"Did we just come up from here?
Should we go down from here?
Or should we go up from there? "
Morris stood on the bridge and stared at the fork in front of him. He didn't know what to do.
In the beginning, the Holy Knights didn't put the guards' words in their eyes. After all, Rhode's manor was right in the middle and everyone could see it.
As long as they walked along the bridge that extended in that direction, they would definitely be able to reach it.
But what Morris didn't expect was that this place was simply a maze. After he led the Holy Knights to the bridge, they couldn't go down anymore.
Moreover, those forks were strange and strange. Sometimes when you went up from here, you would find yourself on the next floor.
And when you wanted to turn back, you would find yourself on another bridge.
In the end, Morris made up his mind and decided to walk along the bridge to the central area. But when he reached the end, he helplessly realized that he had walked onto another bridge … And when Morris wanted to turn back, he realized that he had completely forgotten which fork they had come from. Was it the left?
Or the right one?
If it weren't for the fact that Morris didn't feel any magical waves, he would have suspected that he had fallen into a large-scale illusion.
Otherwise, how could there be such an unreasonable path in this world?
Was this still a path for humans?
Morris wasn't the only one who was exhausted. Most of the other holy knights were exhausted as well. Of course, this was mental exhaustion.
Although there were various symbols on these bridges, Morris and the others were newcomers, so they couldn't understand what the symbols on them meant.
Previously, they saw a large house symbol on the sign in front of them and thought that it was the path to the Overlord's mansion. In the end, after following the symbol, they realized that it was actually the path to the cemetery.
"No matter what, let's go back first …"
Even though he was a Holy Knight, he was also mentally and physically exhausted. Morris helplessly scratched his head and turned his head to look at the fork. Then, he waved his hand and prepared to set off.
But at this moment, a Holy Knight beside him spoke timidly.
"Leader, that path leads to the bridge below … You're going the wrong way …"
"…"
After a great deal of effort, the group finally left the passage that made them dizzy.
After suffering, Morris finally let go of the arrogance in his heart. After asking for help from the residents here, he finally walked out of this terrifying maze and arrived at the new city's business district.
This was also the first area to be developed in Passus. After all, building a new city required a variety of materials, so naturally, there was a need for a unified trading area.
Therefore, the commercial district was currently the area with the fastest development. When Morris and the others walked down the bridge with their faces covered in dirt, what they saw was a bustling and orderly scene.
On the plaza paved with white stones, the emerald green grass and the beautiful fountain formed a picturesque scene.
One couldn't see the noisy and messy crowds elsewhere. On the contrary, although the passersby seemed to be in a hurry, they all had a clear goal.
Just like that, they flowed endlessly through the streets, bringing new vitality and prosperity to the city.
Not only that, but through Morris's observation, he also found that all the buildings here were orderly, completely unlike the messy and disorderly feeling of other cities.
It was no wonder that most of the cities on the Klein Continent started out as small settlements. Later on, as more people came, they gradually became cities.
There was definitely no planning in the process, at most, they were classified according to nature.
The noble district and the commercial district were slightly better, but the civilian district was basically a mass of loose sand.
But the situation in this new city was completely different. All the areas were planned, and everyone had to move around in the planned areas.
This was also one of the reasons why the city looked so orderly and organized.
And what made Morris even more curious was that he finally saw pillars used to support the bridge. But unlike ordinary pillars, these pillars were built in the form of tall towers, which meant that not only were they used to support the bridge, but they were also used for people to live in …
"All in all, it's getting late now. Let's find a place to rest."
Retracting his gaze, Morris rubbed his eyes. He felt that he had seen more things today than he had seen in the past 20 years. That made him more and more curious about the Balxianon Mens Family. Initially, before coming here, Morris only thought that the Balxianon Mens Family was a rich landlord, but now that he saw the city with his own eyes, he no longer thought so.
One had to know that a family that could build such a city was definitely not to be trifled with. After all, there was no feudal lord in the entire continent who could do that.
Hence, he had secretly decided to adjust his original goal no matter what.
He couldn't follow the stubborn Edward. Going against such a family would definitely not be a good thing for the Church of Holy Light.
Upon hearing Morris's words, the others nodded. Even Archbishop Edward, who had been gloomy along the way, did not say anything.
After all, for the past half a day, they had basically spent their time walking from one side of the bridge to the other side, going up and down, and coming back up again.
They were already tired, and now finding a place to rest was the most important thing.
Hence, no one objected to Morris's suggestion, and it was quickly approved unanimously.
Then, under Morris's lead, they walked to an inn called "Flower of Bauhinia" that was located not far from the business district.
However, just as the Paladins were about to enter the inn, they encountered a small accident.
There was a sudden commotion in the inn, and then a few armored guards walked out of the crowd, holding a little boy in tattered clothes in their hands. At this moment, he was struggling desperately, trying to break free from the restraints of the guards while yelling loudly.
However, the people around him did not care, and only a few of them surrounded and watched curiously.
Through their conversation, Morris also understood what had happened. It turned out that the boy was a thief who had sneaked into the inn with the intention of stealing something from the travelers. Unfortunately, he had found the wrong target, and was caught by the adventurers nearby. He was then handed over to the patrol team after being caught red-handed.
Morris didn't feel much about this matter. After all, this kind of thing happened everywhere, especially in the Scal Federation. Some refugees who couldn't afford to eat even dared to rob them.
Facing the group of seemingly emaciated refugees who were trembling with wooden sticks in their hands, Morris didn't know whether to fight or not.
Fortunately, at least such things didn't happen in Passus. From this point of view, the security of this territory was still very good. Of course, petty theft existed everywhere, and there was no way to prohibit it.
And from these onlookers, Morris also inquired about the punishment of these thieves. He learned that once these thieves were caught, they would be judged according to the amount of wealth they had stolen. Then, they would be flogged and sent to the quarry or lumberyard for labor education.
Although it was a little harsh for such a child, Morris didn't care.
One had to know that there was no unified punishment law in the Klein Continent.
For a crime like theft, some places would directly be hanged in public, while some places would have their hands and feet chopped off.
Compared to them, Passus was not that cruel in this aspect. Hence, Morris didn't plan to plead for the thief's innocence.
Just as Morris was about to turn around and leave to go through the check-in procedures, Archbishop Edward, who had been silent all this while, suddenly spoke up.
"Morris, go and bring that little guy over."
"Lord Bishop?"
Hearing Archbishop Edward's sudden words, Morris' heart sank, but he still bit the bullet and asked.
"What do you plan to do?
You have to know that the other party is a thief … Besides, even if he's caught, the punishment isn't severe … "
"Hmph, how can I not care about such a young child when he's already so heavy-handed?"
At this moment, Archbishop Edward seemed to have recovered from his shock. With a sullen face, he stared at the boy who was crying under the suppression of the guards.
"Look at how young he is. He must have been forced to do this because he had no choice but to make a living.
These children should be handed over to the Church of Holy See, and we will guide them away from evil and towards the path of kindness and justice. "
"This …"
Morris was completely speechless after hearing Archbishop Edward's words.
He lowered his head and once again scolded the archbishops who sent this stubborn old man to visit Passus with him in his heart before nodding helplessly.
"Okay, Archbishop, I'll give it a try."
After saying that, Morris walked in front of the patrolling soldiers and blocked their way.
"Please wait a minute, everyone."
"What's the matter?"
Seeing the Paladin in front of them, the patrolling soldiers were stunned.
It was not that they had never seen a Paladin before, but what was going on now?
"It's like this …"
While trampling on Archbishop Edward's heart 187 times, Morris smiled helplessly and spoke.
"Regarding the thief you caught, can you hand him over to the Church of Holy See to deal with?"
"Hand him over to you?
Why? "
Hearing Morris's words, the soldiers looked at each other in dismay.
"It's like this. Look, he's still young, and I'm afraid he had no choice but to do such a thing.
Our Archbishop Edward thinks that this child has potential, so he hopes that you can hand him over to the Church of Holy See so that we can guide him on the path of faith. "
"This …"
In the face of Morris's request, the patrolling soldiers were clearly at a loss.
They had never encountered such a situation before. A Paladin actually asked them to let a thief go?
Of course, this thief was indeed young, but …
"No!"
Before the patrolling soldiers could say anything, a crisp voice sounded.
Everyone turned around, only to see a girl in a black robe walking over with a gloomy expression.
She frowned, stared at the thief, and looked at the patrolling soldiers.
"Sister Iristine said that this person broke the law and must be punished.
Take him to the prison in the second district and send him to the lumberyard for labor reform. "The girl said with a frown and glanced at Morris.
"This is Passus's territory, and it's not the Church of Holy See's place to order us around!"
Upon hearing the girl's words, Morris shrugged helplessly, but didn't say anything.
With his identity, of course he wouldn't be calculative with a girl.
Besides, he could also tell that this girl's identity was probably extraordinary from the uniform she wore and the way the patrolling soldiers treated her.
Besides, she was right. This was Passus's territory, not the Church of Holy See's territory. Besides, this was just an ordinary arrest of a criminal, and it didn't involve bullying the innocent. Hence, he didn't want to interfere in this matter.
At this moment, after hearing the girl's words, Morris automatically stepped aside and didn't say anything else.
Since they had received instructions, the soldiers no longer hesitated, and they dragged the thief away.
However, at this moment, the thief was obviously very displeased. He initially hoped that the people from the Church of Holy See would be able to save him, but he didn't expect things to turn out this way. He immediately scolded the girl and cursed.
Upon hearing his insults, the girl's expression changed several times. She then walked in front of the thief, and slapped his face. Strangely enough, after the girl slapped him, the thief immediately became paralyzed. He seemed to be abnormally exhausted and drenched in sweat. Naturally, he could no longer scold her.
"Take him away."
After making sure that the thief was no longer spouting nonsense, the girl nodded in satisfaction, and was about to turn around and leave after giving the order.
At this moment, Archbishop Edward, who had been silent all this while, suddenly widened his eyes and exclaimed in shock.
"A forsaken person!!
She's actually a forsaken person!! "
"A forsaken person?"
Hearing Archbishop Edward's scream, Morris was stunned for a moment, but before he could think further, he saw the archbishop suddenly raise the scepter in his hand.
"A forsaken person is an evil spawn abandoned by God!
Under the illumination of our Holy Light, there is no place for evil spawn like you. Steve, catch that forsaken person immediately and purify her!! "
"Wait a minute, Lord Bishop!"
Hearing Archbishop Edward's words, Morris was shocked, and hurriedly tried to stop him.
However, before he could finish speaking, he saw a man who was wrapped in a robe beside Archbishop Edward suddenly attack, and rush towards the girl who was not far away!