Chapter 249

This world undoubtedly has divine spirits in existence.

Corresponding sects are also blooming everywhere.

Although the Gods do not walk the mortal realm, the Clerics of good deities guide sacred power, evil cults hold dark sacrifices in underground lairs, shining Paladins oppose the world's injustice and evil...

All of this makes it difficult to ignore or deny the existence of divine spirits.

It can be said that on the Faerun Continent, divine spirit belief is a very important link.

Although, belief inevitably varies in devoutness, and believers are likewise divided into ranks—

Many people choose to devote themselves exclusively to one among the Gods, and follow that divine spirit's ideals and doctrines, becoming their true believers.

There are even a rare few who dedicate themselves entirely to a specific divine spirit, acting as their Priests or warriors to personally carry out their ideals.

But relatively speaking, the vast majority of people belong to the "burn incense at whatever temple encountered, kowtow to whatever Buddha met" type; anyway it costs nothing, so believe a little.

And it's believe a little in this one, believe a little in that one too, mainly focusing on practicality, spreading the favor evenly.

Pray to the Lady of Love Sharune for good luck in romance, make an offering to the Goddess of Trade Waukeen before going to the market, then pray for the Lord of Storms Talos to quell his anger before a raging storm arrives...

The probability of these acts of belief occurring on the same day is entirely possible.

For this kind of situation, the Gods can only pinch their noses and accept it; after all, in a certain sense it's actually like competing for user market share, so of course it's each by their own ability.

And no matter what—

Be it orthodox Churches or evil Cults, whether they choose to win hearts with grace or cow the masses with fear, ultimately they all must withstand the test of time.

Those able to remain are naturally Faerun's strictly selected.

Compared to them, the Supreme True God Sect currently only looks intimidating; actually it's just a Husky mixed into a wolf pack...

No, saying it like this isn't rigorous either.

Because it hasn't even managed to mix into the wolf pack yet.

It's just engaging in a closed-loop circle-jerk; most likely it hasn't gained recognition from other evil cult peers, nor has it truly achieved any results yet.

Conquering the entire Faerun Continent is of course unrealistic; never mind evil cults, even orthodox Churches cannot ignore other divine spirit forces...

But let's not talk about such far-reaching goals—

At least as an evil cult, it can't really have only a tiny plot of land, and even fail to fully control that tiny plot, right?

That would be truly shameful.

Yet the Supreme True God Sect is currently exactly this straitened.

It controls neither the Sword Coast, nor has it conquered Baldur's Gate; it's just developing sneakily nearby.

Sneakily farming a wave of development would be fine, but it even has to control internal members through insects...

—The more one looks, the more it looks like a hopeless sample.

Xia Zhi finds it hard to have any confidence in it; although it's a soft persimmon suitable for him to pinch, it's soft to the extreme, and without any hard strength...

This makes one very suspicious whether the entire evil sect might be wiped out by a party of adventurers popping out from somewhere.

Since ancient times, the Faerun Continent has never lacked such stories.

Can only hope this sect can be somewhat effective; after all, no matter how hopeless, it shouldn't have popped out of thin air, it should have some powerful backing, right?

………………

………………

On the Bay Road, about forty miles upstream from the Sword Coast along the Chionthar River, sits a prosperous city—

Baldur's Gate.

It is the largest metropolis and city-state on the Sword Coast, located in the Western Central Region, possessing tens of thousands of miles of land.

Although the soil is barren, its unique natural sheltered harbor keeps it away from the beating of coastal tides, making it an ideal location for cargo trade from the western Sea of Swords coast to inland regions.

For this city, which is possibly the most prosperous and influential on the western coast of Faerun, Xia Zhi naturally took it as his target.

However he wasn't in a rush; instead, he proceeded leisurely by traversing the wilderness, continuing to survey geography and scenery along the way.

Before long, in the vast Emerald Plains, he found a Druid settlement.

This settlement is hidden among the Woodland, its perimeter well concealed by cliffs and vine Plants, becoming natural camouflage and disguise.

If one didn't walk very close, it would be very easy to overlook it in these plains.

Xia Zhi didn't just happen to run into it; rather, he had originally set this settlement as one of the waypoints to explore along the route.

His environmental perception is extremely keen; even in a passive state, nearby environmental information is gathered through various forms of perception.

Time, space, gravity, geomagnetism, bio-waves...

Although the farther the distance, the blurrier his perception of the environment becomes...

But this "distance" and "blur" are likewise relative to him; mortals still find it hard to imagine.

"Those damn goblins!... Good thing Auntie ran fast... The leader was a drow!"

The Druid settlement's heavy stone gate has already risen, seemingly not preventing outsiders from entering, and at the entrance, a sharp, angry, hoarse voice is ringing out.

An old woman covered in blood, clutching one eye, is accusing those around her of some tragic history.

One can see she is truly pitiable; her pale hair is stained with blood specks, the eye she clutches cannot be seen but fresh blood trickles straight down, the situation is likely not good.

This displayed fragile and helpless image always wins others' sympathy.

Not to mention, the residents of this settlement seem quite familiar with her already, so a crowd surrounds this outwardly kind yet ill-fated old woman, caringly inquiring about her condition.

Xia Zhi glanced once, seeing the ferocious, deformed Hag surrounded by a group of normal people asking after her welfare, a comical scene of concern, and shook his head with a wry laugh.

Judging by this, Mingsala's initiative is still quite commendable, just a pity the result isn't too perfect...

This Hag was clearly injured by that drow's Nail Hammer, because I infused a trace of energy into that weapon, this aura cannot be mistaken.

However.

This Hag actually wasn't killed on the spot, but escaped with injuries...

He doesn't believe Mingsala would be careless; this only shows this Hag isn't simple either, at least her survival instinct is strong enough, and her methods aren't bad.

At this moment, as Xia Zhi approached the camp's main gate, that old ghost-woman who had been weeping in grief and indignation also glanced over.

Of course it wasn't because she was so sharp she could perceive the wizard's abnormality.

It was simply that she discovered a stranger approaching, so she subconsciously looked over once.

Finding no problem, and not discovering that the strange force which had severely wounded her originated from the other party's handiwork, the ghost-woman disguised as an old woman turned her head back and continued weeping her complaints.

"Hey! Come in quick! Don't dawdle, walk faster, the gate's about to come down!"

The people inside were also waving at Xia Zhi, urging him to walk faster.

"Alright, coming, coming..."

The young man responded perfunctorily, and appropriately quickened his pace.

And just as he walked through the main gate, the people inside gestured upward, and immediately the camp's heavy stone gate slowly lowered down.

"What's wrong, what happened?"

Xia Zhi asked in a lighthearted, casual tone, his gaze also sweeping over the person who had just hailed him.

He looked broadly human, but curved ram-like horns grew on his head, his skin was deep red, and his eyes were pure black with no visible irises.

Tiefling.

Derived from human bloodline, yet possessing features brought by devil bloodline.

The intelligence obtained from Mingsala instantly let Xia Zhi determine what race the person before him was.

"This..."

The young tiefling was about to ask the stranger before him whether he was a traveler or a merchant, why he was alone.

But the other party asked first, interrupting his thoughts.

However, seeing the wizard's open smile and hearing his voice, the tiefling instantly stopped hesitating, and instead spoke seriously to explain:

"Ethel Auntie was attacked, they say a drow led a group of goblins; if she hadn't been carrying a few magic potions, she probably wouldn't have escaped back..."

Xia Zhi didn't care much, and took the opportunity to size up this camp before him.

First impression: the greening is done very well; second impression: a bit too diverse — humans, elves, halflings all present.

Not just one tiefling either, but many.

A single glance revealed several tieflings with horns of various shapes on their heads.

They weren't clustered around the ghost-woman, but stood alert guard on the main gate and nearby natural cliffs, watching the movement outside.

This is quite interesting —

Because supposedly in most places, people usually view tieflings with suspicion, holding prejudice against them because of that devil bloodline.

And because of the environment created by such prejudice, many tieflings are forced to become swindlers, thieves, or crime bosses, forming a vicious cycle.

Yet this camp is interesting — it seems to have accepted this group of tieflings, even letting them participate in the camp's defense work.

"... Looking at it this way, the rumors might be true; lately it's very unstable, those goblins are acting abnormally, and now even drow have appeared..."

The young tiefling was still chattering on explaining, from Ethel Auntie's ambush all the way to the current situation.

"So you guys were tense just now?"

Xia Zhi asked casually.

"A bit. Although Sylvanus's woodland welcomes everyone, it absolutely does not welcome trouble."

The young tiefling sighed, expressing that lately everyone indeed felt some worry, suspecting those goblins rampaging everywhere, burning, killing, and looting, might bring trouble to this peaceful settlement.

Xia Zhi nodded thoughtfully, then asked directly: "Speaking of which, you're responsible for the defense here?"

"Of course!" The young tiefling held his head high, looking quite proud. "Halsin, the Great Druid, trusts us; we're different from those criminals!"

The young man sized up his proud look, then also smiled, reached out and patted his shoulder:

"The lad has realization... Alright, I'm going in to take a look now."

"Mm, be careful, just mind not violating the druids' rules — they're the masters of this place." The young tiefling nodded, still kindly reminding him.

The young man said nothing more, strode past the tiefling, and walked toward the depths of the settlement.

Although it's a harmonious scene right now, he doesn't think highly of this situation lasting forever.

Right now there may be no problem; that Great Druid perhaps truly is open-minded enough, but all this must be built on a foundation of peaceful, quiet days.

Unfortunately, with the Supreme True God Sect's activities in this area, that foundation is bound to be broken.

Once days become hard, crises and risks follow, and people's suspicion and mistrust inevitably follow close behind — and in this chain of suspicion, the tiefling race is undoubtedly at a disadvantage.

And at this moment —

"Hey, is there something wrong with that person?"

The young tiefling stared at the wizard's back; a companion at his side walked over and asked.

"No problem."

The young tiefling answered decisively.

"Good... hope nothing unexpected happens next; heavens, finally found a place willing to accept us, I really don't want to wander anymore."

The companion also nodded, relaxing slightly.

(Chapter End)