Chapter 21: Painful Maiden!
2016-08-23
Author: Floating Tower
PS. Here’s the May Day update. After reading, don’t rush to play; remember to vote for a monthly ticket first. Starting now, during the Qidian 515 Fan Festival, enjoy double monthly tickets. There are also other events with red envelopes, so take a look!
Modo Harbor, Deep Water Alley.
A small altar was completed by the followers of the Goddess of Joy in just a day.
Most of these followers were quite handsome, as performers generally need to have a certain level of attractiveness. At this moment, the followers were holding the last important ceremony, where a pair of beautiful human maidens tossed two weapons onto the ground. Following this, the surrounding followers, under the guidance of the priest, covered the weapons with a pair of fresh flowers, completely burying them within. This ceremony is called “Abandoning Violence,” representing the principles of conduct for the Goddess of Joy, who does not favor fighting.
Then, the followers began to prepare for the celebration.
As mentioned earlier, the Goddess of Joy is a bit of a jokester, and those who believe in and serve her share a similar comedic spirit. In the Church of the Goddess of Joy, almost every holiday unrelated to evil beliefs is a reason for the church to hold a celebration. In other words, they always find reasons to host various joyous celebrations, regardless of how many people might actually attend.
The arrival of the Goddess of Joy brought a touch of vitality to Modo City.
However, Soren has always imposed strict limitations on deities. He does not object to people who like and worship the Goddess of Joy, but he absolutely will not allow such hedonism, which holds celebrations for no reason, to flourish in Modo City. Thus, throughout the ceremony, it was only the church members and a small number of pleasure-seeking civilians from Modo Harbor present.
Flowers, fine wine, music, and dance.
A simple celebration soon commenced, with beautiful singers dancing around the altar while bards played various instruments nearby.
The priest was praying within, and as the joyful atmosphere lingered, a hint of brilliance, invisible to mortal eyes, began to gather.
This was the divine power of the Goddess of Joy infusing the altar.
She had already noticed this newly established altar and quickly connected the faith within. This indicates that she had been quietly watching over Modo City; otherwise, under normal circumstances, an altar would require numerous celebrations to attract a deity’s attention. The celebration did not last long before the priest placed a prepared youthful statue of the goddess in the center. Then, a glow of divinity emerged, a faint light visible to the eye, signifying that the Goddess of Joy acknowledged this space as her temple.
Unlike the well-established Lady Wealth and the highly influential Ocean Goddess.
The power of the Church of Joy was just enough to establish a small temple. These followers will earn wealth through performances and gradually donate it to the temple for expansion.
The Goddess of Joy has many bards as followers.
The church controls numerous theaters and circuses, which will greatly enrich the entertainment offerings in Modo City in the future.
Soren looked down upon all this from the sky.
Once the followers of the Goddess of Joy completed their tasks, his figure transformed into a regular young man, weaving through those immersed in the joyous celebration until he reached the back of the temple.
No one noticed Soren’s arrival, except for the statue of the young goddess on the altar, which shimmered with a hint of golden light.
“Welcome your arrival.”
“Master of Shadows! Lord of Modo City! Protector of Half-Elves!”
As a bit of brilliance gathered, a slender and charming young girl materialized behind the temple, slightly bowing to Soren, her melodious voice saying, “Thank you very much for accepting my church.”
“May joy be with you!”
The figure of the Goddess of Joy appeared, bowing slightly towards Soren, using respectful language in return.
As an established deity, although she has existed longer than Soren, due to the difference in divine power levels, Soren’s status is far above hers. In the future, under the Pantheon, her standing will be much lower than his.
“Although Modo City is governed by order, it does not exclude joy.”
Soren gazed at the beautiful young girl before him, smiling as he spoke, “I hope your arrival can bring more happiness to the civilians.”
Upon hearing Soren’s words, the Goddess of Joy fell into deep thought.
Soren’s words were not mere pleasantries; as a deity, the Goddess of Joy clearly understood his intent. He can accept joy, but he does not accept hedonism. As for the free-thinking ideology espoused by the Church of Joy, it is evidently unfeasible in Modo City. Soren emphasized order to remind the Goddess of Joy that she must pay attention to this; Modo City is filled with order, which can accept the Goddess of Joy but does not endorse the chaotic faction’s liberal thoughts.
“I understand.”
The smile of the Goddess of Joy was tinged with a hint of bitterness. Had it not been for the Saint’s Cataclysm, she would definitely not want her followers to develop in Modo City; however, the continent is rife with war, and many people can barely feed themselves. Thus, a deity like the Goddess of Joy finds herself in an awkward position. She gently nodded at Soren, saying, “My followers will not cause you any trouble.”
“That’s good.”
Soren smiled and said, “A large celebration will be held in Modo City soon; perhaps your church could take charge of hosting it.”
One should give a sweet date after a stick.
Modo City indeed has celebrations. As a newly established city, the day Modo City was founded is an important celebration, and Soren’s military parade is also a significant event. Assigning these celebrations to the Church of Joy can help the Goddess of Joy gather some faith. Seeing that the followers of the Church of Joy seem to have more bards than priests, Soren guessed that the Goddess of Joy’s situation is not easy, likely due to many priests being unable to bestow divine techniques. This is the limitation of divine office; the nature of the divine roles she possesses does not lend itself well to times of turmoil.
“Now, we should discuss the real business.”
Soren did not come personally to idle chat. He glanced around, waved his hand, and conjured a divine power barrier before saying, “I want to know the whereabouts of the torturer goddess, Lavita.”
“She is your old rival.”
“You must have some information about her, right?”
The Goddess of Joy hesitated for a moment before replying, “Is she also an enemy of Lord Soren? If it’s Lavita, I do know some news related to her.”
Soren did not respond to her question.
He simply looked at the Goddess of Joy before him and smiled, saying, “The Painful Maiden has been fighting you for over a thousand years; you must be very willing to see such an enemy disappear, right?”
The Goddess of Joy fell silent, clearly moved by Soren’s words and her own resentment.
This famous goddess had several lovers, many of whom were priests within her church, and numerous were slain by the followers of the Painful Maiden.
…………
(PS: First update. One more chapter to go.)
[Thanks for everyone’s continued support. I hope you can support the author glory hall and the works total selection during the Qidian 515 Fan Festival. Additionally, there are some red envelope gifts for the fan festival; feel free to claim them and keep the subscriptions going!] (To be continued ~^~)
