Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Anheuse stole a glance at Lucien. He was uncomfortable with the idea of discussing matters of such importance in the presence of Leviathan, who had only just become the Secret Praying Congress’ seventh apostle. For all they know, he could be a spy sent by the evil god Antanas, looking for the whereabouts of the God of Flame and Destruction. They should have waited for him to pass the one year trial period and made sure that nothing was amiss about him before allowing him to participate in the discussion of core matters.
Members of the Secret Praying Congress were extremely cautious in Politown, for those who weren’t were all already died, some even brought serious loss to the Secret Praying Congress.
“Why are we suddenly discussing this? I remember that the previous plan ‘Missionary’ had only recently been confirmed?” Anheuse looked at Jacob solemnly.
Jacob pressed the gray rose pattern on the corner of his shirt and replied in a low voice, “this is the direct order of ‘Crown’. We shall wait for him in silence.”
“Crown” was the Secret Praying Congress’ leader, the Lord of Fire and Destruction’s divine son, and the one claiming to be His incarnation. The father and son shared a body. As for apostles like Lucien, they were known as “initiators”, those spreading the wisdom of religious discipline.
Anheuse’s expressions finally relaxed, and he sat down on a chair on which the flame patterns formed the word “five” in Barril tongue. Some apostles looked at Lucien with caution, while others did so with scrutiny or indifference. Lucien mirrored Anheuse’s actions and found himself the silver chair with the pattern “seven”. He appeared as if he had been at his own home.
“Leviathan, Norton has spread the word that you have great strength, on par with the worst of the divine-blooded. Is that true?” A mess of white beard covered Jacob’s face, making his expressions hard to read.
The other apostles stared at the dark red round table, as though they had not heard Jacob’s question, nor were they waiting for Lucien’s answer. Though strength of this degree was rare among humans, it was not unprecedented. Being on par with the worst divine-blooded also referred solely to raw strength. As soon as the divine-blooded used the “Supernatural Power” of their bloodline, they cast miraculous spells and control nature itself. A human with super strength would then fare no better than a normal human, and death would follow swiftly.
Black hair and black eyes, Lucien’s appearance was that of an ordinary Barril man. He replied with a smile, “I have not fought with any divine-blooded yet and thus can’t say how I fare against them. However, it is enough to deal with common monsters.”
Lucien had claimed that his injury was the result of an encounter with a terrifying monster in the wild and that he had escaped only due to his natural strength. Norton, who was only capable of using spell-like abilities, was amazed by the knight’s strength. This could be one of the reasons why he recommended Lucien to become the seventh apostle.
Jacob’s back straightened, but there was no change in his gaze nor his tone of voice. “Then your future Seed of Spirit might lean towards that direction. Strength to crumble city walls, skin tough enough to withstand sword and spear, as well as immense speed. Just like that of the fiend Antanas before he killed his father.”
According to Angornorma’s legends, The Lord of War Antanas was the son of the Lord of Sky. He was a demigod of boundless strength; Even the sharpest blade could leave only scratches on him. Despite slaying the nine great monsters terrorizing the empire, he was blamed by the Lord of Sky. As such, he rebelled and killed his father, and rose to the main god of the Angonormanian pantheon.
“However, you need to use your strength to serve the great Lord of Fire and Destruction before you can attain such power,” said Jacob before Lucien could respond. Jacob had said similar pieces to all new members of the Secret Praying Congress, those who had yet to receive the Seed of Spirit.
Suddenly, the secret hall was filled with the air of heat and destruction, as though a fire had befallen.
Jacob rose from his seat. He placed his hand over his chest and lowered his head. “Welcome, Crown.”
The other apostles followed suit. Lucien did likewise while judging the power of the “Crown” at the same time. If “Crown” had released his aura without restraint to intimidate the initiators, then his strength was about level seven. However, his aura was extremely strange — It was not a suppression of spiritual power, or willpower domination, or even divine pressure. In fact, it felt like a mix of the three. Nothing about it was outstanding.
False God, incarnation, son of god… Lucien secretly thought that things are getting more and more interesting by the minute
For Lucien, the main goal of joining the Secret Praying Congress was to gather information and to avoid danger. Research had only been a secondary motive. However, the things that he had been exposed to kept tugging at his arcanist instincts. He found himself wanting to actively participate in the matters of the Secret Praying Congress.
Meanwhile, Lucien calculated in his mind: If “Crown” really is the sole incarnation of the Lord of Fire and Destruction, then the false god’s level should be at eight. For the Lord of War to allow him to escape, it appears that the Lord of War is not yet of the legendary level. Probably at the peak of level nine.
In the early phases of the War of Dawn, the sorcerers that survived the massacre of the Saint Truth Church did not know much about the false gods. But with the rise of Thanatos Vicente Miranda, the congress later obtained much information on the false gods from the South Church
Despite having limited knowledge about the false gods due to his limited access, Lucien knew enough to know that false gods were capable of using their power to create incarnations. The incarnations will peak at a power one level lower than that of the original, and their numbers were limited at two. If more incarnations were to be created, their power level would need to be lowered.
Since the Secret Praying Congress had claimed that they were the main group worshipping Lord of Fire and Destruction, Lucien deduced that this incarnation of Avando was of the strongest type.
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A young beautiful raven-haired man appeared from the shadows of the stone hall. He donned a pure white robe, and an olive garland sat on his head. The phantom flame covering his exposed skin gave his muscles a sense of beauty and strength.
Judging from the appearance, Lucien deduced that this incarnation was skilled at physical combat and equipped with some level of knowledge about magic. His skill set should be similar to a knight. Or rather, similar to a powerful demon from Hell.
“Crown” Ell looked at the seven apostles present and sat on the gold chair. He then lowered his right hand, signaling the apostles to sit.
“Our kingdom has been taken over by fiend, and our children hurt by the heretics. The number of those who stand with use is dwindling by the minute. Yet we still cling onto our bloodline and our Father. Hence our successors, devout young men, have continued to arrive. Leviathan, we hope that you can guard the gate of the Divine Mountain and spread the name of our god to fellow Barril men.”
Ell had acknowledged Lucien as the seventh apostle. After all, Erdo was under the strict control of Angonorma, and talents were hard to come by.
After Lucien saluted and thanked him, Ell said to the seven apostles, “I have gathered you to discuss the future. You should have noticed that the rebellions have dwindled, as are Barril men who place their faith in God the Father. Let me hear what you have to say about this.”
“They had forgotten about the majesty of the gods, and no longer fear fire and destruction. We must make them remember the fear that had been etched in their soul, make them remember the Fire Cleansing that will come. Only then will they fight for the great Avando.” Anheuse said sternly.
After seeing that the other apostles all agreed to Anheuse’s opinion, Lucien shook his head lightly. It appeared that this Secret Praying Congress was still rather primitive, relying solely on fear to spread their religion rather than combining with redemption and hope. It was not suited to the current times. If they continue with this method, their followers would only grow fewer until they are eventually eliminated by the Angonorma.
Ell’s eyes seemed to dance with fire. He said in a low voice, “it is our duty to spread the majesty of God the Father. However, I believe that it’s time we changed the method by which we do so.”
Lucien and the other apostles looked towards Ell. While others were confused, Lucien wondered if Ell was considering new ways of popularizing their religion.
Ell said passionately, “as of now, His children and ministers are suffering under the rule of the heretics. Fear would no longer bring us to their heart. What they need is salvation, a way out from the sufferings. We need to tell them they don’t need to fear death, where eternal peace and happiness awaited them in the Divine Mountain of God; Tell them that their sacrifice will help to build a Divine Kingdom free of war, killing, fear, and hatred for their offspring; Tell them only such Divine Kingdoms would escape the wrath of the Fire Cleansing.
“Of course, those who betrayed God the Father must be punished. After just judgment, they would be exiled to the kingdom of the dead to endure unimaginable suffering.
“God the Father will not only watch over the Barril. He is empathetic, benevolent, and willing to accept any race that is willing to place their faith in him.”
Lucien was stunned by Ell’s words. These were concepts of mature religion. It evolved from that of a god reigning over a race or region towards a more abstract and encompassing god. Could it be revelations from the previous failure?
“But the great Lord of Fire’s domain does not include salvation, peace, or judgment,” Jacob asked, puzzled. For the Barrils and Angonormians, different gods were in charge of different things, and there was no single omnipotent god.
The fire in Ell’s eyes lit up. “God the Father’s godhood was compromised as he had parted his power to other gods when he created them. However, the other gods had betrayed him in this war and caused his defeat. He thus decided to wage war on them and reclaim his godhood. If he manages to return to his initial state before he created everything, he would be able to defeat the fiend Antanas.”
Not only did he explain why the God of Fire and Destruction who created the world in the legends was defeated, but he also gave them a direction — to unite the forces within the pantheon.
“Right, the gods who betrayed the God of Fire also divided Barril. Respected ‘Crown’, who shall be our first target?” Anheuse was very much in agreement with Ell’s idea, possibly due to anger towards followers of other gods.
Ell replied coldly, “Asin, the God of Moon”.
The God of Moon… Lucien suddenly felt something was amiss.
Ell suddenly stood up. “God the Father has made this decision merit of a philosopher from the east.”
He turned and said, “Mr. Francis, please advise the details as to how we should proceed.”
Francis? Lucien frowned slightly. Another man with black hair and eyes appeared from where Ell did earlier. He had a slender frame and his face was soft. He carried a sword on his back and wore a loose white robe similar to Ell’s.