001, the purest summon ()

“伟大,庄严,仁爱,赐给大地丰饶,赐予生灵希望之母伊西丝女神；神威护佑埃居,永不熄灭的光芒照耀世界的荷鲁斯王神；诞于太初莲花,创造万物的努恩父神,居于神河源头的九联天神,统御大地与天空的所有众神!……请聆听我的祷告,众神的谕示,只有最纯净的虔诚之心才能获得神的怜悯,我愿将我的一切奉献给伊西丝,请赐我以众神之泪……”

艾蔻－玛利亚在向众神祷告,地点在臣属于埃居大帝国的哈梯王国边境,一个偏远的小镇上.在这个荒凉偏僻的地方,都克镇的规模已经不小,它有数百户人家,两千居民.镇长达斯提是一名有着哈梯勋爵头衔的贵族,同时也拥有埃居大帝国公民的身份,享有埃居帝国的公民特权.

这样一个偏远小镇,镇长的身份却如此显赫,当然是因为它的地位特殊.都克镇属于哈梯王国所属叙亚城邦管辖的最南端,叙亚邦出产的三样东西最为著名,也是哈梯王国对外交易最重要的商品以及向埃居帝国进献的最珍贵的贡品:铁,神石,雪杉木.

铁可以打造最锋利的武器,尤其是经过能工巧匠提炼的上等精铁,打造出的铠甲与刀剑既锋利又坚韧,是力量的象征,守卫以及掠夺财富的利器.这片大陆上很多国家都产铁,但产量仍然十分有限,铁的生产,交易是被官方严格垄断的.哈梯生产的铁最为有名,都克镇的铁产量虽然不高,却出产十分稀缺的上等精铁,镇上的成年人几乎都既是矿工又是铁匠.

产于哈梯西部高原,幼底河两岸崇山峻岭中的雪杉木,经过冷水浸泡,晾晒,浸油烘烤加工之后,是最好的造船材料.用它造的船可以遨游内湖,河流与大海,不仅是征战的军队,也是商人们往来各国所必须的.都克镇不产雪杉木,虽然在镇外东方就是生长雪杉的崇山峻岭,但把巨大的雪杉砍伐再从山里运出来是难以想像的.

都克镇最重要的物产也不是上等精铁,而是神石.这种东西在天枢大陆上十分稀少,哈梯王国的叙亚邦是重要的产地之一,而都克镇出产的神石几乎占了整个叙亚邦产量的一半.天枢大陆的每个国家都需要神石,尤其是各个神殿里掌握着至高神术,高贵的祭司们对它异常渴求.

很多普通平民以及奴隶们并不知道神石究竟有何用处,只是在祭司的权杖上或贵族武士的铠甲与兵器上见过有神石镶嵌,似乎是一种身份,财富或神力的象征.神石本身也是大陆上最昂贵的通行货币,一枚神石的价值相当于等重黄金的二十倍,且不可分割.

做为高贵的流通货币使用的,是最常见的标准神石,质地,大小与形状完全一样,绝无丝毫差异,它的重量也是天枢大陆上度量衡的标准,大陆上通行的称重单位“铢”就是一枚神石的重量,听说奢侈的祭司们甚至直接用神石做天枰上的标准砝码.

This time, Aiko-Maria followed Rod Dick, the magistrate and priest of his hometown city-state, to Duke Town. Of course, what she prayed to the gods was not an ordinary divine stone, but the legendary tears of the gods. Only by obtaining it can she be recognized by the high priests in the temple of Isis in Mengfeisi City and become the saint who protects Goddess Isis. In legend, only the purest summoning can she communicate with the gods and obtain the tears of the gods given by the gods, which means that her identity has been recognized by God.

Aiko-Maria's prayer was so pious, but in fact, any divine stone produced on the Tianshu continent, including the extremely precious tears of the gods, was not given by the hands of the gods, but mined by the hands of the miners.

Maria's residence is located at the southern end of the town, close to the Temple of Horus. It is one of the most beautiful courtyards in the town. It was originally the place where the town mayor lived. Like other towns on the mainland, the most important building in the settlement is the temple, which worships and worships the local patron gods. Whether the temple is majestic and magnificent is also a symbol of whether a city-state is strong.

Of course, the temple of Duke Town cannot be compared with the large city-state, but compared with other ordinary towns, the Temple of Horus is majestic enough. It is built with tall white giant stones and inlaid with blue-black stone sculptures. The white marble that builds the columns is transported from other places, while the lapis lazuli, which is shining with a faint luster, is a specialty of nearby mountains. It may be very expensive in other places, but it is the most common stone here.

There are two main temples of similar size in Duke Town. One is Horus, the patron saint of the Eju Empire, which means that this place surrenders to the Eju Pharaoh, and is built on the south side of the town with white marble. The other is the patron saint of this place since ancient times, Goddess Muyun, who has been widely worshipped in Hathi, Assyrian in the northeast and the Barron kingdom in the southeast.

The Kingdom of Hati is an alliance of dozens of city-states. Although the Eju Empire conquered this place, in order to better manage and make the Hati people surrender more respectfully, Eju Pharaoh Tenn allowed them to worship their patron saints, without destroying the original temple, but at the same time ordered that Horus, the patron saint of Eju, must be worshipped.

Maria prayed in the second floor room. Every morning after getting up, wash up, before lunch, when night fell, she would pray like this. It has been three days since she arrived in Duke Town, pious, respectful and meticulous. Even Gabriel, the most rigorously trained temple warrior, could not help but secretly applaud her, and said in her heart that she should meet the requirements of a saint, and the gods might sympathize with her.

There are two vast fertile lands along the Ronnie River in the territory of the Eju Empire, called Upper Eju and Lower Eju. Gabriel was a warrior sent by the Temple of Isis, the Temple of Isis, the capital of Lower Eju, to protect Mary. In response to the report and request of the chief priest and chief magistrate of Lower Eju, the Temple of Isis will send people to protect it whenever he has passed the test of the gods and is qualified to become the guardian saint of Goddess Isis.

When Maria was praying, Gabriel stood downstairs at the entrance of the courtyard. A heavy sword was hanging on her waist, and a divine stone was inlaid on both sides of the sword thigh. Even in the absence of danger, she was still meticulously wearing silver armor, with a solemn and solemn expression. At this position, you can see the blue-gold dome of the Muyun Temple at the other end of the town. The corners of her mouth were pursed, and there was a hint of undetectable sneer in her eyes.

Obviously, the guardian of the Temple of Isis had no good feelings for the gods worshipped by foreign races, but Pharaoh Eju allowed the original temple to be preserved here, and she could not say much. Her duty was only to protect Aiko-Maria, and she did not have to worry about other people's affairs.

Gabriel has a slender and upright figure, sexy and strong beauty. Her face has obvious characteristics of a northern alien, fair skin, straight nose, and charming blue eyes. Her golden curly hair draped on silver armor, and her softness and firm temperament are so harmonious. She is young and beautiful, but the children in the town who throw stones at each other and play with each other unconsciously are far away from this courtyard and dare not play at the door.

When people see her, the first thing they notice may not be a very beautiful woman. Around her, there is a sense of confidence and pride invisibly majesty, as if full of strength and without restraint.

Only Gabriel was guarding this courtyard. The Temple of Isis sent only a warrior like her to protect Aiko Maria, one of the candidates for the Saint. But Gabriel also knew that in the Temple of Horus in Duke, not far away, there were a personal guard brought by Rhode Dick, a total of 60 fully armed elite warriors.

Obviously, Lord Dick did not believe that she could protect Maria alone. Although it was full of dangers to travel through the desert between Eju and Hathi, it was obviously a bit exaggerated to bring so many elite soldiers. Lord Dick didn't say anything out of the good cultivation of a nobleman, but Gabriel could also feel that he was dissatisfied.

Gabriel didn't care at all, not only out of a kind of cultivation, but also out of a kind of noble pride.

...

At the other end of the town, near a small building in the Temple of Goddess Muyun, Rod Dick held a wine glass and looked at the courtyard where Gabriel was located from afar through the window. His brown eyes were a little deep, and he was silently thinking about something-

It seems that this temple warrior from Meng Feisi is not used to restraining himself and always exaggerating his own power aura. It is no wonder that one of her duties is to promote the majesty of the gods. But for hereditary city-state nobles like Rhode Dick, this is not a good habit. People always need to hide something and cannot expose all their strength to potential opponents. They just show their true power at the right time.

The battle between secular power and wealth is always cruel, and requires always preparing, showing appropriate deterrence, and leaving a trump card for response.

Not far from the small building where he is located is Goddess Mu Yun's temple. Lord Dick didn't think there was anything wrong. People on this continent originally worship various gods, big and small. Some are legendary gods, and some are the patron saints that residents of various places consider themselves.

The Pharaoh of the Eju Empire claimed to be the human incarnation and spokesperson of Horus, the son of the gods, and ruled the god king of the upper and lower Ajus. The traditional patron saint of the Lower Aju is the goddess Isis, the legendary mother of Horus. Her main temple is located in the capital of Lower Aju. Almost every country on the Tianshu continent is under the rule of the unity of monarchy and divine power. The monarch is known as the spokesperson of the gods. The Isis Temple in the City of Mengfeisi is the most important power center in Lower Aju.

This time, the Temple of Isis only sent a samurai candidate to protect the saint of the Cape State. Lord Dick was obviously dissatisfied and believed that he and the saint state he represented were despised. The saint state was located on the border of the northeast corner of the Eju Empire, closest to the Barron and Hati Kingdoms. Outside the border was a vast and desolate desert, which could not be compared with other rich city-states with fertile land.

Its geographical location is very important, but this importance brings not entirely benefits to the Cape State. Once war breaks out, the Cape State will be ravaged by war. In the era of peace on the surface, it is an important port for trade transactions with the countries in the northwest, full of countless opportunities.

Now the Kingdom of Hati surrendered to Eju, but Lord Dick also vaguely heard that many lords of Hati City-states were unwilling to be despair of the current fate of such subordinates and always wanted to unite and resist secretly. It just so happened that the Saint of Isis Temple was selected, and Dick certainly hoped that this Saint of Isis came from the Capeland. This not only meant the glory of the City-state, but also hoped that the power of the Temple of Isis and the entire Lower Aicu could protect the Capeland more.

Of course, Dick didn't want Maria to have an accident, so he brought the most elite guards around him. Such a force was obviously unnecessary to protect one person through the desert, and Dick of course had his own plans. He became the chief magistrate and priest of the Cape State at a young age, and held the power to unite politics and religion. In addition to his prominent identity in the lineage, he was of course able to maximize the use of all the benefits of one thing with his own talents.

Isis Temple only sent one person, which saved a lot of bribes. When she saw Gabriel, Dick felt that the warrior in the patron temple was different from many greedy priests. She was like a proud little rooster, disdainful of accepting any bribes, and it seemed that she had no idea about wealth.

Gabriel seemed not sure how expensive the sword she was for was, and she was hanging around her waist. If she was walking alone, the sword might not be able to protect her and the first one was to attract robbers. Gabriel came to Capeland from Mengfeisi alone with the sword. Even Rhode Dick was surprised. She was so lucky that she could arrive safely! Perhaps it was because the thieves along the way knew her identity and dared not offend the Temple of Isis.

With so many personal guards and entourages, in the name of protecting the saint and serving Lord Gabriel, the huge convoy of vehicles was of course prepared various supplies, mainly the most popular wine and food in Duke Town. With Lord Gabriel at the border, the checkpoints on the border between Eju and Hati will naturally be released without any inspections, and of course there will be no taxes.

The divine stones mined by the residents of Duke Town must be handed over to the city-state in the form of taxes. The city-state's laws stipulate that one out of every ten belongs to them, which is their due reward. At the same time, Rod Dick of course also knew that the mayor of Duke Town's levy of power would not be so selfless, and he would inevitably intercept a lot of them.

The divine stone is a common currency with a value of twenty times that of equal weight of gold, and the same is true in Duke Town. However, the products of Duke Town are both rich and barren. In addition to producing divine stones and iron, only a small amount of barley is planted on the barren land for people to fill their stomachs. All other living and enjoyment supplies need to be transported from other places. Its location is too remote, and everything is transported here many times more expensive than other places.

People in Duke Town may not know that they may be the richest residents on Tianshu Continent, and it is also the most expensive place on the mainland. Although the taxes are heavy on the trade roads, a successful transaction is still profitable.

In order to provide cover for the transaction materials he had transported to Duke Town, Dick also organized a caravan of the Cape City State to arrive with his convoy. The merchants were naturally willing to follow Lord Dick's convoy, which was equivalent to obtaining absolute safety guarantees to save the cost of mercenaries. Moreover, with Lord Gabriel and Lord Dick, the tax collectors along the way would not maliciously blackmail them but would do their business. They were grateful to this sympathetic Lord Dick, and many noble officials would not take care of the merchants in this way.

During dinner, Lord Dick had a pleasant conversation with Mayor Dusty. What was even more pleasant was the transaction between them, and both parties were very satisfied. In addition to the divine stone, Lord Dick also purchased precious high-quality fine iron from the mayor. This is a secret that is not worthy of being told by the outsiders. Both of them were tacitly accused by the wine and delicacies.

Although the transaction was pleasant, Rhode Dick didn't like this place, especially the smoky and unpleasant smell of smoke and fire was everywhere, which made him feel very uncomfortable. He felt a little anxious and didn't know when he would have to wait.

The reason why he brought Maria here was not only to do a business under this name, but also another attempt was to get the tears of the gods. The high priests of the Temple of Isis announced the oracle to the outside world that a tear of the gods would be given to the earth, and the person who obtained it would be the guardian saint of the goddess Isis.

Rhode Dick has his own idea about this. The Tears of the Gods are nothing more than a more precious divine stone. If it really appears, the greatest possibility is to be in the place where the divine stones are produced. Then, using the convenience of geographical location to arrive at Duke Town to wait, the most likely to take the lead. This is of course a kind of gambling, but this gambling is profitable regardless of success or failure. If you succeed by chance, everything will be the most perfect.

He told Mary that he had received guidance from Goddess Isis in his dream, and Mary told Gabriel that he persuaded the temple warrior to come across the desert border.

When he came to Duke, Maria prayed devoutly every day, but Rhode Dick, who made up this lie, was a little impatient. In this small town where blacksmith stoves were burning everywhere, the harsh environment made Lord Dick unbearable. He didn't want to stay for a day, and he couldn't help but think of the legend about the Tears of the Gods.

He was already a little drunk and cursed: "The gods give mercy? Is it God's will or the priests fabricated lies? When did this ancient oracle spread? It was just a stone, and no matter how precious it was, it was just a useful stone. Instead of praying to the gods, it would be better to ask the miners for help. Does getting the tears of the gods mean a saint? So who is the miner who mines it? It may be a dirty old man!"

Just as I thought of this, a gust of wind blew out of the window, Dick had a cold war inexplicably, and woke up from the wine. He quickly pressed his hand on his chest to pray: "Great Goddess Isis, what I think in my heart is not disrespectful to you, but just a frank expression."

At this moment, Rod Dick was suddenly stunned. He seemed to feel something, a mysterious fluctuation of power, both mysterious and strange. The unpleasant fire and inexplicable chill seemed to be comforted by some kind of comfort. The source of the fluctuation came from a family on the edge of the town.

Rod Dick immediately put down his cup and shouted: "Fayor, come in quickly, the tears of the gods may appear, go and follow my instructions!"

...

Gabriel, who was standing in a solemn manner, suddenly raised his head and looked sideways in a direction in the town. She felt a slight fluctuation of power fluctuation in the air, both invisible and as clear as it was. There was an inexplicable light of relief in her eyes, and she looked back at Maria's window.

...

A crisp "ding" sound followed by a tiny buzzing sound echoed in the room for a long time. Amon held a heavy mine hammer and smashed a round stone the size of a fist and shining with a dark light.

The hammer looked so heavy, falling down with the sharp sound of the wind. When it landed on the surface of the stone, it became light and as if it was just a feather, only making a crisp "ding".

Amon's posture of holding the sledgehammer was a bit funny. He held his hands very forward, and his entire upper arm was pressed against the handle of the hammer from his wrist to his elbow. He was not too tall. After all, he was only fourteen years old this year and had not yet fully grown up.

But the muscles in his body were very strong and strong. When he tightened his sledgehammer, there were like little snakes rushing on the raised muscles. According to the rules of Duke Town since ancient times, children of his age were not qualified to mine the divine stones alone. Using Duke Town’s unique hammer technique to open the mine core that has been mined through hardships is the last and most critical step to obtain the divine stone.
Chapter completed!