In the Middle Ages, people drew cards to be promoted to nobility.

It was already dusk when Lothar and his party returned to Constantinople.

They searched for traces of Liena in the underground palace, but found nothing in the end - obviously, there would be no corpses under the mouths of those rats.

Although Liena is a wizard specializing in fire, her magic power is limited after all, and it is foreseeable that she will be overwhelmed by the endless swarm of rats.

So along the way, Anna's mood was very low.

Lothar had no intention of comforting her. The pain of losing her best friend could only be smoothed away by the power of time.

The outer city of Constantinople.

Although the rat plague was stopped in time, the trauma it caused to the city is still obvious.

When Lothar and his entourage walked into the city gate, they saw the washerwoman carrying a child that she had seen for the first time when she came to Constantinople. Her dress had hardly changed.

But now, there was nothing behind her, and she was sitting on the edge of the collapsed house, looking straight ahead with dull eyes and mumbling something.

Looking around, there are many people like her.

They were like walking zombies who had lost their souls, immersed in great sorrow.

Some men looked numbly as they rummaged through the ruins for buried belongings. The disaster was over, and those who survived would still be alive.

This is Heavenly Father's warning to us. When the final judgment comes, no one can escape the fate of being judged. At that time, the guilty will fall into hell, and the innocent will ascend to heaven.

An ascetic with a compassionate expression, wearing shabby robes and holding a cane, shouted bitterly in the crowd: Only the Eastern Expedition can atone for sins.

“In the Levant, those evil tyrants controlled by Satan, Saladin, are watching over the Holy Land. The cruel and violent Turkic barbarians are plundering our Christian brothers wantonly. Set out towards the east and let the blood of those pagans dye the cross red. !”

Lothar looked slightly startled, but he did not expect that in the headquarters of the Eastern Orthodox Church, he would also encounter ascetic monks from the Ecumenical Church who preached the Crusade.

Man is born sinful.

He chewed this sentence with a trace of ridicule on his face.

The Heavenly Father may really exist, but He certainly does not care whether mortals in the world really have any sins, just as He never cares about the clergy who use their own name to misinterpret the scriptures.

With Anna's reputation as Princess in Purple, Lothar and his party, escorted by the Varangian Guards, walked unimpeded towards the inner city of Constantinople.

…

The purple dome of Brachna Palace reflects the gorgeous colors in the sunset.

Anna's footsteps were a little heavy, the filth on her clothes, and the lingering fatigue on her face all showed that this trip was not going well.

Anna, you're back!

The queen stood up to greet her.

Um.

Anna's interest was obviously not very high.

What's going on with this rat plague? Who is that evil dark wizard?

On the way back, Anna expressed her anger with Lagaia through her coat of arms, but she didn't tell the details.

I'm not in the mood, let me take a bath first.

After running around in the underground palace for a long time, she felt like she was almost getting drunk.

I will go with you.

All right.

Anna came to the bathroom of the palace, soaked herself in the steamy pool water, and listened to the Queen beside her describing the losses caused by this disaster to the empire.

Several high-ranking nobles were killed in the inner city. Small nobles, citizens, soldiers, and slaves were devoured by rats. The total number of dead was thousands.

In the outer city and in the villages near Constantinople, the total number of dead was probably in the tens of thousands.

Among them, the most severe losses are in the slum areas in the outer city, because the population here is the most dense.

A considerable number of them are the family members or widows of mercenaries, who have reproduced from generation to generation and settled here.

Many nearby villages also became dead zones overnight.

Fortunately, you stopped this disaster in time, otherwise, the heart of the empire would have been stabbed hard.

Having said this, the Queen was still a little frightened.

Not long after this disaster broke out, Constantinople suffered such heavy losses. It can be imagined that Anna was definitely not alarmist. This was a disaster more terrifying than the Justinian Plague.

Liena didn't come back.

If it hadn't been for her, we wouldn't have discovered it in such a timely manner.

After Anna finished speaking, she buried her head in the water and didn't come out for a long time.

Lagaia sighed softly. She knew that Liena was a witch. In her opinion, this woman was dissolute. She once wanted Anna to draw a line with her, but she never thought that she was the one who saved Constantine. The great hero of the fort.

Although she is the regent queen of the Eastern Empire, she still feels a deep sense of powerlessness when facing this natural disaster.

When she was young, she had the idea of ​​learning witchcraft with Anna, but the high threshold of the wizarding world blocked out most people who were interested in this world.

Dusk bursts.

Jeanne is directing the remaining veterans to clean up the ruins of collapsed houses and fill in the holes dug by rats.

Tomorrow, we might have to call in masons and masons to take a good look at whether the holes dug by rats under the manor have damaged the foundation of the house.

I heard footsteps coming from outside.

She rushed forward and saw that Lothar and his party were intact, and she breathed a sigh of relief: What on earth is going on?

Lothar briefly told the story and then sent someone to prepare bath water.

Thinking about the experience in the underground palace, the pungent stench, and the countless dense swarms of rats, it still feels like being in hell.

Sorry sir, I shouldn't have acted alone.

Jeanne's face was full of apology.

I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence.

It's okay. It's not your fault. It happened too urgently. I have asked Anna to prepare a communication crest for each of you. This kind of thing will never happen again in the future.

Although the communication crest is precious, Lothar has helped Anna a lot this time, and the friendship between the two has become deeper and deeper. As soon as Lothar mentioned this little thing, she agreed.

Oh, by the way, Anna also said that Her Majesty the Queen will summon me tomorrow and give me some rewards. I want to ask for all the gold coins I can use to upgrade you.

This incident also served as a warning to Lothar.

If he just wants to be alone, he and his followers are actually strong enough at this stage, and they can handle it as long as they are not facing those old antiques.

But once it gets involved in some major events, the extraordinary power under his hands is not enough.

He estimated that as long as Jeanna was promoted to the full elite level, she should be able to compete with a powerful wizard like Anna who has half-stepped into the threshold of legend.

Moreover, although the ability of the system's retinue is not as extensive as that of a wizard like Anna, its combat effectiveness in specific aspects is only stronger than that of a wizard.

In addition, Lothar now has another elite item on hand, which is the combat record of the Wolf Clan Civil War. From a personal emotional point of view, he is definitely more willing to advance to Prajna.

But from an effect point of view, Cellinina's combat effectiveness is stronger. In these few battles, thanks to her decisive blows, it is in the best interests of the moment to prioritize her promotion.

What's more, the wolf clan's civil war is already related to Chelinina. Giving her will not only help her gain more help in combat records, but it will also help deepen the relationship between the two.

He is still hesitant now and plans to have a good talk with Cellinina later.

Thank you, sir.

Jeanne's face became even more apologetic.

Lothar waved his hand: We two don't need to be so polite. I'm going to take a bath first. You don't know how dirty it is under the underground palace. I suspect that the abscesses on the rats were soaked in the sewage. of.

He took off his smelly shirt and threw it to Jeanne, then hurried to the bathroom.

Bathtub and hot water are ready.

He buried himself in the tub and washed his body with a piece of soap made from oils and spices. A useful soap had actually been invented a long time ago, but it was expensive and was exclusive to the nobility.

In the adjacent bathroom, Fringilla's laughter could still be vaguely heard.

He rested his head on the edge of the tub, relaxing his tired body, especially his brain. The side effects of drinking Blue Moon began to take effect. He exhausted his mental energy twice in a row. Even if his state returned to full after upgrading, he would still feel deep. Bone marrow fatigue.

At this time, he suddenly heard a burst of sneaky footsteps.

Just as he was about to ask, he found a soft hand covering his mouth.

Shh, keep your voice down!

Lothar turned around, and in the mist, he saw Jeana's somewhat nervous face: Don't let the people next door hear.

What are you doing here? I'm taking a shower right now?

Lothar was a little surprised and asked in a lowered voice.

I'll... rub your back.

She reached out and took the soap from Lothar's hand.

There was a blush on his face that he had never seen before.

Only then did Lothar realize that what was in front of him was so close.

Looking down, you can see a strong lower abdomen with a clearly visible mermaid line, and two strong and long legs.

He swallowed subconsciously and whispered: Why don't you wear clothes?!