The Amber Sword - 1019. Chapter 1019

The twilight bell rang over the city of Narcissus, and the bells reverberated in the empty twilight, far and near, the setting sun sprinkled on the dome of the floating golden palace through the burning sunset, reflecting an orange-red light.

Teams of Golden Helmet guards lined up to change shifts on the ramp outside the palace wall, and the uniform voice of the ceremonial knight came from a distance, and the noise passed over the copper-plated treetops and even passed into the inner court. In the Winter Solstice Palace, Pope Petian III hurriedly finished dinner-half a carefully cooked roast lamb, a silver sea mackerel, and exquisite pastries were all served on a snow-white porcelain plate. Meat dishes were served with basil leaves and saint au Sol’s snow tree leaves are prepared, and the surface is topped with sauce and black pepper. The meat is crispy and the color is full of fragrance, but the diners themselves have no appetite. After tasting, they put down the silver knife and fork, and wiped it with a square handkerchief embroidered with gold silk. After the lips, he ordered the attendant to arrange a carriage for himself to go to the Jade Golden Hall.

Fa Enzan’s religious power is unified. Although privately the nobles will still have feuds with the temple due to the uneven distribution of benefits, but from the secular power upwards, the secular laurels and the sacred scepter are gathered in the hands of one person. For this reason, The pope is often not hereditary, usually from eight cardinals. After the abdication of the previous generation, the pope named him as a saint and lived in the Cuijin Sanctuary. He did not ask about secular power, but he was still the spiritual leader of the temple church. For thousands of years, this vacant position has also possessed great power. Although his Majesty the current Pope can be dictatorial, he still has to be restricted in essence.

Petian III’s restlessness these days stems from this. He sat on the carriage and looked at the shadow of the vault of the emerald church from a distance, like a giant beast entrenched in his heart, staring at him, making him uneasy. The former Pope Aserbantu XI was his mentor on the Holy Way, and he cultivated him to the position he is today. Although the teacher-student relationship is harmonious, but there is always a throne separated from each other. Petian knew that this was due to their respective status. Successive popes are all so, and it is understandable. But recently, something abnormal has emerged. He has always advocated a holy war against the Cruz people in the south. Asaibantu XI has always been aware of his thoughts. Now that the Cruz people do not fight on their own, the mad queen dares to restore the dark dynasty. This It was a godsend, just so that he could become a teacher in a proper name. He even contacted the wind elves and the envoys of the Graysius Knights, hoarded the army and food on the border, and prepared to show off his ambitions. Fortunately, in history There was a lot of money left on it. At this time, the decree of dismissal made his expectations vanish. This decree came from the emerald holy hall in front of him——

This kind of thing may not happen once in a hundred years. The last time it happened was in the era of the Rimato Rebellion. Gloria I used the power of the Knights of the Order to dismiss the current pope. This association made Petian III’s face gloomy and unclear. He looked gloomily as he watched the seven-foot-tall golden palace gate of the Emerald Hall slowly open on the guards on both sides, and he didn’t know what thoughts were turning in his mind. . The deeper level of anxiety in his heart came from the reactions of the bishops everywhere. The bishops and knights from various places did not seem to react as fiercely as he expected to this unreasonable edict. The empire was like a mirror-like surface of water, without ripples. With the slightest ripple, he knew that the old man behind the palace gate must have used some power he didn’t know about to make all parties obediently submit to it.

As a superior, there is no one who can tolerate power beyond his control, especially since this power is beyond his expectations.

在侍从的陪同下穿过回廊，裴提安三世停在一扇黑沉沉的胡桃木门前，然后他举手屏退左右，同时制止了从者通报的举动，面对这扇胡桃木门，这位圣裁独断的至高者竟然发现自己心中产生了一丝犹豫。但这丝犹豫犹如蛛丝一般轻盈无力，这位教皇陛下轻轻一挣便脱开束缚，将修长的手掌放到门把上，从而推门而入。

阿塞班图十一世自从年迈之后就喜欢在自己的书房中点燃了壁炉，坐在矮椅上，整日整日地阅读那些教会的经典与文卷，虽然裴提安很怀疑这其中有多少真意，但心中或多或少有些艳羡，自从掌握了世俗的权柄之后，他难免疏远了那个神圣的意志——‘圣座不如苦修士’，这句谚语在法恩赞绝非是一句谣言。

温暖的气息扑面而来，热风击打在面颊上，让他忍不住眯起眼睛，壁炉中跳动的火光好像要透过打开的门缝流淌出来，就像是流动的温暖，漫过他的金鞋与圣袍的末端。

屋内并不只有阿塞班图十一世一个人，除了一个四十多岁的服事之外，还有一个须发皆白带着眼镜的老人，裴提安三世一眼就认出这个人来，正是圣殿中有名的经文学者。阿塞班图十一世今天仍旧穿着一身朴素的长袍，但少有地带了帽子，看起来颇为正式严肃，他对面坐了一个女人，提裴安三世有些意外，忍不住多看了这个女人一眼，但他再看了一眼，便再也挪不开目光——这个女人有着一头干燥的褐色长发、和好像镶嵌入山石之中的翡翠一样闪闪发光的一对眼睛，之所以说是嵌入山石，是因为她的皮肤看起来极为干燥，黯淡缺乏光泽，颧骨高耸，仿佛陡立的岩石，她的嘴唇棱角分明，似乎是从中雕刻出来的一样，叫人一看就明白这个女人拥有极为坚定的性格。

这个世界上只有一个女人拥有这样的面容，也只有一个女人拥有一千年的寿命，提裴安恭敬地问候道：“贤者大人。”

阿塞班图十一世笑眯眯地看着自己的学生，一边阖上手中的书本，那是一本阐述圣堂早期教义的教典，记录它的人大约在三四百年前便长眠于泥土之下，虽然死后被追封为圣徒。他摆了摆手，示意提裴安不必多礼，仿佛早已预见了他会来：“教皇阁下，你今天来这里，是不是有很多问题？”

The situation was beyond Ti Pean’s control, and the current pope pondered for a moment and nodded solemnly.

“Let me answer you,” the sage Ellanta said, with a soft and pleasant voice unexpectedly, completely different from her face: “I asked your Excellency Asaibantu to issue the paper edict.”

“Why?” Ti Pean III asked.

“Because I hope that Faenza will not participate in this war, Your Excellency the Pope.”

“Why?” Ti Pean is still the problem.

Asabantu XI smiled and accepted the conversation: “Your Excellency, the church has been harassed for half a century, and the old and new doctrines have been disturbed. You have witnessed all this. The reason is nothing more than a discussion about justice or not. The question. The root of this question stems from the war sixty years ago. We saw so many things behind that war that we began to question the foundation of our standing. What do you think of this?”

Ti Pean did not answer, but glanced at Ellanta.

“Which history is right or wrong, I can’t give you the answer, Pope.” Ellanta replied calmly, “Although I am a witness, I, Jill, Saint Ossor, and your predecessor. Enzan can’t answer this question. Odin thinks he is wrong, but this can only represent his opinion of himself—he can’t judge history and everything in the past. In a certain stage of history we are in, there is no Anyone can judge himself correctly, not to mention that there are countless sages before him-many people have been involved in it, any person in this piece of history, whether it is a witness or a bystander , Can only observe a fragment of it, so we can only experience it personally to witness it. I live for a thousand years just to see the result with my own eyes—”

Timothy III frowned. “But do you think the Queen of the Cruz people chose the right thing?”

Ellanta shook her head. “No, it is precisely because we can’t confirm our right or wrong, that’s why I want to look at another path in history. You know the prophecy: The lost moon takes the light, the light is lost, and the silver generation is lost on the earth, Moving forward in the darkness and ignorance, the coincidence of the emperor and the fool, the rusty clockwork is resetting, the sword that changes destiny-what Warend is waiting for is this sword that changes destiny.”

“Do you believe what is stated in the prophecy of the black, Lord Sage?” Timothy III asked in return: “Everything will be born out of darkness?”

“This is what the Miner people don’t want to give up, Lord Pope,” the sage replied: “This is the age of black iron, the age of heroes, and Martha has given power to the hands of mortals. Heroes are born, but from the perspective of the gold and silver races-how can we save our world by winning the weak? What’s more, there are works that were lost in the dark forest and failed. Everything seems to warn civilization that this is a mistake The descendants of the Azure Knight have been arguing over this, and the fire of civilization is declining, and even unsustainable. The dark dragon Odin made a last resort to save all of this. Today will be the time for it to show its results. ”

Ai Erlanta looked at Timothy III and replied: “The millennium of history seems to be back in a cycle, but this may not be the beginning and starting point of everything. I will follow the agreement with Odin and witness the last. But in any case, I still hope to keep a little bit of fire for civilization, and not to put all the power into just one answer. Therefore, I hope that the Faenzan people can stay away from this mortal stage, because there is a more important war. Your strength.”

Ti Pei An raised his head slightly: “My Sage, what do you mean?”

Ellanta raised her head, her emerald eyes seemed to be able to penetrate the palace walls of the emerald golden hall, and the direction she was looking at, across the vast hills and plains, under the burning clouds, the waves of the emerald sea were thousands of waves. Over the years, tirelessly scouring the shores of white rocks, the alliance called Ten Cities has taken root and multiplied in this vast land. About 530 years ago, mercenaries and merchants from the Iner and Macedonia regions came here and spent a hundred years building the first city here. In the following half a century, a new kingdom was established. It There are humans and mountain people as well as elves and dwarves. The doctrine of the temple is widely spread here, but the belief in nature is not rejected by people.

Here is a paradise of freedom, where money and the sound of swords complement each other all year round.

But today, under Baicheng, the fishermen who went to sea suddenly stopped their work. Some of the sailors were clearing fishing nets and cables, some were still clinging to masts, some were drunk and Lingding had just walked onto the deck from the cabin, and some They were sailing, and some were hoisting anchors by the winch, but without exception, they stopped and looked back in the direction of the sea and the sky.

The fort on the city wall was firing warning cannons, and a team of guards swarmed up to the city platform. The sea was like blue waves, and the peace between the sea and the sky seemed to be no different.

But just in an instant, a dense cluster of black spots appeared in that direction–

Rand hurriedly put on a piece of armor and hurried to the city wall. Hu Cong surrounded him to the edge of the battlement. He raised his hand to stop the noises around him, and then raised the monocular in his hand. ——What caught my eyes was a white spinnaker, which almost dazzled his eyes. He cursed in a low voice, and moved his vision down. The silver oak emblem on the sail was shining in the sun, and then down, He saw the elegant white hull of the elf.

“The fleet of wild elves–”

Rand took a sip and put down the telescope. “There are at least three hundred ships. This is an army of 30,000 people. Is Iranta crazy?”

The Ellanta in his mouth naturally refers to the country of wild elves. He glanced again and was convinced that he had not had hallucinations. At this time, the alarm bells were ringing in Baicheng city, and the ships outside began to file into the port. De took a look at the direction of the port, and estimated that the port would have to be closed in about half an hour. He turned his head, he was just a small group leader, he couldn’t make any idea about this matter, he handed the telescope to his deputy, and then said to a sergeant: “You go and inform the distant eagle and the lord of the city, let They decide that if the elves are really playing, White City cannot be defended, we must immediately seek the support of other city-states—”

Na Hu Cong glanced at him in a panic, then tremblingly took his brass token and stumbled off.

“Look at that ship–” Suddenly a rebel shouted, pointing to the surface of the sea.

Rand turned his head and saw a canoe emerging from the fleet of wild elves, approaching Baicheng at an extremely fast speed.

“It’s a messenger.”

“They sent messengers out.”

“What the hell do the elves want?”

…

(PS: The new month has started, everyone should keep working hard~)