Chapter 1578 City in the Mountains

Shandora and I stayed at the edge of the galaxy for almost a day, plus we were delayed for a while on the Imperial Admiral before, so it was basically like "missing" for a whole day. However, because we were slightly behind when we set off, Celine has been vaccinated, and the latter did not have any doubts about our whereabouts that day. This is rare and fully proves the battle sister's trust in Sandora and me - after all, these are extraordinary times, and the pagans are This incident made the trainee priests in the town panic, and the entire town was almost closed to entry and exit.

And Sandora and I soon received good news after we came back: the papal edict from the Holy City of the Holy See had been issued, Celine got the opportunity to face the Pope, and as she expected, Sandora and I also had to Follow along for a trip.

In fact, it doesn't matter whether we have this invitation or not. At most, Sandora and I would directly land in the Holy City to find someone, but that would definitely be a bit confusing and troublesome, so we waited until today. And it turns out that this kind of waiting is valuable: if we had not waited patiently, we would not have learned from the female leader of the technological revival that the pope changes every hundred years, and the real secret may be in the hands of the cardinal. Then we will find the wrong one. People may have to waste a lot of effort. There is no need to think about anything now. The invitation letter to the Holy Capital has been sent to us. Sandora and I can just wait and set off.

During dinner, Celine announced the news of the "Pope's summons." The biggest change of this single mother-type battle nun who was already at work compared to a few days ago was that she had a more resolute and resolute feeling, although that kind of attitude was always absent. The tired expression lingered after she woke up, but she really spoke and acted with a lively attitude. I suspect she must have been like this when she was still an adventurer. The lifeless atmosphere when I saw her a few days ago Needless to say, it was just brought about by these years of hard life.

"We'll leave the day after tomorrow. We only have one day to prepare tomorrow. Time is tight, but you guys travel often and there shouldn't be any problem." At the dining table, Celine nodded to Shandora and me while cutting dough for the little girl Ellu. "Because the Pope personally summoned us, we can ride on the church's wind-riding giant eagle. This will save time. Counting the rest and transfers, we can reach the Holy Capital in two days. But you have never ridden that kind of giant beast? Even adventurers , I’m afraid the opportunity to fly in the air is not so easy to come by. I will apply to prepare a wind-controlling giant eagle with a closed pod for you. Miss Sandora looks... very light. You two will not be together. I’ll be scared.”

"It's okay, we are not afraid of 'flying'," I waved my hand, thinking that the wind-controlling giant eagle should be a means of transportation that can only be used by high-end people in this world. It seems that after losing its superb technology, the church had to find some replacements from beasts. It is a product, but its popularity must not be very high. At least formal clergy like Celine can only obtain "flying permission" under special circumstances. "Look at Sandora, she flies around all the time. I also have a lot of flying experience.”

Sandora Ball is lazily soaking in a huge soup pot at the moment. She is using this to satisfy her appetite from a spiritual level, but no matter what, I still feel like she is like a big balloon floating on the soup - - Of course, this cannot be said, otherwise she will jump up angrily and splash everyone present with vegetable soup in their faces. Her Majesty the Queen groaned and swayed a few times: "That's right. Flying is a very common thing. In fact, I can definitely fly faster than that wind-controlling eagle of yours."

Celine looked at the Sandora ball with a strange life form, and then at me, the mysterious "adventurer and scholar" who married a ball as his wife, her lips twitched and she lowered her head to eat. It seems that they don’t intend to continue communicating with our abnormal duo.

"Mom, can I follow you?" The little girl Ailu lowered her head and acted like a good child for a long time. At this time, she finally couldn't help but speak out. She lifted the table and looked at Celine, her big eyes full of expectation, "I want to see the Pope. People say that the Pope is eight feet tall and eight feet tall..."

"Don't talk nonsense, keep respect for the Pope," Celine immediately gave her daughter a stern look, then shook her head, "This is not a fun outing, it's still the same as before, you go find Aunt Assali, I have made arrangements Now, you’ll be staying at Elsali’s house for half a month. But I’ll probably be back before then, just to report some things. The specific actions of the church’s upper echelons shouldn’t have anything to do with me.”

It seems that this is not the first time that Ellu has been left at home. Celine probably has to go to the archdiocese or the holy city every once in a while to report something (she is also the person in charge of one place, and she usually doesn't have much work. She always has to punch in and get her salary during the holidays), but the little girl still tried to show that the whole world owed her 8 million: "But the pancakes made by Aunt Aisali can almost knock off your teeth. "

Celine's expression froze, and then she turned away, her tone less confident: "...You can't say that when you go to your aunt's house. You have always been taken care of by her since you were a child. But she does have some problems with baking pancakes. ...Why don’t you make a temporary change and go find your Uncle Ford?”

Ai Lu's face immediately turned green: "No, Uncle Ford tricked me into eating spicy green vegetables. It's very spicy."

What a harmonious and friendly mother and daughter. By the way, Sandora, have you had enough? You've soaked enough. Can you let my noodles go in and soak? Chewing dry noodles would make you choke to death!

There is no need to go into details about the preparations for the next day's trip. Sandora and I didn't have anything to prepare anyway. We just held a travel bag and pretended that we had luggage. Anyway, I could take out whatever I needed on the road from this travel bag. The wilderness survival knife can be used on the wilderness survival island. Early in the morning on the third day, Celine sent Elu to her friend's house, then locked the door of the hotel and led us to the square in front of the church. Some huge "eagles" and several monks in black clothes were already there. Wait here.

The wind-riding giant eagle... is actually not as powerful as imagined. Although it has the name "eagle", it actually looks more like a weird-looking vulture. I don't know this giant bird that is several meters long. Are they original creatures on this planet, or are they the products of the transformation of the original ancient civilization (after all, their shapes do not look like the result of natural evolution). In short, they are the alternative transportation after the world loses airplanes and airships. tool, and seems to be the fastest one. Each giant eagle has a seat fixed on its back, reliable straps and a primitive parachute backpack (goodness knows how effective). These wind-controlling giant eagles were transferred from the neighboring archdiocese, and the men in black robes who came with them were the church's "air knights", and they served as guards and guides along the way. As expected, these aerial knights are equipped with advanced weapons. People in this world call them holy clothing, but they are actually particle rifles and the like.

I imagined a group of medieval-style monks in divine robes riding on fantastical giant eagles. While shouting God's slogans while fighting with particle rifles and small rockets, this scene is really exciting!

It is obvious that such cool things rarely appear in this small town. A few wind-controlling giant eagles attracted a lot of civilians and naughty children to come and watch. The little girl Ai Lu was driven away by her mother in advance, otherwise at this time He must have been causing trouble there too. However, all the civilians stood far away from the wind-controlling eagle, and even the naughty children consciously refused to come up casually. It seemed that people were quite afraid of these fierce-looking creatures.

"It's been a long time since I've ridden this thing." Celine looked at the huge raptor in front of her and couldn't help but look nostalgic. "Ordinary adventurers don't just have the opportunity to fly. I'm still the same as before. When I was in the church, I rode a giant eagle for a while because every clergyman had to learn to fly. However, what I learned back then were all skills that would only be used in combat. If ordinary people just wanted to ride on the eagle... it would be fine. Difficulties, overcome fear, keep warm, make sure the rope is tied, close your eyes and wait to reach the destination. By the way, your giant eagle is the one next to you. Although Mr. Scholar, you said that you have flying experience, you have learned how to domesticate it. The giant eagle is much faster than the rental giant eagle that adventurers have access to. Remember to check the binding rope carefully."

"Oh, no problem," I asked as I came to my giant eagle and pointed to a small round basket with a lid next to the seat. "What is this for? Why isn't it on other people's giant eagles?"

"Um..." Celine's face was slightly embarrassed, "This is the 'seat' for Miss Sandora. The church colleagues discussed it all night and couldn't figure out how to prepare a seat for a ball. Ordinary tying ropes It doesn’t seem very safe. Let’s carry you all the way and we’re worried about an accident or making you too tired, and then… wouldn’t it be good?”

I thought about it, but I didn’t dare to let go of Shandora (for fear of Her Majesty the Queen getting angry and rushing out to hit people on the head): "Haha. Thank you for your kindness - but I think I can just hold her, and Shandora can fly by herself. , please be sure that her flying skills are no worse than those of these birds.”

Although it feels like there are too many flaws, after all, these church personnel also have good intentions. It is difficult for others to ask them to study preparing a seat for a ball. I wonder how many aerial knights almost scratched their heads until they were bald when faced with this incredible request last night. , so let’s forget the grudges with a smile. I believe that the Queen of Shandora Ball will not care about such a small problem.

Celine had a weird expression (in fact, she often had a weird expression when she saw the strange duo of Sandora and I) nodded, then turned over in a cool and unrestrained way, and waved her hand with great momentum: "Let's go. !”

We then embarked on a journey to the legendary lost holy city of the god. Time flies, and in the blink of an eye... Well, two days passed, and the group arrived at the destination without any trouble or danger.

I can’t believe it’s been a smooth journey! As an epic hard worker who has encountered something every time he travels for the past few years, he has not encountered any natural disasters or hijackings by infidels along the way. Except for the sandora ball falling from the sky a few times, nothing happened. No (by the way, Sandora also proved with practical actions that she can indeed fly very fast), can you believe it?

Believe it or not, we have arrived anyway: a great mountain city, a sacred capital.

The city is located in a cold land near the northern mountains, separated from the ocean by a semi-ring of mountains. Beyond the mountains is the ocean. On the other side of the ocean is the island chain known as the Magic Pearl and the Mysterious Heritage. It is said that there are many magical products from ancient times on the large and small islands. The base of the Lost Cult is located on the other side of the mountains. Mainland, surrounded by mountains. The warm monsoon from the ocean is blocked by the mountains, and the Holy City is located in the middle of the mountains with lower temperatures. Half of the year here is winter, but the time we came here is not bad. It is summer on the entire continent. Here too, the ice and snow are melting and the grass and trees are blooming in spring.

This city is not a whole as I imagined, but is divided into several areas scattered along the mountains. It is like a large mountainous area was excavated and built into a city in sections. Those magnificent buildings hidden in the mountains are because of It is scattered and lacks a touch of prosperity, but it adds a bit of atmosphere because it blends in with the mountains. The wind-riding giant eagle we were riding on landed smoothly on a rocky platform higher in the Holy City. Since they had changed trains once, the wind-controlling giant eagles were no longer the same group as when they set off.

"This is the Wind Caller Stone Platform. The church's wind-controlling giant eagles are managed by the magic faction, so you will see many magical creations on the Wind Caller Stone Platform. Miss Sandora's 'Egg Curse' must be It will be resolved by the cardinal of the magic faction." The two days of running around did not seem to make Celine, a seemingly weak battle nun, any tired. As soon as everyone landed, she began to introduce us enthusiastically. Regarding the situation here, because we were afraid of leaks, Sandora and I both admitted that we had never been to the Holy City, so she felt that as a church member and "introducer", she had to act as a half-guide, "Let's rest here for half a day. . Then go directly to the cathedral in the city. Oh, you can see the cathedral from here, the largest black and white building, it’s amazing, isn’t it?”

Celine happily pointed to the bottom of the stone platform and followed the direction of her finger. I saw a large group of magnificent buildings hidden among the mountains. The most conspicuous one was indeed the highest palace of the divine religion known as the "Crown of Knowledge". . It was a huge building with a ring of spires and tall towers guarding it, and the style was a bit like a Baroque church. The most eye-catching thing was its color scheme - half black and half white, clearly divided into two halves in the middle. It’s like two churches put together!

"White represents technology, and black represents mystery. The Pope of Technology and the Pope of Magic work together in the 'Crown of Knowledge'** to exercise God-given power and supervise the direction of knowledge in this world. Instructing believers how to be cautious in contacting ancient wisdom," Sai Lin drew a strange symbol on her chest, with a happy look on her face, "When Ellu grows up, maybe we should bring her here to see the world. That girl spends all day at home thinking about random things, she After all, I can't stay in the countryside. In fact, I have a plan - I will take Ellu to settle in the Holy City when she comes of age. Anyway, the ruins of the ancient tower have been opened. After a few years of excavation, it will become an abandoned land. I The mission has been completed. After Leif left, there wasn’t much to miss in that town, so why not go back to the Holy City, where I grew up.”

After a few days of contact, I have discovered that Celine is actually a very talkative person, with a gentle personality and not boring, and she can easily open up to people she trusts. This is an ordinary single mother: life is a bit difficult, and there is still some sadness in her heart, but she has a lovely child to support her. The burden of life may be heavy, but she can still support it. She lives an ordinary life. , working in an ordinary way, taking care of her children in an ordinary way, she would not know that she had inadvertently witnessed history, or even that she might become an important part of history - by the way, the Shadow City has been expanded again. , maybe then she and Ellu can try to settle down in a more prosperous and magical place? At least the weird ideas in Ellu's head will never be regarded as weird in the Shadow City.

The Stone Platform of the Windcaller is called "Stone Platform". It is actually a very broad irregular square. On one side of the square is an open space facing the sky. This is where giant eagles and other flying camel beasts land. There is also a viewing area built on the edge. The other side of the square is basically residential buildings and shops. Most of the people living in this city are church members. However, due to the strange rules of the Lost Religion, even church members have to live like ordinary people. In order to make a living, they still have to work and do business in their own cities. The most common conversations heard on the streets are like this: "The God of Technology is here, Joseph Cardinal is well, how can you sell this carrot?" "The God of Magic is here. Above, Archbishop Roland looks good - five coppers a pound." "Why is it more expensive than yesterday?" "Oh, Cardinal Wilson, who delivers vegetables to the market, is kneeling on the washboard at home. I hired a cart to make this dish myself. Pull me up from the mountain, you have to let me earn a copper plate of my hard-earned money..." "Tsk, you stingy guy, in the name of the God of Technology, spare two corianders and I'll go back and make noodles." "God of Magic! Are those two?!"

Basically, this is the rhythm of the streets and alleys.

The Pope receives visitors at night, so the church has arranged a place for us to rest. After all, for ordinary people, spending the past two days blowing in the natural wind at high altitude is quite tiring (the battle monks and battle sisters put it bluntly) Not Superman), we were led by several welcoming monks to a hotel in the inner area of ​​the Windcaller Stone Platform. This place seems to be specially prepared for pilgrims visiting the Holy City, but it is not a festival now. , there are not many tourists here, and the surrounding area of ​​the hotel naturally seems very deserted.

But it seems like there are some activities going on here in the Holy City?

Because the Windcaller Stone Terrace is very high, you can easily see the scene in the city below. I found that there were many black-robed or red-robed monks walking in a hurry on the broad roads dug or piled up along the mountain. Clergy will only dress up like this when they are performing tasks or going out as the spokesperson of the gods. On weekdays, they all wear casual clothes (just like Celine when they first met), so these monks who are in a hurry on the mountain road Apparently they were called out for something.

They are all converging in one direction: the cathedral in the center of the Holy City. (To be continued...)