Deep Pockets!

On the way to the camp, the priest of the Goddess of Wealth kept an eye on the place.

Those who worship the Lady of Wealth possess keen insight, especially in grasping wealth and business opportunities. Little is known about the Lady of Wealth, Sauron, because she is a very low-key deity. Even the replacement of the previous Lady of Wealth by a new one didn't become known until centuries later. This was because the Lady of Wealth's divine power was elevated from weak to medium, and her original divine duties were reassigned.

The Lady of Fortune in the past was the ' God of Trade and Wealth,' while the Lady of Fortune today is the ' God of Wealth and Trade.'

A change of position means that the Divine Power she possesses has been multiplied several times over!

The Lady of Fortune, whose core Portfolio was [Trade], experienced considerable fluctuations in Divine Power. Whenever war disrupted Trade, her power would be affected, as Trade was essentially impossible in such circumstances, thus hindering her ability to increase her divine Divine Power. However, as [wealth] became her core Portfolio, her Divine Power gradually stabilized. Furthermore, because the Temple of Wealth became similar to a bank, she maintained strong Divine Power almost constantly, and even extended her influence to [protect] the realm of money.

Wealth, Trade, money, and protection!

This newly appointed Lady of Fortune was only discovered by others at this point; she had already replaced the former Goddess of Wealth!

From that day forward.

The Temple of Wealth quickly rose to become a first-rate power on the continent, occupying an important position in the power struggle among the various Church of Gods.

When Soren first heard about this knowledge, he was quite surprised!

He never imagined that simply changing the position of Portfolio could produce such a drastic change, propelling a Deity who was already on the verge of decline to near- Greater Divinity. If it weren't for the Lady of Fortune's still strong control over Trade, and the fact that the underdeveloped Trade on the continent affected her Divine Power, she might very well have become the first deity in hundreds of years to reach the Deity of [Greater Divinity].

Rows of neat brick and tile houses.

Straight drainage ditches.

The streets are lined with simply laid-out shops, taverns, and Blacksmith, as well as specially built public toilets. Unlike other towns, there is no dirt or chaos here, and you can hardly see any trash on the roads.

Everything here is so clean and tidy that others even assume Soren has a slight obsession with cleanliness!

"You truly surprise me!"

The Lady of Fortune pastor, adorned with jewels, surveyed her surroundings, a thoughtful expression on her face. She slowly said, "This place is filled with vitality and energy; it's the aura of wealth gathering here."

Such a town.

As long as there is a stable Order, it will quickly attract many merchants.

Overseas Trade is now in Soren's hands. The Port Tyler and the town currently under construction are two key points, effectively cutting off the forward and backward routes of overseas trade. If Soren were to loosen the restrictions even slightly, he could attract a large number of adventurous merchants. And Trade is exactly what the Lady of Fortune needs. It can expand her faith and strengthen her power. The decline of the City of Wealth has temporarily affected Trade, and the chaos that occurred earlier cannot be recovered from in a short time.

That's why she came here!

"Please!"

Soren raised his hand in an inviting gesture, then turned and entered the hall.

Just as Lady of Fortune's priestess sat down, Goria, dressed in a black Witch Robe, appeared in the hall. She glanced at Soren briefly, then nodded slightly.

"Your Witch!"

The pastor of Lady of Fortune stood up and bowed slightly to Goria in respect. As a representative of the Church of Fortune, she was well aware of Goria's identity and status, as well as her influence within the Witches' Council. She even knew that Goria had been promoted and rewarded by the Witches' Council for touching upon the domain of the Legendary Witch.

Goria smiled and nodded in response, extending her hand in an inviting gesture, just as she would the hostess.

She smiled and said, "Welcome, messenger of Lady of Fortune. Your presence makes this place truly special."

Everyone took their seats.

The pastor of Lady of Fortune glanced at the others, stood up, and smiled, saying, "Just call me Kim. In fact, I'm here to show Lady of Fortune's goodwill."

gold?

A very strange single-syllable name.

The priest named 'Jin' walked to the center of the hall and slowly said, "It seems you intend to develop this place into a city. I must admit your vision is quite remarkable! However, developing such a remote Overseas Islands requires considerable manpower and financial resources. As far as I know, although you have a close relationship with the Temple of the Sea, they have not provided any assistance. On the contrary, a large portion of your Trade from the Overseas Islands has to be handed over to them."

Adorned in jewels, Jin smiled confidently, her exquisite face radiating self-assurance. She produced a card shimmering with golden light and solemnly declared, "This is a Divine Gold Card of the Temple of Wealth. With this, you can withdraw 100,000 Gold Daler from any Temple of Wealth on the continent at any time!"

She handed the gold card to Soren, smiling confidently, and said, "This is merely a small gift we would give you upon meeting me."

Please don't refuse!

"This gift is not part of our upcoming transaction. Regardless of whether we can cooperate, this gift merely represents our goodwill and expresses our gratitude for your revision of the South Coast rules, which has restored normal Order to Trade!"

100,000 Gold Daler!!!

This time, not only Soren, but even Goria next to him looked surprised.

Soren, with his experience, had met many wealthy and powerful people, including those from the court, Royal Family Gods, and the Church. But this was the first time he had ever seen someone so easily give away 100,000 Gold Daler upon meeting someone!

The Church of Fortune is indeed incredibly wealthy!

When these 100,000 Gold Daler rained down, even Soren's breathing became a little heavier, before he smiled and reached out to catch them.

Why not take it if it's free?

He could never have too much money, and since she had already said it was free, Soren naturally accepted it first.

Seeing that Soren had accepted the Divine Gold Card, the Lady of Fortune Priestess's lips curled into a satisfied smile. At the same time, her expression grew increasingly smug.

That's how confident the Church of Fortune is!

No one can so firmly refuse money when it comes to their schemes.

Jin raised her finger and twirled the Ruby ring on her index finger, then gave a glance to a servant beside her. Immediately, someone handed Soren a document. She said confidently, "The Church of Fortune possesses the most powerful force on the South Coast! We can fully cover the financial resources you require for development here! Furthermore, the Church of Fortune controls the largest and most abundant mineral resources on the South Coast. We have a very rich supply of Slave, which can replenish your manpower at any time!"

"Compared to the Temple of the Sea, which only extracts profit from you, we can offer you much more!"

"As for what we need..."

"Simply open this city to us, grant us the freedom to Trade overseas, and then establish Temple of Wealth here so that we may develop followers for the goddess."

Jin looked at Soren with a smug satisfaction, confident that her generous offer would convince him to agree.

However, to her utter surprise, after glancing at the document, Soren said firmly, "I'm sorry! I'm afraid I cannot agree to the conditions here!"

The conditions are actually quite good.

The Church of Fortune provided Soren with funds, manpower, and resources, in exchange for simply granting them permission to establish cities, permits for free Trade in their Overseas Islands, and the opportunity to develop their faith and build temples. For Soren, whose temples were still in their infancy, receiving support from the Temple of Wealth would undoubtedly accelerate the construction process significantly. However, this also posed considerable risks for him.

Because of the Church of the Sea!

Furthermore, upon hearing the conditions, Goria remained outwardly calm while secretly Telepathy with Soren telepathically, saying, "We cannot agree! The camp is connected to the Shadow Plane. We cannot let other forces know of the Wizard Tower's existence!"

Yes.

Upon hearing Goria's words, Soren immediately snapped out of his daze.

The value of that Wizard Tower is immeasurable. It must never be known to other forces, so no matter how good the conditions offered by the Temple of Wealth are, he cannot agree to them.

The city's licensing authority must be firmly in its own hands; granting it the right to build temples would interfere with Soren's influence.

Moreover, he relies on the Church of the Sea for everything. The Church of the Sea's temple hasn't even been moved in yet, and he's already letting the Lady of Fortune's temple in first. Given the Goddess of the Sea's petty temper, she might come after Soren if she finds out.

Kim's face was full of astonishment; she had never expected Soren to refuse so firmly.

Soren didn't want to create too much of a rift with the Church of Fortune, especially since they had just given him 100,000 Gold Daler. So, after a moment's thought, he slowly said, "However, as a gesture of goodwill, I'm willing to grant the Temple of Wealth some permission for free Trade. As for other matters, I'm afraid I'll have to ask the Temple of the Sea for their opinion first!"

Temple of the Sea.

Jin frowned upon hearing this. She had come here because she knew that the Temple of the Sea's influence over Soren was far less than it seemed. If she were to inquire about the Temple of the Sea's plans, it would be virtually impossible for them to agree, as the Temple of the Sea also needed followers. This place was still underdeveloped; once it became something like Port Tyler, the Temple of the Sea would immediately send priests to reside there. At that point, how could they possibly allow the Church of Fortune to enter? While the Deity dynamics among the gods were complex, the establishment of a temple was a matter of one person, one position.

The establishment of the temple laid the foundation.

Look at the Church of the Sea and the Storm Church in Port Tyler, they have been fighting each other openly and secretly for a long time, but in the end they still can't win, because both sides have the support of the temple behind them.

Building a temple here is equivalent to building half a Wizard Tower!

As long as the Deity standing behind it hasn't fallen, who will ultimately have the power to dismantle a temple powered by Divine Power?

The Battle of Amber City.

The fact that so many Legendary- Challenge Rating Dread Knight couldn't easily conquer any temple demonstrates just how powerful its defenses are.

Soren could not allow the power of the temple to enter his territory.

Furthermore, if possible, he would also exclude the power of the Temple of the Sea from the outside, which is why he is constantly planning to expand the port; there are too many important secrets within the camp.

"This!..."

Jin looked somewhat surprised and disappointed, but she didn't give up. Coming here was her mission, and failing to complete it would lower the temple's opinion of her.

Goria smiled slightly, secretly Telepathy with Soren telepathically, saying, "Keep her calm. She still has an important use. We can use her as leverage to make demands on the Temple of the Sea!"

Trying to have your cake and eat it too?

Soren paused for a moment, then looked thoughtful. He turned his head and glanced at Goria in surprise.

This woman has a very high level of political acumen.

Facing Soren's surprised gaze, Goria smiled calmly, then raised her hand to gently lift the long hair from her earlobe, glancing at him with a fleeting look in her eyes.

then.

Soren stood up and said, "If Your Excellency is not in a hurry, perhaps you can stay here for a few days. I can immediately send someone to inquire about the Temple of the Sea's opinion."

"You should have seen the port here; the land there is very open."

"In fact."

"I'm preparing to sell some land there. Although the price is a bit high, I'm sure you can see the potential of that land with your discerning eye."

A very clever answer.

Lady of Fortune's pastor seemed thoughtful upon hearing this, then gave Soren a deep look and said with a playful tone, "That's natural."

"Very well. I will stay here and await your reply."

They disagreed with the terms of the exchange and with allowing them to build a temple. However, they were willing to sell a portion of their land.

This is quite meaningful!

Jin believed that Soren was undoubtedly quite afraid of the Temple of the Sea and didn't want to lose the support of the Church of the Sea. However, he was also attracted by the superior conditions of the Temple of Wealth and didn't want to easily give up such a powerful ally. That's why he gave such a tactful answer: if he was willing to sell the land near the port, then the ownership of the land would belong to the Temple of Wealth. Even if they couldn't openly build a temple, it could serve as a stronghold for the Church of Fortune to develop its faith.

As for whether a temple can ultimately be built here to strengthen the faith, he clearly wanted to see the clash of power between the two Church.

He's a very cunning and treacherous man!

He wanted to reap the benefits from both Church, but was unwilling to get involved in Church religious disputes.

A piece of land.

Jin had observed the port's topography; it was a highly advantageous natural harbor. If it were developed into a place like Port Tyler, the port would undoubtedly be the most prosperous and bustling place, with fleets of ships constantly coming and going, filling the entire port. Conversely, the camp here, being built inland, surrounded by mountains on two sides and close to a tropical rainforest on one side, and somewhat far from the port, wasn't geographically advantageous. However, the terrain was quite open, suitable for cultivating farmland; she had seen a considerable amount of farmland when she arrived.

That's what I was thinking.

Jin couldn't help but feel a little more contemptuous of Soren. After all, he was just a pirate Boss with little business acumen, only concerned with what he could dig out of the land, completely unaware that the greatest wealth here was Trade.

If she were to develop this place, the city would definitely be located near the coastal port and built directly into a port city!

Now.

Developing the port would essentially create two separate cities. Even if they were close in distance, they wouldn't be connected. With the immense power of the Temple of Wealth, it's entirely possible that they could gradually erode the port. If they were to swallow the port and seize the core Trade area, the value of the surrounding city would actually decrease significantly.

Her keen business acumen made her realize that the port was the key, and that the future struggle for faith would also take place in the bustling port area.

now.

The most important thing is the confrontation with the Temple of the Sea. If a direct confrontation is not possible, then both sides can only concede some benefits and try to achieve what they need.

It's a terrible thing for two Deity Church to clash!

The group of followers of Lady of Fortune were quickly settled in.

As Jin left the hall, she was surprised to see some Drow Warrior, and turned to give Soren a deep look.

Drow!

These creatures are quite difficult to deal with; they seem to be this pirate's subordinates?

Perhaps I underestimated him.

Soren settled the group near the South Gate, while secretly sending people to keep an eye on them and prevent them from moving freely within the camp. Goria also quietly set up Warding Circle to seal off the area connecting to the Shadow Plane, as the Portal was not yet fully stabilized. Once the Portal was stabilized, the Shadow Rift would converge, preventing other parts of the camp from entering the Shadow Plane. The port was under development, and they would be settled near the port when the time was right.

"This might be an opportunity!"

After the Wealth Cleric and his entourage left, Goria immediately approached Soren and said in a solemn voice, "The goodwill from the Lady of Fortune will fill the Temple of the Sea with a sense of crisis! This can bring us more benefits!"

"I know." Soren nodded gently.

But he immediately said in a deep voice, "However Church Deity the same time if we are not careful."

Upon hearing Goria frowned, then raised her finger and lightly drew a line on the construction map, carving out an area. She then slowly said, "Give up some of the benefits! Let them fight for it themselves!"

(P. S.: First update of the day, more updates this afternoon.) (To be continued~^~)