"Stop lying!"
The Mayan Lord Bigtik spoke sternly, his expression very serious.
Obviously, he didn't believe what these guys said.
In his opinion, the reason for visiting the church was incomprehensible.
Not to mention that the other party arrived here late at night, which makes it even more unreasonable.
"When our soldiers found you, you were still hiding in the corner!"
"If it's just for sightseeing, why do you do this?"
"Besides, why come in the middle of the night? Why not come at daybreak?"
"You're lying!"
The Mayan Lord Bigtik was speaking, and it was obvious that he was very confident in his words, because he had already started walking and circling around those strange outsiders.
That is a "judgmental" gesture.
Arthas, the king of Atlantis, nodded calmly, as if he also agreed with Bigtik's words.
"What the Mayan Lord Bigtik said makes sense."
"Besides, as far as I know, normal pilgrims would openly identify themselves and carry gifts, instead of hiding and behaving furtively like you guys."
Then, the Aztec leader Montezuma took over the conversation.
"That's right. Your behavior is obviously inconsistent with your purpose. So, either you are lying, or your so-called visit has another purpose."
"You'd better tell me everything clearly, otherwise, don't even think about leaving here!"
"This is a special period. Who knows what your real purpose is?"
Facing the questioning from the leaders, the older outsider lowered his head and remained silent for a while, as if trying to understand what they were saying.
After a while, he raised his head, and the expression on his face became heavy and sad.
So he slowly explained in the common language with an accent.
"We didn't lie, no!"
"But we also know that it is difficult for us to gain your trust by saying that we are here to visit the holy land."
"That's why we came here so late at night. But, we didn't expect you to still be here, still in the Holy City."
When Marasia heard the other party mention the word "holy city", she just frowned slightly.
"Holy City?"
"What does that mean?"
"Isn't this the capital of the Hebrew Empire?"
Obviously, Malacia was a little confused by the other party's words.
The person in front of him clearly looked like an outsider. His dress, appearance, and body shape were very different from those of the Hebrews.
Therefore, the "holy city" they mentioned made Malacia feel very strange.
"Because, because the Hebrew Empire has been occupying Jerusalem, no, it has occupied our holy city."
"Those pagans, those evil pagans!"
There was suddenly some anger in the older man's voice, as if just mentioning these words made him feel a little out of control.
"There are the tombs of our ancestors, the footprints of our prophets, and our most sacred church!"
"But after those pagans came, we were not allowed to set foot in that city!"
"Even, they killed our people!"
He continued, his anger growing more intense.
"After the Hebrews occupied Jerusalem, they issued a decree prohibiting our people from entering, praying in front of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and even mentioning the names of those holy places."
"Later, they kicked us out completely."
When Malacia heard this, she just asked curiously: "But why is this?"
The older man just shook his head vigorously a few times: "Because they regard us as pagans."
"Because our beliefs are different and our laws are different."
“They don’t allow us to enter holy places, mourn at the graves of our ancestors, or repair churches that existed before they took over.”
"For three generations, our people have been unable to get close to their holy land. They can only look at the walls of Jerusalem from afar and listen to the bells of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre."
“So, after we learned that Jerusalem was under siege, we came here immediately.”
As he spoke, he pulled out a neatly folded piece of cloth from the inner pocket of his robe.
"This is the news the caravan gave me while we were on the road."
“He told us that the armies of the Hebrew Empire had been defeated, the walls of Jerusalem had been breached, and the Hebrews from all the villages were fleeing.”
“So here we are!”
He raised his head and looked at the leaders with sharp eyes.
"With the city defenses collapsing and without a ban, we finally have the chance to see the legendary Church of the Holy Sepulchre with our own eyes!"
"Even if we can only watch from the outside, even if we might be executed as thieves, we are willing to take the risk."
The leaders responded differently to his explanation.
Some were skeptical, some were thoughtful, and Malacia was obviously moved by the story, her expression softened.
But Montezuma remained skeptical.
"You risked your lives just to see a church?"
"visit?"
The older man heard what the other person said and just paused for a moment before he began to shake his head.
“It was more than just a church to us.”
“It’s part of our history, a symbol of our identity, and our faith!”
"Why don't you imagine how you would feel if your ancestors were buried in a place that you could never access, if your people's most sacred relics were blocked by others?"
The leaders present fell silent after hearing these words.
Although each of them had their own ideas, no one spoke out to refute.
After all, it was common knowledge that the Hebrews had arrived here hundreds of years earlier.
Therefore, the other party's words were valid, not to mention that they had experienced the religious fanaticism of the magicians of the Rose Order. They knew very well that for these people with strong beliefs, no matter how incomprehensible their actions were, there were always reasonable explanations.
Lin Ke just listened to their words quietly, his eyes moving back and forth between the elder's face and the church in the distance.
He noticed a special twinkle in the elder man’s eyes when he talked about the church.
It was something beyond simple curiosity, a pious emotion.
To some extent, that also has something in common with those in the Order of the Rose.
"You should be able to see that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is intact."
"But what's so special about that church that's worth taking such a risk?"
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