Game of the World Tree

"You are very similar to Sophia, the consul of the Freeland of the Maple Moon. I think... you should like that place. If you want, I can write a letter of recommendation, I think... the entire Maple Moon will welcome you. join."

Kerets said sincerely.

However, after listening to his words, Frank pondered for a moment, but slowly shook his head:

"Thank you for your kindness, Lord Kerets. Although I often hear stories about the Maple Moon Collar from the troubadours, and I admire Ms. Sophia who established the Free Collar, I don't want to join."

"why?"

Kerets showed a somewhat surprised expression.

Frank thought for a while and said:

"To join the Maple Moon Free Leader, you must join the Church of Life. Whether it is me or my companions, many of them are devout eternal believers."

"Although the Eternal Church has decayed, the church is the church, and the gods are gods. In my opinion...the church's mistakes cannot be attributed to the gods."

"I admire the Church of Life, and I respect the Goddess of Life, but... I'm really sorry."

Frank said apologetically.

Kerets gave him a deep look and shook his head gently:

"Mr. Frank, faith is not your real reason. You know my identity, then... you should also know that I can see the light of faith in everyone."

Saying that, Kerets sighed softly and looked directly into Frank's eyes:

"Mr. Frank, how long has it been since you went to the Eternal Church?"

As soon as these words came out, Frank trembled slightly and couldn't help lowering his head.

After a while, he let out a long sigh and smiled bitterly:

"My lord Kerets, I'm really sorry... I don't want to join any forces for the time being."

"I understand."

Kerets nodded slightly.

After speaking, he smiled again:

"If one day, your mind changes, or... if you want to join the Church of Life, we will welcome you at any time."

Frank was silent for a moment, then nodded:

"Thank you."

"However, what are your plans for the future? The imperial nobles have already removed you. After the war, what are you going to do with the mercenary group you pulled up?"

Kerets asked again.

He looked at the young knight with deep eyes and said:

"I can feel that you didn't create a mercenary group just to make a living. You led your team to punish good and evil, destroy demons, have strict discipline, and fight heroically. This is not what an ordinary mercenary group should look like at all. ."

"What the hell do you want to do?"

After listening to Kerets' words, Frank fell silent again.

After a while, he opened his mouth to answer, but was stopped by the elf demigod:

"You don't have to tell me your reasons, I think... you should also have your thoughts and difficulties."

"I have been observing you these days. You are a true chivalrous knight. I believe in your choice."

"However, one thing I want to remind you is that it is not only the Eternal Church that has fallen. If you really put some hope in the gods, you may be disappointed."

"Of course, I'm not referring to the great Goddess of Life..."

"Mr. Frank, the door of the Church of Life is always open for you. If one day you really make a decision, we would be happy to be your faithful ally again."

...

Frank didn't communicate with Kerets for long.

After declining an invitation to join the Church of Life, he left soon after.

And as soon as he went out, he met his personal guard, Roland.

"Lord Frank!"

Roland bowed to him happily.

Frank raised his eyebrows:

"Roland, why are you here?"

"Hey, I just won a card game, and I wanted to pick you up. I didn't expect you to end so quickly."

Roland scratched his head and said.

After he finished speaking, he lit up a kettle in his hand and said excitedly:

"Look! What have I won?"

Frank's heart moved.

He looked at the elf-style kettle, took it over and smelled it on the mouth of the bottle, a little surprised:

"Elf flower tea?"

"Haha! That's right! It's the legendary elf flower tea! I heard that in the imperial capital, only those rich nobles can drink it!"

Roland said excitedly.

After he finished speaking, he suddenly noticed a dark cloud between Frank's brows, realized that he had said something wrong, and quickly covered his mouth:

"Ah... I'm sorry... Sir Frank, I shouldn't have mentioned the nobles..."

Frank was stripped of his nobility.

Although he always said that he also abandoned his noble status, abandonment is abandonment, and deprivation is another matter.

For the imperial aristocracy, it was almost a disgrace to ruin.

On weekdays, he never dared to talk about the nobles in person, for fear of touching the sadness of the other party, but today, because he was too excited, he forgot about it.

However, Frank shook his head and said helplessly:

"No, Roland, I've said it many times, I don't care about the name of the nobility."

"Then...why do you look so unhappy?"

Roland asked curiously.

Frank was startled.

"Do I… look unhappy?"

He touched his cheek.

"Of course, a look of despair."

Roland nodded.

Frank was stunned.

After a while, he smiled wryly:

"Maybe... I'm a little confused myself..."

"Confused? Mr. Frank, didn't you say that you have already figured out how to go in the future along the way? Didn't you say that you plan to lead everyone to punish evil and promote good, and save the world from water and fire?"

Roland asked suspiciously.

Frank sighed:

"Roland, just now, His Majesty Kerets invited me to join the Freelance of Maple Moon."

"Um... ah?!"

Roland rounded his eyes.

The next moment, he gradually became excited:

"Really...really?!"

"But I declined."

Frank spoke the second half of the sentence.

"Um... ah?!"

Roland's excitement froze on his face.

"You...why did you refuse? That's Fengyue's free leadership! Haven't you always said that you yearn for there along the way?!"

"And... even if we join the Maple Moon Free Leader, we can still be active on the mainland as mercenaries! This is not a conflict!"

"Not to mention, if you can really become a member of the Maple Moon Free Leader, everyone will be able to have a home..."

Roland said with some regret.

Looking at his overjoyed look, Frank was slightly startled:

"But, didn't I remember that you said that your family has always been devout and eternal believers?"

"Eternal believers are ass! Lord Frank, if I can join the Maple Moon Free Leader, I am willing to convert it immediately! You have also seen how degenerate the Eternal Church has been along the way!"

Roland said bitterly.

Frank was silent.

"However... Although Maple Moon is a good leader, Mr. Frank is the one we follow. No matter what decision you make, we will support you."

Seeing Frank's hesitation, Roland said quickly.

After speaking, he hesitated for a while, and then asked curiously:

"But... I'm still curious, why did you decline the invitation of His Excellency Kerets?"

After listening to the guard's words, Frank let out a long sigh:

"Roland, do you think... being a knight who punishes evil and promotes good, how much change can he bring to this decadent era?"

After speaking, without waiting for the other party to answer, he directly shook his head and sighed:

"Not enough... far from enough... On the way, I have seen too much, the empire has been rotten, rotten from its roots, the nobles have fallen, the church is incompetent, coupled with the impact of the recovery of magic power, this country has terminally ill..."

Frank said, looked at Roland, and stunned:

"Roland, this is the first time I've told you my heart. I came to the southern border region to create a mercenary group, not only to be a chivalrous knight."

"I, want to overthrow this rotten country..."

"Push... overthrow the empire?!"

Roland widened his eyes instantly.

"Yes, what you said before is quite right. I appreciate Fengyue Free Leader very much, and I also appreciate everything the Church of Life has done."

"In the past few months, I have been observing, thinking, and comparing all the way, and I have gradually realized that perhaps the model of Fengyue's free leadership is the future."

Frank said quietly.

Roland looked at him in shock. As a guard knight from a noble family, the concept of hierarchy penetrated into his mind. He had never thought of such an amazing thing as overthrowing an empire.

"But...but...if that's the case...no, shouldn't it be better to join the Maple Moon Free Leader?"

Roland stammered.

Frank understood what he meant.

Since we want to overthrow the empire, join the Maple Moon Free Leader, and get more support, everything will go a lot smoother.

However, Frank declined the invitation from the elves.

In this regard, he did not directly explain, but instead asked:

"Roland, what do you think of the situation in the mainland?"

"Well... Mr. Frank, I'm just a knight. Although I used to be a noble, you know, I hated those courses since I was a child, and I don't know much about politics."

Roland said embarrassedly.

Frank laughed, he shook his head slightly, his expression gradually became serious, and said:

"Roland, if I join the Maple Moon Free Territory and try to overthrow the empire, I'm afraid it will probably cause a strong reaction from the Eternal Church, and even lead to a war of gods..."

As soon as these words came out, Roland rounded his eyes again:

"You... what did you say?!"

Frank let out a long sigh:

"This matter involves the secrets of a thousand years ago... Roland, do you know the battle for the founding of the empire?"

"Well... I have heard some legends, our family history is relatively short, and there is not much record about it."

Roland said.

Frank nodded:

"The empire was founded on the basis of the destruction of the elf kingdom, and the essence of the battle for the establishment of the empire is actually a battle between gods."

"And the fighting spirits are none other than the Eternal Lord and the World Tree."

"World Tree? Then... Isn't that just..."

Roland's eyes widened again.

"Yes, it is the goddess of life, Your Majesty Eve."

Frank sighed.

After speaking, he sighed:

"The Goddess of Life is in conflict with the Eternal Lord."

"I want to change the status quo of the empire, and I want to overthrow the current rule. If I only act as an eternal believer, it is just a civil war in the human world."

"But if I join the Maple Moon Free Leader, as a life believer, it will be a battle of faith..."

"Roland, in that case, the intensity of the war will be completely different."

"I hope to save, not destroy, the battle between the true gods, the consequences are absolutely devastating... Especially the Goddess of Life and the Lord of Eternity are the strongest among the gods."

After listening to Frank's words, Roland opened his mouth and was speechless for a while.

After a while, he couldn't help but say:

"But I think... you seem to love the Church of Life more, and you are more interested in the teachings of the Church of Life. I have seen you read the "Book of Life" with relish under the lamp at night. Maybe you didn't realize it yourself. The Lord is different, every time you mention the crown of the Goddess of Life, it is a respectful title."

"If that's the case, why can't we build a kingdom with the Church of Life as its belief? Just like the Free Leader of Maple Moon."

"The Eternal Church is so rotten, even if you re-establish the country, can it really change everything?"

"Not to mention, does the Eternal Church, based on nobles, really allow you to overthrow the empire?"

Roland's words were so loud that Frank fell into silence.

After a while, he sighed:

"This is exactly what I want to say. The foundation of the empire is not only the nobility, but also the Eternal Church."

"If you want to overthrow the Empire, you must also get the support of the Eternal Church..."

"It's politics, and politics, you can't take personal emotions into account."

"Roland, although I don't like the Eternal Church very much, although the Eternal Church has decayed, there are still some life saints who still maintain their original hearts."

"I know such a person, that is a true saint, respected by the world, even the Pope respects him very much."

"He lives in seclusion in a village near the southern mountains. When the demon is eliminated, I plan to visit him and get his support."

"Roland, I am also happy to build a country that believes in the Church of Life, but sometimes, ideals and reality are different."

"Although the Eternal Church is disappointing, it is not that there is no possibility of salvation..."

Speaking of his own feelings, Frank felt a lot more relaxed.

However, Roland frowned and shook his head gently:

"But Sir Frank, are you really sure that the saints of the Eternal Church will support your approach?"

"Not to mention, even if you decide to choose the Eternal Church that you don't like because you are worried about the war between the Church of Life and the Eternal Church, can you really be sure that the war between the two churches will not break out?"

"No, the Church of Life advocates peace and will not start wars against others for no reason."

Frank shook his head.

"Then what if the Eternal Church goes to war first?"

Roland asked again.

Frank was startled.

He smiled wryly and said:

"In that case... the Eternal Church is probably really hopeless..."