Once Upon A Time, There Was A Spirit Sword Mountain

"Do you remember our bet in the King's Treasure House?"

Amidst the silence, while fumbling with his mustard seed bag, Wang Lu asked Aya .

For a moment, Aya was surprised . She, of course, remembered about that bet . When they faced Tannu, the barbarian military god, Wang Lu said he could single-handedly delay the opponent's army while their side's worker completed the construction . At that time, Aya doubted that he could do that, thus, they made a bet . If Wang Lu was able to do that, Aya would have to comply with his one request . It was just that, at that time, Wang Lu didn't immediately make his request, so the matter was temporarily put down .

At this point, Aya felt embarrassed . The spirit of chivalry required her to keep her promise, but if because of such a reason she had to give up her insistence, it would seem too ridiculous .

Fortunately, Wang Lu didn't intend to be so rude and direct .

"If the bet is still valid, I hope you can follow me to travel around Brettonia in plain civilian clothing . Consider this as me trying to have unforgettable memories on my trip to Western Continent . "

Aya was startled . She didn't expect that Wang Lu would actually put forward such a request . Although she was fully aware that there must be scheme behind it, but thinking about all of the things that he had done for her these days, this simple request was really hard for her to refuse .

"Alright, as long as you don't mind this haven't-come-back-for-over-a-hundred-years tour guide who hasn't been keeping up with the changes . " Aya smiled, thinking that there would certainly be a bit disappointment when they finally part in the future .

Wang Lu replied, "Rest assured, even if you haven't been back for one thousand or even ten thousand years, some things will not change… This thing will not take too much of your time, right? How about a month? Is that enough?"

"Of course, as long as you want it, even one year is fine . "

Wang Lu softly said to himself, "How could the medicine last for that long . "

—

As a matter of fact, Aya was impatient to go back .

When Wang Lu directly teleported her from Dragon City to King's Treasure House, she was somewhat dissatisfied . At that time, Brettonia had just won two vital battles, which almost entirely uprooted the Holy Light Religion's influence from the land . The next thing to do was to consolidate their gains and stabilize the political power . But as Brettonia's king… well, king's daughter, her role was irreplaceable .

Even if in the past more than one hundred years, the real political power in Brettonia was in the hand of Bedivere and many other nobles, the Knight King's reputation was still as bright as the sun in the sky, never declining . Her appeal could speed up the process of the recovery of Brettonia . However, at this time, Wang Lu . . .

His intention was for her to give up the throne and return to Nine Regions with him . However, on this point, she really could not give up . Although Aya has gone through too many ups and downs, she really could not give up her mission as a king .

However, if it was Wang Lu, if it was for just one month, then so be it . The woman's heart assured herself .

On the first leg of their trip, they chose a remote mountain area because Wang Lu said that he had seen enough of the prosperity of the big city .

There was actually nothing worthwhile in the sceneries in the remote areas of Brettonia . For half a day, they walked in the mountainous region until they finally stopped in a village . Even in this remote small village, the change in Brettonia has already been reflected; a vigorous vitality ran through it .

The two stayed in a simple inn in the village and were treated with great hospitality . According to the villagers, the festive-like vibe surrounded the village these days, because a local lord who abused his power by taking advantage of the influence of Holy Light Religion was recently beheaded publicly by the Knights of Dragon City . The cloud that lingered over the heads of many people for many years was immediately swept away .

This matter aroused the interest of Aya . When she asked in detail, she learned that the knight who beheaded the local lord was one of Bedivere's Dragon City Guards, who has also now taken the office left by the local lord . Thus, with Wang Lu's consent, the two came to the city where that local lord was .

There was another scene in the city . The replacement of the old by the new ruler was particularly evident here . There were many traces of battle . Half of the most luxurious castle was destroyed, and the church next to it was also cut off . Obviously, there was a resistance from the local lord and the church . In addition, the original local lord's influence was completely purged . Many shops and workshops were destroyed or seized .

The most discussed about topic in the city was the rise of Dragon City and the return of the Knight King . Most people were happy about it . They were full of confidence about the future and the city was full of vitality . At the same time, the spirit of chivalry was even more popular . One could see many people who dressed up like knights walking in the streets . Some followed the model of genuine Dragon City Guards . Of course, there was even more uncultured busybody who tried to imitate, and there were also many speculators… But behind this chaos, it showed that the chivalry has never been this flourishing, which caused Aya to be overjoyed .

"I knew it . Brettonia is the Kingdom of Knights, and chivalry will shine in every corner!"

Wang Lu lightly smiled . "Just like how Holy Light shone in every corner, right?"

Amidst her excitement, Aya didn't notice the irony behind that question . Instead, she seriously nodded . "It will be even more flourishing than the Holy Light Religion in the past, it definitely will!"

"Is that so? You have seen the bright side here, so let us then see the dark side . "

With that, Wang Lu cast an enchanted spell on a patrolling soldier at the street . "Where did you put the reactionaries… ah, I mean, the church's people?"

That soldier fumblingly said, "Locked in the underground of the Cathedral, formerly the place of the Inquisitor . The church's people used to try people for heresy, now it is their time to be put on trial . "

"That place couldn't possibly hold too many people, right? What about the others?"

"There are too many of these rebel church people and its vassals, so the underground inquisitor place could not hold them . Therefore, many of them were simply killed . In any case, they have been contaminated by corruption and have original sin . "

"Original sin?" Aya frowned, very dissatisfied with this explanation .

Wang Lu asked, "Is this referring to them terrorizing the men and taking the women, doing all kinds of evil thing?"

The bewitched soldier thought for a moment and then replied, "Some yes, some, although we're not clear of what they have ever done, after all, they are people from the church's side, so there's nothing wrong in punishing them . "

"What kind of reason is that? This is ridiculous! You basically ignored the right or wrong!"

Aya was furious, but Wang Lu immediately stopped her . "There's no reason to shout here . Moreover, ears can be false, seeing is believing . "

Then, under the cover of the spell, the two of them sneaked into the underground cellar of the Cathedral which used to be the inquisitor room . What she saw there made Aya absolutely horrified .

Inside the inquisitor room, there were numerous torture devices, all of which were the evidence of the church's sovereignty over Brettonia . Yet, the Knights who took over the Holy Light now picked up these brutal instruments of torture and used them on human beings .

Most of the prisoners were members of the church . There was the former bishop of the area, there were young priests… but there were also quite a few who were obviously just ordinary believers . At this time, they were brutally nailed on the torture devices, drifting between life and death .

What made Aya feel nauseous was that there were some church's nuns who have also been subjected to this inhuman abuse, and the process was really unbearable .

Aya trembled in anger and then with a swing of her sword, beheaded several of the perpetrators . Blood and brain matters splashed all over the room and the nuns screamed even more . It was truly a messy scene .

Wang Lu sarcastically smiled . "Whoa, the spirit of chivalry really does shine in every corner . "

Aya didn't say a word, but she also didn't return her sword into the sheath .

Wang Lu patted her shoulder . "Let me take care the rest . Don't reveal yourself because your identity is very sensitive . "

Aya gazed at Wang Lu for a long time before finally nodding slowly .

Then, Wang Lu single-handedly swept away all the guards, killing their way to the official residence of the city lord, to see that new lord .

It just so happened that that new lord also recognized Wang Lu . Both of them had met each other several times in Dragon City .

However, there were no pleasantries at this time's meeting . Wang Lu bluntly questioned the things that he heard and saw in the inquisitor room . However, the new lord was actually shocked upon hearing that . He explained that he had just gotten a foothold here and there were still many things that needed to be done . Thus, he didn't have too much time to look at the details . When he looked into it, he explained with a wry smile that, on the way here, the available people that he could use were very few . Currently, most of those who maintained the law and order within the city were of the same people, good and bad people intermingled . When the political power changed, it was inevitable that extreme events would occur . However, he pledged to strengthen the management and would never let this kind of insanity happen again .

Wang Lu smiled without saying any words . At the same time, Aya, who hid herself, reluctantly accepted this explanation . This matter could be called as being uncovered .

Then, they spent a full half a month in the city . Using Wang Lu's illusion and Aya's restored legendary level power, they perfectly hid the tracks of what they did in the city . They then carefully observed the change in the city .

The new lord did not break his word . After that day, he strengthened the overall city's management . Several leading unscrupulous people were beheaded in public to make an example .

However, the situation has not essentially improved . The exclusion and squeezing of the remnants of the Holy Light Religion believers were still astonishing . Many of the legitimate properties of the church were looted and the people close to the church were subjected to unbearable bullying . Events that caused harm even often occurred . Despite the repeated order from the new lord, the subjects were clearly unwilling .

From initially being angry, resentful, and dissatisfied, Aya gradually became confused .

"Why did things turn out like this?"

The new lord was not a wicked person . On the contrary, since taking office, he had worked all night, diligently doing his best . Yet, many things still quickly deviated from the development track, which made Aya very confused .

Hearing that she was finally willing to ask, Wang Lu earnestly explained to her, "Regime change must be accompanied with the redistribution of resources . "

"But it should not be so unreasonable . This is tantamount to robbing!"

"Reasonable? Whose reason?"

Aya sternly said, "Justice is the basic creed of chivalry . "

Wang Lu said, "That's chivalry, not an object that exists in human heart! Right now, those who repress and even persecute Holy Light Religion, greedy for redistribution of resources, are not just one person, or two individuals, but rather group-driven!"

Aya said, "Yes, the object that exists in the human heart is far from perfect, but the value of chivalry is that it can infect others, making the illusory value turn into the will of the people! One hundred years ago, when I go on a campaign on four corners, I have never left behind such a mess!"

"Are you blaming the pitiful new lord for being incompetent?"

"He…" Aya was speechless . She, of course, could not ask for everyone to accomplish the same result as her .

"Moreover, even you, yourself, are not that omnipotent . Don't forget, one hundred years ago, the ancestors of these greedy and ignorant civilians have already been infected by your spirit of chivalry . "

Aya sneered . "That's just sophistry!"

"Yes, it is sophistry, but the reason is the correct reason . There are three major illusions in this world: I can reverse the kill, she is interested in me, as well as I can change the heart of the people! And you, are guilty of the third mistake!"