Section 199 Price

If it were to be said that there were evil god believers in Eagle Falcon City, the church would definitely be the first to jump out and deny it. The priests of those churches could even swear by it. If the identity of a cultist is really proven, then the church will also describe it as "solitary evidence" and "accidental".

But on the other hand, such rumors have never been eliminated in the city. Who made Eagle City the royal city of Gruni, and Gruni was the first line of resistance to the invasion of the evil gods? The cultists of the evil gods were so stupid that they couldn't even send a spy spy - no one would believe them. It may be difficult for barbarians from the wasteland to infiltrate, but there are really a lot of people who were born in the Seven Kingdoms and end up believing in evil gods.

Of course, these people are very hidden. They were exposed not because they were careless, but because of some irresistible force of fate. For example, an accident, a political murder, or a theft. The Gruni royal family has worked well with the church in dealing with these matters. All the cultists who were exposed would be sent to the church quietly, and the rest would be taken over by the church's injurious organs. And in this regard, the church is also quite conscientious, especially since they have a set of methods for identifying cultists, so that such judgments rarely affect the pond fish.

"Well, that's understandable. ”

The current situation is clear. The first was that the northern frontier was attacked by the armies of the barbarians. As with the strategy adopted in the past, the lords and garrisons in the north relied on the strong stone fortresses and the tactics of clearing the fields with strong walls to temporarily delay the enemy's attack. According to the information sent by Rafah, relying on the northern army, the existing situation only means that the enemy is delaying, and it is impossible to directly expel the enemy. The overall situation is similar to that of the invasions that have been taking place for hundreds of years: the two sides face each other on the border, and neither side can achieve a decisive victory. When the invaders are exhausted, the royal family will send reinforcements. That is, the "block-attrition-counterattack" tactic mentioned in the book.

Countless times it has been proven that this trick has been tried and tested. The last accident was not because this trick was not useful, but because the cultists of the evil gods relied on the help of the traitors to break through the White Fort in a surprise way. Therefore, when the first king attacked, he was not faced with a tired enemy, but with a high-morale and well-replenished barbarian army. Eventually, this led to a major catastrophe in which the king was killed in battle and the country was in chaos.

At least on the surface, the results won't be any different this time. In particular, while the barbarians were held back by the fortified city, the rebellion in the south by the Duke of Byron was just swept away. In other words, everything was just right in terms of timing, and Gruni had more than enough room to fight this invasion.

The only thing that puzzles people is the church. According to Rhodia's inference, the church probably wanted to take advantage of the attack and defense of Fornoros to bargain with the little girl. But luckily, Ashruphat managed to complete the battle without the Church magicians in the war, so the Church suddenly became overwhelmed. They certainly have a lot of plans to go up to, and they need the Queen's cooperation and support – but for now, it looks as if they have lost their bargaining skills.

Of course, in terms of resisting those barbarians and those cult gods, in fact, the interests of both sides are the same. But unanimity of purpose does not affect the bargaining itself. Neither the little girl nor Rhodia understood why the church was so nervous this time, but this did not affect them to take the opportunity to beat each other.

Declaring neutrality in the context of a domestic rebellion was in itself a betrayal of the royal family. Although even the royal family can't do anything to the church, from the position of the little queen, she naturally feels very unhappy.

"Cultists...... Do you really have to ask the church to help?" the little girl asked after a moment's thought.

"It's just a possibility, and the church itself is suspicious. ”

"Your Majesty the Queen!" the guards outside announced loudly as the two spoke. "The High Priest asks to see you. ”

Speaking of which, the priest of the church has been very attentive to the door recently, and the little girl glanced at Rhodia and said outside, "Let him in." ”

A few minutes later, a man dressed in church-like priestly robes walked in.

The man looked to be in his fifties, with a square face, fair complexion, short hair, and a smooth chin. He was smiling, not because he was in a good mood right now, but because of a deep-seated habit. Since it was not the first time they had met each other, the little girl immediately recognized this person as the chief priest of the Great Temple of Eagle Falcon City - of course, this is a more official statement, and the more common title is "High Priest".

In the temple of Eagle Falcon City, there are a total of more than a dozen high-ranking priests, and this person is the supreme leader. In fact, it is not only Eagle City, this high priest is actually the control of the church in the entire Gruni, controlling thousands of churches and temples large and small in the country of Gruni, and he himself is directly responsible to the archbishop in the distance.

Coincidentally, the High Priest took office at the same time as the little girl was the queen - because in the previous fiasco, not only King Gruni was killed, but also the former High Priest was killed by the barbarians. But in any case, if you stand in the position of the church, this high priest is still very qualified. For such a long time, relying on the favorable opportunity of Byron's regency and the relaxation of royal power, the church has worked hard to expand its power. Among other things, the new, renovated and enlarged churches and shrines are the best proof of this.

But about this, in fact, the little girl is also happy to see it. Because Gruni's greatest enemy is none other than the barbarians who invaded from the north, the cultists of the evil gods. Fighting them requires not only swords and gunpowder, but also faith and magic. In this respect, the expansion of the power of the Church is also equivalent to the increase of Gruni's combat power. Of course, on the other hand, it is also because although the church is influential, it does not yet have the ability to threaten the royal power, and it has not shown any intention in this regard.

"Your Majesty. The high priest bowed slightly. It is a kind of etiquette of equal rank, marking the equal status of both parties. His gaze lingered on the little girl for a moment, and then fell on Rhodia. After seeing Rodia, his smile became three points thicker.

"This must be Ms. Rhodia...... No...... Miss?"

"She's mine...... Temporary teachers. The little girl said. "Let's sit down and talk slowly, I don't know what the high priest of the Dao has to say?"

Once seated, the high priest began to talk about the situation in the north. In short, the situation was described by him as very bad, the matter was urgent, and this time the cultists were not an ordinary invasion, let alone a plunder, but a real crisis. But this time, more secrets were finally revealed in his words - the reason why the church was so nervous was not entirely because of the various battle reports from the front, as well as the oracles from the city of Oren, and the instructions from the archbishop of the church. It is well known that although Oron was destroyed by an invading army of greenskins (which also led to the loss of prestige and reputation of the church), after the reconstruction, Oron remained the heart of the church, the central temple and the place where the archbishop was located. After all, according to the Church's texts, Oron was "the best place to listen to the oracles."

The high priest was a man of words. After some foreshadowing and emotional brewing, in his mouth, the war was finally pushed to the level of "an existential crisis". Then he made all kinds of demands to the little girl - summed up in three words: money, troops, and war.

Truth be told, this request is not only normal, but it is also in the interests of the little queen. This is because defending the homeland itself is an obligation that a king must fulfill. What king would want to lose a piece of his land unless he had to, but the high priest's demands were too harsh in the details. Because he has characterized many things, for example, he insists that the current "attrition-counterattack" is wrong, and he must immediately lead the army to fight the enemy in a decisive battle and expel the enemy from the city.

The tone and expression of his speech were too serious, which made it inconvenient for the little girl to refute for a while, so she had to look at Rhodia with her eyes.

Rhodia quickly interjected, shifting the conversation to the previous Byronic rebellion. She unceremoniously pointed out that in the midst of such a rebellion, the church did not support the royal family, but engaged in "absolute neutrality" and "did not interfere in the secular struggle for power and profit", which was a kind of blatant support for the rebels.

In this way, the two sides had a debate game around the table. The High Priest tried to shift the conversation to the current situation and make various demands. Rhodia, on the other hand, tried to shift the conversation to the "neutrality" of the previous church. However, debating skills soon became less crucial, and the negotiation gradually turned into a bargaining deal. The church came up with all kinds of conditions in exchange for the little girl to send troops as quickly as possible.

To be honest, this incident made even the little girl on the side who was temporarily an observer feel strange. Originally, it was the king's responsibility to expel foreign enemies, and the church needed to be so proactive? You must know that even if the church did nothing, the little girl would definitely send troops—it was just a matter of time and preparation. This is really puzzling for the church to do.

Maybe the conditions are so good that even Rhodia is a little embarrassed. So the two sides quickly came to an agreement - as mentioned earlier, although the actual exchange of terms for the church was not very rich, it was purely extraneous.

"That's ...... The selection of generals ...... "Rhodia has already talked about the last few details.

"Well, I have a good candidate. The high priest immediately took it. Tiberius had agreed to send troops, and General Bayrell offered to take up the post of commander-in-chief of the coalition forces. ”

"Tiberius sending troops?" Rhodia was stunned for a moment, and turned her head to look at the little girl. The latter shook his head in dismay, too.

"I don't know anything about it?" No matter what banner they are waving, they must notify the other party first and get permission, otherwise, it will undoubtedly mean a sneak attack and an undeclared war.

"Your Majesty," the High Priest looked embarrassed. "Because of the urgency of the military situation, I made an agreement with Tiberius in your name. I've come to you many times before, but unfortunately your majesty is either away from home or unwell, so I haven't had a chance to tell you. ”

"Your agreement...... What is it like? What does it cost Gruni to get reinforcements?"

"Your Majesty, this is a battle for the honor of the gods, so Tiberius has made a small territorial claim. ”