Friar Lawrence was visibly stunned, having not expected this situation at all. Did this young man just come back from studying at the Imperial Capital Cathedral? Why does he seem to know more than me? Even the Lord of Isenbol is not so good at making things difficult for people! In his habitual thinking, in a newly developed territory like this, the lower-class villagers are in urgent need of support from their faith, while the lord is in urgent need of someone to help him win the hearts of the people, and a bunch of peasants are very easy to fool. He strolled around the previous few villages with his two followers. Before he could say anything, many villagers came to pray and kneel down. Unfortunately, the village is too poor and there is no money at all. It's not like the newly developed territory in front of us, with clanging everywhere, people coming and going, busy all the time, a scene of large-scale construction. The lord's house not far away is like a small castle, and it is obvious that it is the work of a wealthy person. As long as the lord agreed to his request, he could raise funds in the name of building a church and get some money first. If the donated money is enough, it means that there is a lot of money to be made here and you can continue to invest.
If the church is built, they will continue to make money; if it is not built, they will run away with the money. A church receives no less donations and taxes every year than the lord. If you meet a devout lord, the lord himself may even have to pay money to the church! Even if the profit is too little, you can still sell it to other monks, which is a sure profit. What? Getting something for nothing? The time and energy that the honorable monks put into dealing with these country bumpkins is not a cost? Friar Lawrence was unwilling to give up, so he could only explain patiently: "The guidance of our Lord will not be wrong. When the church is built, the documents will be delivered." "It's not impossible." Leo suddenly nodded in agreement. He crossed his arms, supported his arm, scratched his chin, looked around, and suddenly pointed to the empty space in the distance: "Build it right there!" Friar Lawrence was overjoyed. The place Leo pointed to was only a hundred meters away from the lord's house. If a church was built there, it would be the center of the village. When he didn't want to stay there anymore, he could sell it and make a fortune. "But there are two conditions." "You say." Lawrence almost used honorifics. "First, the money for building the church cannot be taken from the River Bend. You have to pay for it yourself. Second, the church should not only worship the God of Light, but also Tyr, the God of War in the North." "It's ridiculous! How can a church enshrine two gods? What's more..." Friar Lawrence was furious. "What's more?" Leo reached out and grabbed the hilt of the sword, his eyes suddenly becoming dangerous. "No, nothing." Brother Lawrence suddenly woke up and shook his head quickly. He originally wanted to say that the Lord of Holy Light is the only true God. But this is not the southern border, it is the northern border. The true god of the North is Tyr, the god of war. This was the agreement written into the imperial law when the North joined the Orlantis Empire, and it was also recognized by the Pope of the Church of Holy Light at that time.
In order to unite the tribes in the north and unify the eastern continent, the former emperor of the Orlantis Empire and the contemporary pope of the God of Holy Light personally went to the holy city of Ancestor in the north and signed a covenant with the High King of the North. The details of the covenant will not be discussed in detail, but the most important point is that the High King of the North gave up the throne, demoted himself to the Grand Duke of the North, and led the North to join the Orlantis Empire. As a condition, the Empire will grant the North far more autonomy than other regions and recognize the true god status of the god of war Tyr. Of course, only a small number of people know these things, and ordinary people will not learn this knowledge that is far from life. For hundreds of years, as a way of beautification and cover-up, many high-ranking priests of the God of Light would portray the northern god of war Tyr as the incarnation of the God of Light, or as an archangel under his seat, or even keep silent about him, but they would not label him as a heresy as they would other gods. Looking at Leo's cold eyes, Brother Lawrence suddenly understood. The other party understands everything! Whether from a religious perspective or from an interest perspective, the other party is as clear about the tricks as himself, and has clearly expressed his attitude with a few words that only insiders can understand. Brother Lawrence immediately stopped pretending and said viciously: "Without the protection of the God of Light, darkness will devour everything, including your little river bay. I hope you will consider this carefully." After saying that, he turned and left. Leo watched him leave and replied coldly: "The God of Light never said that." Friar Lawrence paused, then walked away. The conversation between the two was not long. Ivan, who was standing by, finally understood some of it and said angrily, "What the hell? He wants everyone to call him dad just because he built a house? Even Uncle Ulyan is not that cruel!" Leo didn't want to pay attention to him, but just warned him seriously: "Don't relax during this period, practice hard, and strengthen patrols. If there is any disturbance, blow the horn when necessary and beat the gong when necessary. Don't be afraid of false alarms, just treat it as an exercise, understand?" "Yes." As Leo's trusted follower, Ivan was very obedient. His face turned serious when he heard the words. He nodded and went to convey the order. Leo looked at the direction where Brother Lawrence left, feeling vaguely uneasy. I believe that any time traveler would be wary of the Monotheistic Church of the Middle Ages. Leo was the same. Although he didn't dare to be careless, he would rather it was a false alarm. With the major works at Riverbend completed, labor was freed up and the militia gained more time for training. Every morning and evening, Leo tried to take the members of the militia to run two laps around the waterfront of the river bay. On the one hand, it was to improve the physical fitness of the militia, and on the other hand, it was to drive away nearby wild beasts. Those lone wolves, wild leopards, brown bears, and even magical beasts hiding in the woods watched dozens of fully armed strong men running around in the river bend every day and could not find any chance to launch a sneak attack. After a long time, they will leave this place and mark this area out of their hunting range. The crossbows seized from the wild boar people also became part of the militia's equipment after training during this period. Although these crossbows are powerful, second only to the longbows of the wild hunters, their craftsmanship is too crude and cannot even guarantee shooting accuracy beyond fifty meters. Leo held the attitude that it was better to have something than nothing, and never expected that the militia in his hands could become a ranged force like the Wild Hunters. However, in a small battle in the wilderness, it is also very good to be able to launch a few waves of arrows before facing the enemy's charge. In addition to the crossbow, each militiaman was also equipped with a heavy round wooden shield one inch thick, an iron one-handed sword, and two short spears.
At long range, use crossbows to suppress the enemy with firepower, at close range, use spears to kill the enemy explosively, and when it comes to a clash, form a shield wall and use daggers to rip out the enemy's intestines. The slingshot, which was not of much use, has not disappeared from the stage of history, and is still a life-saving weapon that every villager has. I usually wear it like a belt, and take it out to practice or for entertainment when I have nothing to do. Nowadays, even the children in the village can use it to shoot birds, and the gifted little mice are the best among them.