Blood Dragon

Chapter 190 IX Price

If it is said that there are believers of evil gods in Falcon City, the church will definitely be the first to jump out and deny it.The god stick priests of those churches can even swear by this curse.If the identity of a cult member is really proved, then the church will also describe it as "solitary evidence" and "accidental."

But in another respect, such rumors have never stopped in this city.Who made Falcon City the royal city of Grune, and Grune is the first line against the invasion of evil gods?If you say that the believers of the evil god are so stupid that they can't even send a spy - no one will believe it.It may be difficult for barbarians directly from the wasteland to lurk in, but there are quite a few people who were born in the Seven Kingdoms but eventually believed in evil gods.

Of course, these people hide very deeply.They were exposed not because they were careless, but because of some irresistible force of fate.Like an accident, a political murder, or a theft.The royal family of Gruni cooperated very well with the church in handling these matters.All those exposed cultists will be quietly sent to the church, and the rest will be taken over by the church's judicial organs.In this regard, the church is also quite responsible, especially because they have a set of methods to identify cultists, so that this kind of trial rarely affects Chiyu.

"Well, that's understandable."

The current situation is clear.First, the northern frontier was attacked by barbarian armies.As with the strategy adopted in the past, the lords and garrisons in the north relied on the solid stone fortress and the tactics of clearing the field with strong walls to temporarily delay the enemy's offensive.Judging from the information sent by Rafa, relying on the northern army, the current situation is only about delaying the enemy, and it is impossible to expel the enemy directly.As far as the overall situation is concerned, it is similar to the invasions that have occurred for hundreds of years: the two sides confront each other at the border, and neither can win a decisive victory.When the vigor of the invaders is exhausted, the royal family will send reinforcements to attack.This is what the book calls "block-consume-counterattack" tactics.

Numerous facts have proved that this trick has been tried and tested.The accident last time was not because this trick was not easy to use, but because the believers of the evil god relied on the help of the traitor to break through the White Castle by surprise.So when the former king attacked, what he faced was not a tired enemy, but an army of barbarians with high morale and recharged their batteries.In the end, this led to a major disaster in which the king died in battle and the country was in chaos.

On the surface, at least, the outcome this time around will be no different.Especially when the barbarians were blocked by the strong city, the rebellion launched by the Duke of Byron in the south happened to be suppressed.In other words, everything was just right in terms of timing, and Gruene had enough time to fight this invasion.

The only thing that is puzzling is the church.According to Rodia's inference, the church probably wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of the attack and defense of Fornoros City to bargain with the little girl.But luckily, Ashurfat managed to get the battle done without the church magician participating in the battle, so the church suddenly became at a loss.They must have a lot of plans to do and desperately need the Queen's cooperation and support-but at the moment, it seems that they have lost their bargaining power.

Of course, in terms of resisting those barbarians and those followers of evil gods, the interests of both sides are actually the same.But the same goal does not affect the matter of bargaining itself.Neither the little girl nor Luo Diya really understood why the church was so nervous this time, but this did not affect their desire to take the opportunity to beat each other well.

Declaring neutrality in the face of domestic rebellion is itself a betrayal of the royal family.Although even the royal family can't do anything to the church, but from the standpoint of the little queen, she naturally feels very uncomfortable.

"Believers of evil gods... really must ask the church to help?" The little girl asked after thinking about it.

"It's just a possibility. The church itself is also suspect."

"Your Majesty the Queen!" Just as the two were speaking, the guards outside announced loudly. "My lord, High Priest, please see me."

Speaking of which, the priests of the church were very attentive when they came to the door recently. The little girl glanced at Luo Diya and said to the outside, "Let him in."

A few minutes later, a man wearing a church-like priestly robe walked in.

This man looked to be in his fifties, with a square face, fair complexion, short hair, and a smooth chin.He was smiling, not because he was in a good mood, but because of an ingrained habit.Because it was not the first time they met each other, the little girl immediately recognized that this person was the chief priest of the Great Temple of Falcon City—of course, this is a more official term, and the more common name is "high priest".

In the temple of Falcon City, there are a total of ten high-ranking priests, and this person is the highest person in charge.In fact, it's not just Falcon City. The high priest is actually the controller of the church in Gruenee, controlling thousands of churches and temples in Gruenee, and he himself is directly responsible to the archbishop far away.

Coincidentally, the high priest took office at the same time as the little girl as queen - this is because in the previous fiasco, not only the former king of Gruni was killed, but also the previous high priest was killed by the barbarians .But in any case, from the standpoint of the church, this high priest is still very qualified.For such a long time, relying on Byron's regency and the favorable time when the royal power was relaxed, the church worked hard to expand its influence.Among other things, those newly built, renovated and enlarged churches and shrines are the best proof.

But on this point, the little girl is actually happy to see her success.Because the greatest enemy of Gruni is the barbarians invading from the north, the followers of evil gods.Fighting them requires not only sword and gunpowder, but also faith and magic.In this regard, the expansion of the Church's influence also equals the improvement of Gruny's combat power.Of course, in another aspect, it is also because although the church has great influence, it currently does not have the ability to threaten the king's power, nor has it shown any intentions in this regard.

"Your Majesty the Queen." The high priest saluted slightly.This is a level of etiquette, which marks the equal status of both parties.His eyes stayed on the little girl for a while, and then fell on Luo Diya.After seeing Luo Diya, his smile became even thicker by three points.

"This must be Ms. Luodia... no... Miss?"

"She is my...temporary teacher." The little girl said. "Let's sit down and talk slowly. I don't know what advice the high priest has?"

After taking his seat, the high priest began to introduce the situation in the north.In short, the situation was described by him as very bad, and the matter was urgent. This time the cultists were not an ordinary invasion, let alone looting, but a real crisis.But this time, his words finally revealed more secrets—the reason why the church is so nervous is not entirely because of the various battle reports from the front, but also the oracle from the city of Oren, and the message from the archbishop of the church. instruct.As we all know, although Oren was completely destroyed by an invading greenskin army (this incident also caused the church's prestige to plummet and its reputation to be discredited), after rebuilding, Oren is still the core of the church, where the central temple and the archbishop are located. place.After all, according to the classics of the church, Oren is "the place where the oracle can be best listened to."

The high priest was a man of words.After some foreshadowing and emotional brewing, in his mouth, this war was finally pushed to the height of "the crisis of life and death".Then he made various requests to the little girl - summed up in three words: money, troops, and war.

To be honest, this request is not only normal, but also in the interests of the little queen.This is because defending the country itself is an obligation that a king must fulfill.What king would be willing to lose a piece of land if he had no choice?But in terms of details, the High Priest's requirements are too strict.Because he has characterized many things. For example, he insisted that the current "consumption-counterattack" is wrong, and he must immediately lead the army to a decisive battle with the enemy and drive the enemy out.

His tone of voice and expression were too serious, making it inconvenient for the little girl to refute for a while, so she had to look at Luo Diya with her eyes.

Rodia quickly intervened and changed the topic to the matter of Byron's rebellion.She unceremoniously pointed out that in such a rebellion, the church did not support the royal family but instead engaged in "absolute neutrality" and "not intervening in the secular world to fight for power and profit", which is a kind of open support for the rebels.

In this way, the two sides had a debate match at the edge of the table.The high priest tried hard to shift the topic to the current situation and made various demands.And Rodia tried hard to shift the topic to the "neutrality" of the previous church.However, debating skills soon ceased to be the key, and negotiations gradually turned into a bargain.The church offered various conditions in exchange for the little girl to send troops as quickly as possible.

To be honest, this even surprised the little girl who was temporarily listening in.Originally, it was the king's responsibility to expel foreign enemies. Does the church need to be so proactive?You know, even if the church doesn't do anything, the little girl will definitely send troops - it's just a matter of time and preparation.It's really puzzling what the church does.

Maybe these conditions are so good that even Rodia is a little embarrassed.So the two sides reached an agreement very quickly - as mentioned earlier, although the conditions that the church actually exchanged were not generous, this matter was purely extra money.

"In this way... the candidates for the general..." Rodia had already talked about the last few details.

"Well, I have a good candidate." The high priest immediately connected. "Tiberius has agreed to send troops, and General Beryl offered to serve as the commander of the coalition forces."

"Tiberius sent troops?" Rodia was taken aback for a moment, then turned to look at the little girl.The latter also shook his head in astonishment.

"Why do I know nothing about this?" The army of one country has entered the territory of another country.No matter what banner they are playing, they must first notify the other party and get permission, otherwise, it will undoubtedly mean a sneak attack and an undeclared war.

"Your Majesty," the high priest showed an embarrassed look. "Because of the urgent military situation, I pretended to be your name and reached an agreement with Tiberius. I have come to you many times before, but unfortunately, His Majesty was either away from home or unwell, so I have never had the opportunity to inform you."

"What is your agreement...? What price does Gruny have to pay in exchange for reinforcements?"

"Your Majesty, this is a battle for the honor of the gods, so Tiberius made a small territorial claim."