Unlike the kingdom of the gods in the eastern part of the Dark Mountains, where the ice and snow have melted, the mountains in the west are still frozen for thousands of miles, and the snow is falling.

Snow, covering mountain after mountain, blocking road after road.

No one could travel far, so they could only stay in the cold and leaky room and shiver.

Winter is the worst enemy of the people who live here. I don't know how many people die every year because of cold and hunger. Even though the mill village is home to the Holy See, it is still plagued by food shortages.

Months passed, a rudimentary stone church was erected next to Alice's house, the knight's sword engraved with the mark of the immortal bird was enshrined on the altar, and a pair of embroidery of the sacred bird shrouded in black flames hung on the walls of the church, and it was not known where these remnants had found such a large piece of expensive silk.

Before the onset of winter, new believers from other places often trek through mountains and rivers to make a pilgrimage, and this place has become a holy place of apparition.

In the snowy weather, only the road in front of the church in the village was free of snow, and Hilda shook off the snow from her cloak at the door, and pushed the door before she had time to tidy up.

"Praise be to my lord, and praise to St. Alice." Hilda said from the bottom of her heart. Because no matter when she comes, she can always see the pious back of the saint.

"It's Hilda, wait for me." I saw Alice kneeling on the ground, her arms quickly rubbing her numb legs, trying to get up and reply.

Seeing this, Hilda immediately stepped forward to help her warm up, and couldn't help but worry: "The church is so cold, why don't you build a brazier here?" What if I freeze my body? It is up to you to proclaim the name of my lord. ”

Alice smiled faintly: "It's difficult to chop firewood in winter, so you can save a little bit." ”

"But you can't let that harm your health!" Hilda's eyes couldn't help but moisten.

Alice laughed when she heard this, and said, "The priest has misunderstood. I just knelt for a long time, and my blood was not smooth, and my feet were numb, not frozen. In fact, I don't feel cold even if I wear less. I don't believe you touch it. She shook the other's hand.

Hilda was shocked, Alice's palm was very warm and soft, and there was not a trace of chilblains and redness on it. This made her sigh: "The saint is really favored by my lord, and the cold and heat will not invade." ”

After recovering for a while, Alice was finally able to stand up and asked, "Why did you come to me?" It's not Monday again, and there's no regular meeting. ”

The day of the founding of the Holy Fire Cult was Monday, so Alice and the twelve priests elected behind it stipulated that believers should be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and come to the church for centralized worship.

Monday was also the time for her to meet with the priests to discuss various matters.

I heard Hilda say worriedly: "If there is no important matter, I dare not take the liberty of bothering, but this matter is urgent—saint, there is not much food in the village, but I am afraid that many people will not survive the day when the ice and snow melt in the summer." ”

"Wasn't last year a bumper harvest? There are other villages that offer food to the church, why is there not enough? Alice wondered.

Hilda hurriedly explained: "It was enough, but there are too many people who come to the pilgrimage before winter, and many times they come hungry...... In addition, many believers have moved here with their families, and they have no land and little food to store, so they can only rely on us to help them survive after winter. This is why there is not enough food - I have already consulted with the Corinna Priests before I met you, and the only way to get the Holy See through this winter is to let the villagers continue to offer food, do you think it is feasible? ”

"Of course not." Alice refused without thinking about it, "The villagers here are all God's people, how can we let them use life-saving food to worship the Holy See!" ”

"But if they don't, many of the priests will starve to death, and they are the most devout believers in God!" Hilda advised, "These are the people we have found with great difficulty who can understand the scriptures and compile the scriptures. After the summer, the missionary tasks and the future classics of the church will all depend on them. ”

"Do you mean, Priest Hilda, that the lives of these literate and capable believers are more important than those who are illiterate and only know how to pray and serve God?" Unmoved, Alice asked rhetorically.

Hilda already had the answer in her heart, but she was speechless at the moment, and after a moment of silence, she said solemnly: "I hope you will focus on the overall situation, these people are the arms that will help you fulfill the trust of my lord in the future." ”

A hint of mockery flashed in Alice's eyes, she shook her head, and said firmly: "My Lord saved me in times of crisis, and I will not abandon the Lord's people in times of crisis." ”

"But ......"

Hilda tried to persuade again, but Alice interrupted: "Claude, they have practiced their fighting spirit and for a while, go and find them—we have accepted everyone's worship for so long, and it is time to repay them." ”

Hilda guessed her intentions, and couldn't help but look shocked and ashamed. I opened my mouth, but I couldn't say anything, so I could only hide my face and leave......

Alice knelt down again under the knight's sword and portrait, and prayed: "My lord, Alice wants to lead Claude and the others into the mountains to hunt, I hope you will bless us to hunt enough prey to help the village survive this difficult winter......"

————

Based on Sean's account, combined with the information he received from Hawkins, Herman knew very well that these people were coming for their castles on the plains.

"Sean, how much grain is there in Fort Rouen, how many growers are there?" Herman asked.

"There are more than 30 bags of wheat left, and there are 32 people from five households." Sean's face was heavy, "But most of these planters and those twenty warriors will not be spared, these people are all devils!" ”

One ton is equal to 2,200 pounds, and a bag of wheat is 100 pounds.

Herman frowned: "It's less than a ton and a half, why is it so little?" He quickly understood, "It's because the food stocks of all the nearby castles are concentrated in Deciduous Castle, so a whole team will be sent to garrison it." ”

Sean nodded: "Yes, at the beginning of winter, all the harvests of the six nearby castles were transported here, and these grains were supposed to be transported back to Fort Edmund according to the usual practice, but because the war began, it was temporarily stored here for emergencies." We also knew that there would be heavy guards here, so we fled here. ”

Herman pondered for a moment, then said to Moore and Claire, "If the Vault Dweller's goal is this food, I think we'll soon receive calls for help from other castles." What to do then? ”

The two of them also had a hard time hearing this. It is by no means a tradition of the Knights to die or to save them, but once someone is sent to the rescue, it will cause even greater disasters if it is lost, and they will commit more serious crimes.

Murth thought about it before he said, "Deciduous Castle must not be lost, as for the other castles, how about we send samurai to summon them and ask them to abandon the castle and bring their grain and planters to Deciduous Castle to meet?" In addition to Fort Rouge and Round Castle, there are also four castles, eight source knights, and one hundred and sixty armored warriors, all of whom are assembled to be a force that is not inferior to us, and can definitely protect the safety of Fallen Leaf Castle. ”

When Herman heard Moore's words that the Fallen Leaf Castle must not be lost, he thought of Hawkins's words before leaving—the entire castle had a hundred tons of grain in stock, and the lives of more than 2,000 planters were not as important as Grace's, and he couldn't help but feel sad in his heart. He sighed secretly and shook his head: "Without the order of the Knights, how can we persuade those people to abandon the castle based on our words alone, don't forget what the first principle of the Knights is - loyalty." No one dared to move without an order, and no one dared to bear the responsibility for abandoning the city and fleeing. ”

"How about gathering those people in my name?" Claire Drive.

Moore's eyes lit up: "You are a wizard, as long as you make a summon, you will not dare not come." ”

"That's ...... that"

Claire was about to continue, but was rudely interrupted by Herman: "No. If you are in danger, you have the right to mobilize those garrison knights, but now we stay in the castle, and if you trick them into leaving their posts without permission, they will not be able to report the truth to you afterwards. Lying about the military and causing the castle to fall - Claire, will you have a mentor at the wizard? It was the first time he had called a witch by her first name.

Moore's eyes darkened, if she had the support of her mentor, she could still stay in the remote mines for so long, and she was still only an awakened person? William had already told them these things.

Claire bit her lip and didn't hold on in the end.

Sean on the bed also understood something when he saw this.

Leaving the room, Herman instructed Moore: "Go back and ask where the castles are, and immediately send a letter to them to strengthen their guard." Tell them that in the end, if they really can't hold it, they will bring people to Deciduous Castle, and by the way, they must tell them that no matter what, they can't leave food and grass for their opponents. ”

Both are knights and are well aware that food and power stones are equally important. Without enough food, the Vault Dwellers would never last long, and once they were given the food and grass they had hoarded in the castle, the destructive power of these people was staggering.

"Yes!" Moore replied with a solemn expression.

After Moore left, Herman looked at the sullen Claire and asked curiously, "What kind of witchcraft is in the scroll?" ”

During this time, Claire had already read the contents with her spiritual power, and as soon as Herman asked, she immediately threw what she had just done out of the clouds, and said happily: "It's the wizarding voice of the elf clan, the level is level four, and you really lost 40,000 contribution points now." No, at the price that wizards would buy out, you'd lose a whopping 110,000. Claire, who took a big advantage, was overjoyed, after all, in the wizarding club, the price of fourth-level witchcraft is 70,000 contribution points, even if it is an ordinary gifted wizard, it will take two or three years to save it before it can be exchanged.

However, whether it can be redeemed is one thing, and whether it can be used is another.

Witchcraft is different from magic, as long as you practice the spell a few times, there will always be a time for success. Because magic is the embodiment of the laws of nature, a lot of repetitive practice is the key to a wizard's mastery of magic, and as long as they practice it enough, some wizards can even cast magic without spells. They call this ability instantaneous.

Witchcraft, on the other hand, has nothing to do with the law, and its essence is the resonance between spirits. It is the response of the high-level spirit to the low-level spirit, and it is not so much a technique as the accuracy of the "contract". The validity of this deed is in the hands of the higher spirits: witchcraft will only succeed if the frequencies of both parties are in line and the advanced spirits are willing to respond.

Therefore, even if some wizards are magical geniuses, they are likely to be witchcraft idiots. And even if some people are magical idiots, they are likely to be witchcraft geniuses.

But Claire Holt is a rare figure who is both a genius of magic and a genius of witchcraft.

She has fallen to this point because of her beauty.