The Death of Rebidia! The Dragon Soyer Killed!

"A prophet?" Dante frowned.

"Prophet Rebidia," Sam said devoutly, "Shepherd of the gods, merciful teacher, one who has devoted himself to the sublime truth... I have sworn to live out the ways of prophetic wisdom for the rest of my life..."

Ailin, who was on Dante's back, raised an eyebrow.

He knew about Rebidia.

In his memory, Rebidia was originally just an ordinary shepherd.

Like the sages of the Spring and Autumn Period in his previous life, he traveled far and wide, spreading his philosophy and wisdom about life. He gradually became famous and was revered as a "prophet," gaining a group of followers.

His wisdom was compiled into the Prophet Rebidia's Wisdom Collection (also known as the Holy Book) and has been preserved to this day.

His ending is also quite intriguing.

Because a village had been plundered by a dragon, the farmers sought help from Rebidia when they heard of his arrival.

He actually agreed to the farmer's request to drive away the dragon, and then, as a mortal, he was naturally burned and swallowed by the dragon.

Rebidia died around 1150, which is several decades ago. Ailin doesn't remember the exact time, as he only glanced at it out of curiosity at the time.

His ending should actually be that of a fool who overestimated his abilities and ended up reaping what he sowed.

However, for some reason, after his death, he was regarded as a saint and continued to be worshipped.

It should only be circulating among commoners now, but a century later, it has followers in Toussaint, Novigrad, Covir, and Poviss, among both commoners and nobles.

For example, in the original work, Covir and Poviss, and Queen Zelica, known for her wisdom, regarded the Holy Book as the ultimate guide.

At its peak, the influence of the Rebidia Cult was no less than that of the Meritellie Cult, and perhaps even greater.

Perhaps it's because Rebidia's words truly contain profound wisdom, or perhaps it's because Rebidia himself, like all founders of orthodox religions, was concerned with the common people and was almost flawless.

But what's truly terrifying upon closer examination is...

The village where Rebidia was killed by the dragon is located near Ban Ade, which inevitably leads to some conspiracy theories.

"It seems you already knew..." Sam paused, noticing Dante's lack of surprise, and continued, "You really didn't come here for healing..."

"How did you figure that out?" Ailin peeked out from behind Dante.

Sam wasn't surprised by Ailin's "sudden awakening," but he didn't expect that between Master Dante and this child named Fred, the dominant figure seemed to be not the adult, but the child in front of him.

"This is Drakkenberg, the closest place to hell in the world. Nobody comes here to heal. I've been here for almost ten years and haven't seen a single case."

"More obviously, although Master Dante tried his best to appear very anxious, if it were truly a close relative who was seriously injured..."

Sam paused, lowered his head slightly, and added expressionlessly, "Not so calm."

Drakkenberg's corner was quiet for a few seconds.

"I get it," Ailin thought. "Dante's acting was terrible; he was exposed as soon as he crossed the suspension bridge."

"Take your apprentices and leave quickly, Master Dante," Sam urged again. "Lord Evans has summoned Carlo, Wyatt, and Milo. They are Drakkenberg experts in dealing with those highly skilled non-human swordsmen, archers, and sorcerers."

"I even witnessed a self-proclaimed expert from the Aion Siddi clan die at their hands..."

"At that time, Wyatt carried a large, magical shield in front of them, and the elven sage's spells, which shook the city walls and ruptured eardrums, were easily blocked. Then Milo led his heavily armored cavalry, utterly destroying the elven formation like tearing a piece of paper..."

"But the one who finally understood didn't die under the iron cavalry; instead, his head was inexplicably taken by Carlo..."

"Lord Evans himself is a powerful swordsman with exceptional swordsmanship. There is also a male wizard from the Rissberg Civil Conglomerate in his room. He was very excited to hear of your arrival..."

Sam described the bottomless "cliff" in front of them, word by word, as clearly as he could.

Dante and Ailin frowned as he had hoped.

After a while, Sam finished speaking, slightly out of breath.

He must have thought about these words all the way here.

"If we really listen to you and leave now, do you know what punishment you will suffer?" Ailin suddenly asked.

Sam paused for a second, then said softly:

"The prophet said that everyone has their own responsibility on the road to eternity."

"The prophet also said, 'Good deeds will surely yield good results, otherwise evil will pervade the world, and an age of contempt will surely come. At that time, leaves will fall, buds will wither, fruits will rot, seeds will be bitter, and the clear waters of the valleys will turn to solid ice...'"

He paused, then said seriously:

"I cannot find the path to truth for mankind like a prophet, but I can follow in the footsteps of a prophet."

"Compared to betraying one's own conscience, sacrifice is not something that is hard to accept."

Dante and Ailin remained silent for a few more seconds.

"I apologize for my previous doubts about you..." Ailin said.

Whether it's for faith or to repay a debt of gratitude, Sam, though just a jailer in this vast prison, deserves everyone's respect.

"Me too," Dante said.

"I've hesitated too, and I'm not a good person either, there aren't any good people in the whole Drakkenberg," Sam shook his head, then quickly said, "So come with me, Evans will start to get suspicious in a little while."

Dante glanced at Ailin, Ailin gently shook his head.

"No need, Sam," Ailin said. "Please continue leading the way..."

"Didn't you hear what I said?" Sam frowned and glared at Ailin, interrupting, "Kids shouldn't cause trouble!"

Then he looked at Dante: "Master Dante, there's a bottomless abyss ahead, we can't go!"

Having not been questioned or reprimanded in a long time, Ailin was stunned.

Seeing this, Dante chuckled, "What Ailin says goes, so does I..."

Upon hearing this, Sam became so anxious that he wanted to persuade him again.

Dante patted him on the shoulder and said seriously, "No need to persuade me, Sam. You have things you feel you must do, even at the cost of your life. I also have things I must do."

"My apprentice has been kidnapped by Evans, and I'm going to rescue him. I also have a score to settle with those people you're talking about."

"But thank you for your help, Sam."

"If Rebidia knew he had a follower like you, he would laugh heartily, drink a few more cups of wine, and then dance the shepherd's joyful dance around the campfire..."

"Master Dante, you..." Sam was stunned when he understood the meaning behind the words.

"Yes, I know Rebidia, Sam. There's always this advantage to living long enough to witness those around you unknowingly become legends..."

Master Dante paused for a moment:

"Of course, this isn't necessarily a good thing..."

"Once we rescue my apprentice, I will tell you the story of Rebidia in detail. He is a very interesting person, interesting in every way. But for now, please continue to guide us."

Sam opened his mouth, but under Dante's sincere gaze, he could only sigh in the end and continue leading the way.

When he doesn't want others to dissuade him from risking his life to do the right thing, how can he then persuade others to cherish their lives?

On the path to eternity, everyone bears their own responsibility.

only...

It's likely that we'll rarely hear the stories of prophets again.

After returning to the main road, there were noticeably more guards along the roadside than before, all eyeing the prison's only outcast with predatory intent.

Sam is right. It's too late to turn back now.

"Master Dante, do you really know Rebidia?" Ailin asked Dante curiously in his mind with his eyes closed.

"Of course, Rebidia was Devon's shepherd, and also Kedwen," Dante said. "Back then, he often acted on behalf of the villagers in the surrounding villages, commissioning witchers to do their bidding..."

"Besides me, the Chief, Vesemir, Aristo, White ... all the Witcher Master of the School of the Wolf knew him... um... the other Witcher Master besides you, you weren't even born yet back then..."

Dante told a rather lame joke, so Ailin didn't laugh.

"Is his collection of wisdom real? Or did he make it up himself?"

"That's right..."

Dante paused for a moment, then pretended to be seriously injured and exhausted, thus evading the third patrol team that passed by in a short time.

These guards were clearly more elite than those near the city gates.

He was fully armored, and his crudely made spear had been replaced with a sword.

He exuded a fierce and bloodthirsty aura, looking menacing, clearly someone who had seen a lot of blood.

As they passed by, the badges on the chests of the two witchers hummed faintly, as if warning them.

After the guards passed by, Dante continued:

"That... that collection of wisdom is indeed the wisdom of Rebidia, and of course he has followers. However, unlike what is generally known, or rather, unlike the records in the chronicles, although Rebidia was born a shepherd, the one who bestowed upon it wisdom was not a shepherd, but a sorcerer..."

"What?!!"

"That's right," Dante nodded slightly. "It's impossible for a person to know things they've never seen before. Rebidia was actually a sorcerer. His knowledge and wisdom came from the library of Ben Ade after he awakened his magic."

"Among his followers, there are many male wizards, Sorceress, knights, nobles, witchers... Rebidia's followers are a very complex group."

"There are also School of the Wolf ..." Ailin said in astonishment.

"Of course, fifty or sixty years ago, when monsters still roamed the land, without witchers to accompany them, how could those few Sorcerer Apprentice and Sorceress apprentices have traveled the world?" Dante chuckled softly, as if thinking of something. "You may not know, but your vice-captain Aristo is a follower of Rebidia..."

"Of course, Aristo himself, who is stubborn as a mule, has never admitted it."

"'You've gathered too many people; you'll attract monsters!' 'Witcher services are all paid!'... These are all Aristo's exact words..."

"You're also a follower of Rebidia, aren't you?" Ailin grasped the key point from Dante's words.

Dante paused for a few seconds, then shook his head. "I'm not a follower of Rebidia..."

"Then why do you know so much?"

Dante did not answer immediately.

As the group drew closer to the two towers, the patrolling soldiers became increasingly numerous.

These elite soldiers made no attempt to conceal the intense desire to attack in their eyes, staring intently at them as if they couldn't wait to test the witchers' skills.

Dante, of course, didn't respond. He simply pretended to be dizzy and unable to pay attention, and continued walking with Sam.

"Just as you were Vesemir's traveling apprentice, Aristo was my traveling mentor back then." Dante thought to himself as he dodged another soldier.

"No wonder..." Ailin thought to himself. Although he didn't know that Dante and Aristo had a master-disciple relationship, if Dante hadn't exposed himself at this moment, he would have always thought that his hot-tempered vice-captain was much younger than the conservative Dante.

But then again...

"Why doesn't anyone know that Rebidia is a male wizard? And what kind of dragon was that that killed Rebidia? How could so many of you not kill it? Why didn't you call for Chieftain Soyer?"

Ailin was indeed very interested in Rebidia, the man who, despite being a mortal, founded a religion that swept across most of the Witcher world from north to south, and asked him a series of questions.

Dante remained silent for a long time.

Several groups of guards passed by, even reaching the foot of the nearest tower, before he finally sighed softly and said:

"Where do you think the dragon head on the bronze door of the conference hall came from?"

"Huh?" Ailin opened his eyes in surprise. When he saw that they had approached another tower that looked like their destination, he glanced at the red mark on the ground and then closed his eyes again.

Before Ailin could ask, Dante sighed and began to explain in his mind, his tone respectful and regretful:

"Rebidia, he was a genius who was ostracized by Ben Ade and sacrificed by Hen Gedimidis. No, it wasn't that Ben Ade and Hen Gedimidis abandoned him..."

"It's not that he disdains the Conclave of Sorcerers, those organizations that spout lofty slogans about the overall development of humanity, yet secretly conduct all sorts of experiments that disregard the lives of ordinary people, even directly testing spells with human lives..."

"Rebidia shares the same lofty ideals as our School of the Wolf ... no... even loftier than ours..."

"Therefore, when he was destroyed, it was exceptionally swift and silent."

Ailin was taken aback by what he heard, and couldn't help but ask:

What lofty ideals did he have?

"And... isn't the ' The Prophet Rebidia's Wisdom Collection' still circulating?"

"Rebidia still has quite a few followers, so why do you say 'quietly'?"

Dante did not answer because Sam, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped.

"Master Dante, we..."

"It seems we've arrived..."