The Record of Unusual Creatures - Chapter 686

Chapter 686: Mother Treated You Well, Yet You Lot Stabbed Her in the Back

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Hao Ren led his crew through the curtain of light and into the meeting hall. The first thing he saw was a bunch of eminent individuals with worried looks on their faces. There were generals, ministers, cardinals and even Uruk, the representative of the werewolf tribes. Basically, almost every single person he had met before was in the hall.

Lily looked at the broken table, which was surrounded by everyone. The atmosphere felt more like a memorial service than anything. “That table must have been expensive?” the husky asked, feeling rather bewildered.

Given how her thought process worked, Hao Ren and the rest could not even be bothered.

“You’re back?” It was literally a case of speaking of the devil as Ophra was just contemplating about looking for Becky before these bunch of outsiders popped out of nowhere. “That black…”

“Spaceship. That was the ‘spaceship’ I told you about before.” Hao Ren waved. “That’s a done deal. The ship is destroyed so you don’t have to worry about it coming back for revenge. The pilot has also been taken prisoner and is now captive in a very secure cell. Even if it was a god there’s no escape.”

A few ministers who understood the outsiders immediately let out a sigh of relief as they heard that. As if they had escaped apocalypse again. The moment the black spaceship escaped, everyone’s gut fell and the whole meeting prior revolved around whether the evil god would make a comeback. That left them in a lurch on what to say to calm the nerves or what to do to defend against it. Now that the threat of the evil god’s retaliation has been neutralised, everyone could finally calm down a little.

Ophra however noticed that things were not that simple from Hao Ren and Vivian’s looks. Frowning, she asked. “There’s trouble following?”

“Trouble from eons ago.” Hao Ren looked around as he noticed Cardinal Orben and a few other familar cardinals while the centre seat was empty, he immediately realised that the seat was probably the Pope’s. “I suppose the clerance of everyone here is high enough?”

Ophra was troubled. “You… What have you discovered?”

The first time Hao Ren appeared, he had brought news of the First Born, and disclosed the Disciple of Glory’s tenuous founding. Ophra remembered that like yesterday and her gut feeling told her that these group of outsiders were bringing more news regarding the Goddess. They had encountered a ‘evil god’ afterall.

“We have managed to get in touch with the lord of the black spaceship and found out a few new things.” Hao Ren looked at Cardinal Orben. “This has something to do with your faith… Don’t worry, it’s not heresy, but something even more profound. So I need your assurance that everyone present is reliable, and won’t let this secret slip. After I’m done, you can decide on what to do with the information, or to choose to trust me or not.”

Cardinal Orben nodded in understanding. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the guards and scribes.

Ophra noticed that Hao Ren’s serious demeanour mean that he is going to say was no laughing matter. This was also not the first time he had used some otherworldy powers to save her world. She trusted the outsiders. Sweeping through the remaining personel in the hall, she nodded softly. “This are all the core members of the kingdom; the generals, the ministers, cardinal’s and the king’s right hand. They are all trustworthy persons and their loyalty beyond doubt, but…”

Her gaze fell on Uruk and the latter immediately realised the gravity of things. “Oh, right. I’m an outlander too, I’ll make my exit then…”

“It’s okay.” Hao Ren shrugged. “This matter not only involves the Kingdom of Holetta but every living being on this planet.”

Cardinal Orben finally could sense danger from Hao Ren’s demeanour and he stood up. “I need your confirmation, that your announcement will or not shake the foundations of the Disciples of Glory. If this massively affects the religion, I hope that you will let us know first before announcing it to the rest.”

The cardinal has their own worries, and even if the Kingdom of Holetta had a unique symbiotic executive and religious structure where both the royalty and the church ruled the society. But on certain matters, they have their own domain of control.

Ophra gave the cardinal a disapproving glance but she did not say anything. The Marshal hated politics and religion, and for someone her age and experience, she had enough of such petty squabbles. Hao Ren, surprisingly waved the cardinal off. “No, this does not just affect your religion.”

He did not wish for one party to have a monopoly of the information only to gave it buried or manipulated.

“Right. So everyone take an oath.” Ophra did not give anyone else a chance to speak. She stood up and her sword drawn. “In the name of His Majesty, the Goddess and family, unless we have a two thirds majority, nothing said in this room is to be shared with anyone outside. Aside from His Majesty.”

This was the famous ‘Secret Council of Hodeceus’ recorded in history books in the future. Its special nature captured the imagination of the people; the persons involved were unusual, not only the military, the government or church was present, a werewolf cheiftain and a few outlanders were involved as well; the contents of the meeting was of the highest secrecy and it took about a hundred years for the royal court and the church to slowly disclose the matter to the world, and the revelation changed the entire planet’s culture and history. The people of later times used their imagination to wax lyrical of the scret council. Some of them depicted a solemn roundtable meeting in a scary underground hall. But in truth, Hao Ren and the group of officials were discussing the matter around a broken table.

“First thing first.” Hao Ren looked at Cardinal Orben solemnly. “The lord of the Black Spaceship was not a ‘evil god’. His real identity is a guardian. The guardian of the Goddess.

A furore immediately exploded in the room as Prince Hoffman clutched his chest. “…I should not have came here today…”

Vivian motioned towards the cardinals to calm down. “Don’t get so agitated yet. If I’m not wrong, your ancestors have a hand in the Goddess’ death. Yes, indirectly too. Alright, now you can get agitated.”

Hao Ren wondered if Vivian did that on purpose. She really had that side to her afterall!

The truth of what happened ten thousand years ago was complex and convoluted and there were many things that needed clarification before the locals could understand it. Hao Ren took a good while to explain things to them and the whole tale could be summarised as such:

The Goddess of Creation had created life in the universe and what happened inbetween is immaterial at the moment. Ten thousand years ago, a group of mortals who probably got too full of themselves with their technological advancement and their invincibility drove them to seek out godhood. So thus was their plan, to be a god, they need to kill a good. Through lies and deception, they managed to steal a part of the Goddess’ powers, and had managed to convince their ‘mortal brethrens’ that had a special link with the Goddess to their side. Everything was in place.

So in the dark of night, they commited matricide.

The brethrens that were convinced by the usurpers heard the Goddess’ cry for help, but as they were too yearning a piece of the divine powers, chose to collectively keep quiet.

At the end of this tragedy, the guardians who witnessed it decided that leaving the mortal races alive was a mistake and they had since been ‘correcting’ that ‘mistake’. And that was the truth of the apocalypse that befell many worlds.

But the Goddess, before her death had managed to order a few of her guaridans to activate the safety protocols of the Seed of Life. Her wish was to preserve her children, and that was the truth behind the slumber of the First Born on many planets.

“And… I’m done.” Two hours later, Hao Ren finally heaved a long breath as he pulled out a water bottle from his Dimensional Pocket. As he opened the bottle he looked at Cardinal Orben. “So it’s up to you on how you want to tell this to the masses.”

The silence in the hall was palpable. Throughout the two hours, only Hao Ren and his crew spoke, while the rest kept a stupified silence. It took a long while before a cardinal broke the awkward silence as he leapt up from his chair, his leap actually almost took him above a table. “Non..nonsense! This.. this is preposterous! Illogical! And…”

“And it does not fit your current historical narrative?” Hao Ren knew what the cardinal was going to say. “Actually it does fit. The brazenness of mortals angered the Goddess, leading to the Goddess condemning worlds in a sea of fire. This is in the creed of the Disciples of Glory. And the truth is not too far from that, just on a larger scale, and more extreme and… harder to swallow. I know it’s hard to believe that your Goddess is dead, and even harder to believe that she was killed by your own ancestors. But it’s the truth. I have no reason to lie to you. I could have just left you lot blind to the truth and leave, but I strongly believed that you have the right to know of your history and that’s why I opted to tell you this much.

The MDT who had kept silence for all these while suddenly popped up, summarising everything. “Mother had treated you well, and you lot stabbed her in the back. All the conflict and misery started from this.”

Chapter 687: The Clues Left Behind by the Pope

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

 

While the MDT’s mouth (if you could call it one) invited a punch everytime it spoke, it was undeniable that it could always wrap things up nicely. The blood curling scheme 10,000 years ago and the following apocalypse could be summed up in one word: Matricide.

The giant was probably not lying. But of course, even if was not lying, what he knew was probably not the whole truth as well. Nonetheless, that did not affect the clarity of events and there were no credible witnesses other than the guardian at this point. Hao Ren looked at scene as he found it to be an awkward yet tense atmosphere. Even though the room was silent, an invisible unrest was boiling within.

Before things exploded, Hao Ren stood up. “I know many of you can’t really believe what I just said, so if you need details, just ask. But if you want to verify the authenticity of my words, then forget about it. I’m just passing on what I know, it’s up to you to believe it or not.”

Cardinal Orben looked up, the runic tatoo on his face flickered, his voice calm. “You know what those these truth means?”

“The Goddess is dead. And for a religion, this is probably the fatal blow.” Hao Ren sighed. “I can imagine the other effects as well. Like the Cult of Origination was the true believer, the unpaid debt of sin, the creed of the church is heretical… Pffttt… If we were to go by facts alone, the heretics are in the right.”

The Cult of Origination’s beliefs were much closer to the truth than the Disciples of Glory. This was probably the biggest irony. As usual, Cardinal Orben’s expression was stiff, and it was difficult to tell what he was actually thinking. The stoic cardinal spoke, very slowly. “If the guardians were to return to exact retribution, what do we do?”

Lily rubbed her face. “Oh right. There’s this question as well… If following your creed, I guess you’ll probably need to surrender your heads.”

If one were to stick to the creed. the brain monster and the First Born were the guardians of the Goddess, playing a role much akin to the apostles in the sacred texts. And historically, their actions against the mortal races were justified retribution. Thus the clergy found themselves in a very difficult situation. Lily pondered for a bit before letting out a deep sigh. “Why does this look like some drawn out family drama…. despite how serious the thing is.”

“It was a family drama from the begining.” Hao Ren ruffled his hair before looking at the cardinal. “I’m an outlander, so I won’t say much about your creed. But I still need to state my opinion. While the ones that abandoned the Goddess was your ancestors, but their offsprings should not carry the burden of sin. And that sane guardian too had abandoned his retribution towards you lot no? I see that as some sort of forgiveness, how you want to take that I leave it up to you. But if any of those crazed brain monsaters or First Born were to return, don’t take them as a guardian anymore. They had lost their sanity long ago.”

“Cardinal Orben. Can we take this as the truth?” A cardinal sitted by the corner rose up to ask. He was still in disbelief of the news the outlander brought. His reaction was understandable and he was not alone. Everyone present would not so simply take Hao Ren’s words at face value and a few of the cardinals rose as well, to either question Hao Ren, or to state their views. But from their questions, Hao Ren knew that the seeds of doubt had been planted with in them.

Hao Ren managed to answer a few questions before Cardinal Orben motioned for the meaningless argument to cease. “Enough. This sort of argument is a waste of time. Outsiders, I believe that you do not need to lie to us. But I have a question. If as you said, the Goddess is dead. Then whose voice is it that our believers hears in our meditation?”

Hao Ren recoiled slightly. This question was bound to be asked!

After his conversation with the giant he did thought of this. The reason that the Disciples of Glory could spread across the world and become the dominant pillar of faith for all civilisations there was not because of their missionaries, but because they have real divine powers. The faithful could communicate with a higher being akin to the Goddess in their meditations, and they could obtain an inexplicable, almost supernatural powers from prayer and faith alone. Some of the higher clergies too had managed to obtain knowledge beyond this planet’s era, and the application of the knowledge made the Disciples of Glroy not only a religious organisation, it also became the world’s foremost industrial power. This sort of advancement is not something mere words and spells could conjure.

So if the Goddess is dead, where does this ‘gifts and blessings’ came from?

“The death of a real God is different from humans.” Hao Ren rubbed his chin as he tried his best to explain the death of a god. “A real god affects the rules and laws of the universe and their death is enough to affect the basic functioning laws of the universe. These ‘echoes’ that had responded to you is probably not the Goddess herself, but probably a shred of her powers, her will that remained after her death. That aside, since the founding of the Disciples of Glory, no one could hear her voice clearly right?”

As he said that he looked at Big Beardy. Whilst the rest might not understand it. This ascetic had met Raven12345 in person and he knew what is like when a real God responds to the prayers of a faithful… While.. while their methods may differ, the clarity is at least guaranteed.

Big Beardy nodded towards Cardinal Orben. The latter, seeing that even the most pious of ascetics was in agreement, demurred. “Perhaps so.”

“Can an unbeliever understand what it means to have faith in the Goddess?” A cardinal asked as he threw a still-suspicious look at Hao Ren. There was no ill-intentions, but a question someone who was in the clergy is bound to ask.

Hao Ren wanted to bring out the fact that he was a proper Pope himself to see who is actually the real clergy, but Raven12345 antics immediately flashed across his mind and he nipped the idea at its bud and stay silent…

He just could not bring himself to say “I too am a believer of a great Goddess” with a straight face. Not even the dogs would believe him.

But what was not expected was that Cardinal Orben actually spoke for him. “I believe that the information the outlanders had brought is reliable.”

A few cardinals immediately protested but Cardinal Orben waved them off with authority. “By the creed, in the event of the Pope’s martyrdom, I will take over as an interim. So the arguments of this matter stops here. I will explain the situation later. But before that, outlanders, can you follow me?”

Hao Ren did not know what business the cardinal had with him, but he knoew that based on the cardinal’s personality, he was not the type to look for someone for nothing. So he rose, “Alright, so, just me or all of us?”

Cardinal Orben looked at Hao Ren and his crew before nodding. “Come.”

Hao Ren and the rest left the hall with the cardinal, not knowing what to expect, leaving the generals, ministers and other cardinals looking at each other. After a veil of silence descended for a moment, Prince Hoffman turned towards Marshal Ophra. “So, do we continue?”

Ophra, looking totally exhausted, laid back on the chair as she waved him off. “Lets not talk about what was going on before, and see what we can do about the public announcement. This will take a good while doesn’t it…. I really regret smashing that table apart.”

Prince Hoffman was dumbfounded. “Ah?”

“I want to find a place to lie down.” Ophra messaged her temple. “Or you guys can continue while I look for a place to play dead.”

“Marshall, please be serious!”

At the same time, Hao Ren and the rest had left the hall with Cardinal Orben and were going along a dark path towards the inner sanctum of the floating fortress.

They came before a simple, dark room.

“This is…” Nangong Wuyue looked about before noticing the religious symbols of the Disciples of Glory hanging on the world. “A prayer room?”

“The Pope was here all these while mediating before his martyrdom.” Cardinal Orben nodded as he lead them into the room. Pointing towards the sacred portrait in the middle of the room. “He was facing the portrait meditating for a few hours.”

Hao Ren immediately realisedsomething. “What did he left behind?”

---

Chapter 688: There’s Still More to Investigate

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

 

If not for the Pope’s glorious martrydom, the fate of the civilisations in Holletta would have been very different.

Even though the giant that Hao Ren captured was still of sound mind, he still bore thoughts of annihilating Hollettan Civilisation. And at that point of time, the guardian was threading on a very fine line between mercy or destruction for the planet. The Pope’s sacrifice pushed the giant away from the brink, and allowed him to let go of the futile need for vengeance as well as retribution. The mention of such a great elder only evoked respect from Hao Ren.

The simple room was not decorated. There were only a few religious iconography and relics as well as some simple furniture. A simple table stacked with draft papers stood at the side of the room, while the unique, black and red sacred portrait was hung in the middle of the room. Aside from that there was nothing else. Cardinal Orben was the last person to visit the room before the Pope’s martyrdom, and based on the church’s doctrine, he was the person to take control of the papacy in the event of the Pope’s demise. He immediately went to gather up the Pope’s belongings after the latter was martyred.

“The Pope seems to have realised the Goddess’ will from the sacred portrait.” Cardinal Orben pointed to the oil painting in the middle of the room. “She warned us that no matter what happen, we must take stock ofd things as everything happens for a reason.”

He then took a piece of goatskin parchment on the table and handed it to Hao Ren. “This was the note that His Holiness left behind. No one have seen it yet, it’s meant for you.”

Hao Ren took the parchment almost reactively, and realised that the writing was still new and the smell of the ink of was still present. He asked out of curiousity. “You’re letting us see it before the other cardinals?”

“His Holiness had specifically instructed me on this.” Cardinal Orben spread his hand open, gesturing towards the note that he found when he came to sort out the late Pope’s belongings. “Under the Goddess’ grace, he had seen everything and he mentioned if the outlanders were to talk about an unholy plot of deicide, I am to pass this note to you. Iti s because the Her grace had already appeared upon you. Have a look, it is meant for all of you.”

Hao Ren was just about to read the note as he heard what Cardinal Orben had no say. He never thought that the Pope had left this behind before his martyrdom! Perhaps the old man had forsaw in the last moments of his life that the outlanders will find out the truth ten thousand years ago from the guardians? Or… there is a real goddess telling him that, and guided him to leave these behind?”

Regardless of what it is, Hao Ren now knew that this note was something special and an unknown sense of urgency was compelling him to read it post haste:

“Outlanders, by the time you read this letter, I have already answered Her call. It is regretful that I have to use such a way to tell you a few things. But time is not on my side, and pardon my methods.

Under the vision the Goddess have gave me, I saw your coming. The leader of the outlanders, Hao Ren. I could not describe what I saw then, as it was beyond the comprehension of mortals. I saw light, fire, stars and you in the middle and her blessing was coursing around you. This is a sign, her way to transmit her will. You are a chosen one, and you and your friends are closely intertwinned with Her. Even if time does not allow my the luxury to divulge everything, but I’m confident of my judgement, and if I am right, you will be finding out a truth.

The horrible truth, the inexcusable sin that our ancestors had committed ten thousand years ago. A sin so heinous its beyond description…”

The latter part of the note was about the deicide ten thousand years ago. No one know how the Pope had ‘learned’ the truth, and even that his description was vague and full of contradictions, but yet Hao Ren could see that what the Pope was trying to tell was the same story as what the giant had told him.

He had already knew this part of the story and after that he skimmed through the rest of the note before coming to the end of the note. The last few lines had him in a deep frown.

“The sins of the pass cannot be simply forgiven, like dawn always follows the darkest of nights, in disaster hope is born. In my lucid dreams I saw when her powers was separated during the heinous betrayal in the skies, she had turned into a form beyond mortal comprehension and is deep asleep somewhere in the universe. She had shown her guiding hands to let me understand the undying nature of Gods, and the betrayal of the Treacherous Children had only put her in deep slumber, true deicide was beyond them.

In all this time, the prayers of the Disciples of Glory had never fallen on deaf ears, we always fell that there was a great will that was protecting all life. This is her power, and thus we must believe, that she is not lost to us. Part of her is still hidden away somewhere.

If her miracles still dances across the land, her glory too will once again, return to this world.

Outlanders, I was inspired by her omen, and yet I know very clearly, that our world, our civilisation could scarely meet her expectations, but I saw in all of you, a path to realising this. Perhaps, in the sea of stars lies the answer to all. In her vision, you stood in the halo of stars, so I beg you, please listen to my final plea: Look for her, wake our Mother.

If this letter could reach you. Then it is indeed divine providence.”

Hao Ren’s expression was serious as he read the last of the note before Lily snatched it away. “Let me see! Let me see!”

Lily and Nangong Wuyue, alongside ‘the purely just to make up the numbers’ Rollie huddled on the table to read the note. From Hao Ren’s vision, only three different tails were tagging about Vivian looked on by the side for a while before poking Lily’s back with her nails. “So what’s in it?”

“Nothing really…” Lily wagged her tail. “What the Pope said was pretty much the same to what we guessed. It’s about the Goddess’s echo.”

“No, if it was just an echo he would not had taken such a trouble to write this.” Y’zaks said, his voice deep as he crossed his arms. Using his height, he peeked over the three lass and had finished reading the note without as much as turning his head. “Based on what’s on the note, the Pope had managed to connect with the Goddess with clarity during his meditation. He probably had managed to get in touch with the real thing… the slumbering Goddess herself.”

“You mean the Goddess is alive?” Lily’s eyes widen. “Not an echo, but really really… alive?!”

Vivian glanced at the husky as she pointed to the lines of the parchment. “Read properly, Doggie. Even the Pope had said it himself. ‘She had turned into a form beyond mortal comprehension and is deep asleep somewhere in the universe’ . If he could use the word ‘slumber’, means he had really seen the Goddess himself. Remember, nothing in the canon of the Disciples of Glory mention anything about the Goddess’s predicament.”

Lily did not even listened to what Vivian had to say. She was staring back fiercely. “I’m still reading!”

“….”

“Why does this husky does not think like how normal people do…” Hao Ren sighed as he facepalmed before he kept the parchment. “All in all, this needs to be taken seriously. No matter the Pope means the way Y’zaks think he means. We should look into where her whereabouts is.”

Hao Ren’s goal from the start was to look for the fallen Goddess’ whereabout and when he found out that the Goddess had fell ten thousand years ago he was actually considering to abandon the search. Yet when he saw the Pope’s writings, hope lit again with him. Real Gods are eternal!

He was rattled by the brutality of the Treacherous Children and had thought that the Goddess was so thoroughly destroyed that only a shred of her spirit was left. Now when he had the time to think things through, many question marks started popping up. Based on the giant’s story there was no ‘witness’ when she was ‘killed’, because the Goddess and the Star of Origin was sent into the ‘Dark Zone’ in the ensuing explosion. If the guardians that were caught in the explosion could not have survive that, those afar could technically only looked on, so no one had actually witness her death.

This meant that she could still be alive!

“A shame that his Holiness is dead.” Nangong Wudi sighed. “If not we could ask him what he saw in his meditation. I’m sure that what he saw was not that simple, but there’s plenty of things that cannot be described with just words alone.”

“I now do hope that all of the creed the Disciples of Glory follows are real.” Y’zaks sighed. “If that’s the case, the Pope’s spirit will return to the Goddess. To him, this is probably the biggest consolation. Such an admirable human, giving his life for his beliefs, that reminds me of an old friend..”

Cardinal Orben’s was expressionless as he made a religious gesture. “His Holiness’s spirit will definitely return to Her. Please do not doubt this.”

“Doubt or not,” Hao Ren nodded at the cardinal with a smile. “I have promised to look into this and we will continue investigating, until we find your Goddess and rouse her from her slumber – If she is just asleep that is.”

Lily blinked as she turned towards Hao Ren. “Is it because of a divine guidance?”

Hao Ren pursed his lips. “It’s the job manual’s guidance…”

---

Chapter 689: The Proposal of the Church

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

 

Hao Ren found Becky doing nothing at a military officer’s rest camp in the floating city of Hodeceus. She was not ranked high enough to participate in high-level meetings, so she hung around in the base. Taking advantage of her aristocratic and mercenary status, she was happy to enjoy the meals there. Becky was feasting happily at a table full of fine gourmet food and wine on her own when they found her.

Anyone who was left alone in such a way would have definitely felt depressed, but not this carefree mercenary maiden. Hao Ren suspected that she would have not even cared if she were sold as a slave, as long as there was good food and wine for her.

However, there was a caveat—she had to be the one counting the money. She liked counting money.

When Becky saw them coming, she cheerfully greeted them, as usual, in a loud voice. Hao Ren looked at the dinner table. “Good life you’ve got here! Are you planning to die from gorging?”

“All these are for you guys,” said Becky, clapping her hands and laughing. “But I couldn’t wait. So I first tasted two drumsticks, four cakes and two bottles of wine. Welcome, saviours for saving the world again!”

Lily looked at Becky, wide-eyed and impressed. “Your appetite has almost caught up with me. Good job!”

“I enjoy life when things are happening. I don’t care if it’s good things or bad things, because ignorance is a bliss… after a good fight today and smelling blood, the habits of mercenary came back out again,” Becky waved her hand. “Enjoy food while you can, because you don’t know what’s gonna happen tomorrow.”

Y’lisabet gently pulled Hao Ren’s sleeve. “Uncle Ren, what’s the phrase after ‘I don’t care if it’s good things or bad things’?”

Hao Ren face deadpan. “Don’t learn from her. She is an ignorant fool.”

Ignorance notwithstanding, Becky’s attitude towards life was an inviable one. Ren could not help thinking that if the world was going to end today, Becky could probably the only one die a happy ghost—or die from gorging.

“What ignorant fool?” Becky had overheard them. “Little girl, let me teach you how to smash a stone block on the chest later. I’ve got skill… Okay, okay, okay, I’m just kidding. Come and eat. Look at you people, looks travel-worn and weary. You all going somewhere?”

Only then Hao Ren realised he was hungry, he had been working non-stop, exerting high-intensity physical work for most of the day. He had not eaten anything yet. Much so, for Lily who was next to him. Her mind wandering when she smelt the food. Squatting at the table and snatching up food like a starving dog, she could swallow a whole drumstick in the blink of an eye—together with the bone.

“We’re leaving soon,” Hao Ren sat down beside Becky, helping himself on the food. “A lot of things have happened. I have write a report. Take it slow, Lily. No one is taking your food… at least you got to spit out the bones, don’t you?”

“Yeah?” Lily looked up, half of a bone still hanging out of her mouth. She chewed it before swallowing everything down. “What?”

“… Forget it. Do as you please.” Hao Ren smiled and shook his head. He placed Lil Pea on the table, gave her a few pieces of wood chips, and chatted with Becky about life in Holletta while eating. The carefree mercenary maiden had not changed; she was extremely slow on the uptake when it had nothing to do with money. She did not even feel the change of atmosphere in the floating city. Even if when she heard about the pope’s martyrdom, she just sighed in silence. “Oh… I can’t believe it…”

Her mind just did not work on higher consciousness or situation analysis.

Chatting with Becky seemed to bring back the fond memory of old times. This amazing maiden did not changed much no matter where she went. She was thought to be adaptable, but now it seemed that she was simply too dumb to change. Nangong Wuyue could not help but sigh. “Sometimes I really envy you. Anyone possesses the same attitude towards life would be a lot happier, Mr. Landlord will not be worrying about all these things all day long.”

“Is this a compliment?” Becky burped, patting her belly. “Thank you for that. Life should be simple. If you can solve your problem, then what is the need of worrying? If you cannot solve it, then what is the use of worrying? This is what the Goddess taught me. Oh, I mean your Goddess.”

Becky did some stretching before continuing. “I feel at ease talking to you guys. Entertaining the bunch of mumpsimuses at the functions has been such a stress, especially when the housekeeper is squally…”

Hao Ren forced a smile. Apparently, working in Becky’s mansion was no fun at all.

While Becky grumbled unabashedly, a voice suddenly spoke from behind them. “You need to get used to the life of nobility. At least try to understand your housekeeper, he can’t really let you go to the pub and fight with the gangs, tarnishing the good name of the legendary mercenary.”

Becky turned her head around, her muscle stiffened as she got to her feet. “Marshal … Marshal Ophra! You… you are here!? Have you eaten yet? Do you want some drink? You have any instructions for me? Have some ale, or pastry? What about a massage…”

Ophra waved her hand. “No thanks. I’m not ready to eat your stuff yet; God knows what you’ve added inside again.”

Marshal Ophra’s words reminded Hao Ren about Becky’s attempt to drug her idol surreptitiously earlier. He pasted a smile on his face and whispered to Becky. “You’ve got busted?”

With demon-hunter bloodline in her, Ophra had a good hearing ability that was sharper then Lily’s. She overheard what Hao Ren had said. She laughed. “How could she not blow it when she was doing it so obviously? The tea she made looked like a sludge…”

Everyone looked at Becky, wide-eyed. Becky blushed but still tried to explain. “I was too nervous at that time and poured everything inside.”

Lily asked, “And then what?” her face full of anticipation.

“Then?” Marshal Ophra smiled and scratched her chin. “You know I’m drug-resistant anyway. So I took it. It was kind of chewy.”

Hao Ren’s jaw almost dropped to the ground. Chewing knockout drops was eye-popping enough but making tea-knockout-drops chewy was unprecedented.

Lily looked at the idol and the braindead fan combo, suggesting seriously, “I think you both would make a perfect lesbian couple.”

Nangong Wuyue poked Hao Ren with her tail-tip, and her voice was almost a whisper. “Would it be all right to discuss this topic here? It sounds like an age-restricted topic…”

“Oh yeah,” said Ophra as a thought suddenly came to mind. She looked at Hao Ren. “I came here to ask you something.”

Hao Ren had noticed Ophra’s tense expression. He could not help but got anxious as well. “What happened?”

“You all … or more strictly speaking, you, would you like to try to obtain the blessing of the church like the believers of the Disciples of Glory, and listen to the voice of the Goddess?”

Hao Ren was stunned. He did not expect Ophra would mention this suddenly. He only shook his head after a few seconds. “Do you mean let me become one of them? This is absurd. I have no problem with your faith, but I am attached to another organisation.”

“Perhaps I should put it another way,” said Ophra, seriously looking into Hao Ren’s eyes. “I’m not saying you’re to join the church but just trying out the Branding Ritual.”

“Branding?” Hao Ren froze. He then remembered that this was exactly the ritual that new official clergymen of the Disciples of Glory needed to go through. It was a lifeblood injection and spiritual shaping process, which would let them resonate with the power of the Goddess somewhere in the universe. It was said that the priests after the ritual would be able to communicate with the Goddess. But he did not know why Ophra suddenly told him this. “Why are you telling me this? Is it because we have helped solve your problems, the church decided to ‘reward’ me this way? If so then thanks, but no thanks.”

“I will let the master speak to you,” said Ophra, raising her finger pointing to the back of the crowd.

Hao Ren saw Big Beardy was walking up from behind.

---

Chapter 690: Trying Out the Branding

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

 

Big Beardy just emerged from the high-level monk conference, but he was still in his humble rags and canvas shoes. Like an old man just getting out of a refugee camp, he looked nothing like a senior ascetic who was equally ranked as the bishop. In fact, Hao Ren had no clue about the ascetics’ ranking in the church at first. He only learned later that these ascetics were highly regarded in the church. Not only did report directly to the pope, they were also qualified for top decision-making in matters pertaining to the church if necessary. It was all due to their unquestionable loyalty to the goddess. They were also the best adapted to the goddess’ decree, and had strongest spiritual resonance with the goddess. The devout ascetics were considered to be the guards of the goddess, so Big Beardy was allowed to participate in bishop-level meetings.

However Becky did not have much grasp of this concept. Her impression of Big Beardy consisted of him being an approachable gentleman and her former housemate. She got up to her feet and greeted him, “Hi Uncle, just after the meeting? Do you want to eat something?”

Bug Beardy smiled and nodded to Becky, thanked her and gently declined her invitation. He then looked at Hao Ren and Ophra. “Have you guys talked over it?”

“You mean the Branding Ritual?” Hao Ren’s brows knit together. “Why would the church want to do that?”

“Of course there are some religious considerations,” Big Beardy nodded, he was emotionless. “Whether it’s the handwritten order left by the pope or your actions in several incidents, it’s hard not to associate you people with the will of the goddess. The high-ranking bishops think that there’s a meaning for the coming of foreigners to this world. Although you are not believer, the goddess’ guidance has brought you here… so the bishops hope that some of you could accept the Branding Ritual.”

Hao Ren looked into Big Beardy’s eyes. “What do you think?”

“You can try. Establishing a connection with the goddess is definitely the way if you want to find out things about her. But to tell the truth, I don’t know how effective it is… The connection between the goddess and us is not just in the blood, it also calls for piety and faith. Only people who really worship the goddess in the heart can hear her teachings. And you…” Big Beardy looked at Hao Ren with a forced smile. “I always feel that you don’t even believe in your own god.”

Hao Ren must be out of his mind if he were to worship the lunatic Goddess. He kept a stiff upper lip while smiling and waving his hand. “I understand that. To be honest, I’m also very interested in your Branding Ritual. In fact, when I last came, I had wanted to try it but was thinking that this was a formal cleric ritual, it would probably not open to outsider. So I didn’t ask.”

Ophra was surprised. “You mean you agree?”

“Wait a minute. I need to get consent from the top,” Hao Ren waved his hand. “I’m still attached to other organisation… you know?”

Though at this crucial moment, he still remembered he was a ‘Pope’ albeit appellatively, he obviously was unaware that what he was going to partake was a solemn ceremony for the believers. A spokesperson of a god was going to establish a connection with another god through a religious ritual was enough to freak the ordinary believers out. Yet, he was naive enough to want to discuss with his God…

Ophra was constrained by her knowledge of her own world. She did not anticipate Hao Ren to have agreed so quickly. She looked at Hao Ren, wide-eyed, as if he was some kind of rare creature. Then she asked Big Beardy, “…Is it really possible to discuss this thing with his own god?”

Big Beardy did not really know how to answer that question. But he tried to make it sounding serious. “…it’s acceptable to his god.”

At this time, Hao Ren had let the MDT contact Raven 12345. Her groggy voice sounded in his head. “Hao Ren? What the heck are you doing?”

“Haven’t you woke up yet at this hour?”

“You’re kidding me! You must have gone to overseas, aren’t you? Do you know there is something called Time Zone?” Raven 12345’s voice still sounded so cordial. “Get straight to the point. Why are you calling?”

Hao Ren looked nervous on his face. “I am planning to experience the conversion ritual to some other god.”

“Flop—”

Hao Ren heard an indiscernible voice at the other end, before Raven 12345’s shouting voice reverberated in his mind. “What the heck? Did I not treat you well so that you want to job-hop so quickly? Are you competing with your own daughter?”

Hao Ren quickly realized there was a problem with his statement. He quickly cleared up the misunderstanding.

“I was thinking ‘What?’” said Raven 12345, letting out a sigh of relief. “You’re not jumping ship, are you? It’s nothing more than goddamn radio test. All right, go ahead.”

The Goddess was still babbling, not knowing she was still on the line. “That almost scared me. I’ve never seen any popes quit in the hundreds of millions of years of history of the three great celestials. This one called up and told me he wanted to quit? I almost thought that I would I would be hung out to dry again… Oh, f**k, it’s still online?”

Then the spiritual connection ended abruptly.

Lily looked curiously at Hao Ren, whose face changed colours every other second. “Did the Goddess give you her blessing, Mr. Landlord?”

Hao Ren turned his head, forcing a smile. “I tell you what, I could never believe in her in my life…”

Lily: “?”

After a short preparation, Hao Ren and Big Beardy arrived at a monastery in the floating city. The design of this aerial fortress was entirely in accordance with military arrangement. It had not only military barracks and academy but also church facilities such as monasteries. Although they were small, they were sufficient for most daily usage.

Hao Ren had no particular excitement about the Branding Ritual—perhaps it was a sacred and glorious blessing ceremony to the Hollettans and a performance of the Goddess to bring her own grace to the mortal. But to Hao Ren, it was just another experiment indistinguishable from what he had conducted in the spacecraft’s laboratory. In fact, even without the help of Big Beardy, he had also intended to try ‘inoculating’ the lifeblood on board the spacecraft to see what he could hear.

He had the lifeblood sample, professional books of the Disciples of Glory, and comprehensive medical equipment. Even if there was a slight rejection, he was not worried.

But of course, now it was even better. There were professional religious figures; the success rate should be much higher.

“Why you seem not nervous at all?” Ophra came up, puzzled by how calm Hao Ren was. “As if there is no hesitation and conflict… I mean, aren’t you following another God? I heard about your world from the Master.”

Watching Big Beardy preparing the incense and lifeblood container not far away, Hao Ren said, “It’s no big deal. In our world, every child receives no less than a dozen jabs of vaccination since born.”

Ophra was wide-eyed. “Your world has such a passion for religion?”

Speaking about cultural difference.

Hao Ren looked around. Other than his friends, the only followers of the Disciples of Glory were Big Beardy and Cardinal Orben, which was somewhat weird to him. He asked, “Isn’t this ritual involving many people and scripture chanting and all that… why it looks so casual here?”

“Do you want to convert?” said Big Beardy, smiling. “Things like scripture chanting are on the one hand to subconsciously strengthen the spiritual connection between believers and the Goddess, and on the other hand, they are admonitions for the new converts. But since you just want to test the lifeblood connection, those parts are unnecessary. And to be honest… I don’t think by just reading you some prayers will make you change your belief.”

Y’lisabet said, “This sounds like words not coming from a fanatic.”

“We are devout believers, but the Goddess forbids us from becoming fanatics,” said Cardinal Orben with a deadpan face. It was not required of the interim pope to come to such a ceremony, but this time is was a special case; it was the first time a pagan receiving Branding Ritual since the founding of the Disciples of Glory. Because of many considerations, including that he was the person giving the approval for the ritual, he felt he had to supervise the event himself. “The Goddess teaches us to be alert to extremist ideology, which must be rejected. God’s love should be spread to the world, not bluntly but in a gentle manner.

“Well, I like what you say,” Y’lisabet hugged herself, and nodded like an adult. “Humans in our world believe in a myriad of bright gods, and gods of creations and all that. One is more fanatic than the other as if they are afraid that people don’t know their god is the most powerful… that’s diffident.”

Big Beardy ignited the incense, which had a mental-strengthening effect. He held the strange vessel containing lifeblood and came up to Hao Ren. “Are you ready to listen to the voice of the Goddess?”

“Let it come. I wish she could tell me something.”