As the news of Zuo Si becoming the chosen one of the goddess of poison and plague continues to be known to more and more people and organizations.
The well-organized Talona Church also began to take action, crazily spreading the news about the "Sons of Plague", "Man of Disaster" and "Destroyer of Worlds" in major cities.
Zuo Si, who originally accidentally destroyed a magical civilization due to the mutation of bacteria and viruses in his body, became a "moving natural disaster" in their words, a manifestation of the power and will of the goddess of poison and disease.
At the same time, these guys also threaten and intimidate the ignorant people. Only by believing in Talona can we avoid this terrible disaster from happening to ourselves.
Although anyone with a little knowledge of religion and theology knows that this is bragging, some Good God Churches even refuted it in public.
But there are still many people who choose to become followers of Talona because of fear and fear.
Suddenly, on the west coast of Faerûn, the influence of the goddess of poison and disease began to surge, so much so that the rulers of some cities had to make compromises to prevent the incited people from launching riots.
This includes allowing Talona's church to build temples in the city and sell various potions and toxins to people in need.
There is no doubt that this is the benefit that a strong electorate can bring.
Originally, Zuo Si didn't know that the Goddess Church was using his name to "pull the tiger's skin and pull the flag" everywhere.
Until he and Bernard took a boat down the river and landed at the Ascatra Bridge area. They saw a priest of Talona standing on a high place, telling the ignorant people how he survived the poison and plague.
The story of a world destroyed by a terrifying plague under the instructions of a goddess...
After listening, Zuo Si stood there for a long time as if he was stupid, not knowing what expression to make.
Because I don’t know who made up this story. Except for the name “Sos”, the rest of it has nothing to do with him at all.
At least he didn't remember having a super-friendly relationship with a so-called "young and beautiful" peasant girl.
Even if you have this intention, it is impossible to do it with your current body and age.
To be exact, the person who made up this story didn't even know Zuo Si's age before starting to fabricate the plot out of thin air.
If nothing else, most of the time, people from the Talona Church paid a bard to compose something, and then directly used it as a tool to attract believers.
Only a bard, a shameless guy who always talks about cheating, can do such a shameless thing.
The reason why Zuo Si hates bards is precisely because they are open-minded and like to exaggerate and fabricate their big mouths.
Seventy percent of what comes out of the bard's mouth is a false story that doesn't exist at all.
Even for the remaining 30%, more than two-thirds are exaggerations, and less than 10% is the original truth.
They also euphemistically call it "artistic processing".
Seeing the murderous look in Zuo Si's eyes, Alena next to him immediately suppressed a smile and whispered in his ear: "Master, do you need me to teach him a lesson?"
"Forget it. This is the urban area of ​​Ascaltra. Releasing arcane magic in a place like this will attract the intervention of a masked mage.
And when you find a cockroach in the house, it means that there are so many cockroaches in the dark that they can no longer squeeze in.
I bet there are guys like this pastor who are preaching with the same story all over the streets of this city.
Maybe it has spread to other cities.
Even killing a few won't help, so let them be."
After weighing the pros and cons, Zuo Si decisively decided to lie down and die.
Anyway, just don’t bother yourself.
Because he really doesn’t want to have anything to do with Talona’s church, let alone waste his precious time on such boring things.
As for these pastors using their own names to recruit believers, Zuo Si is actually not that angry.
After all, the electorate granted by the goddess gives him extremely powerful power, and it can also deter potential enemies. Strictly speaking, both parties are mutually beneficial.
But if you want the world behind him that has been destroyed by the plague and has no gods born, just being a mere elect is not enough.
After spending a little time, Bernard temporarily stored the goods from several transport ships in the warehouse belonging to his own chamber of commerce. Immediately, full of tension and anticipation, he led people straight to the family mansion in the administrative district.
Like Porto Calim, Ascatra is also a typically polarized city with a huge gap between rich and poor.
Among them, the places with the best security are the Administrative District, Temple District and Woking Mall District.
The divisions in the first two places are easy to understand.
One is a place where administrative agencies, nobles, and wealthy businessmen gather together, and the other is a place with many temples and churches. It is difficult to maintain good security.
As for the Woking Mall area, as the name suggests, it is the largest market on the west coast of Faerûn that was established under the leadership of the Church of Woking, the goddess of wealth.
It is said that thousands of shops and stalls are dotted in the oval-shaped building that is as high as a stadium.
Commodities from all over the world, even from other dimensions, are freely circulated and traded here.
No matter what your belief is, what your camp is, what your race is, you can all buy and sell here.
In order to ensure order and safety, the six-member council has placed a thousand guards here responsible for maintaining order, which can almost be said to be one post for three steps and one sentry for five steps.
The masked mages also focus on this place day and night.
In addition, some vendors who look like ordinary humans are actually visitors from other dimensions and monsters disguised as monsters.
There are many creatures such as evil beasts, shapeshifters, demons, devils, dragons, and djinn.
Unless you are absolutely confident in your stealing skills, stealing things here is basically the same as courting death.
In contrast, the public security in the dock area, slum area, bridge area and Chengmen area is very poor.
Among them, the dock area is the base camp of shadow thieves, and the rampage of various criminal activities is comparable to that of Calimport.
As for the cemetery area dedicated to burying the dead, there are grave robbers and undead creatures wandering around at night.
Although both locals and outsiders make the gold coin capital of Ascatraqua extremely glamorous, Zuo Si knows the true face of this city very well and has no trust in the guards patrolling the streets.
Along the way, he paid very careful attention to everyone around him who tried to get close.
As long as someone comes within ten meters, the half-orc Rhett will immediately step forward to drive the person away, including collaborators and distant relatives of the Roldan Chamber of Commerce.
Bernard did not stop this, nor did he mean to explain to the other party.
Because he understands that these guys are like sharks that smell blood. They want to take advantage of the Chamber of Commerce's weakness and don't even need to pay attention to them.
After entering the courtyard of the mansion, Bernard noticed that all the familiar housekeepers and guards in the courtyard were gone, replaced by some completely unfamiliar faces.
Out of vigilance, he immediately told Zuo Si quietly about the situation.
"Your Excellency Soth, something seems not right. The servants and housekeepers at home have all been changed, and none of the guards are familiar to me."
"Don't worry, everything is under my control." Zuo Si gave the businessman a smile to reassure him.
Although he did not cast spells such as thought detection, he maintained a spiritual connection with the strange objects in Wilmes' mind from the moment he stepped through the door.
Obviously, the guards and servants in this house were changed consciously.
This alone is enough to show how bad the current situation is.
Moreover, from the moment he entered the house, not a single housekeeper or servant came up to say hello, as if he had not seen the eldest son in the family who has the first line of succession.
Depressed!
Nervous!
Scared!
With a feeling of uneasiness, Bernard finally walked to his father's bedroom and gently opened the door.
Instantly!
Two familiar figures appeared in front of him.
I saw an old man lying on the bed with a haggard face, his eyes full of numbness and confusion, no longer as sharp and majestic as usual.
This man is Bernard's most admired father - Sir Elrot, who spent thirty years developing the Chamber of Commerce to where it is today.
As for the blond loli sitting next to the old man's bed, she is his twelve-year-old little sister Isadora.
At this moment, the girl did not show the slightest hint of being the mastermind behind the scenes. Instead, she had a shy and worried expression on her face, holding a bowl and feeding the old man on the bed.
When she heard the sound of the door opening, she immediately turned around and stared at Bernard with eyes full of surprise. After a full minute, she said in a joyful tone: "My dear brother, you are finally back.
Do you know?
Just this morning, my father just decided to make me the heir to the family and the chamber of commerce.
I didn’t know what to do before.
Now I feel more at ease with your help."
To be continued...