Meanwhile, in the church in the Earl's city.
Inside the dimly lit church, the stained glass windows emitted a mysterious glow in the faint light.
The crystal lamps on the wall emitted a soft light, bringing the sacred scenes depicted on the stained glass to life.
In this sacred composition, a low chant broke the silence.
A mysterious figure dressed in a black robe emerged from the depths of the church.
His silhouette stretched longer and longer in the crystal light, as if he were darkness itself, gradually swallowing the light.
He wore a half-silver mask, revealing only a pair of deep, eerie green eyes that radiated an eerie light.
The mysterious figure held a uniquely shaped scepter, on which strange symbols were carved using unusual techniques.
These symbols resemble magical markings, yet they evoke a completely different feeling.
The mysterious cloaked figure walked into the hall and found a casual corner to sit down.
I looked up and gazed at the clergy who were praying silently beneath the icon.
Judging from his attire—a white robe embroidered with gold trim, plus a huge holy light pattern printed on his back—it was clear that this was a clergyman.
A genuine priest.
The mysterious man sitting at the end waited patiently for the priest's prayer, as if he were a believer who had come to preach.
If it weren't for the pitch-black night...
As the priest finished his prayer, the lights in the church seemed to dim a little more, stretching the shadows of the icons even longer.
"Has the great Holy Spirit answered you, priest?"
The mysterious man's words seemed to carry a hint of sarcasm and disdain, as well as a trace of vigilance and apprehension.
The priest standing beneath the icon closed his black-bound book, slowly turned around, and said:
“The Holy Spirit said…”
"I don't have time to waste on your nonsense."
The mysterious man seemed very impatient and anxious, and interrupted the priest directly.
"My lord did not send me here to listen to your sermons. Has the matter been settled?"
The mysterious man spoke with urgency, and the hand holding the scepter seemed itchy; he couldn't help but scratch it every now and then, leaving white marks on his leather gloves.
"The count's people have been investigating more closely lately, so things have slowed down. It will take another half month to complete the entire ceremony..."
"Half a month?"
The mysterious man screamed in panic:
"Two groups of Holy Punishment Knights have arrived in just half a month. Why don't you suggest waiting until the bishop has recovered and then taking action himself a year later?"
The priest ignored the mysterious man's roar and instead handed him a piece of paper bearing the Truk family crest.
"What is this? From Truk's family?"
"This was sent by the Earl today; I can't keep it a secret for long."
After the mysterious man finished reading the letter, he said through gritted teeth:
"Damn it, how did he know? Has the plan been exposed?"
The priest shook his head and denied it:
"It shouldn't be that bad yet. Although I don't know where the Earl got the information, we need to put our plans on hold for now and get through this period of investigation first..."
The mysterious man tapped the ground with his scepter and said:
“I will report this to the lord. Someone will come to help you attract the count’s attention. You should take this opportunity to complete the ceremony.”
After finishing his sentence, the mysterious man left the dimly lit church without looking back, giving the priest no room for negotiation.
Watching the figure disappear into the darkness, the priest turned his back, opened the dark scripture, and continued to pray.
From beginning to end, whether out of fear or guilt, this priest never once looked up at the face of the Holy Spirit, not even once.
His incessant prayers mingled with the night, surging into the depths of darkness and disappearing without a trace.
…………
The next morning, a busy day began.
Linde stood on a raised hill in his territory, overlooking his land.
As spring plowing progresses, large tracts of land have been cultivated, and the air is filled with the scent of fresh grass.
With a deafening roar, a corner of the distant Blackstone Castle collapsed, raising clouds of dust.
"It's finally starting."
After a long time, the castle has finally begun to be demolished. At present, only a section has been demolished, and the main structure has not yet been started.
Linde had been unhappy with this castle, which had been built by someone else, for a long time. The style and artistic level were too poor; it had neither good protective performance nor an attractive artistic structure.
The walls are incredibly thin; if they were hit by cannons from the original world, they probably wouldn't last more than a few hits.
It's not that the castle construction in this world is bad; the massive, thick walls of the neighboring Fortified City are an example.
It could be that the builder hired by the previous lord was too incompetent, or it could be a problem with the lord's own aesthetic sense.
In Linde's plan, he intended to first build a low, solid castle, leaving room for renovation and expansion.
This way, it will be easier for him to expand and renovate the castle when his territory develops, at least he won't have to move it to a different place and rebuild it from scratch.
However, these are all things for the future. There's no rush to build the castle. After the old castle is demolished, the priority will be to build the infrastructure in the territory.
The heavy responsibility of defense now rests on the military camp in the open space in front of the castle.
The military camp is now completely different from the chaotic state it was in when we first arrived.
With the help of two rivers, the entire camp was situated at the confluence of the two rivers, and a wall made of stone and wood was built along the riverbanks, making the entire camp seem very indestructible.
The campsite is large enough to easily accommodate two or three thousand people.
Today, Linde took Nazra for a walk around the territory.
To prevent her from encountering enemy spies on her way back, the group discussed it and decided to let Nazla rest with Linde for a few more days until her injuries were almost healed before setting off.
After all, the poison that Nazra was poisoned with was still very potent for orcs, greatly suppressing the self-healing ability in their bloodline. Even with Lind's aura, the recovery was somewhat "slow".
Nazra had once asked Linde, almost imperceptibly, how he had saved her from the clutches of death despite her being poisoned with ashes.
Was it a potion? Or magic?
Linde didn't intend to reveal his own aura, so he gave a similar answer.
They claim to possess ancestral magic that can strengthen the body and accelerate recovery.
That's how they got rid of the fox-woman.
As his first real partner, Linde was very optimistic about the fox girl's potential.
After learning more, Linde discovered that her territory produced extremely abundant alchemical materials. These materials were not very valuable in the orc kingdom, but they were highly sought-after and scarce in the human kingdom.
Nazra herself had previously struggled with the lack of suitable sales channels. Her territory did not border human territories, and the material supplies for some border human territories had long been occupied by other members of her race, leaving her no room to intervene.
This serendipitous turn of events has ironically led them to find a near-perfect ally.
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