The ghetto, the temple of Ilmat, the god of suffering.
A man in his forties, with almost all the hair on his head having fallen out, looked like a middle-aged male priest in his fifties or sixties. He was kneeling in front of a simple altar and leading a group of believers in devout prayers.
Although the new sect of Talona, the goddess of poison and disease, has expanded rapidly, snatching away many of the original believers of Ilmat to a certain extent, and even squeezing the living space of the church, he does not seem to be anything like it.
I am anxious, and I have no intention of competing head-to-head with my opponent.
Because the doctrine of the God of Suffering itself does not encourage fighting, but hopes that everyone can live in peace and help each other.
Therefore, his pastors and priests rarely conflict with the churches of other gods. Even if they are bullied or suppressed, they often choose to endure it silently.
What's more, the teachings of Talona's new sect are to make the people aware of the nature of poisons and diseases, and to prevent the poor who are not already wealthy from getting sick or poisoned, which is equivalent to reducing the suffering in this world.
This simply coincides with the philosophy advocated by Ilmat.
As a result, a very strange phenomenon appeared in places where poor people gathered in major cities in Amn.
That is the rapid expansion of Talona's new sect, which continues to erode the original base of the faith of the God of Suffering.
But the latter not only had no intention of fighting back, but also pretended to be submissive and lived in peace with him.
When members of both churches meet each other on a daily basis, they will greet each other with a smile, without any hint of hostility.
If you don’t know, you would think that these two gods are allies.
But in fact, anyone with some knowledge of religion and theology knows that Ilmat and Talona have been incompatible rivals for thousands of years.
Whatever Talona wants to achieve, Ilmat will definitely stop it at all costs.
But now, their relationship has become complicated and softening.
Of course, God’s way of thinking is obviously not something ordinary mortals can understand.
Therefore, this priest did not dare to speculate. He simply wanted to do his job well, help those poor people in need, and provide children who had lost their parents with at least one hot meal a day and a shelter from the wind and rain.
residence.
But this is obviously not an easy thing to do.
Although he has received a lot of donations from the Bernard Chamber of Commerce and Zuosi's Wizard Tower, it is still a drop in the bucket for the huge number of poor people in the slums.
Regarding this, you can get a glimpse of this by looking at this temple that is still dilapidated and poor, and the linen blouse worn by the priest who has been mended countless times.
Even with tens of thousands of gold coins in hand, he did not want to use a copper plate to decorate the temple, or buy himself some decent clothes and shoes. Instead, he spent all the money carefully.
Help those poor people who really need help.
This is why Zuo Si never hesitated when donating to the Ilmat Temple, and he donated tens of thousands of gold coins.
Only they know that there are families in the slums that really need help.
Since the God of Suffering does not emphasize complicated and solemn rituals, but pays attention to physical practice to practice the teachings, the prayer ended after just a few minutes.
When the priest stood up from the shrine, all the believers immediately stood up and stared at the large pots set up outside with eager eyes, swallowing their saliva.
The things cooked in the pot are also very simple, which is hot soup stewed with potatoes, onions, cabbage, garlic, animal offal and some bones without any meat.
In order to make the soup look thicker and viscous, a large amount of bread crumbs and crumbs are sprinkled in it.
Whether it's bones, offal or bread crumbs, all of them come from Zuo Si's high-end restaurant in Chengmen District.
The former is the leftover part of high-end dishes cooked in the kitchen, while the latter is the leftover bread that the guests did not take away, dried and then crushed directly.
Although in the eyes of wealthy people, these things are worthless at all and are just garbage that can be thrown away.
But it is a rare delicacy for the poor at the bottom who have lost the ability to labor and work in the slums.
At least it's much cleaner and more hygienic than picking up food from garbage dumps, sewers, or simply catching rats to satisfy your hunger. You don't have to worry about contracting terrible diseases after eating.
Seeing these disabled people with broken hands, broken legs, blindness or deafness, as well as those children who were too young to work, the priest showed an expression of pity on his face and spoke in as gentle a voice as possible.
He said: "Let's eat! Come on, you're welcome. I've prepared enough bread and hot soup today."
"Praise the merciful God of weeping! You gave us the courage to continue living!"
The middle-aged man with only one arm raised the wooden bowl in his hand and shouted loudly, then walked to the soup pot and took the initiative to take on the responsibility of distributing food to others.
The rest of the people did not appear to be fighting, but lined up in an orderly manner.
Among them, children, the elderly and women line up at the front of the queue, while adult men stand very consciously at the back.
It wasn't until everyone had eaten that the one-armed middle-aged man poured the remaining soup from the pot into his bowl, picked up a piece of hard black bread, and held it in front of the sacrifice with one hand: "The Glory One."
, you should also eat some."
But the priest smiled and shook his head and refused: "No, I'm not hungry, you should keep it for yourself."
"But you haven't eaten all day. You won't be able to hold on at this rate." Strong worry appeared on the face of the one-armed man.
Because he knew that except for the temple of Ilmat, the God of Suffering, there was no other god or church in Askatra who cared about poor and disabled people like himself.
If something happens to the noble priest in front of him, and there happens to be no second person to take over, the group of people behind him who live entirely on charity will starve to death and turn into corpses lying on the roadside with no one paying attention.
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Although merchants in Amn like to demonstrate their wealth and social status through charitable donations, their money is usually taken away by those guys who occupy the downtown area and are called "beggars", but are actually liars, hooligans, and gangsters.<
/p>
This group of people are often strong and carry weapons such as daggers with them, and control areas where nobles and wealthy businessmen often pass.
Once other beggars approach, they will immediately come forward to threaten, intimidate, beat, or even kill.
Therefore, beggars in the slums who really don’t have enough to eat and don’t have enough clothes to wear cannot get so-called charitable donations.
Of course, nobles and wealthy businessmen don't really care who they donate their money to.
I simply want to show off my wealth in this way and gain a reputation for being generous and kind.
Just when the priest was about to refuse again, he suddenly discovered that the believers who were eating suddenly stopped eating at some point. They all stood up and poured some of the soup in their bowls into another empty bowl next to them.
ri.
After a while, the bowl was filled with hot soup.
A lame old woman carefully held up the bowl and brought it to the sacrifice. She forced out a smile and said: "Dear Glory, the God of Suffering teaches us to be brave enough to bear pain, endure suffering, and help each other. It used to be the case.
You are helping us selflessly, now please allow us to express a little respect to you in our own way. Eat, if you don't eat, how can we people eat."
"Thank you!"
This time the priest did not refuse, but showed a pleased smile, took the soup bowl and squatted at the door of the simple temple to eat with all the believers.
Under the influence of his personal actions, although these disabled people and children were very poor and hungry, they showed the best side of human nature.
Even if they have nothing and don’t know where the next meal will be after finishing this meal, they are still willing to share the only food they have and struggle to survive in this cruel world.
There is no doubt that this kind of pure act of kindness without any distracting thoughts quickly caught Ilmat's attention.
I saw a golden light flashing across the shrine, and the priest was suddenly surprised to find that his priest level had actually increased, and he hurriedly expressed his gratitude to the god he served in his heart.
But unfortunately, the God of Suffering did not make any response.
Because at this moment, he was standing on the third floor rooftop of a masonry building not far away, looking down at the entire slum area. After a full minute, he asked: "What do you think of the kind actions of those people just now?"
How?"
"Well - how should I put it, it's really touching, but I don't like it." Zuo Si said his thoughts straightforwardly.
"Oh? Why?"
Ilmat turned around with a puzzled expression.
Zuo Si smiled and explained: "Because in my opinion, problems caused by this kind of food shortage can actually be solved in other ways. It is certainly a kind of sacrifice for a priest to rather starve himself than to let others eat.
A very noble move, but it ignores the most important and critical part."
Ilmat seemed to understand something, and immediately nodded slightly: "I understand. Compared to the process, you actually value the change, the result, and the answer more than the process."
"That's right! I never deny the greatness of selflessness, dedication and self-sacrifice.
But these alone cannot fundamentally change the current situation.
Look at this priest, although he is doing his best to help others, has he changed anything in the end?
No, he couldn't change anything, he just prolonged the lives of these poor people a little and alleviated a little the suffering they were suffering.
Once the temple's income and donations from the outside world decrease, some of these disabled people and children will inevitably die.
After all, their destiny has never been in their own hands, but in the hands of others."
When he said these words, Zuo Si had no emotion in his tone, as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him.
"What would you do if you were the priest of this temple?"
A trace of curiosity flashed in Ilmat's eyes.
Zuo Si raised his hand and extended his index and middle fingers: "Two methods.
First, find a way to find some jobs for these disabled people, preferably by getting some money to build a tavern, hotel or small workshop.
In this way, they can not only earn a salary that is enough to support themselves through work, but also increase the income of the temple so that they can help more people.
To put it simply, it means giving up the original way of giving without asking for anything in return, and organizing these people to create value.
Although this method does not solve the root cause of the problem, it is at least much better than leaving your destiny completely to others.
The second method is to expose the greed and sins of the nobles and wealthy businessmen, arouse the anger of the poor at the bottom, and completely intensify social conflicts.
Through means such as demonstrations and strikes, businessmen and the aristocracy are constantly forced to compromise, in order to attract more lower-class people to join.
At the same time, we must secretly develop an army, use the corrupt city guards to obtain weapons and equipment, and prepare for a head-on conflict with the Shadow Thieves Guild.
When the time is right, he will directly trigger a riot that sweeps through the entire Ascaltra, overthrow the rule of the six-person council, and establish a new municipal council with the church as the core.
Finally, land and wealth are redistributed to make the entire society relatively fair.
This is what truly solves the problem at its root."
"I really can't believe that I can hear such remarks from the mouth of a high-ranking official in Amn." Ilmat was obviously surprised, but soon he sighed involuntarily. "Sigh - if
If we follow the second method to solve the problem at its root, the city will flow into a river of blood and many people will die."
Zuo Si shrugged his shoulders and responded: "That's something that can't be helped.
If you want to implement radical changes at the social level, you must overthrow the existing ruling groups with vested interests.
As far as I know, no vested interest group is willing to hand over everything it has worked so hard to obtain.
Therefore, the use of violence is almost one of the necessary means to achieve success.
This is why I emphasize that it is difficult for a truly kind and good person to become an excellent ruler.
Because no matter what the decision is, it is usually destined to sacrifice the interests of some people to satisfy the interests of other people.
When should the people at the bottom be sacrificed, and when should the nobles and businessmen be sacrificed? It requires an extremely rational and calculating mind to do it.
In addition, the reason why I dare to say this is because I know that with your character and ideas, you will never be able to support such a bloody and violent social change."
When Ilmat heard this, he couldn't help laughing immediately: "Yes, I will never support these actions that may obviously lead to violence and death. Not only me, the God of Justice, the God of Loyalty and Courage
I won't support it either. Tell me, why did you come to me this time?"
"I want to talk to you about Calimshan."
Zuo Si did not hide anything and stated his intention straightforwardly.
"Calimshan?" Ilmat frowned subconsciously.
Although Calimshan has the largest number of believers due to the practice of slavery, he does not like this country at all.
Zuo Si nodded seriously: "Yes, Calimshan. Not long ago, I just reached a cooperation agreement with Shane VII, preparing to deal with the Entangling Talisman and the "Sharp Teeth" of Ivicola Sagraland.
Take action to help restore the Shah En Dynasty."
"Xia En VII? He is still alive!"
The God of Suffering was obviously very surprised by this.
After all, Xia En VII has disappeared for nearly a thousand years through suspended animation. Unlike the goddess of magic, who can instantly discover the identity of the caster connected to the magic network, he knows nothing about it.
"Well. Not only is he still alive, but he has transformed himself into a lich. Since Calimshan is the place with the largest number of your followers, I would like to ask you about your attitude on this matter." Zuo Si raised his head and looked at El.
Matt's eyes.
The God of Suffering lowered his head and considered for a moment, and immediately replied: "Order is better than chaos. At present, Calimshan has become extremely bad under the control of the Entangled Talisman and countless thieves guilds, so I don't think so.
Oppose the restoration of Shah En VII."
"I feel relieved when I hear you say that. Oh, by the way, Shane VII also promised to abolish slavery after regaining his country, in return for your support for him."
Zuo Si appropriately provided the final assist.
"Abolition of slavery? I'm afraid this is not the idea of Shane VII, but your proposal, right?"
Ilmat's face suddenly showed undisguised joy.
You don't need to ask to know that in his eyes this is a hundred times more important than the restoration of the Shane Dynasty.
"Is there any difference?" Zuo Si smiled and spread his hands.
The God of Suffering also laughed: "If you are result-oriented, there is really no difference. Soth, you have not disappointed me, and you are constantly bringing good changes to this suffering world. Go tell Xia En
In the seventh life, I and the Church of the God of Justice will recognize and support his legal right to rule Calimshan."
"As you wish..."
Zuo Si put one hand on his chest and bowed slightly.
Ilmat nodded in response with a smile, then turned into a golden light and disappeared without a trace.
"He is truly a God who cannot help but be awe-inspiring, right?" The diary suddenly sighed.
"Yes! In Faerûn, if there is a god who can represent true kindness, it must be the God of Suffering. Unfortunately, his teachings determine that he will never be able to achieve powerful divine power, and there may even be a possibility that the whole world will turn against him.
They develop in a good direction and then decline. Maybe this is the so-called good people are not rewarded."
After that, Zuo Si ignored the diary and walked towards the stronghold of Talona New Sect not far away.
As the representative of God in the material world, he had the identity of a chosen one and came directly to the huge statue of the goddess without any obstruction.
Before the trainee priests who were cleaning could react, the leader of the sect, Ilze, rushed in from another room and drove everyone out of the hall, including himself.
After the area was completely cleared, a graceful young woman appeared out of thin air directly under the statue.
You know without asking that she is the descended incarnation of Talona.
Different from her previous dress, the goddess put on a translucent low-cut sexy black gauze skirt today. She came closer with elegant and seductive steps, held Zuo Si's cheeks in her hands and kissed her without saying a word.<
/p>
When they were separated, Zuo Si didn't even bother to wipe the remaining saliva on his lips. He was shocked to find that his priest level had actually increased by ten levels, from lv5 to lv15.
Counting the lv10 of the [Mystic] profession, the total magical casting level has reached lv25.
Not only that!
He also obtained three tenth-level magical slots and four legendary magical slots, as well as a unique legendary magical skill - [Summoning the Incarnation of Talona].
Yes!
The goddess of poison and disease very generously gave the elect the spell to summon her coming anytime and anywhere.
It is estimated that throughout the entire history of Faerûn, no other chosen god has ever received this honor.
Because for God, the existence of the elect is to carry out some dangerous tasks and fight against enemies who are inconvenient for him to show up in person.
If voters are given the power to summon their own incarnations, it would be more cost-effective to do it themselves.
"How about it? Are you satisfied with this gift?" Talona raised the corners of her mouth with a playful smile.
"What else can I say? Of course I couldn't be more satisfied."
Zuo Si gave an affirmative answer without any pretense.
Although he knew that he had unintentionally helped him upgrade from a weak divine power to a medium divine power, the goddess would definitely give him a huge reward.
But I never expected that the rewards would be so amazing.
Needless to say, it goes without saying that directly improving ten priest levels is very rare in any divine church.
Especially Zuo Si has no faith at all in Talona.
But compared with giving three ten-ring divine spell slots and four legendary divine spell slots, ten priest levels are nothing at all.
As for the final [Summoning the Incarnation of Talona], it goes far beyond the scope of ordinary legendary magic.
So after the brief surprise, Zuo Si also took out his return gift, a small box covered with a powerful magic seal.
"What is this?" the goddess asked with a tone of surprise and joy.
"A key that can help you develop powerful divine power before you obtain the priesthood of death." Zuo Si replied calmly.
"Oh?!"
An expression of ecstasy instantly appeared on Talona's face, and she raised her hand and tore the lid of the box into pieces.
The next second...
A thing that cannot be observed by the naked eye, but exudes a dazzling light, lies quietly in the middle of the box.
It looks so fragile and small, as if it may collapse at any time.
Priesthood!
As a goddess, Talona recognized at a glance that this gadget was exactly what countless gods were crazy about and longed for.
Especially those demigods who have not yet obtained a priesthood, they are even willing to pay any price to obtain the most inconspicuous priesthood.
No hesitation!
Talona reached out and carefully picked up the little thing and raised it high above her head, feeling the complex rules contained in it. After about ten minutes, she couldn't help laughing loudly: "Hahahaha! It's a spore! It's actually a spore.
Priesthood!
No wonder you say this is a key to powerful divine power.
With this, I can slowly develop the priesthood of fungus and compete with the fungus lady Zugmoy for the myconid's faith.
What's more, I can separate viruses and bacteria from the clergy of disease, and together with fungi form an integral part of the natural cycle - degradation.
After I achieve this, no one can stop me from becoming a member of the powerful god.
Soth, you really brought me a huge surprise this time."
"All this is thanks to Shar, the goddess of the night. She used her divine blood and the mycelium left in the material world by Mrs. Fungus to help Angel Poison Core become the God of Spores. As for this priesthood, it is
One of the trophies I got from killing Angel Poison Core, and it’s also the only thing I can’t use.” Zuo Si shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.
"But to me, this is a priceless treasure. It seems... I have to give you more in return."
With that said, Talona immediately absorbed the spore priesthood, then opened her arms to give her chosen one a hug, and let them feel the soft and broad "mind".
Seeing this, Zuo Si hurriedly dodged and refused: "If it's this kind of reward, forget it. I'm not ready for this, let alone such stimulation."
"Haha, don't be shy, there is a first time for everything. I promise, it's just a simple hug."
As the last word blurted out, Talona took a step forward at lightning speed, hugged Zuo Si's head tightly in her arms, and her whole face fell involuntarily.
After about ten seconds, she let go of her hand and admired the slightly embarrassed look of her electorate with a slightly playful look.
There is no way not to be embarrassed!
You must know that Zuo Si's body has entered puberty, which is the age when physiological impulses are most likely to occur. How can he withstand such stimulation?
So it took him a long time to calm down the restless hormones in his body, and he said with great annoyance: "If you do this again, I won't come next time."
"Don't be angry, I promise I will ask for your opinion in advance next time." There was a hint of cunning in Talona's eyes.
You don’t need to ask to know that the goddess obviously enjoys this kind of intimate and slightly ambiguous interaction.
Zuo Si shook his head helplessly and took out the [Talona's Favor] he carried with him: "Here, the soul of Angel Poison Core is sealed here. I think you have an account with him that needs to be settled.
”
"Ah! If you didn't tell me, I would have forgotten it. Come, let me see what this traitor has to say."
Talona stretched out a finger and tapped the scepter lightly.
Instantly!
The soul that was originally captured and imprisoned emerged from it.
The moment he saw the goddess of poison and disease, Angel Poison Core's expression suddenly changed. He turned around and tried to escape through the roof.
It's a pity that with only his soul left, how could he escape the control of a true god?
Before it could fly very far, it was forcibly pulled back by a huge force.
"My most beloved believer, where do you want to go? Do I just scare you like this?" Talona sneered and mocked.
"Great goddess! Merciful goddess! Please let me go! I swear that after I am resurrected, I will serve you as my lord again."
Angel Poison Core knelt on the ground and begged without restraint.
Since he briefly became the God of Spores, he knows better than any mortal what a god can do to a soul that has no resistance.
Especially if you fall into the hands of a goddess like Talona, who is bound to retaliate, it would be better to lose your soul immediately.
"Humph! Let you go? Stop dreaming! I will drain all the potential of your soul! Let you accept the punishment in eternal pain and despair!"
Talona suddenly released a ball of divine power containing powerful curse power from her palm, pouring it directly into Angel Poison Core's soul.
The latter didn't even resist for a second, and immediately let out a heart-rending wail, and slowly grew a large number of numbing parasite-like things from the depths of his soul.
While they eat Angel Poison Core's soul, they release energy that can repair the damaged soul, causing the wound to cycle back and forth in constant healing and tearing...