plumnovel #474 - Kush Boy Hunter and Miracle Priest
#474 - Kush Boy Hunter and Miracle Priest
Stepping onto the solid cobblestones of the pier, Delavan looked around and jumped twice.
The cobblestones were surprisingly sturdy, without any looseness, truly befitting the residence of the Holy Grandson; it was indeed extraordinary.
At this landing pier, boxes of goods were stacked like low walls along the lakeside, and nearly a hundred porters were carrying boxes and sacks to horse-drawn carts or handcarts.
These goods would travel by land to the inland river (the Pala River), and then by waterway to the towns.
The hay leaking from the wooden crates suggested that they likely contained wine or ceramics.
Although the Salvation Army had fundamentalist tendencies, they were not strictly enforced, merely advocating against drinking and heavily taxing luxury wines.
Therefore, many regions that had just accepted the Salvation Army's rule felt a strange sensation.
This seemingly extremely conservative regime was actually more relaxed and open than normal religious countries.
Looking at the scattered black-roofed, white-walled houses behind the pier, Delavan asked Perini, who was coming down from the bridge, "Uncle Perini, how long does it take to get to town from here?"
"Five or six li, I guess. Pack your luggage well, let's walk over." Perini, the leader, led his horse, also standing beside the hitching post to rest.
"Walk again?" McGowan heard this bad news as soon as he came down from the bridge.
"What's wrong with walking a bit?" Delavan looked at the cogwheel sun flag fluttering on the pier, his heart surging. "The Holy Grandson walked seven hundred li, and they even had to face the pursuit of the Edict Company."
This was a description from "The Holy Grandson's Expedition," which had recently become popular in Golden River Township and Yibei Township. Many priests of the Saint Father Society liked to tell this story.
Compared to those bland and complicated notes and instructions, these teenagers obviously preferred the more legendary "The Holy Grandson's Expedition."
"Why are you sucking up here? The Holy Grandson can't even hear you." Patting the fat on his stomach, McGowan's face darkened.
"My love and respect for His Majesty Horn is from the bottom of my heart. What does it matter if he can't hear it?" Delavan put his hands on his hips, looking at his companions walking down from the pier. "There's only one last stretch of road left, and we'll be able to see our sun, the chosen Pope."
"Oh--" The teenagers responded weakly.
These Kush teenagers from the Yibei Plain in southern Langsand County were mostly between the ages of twelve and fifteen.
They mostly wore thin wool long-sleeved shirts with short frills, and rolled up their sleeves, revealing their furry arms.
Their lower bodies were mostly loose shorts in khaki or light gray, and their feet were shod in leather ankle boots.
Judging from their clothing, they didn't feel like nobles, but rather like the children of small landlords and wealthy farmers around the city.
Looking closely at their thick forearms and calloused hands, it was clear that these people must have done a lot of farm work.
Among them were both pure-blooded Kushites and many mixed-bloods, even foreign nobles who changed their surnames to Kush after Horn's victory.
The Old Grandmother was quite open-minded on the matter of how to determine a Kushite.
Foreign nobles who were willing to change their genealogy and agree with her were Kushites, and pure-blooded Kushites who did not agree with her were foreigners.
So, in the young eyes of these Kush teenagers, there was both unrealistic fanaticism, as well as suspicion, fear, and distrust.
The 100 Kush teenagers from the Yibei Plain stepped onto the pier, rested for a while, and then set off again at Perini's call.
Once they were out of the pier and there were few people nearby, Perini shouted to everyone: "Remember to hold your shields well. Some witch hunters are lurking on the island and may launch an attack on us."
"Why?"
"They don't want us to merge with His Majesty. The Church is afraid."
"Don't be crying wolf."
Hearing Perini's words, these teenagers discussed loudly in their cracking voices, with different expressions, but not much fear.
Knights, after all, started out with bravery, and these Kush teenagers had learned to hide their fear from a young age.
Carrying large and small bags, the Kush teenagers formed a long line, dragging their feet, and slowly moving forward on the road leading to the town.
They were young and energetic after all, and they could still chatter while marching.
"Hey, I heard that His Majesty likes to appoint young people. Can we join the Children's Army or the Successor Army?" Delavan walked along the road full of energy, chatting with his good brothers.
"Only the children of those who died for the country can enter the Successor Army. You can't be in the Successor Army, but you can be the Successor Army's old man."
"Go away, I want to be a marshal."
"I heard that if we have excellent grades, we can go to Saint Danji War College?"
"No, no, no, after graduation, you have to join the army first, and you can only enter Saint Danji War College if you perform well. That's a place for advanced studies, not a place to build a foundation." Perini quickly corrected them, "After I send you there, I'm going to go to school there."
"Are you leaving?" McGowan rushed forward a few steps. "Are you just leaving us on the island like that?"
"What are you talking about?" Perini glared at him. "You're here to study, not to be hostages."
"That's right, that's right." Delavan followed suit, making McGowan's face turn red.
The monk leading the way slowed down and grinned, revealing his large teeth. "Don't worry, everyone, there are other students in the school, and everyone is kind and friendly..."
The monk only said half of what he wanted to say when Perini's face suddenly changed, and he kicked the monk in the face at zero frames.
In an instant, the monk's face swelled up, his yellow teeth flew out of his mouth, and he screamed "Ouch" in pain and sat down.
While several teenagers were wondering about the speed of Perini's face-changing, they heard a buzzing sound in their ears.
"Arrows, be careful to dodge." The moment Perini shouted, several short arrows with afterimages flew past them one after another, piercing into the ground and the trees beside the road.
Looking at the trembling arrow tails, Delavan suddenly realized: "Shield formation, shield formation, enemy attack!"
"There really are witch hunters!"
"Where's my round shield? Who stole my round shield!"
The teenagers quickly dropped their luggage, took out their round shields, formed groups of seven or eight, shoulder to shoulder and back to back, raised their round shields to their chests, and vigilantly scanned their surroundings.
Of course, there were also those who were alone, lying on the ground, burying their heads in their knees, and trembling with their buttocks sticking up.
Delavan thought that McGowan would be one of them, but he didn't expect him to stand up straight, leaning on Delavan's back, looking for the enemy's position.
"Southeast, that bush, that bush by the pond." McGowan shouted.
Sure enough, everyone saw that the bush was shaking, and even half a corner of clothing was revealed.
"It's a witch hunter, send a signal!"
The grinning monk took out a signal gun and fired it into the sky, the red smoke dyeing the long smoke red, appearing in the sky.
Perini jumped on his horse, took out his knight's sword, and rode his horse towards the bush, but before he could rush out a few steps, four or five iron-skinned balls rolled out from behind the bush.
"Boom--"
A strong mist spewed out of the ball, instantly enveloping Perini, and even his figure could not be seen clearly.
"Uncle Perini!" Delavan took a step forward subconsciously, but was pulled by the corner of his clothes by McGowan behind him.
"Don't move, that's a holy water grenade, it won't work on Uncle Perini." Turning his head, McGowan kicked a teenager lying on the ground. "Get into the shield formation quickly, do you want to be caught by the witch hunters?"
Sure enough, the sound of two people fighting soon came from behind the holy water mist. Just two or three seconds after the signal was sent, the ground shook again.
At the end of the field of vision, seven or eight holy gun cavalry appeared with an extraordinary reaction speed and rushed into the smoke.
Then there was a constant sound of bangs, and the air was filled with a bloody smell.
"This opening ceremony is good, using us as bait to catch witch hunters." McGowan tilted his head, looking at the scene over there, muttering.
This time Delavan did not refute, but looked at an old man riding a horse not far away.
"Is that a wizard?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the tall old man stood up on the stirrups and began to wave the wooden staff in his hand. As his lips moved slightly, a gust of clear wind suddenly blew.
This gust of clear wind brushed over the smoke composed of holy water, quickly dissipating the forbidden water mist, leaving only a witch hunter with his hands tied behind his back, being pressed to the ground by several strong men with their knees.
The teenagers' expressions changed. This was magic, this was definitely magic!
"Holy Lord is above, it's really a wizard."
"Why doesn't anyone catch him? That's a wizard."
"Will he use fireball to blow us up?"
"He's with us, he'll blow up the witch hunters."
The Kush teenagers who formed the shield formation glanced at each other strangely: "Why do I feel like we've become the villains in the witch hunter stories?"
"Isn't the bishop still a good person in the witch hunter stories? Look at what Archbishop Feiliu Bao has done? The stories written by the church are not credible." Delavan shook his head vigorously.
"But if that's the case, aren't we cooperating with heretics?"
"You don't understand this." Delavan, who was skilled in theory, smiled, "With the Holy Grandson here, we Kushites are the chosen people.
Other ethnic groups are afraid of not being able to go to heaven by cooperating with heretics because they are not pious enough.
We Kushites are born believers, so even if we are said to be unclean, even if we cooperate with heretics, as long as we pray sincerely, we can go to heaven.
Even if we use spells, it doesn't matter, because we are born holy..."
While Delavan was popularizing theological knowledge with them, Pasirik had already walked up to them.
Seeing the unpredictable wizard of the old days appear in front of him, even Delavan, who pretended not to be afraid, was as dumb as a chicken whose neck was strangled.
The shadow of the huge figure was projected on the teenagers' heads, and they did not even dare to look up.
Facing the terrifying wizard, although his hair was already gray, they could not help but squeeze together in fear.
"Humph, a bunch of little devils" Pasirik instructed Delavan, who was the only one who stood up straight and pretended to be calm, "Okay, just now some witch hunters tried to ambush you, the criminal has been caught, you can go to school with peace of mind."
After speaking, Pasirik pulled the reins and prepared to leave.
Confirming that there was no danger, Delavan took a step forward: "Old sir..."
"Hmm?"
Looking at the murderous face, Delavan swallowed: "You, are you a wizard?"
"Boy, watch your words." Pasirik reached out and patted his head. "In the Salvation Papal State, there are no wizards, only natural priests.
Under the natural priests are alchemist priests and miracle priests, and I am a miracle priest at the bishop level."
"Will we learn magic from you, oh no, miracles?"
"Hahahahaha." Pasirik used his horsewhip to lift Delavan's chin. "Don't worry, there are many of your so-called 'wizards' among the teachers at Frik Literary College!"