Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 953: Have you let a wolf into the house?

It's the Mountain Guards, not the Misty Mountain Hermitage.

Lingge then realized that he seemed to have overlooked an important factor, which was time. According to Songtaya, the mountain people in the Eastern Alps had already become followers of Saint Tomi when the Spiritual Prayer Society was just established and the animism system had not yet been fully established; and the Misty Mountain Hermitage was established during the heyday of animism by believers who admired the wisdom of the saint and spontaneously followed his footsteps and came to Mount Osor to explore historical traces.

In the past, although all branches of animism respected the Spiritual Prayer Society as their origin, they also had their own missionary scopes, just like the clear boundaries between the king and his vassals. It was only after the Pangaean Ocean split and the orthodox inheritance of the Spiritual Prayer Society was returned to the Holy Kingdom of Nordorn in the East Continent, this unbreakable religious alliance gradually disintegrated without the control of the king, but the traditional sense of missionary sites still exists. For example, the city of Nimsher is the missionary site of the Holy Spring Monks, the city of Bishan is the missionary site of the Fertile Soil Sect, and the city of Lunweiting is the missionary site of the True Spirit Sect, and so on.

This alliance was not completely broken until the promulgation of the "Religious Decree". Before that, the believers of animism had always deliberately maintained its integrity and avoided disputes with other similar factions. This may be because they had a common great wish: to collect the spirituality of the world, to call back the consciousness of the saints through the ritual of summoning gods, and to reshape the faith of the world, which is the so-called Day of the Return of the Holy Spirit.

As long as there is a possibility of the resurrection of the saints, the system of animism will never split.

The Eastern Alps became an exception to this system, as there were two animist factions coexisting here: the Mountain Guards and the Misty Mountain Hermitage. Lingge had never considered this situation before.

But why did he not find any records about the Mountain Guards when he searched various historical materials?
The young man raised this question and soon got a simple but reasonable explanation from Songtaya: because the Mountain Guards were established after the promulgation of the "Religious Decree".

Before this, although the Xiatoto people believed in the Mountain Father, "the father of the mountains, the origin of the abyss, and the protector of the three valleys", this belief was only circulated within the tribe and was not deliberately spread to the outside world. In other words, they did not form a religious system. Therefore, their popularity was naturally not as good as that of the Misty Mountain Hermitage, which believed in Dongpelon, "the symbol of mysterious fog, the blizzard of winter, and the guardian of a thousand mountains" at the same time. The two sides did not need to compete for missionary power and were able to coexist peacefully.

However, the promulgation of the "Religious Decree" brought about a serious consequence, that is, the decline of the tourism economy, which caused the Chatto people, who had long been integrated into human society, to lose their industry for survival. In addition, the attitude of the church group to deny the faith of the Mountain Father aroused the dissatisfaction of these simple mountain people, so they chose to unite and violently resist the "Religious Decree", just like the "Religious Mutual Aid Association" in Linville City.

Of course, facing the powerful alliance of religious orders, such resistance was naturally futile. The mountain people who were attacked by the Night's Watch and the Balance of Order had to flee civilization and return to the snow-capped mountains to live a nomadic life chasing the wind and snow like their ancestors.

Although the rebellion failed, the enthusiasm of faith aroused by this incident did not cool down with the wind and snow in the mountains, but became more intense. Under the inspiration of the Father of Mountains, the previously loose mountain tribes finally united into one and formed the so-called Mountain Guards.

Well, judging from its development history, it is really a very strange religious organization.

Generally speaking, other religions in the Western Continent, whether they are animist factions or not, generally follow the historical pattern of gaining faith, establishing religion, and then being suppressed by the "Religious Decree"; however, the Mountain Guards first gained faith, were then suppressed by the "Religious Decree", and finally decided to establish a religion to resist... In other words, compared to a religious organization, it is more like a resistance organization, which can be seen from their doctrines and ideas.

The followers of the Mountain Guard call themselves messengers and vanguards of the Mountain Father. Their doctrine is "wherever the mountain reaches and below the dust, all things remain constant." Their philosophy is to pursue a stable and unchanging state. They believe that the countries and peoples of the Eastern Alps and even the entire Northern Ashok Mountains should unite to oppose the excessive interference of the united religious orders.

Note that it is against the "excessive" interference of the religious union.

When talking with Songtaya, Lingge understood the connotation of this concept.

"If we drive the cult away, we, the people of Chattoto, can live the good life we ​​had before!" She pointed to a plate of bare lamb ribs and said, "By then, I can eat as many lamb chops as I want. Isn't that good?"

Linger asked, "What happens after we drive away the cult?"

"After that?" The girl opened her eyes wide, quite surprised: "Didn't I tell you that everyone will live a good life after that?"

Therefore, the actions of the cult outside the northern Ashok Mountains have nothing to do with them.

Lingge was speechless for a moment. What a simple and honest thought. Although times have changed, the characters of these mountain people are still as simple and honest as their ancestors who helped Saint Tumi for free... and a little naive.

To take up the banner of resistance against the alliance of the Orders now is no different from joining the Zoroastrian Kingdom Army in 601 AD. When you go to the battlefield and take a look, wow, that tall man riding a horse opposite you, isn't that Marshal Napoleon?
It's over.

Besides, the decline of the Xiatoto people is actually caused by many factors. The decline of tourism industry brought about by the "Religious Decree" is only a triggering factor. We must also consider the failure of industrial transformation caused by the inaction of the local government; the lazy psychology of the people caused by the high welfare policy and the social trends formed as a result; and the Xiatoto people have apparently integrated into human society, but in fact they have only gained a temporary foothold relying on their skills. They must abandon the mountain people's prejudice against the people on the ground and actively learn the rules and skills of human society in order to truly step into the ranks of civilization. But in fact they did not do so. Therefore, after the tourism industry could no longer be sustained, they were forced to return to their old jobs and live a nomadic life in the snow-capped mountains.

If they had learned the intensive farming, industrial production, technical experience and even cultural knowledge from the people on Earth, they probably would not have ended up like this.

Looking at Songtaya slumped in the chair, touching her round belly with a satisfied look on her face, Lingge did not say these words out loud, because it was useless to say them. He believed that there were wise people among the Xiatoto people who could not see through these situations. They were just standing on the victim's standpoint and thinking that it was a very correct choice to hate the perpetrator. If they reflected on themselves, it would probably only cause internal conflicts.

After all, Lingge was an outsider and had no right to criticize their choices.

However, an unexpected encounter with the Mountain Guards might be a good opportunity.

Although the Mountain Guards are not as old as the Priory of the Mist in religious history, they actually started earlier and went further on the path of faith. If the later Priory of the Mist had the manuscripts left by St. Tomi when he surveyed the stars, how could the Mountain Guards, as the pioneers, not know about it? Compared with the mysterious and unknown Priory of the Mist, perhaps the Mountain Guards are a better choice.

Thinking of this, Lingge made a decision in an instant. He said to Songtaya, "Since you are not a believer of the Mist Mountain Hermitage, I would like to revise my previous proposal: Can we meet with the leader of the Mountain Guard? I have some important matters to discuss with him."

"Oh."

Songtaya crossed her arms and nodded with a look of understanding: "Do you want to see the elders and the leader? In fact, even if you don't make this request, I will tell them about this. As for whether they are willing to see you, it is not up to me to decide."

"It doesn't matter, you just need to convey our sincerity, but——"

The young man frowned slightly: "You just mentioned the elders and the chiefs. Who is the leader of the Mountain Guard?"

Songtaya answered without hesitation: "Both."

"..."

It turns out that the followers of the Mountain Guard are not only the Wusu tribe where Songtaya is, but actually a loose entity composed of nine Shatoto tribes that are still active in the Eastern Alps. Since these Shatoto people have always lived in remote mountainous areas and have not been in touch with modern civilization, they naturally know nothing about religious management. Therefore, the Mountain Guard has not had cumbersome religious precepts and strict division of responsibilities since its inception. They only divided the Eastern Alps into nine parishes based on the areas where the nine tribes are located. The elders of each tribe serve as "Fanega", that is, "mountain god messengers", responsible for preaching and sacrifice; the chieftain serves as "Avalo", that is, "mountain warrior", responsible for hunting, reconnaissance and training soldiers.

Fanega and Avalo were parallel in terms of duties, with no distinction between superiors and inferiors, so strictly speaking, the Mountain Guard had a total of 18 leaders in the Eastern Alps. The Heidblosberg mountain area, centered on Mount Osor, was under the jurisdiction of the elders and chiefs of the Usu tribe, so Sontaya said that both of them were leaders.

After listening to this, Lingge was even more speechless: A mountain guerrilla team, nine war zones, and two leaders, one civil and one military. It turns out that you are a resistance organization rather than a religious organization, right?
However, they probably won't go to other battle zones of the Mountain Guard... ahem, other parishes, so it will be enough to just meet with the elders and leaders of the Wusu tribe.

Lingge once again conveyed his intention to Songtaya and said that if the elders and leaders of the Wusu tribe had no objection, the two sides could agree on a time to meet at the top of Mount Osor. Under the witness of the saint's relics, they would never make any offensive moves.

This was Lingge showing his sincerity. If Songtaya was still worried, he could even guarantee that only he and the Countess would attend the meeting, and the Wusu tribe could arrange personnel to guard the meeting place at will. This number of people should make the other party feel at ease, and with the protection of the Countess, Lingge would not have to worry about his life being in danger if the talks failed.

However, when Songtaya heard this, her eyes rolled and she raised an objection: "Why bother?"

Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on her, she waved her hand and said proudly, "Why don't you follow me back to the tribe now? I will take you directly to see the elders and the leader, how about that?"

Ah this?

Is that a bit too direct?
Lingge glanced at her and saw a hint of cunning in her eyes as bright as black agate. He immediately understood what the girl was thinking: instead of letting the elders and leaders come out in person to negotiate with these strangers of unknown origin, it would be better to bring them back to the tribe directly. Not only would it save the trouble of running back and forth to deliver messages, but also if these strangers had any ill intentions, they would be numerous and powerful. They could just smash the cups as a signal and rush forward. Wouldn't that be easy to capture?

And if these outsiders have no ill intentions, then this behavior will show that their Wusu tribe is very generous, and it will surely leave a good impression in the minds of outsiders.

Well, she was indeed a very smart girl. She thought of the best of both worlds solution in just a moment. However, she didn't seem to understand that the vampire countess who had held her in her hand like a crab was actually a powerful demigod.

Are there any demigods among the mountain guards?

It's unlikely. If there really are strong people above demigod level, their organization wouldn't be so loose. They could unite the nine tribes to make the power of the mountain people more stable and concentrated, instead of fighting each other like they are now. They are weak and have exhausted all their strength just to survive in the snowy mountains, not to mention preaching and resisting.

The United Orders did not even consider the Mountain Guards as a threat - in the "Supplementary Regulations of Religious Laws" promulgated in 1855, the name of the Misty Mountain Hermitage was included in the list of illegal religious organizations in the northern Ashok Mountains, but the Mountain Guards were not on the list. This gives us a glimpse of the attitude of the United Orders towards these Chattoto people: Who are you?
What a sad story.

An even sadder story soon happened - Alice's eyes lit up immediately after hearing Songtaya's proposal, and she raised her hands to support it: "That's great, that's great, I've always wanted to see what the Xiatoto tribe looks like! Songtaya, you must take us on a tour when the time comes, just like I took you to visit Yunjingkong Island!"

When did you take me to visit Yunjingkong Island? And you sound so familiar, did we just meet?
The Xia Toto girl complained in her heart, but she didn't hit Alice in the face. Instead, she smiled happily and agreed without hesitation: "Of course, no problem. We Xia Toto people are very warm and hospitable. When you go to the Wusu tribe, you will definitely be treated as honored guests and received with great care!"

Of course, the premise is that you have no ill intentions.

The girl added silently, but she hadn't noticed that everyone around her seemed to be looking at her with sympathy in their eyes: You agreed to Alice's request so easily, you are letting a wolf into the house, girl!
Give me some meow