Douglas was the Knight Captain of the Zell Family, a true Knight, not a half-baked Knight squire like Hank. The foundation of a large aristocratic family depended on whether it had a large number of true Knight.
Personally, Douglas did not like Hank very much. He felt that this person was too pompous and did not match the steady path of a Knight. However, people could change. As the Knight Captain, Douglas hoped that the Knight squires he taught would grow up smoothly, pass the trial, and finally become a Knight of the Zell Family.
This time, he had received the order from the Patriarch to investigate a person called "Beta", who was said to be a priest of an unknown god. Douglas instinctively hated spellcasters. Almost all physical professions hated spellcasters. After all, their strange, mysterious, and formidable power was a headache for any physical profession.
The distance between Bronze Drum City and Reed Village could not be considered too far. With warhorses, it would only take about two hours. Douglas had come to Reed Village several years ago and stayed in the house of the Reed Village Head, who claimed to be the descendant of the Hero, for a few days. At that time, he did not have a good impression of Reed Village. It was dirty and messy, and the villagers ran around without bathing for half a month. The whole village seemed to be filled with a disgusting smell of feces.
But now, when he set foot on the entrance of Reed Village, he wondered whether he had come to the wrong place. The muddy village road had turned into a beautiful bluestone path. Although the children working in the village wore patched clothes, they were all very clean. There was no dirt on their faces or necks. Not only that, they seemed to be in good spirits. In Douglas's eyes, each of these children had the potential to become a Knight squire.
Moreover, most of the adults in the village seemed to have become cleaner. In the past, he could see their greasy and slippery necks at a glance. But now, they looked very clean. Most importantly, these villagers did not like to be surrounded by onlookers. A few years ago, when he first came to the village, no matter where he went, he would not be able to escape. There would always be a group of villagers following behind him, looking at him with reverence and worship in their eyes.
But it was different now. The villagers only glanced at him curiously before leaving to do their own things.
Reed Village had changed a lot! The mud path had turned into a bluestone path. This was only a small matter. What really surprised Douglas was the change in the atmosphere of the entire village. In the past, Reed Village was very ordinary. Like all the other villages, everyone only cared about food and clothing. They would not think too much about other things. They had no ideals, no pursuits. But now it was different. Everyone in the village, even the elderly, had a bright light in their eyes. Douglas knew very well what that light was.
In the past, when he was choosing Knight Apprentices, the chosen ones' eyes would shine with the same light. This kind of light was hope, hope for the future.
Become a Knight. It was normal for them to have hope, but why did these villagers have hope? It would not be strange if only one or two people had such a look in their eyes, but almost all the people in the village had the same look, so the reason was worth exploring.
Douglas rode around the village and then went directly to the village chief's house. The village chief of Reed Village could barely be regarded as an aristocrat, and he was the real ruler of the village. Going there as a guest would not dishonor his identity as a Knight, and he could also get more accurate information. Generally speaking, the information provided by ordinary villagers was often specious because of their own knowledge and language skills. It was easy to be led into a ditch, which he had suffered before.
Douglas happened to meet Kail at the door of Reed Village. A few years ago, Kail was still a child. Although he was a lot older now, his appearance had not changed much. Douglas was about to say hello, but he suddenly froze, because he felt a kind of aura from Reed Village, the aura of another profession.
In the temple, after seeing off Belin and Kail, Liang Lidong sat on a chair and looked at his system interface with a tangled expression.
No wonder he felt like he couldn't exert any strength just now. Now he had a debuff on him.
Glutton's Wrath: As a glutton, you actually swallowed pig's food for three consecutive meals. Your body is violently protesting. Now all your attributes have been reduced by 30%, and you have received permanent irreversible random consequences. Your sense of smell has been reduced by 10%.
Because after coming back from the spiritual world, he was so hungry that he subconsciously ate the dry food in his space backpack, forgetting that he had stacked two layers of negative status of glutton.
No, I have to find something delicious to eat. Liang Lidong left the temple. With 30% of his attributes reduced, he felt like he was walking with dozens of kilograms of things on his back.
He first went to the fisherman in the village to buy a few fresh river fish, but the fisherman did not dare to take his money. Without saying a word, Liang Lidong threw a silver coin on the table and turned to leave. Then he went to the foot of the mountain behind the village to dig up some moss, which could remove the fishy smell. Then he found a pot from Nicholas and spent about half an hour steaming two fish for himself. After eating a few mouthfuls, the system notified him that the status of glutton was gone. However, the 10% reduction in sense of smell was forever gone.
Liang Lidong slowly ate the steamed fish. In the game, he had never encountered a glutton attribute talent, so he did not pay too much attention to it. He did not expect that one of his abilities would be permanently reduced. However, this was a blessing in disguise. It was only his sense of smell that had been reduced. If it had been his physique, willpower, or endurance that had been reduced, then there would be no place for him to cry.
Although the two steamed fish were delicious, it was difficult for one person to finish them all. When Liang Lidong was about to summon Joan Of Arc to help, a brawny man in chainmail walked in from outside the temple.
The moment he entered the temple, he sniffed and saw Liang Lidong. When he saw the two steamed fish on the small table in front of Liang Lidong, his expression became quite interesting.
In fact, it was not strange that the brawny man was so surprised. Generally speaking, the temple was a very sacred place, but Liang Lidong was sitting under the sacred statue of a goddess, wearing a priest's robe, and eating steamed fish without a care for his image. This atmosphere did not match the solemn image of the temple at all.
Looking at the strange expression of the brawny man, Liang Lidong raised the chopsticks in his hand and smiled. "You are a guest. Come and have a taste. It's a pity that there is no wine. "
The brawny man was Douglas. He walked in with a strange expression and looked at the two steamed fish. Traditional education told him that it was wrong to eat in the temple. However, the two fishes did smell delicious, and the Priest of the Temple of Light was also eating. It should be fine if he ate them together.
He walked to Liang Lidong, sat down, and then spread his hands, indicating that he had no cutlery. Liang Lidong took out a knife and fork from his Backpack. When he went to buy a pot from the blacksmith, he bought some cutlery. He put them in his Backpack, and now they were useful.
Although Douglas's physique was very large and fit the image of a cavalryman, his eating movements were very elegant. He gently cut a piece of meat from the back of the fish with a small knife, put it into his mouth, and gently crushed it with the tip of his tongue. After a dozen seconds, he swallowed the fish into his stomach. Then he said, "Very delicious cooking. I didn't expect you to be not only a spellcaster, but also a master of swordsmanship and even a master of cooking. A master swordsman and even a master chef. This is the most delicious food I've ever eaten. "
"You flatter me!" Liang Lidong smiled and nodded to express his gratitude. He then glanced at the white spear pattern on Douglas's shoulder armor and asked, "Knight of the Zell family? I wonder what brings Your Excellency to our Woking Shrine? "
Douglas put down the knife and fork in his hand. He said, "Head Knight of the Zell family, Douglas! I just heard that a wise man appeared in Reed Village, so I came to take a look. I thought it was an exaggerated rumor spread by the village barbarians, but I didn't expect you to be more talented than the rumors say. The whole of Reed Village has changed because of you. I think there will be many scholars in the village in the future. This is no longer the behavior of a wise man, but a sage. "
"You flatter me." Liang Lidong laughed and then said, "I'm just following the teachings of my god and trying to help the believers away from ignorance, poverty, and disease. I don't deserve the title of a sage."
"But Reed Village is too small and isn't suitable for your distinguished self to develop here." Douglas said sincerely, "I heard that your distinguished self has already appointed a successor, and she can manage the village very well. Since that is the case, why don't your distinguished self go to a larger world and develop in it? For example, our Bronze Drum City lacks a truth bearer like you. If you can establish a temple in our Bronze Drum City, I think the city lord will be very happy. "
"But the problem is that Bronze Drum City already has a temple for other gods." Liang Lidong shook his head and continued to say, "I've been to Bronze Drum City before, and if I'm not mistaken, the believers of the Storm Goddess have already declared it to be the domain of the storm. If I go there, it will be a religious war, which is against the rules."
"Indeed, the believers of the Storm Goddess have already established a temple in the east of the city." Douglas slowly said, "But our Bronze Drum City has already doubled in size, and the believers of the Storm Goddess are no longer enough to satisfy the needs of the residents of Bronze Drum City. If another god's believer is stationed there, they won't mind."
Douglas's words were reasonable. The larger the city, the more god factions could be stationed there. For example, the capital city of Hollevin, because of its size, had six god factions spreading their doctrines there, and they lived in harmony with each other.
If Bronze Drum City had doubled in size and Liang Lidong was stationed there, it wouldn't have attracted the intense dissatisfaction of the believers of the Storm Goddess. But after thinking about it for a moment, he shook his head and said, "My god has taught us that a journey of a thousand miles is a step at a time. Everything must be prepared for success. I haven't even converted the villagers of Reed Village into believers. If I have the ability and experience, I will go to Bronze Drum City to develop. Naturally, when I have the ability, I will naturally go there to spread my god's glory.
"But I'm afraid that at that time, the power of other temples will intervene."
"My god has taught us that everything cannot be forced," Liang Lidong said with an indifferent expression. "If it is ours, it will certainly be ours, and if it isn't, there is no need to be stubborn."
It had to be said that Liang Lidong was very good at pretending to be a god. Douglas nodded, then stood up and said, "I understand your excellency's meaning. I came to Reed Village this time to see an old friend, but I hadn't expected to meet your excellency. I really hope that one day, I will be able to see your excellency's temple in Bronze Drum City. "
Liang Lidong stood up and gave a farewell salute. "Many thanks for your excellency's auspicious words."
After watching Douglas leave, Liang Lidong sat down. He was very clear that this Knight must have come to Reed Village for another purpose. Considering that Kail had told him yesterday that Jerry's brother, Hank, seemed to have the intention of framing him, and after a little thinking, he understood what was going on.
Originally, if Hank had come to the temple to apologize and admit his mistake, he would have helped this guy explain the divine punishment. But now it seemed that Hank could only bear the title of a poor man for the rest of his life.
Joan Of Arc flew in from the window, grabbed a steamed fish, and then flew away.
When Douglas returned to Bronze Drum City, it was almost evening. Instead of resting, he went directly to see his family head.
The half-elf was eating dinner. When he saw Douglas, he immediately greeted him and said, "Douglas, you came back just in time. Let's talk while we eat."
Douglas didn't stand on ceremony. He took off his chainmail and had the attendants take it away. Then he sat in front of the family head and said, "Master, I went to Reed Village to make some inquiries, and the results were very surprising. According to my judgment, the so-called Goddess Woking is definitely not an Evil Spirits, but a very kind god of the Order Faction. "
"Why do you say that?" A hint of interest appeared in the half-elf's light green eyes.
After that, Douglas explained what he had seen and heard, then said, "A priest who can help ordinary people to such an extent is definitely not someone who can be taught by Evil Spirits. Moreover, when I talked with him, I could sense a murderous aura coming from his body. He reeked of blood, but he was absolutely not evil."
The half-elf nodded. "Your judgment is correct. Goddess Woking is indeed not an Evil Spirits. Three hundred years ago, she was a very famous neutral god, but for some unknown reason, she suddenly disappeared. Moreover, the names of many gods have also changed. But this is a matter of the Heavenly World, a matter between gods. It is best for us mortals not to inquire about it."
"That's right, this is the portrait I drew." Douglas took out a scroll from his bosom. "Because of the lack of time, I could only draw a rough outline of his appearance, but it is already eighty percent similar."
The half-elf held the drawing paper and looked at the portrait on it, with a look of surprise and nostalgia in his eyes: "Beta, is it really you?"