Chapter 422: The Undead Attack! (I)
The County of Tachia was once the richest and largest earldom in the Rhine Kingdom.
One third of the largest plain in the Eastern Kingdom is within the territory of Tachia, and the Barcelo River, which flows from west to east, has a river section of more than 300 kilometers located in the territory of Tachia; it has fertile soil and water, distinct climate, abundant products, and rich mineral resources. It is the territory with the most unique natural conditions among the four earldoms of the Rhine Kingdom (excluding Innadri).
If the Odysseus family had not invested heavily in imitating the industrial route of the Kenyan Empire, and after several generations of accumulation, it became the leader in the shipbuilding industry of the Eastern Kingdom and monopolized 50% of the shipping on the Barcelo River, the current Tachia Territory should have been the richest territory in the Rhine Kingdom; with the example of Odysseus Territory, the wealth accumulated by Tachia Territory through traditional farming, animal husbandry and low-end industries is not enough.
Of course, although it is not as good as the best, it is better than the worst. Compared with the Adler Territory during the rule of the Ezekiel family and the Innadli Territory during the rule of the Bartles family, the Taqia Territory can still be regarded as a "rich relative" - in terms of economy and military strength, it is no problem to beat these two southern neighbors.
But when it comes to people's livelihood...Tachia Territory cannot compare with the first two.
That’s right, the average living standard of the people in Taqia is even worse than that of Innader during the reign of Adela III…
The people can accept suffering as long as they have spiritual support.
This kind of spiritual pillar can be selfish and humble, such as pinning one's hopes on the reproduction of the next generation; it can be noble and great, such as working hard for the future of the country and nation and bearing the suffering of three generations at the cost of one generation; it can also be self-deceptive, such as believing in the "cultivation for the next life and reincarnation" advocated by false sects.
In this world where those in power can control the extraordinary and suppress the lower classes, the rulers have neither the responsibility nor the obligation to consider spiritual support for the lower classes. They are not willing to give even deceptive painkillers that would make the lower classes willing to endure long-term suffering.
And the Orthodox Church (Gold Coin Church) would never make promises to its believers beyond the scope of its doctrine.
It was only natural that the desperate Taqia people turned to the evil cult that everyone avoided to seek spiritual support.
The carriage was packed with people, all of whom were thin, with sunken cheeks and ragged clothes, but they were all in good spirits, and their eyes sparkled in the firelight coming in from outside the simple carriage.
"So you are from Baboba Town. No wonder you look familiar to me. I may have seen you when I went to town. Are you here to choose a holy servant as well?"
The young man, who was squeezed into the corner of the carriage with most of his body slanted sideways, could not hide his excitement and talked to the young girl who was sitting on her knees.
"No, we are here to serve as holy servants." The girl, with her knees bent, glanced at her companion happily and said, "The priest said that the devout offerings from our town of Baboba made the chief priest very happy, so all the holy servants this time will be selected from our town."
"So that's how it is." The young man who was talking to the girls said with some envy, "Our village didn't pay all the tributes last year, so only ten people were selected from our village this time..."
"It's great that the Holy Servant was chosen. Last time, I saw the Holy Servant who accompanied the High Priest to the town. I heard that he was chosen from the town of Glat. He has been in the Holy Land for more than a year, and he seems to have become a different person..."
The six carriages held more than 200 people, including young people, teenagers, and some older middle-aged and elderly people.
These residents of Tachia towns of varying ages were in a strange convoy traveling through the mountains in the middle of the night, squeezed into simple cargo carriages that were not meant for riding at all , but no one felt fearful or panicked. Instead... everyone had a strange look of anticipation and yearning on their faces, and they were even in a mood to discuss the future enthusiastically with the people around them.
This is obviously extremely weird.
But no one noticed this weirdness.
When the convoy turned into the hidden path leading to the nameless canyon, the black-robed people riding horses and carrying torches patted the carriages with their hands, reminding the people inside: "We are almost at the holy land, everyone should be quiet, so as not to upset the chief priest."
"Stop talking. The High Priest doesn't like noise."
Everyone in the car, young and old, fell silent, and looked longingly toward the "holy land" whose outline could only be vaguely seen in the darkness.
After driving for a while, the convoy entered an unnamed canyon.
There were several bonfires burning at the entrance of the canyon, torches were stuck on the cliffs, and about forty men in black robes were divided into two teams, waiting in silence.
A white-haired old man wearing a thick white robe and a golden crown on his head stood in front of the crowd, supported by two black-robed attendants, and looked at the approaching convoy majestically.
This solemn atmosphere made even the most lively young man in the carriage nervous.
The convoy stopped, and the driver and the black-robed men following the convoy all dismounted, knelt on one knee, and respectfully saluted the old man in the white robe and the golden crown: "Master Priest."
The white-robed chief priest showed a kind and benevolent smile on his face, and raised his hand slightly upwards: "Thank you for your hard work, everyone. Please invite our fellow believers into the holy land."
Following a light wave of the hand by the white-robed chief priest, the solemn black-robed team lined up in front of the canyon separated to both sides in an orderly manner to make way.
The black-robed men following the carriage stood up and opened the unlocked doors of the carriage: "Get out! "
"Come one by one, the older church members go first!"
The civilians in the carriage had never seen such a grand and magnificent "scene" before, and they all obeyed the orders obediently.
When they were lined up in a long queue and passed through the "welcome line" of the black-robed men to enter the valley, these civilians, who had been frightened to the point of losing their minds, under the arrangement of the black-robed men, bowed their heads and worshiped the sacred and great white-robed high priest without any questioning, gratitude and excitement.
The nameless canyon has been managed by the sect for decades . The neat stone roads, tall and majestic stone palaces, and astonishingly large altars that can be seen upon entering the valley once again shocked the civilians entering the valley.
"Those who choose the Holy Servant, come this way!"
"Holy Servant Candidates, come this way!"
The man in black robes hardly had to put any effort into maintaining order. With a few simple shouts, he divided the more than 200 civilians into two teams and took them away separately.
In the "Saint Servant Selection" team, which was mainly composed of young and middle-aged people, the country youth who had once approached the town girl found that there were a lot of people in his team and even became worried: "With so many people coming to select the Saint Servant, will I not be selected?"
On the other side, the much smaller team of "Saints Candidates" consisting mainly of young girls and the elderly, and the town girl walking along with her companions were excitedly thinking: "Not many people will be selected as Saints this time. I should have a chance to stay and not be sent back."
The man in black robe who took these civilians to the resettlement site observed their reactions calmly.
Those who were confused about the future and full of excitement; those who looked worried; those who couldn't help showing disgust and rejection towards their "competitors"; all fell clearly into the eyes of the man in black robe.
The civilians were settled in bungalows on both sides deep in the canyon. The men in black robes only left a few of their companions to guard each place, and the rest returned to the main hall in the middle of the canyon.
The civilians who enter the canyon will not escape, even if there is no one guarding them. The man in black robes is extremely confident about this.
The white-robed high priest who returned to the main hall after the civilians entered the valley had taken off his heavy gilded iron crown and stuffy outer robe, and was having a secret conversation behind closed doors with the black-robed leader who was responsible for transporting the civilians.
The white-robed chief priest no longer had the kind and gentle manner he pretended to have, and he said coldly, "There are not enough of these 'holy servants' as sacrifices."
The leader of the black-robed team said awkwardly, "I know, Your Excellency the Chief Priest. But you know that we must send back some of the unsuccessful living sacrifices, so that there will be more people to choose next time."
"If we let another batch go, we will have to keep a few 'selected' 'holy servants' for the common people to see, and the number will be even less." The white-robed chief priest shook his head and said, "Forget it, let's just pick a few from the 'holy servants' this time."
The leader of the black-robed men did not object this time. There were a lot of "holy servants" selected in this batch, and it would not be a big problem to consume a few of them in advance - after all, these "holy servants" were just coolies working in the canyon.
The number of "sacred servants" who have "dedicated themselves" to transforming the empty Nameless Canyon into its current spectacular appearance that is no less spectacular than some holy sites of orthodox religions is too numerous to count.
The two leaders of the evil god sect kept spying for a while, until a man in black robes knocked on the door to report that the "fellow believers" had been settled. Then the white-robed chief priest put on the "holy robe" and "holy crown" again, and walked out of the hall one after another with the leader of the black-robed team.
Dozens of black-robed believers in the Nameless Valley gathered outside the hall.
These black-robed believers are all "holy servants" and "holy attendants" selected over the years. They are the lucky ones who have survived the hard labor and sacrifices.
Of course, they themselves do not think so... In the mouths of the white-robed high priests and other "priests" who travel and preach outside the mountains, as well as in their own cognition, they are the most pious monks who want to keep their "useful bodies" to expand the worldly influence of the "Gods".
Just like the common people who look forward to becoming "holy servants" and "holy attendants", these black-robed believers also look forward to obtaining "divine power" one day, becoming extraordinary people like the main priest, priest, and leader of the black-robed men, and becoming the apostles of God who worship the gods.
The white-robed chief priest looked at the devout believers with compassion, raised his arms, and prepared to preach how great the god they worshipped was, and how glorious it was to devote themselves to this god, just like he had done in the past few decades.
After making the movements before preaching, the high priest in white robe was unable to speak smoothly.
The white-robed high priest, who had sacrificed countless lives of civilians in the southern mountainous area of Tachia to gain power equal to that of the white-robed priests of the Orthodox Church, stared in amazement at the steep canyon wall that was a hundred meters high opposite the hall.
For those with a spiritual power of over a thousand, their spiritual energy can interfere with reality and also feed back into the physical body; the soul can be seen with the naked eye, and night vision and farsightedness are also no problem.
The white-robed chief priest, who had night vision and farsightedness, saw with his own eyes that on the steep canyon wall that was almost straight up and down and could only grow shrubs and vines, there were an astonishing number of undead, grabbing shrubs, vines, protruding rock walls and other objects for leverage, sliding down skillfully and smoothly...
