After the meal, Aurelio and Valentino bid farewell to Luciano and returned to their tent. Aurelio leaned his staff to the side and then recited a spell consisting of only one word. This word is the common initiation field for fire magic, and its function is extremely simple, which is to convert magical energy into fire. He flicked the small spark he created towards the wick of the candle to light it.
"It's rare to eat so well." Valentino said as he stroked his stomach. "Are you going to read a book?"
Aurelio nodded and had already taken out the book he wanted to read from his luggage and held it in his hand.
Valentino, sitting on the bedding on the ground, tilted his head and saw the title in Catalis characters on the cover and asked, "Theological Correction? Is this... the work of that... Ca... What's his name again... Canus?"
"I bought it in the town the day before yesterday."
"I've only seen this book in Serencia. Our country doesn't care what people believe. I really didn't expect... This is a banned book in Westrick. How can it be bought so easily? Does that king, Finn II, have so little say?"
"Finn II..." As soon as Aurelio mentioned this name, the muscles on his right cheek began to twitch. After a pause, he began to talk about the past: "Earlier, about thirty years ago, his father, Finn I, ordered the eradication of the 'Correctionist Sect'."
"Really? I don't know much about the history of other countries."
"It caused a war at that time, and Catalis was almost torn apart because of it. Finn I was defeated and his power was damaged. As a result, he was so angry that he died of illness."
"Now Finn II is just following in his father's footsteps and causing the same result? Isn't he afraid... that he will end up like his father?"
"If he died so easily, it would be too cheap for him. Compared to his father, his methods are more brutal, and his end will only be worse." Aurelio said through gritted teeth. "He is a bastard and originally had no right of inheritance. With foreign support, he overthrew his cousin in a coup and became the king."
"They are really brutal. As long as they are powerful militarily, they can become king?" Valentino smiled. "But he is just a little bastard. Not everyone will be convinced. He obtained the throne unjustly and lacks virtue. No wonder his authority is so weak."
"Later, in the war with our country..." The tone of this sentence became extremely heavy. After a brief pause, Aurelio's voice returned to normal. He then coldly continued, "After his disastrous defeat, even some allies turned against him, or stood by and did nothing when he was suppressing the rebellion."
"So now not all the people of the 'Orthodox Sect' support him?"
"Yes. Obviously, if he loses another battle, his throne will be in jeopardy."
"So he gave up the disputed territory with our country and asked for our help on such terms... It seems that he really must win."
Aurelio said, "Such terms? No wonder those old and pedantic elders of the Elder Faction are willing to cooperate with those... new nobles with water in their brains." He was very clear that Serencia had limited interest in the inland. There were also few fanatical believers among the people. Unless there was something to gain, Serencia rarely got involved in inland wars, let alone religious wars.
He sighed again and thought, "The war ten years ago started because of these lands. They will eventually belong to our country. But... some people will never come back." He felt a dull pain in his chest, so he shook his head vigorously and said, "Forget it, let's not talk about it. I'll go to sleep after reading this page."
"Hey, wait a minute! What exactly does that book of yours say? This is the main point! I'm quite curious. After you finish reading it, can you lend it to me?"
Aurelio snorted contemptuously with his nose and said, "I can lend it to you, but I advise you not to waste your time. It's meaningless."
"Really? Even you say so... It seems really boring."
"In the preface, he claims, 'To show the true will of God to the whole world.' His tone is grand, but the content is ridiculous."
"Ridiculous? How so?"
"There used to be a ritual that has now been abolished. That is, killing a rooster, and the priest sprinkles blood counterclockwise to draw a circle."
"I've heard of it. It seems to be a ritual on the spring equinox to welcome summer or something."
"According to Mr. Canus's research, this ritual is completely wrong. It should have been a hen, and a priestess should sprinkle blood clockwise." As he spoke, Aurelio curled his lips and sneered.
After hearing this, Valentino laughed loudly and said, "This is deliberately going against it! Why doesn't he say that we welcome winter on the autumn equinox? It would be even better if he went all the way."
"I can't understand why he wastes ink on an abolished ritual. Of course, he claims that this correction is very meaningful and that only after correcting it does it match the laws of celestial bodies." Aurelio quickly suppressed his smile.
Valentino clapped his hands and laughed and said, "He sounds quite serious! Maybe that Mr. Canus has plenty of ink from the snow-capped mountains and has so much that he can't use it all up, so he can only write more useless things."
"Do you... believe that this book was written in the elven tribe on the snow mountain?"
Valentino shook his head and replied, "His followers say so, but I don't believe it. The elves were exterminated before Serencia was founded, right? That was a thousand years ago."
"He has another work that specifically describes the life of the elven race. I read it a long time ago." Aurelio said, "The elves he wrote about are barbaric and primitive. The impression they give is not even as good as humans two thousand years ago. It conflicts greatly with ancient records and is not credible."
"By the way, is there nothing useful in this book?"
Aurelio replied, "Basically not. There is no major change in theological concepts, and habits and rituals are even more barbaric. It's like a madman talking nonsense."
"What's the point of such a correction? How can there be fools who believe it!"
"The only thing worthy of praise is that there are some... things that the Grand Cathedral doesn't allow to be said."
"Now that you mention it, I'd like to see the things that the Grand Cathedral doesn't allow to be said."
Aurelio replied, "Sure enough, everyone is interested in this part. I'll save it for you."
"Do you want to read my book?" Valentino smiled and closed the book in his hand, shaking it to show the cover to the other party.
Aurelio looked over and shrugged. "@!％#. Five fish. Is it a seafood cookbook?"
"Haha! This is @!％# language. It's a very ancient pictographic script."
This language name was unheard of, and even that strange pronunciation was not heard clearly by Aurelio. "Say it again? Or... forget it. From now on, let's call it fish language if I need to mention it again."
"In this world, only my teacher can understand this kind of characters. I can only read it little by little by referring to his notes." After saying that, Valentino showed the other party his small notebook. The notebook looked very old. The cover was obviously yellowed, but the binding thread was still very new, as if it had been replaced recently.
"For example, this one that looks like a Spanish mackerel means 'I'."
"Does a Spanish mackerel look like this? I don't know any sea fish."
"I know you don't like fish... You are a false Serenian."
Aurelio curled his lips and said, "In short, don't ask me to try the medicine made according to the above formula."
Valentino laughed and said, "Don't worry about safety. We will all test the poison on monkeys first." He then read two or three pages further by referring to his notes. Then he heaved a heavy sigh. He put the book aside, took off his glasses, and gently massaged the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "This sea is a bit deep. I can't dive in anymore. Sleep!"
Aurelio nodded, silently recited a spell in his heart, and with a flick of his right thumb on his middle finger, the flickering flame on the candle was immediately extinguished. He lay on the bedding on the ground and pulled the quilt up to his neck.
If it had been the previous few days, there would still be a lot of noise outside the tent, and the banquet would not end so early. But today, the general gave an order for everyone to be on high alert. So tonight's drinking and merrymaking time ended hastily. Through the tent made of canvas, all he could hear were the gentle breeze and the chirping of insects. Aurelio gently closed his eyes. In a half-awake and half-asleep state, his right leg twitched suddenly, and he was immediately awakened.
There were sentries on guard outside the tent at all times, but Aurelio had an ominous premonition. He took a deep breath, opened his eyes again, stood up in the darkness, walked to the tent entrance, and held the staff standing aside in his hand again. Recently, he had been constantly worried. Only by firmly grasping the staff and feeling the solid texture of oak could he feel at ease.
"What's wrong?" Valentino, half asleep, rubbed his eyes and raised his body slightly and asked.
"Nothing. I just feel a bit uneasy."
"Don't think too much. Go to sleep. There are people on guard outside. There won't be..."
Just at this moment, an explosion pierced the night sky, followed by shouts of killing and the sound of horns.