svetikya Page 403
Page 403
“If the Holy City can send reinforcements, as long as we can prove that Romnia has been affected by some kind of special pollution, His Holiness the Pope will have a reason to come and clean up the pollution.”
“Yes.” Jennifer sighed slightly, took out a white tube from her waist pouch, rubbed open the cap, took out a blank scroll, and began to write a message.
"Huh, what's this..." Latis curiously leaned closer to take a look at the round tube in Jennifer's hand.
Seeing her master busy leaving messages, Little Leafa quickly helped explain:
"Master, this is the 'communication tube' of the Divine Cult. It is impervious to wind, rain, and sun. The scrolls preserved inside remain in good condition even after decades. It can automatically absorb the power of light and can be used as a light tube in the dark."
"I see... But in the end, the magic network is still more convenient."
Latis shook his head. Having seamlessly transitioned from the information age of his previous life to the magical network era of another world, he found it hard to imagine how troublesome his early life must have been before the goddess appeared.
"Magic has its advantages..."
Jennifer muttered something, closed the communicator, sealed it with her divine power, leaned out of the open rear hatch of the carriage, forcefully threw the communicator into the distance, then sat back down on the floor and laughed:
"However, divine magic also has its advantages. In the absence of magic elements, divine magic can still be effective. Even when the divine power in one's body is exhausted, there is a chance to receive a response from the God of Light through prayer."
That's certainly true.
Latis stroked his chin and nodded. There is only a slight overlap in the responsibilities between divine magic and magic, and the scenarios in which they are applied are basically different. It's just a pity that divine magic is easier to learn, but the aptitude for magic is not so common. And among the common people of the Church of Light, they naturally have even less ability to learn both.
"Anyway, let's hope we can find something in Shuluan Village. Maybe there really is an underground passage like you mentioned!"
Jennifer sheathed her polished longsword, chuckled, winked, and whispered:
"Don't you think so, Lord Latis?"
"Yes, there definitely is!"
Latis glanced at Leafa beside him, whose face was flushed and who was pretending to be deep in thought without looking to the side, and couldn't help but flick Jennifer's forehead and complain:
"There are children here! If you call me that again on purpose, I'll spank you!"
"Hmph, you're not much better yourself!"
Jennifer covered her forehead, looking at Leafa who blushed even more after hearing the word "spanking," and stuck out her tongue, feeling both amused and helpless.
Bringing a child along really interferes with flirting.
But then again, it seems they haven't restrained themselves at all...
"Um... sir!"
Suddenly, Snyder, who was sitting in the front seat driving the carriage, called out softly. She knocked on the simple, thin front door, pushed it open, peeked in, and whispered:
"Sir, there are people ahead."
"Ok?"
Latis glanced at Snyder, who looked cautious, crouched down a few steps, and looked ahead at the carriage through the narrow space she had cleared.
A large, two-wheeled carriage slowly approached from the distance along the trade route. The carriage was entirely black, and its wide wheels left deep ruts on the ground. In this desolate and remote trade route, it certainly made people feel a little cautious.
Latis's gaze swept over the middle-aged coachman in formal attire, lingering for a moment on his black top hat. He then scanned the exterior of the large carriage once more, finally examining the badge on the side of the carriage before falling into deep thought.
Seemingly noticing that their small carriage was hesitant to move forward, the two-horse carriage in front slowly came to a stop. Amidst the crackling sound of gravel splashing on the road, the coachman, dressed in formal attire, glanced at Snyder, who was dressed like a disciple in white robes, slightly raised his top hat, and gestured for Snyder to drive the carriage ahead.
Snyder hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head and whispered:
"Master, we..."
"Let's go," Latis replied in a deep voice. He glanced at the mission notification that popped up in the cyber police's backend and confirmed his guess, but he still suppressed the urge to take action for the time being, intending to see what the newcomer's intentions were first.
Snyder took a deep breath, her expression instantly calming down. She steadily steered the eagle-horse, slowly moving to the side of the trade route and merging into the opposite direction of the black carriage.
She gripped the reins tightly, her mind racing with speculation about the black carriage's destination.
Black carriages are rarely seen in the Wilderness Territory. After all, in this place where the power of light is active, black carriages absorb too much heat unless they are made of very good materials that can insulate against the heat. But such luxurious carriages are even less likely to appear in the remote eastern part of the Wilderness Territory.
Large carriages like these are rarely used by anyone other than lords and caravans, because the daily maintenance costs are simply too high. In today's magical world, ordinary travelers would rather spend more money to hire a mage as a bodyguard and carry luggage than use such large carriages.
Of course, they could also be the kind of bandits who kill and rob as rumored... but such bandits are more common in the United Nations of Yanium, and are rare in the Kingdom of Norard.
The eagle-horse cautiously passed by the twin-horse, and Snyder silently prayed in his heart, letting out a slight sigh of relief as the divine power of light slowly emerged from his body.
However, she suddenly felt the old man in the carriage pat her on the shoulder, and then he said in a deep voice:
"stop."
"What……"
Without time to ponder the master's intentions, Snyder gritted his teeth and immediately pulled firmly on the reins.
The eagle-horse reared up slightly in surprise, then lowered its head and calmed down under the sudden surge of dragon might behind it.
"Ok?"
The coachman of the black carriage frowned slightly, looking at the two dragon horses in front of him that had suddenly come to a stop for some reason. He tugged at the reins in confusion, then looked at the small carriage that had inexplicably stopped beside him, a hint of doubt flashing through his mind.
While it's true that other squads I know would plunder such small carriages in the past, things have changed recently. The leadership has shifted significantly, and the overall policy is almost becoming more formalized.
That's fine, though. He was already rather lazy, being in charge of transporting goods. Now that he's middle-aged, his wife's nagging has worn him down. Apart from still being meticulous when playing cards, he's started to slack off in other things without even realizing it.
Moreover, how much money could the people inside such an ordinary little carriage have? Even if the white-robed disciples were driving, they would probably just be some nobody.
It's impossible for it to be like those inspirational articles where you bump into your boss's boss on the street, right? You might fool apprentices with that kind of stuff, but surely no seasoned veterans over 20 or 30 would actually believe it? No way, right?
Hmm? Why isn't this small carriage moving yet...?
A sense of unease suddenly flashed through the middle-aged driver's mind.
His hands, which were in his pockets, twitched slightly, as if he were about to tear open the spell scroll he carried to launch a preemptive attack. However, a voice suddenly came from the simple carriage beside him:
"Black Hat...you're a member of the Black Money Squad?"
The driver's pupils dilated violently. He instantly arched his back, sprang up with a thud, and crashed into the roof of the carriage. He then slid a short distance on the wide seat before finally managing to control his shock.
"Ok?"
The authoritative voice rang out again, and the coachman quickly snapped out of his daze, took off his hat, and said cautiously:
"No...I am..."
"Oh, then that must be the broker's subordinate, right?" The words that terrified him came again from the simple carriage. The driver was stunned and slipped off his seat and fell to the ground.
How could this be?! Although the broker is indeed his superior, the change of team leader only happened a few days ago, and even the other team leaders of the same rank are completely unaware of it! Could it be... the man in this carriage...?!
"Sir..." The driver stood up in a panic, quickly bowed, and asked in a trembling voice, "Excuse me..."
"It's nothing. I just heard that she took over the structure of large-scale transactions in this area, and your carriage looked a bit like it, so I was just asking."
Latis, sitting in the carriage, shook his head with amusement. He hadn't expected his guess to be correct. He exchanged a glance with Jennifer, who had a strange look in her eyes, then looked at Leafa and Snyder, who were both surprised and curious. He cleared his throat and asked:
What goods are you carrying in your carriage?
The coachman wiped the sweat from his brow. For some reason, from Latis's tone, he seemed to genuinely have the air of a superior to a superior.
Could it be that I've really hit the jackpot...?
He lowered his head slightly and said honestly:
"Reporting to Your Excellency, it is fine japonica rice from the western part of the Mountain Wilderness Territory."
Latis raised an eyebrow and immediately exchanged glances with Jennifer and Leafa.
Just as he deduced, someone was indeed transporting food to the eastern region.
……
……
After asking a few simple questions about the origin of the goods, Latis dismissed the black-hatted coachman.
This seemed to be the first time he had let a Black Hat member off the hook while on a mission. Apart from the broker lady who had become a collaborator, he had never thought he would let a Black Hat member go.
But this time, he felt something was different.
Although this seems to be another conspiracy by the Black Hats or the Queen, the act of transporting food seems to be a good thing for the common people.
Furthermore, through Snyder, who had come to respect him more and more after this incident, Latis also learned the differences between western and eastern rice.
It turns out that, under the influence of the light power of the unknown will in the East, the rice from the East would cause people to feel dizzy and disoriented after consumption. Although this feeling was not very strong, Snyder, who already possessed faith and the power of the God of Light, could clearly perceive that once the rice from the East was consumed, it would accumulate the strange power of the Holy City of Romnia in the body.
Simply put, the Black Hats were transporting the western rice to the eastern villages in order to help them fight against the corruption of the will of light.
Upon hearing this, Latis felt a complex mix of emotions.
From the second option on the mission sheet, he discovered that there was a balance of power between the Imperial Capital and Romnia, and now it seems that Black Hat has actually done something good for this purpose.
He pondered for a moment, and ultimately felt that the overall situation should be viewed dialectically, and that the truth needed to be ascertained before anything else could be said.
The eagle-horse strode forward, galloping along the trade road paved with scattered gravel, carrying the four of them towards Jidian Village.
……
……
"Sir, thank you for your care along the way."
Snyder glanced at the village of Isopy not far away, hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at Latis's "I'll beat you up if you dare to do a big bow" expression. He awkwardly tugged at his white robe and, following the instructions on the religious propaganda scroll in his memory, performed a priest's bow.
“No need for formalities. I will do my best to help you rescue your companion.” Latis, the son-in-law of the Church of Light, returned the priest's salute without hesitation, laughed heartily, and waved his hand, saying:
"Then we'll meet again someday, Snyder."
"Until we meet again... Lord Titania."
Snyder stood there, staring blankly at the backs of Latis and the other two for a moment, when suddenly his vision blurred and, with a faint dragon's roar, the three of them vanished without a trace.
"I wish I could help..."
She sighed softly, took off her hood and mask, and walked towards the nearby village of Isopoint.
Before long, she reached the village entrance. Looking at the rocky outcrops, she couldn't resist jumping up and swaying as she reached the top, gazing in the direction where Latis and the others had disappeared.
A faint divine light covered her eyes, and through it she seemed to vaguely see the silhouette of a giant dragon wagging its tail on the horizon.
"I wonder how my brothers are doing..."
Snyder murmured to himself, looking down at the high rocky outcrop at his feet, and suddenly realized that he had actually made a lot of progress during these miserable days of hiding and hiding.
She, who can summon the power of light with a single prayer, is no longer the frail girl she once was.
"...You are...Snyder?!"
A surprised exclamation came from below. Snyder looked down at the two villagers on the ground, who were cautiously holding sickles and looking wary. He smiled and said: