Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 740 The Rus' Dynasty
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In fact, apart from the lofty temple forces and the purification legions composed of various temples, the royal families of various countries and city-states on the six kingdom continents also keep a number of spirit seers. These people are not low-class scavengers; many of them are nobles from the royal family, spirit seers cultivated within their own ranks, loyal to the royal family, and help to consolidate their rule.

The Rus' dynasty was an example of this.

The kingdom had a very strong academic atmosphere. Unlike the solemnity of the coastal border towns of Hylandris and Losk, the Rus' Kingdom, nestled inland in the mountains, was known as a land of scholars. Many renowned scholars were born in this country, which was less than a third the size of Losk and initially consisted of only a few fortified settlements.

These scholars mostly served several great temples on the western continent, including the Temple of Hooked Finger.

This is why the Rus' dynasty, a small kingdom sandwiched between the three kingdoms of Hylandris, Losk, and Karkson, was able to stand firm.

They have forged a unique path through superb academic research, without needing a powerful army or a superior trade coastline; their true strength comes from the words in books.

The Rus' dynasty was also the only kingdom that had connections with almost all the major temples in the west.

The other five kingdoms each swore allegiance to the faith system of a particular temple.

But the Rus' dynasty was different; its scholars were scattered throughout the western continent and had contact with almost all religious orders.

...

This is also the only one of the six kingdoms that does not have a border defense force.

Even the high walls along the border were not built by them. The Rus' only provided the design for these fortifications; the rest of the labor and funding were provided by the temple and its affiliated families, clans, and religious groups.

Including the Hawkeye Knight who stood on the city wall to block Milo and the group of white-robed armored soldiers, none of them were Rus's.

The real Rus' were physically weak.

There's a saying that goes: "The people of the Rus' dynasty could only lift two things: books and spoons."

...

But it turns out that this was just a sarcastic exaggeration.

After the battle at the border wall ended, a breach was made in the border city of the Rus' dynasty, and soon some Rus' people pushing carts came to the place where the wall had been broken.

They are not here on a rescue mission.

They simply used tools to make preliminary measurements of the huge breach in the high wall at the scene, and further calculated the extent of the damage caused by this battle that was not under their control.

…Look, besides books and spoons, they can also push a small cart.

...

The Rus' dynasty was quite an anomaly.

Because they were completely indifferent to the outcome of the border battles, they seemed more distressed by the damaged city wall structure, after all, it was something they had painstakingly drawn on the design drafts.

They showed no hostility toward Milo and Freya who broke into the city, and naturally, they felt no gratitude or pity toward the Hawkeye Knight who was shattered into seventeen or eighteen pieces.

To paraphrase an elderly scholar from Ross City, "When it was designed, no one considered that the high walls needed to bear the weight of giants. They were only built to help us block the damp and cold sea winds from the north. Hawkeyes, didn't you say that you inherited the wisdom of the ancient giants? In that case, perhaps it is necessary to re-evaluate the wisdom of the ancient giants."

That's why they say the most ruthless form of insult is the one delivered in a cultured way.

The dead Hawkeye Knight probably never imagined that his life would not only fail to earn him any gratitude from the Ross people, but would even make them question the intelligence of their ancestors.

...

Yes, when Milo and Freya passed through the gap in the high wall and went straight into the interior of the capital city of Ross, no one stopped them at all.

Everyone seemed to be busy with their own things, and no one paid much attention to Milo and his group.

That's the truth; the Rus' people didn't care at all about the outcome of the battle.

War was never their intention.

Regardless of the outcome of the battles outside the border walls, to the Rus' people, the fighting was nothing more than a series of noises and vibrations that disrupted their deep thinking.

……

This feeling is amazing.

The outsiders who broke into the city were tacitly approved by the locals; to be precise, no one paid any attention to these two "intruders."

The fear and resentment in the imagined scene do not exist; the atmosphere within the capital city of Ross remains unchanged from beginning to end.

...

This is a city steeped in the mixed scents of books, ink, and tea. It is very quiet, with little noise even in the city center.

Milo and Freya were sitting in a teahouse on the side of the main street of the royal city, sitting obediently at the table like travelers, curiously observing the austere decor and the overly calm people around them.

The insightful comments about the High Wall and the Eagle Eyes' intelligence came from the teahouse owner.

After serving Milo and Freya the tea he had prepared, he did not ask for gold coins or temple stones or any other common currency. Instead, he excitedly ran upstairs to find a tattered book, opened it to the page with the bookmark, politely pushed it in front of Freya, and asked her about the pronunciation and meaning of a certain Hierophant script character.

After receiving Freya's explanation, the shopkeeper gratefully removed the teacups from in front of them.

"I'll get you better tea. Nobody drinks this inferior stuff from Derasrian City. Please wait a moment."...

Freya and Milo looked at each other in bewilderment.

They hadn't quite grasped the atmosphere of this city of scholars yet, but upon reflection, if everyone in the city were like the teahouse owner, they should have no worries about food and drink given their knowledge.

The Rus' belief system was chaotic and complex.

It could even be said that they do not have a clear belief, or rather, they have a special understanding of belief.

In short, you won't see those familiar scenes here, such as devout believers praying and worshipping in shrines and churches, or other religious practices that seem almost foolish.

Moreover, it is said that the reason why the royal family is the royal family is simply because of their academic achievements, not because of their wealth or military power.

Ancient literature, history, art, and even astronomy—these are the things that the Rus' people are crazy about and obsessed with.

As for the omnipotent gods and supreme will, they cannot bestow the truth of the universe upon the Rus' people, and even if they could, the stubborn Rus' people would probably not accept it.

So while peoples from other countries and regions were still desperately begging for blessings before their idols, the Rus' believers were more focused on studying the concept of "faith" itself, which was their way of interacting with God.

...

The most outrageous and peculiar of the six kingdoms was the Rus' dynasty.

It is also the country that has produced the most Spirit Visioners, and they are all Spirit Visioners who have studied academically and professionally. These extremely talented geniuses are now scattered throughout the Dreamland, continuing their research in various religions and temples. In fact, if conditions allowed, they would rather stay in Ross, but the Ross treasury is extremely poor, as can be seen from the teahouse owner's business method of exchanging words for tea.

The temple, which possessed and stored various ancient "learning materials," became the target of these "cunning" Rus' people.

They never swore allegiance to any particular god, but instead cast a wide net, sending brilliant Ross scholars throughout various belief systems. They conquered the high-ranking clergy with their exquisite academic theories, creating the kingdom that now exists where dozens of different belief systems' totems can coexist.

...

The Rus' had absolutely no interest in the conflicts between the temples.

They are not good at fighting, and even the Rus' people with their highly perceptive eyes are unwilling to step onto the battlefield.

It's not that they can't remember magic spells or don't know how to use clairvoyance, but rather that they are more fascinated by studying the workings of those short spells that can achieve special effects than by using spells to kill enemies.

Or rather, they have no enemies, so they don't need to use spells to kill people at all.

A very reasonable explanation.

This reminded Milo of a line from the first compulsory course—

"My enemy is not the ignorant, but ignorance itself."

……

...

As intruders who smashed through the border walls, Milo and Freya not only did not face any rejection in the capital of Ross, but that very night, when Milo began to rub his hands together again to try to make a gentle fire, the princess of the Ross royal family actually sent someone to invite him and Freya to a late-night moon-viewing tea party.

“Anywhere else would I think this is a conspiracy.” Freya looked at Milo, as if asking for his opinion.

“In my hometown, there’s a specific term for this kind of occasion: ‘Hongmen Banquet’,” Milo nodded.

But this is the peculiar Rus' dynasty, and cannot be judged by ordinary standards.

Milo intended to refuse, but the envoy sent by the princess of the Ross royal family spoke to Milo with utmost respect:
"The princess believes she might have a way to solve the problem that is troubling you."

"What's the problem?" Milo raised an eyebrow.

"The reason why the gentle fire no longer favors you," the messenger answered Milo's question, word by word.

Milo glanced back at Freya.

The latter shrugged and shook his head, roughly meaning: I didn't tell anyone that you're incapable!
...

"The princess shouldn't mind the smell of blood on my clothes, right?" Milo shrugged.

His words were an acceptance of Princess Rose's invitation.

The messenger immediately understood:

"this way please."

...

……

The castle of the Rus' royal family is located in the very center of the royal city.

It's less of a castle and more of a library-like building, or a giant book archive.

Led by the envoy, Milo and Freya arrived at the top-floor moon-viewing platform where the royal princess was located.

(End of this chapter)