Paladin

One and a half months after the outbreak of the major flood known as the "Snow Wind Disaster".

Evan rode the phoenix and flew southwards. The gorgeous tail feathers of the phoenix were hidden in the clouds. Occasionally, they would descend to overlook the half frozen green and half frosty white land of Nestor province.

The Xuefeng Sect's army lost its leader, and hatred forced them to ignore the flood that was exposed in advance. The army regrouped in the fortress, and the new leader stepped onto the high platform of the speech, using impassioned speeches and powerful fists to arouse people's new enthusiasm. round of enthusiasm.

Due to the influence of spells, the flood did not converge towards the low-lying areas in the south. The Morrigan Prairie and the most fertile plains in the south were spared. The lords of this northern land have begun to respond to the highlanders' rebellion. The Kasa Empire The troops under the banner are also being assembled.

The ancient phoenix passed these tiny humans on the ground and continued to travel south. It took them nearly a month to come, but now Evan returned to the White Gate Barrier in less than a week.

This giant gate is more than 50 meters high. From the sky, it looks like a dam born between two mountains. Its height can hinder most raids, including trolls, mammoths and even large ground dragons.

Evan landed at the giant gate barrier, talked with the guards there, and learned that the Holy See still did not open this road to the holy city of Corunna to civilians, but relaxed the restrictions on passage, and now the paladins allow unimpeded Enter Corunna.

Not long ago, Hugo, the Prosecutor of the Holy City, led his team through here and brought back new news for the General Court.

……

At this moment, two people in the general court were discussing secretly.

One of them was Kyle Spencer, a cardinal of the diocese of Sebilon, who had been called back to Corunna for a month.

Now the pin-shaped sacred emblem pinned to his cloak has been replaced with a new symbol: he has been promoted from the general court.

Another cardinal who spoke to him was named Montero. He was nearly fifty years old, with gray hair and a very magnetic voice: "Spencer, I'm sorry, but there are too many changes now, I can only use this way to keep you safe."

"I understand that such a big thing has happened. I have a special status. I must stay in the Holy City for close monitoring to prevent any accidents in the Spencer family." Kyle smiled gently and said, "Your Excellency, I didn't come here for this matter, I just received the news from the outpost that His Excellency Evan Paladin has returned from Xuefeng's territory, and he has recovered his phoenix. Given his travel speed, he is probably already in the The White Gate is closed, and we can reach the General Court in at least half a month."

Montero pondered for a while, and said: "Your Excellency the 'Saint of the Dawn' has been personally affirmed by His Majesty Byron, and the General Court will definitely greet him with the standard of a saint... But now we have lost His Majesty the Pope, it is very difficult With a selection meeting coming up, I'm afraid there won't be time—and no one of sufficient stature—to meet with him."

"Maybe we can discuss these superficial things slowly..." Kyle said in a low voice, "Your Excellency! Can't you see the importance of the Dawn Saint? He has a very high reputation, and his fame comes from The ancient mythology has nothing to do with any current forces; he has extremely high strength, this paladin is the sharpest sword among swords, even if he uses the most shallow angle to hand out this sword, he is enough to be a killer... ..."

"But he is not on our side right now—he belongs to the Holy Court, not to our Pietists." Montero said calmly, "After Byron returns to the Kingdom of God, his reputation as a saint may decline. Far surpassing all of us now, the more perfect he is now, the more difficult it is for us to win...Spencer, my votes are hard to decide, and now I can't add more variables."

"No, Your Excellency Montero, Evan Paladin himself is a very difficult person to win over. I have met him many times. He is simply a moral saint. For us who have scarce information, he is now invulnerable... But we You can form an alliance with him openly, and let us recommend him before others realize his value." Kyle said quickly, "Don't forget, he is not just a paladin, he is a holy knight. The leader and founder of the Knights! The light of his personal strength in the ancient legends overwhelms other parts. As early as 1 years ago in the chaotic era, this Lord was able to pull up a Holy Spirit from scratch. The Knights Templar—and it is still the most powerful force in the Holy Court. His true strength also includes his outstanding leadership skills. He can command an elite team—ten saints fighting together can also lead an entire knight The regiment is almost invincible, he will even guide the construction of the knight's territory, even the rules of the paladin are basically from his hands, this is a legendary leader!"

When he finished his long speech, Montero fell into deep thought.

Kyle took a deep breath and said again: "A commander like this would be carefully sealed up in the hands of any king and carefully supported. A little injury or a loss of life is a big deal for the country. It is a great loss, only awakened when it is most needed; now he has been sealed and slept for 1 years, and awakened in our time, isn't this the arrangement of God the Father? Isn't God the Father who will be most loved by him Is the beloved child left to us?"

With this sentence, he convinced Montero.

"I will consider it, Spencer. I hope that the Lord of the Dawn will be one of my statements, which can break the current stalemate vote... This selection came too suddenly, and I have not been sure until now. Spencer Spencer, I hope you will always support me like this," Montero said.

Kyle lowered his head and said respectfully, "Of course, Your Excellency."

Now that the young man has returned to his usual gentle and calm appearance, Montero looked at him for a moment with satisfaction: Heh, it really looks like... and his mother, the Duchess Spencer, this family is very similar It is thorns, with delicate white flowers, and sharp thorns that can pierce a person's throat.

……

It was already after Midsummer Festival that Evan arrived at the holy capital Corunna.

He stopped temporarily outside Corunna because he abided by their agreement in the past and banned flying in the holy city where the Holy See headquarters is located; the little phoenix re-formed into a child form and stayed on his shoulder, chirping and screaming incessantly The devil Louis was hiding in Evan's arms, and the majestic sacred aura of the holy capital seemed to frighten him a little.

Evan only stopped for a while, and someone came out of the city to greet him. The ceremonial officer told him: The Holy Court is preparing for the official reception. Although there have been too many major events recently, the nine ministers of the Holy Ministry still agreed to personally welcome the Dawn Saint. Your Excellency's arrival.

At this moment, a white flag symbolizing mourning was raised in Corunna. Through its height and the length of the tail of the flag, Evan could easily see what an earth-shattering event had happened:

— Pope Byron III has died under the crown.And die in a conspiracy or assassination.

For this reason, the White Gate Fortress was closed for two months. At that time, even the paladins led by Hugo were not allowed to pass through, and civilians are still not allowed to pass through; The last order from His Majesty is closed...although people still don't quite understand it.

Evan didn't think about it for too long, and he flatly rejected the proposal of the etiquette officer-he didn't like these extravagant ceremonies, and he didn't intend to preach anything surrounded by everyone, not to mention that now was not the right time at all.

No matter what the cardinals of the General Court were thinking, Evan just stayed with Little Phoenix for a while, and then entered Corunna that day.

The history of the holy city of Corunna is long and thick, and Evan only knows a rough idea.

The holy city where the Holy See is located covers an area of ​​more than 30 square kilometers, and the outer city wall has a circumference of more than [-] kilometers. It is a well-deserved super-large city in the world; it has a total of eight gates, and the one that Evan entered is the easternmost one. It is also the gate with the highest status, called the "Gate of Repentance".

Because of the clear statement in the teachings that "the East is the most honorable place, it is the pure place referred to by God the Father", the oriental city wall of Corunna is completely pure white, without any decorations on it, and the "Gate of Repentance" is tens of meters high , is a huge door, which can only be opened by more than [-] gatekeepers with mechanisms.

After Evan passed through it, it was the main road in the east of Corunna. It was extremely wide, and it was completely surrounded by stone pillars or statues facing each other. There were a few simple sentences in front of each statue - among them was "justice is eternal." Non-stop. ——Evan Paladin"; a total of twelve giant arches (without doors) were set up on the main road, named after the ancient languages ​​of "joy", "compassion", "mind check" and other words.

Passing through one arch after another is a fountain controlled by divine magic, and all the water in it has been blessed—that is, what people call "holy water". When passing through this fountain, Evan's blond hair was stained. Many drops of water.

Evan wiped his face and thought to himself: As I thought, the older the organization, the more formalized things...

He sighed a little in his heart, and finally came to the building called "San Di Casso Cathedral". After passing through the main hall of this church, he would come to the meeting hall, the central core of the entire Bright Church.

Several ceremonial officers followed Evan respectfully all the time, and the church personnel who came and went were all wearing red and white robes. They all made way for Evan, and they couldn't help but look sideways at him.

But Evan stopped in front of the cathedral, turned around and said, "Tell me where the Knights Templar is stationed. I will stay there first, please submit the due application for me, and everything can be done according to the procedures. "

The ceremonial officer hesitated for a moment, and quickly decided to follow the order of the Saint of Dawn, leading him around the central area and passing through half of Corunna.

The Templar Knights are stationed in the southern corner of the holy capital, and they are mainly guarded here as elite holy knights. One of their responsibilities is to guard this holy place; It is to monitor this holy city.

As paladins, their status is detached, and they only need to be responsible to the Pope, and they don't need to obey any orders other than the Grand Master——

This is one of the deepest traces that Evan left for mankind back then.