no longer crazy just now, but full of questions.

Human beings are truly complex creatures!

"What a wise choice!" said the young assistant monk named Ives James, with a smile.

"Hehe," said Father Andrew, smiling, "don't underestimate the wisdom of the beasts, they have survived in the harshest conditions before we humans existed, and their history is older than ours, which is enough for us to respect them...... God has given them companionship with us, cherishing life, not killing, this is God's holy will!" He couldn't help but look at the six Holy Inquisitioners, but to his regret, the six Holy Inquisitors had no expression from beginning to end, like six statues standing in the cold wind.

As a cardinal, although Father Andrew had heard more than once about the Inquisition Bureau, a department subordinate to the Holy See, and generally knew what kind of guys were inside, he did not expect it to be so cold and unapproachable.

Not only did the priest think so, but so did the two assistant friars beside him.

"Bishop, are they really clergy?" asked the young Eves, looking at the statue of the Holy Inquisitor behind him.

Andrew shook his head with a wry smile, the learned priest didn't know how to answer.

It is precisely because they don't know that the Holy See is reluctant to make this heretical Inquisition department public, which will make the Holy See lose face, because they are clergy, believers in God, listen to the holy will, and are white magicians, not those black magicians in the empire who only care about studying the power of magic!

"Ahem, ahem!" Father Andrew coughed lightly.

Could it be that a cardinal is coughing because of the cold?

Honestly, it's not funny!

If we look at it really, we can see that Father Andrew is not in good spirits.

"Bishop," said Brother Yves worriedly, "the snow is too heavy on the road, let's find a place to rest first, I don't think that fellow will be able to escape!"

"Impossible?" said Father Andrew, shaking his head with a wry smile and a solemn expression, "Argus Bart Cranfield, don't underestimate this man! This man is dangerous, he has the 'power' to change the world, and he is not weaker than me......"

"How is this possible?" said Laurel, another young assistant friar, in shock.

"Nothing is impossible, as long as there is ...... behind him," said old Andrew, who was silent, and until now, he could not forget those eyes, those eyes that appeared when he invaded the dark magician's soul with his mind magic......

That feeling......

It's like a god looking down on an ant......

How can it be?!

The gods should have fallen in ancient times, and there is only one god in the world today, and that is the guardian of the Holy See, because 'he' is different!

But Father Andrew can be sure that Argus Bart Cranfield is guarded by a powerful, unknown force, and there can be no doubt about it!

Otherwise, how could you let yourself be backlashed?

But what kind of force is that?

Could it really be that power from a god? or a demon......

"Demon, Enh, sure!" At the same time, Argus, dozens of miles away, was sitting by the campfire with the children discussing what had just happened.

"Yes, only a demon would do such an evil thing!" Lisa said with a sworn nod.

"Soth, are you feeling okay?" Seeing Jiang Zhe staring at the dancing flames in the campfire in silence, Dia asked with a little concern.

Jiang Zhe shook his head and was about to speak, but he heard Argus tease and say, "What's the matter? I was still praising you for being decisive just now, how could this be...... You are just freeing those wretched people, you are nothing, I forgive you in the name of God, little devil!"

"Hmph!" Jiang Zhe rolled his eyes and said speechlessly, "I don't feel any meaning when this sentence comes out of your mouth!"

"Huh?" Argus was stunned, blinked and smiled, "Sure, I'm not a monk in the first place, that kind of weak god, I don't bother to believe!"

"Weak gods?" said Scott, surprised, "Argus, do you mean the god of light who guards the Holy See?"

"So what, little ghost?"

To be honest, Scott was a little dissatisfied with Argus's tone, but he could also hear that the other party had no malicious intent.

"Argus, you said you were from Thessalonia, have you ever heard of the deeds of the god of light? I have seen from the literature that all the gods have fallen in distant times, and the god of light of the Holy See seems to be the only one who has survived...... Argus, are there really gods?"

"The god of light, the god of light?" Argus pursed his lips disdainfully, shook his head and sneered, "Aren't black magicians not believing in gods......?"

"No," Alan retorted in surprise, "I used to be in Operels, but I heard that many people had seen the God of Light of the Holy See!"

"Hmph!" Argus said with a contemptuous smile and a meaningful meaning, "Little ghost, the so-called gods are strong people with powers that you can't think, and those who survive by faith are not qualified to be called gods at all!"

"Huh?" the children were stunned, and Lyrela asked curiously, "Argus, don't all the people of Salonia believe in gods?

"Hehe," Argus shook his head and smiled, and said softly, "the Holy See is the Holy See, and Salonia is Salonia, don't mess with this, as for whether I believe that there are gods in the world...... I believe it!"

"Do you believe it?" Jiang Zhe, who was talking to Dia, suddenly turned his head and said with a surprised face, "Didn't you say that there are no gods in the world?"

Glancing at Jiang Zhe, Argus put away the joke on his face, and said with a straight face, "Little ghost! God, will never fall! The so-called gods you mentioned have just withdrawn from our world! The game is over, they are tired and choose to sleep, that's all, our world is just a place for them to have fun!"

"This ......," looked at Argus hesitantly, and Scott pushed his glasses and frowned, "I think I've seen this kind of statement in some literature......"

What Scott said made Argus's eyes change slightly, and he seemed to realize that he had said something that he shouldn't have said, so he changed the subject, and said while baking the fire, "Okay, let's stop the discussion of the gods, it's already dawn, aren't you going to that village called Asher?"

The children subconsciously glanced at the traces of the fire not far away, which were left by the traces left by the disposal of wolves and werewolf corpses.

"Yes!" Scott pushed his glasses and said in a deep voice, "We're going to see if that guy actually trampled on the laws of the empire and did such a cruel thing!"

"What kind of fellow?" Argus said lightly, throwing a piece of wood into the campfire with a flash of contempt in his eyes, "just a poor creature lost by great power!"

"Ellen," Lisa whispered with some trepidation, tugging at the sleeve of Ellen's robe, "Do you really want to go?" I think we should go to Professor Hodd, and I don't think the professor will be angry as long as we apologize...... If those werewolves were really the villagers of Asher's village, then ...... That ......"

"Don't worry, no matter what, your knight will always protect you!" Alan grinned as he cheered Lisa on.

"Heh," as if seeing through Alan's thoughts, Argus sneered, "Excessive curiosity will only cause unnecessary trouble! Those werewolves just now are not so much werewolves as some soulless corpses, some poor worms! The real werewolves are not so easy to deal with, I advise you to listen to that little girl and go back obediently......"

Before Argus could finish speaking, Lavia made her mean in a few words.

"That kind of guy, unforgivable!"

"Oh?" said Argus, looking at the girl with a sense of justice.

Of course, he was only interested in the rest of the little things, such as the fact that the girl seemed to have some mixed feelings about the imp named Soth......

Sadly, however, the imp named Soth seemed to be more interested in the blue-haired girl next to him......

Hey!

With a strange smile, Argus touched his chin.

"Yes, what's wrong?" Lavia couldn't stand Argus's teasing eyes, and at the same time felt inexplicable, she had the illusion that her inner thoughts had been exposed, which made her panic.

"Oh, nothing," Argus asked, shaking his head and rubbing his hands, "I've advised you, but...... Are you sure you want to go to that village?"

The children looked at each other and nodded their heads in succession.

What a bunch of imps!

Ignorant, stupid, pretentious......

But......

"Alright then," Argus prayed, tapping his left chest with his right hand, "little imps, God bless you!"

"Cut!" the children pouted dissatisfiedly, and although they had only been with Argus for a few hours, they had a very good conversation, especially Alan, who was close to shoulder-to-shoulder with Argus.

"And what about you, Argus, come with us, wouldn't it be a pity to miss such an interesting thing?"

"Me?" said Argus shook his head with a wry smile.

If you don't have those annoying guys behind you, you'll probably be happy......

Just as he was about to refuse, a wolf howl was heard from the direction of Asher's village, mixed with human roars......

"Go, something seems to have happened!"

"Hey, hey, hey......"

Watching the children run away all at once, Argus was a little amused.

Suddenly, a strange figure resembling a human figure slowly appeared next to him, and when he looked closely, it was clearly the white shadow of the children peeping at the village in Rio a few days ago.

"Hmm, how could such a thing happen?"

Argus's face was full of incredulity.

"Looks like those imps are in big trouble......"

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