"When I first became a priest apprentice, this place could still be filled with devout believers every Sunday. But...to this day...I haven't seen such a scene for twenty years." After the case.
, a thin male priest stood up, his gray hair flowing back along the man's shoulders, and his words were full of helplessness: "Your Highness, the last time I saw you was ten years ago.
Well, it has been ten years and you have never been here again."
"Are you..." Afti asked hesitantly.
"You must not remember me. In the past 20 years, Zhu Yan Hall has successively replaced three chief priests. It is normal for nobles in the royal family to forget things and not be able to remember." His Highness, the current chief priest of Zoroastrianism
There is considerable deviation between the tone and language.
Afti and Hussein looked at each other, knelt down at the same time, clasped their hands together, pressed their thumbs tightly against their eyebrows, and knocked their foreheads to the ground: "Compassionate Fire Asura God, accept the prayers of believers and give
The lost camel is an unchanging beacon. Please show the power of God to the great priest and save the dying empire once again."
Looking at the two fantasy beast knights kneeling at his feet, the master of Zhu Yan Hall did not say a word for a long time. Finally, he sighed softly and longly.
"How can a camel that has lost its eyes see the revelation of God? The Zhuyan Hall has stood in the desert for thousands of years, and the Zoroastrian priests have accepted the worship of the sons of the desert for thousands of years. For thousands of years, we have been doing what we should
What I did now...just now, that
These priests who sacrificed their lives to save you are already the last force that the Zhu Yan Hall can send. This can also be regarded as the last small contribution that the last owner of this hall has made for you. Maybe... use
Before long, they will disappear like grains of sand into the sea of sand."
"Master High Priest, why did you say that?" Hussein heard the unknown in the words and asked in surprise. However, as soon as the middle-aged nobleman said the words, he immediately knew that he had said the wrong thing. Isn't the answer obvious?
?In the entire empire, the believers who still insist on worshiping and breaking fast are middle-aged and old people. It is difficult to find faith in God in the brown eyes of the new generation of young people... Maybe there is,
But... that is often for other gods. Just now, once the roaring army of soldiers outside has completely occupied the city of Mumbai, maybe the royal family and some nobles who are unwilling to surrender will still have a chance to survive...
Perhaps the best fate for these Zoroastrian priests who stick to the Zhuyan Hall is to be exiled. Similar to this kind of inter-faith conquest, the final outcome is the destruction of the body, spirit and culture at the same time.
"Your Highness... there are two secret passages in the Zhu Yan Hall that can lead directly to the outside of the city. You'd better escape from here as soon as possible." The high priest's tone was extremely calm - the kind of calmness that comes after seeing through life and death.
"Master High Priest, I must return to the palace. I want to rescue my father!" In the dark hall, Afti's not-so-loud voice was filled with stubbornness.
"There are no oases, no lakes, and Camel's insistence has no meaning. I just learned that this rebellion was launched by a few powerful people in the Chiefs Federation. Their tribal power combined far exceeds your tribe, and the city
At least half of the defenders are from their tribe, can you compete? There must be a green world outside the desert, and the tired camels will definitely be able to get out of the death trap as long as their humps are still high." The great priest in the darkness.
His eyes sparkled with helplessness.
"But, sir, there is also a secret passage in the palace. Isn't your secret passage connected with the secret passage in the palace? We can take our father out through the secret passage." His Royal Highness was unwilling to give up the last glimmer of hope.
After hearing this sentence, the high priest's face, which already showed an old complexion, showed a helpless and bitter smile: "Secret passage? If 1,000 people know it, is it still called a secret passage? Every 10 years, a king changes and a tribe sits there.
In terms of location, this secret passage has long been of no use. In order to keep it secret, the secret passage of the Fire Temple was disconnected from the secret passage of the palace 800 years ago."
After hearing these words, the muscles on His Royal Highness's face twitched. When he was only four or five years old, he knew that there were two secret passages in the palace. When he was seven or eight years old, there were children older than him who led them.
He visited there and the children even used them as their own playground
So. At that time, the crown prince's father had not been recommended as king by the Federation of Chiefs. Now that I think about it, even children of a few years old knew the "secret passage" that they could enter and exit freely. How could the enemy not know about it? Perhaps,
Is there any noble who doesn't know those two secret passages?
"Then... what should I do with my father and my tribe?" The so-called love between children means that at such a critical moment, women are not the only ones who are indecisive.
"It won't be a big deal for them. Even if they are not kings, the strength of your tribe cannot be underestimated. They will never dare to offend the tens of thousands of people in the big tribe with killing." The high priest answered very definitely. For the desert people,
The chief's family is the most virtuous in the tribe, and the people can understand the forced killings in religious wars. However, if the general situation is stabilized and the general situation is stabilized, the people will be outraged if they continue to kill indiscriminately.
"Your Highness, let's go. There are at least 10,000 warriors in our tribe, and there are more than ten friendly tribes. The camels, which have endured humiliation and arduous journey for thousands of miles, will eventually reach the fragrant oasis." Hussein half-knelt on the ground and begged.
Afti.
"Well, this guy is right. When is this? Don't cry like an old woman." Tayan's tone revealed impatience, why are you so hesitant? Will the enemy retreat on their own?
"Then...His Highness the High Priest, then you come with me. Our tribe still hopes to receive your guidance, and our friendly tribes also hope to reunite under the red flag of the Flame Cult with your call."
"Alas...forget it, Your Majesty, I have been here since I was born. In 66 years, I have almost never left this hall. I don't know how I can leave the hall where the God of Fire opened the altar, and the God I devoutly believe in.
Where can we go? The Fire God has used his supreme power to transform this place into a place suitable for our people to live. All this time, Fire
The Shenze under the temple has always been used to protect us, but... now some people have betrayed him. I can't, and I don't think my partners can either. You go... I will put some here in a while
Fierce fire, since this Vulcan Hall is going to perish, there must be a matching sacrifice... May the blazing holy fire bless you forever..."
"Master High Priest..." The two descendants of the Desert Tribe kneeled on the ground at the same time. In the darkness, shiny things flowed gently.
"Let's go...see off the guests..." The high priest slowly turned around and staggered towards the darkness.
"Hmph -" an extremely cold snort seemed to come from a very far away place, cutting off the high priest's words like a scimitar: "Let's go? Where are we going?"
"Who is that person? Get out!" Chi Aotian, who stood as quietly as a mountain, moved when he heard the sound and kicked the black pure iron chair in front of him flying. Boom - a six-person platoon in the church weighing 230 kilograms.
The worship chair slammed against the door on the right...that's where the sound just came out.
The buzzing echo echoed in the hall, and the uneasy atmosphere flowed silently among the priests. That door... is exactly... the hall where the secret passage of the Fire Temple is located. Ordinary priests do not know the specific location of the secret passage, so maybe
The bearing should be in that direction.
At this time, it was really a wonderful feeling. Although no one could see what was behind the door, almost everyone seemed to see a person standing behind the door, with a sarcastic look on his face.
laugh.
Chi Aotian quietly drew out the black knight sword. Xinghan's long sword was lost just now. This knight sword was already a backup sword. The young man pounced on it like a black panther in the night. At this moment...
There was a sudden noise outside the hall, followed by thunderous cheers.
"Caught..."
"Get 'em!"
The door of the hall was opened from the outside, and then two young priests in red ran in: "Master Priest, His Majesty the King..."
"What's wrong! What happened to me...my father...?" The desert people value the relationship between father and son the most, and His Highness the Prince could no longer control his emotions.
"Your Majesty was captured...by the pagans." The young priests were too nervous to say anything.
"Father!" Afti had forgotten about the secret passage in his hurry and rushed out like a lion. General Hussein hesitated and followed.
The other people in the hall looked at each other a few times in the darkness, and then followed him out.
They were in a hurry when they came over just now. Chi Aotian and others did not carefully observe the scene in front of the hall, so they had time to pay attention now.
In front of the Zhu Yan Hall is a huge square. The size of the square can fully match the status of the Fire God Temple - it is 200 meters long and wide. The bricks in the square are all made of red sandstone from the Flame Mountain Mountains north of Turpan. It seems that every brick is red.
The bricks are burning.
There is a huge statue in the middle of the square, which is the statue of Shura in the Dharma under the Fire Temple. The naked Shura holds an olive branch burning with blazing fire. According to legend, under the Fire Temple, olive branches are used to bring fire from the divine world to the human world. This
The height of the statue
The height is 10 meters. On the left and right sides of the Fire God Temple, there are two pillars slightly shorter than the statue of the God of Fire. One is cyan and the other is purple. Each pillar is topped with a brazier with a diameter of one meter.
There was no flame in the brazier at this time.
The west side of the square was filled with soldiers. An invisible line seemed to be drawn on the square. All the rebels were standing on one side of the line. On the east side of the invisible line, dozens of rebels were standing upside down.
The rebels are constantly groaning. Dozens of forest elves standing on the walls of the hall are the most effective managers in maintaining order.
"Sir Elder, continue." Two or three elves said, taking off a quiver from their backs and throwing it to Qing Luo, who no longer had any short arrows on his back.
After Qingluo received the short arrow, he saw a large group of people standing on the west side of the square, and among them, more than ten people were tied up tightly.
"Father!" Afti's slightly rolled mustache was covered with tears. If Chi Aotian hadn't pulled him in time, the eldest prince would have rushed over desperately.
In the middle of the prisoner was a slender old man with lemon-colored hair and a red beard tilted forward. When the old man saw Afti, an angry look appeared on his face. As he spoke, his red beard was blown up by anger: "Asshole! Look!
When there was a rebellion, you rushed into the city
Come here. Are you here to pay your respects? Why are you crying? It’s rare that I want to hand over the tribal authority to you. Are you a descendant of Allah? You raise your head and look at the sky. Master Huoshura is looking at you.
!Put away your pitiful face!"
"Father..."
"Don't cry, you just might lose your father now. If you don't cheer up, our tribe and our blood will be completely wiped out by these despicable pagans!" The old man is Mudes, the 47th king of the Desert Empire.
.
"High Priest of the God of Fire, I know you have the ability to take my son out of here. Let the young camels leave and take away our fire. They will definitely avenge us one day." His Majesty the King turned around and faced the man who just walked out.
The chief priest of the main hall said.
"Hmph... That's a good idea..." Another cold laughter came from the hall.
Hearing this laughter again, the elf elder Qingluo reacted very quickly. Looking for the sound, he quickly shot three short arrows. The light green air wave then disappeared into the dark hall.
Hiss...bang...
The moment the short arrow disappeared, the sound of arrow feathers penetrating into limbs suddenly came from the hall. Immediately afterwards, there seemed to be some kind of bird vibrating its wings in the hall. After a moment, two golden rays of light burst out. In this dazzling scene,
In the light, the two parties outside the main hall suddenly saw several humans with white wings on their backs inside the main hall, and two of them were emitting golden five-pointed stars...
Ah...what is this?
I can’t tell the master:
After getting the mainland simplified version, I found that I had made a very serious mistake. I would like to apologize to my readers in advance.
New World Publishing House originally recommended that each book should have no more than 200,000 words, but in order to make the first book more engaging, I threw 280,000 words into the first volume in one go. After several adjustments, it was reduced to 26
10,000 words. Regarding the publishing price, I also suggested that the publisher should not exceed 22 yuan. As a result...in order to control costs, the publishing house printed the characters in the first volume of Mercenaries very small.
sweat……
What's even more embarrassing is that I called the publisher to ask why the characters were so small. Others' books were of the same thickness but had 290,000 words, which were quite large. As a result... I was criticized, and the publisher said:
The number of words written in a book is completely different from the number of words used to calculate manuscript fees. No matter how many words there are on each page of the book, all words will be counted.
I flipped through the first volume of Mercenaries. The word count was: 350,000 words. I was completely speechless.
p.s.
The first volume of Mercenaries has been distributed to wholesale markets across the country. Readers who have not bought it can go to the bookstall to buy it. If the bookstall does not have stock, just ask them to stock it.