Paladin

In the dungeon of the Holy Capital Corunna, two unusual characters ushered in today.

Evan personally led Kyle to the dungeon. It stands to reason that they should have routinely checked the records and could only enter the prison after the judge confirmed it; but when Evan looked directly at them and said, "I am Evan Paladin , Do I need an order?" At the time, no one had the courage to nod.

Kyle sighed helplessly and said, "Don't get entangled, as usual, the cardinal is present in person, and he can also detain the suspect in advance, right?"

The guards looked at each other and nodded.

"Then open the door and lock me in." Kyle said, raising his hands bound by Evan, "Kyle Spencer is suspected to be directly related to an assassination case."

Evan laughed and said: "I have never escorted such a well-behaved prisoner."

"I've never been so obedient before—I can't help it. Instead of being directly crushed to the ground by you, it's better to choose a way to protect your own face." Kyle nodded, and the two looked at each other like friends for a while, only I almost said "take care".

This may be the most bizarre scene that the guards of Corunna's underground prison have ever seen. The guards were dumbfounded, watching a cardinal lock himself in with his own orders, and the paladin who escorted him gently Say goodbye to him.

Then Kyle obediently walked in and asked, "Which cell am I placed in?"

After Evan left the dungeon, the enchantment at the door fell immediately. Now that Kyle would wait for an opportunity to escape, Evan took a detour to the meeting hall.

Now the large square at the Santa Croce intersection in Corunna is full of people, and everyone is looking up at the sky above the meeting hall, but there has never been white smoke there—it has been more than two months since the last pope was assassinated. However, a new pope has never been born.

As a result, people's dissatisfaction gradually accumulated. There were people standing on high places to give speeches everywhere in the square, and banners with the words "We need the Pope" were flying high. Even the guards in charge of maintaining order here were a little absent-minded.

The administrative capacity of the Church of Illuminati has come to a standstill following the withdrawal of the cardinal. The law enforcement agencies have completely lost the power to deal with a cardinal. They can only temporarily record the suspicion of Kyle Spencer. Then looked at Evan in embarrassment and said: There is really nothing we can do.

Evan didn't intend to embarrass them, but just asked casually: "The Spencer family has a high status, right?"

"Oh, yes, of course. Spencer is known as the saber-toothed tiger of the south, and is one of the noblest and most prestigious families in the Casa Empire. You know that the Duchess is from the Spencer family. She is still alive today. The northern province of Nessert quelled that highlander rebellion." A deacon replied.

Evan asked thoughtfully: "So, Kyle should have been a great nobleman. Why did he grow up in the church and now focus on being a priest?"

The deacon was a little embarrassed, and after looking around for a while, he said: "Your Excellency Paladin, I only dare to tell you these words. But... these big families will actually have children who are fostered in church schools. When they grow up, they will naturally become a status Not a lowly bishop, but...uh, they generally won't have the chance to return to the family."

He spoke in an extremely cryptic manner, but Evan already understood roughly that nobles in this era would often foster their offspring other than their eldest son in other families, sometimes as apprentices to other knights, and sometimes to church schools, Sometimes I will do accompanying readings for the heirs of the royal family.This system of sending children is not only a way to use protons to contain the family, but also the only way for the second son of some families to obtain education, because quite a few families do not want to spend any resources on heirs other than the eldest son.

Kyle Spencer was probably a foster son handed over to the church by the Duchess of the Spencer family. As her power and strength became stronger, Kyle was gradually promoted; when the Duchess was mobilized When she went to the north to quell the chaos, she led tens of thousands of troops outside and had independent command power. The Holy Court also recalled Kyle to Corunna and promoted him on the surface, so that he should serve locally and have no reason to return. to the parish of Sabiron.

The existence of this status is extremely embarrassing, and Evan has roughly understood why Kyle would say such a thing.He couldn't help but sighed for it, and then thought: Blue Bell Flower chose Kyle, maybe it was because of his identity; and Kyle chose to join Blue Bell Flower, maybe it was because he realized his own value, not just a pawn. the only way...

Whether it was the rebellion of the highlanders, the suppression of the rebellion by the Duchess Spencer, or the assassination by the bluebell flower, or the mage's choice to help the highlander and the bluebell flower, the church responded with various countermeasures...

Everything stems from political games, and politics stems from respective interests.

People in this era are in a whirlpool, and Evan may be the only one standing on a high ground overlooking everything.

After leaving the central hall, Evan saw a parade on the road named Golden Thorn.

Surrounded by several guards, about seven or eight ring mages wearing white robes were connected in chains in the middle. They all had the word "crime" tattooed on their foreheads to distinguish them. In this way, they were led to walk in the middle of the road for a parade; people on both sides of the road were filled with righteous indignation, throwing rotten eggs and rotten fruits at them, but they were not allowed to hurt them.

Someone shouted: "These are the evil heretics! They killed the Pope, and they made the holy Corunna into this form!"

This scene is classic and ancient. Since the establishment of the circle many years ago, the mage who was captured but not executed was dragged through the streets under various charges; According to their mutual testimonies, the judges selected the one who had the most serious crime and sentenced him to death on the spot.

Evan standing by the street frowned.

What surprised him the most was that there were actually two paladins in the front row of the team.The two paladins rode their horses to clear the way in silence, without any specific expressions.

Evan stepped forward to stop the parade team.

The leader of the team thought that he just accidentally blocked the road at first, but when he saw Evan clearly, he was taken aback and asked respectfully: "Your Excellency Paladin, do you have any instructions?"

But he didn't get an answer.At this time, the people around them all fell silent.

Facing Evan who stood silently, the horse took two steps back spontaneously, and the two paladins dismounted immediately, and then they heard Evan's quiet voice: "Who asked you to participate in the parade? Did you enter the Knights Templar?" At that time, no one taught you to recite the rules, and the paladins will not participate in the trial, hunting, or other procedures of heretics at any time and in any place?"

The two paladins looked ashamed and lowered their heads.

This rule was originally set by Evan.He never hoped that the Knights Templar he established would become like in another world, where he took hunting down heretics as his first duty, participated in all kinds of wars in the name of justice, and regarded unjust killing as glory, but Forget the kindness and justice that knights are supposed to remember.

"Who asked you to participate?" Evan asked in a deep voice.

The paladin replied: "It is an order from the Ministry of the Holy Order, and His Excellency Hugo did not refute it."

Evan frowned slightly, and then said: "Now return to the station immediately. As punishment, you must face the wall for three days, swing your sword a thousand times, and carefully understand our rules."

The two paladins bowed their heads to accept the punishment. No one objected to Evan's order. Even the leader of the parade team avoided Evan's sight, even though the latter did not have any actual duties.

Evan couldn't help sighing in his heart: 1 years have passed, no matter how strong and independent the knights are, they will inevitably fall into a power struggle.Maybe I can clean up the Knights Templar again before I leave again...

Evan returned to the Knights Templar's residence and met Hugo, the inspector general of the Holy City.

After the position of grand master had been vacant for more than 100 years, and the head priest was assassinated and died recently, Hugo, as the third person, actually had the power to command the paladins.However, he has no official symbol after all, so he can't make really important decisions.

After seeing Hugo, Evan asked straight to the point: "Is someone putting pressure on the Knights Templar recently?"

Hugo paused for his sudden question. After a long time, they sat opposite him and said with a wry smile, "I'm sorry, Lord Paladin, I... am ashamed of the entrustment of my predecessors, and I am even more ashamed of you. The Knights Templar It's no longer the glory it used to be..."

Evan shook his head and asked lightly: "The Pope has long been dissatisfied with the fact that the Knights Templar is independent of other legions of the Holy See and is not under the command of the General Court, is it?"

Hugo nodded helplessly, and said: "The position of the chief priest has been deliberately vacated for more than 100 years. We have no leader to lead us. From the earliest continuous struggle, we can only compromise now... the position of the chief pastor is no longer Then it is decided by the regiment, but directly appointed by the Pope. Our members are also gradually decreasing, and recently I...we are still facing many doubts."

"Colin," Evan asked after pondering for a long time, "It was the first time you were accused of being gay in Sabillon Province, wasn't it? They were able to directly arrest you on this charge. How many times have the Knights Templar... been questioned on this charge?"

Hearing this charge, Hugo closed his eyes in pain, and continued: "Our rules have not changed. Every new member will be guided by an old member. During this period, they help each other, eat and live together. , until the new members participated in the first real battle... But this became the most direct reason for them to frame us. They think that our strength, our sacrifice, our belief... are all nothing but narrow love .”