Chapter 321
It has to be said that promoting faith still requires the brainwashing tactics of writing long essays. Although Ryan hated this kind of thing in his previous life, now that he is in a position of power, he is very willing to use this method to accelerate the development of the Primal Church.
After all, brainwashing with knives can't win over true believers, but writing short essays can. So, during the time Ryan was away from the Southern Continent, Adele arranged for people in the newspapers of various city-states to spread the word about the Primal Church and the greatness of the Creator.
The most obvious effect was that Ryan noticed a large area of stars in the Misty Space had been lit up, a significant change from the initial dark gray expanse.
"Is this the stronghold of the Primal Church? What should I do next?"
Elvian quickly gathered information about the situation. She wasn't surprised to learn that the Kingdom of Loente was on the verge of being conquered; she knew all too well the power of the Holy Blood Army. Without the intervention of the Church, sweeping across the Southern Continent would be no problem.
"Your mission is to lead a team to wipe out those lurking church forces. Apart from the Gate of Janus, do not let any other church forces escape."
External warfare was left to the Holy Blood Army, consolidating power was entrusted to Sesia, and the internal church forces also needed to be dealt with. Elvian, being Seventh Tier Transcendent, was the perfect candidate.
As for Magana's Iron Blood Army, they immediately launched an attack on the Kingdom of Oen as soon as she arrived, with one simple goal: rampant expansion.
Ryan will only consider slowing down his expansion when the major churches are truly willing to put aside their differences and form an alliance. However, by then, the Primal Church should be large enough to support the initial operations.
When the time comes, with a wave of his hand, the Augustus Empire and the Northern Federation will lead their troops south under the banner of expansion to grab a share of the spoils. Even the Arcadia Empire can come over. With these three great empires around, dealing with the church forces in the Southern Continent will be no problem at all.
After all, Ryan only wants to take over the territories of the various kingdoms, and he will not actually launch an attack on the headquarters of those churches. The difference in difficulty between the two is not even in the same league.
As for the possibility of cooperation among the three great empires... what? You're saying they're inherently at odds? With Ryan around, they'll be able to coexist.
Ryan plans to convene a continental conference in a while, where various countries and major powers will discuss how to restore order to the chaotic Southern Continent give the impoverished people living under chaos a bright and clear world!
However, the time is not yet ripe, and he has another important problem to solve.
While bringing Elvian over was indeed a great help—this capable Queen works both day and night—it wasn't all good, because Sesia, as a general of the Arcadia Empire, recognized Elvian at a glance.
After all, Arcadia had been locked in a power struggle with the former Northern Coalition for many years, and Elvian, as a former ruler, was quite famous within the Arcadia Empire.
Fortunately, after this period of training, Sesia's trust in Ryan has reached a considerable level.
Sesia wasn't stupid. At first, Ryan said he was coming to the Southern Continent to develop his power and had a cooperative relationship with the Primal Church. But now? Within the Primordial Church, he was practically the leader, and even the nominal Primordial Pope, Adele, listened to Ryan.
Moreover, Ryan has recently acquired the title of Holy Son.
If you can't see through this, then Sesia has wasted his life.
So Sesia once considered whether to tell the Twin Emperors about this speculation, but this speculation gradually faded away after repeated training with Ryan. In short, she was almost turning into Ryan's shape.
As long as Ryan doesn't launch a full-scale attack on Arcadia, then Sesia will comfort himself with the excuse that 'Ryan has his reasons,' and who knows, maybe this is Ryan's plan for the Empire?
In the end, in order to fully win over Sesia, on the second day after his return, Ryan took the initiative to train with Sesia and Elvian, and at the end of the training, he instilled the concept of faith in the creator, Balshatt, into them without reservation.
Although neither of them was willing at first, Sesia couldn't resist the temptation of cultivation, while Elvian just wanted to lie down now.
Misty Space, beneath the stars.
Sesia looked around in surprise.
"Is this the place where Balshatt appeared?"
After completing her training, she tacitly approved of Ryan's use of the ritual to bring her into this world.
As the master of the Misty Space, Ryan could bring people in through rituals, even if they weren't followers of Balshatt.
"What an amazing place! The power here seems purer and stronger than outside." Elvian exclaimed in astonishment as she activated her Magic Power to sense her surroundings, "I never imagined there was such a place on the Rhea Continent."
Where is this?
"You may call this the Land of Origin." Ryan pointed towards the starry sky, and two previously dim stars were pulled closer, emitting a faint glow. "Look, that is your reflection here."
Both women raised their heads.
"Star?"
"The Creator Balshatt created this place, and He projected all things onto the sky. Those illuminated stars are the Creator's followers. Elvian, Sesia, I have something to show you."
Ryan extended his left hand, first unleashing the power of the Earth Mark.
The golden light quickly dissipated, and then the power of the Moon Goddess's mark was released again.
The interplay of two forces was presented before them.
"The chosen power of the earth and the moonlit night," Elvian exclaimed in amazement. "You really can use the power of the moon goddess."
Sesia was even more surprised. She only knew that Ryan was the Chosen of the Earth God, but she never expected that he could also use the power of the Moon Goddess.
"It's not over yet."
Ryan extended his right hand, releasing black Power of Death.
Then, to the two women's astonishment, it transformed into pink, the Power of Desire.
"Desire! It really is desire!" Elvian reacted the most. She had long felt that Ryan was the chosen one of desire, and although she was wrong in the middle, the result seemed to be right.
"Multiple divine powers at his disposal?! How is this possible?!"
Ryan chuckled, "This is the Creator's blessing, and it's also my greatest secret. I'm telling you this because I believe in you, Elvian, Sesia. The Creator is about to awaken, and I hope you can join him."
Elvian frowned slightly, remained silent for a moment, and finally said, "I'm fine." She added in her mind, 'Anyway, I had no other choice.'
"Do the Empress and the others know about this?" Sesia asked.
"I don't know, but I'll talk to them when the time is right, so you don't need to worry about that. I love them very much, whether it's Her Your Majesty Kachina or Her Your Majesty Kachia." Ryan almost blurted out that they were his wings. "If you are willing to join the Primordial Era, I will personally preside over the transformation ceremony for you, so that your strength can be further enhanced."
"I'd love to!" Elvian had absolutely no objections this time.
"As long as it's not betraying the Empire, I'll support whatever you do unconditionally." Sesia's thinking was simple: it wasn't betraying the Empire, and besides, Ryan was the Chosen of the Earth God; this was also the will of the Earth Goddess, so what else was there to say?
"Sesia, thank you for believing in me. Now, call upon the name of Balshatt in your hearts and offer your devotion to your faith."
Upon hearing this, Elvian and Sesia closed their eyes and began to offer their faith.
Neither Elvian nor Sesia held the same fanatical faith in the gods they Path God. For Elvia, as Queen, faith was more of a convenient tool for ruling.
The latter, however, was loyal only to the Empress, and her faith was merely a weapon to fight for the Empress.
Therefore, the conversion of their faith went very smoothly. When Ryan saw the two reflected stars begin to shine spontaneously, a smile appeared on his face.
"It seems that converting people of faith isn't as difficult as the rumors suggest. Perhaps it's due to the inclusiveness of the Balshatt route. I suppose the Goddess of Earth and Moonlight won't mind if I compete with them for believers?"
What's yours and mine, it all belongs to everyone!
"Is that all?" Elvian looked up, feeling a connection to the stars above. "It's amazing."
"Do we have a chance to meet the Creator?" Sesia suddenly asked.
She vaguely sensed a certain will above this mist. To be honest, everyone would feel anticipation for an audience with the gods.
"When the time is right, I will introduce you. Now that you have reflected the stars here, no matter how far away you are, I can use the power of this place to summon you here."
"No matter where?"
"No matter where you are, the power of the Creator is above all things."
Elvian opened her mouth, thinking, "That's the power of the Creator, not yours. You seem so smug... Never mind, saying things like that too much will only get me beaten up."
"Alright, let's leave here first. We can talk in the room; let's not disturb the Creator's peace."
Ryan waved his hand, sending Elvian and Sesia away together.
Just as he was about to leave, a blinding light suddenly shone in the dim sky.
The light emitted by one star once outshone all the surrounding stars!
"Huh, what's that...?"
Ryan paused for a moment, then reached out and gently tapped.
The next second, the phantom image projected by the stars appeared before him.
In the scene, Sylvia is seen kneeling on the ground, her hands clasped in prayer. "Great Creator, Almighty and Almighty Balshatt, your devout follower Sylvia prays to you, offering everything, begging you to open faith and grant her supreme Divine Authority."
"The great Creator, the omnipotent and omniscient Balshatt..."
"It's that girl again. Strange, she can actually light up the stars? Did she successfully convert to a different faith on her own?"
Sylvia's prayers had occurred a few times before, but never so clearly. Looking at that shining star, it was clearly a symbol of faith illuminating the sky.
"If she really believes in me, then... could I bring her in and then make a big splash?"
Turning his head to glance at the palace within the mist, Ryan's lips curled into a smile, deciding to give the devout Pope Sylvia a chance.
Chapter 202 Sylvia: The Creator has chosen me!
While Helen was working hard, Sylvia wasn't idle either.
Since it originally appeared in the Southern Continent, such a powerful force, even if it had been lying in wait, would always leave traces.
So Sylvia, keeping everyone busy, secretly went to the South Road to search for clues about the Primal Church.
This search led to some clues about the Primal Witch.
It was an extremely ancient ruin, not dedicated to any of the gods of today, and not even by name. But based on clues she had gathered before, Sylvia deduced that it was the ruin of the Primal Witch.
Inside this ancient site, Sylvia saw a mural depicting Primal Witch kneeling devoutly before a figure.
The figure was in a misty space, in a magnificent palace. Sylvia had never seen that place before, but it further confirmed the relationship between the Creator and the Primal Witch.
In addition, she found some information about the Witch Society, knowing that the Witch Society followed Balshatt, but completely disappeared after the War of the Gods. What happened during the time difference between this point in time and Balshatt's disappearance is unknown.
But it doesn't matter, Sylvia has already gotten what she wanted to know.
Baalshatt of the Gods, the creator who bestowed Divine Authority!
In order to become a goddess, she will renounce her faith in Janus and dedicate herself to the supreme Balshatt!
Good news: She found a way to pray to Balshatt in the original ancient ruins.
Bad news: It seems there's no response.
"... Did it fail again? Does this ritual still require a sacrifice from the Chosen of the Gods?"
Somewhere in the Southern Continent, in a dimly lit room.
Sylvia stood in the center of the array, surrounded by an invisible Magic Power barrier. She looked around at the various precious materials prepared for the ritual and couldn't help but frown.
The original records are certainly accurate, but so many years have passed, who knows what the situation of the Creation God is like now? At least the riots in the Chaos Space indicate that the Creation God probably doesn't have the energy to attend to matters concerning the Rhea Continent.
Or perhaps, an enemy powerful enough to shake the power of the Creation God has appeared on the continent, leaving the Creation God with no time to spare; the War of the Gods is the best proof of this.
In this era of divine silence, could she become a messenger of the gods, offering her loyalty to the Creator in exchange for Divine Authority power to combat the encroachment of the Chaos Space?
You know, not many people know who Balshatt is right now, and Sylvia feels she has a pretty good chance based on her qualifications.
"It seems this won't work; the power of the ritual isn't enough to reach the Creation God."
Just as Sylvia was thinking about how to strengthen the ritual, an invisible will suddenly descended upon her.
Immediately afterwards, Sylvia felt a pulling sensation as her consciousness separated from her body. She instinctively tried to resist, but found it was pointless! This was a power that transcended Magic Power!
"It is the Creator!"
A hint of surprise appeared in Sylvia's eyes.
They then gave up resistance.
Darkness enveloped her vision, and in a tense anticipation, Sylvia felt her power gradually fading. She then opened her eyes and found herself in a world shrouded in mist.
Sylvia was utterly shocked by what she saw around her, for she had witnessed this scene before in the ancient ruins!
This is where the Primal Witch met with the Creator!
"I did it! I did it!"
Sylvia's breathing quickened. She placed her right hand on her chest to calm her agitated emotions and try to appear dignified.
She immediately knelt on the ground, showing no intention of taking any action or exploring what kind of world lay above the mist.
Because that's disrespectful!
The great and sublime Creator is a being above the gods, and Sylvia doesn't want to miss this opportunity because of her ignorance.
"Great Creator, Almighty and All-Knowing Balshatt, your devout follower Sylvia prays to you..."
Above the vast, silent mist, only Sylvia's devout prayers could be heard.
About ten minutes later, the fog suddenly stirred.
Sylvia slowly raised her head and saw the mist in front of her part automatically, revealing an ancient and magnificent palace at the edge of her vision!
Her heart skipped a beat, and she could barely suppress a smile. Wasn't that palace the place where the Creator resided? The Creator wanted her to come before him!
"Praise be to the supreme Balshatt!"
Sylvia stood up from the ground, took a few steps, thought for a moment, then knelt down and kowtowed, repeating this over and over again, as devout as a pilgrim.