Chapter 155: Wealthy and Generous! 5000 Words (First Update)
2015-05-05
Author: Floating Tower of All Beings
On the way to the camp, the priest of the Goddess of Wealth was observing the surroundings.
The followers of Lady Wealth had sharp insights, especially when it came to recognizing wealth and business opportunities. Soren didn’t know much about Lady Wealth because she was usually a low-profile deity; it wasn’t until hundreds of years after the new Lady Wealth replaced the previous one that people began to notice. The reason for this discovery was that Lady Wealth’s divine power was elevated from weak to medium, and she had also changed the domain she presided over.
The previous Lady Wealth was the “Goddess of Trade and Wealth,” while the current one is the “Goddess of Wealth and Trade.”
A change in her domain represented a multiple increase in her divine power!
The previous Lady Wealth, whose core domain was “Trade,” experienced significant fluctuations in divine power — her strength would be affected when war disrupted trade because, under such circumstances, trade routes were nearly impossible to maintain, and naturally, her divine power couldn’t increase. However, with “Wealth” as the core domain of the current Lady Wealth, her divine power gradually stabilized, and as the Temple of Wealth became akin to a bank, she maintained a strong level of divine power at all times, even encroaching upon the domain of “Protection” in the field of money.
Wealth, Trade, Money, and Protection!
It was only at this point that the newly appointed Lady Wealth was discovered by others; she had already surpassed the previous Lady Wealth!
From then on,
The power of the Temple of Wealth leaped to become a top force on the continent, taking on an important role in the power struggles among the church of gods.
…………
When Soren first heard this knowledge, he was quite surprised!
He never imagined that simply changing the position of a domain could lead to such a large transformation, propelling a deity that was on the verge of decline into the realm close to strong divine power. If it weren’t for Lady Wealth’s strong control over trade, and the underdeveloped trade in the continent affecting her divine power, she would likely be the first deity in hundreds of years to enter the realm of “Strong Divine Power.”
Neatly arranged rows of brick houses.
Straight drainage ditches.
Shops, taverns, and blacksmiths with straightforward layouts on the streets, alongside specially built public toilets — everything here was clean and tidy, without the filth and chaos of other towns, even without visible trash on the roads.
Everything here was very clean and organized, leading others to believe that Soren had a slight obsession with cleanliness!
“Your Excellency, you truly surprise me!”
A priest of Lady Wealth, adorned lavishly, observed her surroundings, a thoughtful look emerging on her face as she slowly said, “This place is filled with vitality; it is the breath of gathered wealth.”
Such a town,
As long as there was stable order, it would soon attract many merchants.
Overseas trade was now in Soren’s hands, with Taro Port and the town being established right before him being two key points, effectively cutting off the back-and-forth of overseas shipping routes. As long as Soren was willing to loosen up a bit, he could attract a large number of adventurous merchants. And trade was precisely what Lady Wealth needed. This could expand her faith and strengthen her power; the temporary weakening of the City of Wealth impacted trade, and the turmoil from earlier had not yet stabilized.
This was also her reason for being here!
“Please!”
Soren raised his hand in an inviting gesture and then turned to enter the hall.
Just as the priest of Lady Wealth sat down, Gloria, clad in a black witch’s robe, appeared in the hall. She glanced at Soren and lightly nodded.
“Witch!”
The priest of Lady Wealth stood up, slightly bowing to Gloria as a sign of respect, representing the Church of Wealth. She was well aware of Gloria’s identity and status, as well as her influence in the Witch Council. She even knew that Gloria had been promoted and recognized by the Witch Council for touching the realm of the Legendary Witch.
Gloria responded with a smiling nod and extended a hand in an inviting gesture, acting as if she was the hostess of this place.
She smiled and said, “Welcome, messenger of Lady Wealth; your arrival graces this place.”
Everyone took their seats.
The priest of Lady Wealth glanced around, then stood up, smiling as she said, “You can call me Gind. In fact, I have truly come here to bring the goodwill of Lady Wealth.”
Gind?
A quite strange monosyllabic name.
The priest named ‘Gind’ stepped to the center of the hall and slowly said, “It seems that you intend to develop this place into a city. I must admit, Your Excellency has a unique vision! However, developing such a remote overseas island requires considerable manpower and financial resources. As far as I know, while you have a close relationship with the Ocean Temple, they have not provided any help; conversely, a large portion of the trade from the overseas islands still needs to be handed over to them.”
Dressed lavishly, Gind smiled slightly, her refined face filled with confidence as she took out a shimmering gold card and said seriously, “This is a Divine Power Gold Card from the Temple of Wealth; with it, you can withdraw 100,000 Gindlers from any Temple of Wealth on the continent at any time!”
She handed the card to Soren with a confident smile, saying, “This is merely a gift for our meeting.”
“Please do not refuse!”
“This gift is not part of our upcoming transaction; regardless of whether we can cooperate or not, this gift merely represents our goodwill and appreciation for your efforts in re-establishing the rules of the Southern Coast to restore normal trade order!”
100,000 Gindlers!!!
Not only Soren, but even Gloria beside him showed surprise.
With Soren’s experience, he had seen many extravagant people — royal courts, divine churches, etc. — but he had never encountered anyone who would so easily give away 100,000 Gindlers upon meeting!
Indeed, the Church of Wealth was extravagant!
With such a generous gift, Soren couldn’t help but take a deep breath and then smiled as he reached out to accept it.
Since it was given for free, he might as well take it.
As he accepted the Divine Power Gold Card, the priest of Lady Wealth revealed a satisfied smile. Her expression became even more triumphant.
The Church of Wealth had such confidence!
No one could firmly refuse them when money paved the way.
Gind raised a finger and turned a ruby ring on her finger, then signaled to a servant beside her, who soon presented a document to Soren. She confidently said, “The Church of Wealth possesses the greatest power on the Southern Coast! The financial resources you need to develop here can be fully supported by us! Meanwhile, the Church of Wealth also controls the largest and most abundant mineral resources on the Southern Coast. We have a plentiful supply of slaves to meet your manpower needs at any time!”
“You could say that compared to the Ocean Temple, which only aims to extract value from you, we can offer you much more!”
“As for what we need,”
“It’s simply your permission to open this city for us, grant us freedom in overseas trade, and allow us to establish a Temple of Wealth here to develop followers for the Goddess.”
Gind gazed at Soren with a sense of accomplishment, believing that the generous conditions she provided would compel him to agree.
However, what she never anticipated was that after Soren glanced at the document, he firmly replied, “I’m sorry! I fear I cannot agree to the conditions listed here!”
The conditions were actually quite good.
The Church of Wealth offered Soren funding, manpower, and supplies, with the only request being to relax the permissions for the city, give them the freedom to trade with the overseas islands, and allow them to develop faith and build temples. For Soren, who had just begun to establish a foundation, gaining the support of the Temple of Wealth would undoubtedly accelerate the construction process significantly. However, such an arrangement was also quite dangerous for him.
Because of the Ocean Church!
Moreover, when Gloria heard the conditions, she appeared calm on the surface but secretly used telepathy to communicate with Soren, saying, “Do not agree! The camp is connected to the Shadow Plane. We cannot allow other forces to know about the existence of the Wizard Tower!”
Indeed.
Upon hearing Gloria’s words, Soren suddenly woke up.
The value of that Wizard Tower was immeasurable. It absolutely could not be known to other forces. Therefore, no matter how favorable the conditions from the Temple of Wealth were, he could not agree.
The permissions for the city must be firmly in his hands. Opening permissions for the establishment of a temple would interfere with Soren’s influence.
Besides, everything he relied on was the Ocean Church; with their temple yet to settle, allowing the Temple of Wealth to enter first could provoke the Ocean Goddess, who had a narrow-minded temperament, to hold a grudge against Soren.
Gind’s face was filled with astonishment; she had never expected Soren to refuse so firmly.
Soren also didn’t want to make things awkward with the Church of Wealth, especially since they had just given him 100,000 Gindlers. After pondering for a moment, he slowly said, “However, as a gesture of goodwill, I am willing to grant the Temple of Wealth partial freedom to trade. As for other matters, I fear I will need to consult the Ocean Temple first!”
The Ocean Temple.
Gind frowned upon hearing this. She had come here because she learned that the Ocean Temple’s influence over Soren was not as significant as believed. If he consulted the Ocean Temple, it would likely result in a negative response, since they also needed faith. This place was yet to develop; once it became similar to Taro Port, the Ocean Temple would send priests to establish a presence immediately. At that time, how could they allow the Church of Wealth to enter? The divine powers of the gods were intricately complex, but the establishment of a temple meant laying down roots.
Once a temple was established, it was equivalent to setting down a foundation.
Look at the struggles between the Ocean Church and the Storm Church over Taro Port; despite numerous conflicts, neither side has gained a clear advantage, largely because both had the backing of their temples.
Establishing a temple here would be akin to building half a Wizard Tower!
As long as the deity supporting it hasn’t fallen, who has the capability to uproot a temple powered by divine energy?
In the past battle of Amber City,
So many Legendary Challenge Level Fear Knights failed to easily conquer any temples, illustrating just how powerful the temple’s defenses were.
Soren could not allow the temple’s strength to settle within his territory.
In fact, if possible, he also wanted to exclude the powers of the Ocean Temple from the periphery; this was also the reason he was continually planning to expand the port — too many important secrets were hidden within the camp.
“This!…”
Gind’s expression was one of shock and disappointment, yet she didn’t give up. Coming here was her duty; failure would lead to a lower evaluation from the temple.
Gloria wore a slight smile, secretly using telepathy to say to Soren, “Keep her steady. She has important uses; we can use her as leverage to negotiate with the Ocean Temple!”
Play both sides?
Soren was taken aback momentarily, then pondered deeply, turning to look at Gloria in surprise.
This woman had exceptional political acuity.
Facing Soren’s astonished gaze, Gloria smiled indifferently, then gently brushed her long hair by her earlobe, her eyes flashing briefly at him.
Therefore,
Soren stood up and said, “If the priest is not in a hurry, perhaps you could stay here for a few days; I can immediately send someone to inquire about the Ocean Temple’s stance.”
“Your Excellency should have seen the port here; the land is very spacious.”
“In fact,”
“I am preparing to sell some of that land. Although the price is a bit high, I believe with your vision, you will recognize the potential of that land.”
A cleverly crafted response.
The priest of Lady Wealth pondered for a moment upon hearing this, then deeply looked at Soren, teasingly saying, “Of course.”
“Very well. I will wait here for your reply.”
Disagreeing with the terms proposed and unwilling to allow them to establish a temple. However, showing a willingness to sell a portion of the land.
This held significant meaning!
To Gind, it seemed Soren was still quite afraid of the Ocean Temple, not wanting to lose their support. However, he was also attracted by the superior conditions of the Temple of Wealth, unwilling to easily give up such a powerful ally. Hence, this tactful response emerged; if he was willing to sell the land near the port, then ownership of the land would naturally belong to the Temple of Wealth. Even if they couldn’t overtly establish a temple, they could use it as a base for the Church of Wealth to develop faith.
As for whether or not they could ultimately establish a temple to grow faith, it was clear that Soren wanted to see a clash of the powers of the two churches.
A very cunning and crafty man!
He sought to reap the benefits from both churches but did not wish to become embroiled in their struggle for faith.
A piece of land.
Gind had observed the topography of the port; it was a highly advantageous natural harbor. If it developed into a place like Taro Port, the port would undoubtedly be the most prosperous area, filled with shipping fleets. In contrast, the camp here, established inland and surrounded by mountains on two sides, was slightly distant from the port, making it less geographically advantageous. However, it had plenty of open land suitable for farming; she had seen numerous farmlands upon arrival.
Thinking along these lines,
Gind couldn’t help but look down on Soren a bit more; after all, he was merely a pirate leader without much business acumen, solely fixated on the things dug up from that land, entirely unaware that the biggest wealth here was trade.
If she were to build it here, the city would undoubtedly be located close to the coastal port, directly establishing it as a port city!
Now,
If the port was developed, it would essentially become two cities; even though the distance was short, they ultimately did not connect. With the immense power of the Temple of Wealth, she believed they could gradually encroach upon the port area. If they occupied the port and seized the core area of trade, then the value of the city here would greatly diminish.
Her keen business sense led her to recognize that the port was the key; future struggles for faith would likely occur in prosperous port areas.
Now,
The most crucial thing was the confrontation with the Ocean Temple. If they couldn’t clash head-on, they would have to yield some benefits to each other, striving for a mutually beneficial situation.
The friction between two powerful divine churches would be a terrifying matter!
…………
The group of followers from Lady Wealth was quickly settled.
As Gind left the hall, she unexpectedly caught sight of some Drow warriors, which surprised her greatly. Turning, she looked deeply at Soren.
Drow!
Such beings could be quite difficult to deal with; it seemed they were subordinates of this pirate?
Perhaps she had underestimated him too much.
This group was settled near the southern gate, and Soren discreetly sent people to watch over them, ensuring they didn’t move about freely within the camp. Gloria also quietly set up a warning magic circle, sealing off the area connected to the Shadow Plane; the portal wasn’t yet fully stabilized. Once the portal was stabilized, the shadows would concentrate, and other areas of the camp would not be able to access the Shadow Plane. Development was ongoing at the port, and when the timing was right, they would still need to relocate them closer to the port.
“This might be an opportunity!”
After the departure of the priest of Wealth, Gloria immediately came before Soren and said seriously, “The goodwill from Lady Wealth will create a sense of crisis for the Ocean Temple! This could earn us more benefits!”
“I understand.” Soren nodded lightly.
But he then said seriously, “However, this matter must be approached with caution, as we could inadvertently offend both divine churches.”
Upon hearing this, Gloria frowned, then pointed at a spot on the construction plan map, carefully outlining a section, and slowly said, “Yield a portion of the benefits! Let them fight for themselves!”
…………
(PS: This is the first update of the day; there will be more updates in the afternoon.) (To Be Continued ~^~)
