Chapter 120: The Story of the Church
Patrick was the first to receive divine grace, holding the power of faith. The deity that blessed him, a powerful god of nature, came to be known in later generations as the “Mother God of Abundance.”
The great Mother God of Abundance was the first divine being to bestow blessings upon humanity. She granted Patrick the incredible power to perform “natural miracles,” allowing him to teach his fellow humans. The most remarkable feature of these miracles was their ability to make plants grow in an instant. Suddenly, the majority of the population didn’t have to fret about starving due to poor harvests.
This initial human hero, Patrick, along with his chosen companions, became a beacon of hope for humanity. With the Mother God’s name and power in their hearts, they began to spread blessings far and wide, garnering a multitude of followers and building a true home for humanity—the Holy City of Abedoria located in the heart of the Western Continent.
Using his miracles, Patrick cultivated fields of rice and fruit trees, filling people’s hearts with the joy of abundance. He also commanded the construction of stout city walls for the Holy City, making it the first genuine city-state in human history—a fortress that everyone rallied around.
Naturally, Patrick became the leader of humanity, while the deity was regarded as a savior.
Unfortunately, good times don’t last forever. One year, a massive plague broke out in the Holy City.
People fell like wheat being cut; Patrick was frantic. He quickly discovered that while nature miracles could ensure his people wouldn’t starve, they were utterly helpless against disease.
In his desperation, Patrick resolved to pray to the deity once more, hoping for another blessing to save his people from this dreadful plague.
Patrick kneeled and prayed for over ten days without food or drink. To his great fortune, the God of Healing responded to him and granted him a new fire of faith. From then on, humanity gained another great miracle—the healing miracle.
In the face of such powerful healing, the fearsome plague was nothing to worry about. As golden light showered down on the Holy City, people miraculously began to recover, and their faith only grew more fervent.
As history rolled on, after Patrick’s d*ath, the youngest but most devout follower stepped up as the new leader of the Holy City. During this time, human territories began to expand rapidly, resulting in the emergence of a second city, a third city…
With their cities growing, nations began to form.
Afterward, more gods started to pay attention to humanity. Gradually, the deities were amazed to find that, despite humanity being quite weak, they had an endless capacity for creation.
They might not have claws, but they could mold dirt into strange stoves, melt hard stones, and hammer them into sharp objects as substitutes for claws.
While they lacked impenetrable scales, they could burn stones to make clothing, wrapping their heads tightly to prevent beasts from biting them.
They could also build beautiful and comfortable houses, create objects called “boats” from some trees, and set sail across the seas to explore new continents…
Humans showcased to the gods their incredible wisdom and adaptability, leading to more divine blessings. More and more followers received these blessings, and the number of “those favored by the gods” increased, gaining the people’s support and affectionately referred to as “the most loyal followers of the deities.”
These individuals led their fellow humans toward greatness, establishing countless cities and nations across the Eastern and Western continents.
Historians of later generations called this era the “Age of Divine Presence.”
Then came war.
It began with the strong trolls living in caves. Their leader believed humans were as stinky as rats, multiplying everywhere, making the world a mess. He concluded that this trend would soon threaten their home, so he led his fearless tribe northwards, crashing through the first city gates while everyone was caught off guard.
The massacre took only one night; by morning, the trolls had moved on to the second city, then the third…
They tore any male human apart without hesitation, impaling their heads on sharpened sticks to let them rot and smell, as a way of celebrating their “victory”—even though that hardly counted as combat.
Female humans were temporarily kept around for the trolls’ amusement until they were played to d*ath.
This was recorded as the largest massacre in human history; trolls wielding thorny wooden clubs could easily smash the heads of those poor souls. The followers—who could only heal and help—were utterly defenseless. The widespread slaughter sent a clear message to other lurking races: humanity remained as weak as ever.
Soon, more powerful races joined the war.
Countless cities were destroyed, tens of thousands of compatriots brutally killed, bl**d flowed in rivers, and everywhere was the putrid stench of rotting corpses. Hatred simmered between races, and soon humanity, nearly targeted by half the world, once again caught the gods’ sympathy—those who were favored by the gods prayed for blessings from the Goddess of Sin, gaining the formidable power of punitive miracles.
Finally, humanity could wield miracles to defend their homeland.
The resistance began.
In an instant, the tide of war turned; the once unstoppable races crumbled against the might of the punitive miracles, retreating in disarray. The Flying Ones returned to the skies, the Mermaid Clan sank back into the sea, and the Fairy Clan disappeared into the woods.
It seemed war had ended; humanity began to rebuild the shattered cities. But brief peace was fleeting, as an even stronger race set their eyes on humanity, deeming us as a significant threat—the indomitable dragons.
With their huge wings blocking out the sun, they descended, breathing fire, and war began once again…
In the ensuing time, Teacher Morgan passionately described to the students the might of the dragons and how cruelly they treated human beings as mere food, swallowing them whole without even a chew.
At this, I furrowed my brows.
Something felt off, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what exactly.
The earlier part of Teacher Morgan’s tale included only a tiny fraction of what I had previously read in “The Universal History.” As for the later accounts of war, the book mentioned not a single word. The bits about those strange races were hastily brushed over in just a couple of sentences.
Yet I still vaguely remembered the beauty of the races portrayed in that book. They could brew wine, sing songs, and included flower-like maidens… All those odd and enchanting lives I had once yearned to see in person—what happened? Why did listening to Teacher Morgan make me feel so distasteful towards them now?
My mind wandered back to the Great White.
Isn’t it also a dragon? But could such a creature really eat humans? Would its kind truly start a war over something as trivial as being “a significant threat”?
No, those weren’t the most suspicious points.
The most questionable part was… those dragons—if they were like the Great White and couldn’t even talk… How could such beasts judge humans as being “a significant threat?” Isn’t that a bit ridiculous?
There were more illogical bits than just that, but the story Teacher Morgan wove…
I turned to glance at Sarah.
She looked thoroughly engrossed, as did the other students; of course, no one would question it—who but me had witnessed a living dragon?
This story must be the most official version from the church, right?
But it was hard to believe…
Yet there was no way to verify it, after all, history has always been written by the victors… and it was clear that humanity had won.
Or perhaps it was the church that was victorious.
So whatever you say goes, huh? Whatever, it’s been a thousand years since then; it’s pointless to dwell on these thoughts. I might as well continue listening.
Teacher Morgan proceeded, “Even with the punitive miracles, humanity remained at a considerable disadvantage against the mighty dragons, until finally, the gods dispatched their messengers, the ‘Angels,’ to assist. That same year, God Danalcis used divine power to change the world’s rules, granting humanity the same power as those strange races—the Power of Order.”
This change finally gave humanity a fighting chance against dragons. In just a few years, hero knights wielding the Power of Order emerged one after another, joining forces with angels to slay dozens of dragons, slowing their advances, followed by a long and grueling tug-of-war.
Later on, the endless war ravaged the sacred lands, burning countless forests. The relentless brutality of the dragons finally made the gods impatient, prompting them to create another realm, naming it “Land of Dragons.”
The dragons were banished from this world, never to return. Thus, the conflicts between humans and dragons came to an end.
However, this didn’t mean wars were over. The invasions from other races continued for hundreds of years afterward, but as time went by, they gradually weakened—fairies lost their keen ears, the Flying Ones began shedding feathers, and even those from the Flower Clan, who had never participated in any wars, stopped blooming.
They began to disappear.
The followers attributed this to the blessings of the gods.
Soon after, the Holy Church was officially established.
On a certain date in the common calendar, a day of great significance in human history, the gods entrusted the governance of the world to their followers.
Those “favored by the gods.”
“Alright, that’s the end of my story.” Teacher Morgan clapped his hands, waking the mesmerized students. “In truth, there’s a lot more to this history. The church spent decades consulting countless documents to piece it together. The wars of the Age of Divine Presence were far more complex than I’ve mentioned. Many during that time chose to side with the strange races out of fear, throwing wide open their city gates and then watching helplessly as their fellow humans were slaughtered… They are humanity’s disgrace, their names still carved on the Memorial of Sin in the Holy City, forever falling into disgrace.”
