"According to the Continental Code, we, Elliot Castlefield, in the name of the God-given Knight of the Rose, the Eternal King of the Red Earth Plateau, witness the canonization of the residents of East County Bazerald by D. Jonah, the fourth-level astrologer apprentice. Toba is his retinue knight. It is April 26, 2282 in the continental calendar. Lord Jonah, you are willing to grant Toba the knight title in the holy morning light. Engrave your family crest on the knight's armor. Accept followers. All loyalty and humility?" said the Rose Knight, holding a thick code in his hand.
"Yes." Jonah replied.
The astrologer apprentice stood next to the deep tomb. He held a sword in his right hand and raised the lighting staff he brought out from the astrology tower with his left hand. The crystal on the top of the staff emits bright light, allowing the miraculous grassland to rise again at night. Round dawn sun.
"Toba, you swear to abide by the knight's creed. Follow the virtues of humility, honor, sacrifice, heroism, mercy, spirituality, honesty, and justice. You will be loyal to the owner of the family coat of arms with humility until the end of each other's lives." Liott's fingertips ran across the code's lines representing the spirit of chivalry.
The person lying in front of everyone's gaze did not answer. A crystal clear teardrop slipped from the corner of Long Ji's eye. It fell on the face of Xibi, who was sleeping like a child in her arms. The little grasshopper smiled in his sleep, as if he was still clinging to her. In the arms of the head of the house.
"This is an affirmative answer." The Rose Knight closed the codex. "Now, Lord Jonah, please complete the canonization ceremony."
Jonah half-knelt down, dipped his fingers in blood, and drew a simple pattern on Toba's scarred chest: a broken eye hidden in the center of a spiral. The spiral represents all the mysteries of the starry sky. The eyes represent the endless pursuit of knowledge. And brokenness. The pupil represents the hard collision between truth and reality. This is the family crest just decided by the astrologer's apprentice. No matter whether it is prominent or humble in the future, only at this moment, the glory of the two lives of Jonah and Toba merge into one.
"I have never seen the distinguished astrologer in my life. Being able to fight side by side with you last night is the greatest honor in my life. When I have children and grandchildren, I hope to use your name as their surname. From now on for generations to come. To commemorate this precious memory between you and me..."
Toba's words echoed so clearly in his ears. He tapped the head of the chamber on the shoulder three times with his long sword. Yona stood up and looked at the pale face of his loyal knight. "Toba. From now on, my name is your surname. You, your descendants, will inherit this surname forever. Toba Jonah, my glorious retinue knight... Please take a good rest. From now on. .We still have a longer way to go.”
At this point, the astrologer apprentice could no longer control his emotions. As soon as his fingers loosened, the staff and sword fell to the ground with a bang. The light went out. The grassland washed by blood and fire became dark again.
"It's done." Elliot said softly. "Master, let's say goodbye for now. After we complete our mission, we will definitely come back to chat, drink and look at the wild flowers with you. Then, this The grassland must be blooming with brilliant flowers. As beautiful as the mushroom farm in your dream..."
Jonah walked towards the dark distance. Every step away from Toba, his steps became heavier as if he was carrying the faith of his companions. He did not make a sound. He let tears flow down his face. Behind him, there was the sound of soil falling towards the tomb. There was a rustle. He knew that he would never have the chance to see the face of the Bazelar farmer again in this life. But Jonah stepped firmly with brave determination.
As his eyes gradually adapted to the dark night, he discovered the brilliant starry sky above his head. The astrologer apprentice raised his head and found the direction of the North Star according to the method taught by Teacher Keshava, and began to walk westward.
There were footsteps behind me. "Your staff. I think it is very important."
Long Ji appeared next to her holding the little grasshopper, holding the staff with the illuminated star array in her hand. Yona nodded and took the parting souvenir given to him by Teacher Keshava.
After a few minutes of silence, Jonah asked: "Where do you think Jekon will be?"
"I feel that he is still alive, but very far away." The Oriental woman replied.
The sound of hooves sounded. The Rose Knight also appeared beside him. He carefully took the little grasshopper from Long Ji's hand and placed her on the unicorn's broad back.
"Eli Toba...no. My knight knight. Is he okay?" The astrologer apprentice did not look back.
"He's fine. He can finally take a good rest," Elliot said calmly.
"In my hometown." Long Ji said leisurely. "People believe that the entire process of life is contained in two words: 'Xiao' and 'Xi'. The growth process of the human body is also the consumption process of 'Innate Qi'. So It is called death. It is called death. So death is a process of continuous accumulation. The survival process of the soul and true spirit is called breath. It means that after death, a person just enters a state of rest. He may enter the underworld or enter the underworld. The kingdom of heaven, separated between life and death, is not as far away as you think."
Jonah nodded thoughtfully.
A few minutes later, Pitchfork's friends arrived at the entrance of the canyon where the fierce battle took place. Corpses, rubble, and broken swords shining in the starlight formed the remains of the brutal battle. Jonah lit the star array again. Resisting nausea, he bowed his head and looked at the corpse. Look for clues in the pile.
"This way." Long Ji waved her hand. More than a dozen broken corpses were spread out on a red carpet of flesh and blood. It can be roughly seen that the fatal injuries of these Lanxun soldiers were X-shaped knife marks that severed the bodies. Follow the corpses to In the first thirty yards, I came to a rock wall. There was a pattern painted with blood on the rock. In just a few hours, the blood had turned into dark brown. It looked strange and inexplicable.
Jonah raised his staff. It was a bird-shaped pattern with fluttering wings. It was a tattoo that Jekong found on a low-ranking officer. Below the scrawled picture, there was a line of words carved with a knife. Each word went deep into the rock: There is a reason for this. He exists. This is born, so that is born. This is without reason, and that is not. This is destroyed, so that is destroyed.
The astrologer's apprentice looked up at Elliot in confusion. The Rose Knight shook his head: "This should be a Buddhist verse from the ancient southern country. It talks about the 'cause and effect' that the Buddhist country talks about. We can't interpret the specific meaning." Lord Jekong seems to want to tell us that he went to find the karmic cause of this tattoo. There is no need to wait; if our karmic results are still entangled, we will meet again at a certain time and place."
"Is that so..." Yona murmured. "He went somewhere by himself... Are you still looking for him? Eli."
"No. We are returning to Cherry Ferry now." Rose Knight looked to the west. "It has been a few hours since the battle. The corpse collection team from the Zhawi Empire should be arriving soon. After completing the burial of the victims of the Gwadar team's first ambush and After salvation, they will appear in Miracle Grassland. Now we have basically lost our combat effectiveness. Facing a large number of gravediggers and military priests, we have no chance of winning."
Long Ji patted Yona's arm: "Don't worry. For Jekong, he will appear stronger when he acts alone than when we are around."
"Okay. Then, let's go home." Jonah hesitated for a while and then sighed deeply.
The return trip was a silent journey. The tired astrologer apprentice could no longer drive the star array. The staff became the crutch he relied on to support his weight. No one spoke. The footsteps rustled. There was an endless rock wall ahead. There is a ray of starlight above the head. I wonder if Zhawi's army has reached Cherry Crossing. It takes five hours of rapid march from Shiva's Tears to Cherry Crossing. If the spiritual magician Hasalqin slightly delays the First Central Army's The enemy will probably not be able to reach the ferry before midnight. In other words, the A51 Pitchfork mission has a high chance of success.
But what price they paid. The Lord Chamberlain slept forever where the wild flowers bloomed. The mercenary warrior Gwadar was not far away to accompany him; Sigmar Tree Snake and Omikron Dongma fell like meteors. Plus The fallen darkfire mage whose life and death are unknown, Jefta, is an old friend of Jonah's long absence.
Is all this really worth it?
"I'm sorry." Long Ji turned her head and looked at him with soft eyes. "This all happened because of me. If I didn't have to get that ticket..."
"Tell me, did the head of the house think of such an ending early on?" Jonah suddenly asked. "I always feel that when we set out, he gave people a strange feeling."
"Maybe." The oriental woman lowered her head. The silver bell in her hair was blown by the night wind.
The group of people walked slowly in the deep canyon. Suddenly, several corpses appeared on the roadside. They were in silver armor and blue robes. They were infantrymen of the First Central Army's Blue Legion. Pitchfork's friends looked at each other. "It's Hasar." Qin."
There were more corpses ahead. Most of them died after their heads were smashed by the falling rocks above them. At the narrow bottom of the valley, the magician's control of the rocks became a terrifying sniper weapon. There were no traces of a fierce battle. There were no officers. The corpse appeared. Likewise, there were no remains of Hasalqin.
"After causing chaos to the enemy, he should have escaped unscathed. Lord Hasarqin is a truly strong man." Elliot couldn't help but say.
After simply eating some dry food on the way, Pitchfork's friends continued to head towards Cherry Crossing. Due to the injuries of Unicorn and Yona, their speed was almost half slower than when they came. When they finally saw the exit in front of the canyon, it was already Three hours after midnight, the day the ferry agreed to set sail was the early morning of April 27th.
The roaring sound from the other side of the Holy River reached my eardrums. At the same time, there was a bright light in the sky. It was a fire. A fire was burning in Cherry Crossing. Whether it was the shacks of the powerless or the stone buildings in the town .All showed charred outlines in the flames. Thick smoke covered the starry sky.
Flames illuminated the shocked faces of the Pitchforks.
"October 29th. Flames fell. The river was defiled..."
Jonah pressed his trembling hands to his chest. In his pocket, a few pages of scraps of paper were mocking coldly.