Sword of Dawn

Page 289

This feeling is inexplicable, and it was quickly overwhelmed by an astonishing news——

"The Pope has been summoned by the Lord, and the bishops died in the divine descent ceremony." Veronica said calmly with her usual gentle expression.

Gao Wen and the others were stunned for a moment.

...Some people were indeed taken aback, but the ones who were surprised were those outside the church—when the door opened, the pope disappeared...

"All... Martyred?" As if he couldn't believe his ears, Patwin took a step forward and asked, "Is it the scene of the divine descent technique? Was there an accident?"

"Extraordinary people can bear the power of divine descent. The Pope is too old to last until the end of the ceremony. In order to prevent the ceremony from getting out of control, the bishops sacrificed themselves as a container," Veronica said, turning her head slightly Open up, "The cathedral has been opened, and the Great Hall of Light still maintains the scene at that time."

This is the meaning of inviting three people to visit inside.

Baldwin and Victoria looked at each other, and after a moment of hesitation, they walked towards the main entrance of the church. Gawain woke up from a brief stunned and thoughtful moment. Countless guesses and thoughts popped up in his mind, but in the end they all converged into looking at Veronica's deep eyes.

The virgin princess just kept a calm expression and responded frankly.

Before turning around and walking back to the church, Veronica noticed some changes outside the church area——

Soldiers of Cecil's Legion were everywhere on the street. The Ansu King's Banner over the Silver Fort in the distance had disappeared, and above the main tower where only royal flags were allowed to hang, Cecil's sword and plow flag was illuminated by a beam of light. Bright, fluttering with the wind in the night.

Reminiscent of Gawain Cecil himself who appeared here, the expression of the saint princess finally changed slightly. She raised her eyebrows slightly and asked aloud: "What happened in the city?"

"It has changed a lot. The Kingship of Ansu has come to an end, but it is a peaceful evolution," Victoria said in a cold voice. "The current owner of this place is His Majesty Gawain Cecil."

"I'll explain it to you in detail," Gao Wen said to Veronica, "A lot of things happened, and we all need to sort them out."

Veronica lowered her head, drew the emblem of the Holy Light on her chest, and said softly: "I have converted to the Holy Light, and I am no longer Ansu's princess. It's the things that matter."

Gawain looked at her for two seconds, but said nothing, and walked towards the church not far away.

In the great hall of light, the power of the holy light has calmed down, and the hazy holy light has once again condensed into a sea of ​​clouds, floating slowly above the hall, and the pope's holy seat is empty at this moment, not even a single remnant can be seen. All the traces that could be found in the hall were a dozen piles of embers surrounding the holy seat—those grayish-white ashes were distributed on the key nodes where the divine descent technique was performed, and they were all the remnants of the former bishop's council.

This seemed to be the trace left after the raging holy light burned the human body, and there was no sign of fighting or being invaded by foreign enemies in the entire Great Hall of Light.

However, the two dukes, Baldwin and Victoria, who were about to start rebuilding the order in the city and shouldered the important task of maintaining the stability of the core area of ​​the empire, only felt a headache at this moment.

At this time, they couldn't help but envy Wales, who left in time, and even couldn't help but have divergent speculations—maybe that His Majesty the King knew about the shocking changes in the cathedral long ago, so he pulled away so resolutely. go?

"Gods..." Baldwin's face was extremely ugly, "I'd rather deal with those crystal cluster monsters..."

Victoria glanced at him quietly, and said in a calm voice, "Do you want to guard the city again?"

"That's not what I meant..." Baldwin waved his hand immediately, then looked Victoria up and down, "Why didn't I realize that you are still sarcastic?"

"Just curious, ask," Victoria said casually, and then looked at Veronica, "In other words, there are no bishop-level clergy in the cathedral now? How many high-ranking clergy are left?"

"It is true that all the bishops have been martyred, but the high-ranking priests have not been damaged, and the functions of the church are still operating normally," Veronica said, while slightly raising the platinum scepter in her hand, "I have been approved by the platinum scepter, I can manage the cathedral temporarily, but now the kingship has changed, the order of Saint-Sunil needs to be reorganized, and the believers also need to seek peace in the new environment. I am afraid that many things will require me and Gawain Cecil... ...Your Majesty will discuss it before making a decision."

"We can talk now," Gao Wen said immediately, "if you have no objections."

"Alright," Veronica nodded lightly, and looked at the two guardian dukes, "The two grand dukes can wait in the lounge temporarily."

Gao Wen saw that this "princess saint" seemed to have something to communicate with him in private, so he said to Baldwin and Victoria: "You might as well go back to the castle and rest, we can talk about something tomorrow."

"Okay." Victoria nodded and said briefly, and then left the cathedral with Duke Baldwin who seemed to be preoccupied.

It wasn't until he came outside the cathedral, where the holy light couldn't shine, that Birdwin couldn't help but look back, and said to Victoria: "Do you think this is strange? Although Saint Ivan III is indeed Old, but not to the point where they can’t support the divine descent technique... And all the bishops were martyred? Although I believe their beliefs are indeed so pious that they can be martyred at any time, but no one survived a divine descent ceremony... It's too much of a coincidence."

"It's true," Victoria said, "but there's no clue."

"Your Highness Veronica must know more..." Bedwin hesitated to speak, "but she doesn't seem to plan to say it, at least not in front of our faces."

Victoria was silent for a moment, then turned around and looked in the direction of the cathedral.

Fine snowflakes escaped from her hair, and her voice came from the breeze: "But overall, this is a good thing."

Baldwin was startled, and his expression became subtle. After a few seconds of silence, he showed an expression that he didn't know whether to cry or laugh: "Yeah, a good thing... It's just that there are too many things happening at the same time. Makes it hard to relax.”

"The turning point of the times... probably like this."

Inside the cathedral, Gawain and Veronica stood in the Great Hall of Light. The former looked around uncomfortably: "Are we talking here?"

"Please rest assured, there are no extra eyes here," Veronica said in a gentle tone, "including the eyes of the God of Light."

Gawain took a deep look at Veronica: "This sentence sounds...not very pious."

Veronica just showed a slight smile, and gently raised the platinum scepter in her hand: "The platinum scepter representing the bridge of the will of the God of Holy Light has been under my control, and no one who believes in him will question me. piety."

"But I don't believe in Him," Gao Wen said, "Did Saint Ivan III really die by God? Is the bishops really a martyr?"

"They gave their lives for their beliefs. By definition, they are martyrs," Veronica said calmly. "Do you still regret their deaths? As a ruler who is about to reshape the national order Or, the sudden decline of the church should be a good thing for you."

In everyone's normal impression, words like this would never come from Veronica, the pious "Saint Princess"!

Gawain stared into the eyes of the saint princess, and he could finally confirm that the sense of incompatibility he felt in Veronica was not an illusion, but the sense of incongruity did not just appear today, but It is a kind of disobedience that always exists in this saint princess and is always hidden by her.

It's just that for some reason, the special aura on Veronica's body is very obvious today, and Gawain happens to be quite sensitive to some "inhuman" things, so he noticed it.

He looked into Veronica's eyes and felt like he was staring at a puppet, a kind of heterogeneous aura that was very similar to human beings, but was different from human beings after careful perception, so obvious at this moment, and this puppet-like The traits of the other party... He seemed to have vaguely felt it in the other party before.

"I'm not going to play charades anymore, who exactly are you - you know what I mean - and what exactly do you want to do?"

"Have you ever heard such a sentence..." Veronica smiled slightly, and said every word, "—human beings will live forever, even if they disobey the gods."

"The Disobedient Plan!" Gao Wen blurted out, he finally felt astonished, and this astonishment even broke the indifference he had maintained so far, "You...how did you know this sentence?!"

The devout saint princess turned out to be the insider of the rebellious plan?Why would she know?She got ancient knowledge?Is there a rebellious plan inheritance within the Moen royal family?Or...there are ancient survivors like Kamel?

Questions exploded in Gawain's mind, and what surprised and confused him the most was that a disobedient (if Veronica was a disobedient) turned out to be a "devout" believer of the God of Holy Light, and even became a member of the Church. The high-level executives—but if he imagined carefully, he suddenly felt that such a development was quite in line with the meaning of "disobedient".

An organization that can study God in slices and extend its power to the most devout church, there is indeed a lot of rebellion in it...

"The rebellion plan has never ended, as long as human beings continue, we will not stop," Veronica said under Gawain's gaze, "You don't have to be so surprised——by your side, there is already a living Are you a disobedient?"

"Kammel..." Gawain frowned, "Then who are you?"

"This question is actually not very important, but if you are curious, I can tell you a name," Veronica said softly, "'We', used to be called Ophelia Norton. You may not know the name , but you must know this surname."

"Norton? The surname of the royal family of Gondor?!" Gawain opened his eyes wide, suddenly feeling that he had received too much information today, "Ophelia... I really don't know much about it...but what you just said' What do we' mean?!"

"This involves the division and reorganization of the soul, and it involves some secrets. I'm not sure if I should let you know now. As for the name Ophelia Norton...you can ask Kamel after you go back. He should I will give you an answer that satisfies you."

Gawain could tell that the rebel with the identity of "Veronica Moen" in front of him didn't completely trust himself, and he didn't plan to reveal all the secrets, but he didn't force him to ask, but asked: " What are you trying to do by telling me this?"

"Do something against the gods," Veronica smiled, and gently raised the platinum scepter in her hand, "For example... let the holy light return to mortals."

Chapter 0650 The Cooperation of the Disobedient

When such a disobedient word was uttered from Veronica, who has always been pious, Gawain felt really strange, and after hearing this sentence, he also noticed one thing— —Veronica's vague sense of disobedience is not as simple as "dehumanization". In this saint princess, Gawain also felt a kind of... strangeness.

Although her appearance does not seem to have changed, and the way she speaks and behaves is very similar to before, but in some places that are not easy to be noticed, the details of the princess's temperament seem to have undergone subtle changes, and she is still the same person, But inside...it seems to be different from before.

Gao Wen really couldn't tell what these differences that could hardly be described in words were, because his own understanding of Veronica was also very limited, but he guessed that the changes in the other party must be different from the "Ophelia" he called himself. Norton" this ancient man.

"What are you thinking?" Veronica, or the ancient person who called herself "Ophelia Norton", asked after noticing that Gawain hadn't answered for a long time.

"I'm wondering what kind of existence you are..." Gawain said frankly, "An ancient soul that is constantly resurrected? Live in this body? You replaced the original Veronica Moore at a certain point in time. Eh? Where is the original Veronica? Or... has she existed since the beginning?"

"Is this question very important?" The woman with a calm expression asked gently, "Kamel is by your side, an ancient magister who has survived from the age of Starfire to the present. He who changed should be more incredible than us, shouldn't he?"

"But I trust Kamel, but I can't trust you directly, so this question is very important," Gao Wen said, "You have too many secrets, and you have spoken too little. You have been active for so long under another identity. The contact with me at this moment seems too sudden... So I need to understand your ins and outs, and the real purpose of you suddenly telling me these things. Why did you find me? How did you make sure that I would cooperate with you? "

"Since you care so much..." Veronica/Ophelia smiled slightly, "then there is nothing wrong with you seeing us as a stubborn soul that lingers in this world and refuses to dissipate. I am indeed boarding here now. In a body, but I am not replacing her... As early as this body was just born, long before her personality consciousness appeared, we had already completed the boarding - so you can see me as the original maintenance Ronika Moon, for I lived her life in its entirety, but with an older and longer memory.

"We are indeed different from the ancient magister beside you. We have been active in this world for many years, and we know the changes in the human kingdom over the years, so we are particularly curious about your appearance... With all due respect, in our long-term You are one of the few factors that can be called 'variables' in your observations...

"Our observations and experiments on the Church of the Holy Light have come to an end, and this project will not bring any more results, but we hope to cooperate with you in the next step, and as for why we chose you...you have already accepted You are a disobedient person, aren't you? What's more, you are still promoting new teachings in the southern border. Frankly speaking, what you are promoting coincides with our goals, and we have reasons to cooperate.

"As for whether you will cooperate with us...it is your choice. No matter what you choose, we will gladly accept it. I can only say that if you choose to trust, then you will be rewarded to fully match this trust, if If you don’t trust me, we’ll go to other projects first.”

Gawain glanced at Veronica/Ophelia quietly, and naturally put his hand on the hilt of the Pioneer Sword: "What if I choose to kill you right here? You are a giant Instability, I could have done it."

"This 55 kilograms of biomass is an acceptable loss for us," the woman with a calm expression said calmly, "and you don't need to do this."

"That's true," Gao Wen slightly raised his eyebrows, "Then what exactly do 'you' want to cooperate with me? What do you want from me, what can I get, and most importantly... all of this is also 'you' Is it part of an experimental project?"

"We are very interested in the southern teachings that you and the Patriarch of Wright jointly founded, and we are also very interested in the technology of the White Knight. We are willing to use the southern teachings as a benchmark to help you transform the Church of the Holy Light. This is your greatest Gain, and all we want from you... is just the technical feedback that comes along the way. To us today, knowledge is the only thing of value, and we want nothing more."

"But you will do some 'extra moves' while gaining knowledge." Gao Wen glanced around the Great Hall of Light, and finally landed on the empty Holy See of the Pope. "You won't say anything in front of me." These people all died by the gods, right?"

"Clearing these 'bridges of God' is our intended goal, this is part of the rebellious plan, it will not happen to you, and frankly speaking, I have no ability to pose this threat to you-you are not the Holy Light Believers of the God of God, the platinum scepter in my hand is nothing more than an ordinary extraordinary sacred object to you," Veronica said frankly, "Of course, I can also confess another point: cooperation with you, It's really a new item in our standard as well."

After a brief pause, she showed a gentle smile: "Any project has the possibility of failure - but 'cooperation' itself also has to bear the risk of failure, isn't it?"

"...I will consider it and give you an answer as soon as possible." Gao Wen was silent for two seconds, looking into the eyes of the "Saint Princess" and said, "This may be beneficial to both of us, but in order to build more Trust, I hope that the less things we hide from each other, the better, and if I find that you are a potential threat to the Cecil Empire, I will eliminate it as soon as possible."

"I understand your concerns." Veronica/Ophelia lowered her head slightly, "Mutual trust is our common goal."

Gawain took a slight breath, exhaled slowly, and said, "Then we should discuss how to deal with the martyrdom of the pope and the entire bishops. There are tens of thousands of believers in the Holy Light in this city, and all the churches in the Holy Spirit Plain Influenced by the Cathedral of the Holy Light—soon, everyone will know what happened in the Cathedral."

Veronica/Ophelia looked up: "Do you have any ideas?"

"Pope Saint Ivan III was summoned by the Lord after the divine descent, and he heard the oracle before he left. The content of the oracle..." Gawain glanced at the other party, "I will send someone to deliver it later."

Veronica/Ophelia's eyebrows seemed to raise slightly, but then she returned to her usual calm and gentle look: "Then please try to write a compromise as much as possible, where the old scriptures have the most far-reaching influence, changes need to be gradual. "

Gao Wen nodded casually, and turned towards the exit of the hall.

Before he walked away, he turned his head slightly and asked one last question: "When you say 'human beings will last forever', do you mean all human beings, or a selected part of human beings?"

"Is this question important too?"

"Very important."

The voice behind Gao Wen was silent for a few seconds, and then came slowly:

"Maybe not everyone can survive in this difficult world, but the appearance of every victim can only prove our incompetence."

Apparently this is the answer for the rebels.

Gawain nodded slightly, and walked out of the hall where the holy light floated.

Veronica quietly watched the direction where Gawain was leaving, before turning around and walking into the depths of the hall after a long time.

"He may have discovered an abnormality in this interface... The newly downloaded personality data is not completely stable." "But the goal of communication has been achieved." "It is not sure whether this contact will produce positive results..." "Positive evaluation for good—and we're running out of time." "At least there's nothing to lose..."

The soft soliloquy seemed to be split into several personalities, and this self-talk echoed in a low voice in the Great Light Hall, and finally gradually fell silent.

After returning to Silver Castle, Gao Wen immediately called for Amber who was on standby.

"Hey...you look so serious and scary," Amber couldn't help exclaiming the moment she saw Gao Wen, "Isn't it just going to a church... What happened over there? Could it be a cathedral?" The bishops here are all wiped out?"

Amber happily started the divergent BB, and never forgot to black the Church of the Holy Light of the North, but she was dumbfounded when Gawain opened his mouth——

"The bishops were completely wiped out in the divine descent technique."

"……what?"

"Pope Saint Ivan III also died in the divine descent technique, and the news will be announced tomorrow."

"……what?!"

"Currently, there are only high-ranking priests below the bishop and a living saint, Veronica Moen, left in the cathedral."

"...Oh my god..." Hu Po finally came to her senses, her eyes widened, "Hey, I was just joking, you don't have to cooperate so... Could it be true?"

"I'm not you, would you make such a joke?" Gawain glanced at the half-elf, "Shut up, I have a task for you."

Amber quickly closed her mouth that was opened wide in shock, and rubbed her face vigorously: "Ah, tell me."

"Take someone to check the living records of the royal family members in Silver Castle, and check all the information on Veronica Moen, especially the ones from childhood," Gao Wen said. Nika's conversion history, including her baptism records."

Amber's expression finally became serious, she nodded: "Understood."

Seeing Amber with a solemn expression, Gao Wen paused for a moment, and suddenly asked, "Have you found any clues?"

Amber was stunned for a moment, and then realized what the other party was asking. She probably didn't expect Gao Wen to really remember this matter seriously. She blinked and said, "I haven't had time to check carefully...I just asked A few court scholars who administer the coat of arms, but no one has ever heard the name 'Randolph'..."

The so-called clues refer to information about Amber's adoptive father, the stalker with the last name, "Sally Randolph".

This name and the uncommon noble surname are the only thing Amber knows about her adoptive father, and this shadow transcendent who has a noble surname and seems to be not weak ends up dying in a remote village in the southern border, under the influence of the church and the local nobles. Under the joint trial, the secret is really puzzling.

It seems that even Pittman doesn't know what's going on.

Gawain once promised to help Amber find clues to her adoptive father in San Sunil, and now he has arrived in San Sunil—although the way he arrived is a bit surprising, it is time to fulfill his promise.

"Your adoptive father may be a descendant of a family that fell down a long time ago, or someone who was deprived of his surname decades ago, and is more likely to be a child of an undisclosed 'shadow nobleman'. Most herald scholars have mastered It’s normal for them not to know about the orthodox family’s information,” Gao Wen comforted Amber, “Don’t worry, we still have a lot of time—you can start with the royal library in Silver Castle, where all the nobles of the Ansu Dynasty are stored. The pedigree, including those most remote and desolate, if not enough, you can go to the secret collection of the Moen family to look for it, maybe there will be clues."

"I hope..." Amber said in a low voice, "Actually, it's nothing if I can't find it... It's been so many years."

"But I still care about it, don't I—it just so happens that I care about it too, whether your adoptive father's surname is a descendant of an old friend, what kind of book it is, and it's worth a transcendent person stealing things from the church," Gao said. Wen smiled, "Just think of it as helping me to investigate, and investigate the clues of Surrey Randolph."

"Okay, then you have to work on the money."

Gao Wen was taken aback for a moment: "...You are being too shameless, aren't you?"