1204 Nature City Part 2 (1/2)

Don never mentioned how the establishment of the faith came about, and the effect was actually better than if he talked about it prior.

Saleen entered the temple with a crowd around him. The simple temple was built out of common green stones, but the nature holy prose carved on them was exquisite.

Saleen sat at a long table and had Isabella take out materials, assembling a magic array on the table before putting a memory crystal on it, activating the schematics within.

”Don, you have enough Heaven Knight Armor to arm your knight corps. I'll provide a sturdy city for the Nature Faith, which would allow the faith to be well protected.”

”This place doesn't seem to be the right spot for building a faith's sacred ground,” Don refuted.

Saleen smirked. ”I signed a hundred-year-treaty with Grand Duke Iron Blood. While this place may be close to the canal, there is no risk of getting attacked by the Grand Duke's army. Just keep a close eye on the Holy See. Unless you're telling me that 100 years are not enough for you to build an invincible army.”

Don shut up. He never understood why Saleen wanted to build a city there, as the terrain was too flat and devoid of any natural protections. The only relief was that there was a lone hill not far away from the city, which could be used to construct a fortress that would be closely linked to the city.

Saleen expanded the magic projections and revealed a huge magic map, suspended within the temple. Saleen pointed at the outline of Nature City and activated the magic array, saying, ”The city is to be expanded by ten times what it is now, taking in the fortress as well.”

The magic projection displayed the city Saleen designed as he spoke. The green city was incredibly beautiful and a creature that the Goddess of Nature had created—a kaplon—was flying in the sky.

Magic veins hung from the city's walls, and the buildings within the city were all made of magic wood materials. A huge temple that was hundreds of meters tall sat at the center of the city, overseeing the surroundings.

A river was designed as well, which was excavated and from over 600 miles away from the city, which could be guided to flow into the canal. The river was branched 600 miles away and a huge reservoir needed to be built to irrigate the fields near Nature City.

The holy masters were in awe. The city was beautiful. The layered buildings all looked like artwork. It captured the hearts of everyone who saw it, and even the ones who knew nothing about art were captivated at a spiritual level.

”How much...is all of this going to cost?” Some holy masters could not help but ask.

”Can faith be weighed in gold?” Saleen uttered a line that sounded like the pretentious sham than any priest said. If a mage heard Saleen utter such a line, they would throw Fireballs at him. However, the holy masters were moved.

Even if His Highness Saleen was not a believer, he seemed to be very close to god.

The hundred or so holy masters around them were the earliest batch of adherents of the Nature Faith, with the exception of the ones who had betrayed the Lord of Glory.

Saleen addressed the minor holy masters, the elders of the faith in the future. ”I'm only building Nature City for the goddess as an individual. I implore every one of you to bear witness that I'm going to make it so that the goddess will advent on the mainland again, and cast the Lord of Glory, the fiend of a god, out of Myers Mainland!”

The words that Saleen spoke contradicted Nature Faith's teachings. However, none of the holy masters caught on, as the Lord of Glory's presence had been around on the mainland for generations.

Everyone had an impression that so long as the Lord of Glory was present, no other gods were allowed to propagate their faiths.

As such, it was not actually the Goddess of Nature's problem for wanting to cast the Lord of Glory out, as it had been the Lord of Glory who refused to tolerate the Goddess of Nature's existence in the first place.

Saleen's words were extremely seditious. ”If I begin building the city now, Nature City will be built within the next three days.”

”Three days?” Even Don found that unbelievable.

”From this day onward, the goddess' teachings shall shine on this land,” Saleen said as he cast Puppet Constellation.

Saleen played his hand well, as he was not actually duping the believers entirely. He was fated to help Myers resurrect, and he would pour his heart and soul into it. The contract between them would only be fulfilled when the goddess was resurrected.

The huge Puppet Constellation hovered in the air and shrouded the entire Nature City. The sparse population of the city all saw the sun disappear and stars rise. The sky was flawlessly pure. It was a blue color that neared black.

The rate of the stars at work had not originally been observable with the naked eye, but at that moment, everyone saw how the stars worked and they felt rather insignificant.

That was fate—the fate of people. It was just like how they were able to see the stars, and that even if they were able to see how the stars ran, there was simply nothing they could do to alter them.

Powerful people fought against fate, but they were destined to perish sooner or later. Such was the fragility of humans, and gods were no exemption as well!

The adherents of Nature Faith all knew that the goddess had perished, but she would once again rise on Myers Mainland. It was a message that the goddess had left, and one that every adherent believed with all their heart.