At least a thousand years ago, when Del Ramos was sealed here by Master Oak, there were indeed no trees here. But as an important node supporting the Oak Mystery Lock, Master Oak conveniently planted many trees here.
oak.
To put it simply, this is a place that is ventilated but not light-filled.
Sparse light and shadow are projected through the towering tree canopy, making even noon appear dimmer than dusk. From the outside, you can't even see that such a gathering place exists here.
But maybe this is what they want
This was supposed to be the center of the Iris Swamp, the place with the densest concentration of trees. Even if the trees here were cut down on a large scale, there was not enough light here.
And after Xiela walked into the Iris Swamp, what appeared in front of Xiela was a gathering place of humans that could only be described as "abnormal."
All buildings are low-rise bungalows built of oak using local materials. These bungalows were built very close to each other.
In order to prevent the house from being soaked in the swamp, there are densely packed wooden sticks under each house to support it vertically in the swamp. At the top of the wooden sticks, there are wooden slats and boards inlaid with each other to connect with the nearby houses.
, supported together in a fragile yet solid form.
There are wooden slats underneath the wooden planks extending out from the edge of these houses. Although they are thin, they are strong enough. The width of these wooden planks is about two to three meters, which is enough for a single person to pass safely.
These bungalows were connected together in this way, opening a path out of the swamp and forming a block with only one opening left.
Perhaps for the convenience of communication, there are four roads, two vertical and two horizontal, in the center of the square. Dense wooden sticks are inserted into the swamp to form a support, and then wooden boards are laid on top and tightly connected with wedges.
Using only wood from the swamp, these people built such a magical village. It was not big or small, with about a hundred people in total.
Xi La didn't know what they usually ate, nor how they solved hygiene problems. But he knew that these people had formed a new order in this swamp that was very different from the outside world.
It is not the culture of the Bantha people, but it is not the culture of the Kalar people. Xila looked at these people who survived tenaciously in the swamp. Although there were only less than two hundred of them, they really gave Xila a strong feeling.
Shocking.
Immediately, his heart was filled with questions
Why do these people go into the center of the swamp to survive? Do those crows with severed arms and legs have anything to do with the people here?
However, the current situation does not allow Silas to be distracted. The help from Claudia is getting weaker and weaker, and he now has to concentrate to move freely in the swamp without falling.
Unlike the "crow monster" outside, the other people in this small closed village carved out of the swamp are quite normal.
They wore Bantha clothes, but the clothes of commoners, squires, knights and merchants were mixed together, showing a strange harmony.
Xila couldn't tell their identities for a while. If he had to say something, he could only say that these people were "Banzans".
Suddenly, Xila recalled that when Claudia turned back to speak to the crow monster, she also spoke in Bantha.
Could it be...
Xila was thinking to herself and suddenly felt a chill on her body.
He was stunned for a moment, then raised his head. He was met with a pair of indifferent eyes.
Almost everyone stopped talking at this moment, raised their heads and looked at Xi La without saying a word.
It wasn't even just these people. Xila saw some people in the house opening the windows or drawing the curtains, leaning out of the room or clinging to the windows and staring at Xila together.
As the number of people watching Xi La increased, Xi La actually felt a vague sense of crisis.
Can these people give him a sense of crisis? How is that possible!
No matter how much Xiela denied it, he couldn't deny that he was indeed a little scared when he was stared at by hundreds of eyes without any emotion.
It would be fine if those people just looked at him without emotion. Xila could completely regard them as emotionless killing machines.
People are not afraid of machines.
But the problem is, Xi La did see the fear, disgust, hatred and alienation directed at him from their indifferent eyes. It was as if they were staring at a monster, and they didn't even dare to give him their backs.
Xila couldn't help but feel an inexplicable sense of dislocation. When did Tire's pastor become such a posture that everyone was shouting to beat him?
"Well, mother-in-law..."
Xila stuck his wooden stick in the swamp, and after fixing his body with difficulty, he raised his head and showed a bright and sunny smile to the old woman closest to him: "Is there something between us?
Misunderstand?"
However, Xila did not receive any response.
The old woman just stood there like a piece of wood, her resentful and dull eyes always staring at Sila. After a long time, Sila didn't get a response, so she had no choice but to follow Claudia away.
The strange feeling in his heart became more and more intense.
But this time Xi La stretched his memory and never said a word along the way.
It wasn't until he followed Claudia into the house, untied the wooden sticks on his limbs and sat down on the chair and breathed a sigh of relief that Claudia finally spoke: "Don't talk to them anymore.
...They will kill you."
"...Kill me?"
However, this sentence only made Xiela feel stunned: "Why did they kill me? I can guarantee that I have never done anything unforgivable to them..."
"What's more, they may not be able to kill me."
Xila said in such a humble tone. In fact, what he meant was that even if the civilians were to attack him at will, he would not die.
But facing Xiela's confidence, Claudia shook her head deeply.
She raised her head and stared at Xiela with her blue and pure eyes: "Do you know the cleaning resolution?"
"...What is that?"
Xila frowned and was sure that he had not heard this word before, so he raised his head in confusion and asked: "Could it be that... those people are heretics or heretics or something?"
"Not really. But as long as you haven't heard of it... things can probably be fixed."
After getting Xila's reply, Claudia breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing this, Xi La's doubts became even deeper.
"Your Highness the Saint, please help me clear up my doubts," Xiela asked seriously. "If my colleagues have done something wrong, I am willing to remedy it for them."
"Irreparable."
Claudia looked at Xiela with pity and sadness, and shook her head: "Because you are a priest...that's all. It became the reason for them to kill you."
"Did you know that just a week ago, the cardinals of all gods, including Tyr, secretly issued purge orders to various local temples, depriving druids of all their rights, just like purification orders deprive wizards of their rights."
"All Kalar people suspected of being druids will be secretly captured by the priests of the gods, imprisoned for interrogation, and executed together after evidence is obtained. Those who try to escape from prison or resist arrest will be jointly wanted by the entire temple and arrested
Not only that, if anyone tries to hide the Kalar people, they will be regarded as hiding wizards and will be executed together. The senior officials of Bansa, Titan, Suze, and Falaro have also cut off all contact with Kalar.
All transportation links with Karar will be closed, and even nationals will not be allowed to return home before going through a week-long quarantine."
"At the same time, all villages with suspected cases of bloodstain syndrome infection will be 'forced disinfection'...these people here are actually 'cleansed' patients."
Hearing this, Xila was completely stunned. (To be continued.)