In the past five years, Rostislav has been prospering, and Lev's career has not shown any signs of weakness and is also developing prosperously.
Ever since he saw Rostislav's pioneering work in the wilderness and his powerful military, the warlock Lev realized that if he wanted to fight against the princely government, he had to do something that he didn't want to do and wasn't willing to do.
In Lev's view, if he did those things, then he would be walking on the path of Rostislav. Although he could use any method to defeat the devil, it still put his conscience to the test.
But the truth is so cruel, Lev must accept it.
The Warlock first found a base that was safe and secluded enough, and he knew such a place. This place is now the pagan holy land behind the hidden cliffs, the Veles Valley.
For many years, this holy land has only been accessible to pagan warlocks from Northeastern Russia. This is where the knowledge of many warlocks is passed on. The chosen ones learn here and carve gods and totems in order to serve the gods.
Warlocks will also gather here to exchange knowledge and news they have learned from each other.
This land is very fertile. There is a lake full of fish in the land surrounded by cliffs. The land is also very fertile and it is easy to plant. As long as you sow seeds, the crops will grow vigorously.
The ascetic sorcerers have always been self-sufficient here. Lev came here to study under the guidance of his teacher. After completing his studies, he traveled around, and finally he returned to his hometown.
The warlocks of the past generations chose this land because of its dangerous location. Lev also realized the strategic significance of this land. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack, has a hidden location, and has a long history of pagan customs. It can be used as a headquarters instead of here.
Is there any place to do it?
Originally, Lev was not willing to do this. After all, it was their long-standing holy land, but after seeing the powerful power of the Prince of Moscow, he found that he could only go this way.
All available resources must be used, and he must do things that he was unwilling to do...
But if he wanted to do this, he had to gain widespread approval, so Lev first convened a conference that brought together all the magicians in Northeastern Rus to convince the magicians to agree to his decision.
It is not easy to gather so many warlocks. It took Lev a full year to gather the warlocks scattered all over the place. After all, many of the warlocks live in very remote places, and many of them are used to living alone.
Willing to participate in such gatherings.
Lev's opinion naturally aroused a lot of opposition. For everyone, this was unheard of, but Lev had been preparing for this for a long time, leading to this moment.
Then at the conference, Lev battled with the Confucian scholars and refuted one opponent after another, making everyone gradually agree with his point of view.
His qualifications and reputation also played a huge role. In addition, many people here were influenced by Rostislav's actions of building a city in the wilderness and sending Christian missionaries. Most people finally agreed with his decision.
At the same time, at this pagan conference, Lev did something unprecedented in the history of the sect of the gods, which was to divide the religious hierarchy and clarify the leadership relationship and scope of responsibility among the warlocks.
The opposition caused by this was quite large, with two-thirds of the people directly objecting to it, and some even directly yelled, shouting that Lev was going to be their prince, a dictator, and that fucking Moscow
The princes are like birds of a feather.
Of course, few people take such words seriously, but it can also show everyone's anger.
Each of them is a local bully, so how can they allow someone to ride on their head like this? I honestly think it’s not okay for me to be a local bully? Why do I need to find a superior for myself?
As for the remaining one-third of supporters, they either have a serious sense of worry, or the threat from Christian forces is imminent, and the power in their respective jurisdictions is under huge threat.
Therefore, they chose to obey. Lev was their only choice now. Only under Lev's leadership could they have the possibility of resistance.
But for Lev, this was already a huge victory. He was originally prepared to fall out, but he didn't expect that there were still so many people supporting him.
After acquiring a group of pagan warlocks as his subordinates, Lev's career developed very rapidly. The warlocks spread their influence everywhere, strengthened their guidance to the village community, and routinely collected supplies from them, and then continued to attract pious people.
believers and send them to this valley.
In the valley, these devout believers will obtain knowledge and combat guidance, which were never possible in the past. After all, the warlocks relied on these to have power in the countryside, but now the situation has related to their life and death, and
Don't worry about hiding your secrets.
These study projects were summarized by Lev. He had seen the studies of Christian priests and understood that this summary was crucial to their future.
Moreover, Lev is still integrating the beliefs of the gods, recording myths and classics, and constructing a complete and logical worldview - to compete with Christianity, the level of religion must be improved.
All this is so that they can serve as an organizational force when the wave comes - Lev firmly believes that the Prince of Moscow will eventually lead to that day coming, and when it comes, it will be their opportunity.
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Let us return to the present moment. As Lev gave the order to summon everyone, and after a bell rang, believers in the entire valley gathered at the place of worship for the gods.
Everyone's faces were filled with excitement, because the news of Rostislav's departure from Northeastern Rus had long been spread, and everyone was just a step away from confirming the information.
In the eyes of many people, Rostislav's departure was the best moment for them to launch an uprising, so they were extremely excited. They believed that Lev, the pagan leader of the land behind the forest, also wanted to overthrow the damn prince.
Just at this moment.
But Lev just looked at these excited faces calmly, waiting for people to arrive.
The men and women gathered under the statue of Veles, and the great god silently looked at everything under him. After everyone arrived, Lev went straight to the point and pointed out the theme of the meeting.
"Seeing that everyone is so excited, I think you can understand why the meeting was held. It has been confirmed that the Prince of Moscow, Rostislav Vladimirovich, will leave the land behind the forest."
After Lev said this, he paused for a while to let everyone calm down. He looked at the more excited faces, and then continued.
"I know that many people are very excited and think this is an opportunity to start an uprising. But what I want to tell you is that now is not an opportunity. If we act rashly, we will fall into a situation that is beyond redemption."
Lev's words were calm, but they also held great significance. This was undoubtedly a blow to all the militants, as they had never expected that the warlock would say such a thing.
The place was immediately filled with whispers and people were discussing this, but as Lev raised his hand, everyone fell silent. Although everyone had strong opinions on this decision, their obedience to Lev never wavered.
Lev's prestige among the people is unshakable. No matter what decision he makes, people will still follow him and the leader who created all this.
"I know that everyone hates the damn prince of Moscow and wants him to die, but I must tell everyone that our strength is still not enough to fight against the prince. Remember how we dealt with Jan Veshadzic? In the case of a traitor
We mobilized almost all our strength to barely hide our existence. Do you really think that we can fight against the Prince of Moscow just by relying on this organizational power?"
Lev's question was sonorous and forceful, and those who were full of dissatisfaction just now remained silent at this moment, because they all knew that what Lev said was true. With their current strength, to fight against Rostislav's army would be to use an egg against a stone.
"And the people are not ready yet. Although the oppression of the Moscow princes continues to spread, most people have never felt anything. To be more precise, everyone thinks that these are still within the acceptable range. For the people, if they can endure it,
, then just endure it, confrontation will hardly bring them any benefit."
Faced with Lev's words, everyone was silent. At this moment, Lev told them the bloody facts, and the whole atmosphere became depressed.
"Then when can we rise up and resist?"
Someone asked at this time, and this was exactly what Lev was waiting for. He knew not to make the future too gloomy.
"Very soon, everyone. It will only take a few years at most. Very soon, everyone."
A smile appeared on Lev's face, as well as confidence, extremely firm confidence. He was very clear about the urinary nature of those rulers. Sooner or later, they would inevitably carry out oppression that would force everyone to stand up and resist.