Chapter 72: The Justice God’s Teachings
“Hu! Ha! Hu!” Tan Qiu gasped for air as he awoke from his nightmare.
He got out of his large and soft bed.
He topped a cup with wine and drank it down.
The nightmare hovered around him like a ghost entwined with him.
He drank another cup before his mood gradually leveled out.
He unconsciously walked to a mirror, causing him to see the lingering black smoke around his body and the face that was relatively older than the one in the dream.
“It has already been five years…” Tan Qiu’s eyes revealed his complex mood.
To survive, he secretly relied on Rou Zang. He had abandoned his noble dignity and honor and had given himself wholly to a pirate.
Through great efforts, he had developed Snake Rat Island and didn’t dare to relax even a little as he ran it in a dazzling manner.
He had sold information and let Rou Zang plunder while feigning innocence. On the other hand, he had been secretly gathering strength so that he could one day destroy Rou Zang.
Rou Zang must die!
This had always been Tan Qiu’s obsession.
“But who was the undiscovered traitor now?”
“Who leaked the tax collector ship’s route?”
“Who covered for Mo Kong and allowed him to establish the magic formation in the depths of the castle?”
This information naturally hadn’t been given by Tan Qiu.
“In addition, this repercussion must be cleansed as soon as possible!”
The morning sun gradually rose, and warm sunlight temporarily dispersed the gloom hanging over Snake Rat Island.
“Lord Guang Ke.” Tan Qiu found Guang Ke and mentioned the repercussions to him.
Tan Qiu requested, “You are a believer of the Justice God, shouldn’t you have a method of alleviating the effects of the Domain of the Light of Contrition? Currently, our entire town has been suffering disturbances, many commoners cannot sleep peacefully, and they hope that you can help them.”
If it had been just one Fear spell or just Domain of the Light of Contrition, the repercussions wouldn’t have been this severe.
Crucially, they had been used back to back, causing the effects to exceed everyone’s expectations.
But this time, Guang Ke shook his head and declined.
He sternly replied, “Feudal Lord Tan Qiu, what do you believe is justice?”
Tan Qiu stared blankly.
Guang Ke then said, “Should we not seek after justice?”
Tan Qiu nodded and without the slightest hesitation, answered, “Of course! Justice is sought by every lord, and even every imperial citizen.”
“Not only in the empire, but also by the other races of the other continents.” Guang Ke stretched out his arms, as if he wanted to hug the world, “Justice should be pursued by every intelligent being.”
“If everyone felt they had a sufficient sense of justice, why is there still bullying and humiliation? Why is there still corruption? Why are there still plots and tyranny?”
“If all pirates had a sense of justice, they would mend their ways or cease their wrongdoings. Thus, the problems your Lordship is experiencing wouldn’t have happened.”
Guang Ke had an air of holiness as he said that.
When Tan Qiu saw Guang Ke like that, he suddenly realized what was happening, and his complexion twisted, “Lord Guang Ke, I know the necessity of justice, I also revere the Justice God. But currently, it is impossible for all intelligent life in the world to follow just principles.”
“In my opinion, if one wants to uphold justice, one must render punishment onto sins!”
Guang Ke smiled, “I already do that.”
“Feudal Lord, why do you think the Domain of the Light of Contrition divine spell exists?”
Tan Qiu was dumbstruck.
Guang Ke explained, “It seems you understand.”
“Correct, the Domain of the Light of Contrition divine spell does not attack or control enemies. Its primary effect it to make living beings sense their own sins, thereby repenting and comprehending the meaning of righteousness!”
“I personally checked out the situation in town.”
“Those commoners feel their sins, and even more so have come to realize how important justice is, thus henceforth, they shall follow the law and uphold justice. Is that not a good thing?”
“As far as they are concerned, they shall live honorable lives. And you, feudal lord, shall take pleasure in having a crimeless territory.”
Upon hearing Guang Ke speaking so plainly, Tan Qiu’s face grew even worse, and he curtly replied, “Are you saying that you, Lord Guang Ke, are preaching in my territory?”
“Of course.” Guang Ke admitted without the slightest hesitation.
He proceeded to show an expression that bemoaned the state of the world and pitied the fate of men, “You know? During the first half of my life, I traveled everywhere and was chivalrous, yet I felt more and more perplexed.”
“I doubted myself, was what I was doing really helping?”
“Despite justice being put on a pedestal by me, I am only one man, how much could I really change this world?”
“Until I met my God.” Guang Ke bowed his head like he was giving a prayer, “Only then did I understand that if I wanted to truly change the world, I could not rely on myself alone. I had to make the people change themselves from deep within their hearts. I had to engrave my God’s teachings deeply into their hearts and fill each of them with a sense of justice.”
“By accomplishing this, the entire world will be filled with righteousness. When that time comes, chivalrous individuals will be unnecessary.”
“Ah, how beautiful the world would be!”
Tan Qiu was silent.
He had a headache.
Guang Ke’s desire to evangelize would cause conflict with other powers and the Sheng Ming Church’s priest.
The well-organized alliance had an unexpected problem.
How troublesome!
Guang Ke clearly wanted to use this opportunity to disseminate the Justice God’s teachings and grow his church.
He wouldn’t resolve the repercussions.
On the contrary, he was pleased to let it take its course,
“Although the priest can purify the repercussions, his abilities are limited, he’s only a silver level.”
“Guang Ke is a gold level.”
“The two oppose each other, and it seems Guang Ke bite off a piece of this place and develop many Justice God believers here!”
Monarchical power, divine right.
On Snake Rat Island, Tan Qiu represented monarchial power while the church priest represented divine right.
The divine right of Guang Ke and the priest conflicted, and from the surfaces, it seemed that monarchical power was unconnected.
But in reality, it wasn’t so.
The two powers were always independent, yet unified.
The empire’s supreme master, Heavenly Emperor Sheng Ming, was the best representative of the unity between monarchical power and divine right.
The priest held the home ground advantage, but for the time being, he was no match for Guang Ke.
“If he wanted to ask for help, then his best option is me.” Tan Qiu foresaw the situation.
From the bottom of his heart, Tan Qiu preferred the priest.
Because the Justice God was no match for Heavenly Emperor Sheng Ming.
Furthermore, Guang Ke was just one man.
The priest had the entire Sheng Ming Church behind him.
The Justice God Church could not match the scale of the Sheng Ming Church, it was like comparing an ant to a giant.
Guang Ke could not stay on Snake Rat Island for long and would leave eventually.
The Justice Church that relied on him would no longer be able to resist the Sheng Ming Church and be subdued by the latter and lose territory.
However, at present time, Tan Qiu depended on Guang Ke to deal with Rou Zang.
He couldn’t offend either side.
Therefore, after bidding farewell to Guang Ke, Tan Qiu returned to the castle and claimed that he was ill.
He was actively recuperating and wouldn’t be able to see any visitors temporarily.
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ situation hadn’t improved much.
The repercussions caused by the Fear spells and the Domain of the Light of Contrition were very obstinate.
Although their effects lessened as time passed, it didn’t lessen by much.
The dragonman youngster was deeply worried and heartsick at this.
He sought Tan Qiu for help, but Tan Qiu had fallen ill.
Guang Ke and the priest were scrapping over believers, making the situation subdued, yet complex.
After survivors discussed, they chose to sit by as spectators.
“Father, you can’t die!” The big guy lamented to the young man, his tears dripping after enduring another nightmare.
The young captain consoled him warmly.
“Father, I’m sorry, I can’t save you!” The big guy wept, “I, I am so useless!”
The dragonman youngster quickly replied, “Therefore, you should intensify your training and become stronger!”
The big guy nodded firmly.
However, he still hadn’t created a basic battle qi circulation yet.
The big guy was reflection of the entire Dragon Lion Mercenary Corp’s situation.
Because of the repercussions, Cang Xu and Zi Di’s meditations had become high risk and low reward activities.
The entire mercenary corps’ morale had slumped.
Only Zong Ge behaved most like his usual self.
The dragonman youngster asked what the reason was, and Zong Ge didn’t hide it when he answered, “I prayed to my God!”
When people felt weak, they prayed more piously.
The god Zong Ge believed in was the imperial War God.
Cang Xu believed in the Great Lord Spectral Soul.
Lan Zao carried around the figure of the Fishnet Goddess.
Zi Di and Fei She believed in the same god, the Wealth Goddess.
Bai Ya was a devoted believer in the Hunting God.
While Mu Ban’s god was the Smithing God.
During this time, it was clear that the survivors were praying towards the gods even more.
“What do I believe in?” The dragonman examined himself and sank into bewilderment.
On Mystifying Monster Island, he believed he had been a templar knight and only believed in Heavenly Emperor Sheng Ming.
However, after the truth was revealed, the dragonman youngster was an unbeliever.
He was also suffering the torturous repercussions.
The sin of murdering Jia Sha was a deep shadow lurking deep in his heart.
He was completely worried about the future of him, Zi Di, Cang Xu, and the others.
“I am guilty!”
“I violated imperial law when I murdered a priest of the Sheng Ming Church.”
“Murder, murder of an imperial citizen is a crime.”
“But what could I do? The circumstances at the time meant that if I wasn’t seeking to survive, I would have died.”
The young man constantly told himself, but it was hard to break away from the heaviness of his heart.
It was impossible for him to pray to Emperor Sheng Ming every again.
He felt more reverence towards Emperor Sheng Ming than admiration and love.
“Which god should I believe in?”
The perplexed young man automatically looked towards Guang Ke.
These days, Guang Ke was mingling with the commoners and was using divine spells to heal then while publicly lecturing about the Justice God’s creed.
So, the young man had gained a good understanding of the Justice God’s teachings from him.
“As a knight, even if I am not a templar knight, I should be pursuing justice.” The dragonman youngster found Guang Ke.
After finding out about the young man’s circumstances, Guang Ke’s eyes shined.
He valued the young man greatly!
This was a silver level believer.
Guang Ke immediately preached to the young man and introduced him to the beliefs of the Justice God.
“You have an upright heart.”
“My God will show you the way as you walk the path of righteousness.”
“First, you should be sincere and humble, and strive to study my teachings.”
Thus, the young man became a believer of the Justice God.
Guang Ke turned his gaze to Zong Ge and the others, “Your mercenary corps is quite good, however, your members have heterogeneous believers, that is a large lurking danger.”
Since the young man was the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ head, he wanted to use this road to expand the amount of believers.
The young man’s heart acknowledged this viewpoint, “We are of different races and beliefs. It isn’t conductive to unity, and it is easy for these varied teachings to conflict with each other.”
“If our beliefs were either consistent or at least similar, then it would make the mercenary corps more united.”
With this opinion in mind, the young man allowed Guang Ke to preach.
The preaching didn’t amount to much.
Zong Ge snorted disdainfully at the Justice God: could the Justice God beat the War God?
Zi Di chuckled: compared to earning money, what was justice?
Cang Xu disguised himself, no normal person believed in the Great Lord Spectral Soul.
Lan Zao, Bai Ya, and Mu Ban were also firm believers. Because their convictions had been established in their formative years, those convictions had a significant influence on their lives.
Changing the faith of these people was like changing their system of values, such a thing was not easy to do.