Under night, a mixed squad composed of light infantry, low-level knights, and combat mages is quickly passing the crossing not far away. The strict military discipline makes this team without any additional conversation, only the sound of military boots treading on the ground. It sounded in the night, the light from the magic crystal stone lamp shining on the edge of the soldier's helmet, leaving an occasional flash of light, and the short stick and the magic ball worn by the combat mage protruded out of the clothing, and the mysterious microcosm appeared in the darkness. Light.
This is not a secret operation, they are just the night patrols added by Aldnan these days.
On the second floor of a big house near the edge of the rich area, the curtains were pulled apart by a gap, and a pair of shiny eyes followed the movement of the street behind the curtains.
Mary stood behind the window and watched for a while before turning back to the mentor not far behind: "The mentor, a group of soldiers patrolling outside-this time there are four combat masters and two knights, and twelve A soldier with enchanting equipment."
"It's a member of the Knights directly under the royal family, a standard mixed combat team..." Daniel sat on the sofa not far away, leaning against the armrest beside him, one hand supporting the forehead, and a magic book floating in In front of him, he turned silently, and the old mage's voice was calm and majestic, calming Mary's slightly nervous mood. "Which direction did they go?"
Mary recalled it, and compared the directions in her mind before answering: "It seems to be the direction of Oak Street in Xicheng."
"It's St. Yolem's Church of Ares..." Daniel thought for a while and nodded. "It's normal."
"Instructor, there have been more and more patrols in the evening," Mary said uncomfortably. "Will there be a major event in the city?"
"...It may have been quite flat lately, but don't worry, the owner has his own arrangement," Daniel glanced at his apprentice and said lightly, "You just have to do your own thing."
Mary nodded immediately: "Yes, I remember."
A burst of rumbling music suddenly came from nowhere, the sound sounded far away, but it should still be within the rich area.
Mary was attracted by the sound of music and couldn't help but glanced out of the window again. She saw the bright lights between the beautiful buildings on the northwest side, and the flashing and changing color light and shadow emerged between one or two houses, faintly. The sound of appointment came from that direction-it sounded light and smooth, not the kind of dull and rigid classical court music, but like a "new style" that has become more popular in recent years and loved by young nobles. Court Dance".
There seemed to be a party there, and Mary could easily imagine what a joyous scene there was from the flashing lights and faint music.
"The atmosphere is getting tense day by day, but the party over there has never stopped..." The young female mage could not help whispering softly.
"It's the noble's duty to hold a banquet. As long as they breathe, they won't stop feasting and dancing--especially at this moment of tension, their banquet hall must be brightly lit all night," Daniel just smiled. It seems that Mary, a girl who was born and raised in the country, was a little too fussed, "If you have been to the Oak Street market today, you will see that nothing has changed, the civic market is still open, and the exchange is still overcrowded, despite the city Almost all the Ares churches are under investigation. Although the Great Church has been completely closed for several days, neither the nobility nor the citizens think that something big is going to happen-in a sense, this is also a nightly feast for the nobles One of the "credits"."
After thinking for a while, the young female mage asked carefully, "Stabilize the people?"
Daniel glanced at her, and seemed to smile: "It's true-the nobles were feasting at the banquet, and their cooks and maids would tell the sights to the guards and low-level servants in the villa and manor. Will tell the news to his neighbors, well-informed businessmen will find a way to enter the upper circle before this, in the end all the nobles, businessmen, wealthy citizens will feel all well, and for Aldernan For Tifeng, as long as these people are well-behaved, society will be well-behaved. As for the lower-level poor and the workers who have lost their way into the city, whether they are nervous or uneasy, the characters above do not consider."
Mary blinked, and she heard that the tutor was taking this opportunity to teach herself something, something... something she hadn't learned as a master apprentice and sounded nothing to do with magic.
But she still listened very carefully.
The voice of the instructor came from the side: "Recently, you must pay attention to protecting your own safety. Except for going to the Craftsmanship Association and the Masters Association, do not go anywhere else, especially pay attention to the church away from the God of War and activities outside. Priests."
"Yes, I remember."
As she agreed, Mary turned her head and looked out the window.
On the night streets illuminated by the street lights, the patrol of the imperial soldiers had long disappeared, leaving only the bright but deserted magic crystal shining in the winter night, and a few pedestrians were occasionally seen on the road. Hurrying, looking tired and urgent—considering that it is already on the edge of the rich area, and a street is the place where civilians live, those figures may be workers working late at night, of course, or they may be homeless Homeless man.
Mary couldn’t help thinking of the country where she lived since she was a child—although most of her childhood was spent in the dark and repressed Master Tower, she still remembered the village at the foot of the mountain and the neighboring town. That’s not A prosperous and prosperous place, but on this cold winter night, she couldn't help but think of it.
Having lived in this prosperous capital for a long time, she almost forgot what the countryside looks like.
A light suddenly appeared from the street not far away, interrupting Mary's idea that she had just emerged. She couldn't help but cast her sight in the direction where the light was on, and saw that there was black immediately behind the light. The lacquered outline-a wide black magic car with a carriage rolling over the wide street came like a weird beetle with an iron shell at night.
Magic car? This is a high-end and expensive thing. Which big man went out late at night? Mary was curious and couldn't help looking over there more carefully.
She vaguely saw the emblem on the side of the carriage, confirming that it should indeed be the property of a certain nobleman, but when she wanted to take a closer look at it, there was a warning that was non-existent and malicious. The pressure suddenly came to her.
Mary shuddered in her heart and looked away panickingly.
"What's wrong?" The tutor's voice came from the side.
"It was just a magic car just now," Mary whispered. "I looked at it twice more, and the people on the car didn't seem to like it."
"Don't care, it may be a big noble who wants to travel in a low profile. This kind of warning is not malicious," Daniel said casually, and raised his finger to the coffee table in front of him. "If you relax enough, come back and leave this set. The paper is written."
"Yes, tutor."
...
The magic car drove smoothly across the wide and flat Empire Avenue. The two bypass lights and the lights from the building flashed through the window. A fast-moving and blurred light and shadow were sprinkled on the inner wall, ceiling and seats of the car. Sitting on the right side of the back row, his face was retracted from the window as usual.
The driver-in-law's servant asked in front of him, "Sir, it'll be a while before Obsidian Palace, do you want to take a break?"
"No, I'm still very energetic." Peinan replied casually.
The vehicle continued to move forward, and the Duke's mood became calm. He looked at the empty seat on his left. He looked over the seat and out of the window. The spire of the Church of St. Yolem was rising from above a few houses in the distance. It was quiet now, with only street lights Light shines through the gap in the roof. He turned his head to look to the other side, and saw the neon flashing in the direction of Ang Salon, where the faint noise could be heard from here.
A familiar, deep and powerful voice suddenly came from the left seat: "Busy but noisy, gorgeous and empty, isn't it?"
The muscles of Duke Pedenan's whole body tightened instantly. Within one hundredth of a second, he was ready to fight, and then quickly turned his head-he saw a burly figure wearing a robe sitting on the seat on his left And smiled at herself.
In front of the driver, the intimate attendant did not respond to this. It seemed that he did not notice that there was another person in the car, and he did not hear the voice just now.
"Your Excellency Malm..." Petinan recognized the figure, who was the current Pope of the Ares Church, but... he should be in the Great Church at this time, a large number of elite agents of the rogue's army and Ms. Diana's personal " "Protective monitoring".
Why did he appear here! ? How did he appear here! ?
Peinan was suspicious of his sense of ability and vigilance as a legendary strongman. However, his face was still calm. In addition to secretly raising his vigilance, he just spoke lightly: "Late night visits in this form seem to be unreasonable? "
Malm Dunett just smiled with a gentle smile and said indifferently: "We have known each other for a long time-and I remember you are not such an indifferent person."
Peininan became more vigilant in his heart because he did not understand the purpose of the Pope God’s sudden visit, and he was even more apprehensive about the mysterious means that the other party suddenly appeared beside him. Things seem even more weird.
"Then you come to my car to find me so late, what's the point?" he asked while staring at the pope's eyes while watching.
"I just remembered that I haven't seen an old friend in a long time. I want to visit and chat by the way," Malm said in a tone like a gossip. "Pedinan, my friend, you haven't been to the Great Church for a long time. Are you praying religiously?"
Not right, very wrong!
"I go to the Great Church every week to make the necessary donations, and I don't stop the necessary prayers and sacraments," said Pei Dinan Shen Sheng. "Old friend, you came here so suddenly, what are you talking to me about?"
Malm didn’t seem to hear each other’s second sentence, but just shook his head: “Not enough, that’s not enough. My friends, donations and basic prayers, sacraments are just things that ordinary believers would do, but I know You are a godly believer, as is Bud, and the Wendell family has always been the most devout followers of our Lord, hasn’t it?"
Then his eyebrows drooped, and he seemed to say with some regret that the tone seemed to be an ordinary old man chattering: "But what happened to me these years, my old friend, I can feel your way towards my Lord Going away... You seem to be deliberately or unconsciously alienating your original noble and righteous faith, what happened?"
Peinan frowned, not speaking.
Malm Dunit continued: "And Andesa's child has not been baptized yet... Old friend, Andesa is to be the heir of the Wendell family, you told me a long time ago This point. How can there be members of the Wendell family who do not accept the baptism of the Lord?"
Perdinan couldn't help but break the silence: "My Excellency Malm, my friend, the Wendell family has always served the God of War religiously. The baptism of the church. Andesa chose a different path from his father and grandfather. This path was also approved by me, and I think there is nothing wrong with this.
"And, Andesha is 25 years old this year. She is a frontline commander who can stand alone. I don't think we elders can decide for her how to go in life."
Malm Dunett didn’t speak for a while, just staring at Peidenan’s eyes, but soon he laughed, as if the imposing gaze had never happened before: “You’re right, my friend That's right...Andesa is no longer a child.
"But I still want to say, Pedinan, you have really alienated our Lord over the years...Although I don't know what happened to you, it is not good to do so.
"You have been baptized, you are a devoted believer in the Lord, and the Lord has responded to you. This will not change because of your alienation.
"Pedinan, come back to the right path, and the Lord will be happy."
Peinan's face became a little bit worse, and his tone was not good: "My Excellency Malm, I have a task tonight. If you want to preach to me, we can find another time."
"Ah, important things..." Malm Dunett looked up and glanced out the window, shaking his head. "I think the direction of the Obsidian Palace. I know what your priority is... to meet Rosetta again. ·Augustus? Suddenly summoned again?"
Peinan reminded immediately: "Your Excellency Malm, when you address your majesty, you should add honorific words. Even you, you should not call the emperor's name directly."
"It doesn't matter, he and I are also old friends. I called him that long ago," Malm smiled, but then shook his head again. "Unfortunately, he probably hasn't treated me as an old friend...he It even ordered the blockade of the Lord’s church and house arrested me and my priests..."
Peidenan immediately vocally corrected: "It was not a blockade, it was just an investigation, and you were not under house arrest. It was just protective measures to prevent the recurrence of vicious incidents..."
Half of his words stopped.
The seat on the left was empty and there was no one at all.