Chapter 237: Consecration and Manifestation

Xia Duo felt he should find a full-time blacksmith for the Territory; that way, whatever was needed could be forged at any time—wouldn't that be wonderful!

It was just that when Xia Duo spoke to Supervisor Yarman about recruiting a blacksmith, the other party shook his head repeatedly, claiming it was almost impossible for him to recruit any spare blacksmiths.

"Supervisor Yarman, besides blacksmiths, any other craftsmen are also urgently needed by the Territory; please put more effort into this aspect."

"Yes." Yarman ultimately found it hard to refuse Xia Duo's request and agreed.

However, Xia Duo also knew that craftsmen were in short supply everywhere, and he did not expect to find anyone with exquisite skills; as long as they were barely usable, that would suffice.

Or if they had talent, he was also willing to cultivate them.

After some conversation and finalizing all the details, Xia Duo returned to the Mage Tower, preparing to spend the night in the Library; since he would be unable to come for more than ten days after this departure, he still needed to make full use of the time.

……

Early the next morning, Xia Duo took the "Lucky Owen" back to Daxia Territory; seemingly sensing the Lord's anxious mood, Owen ordered the crew to row with all their might, not stopping for even half a moment.

Just past noon, the "Lucky Owen" pulled steadily to a stop near the landing point.

After an interval of four and a half days, stepping onto the land of Daxia Territory once again, Xia Duo felt very complicated. Here, in this fledgling territory that was nearly devoid of everything, he finally experienced the feeling of home.

All along, although he had tried hard to integrate into this magical world, there had always been a sense of alienation from the bottom of his heart; only now did he know that a wandering traveler always needs to take root and sprout.

And Daxia Territory—he would take root here; no matter what the future held, this was his home now.

For a moment, Xia Duo was in high spirits, and various thoughts about how to manage his own little plot of land flashed back and forth in his mind, complex and numerous, until Laidun came to invite him to witness the activation of the Altar, which brought him back to reality.

"Cleric Laidun, the Altar has been built so quickly?" Xia Duo asked curiously.

He had originally thought this thing would take at least ten days or half a month to build; he hadn't expected it to be so fast—even if it were made purely of wood, it might not necessarily be this fast!

While leading Xia Duo toward the Altar, Laidun explained to him: "My Lord, the most important things for the Altar are the regulations and the Holy Power; if it weren't for considering long-term use, it wouldn't even take half a day to build."

The two walked one after the other, passing through an area of temporary housing, and further south was the "construction site" currently being cleared; dozens of people were spread out along an east-west line, pushing southward.

Shrub after shrub and miscellaneous trees were felled, and even the weeds could not escape the "poisonous hands" of these territory residents; all plants taller than the ankles were cleared away.

And with so many people working together, even lacking tools, they had pushed the "front line" nearly a hundred meters south over these past few days.

As for those Slaves, because their bodies had not yet recovered, Qiaoqi and Laidun discussed and arranged for them to do some light work in the back; in short, they could not be left idle.

Moreover, they had one more task than the ordinary territory residents, which was to recite the "Lord's Quotations" written by Xia Duo; there were too few people now, so it was still a bit early to talk about laws.

For now, it was still in the form of quotations to announce some regulations, mostly behavioral guidelines; the style was different from other places, but it was not difficult to achieve.

It was just a way to strengthen their obedience.

As for the ordinary territory residents, of course, they could not escape it either, but no mandatory measures were taken; once they saw the changes in the Slaves, they would naturally take the initiative to learn.

Passing through the front line of logging, Xia Duo and Laidun had entered the jungle; after continuing for nearly a hundred meters, Xia Duo finally saw a circular clearing about two meters in size.

The weeds and humus on the ground had been cleared away, revealing dark brown soil with dense and blurred footprints on it; Xia Duo stepped on it and did not feel it soft, as it was clearly already packed solid.

In the middle, a layer of pebbles was laid out for about a meter, and on top of that was a half-meter-high circular altar pieced together from wood, with a pit hollowed out in the center containing a stone bowl.

The marks were very new, as if they had been chiseled recently.

On the surface of the wooden altar, that is, around the stone bowl, the Holy Emblem of the Lord of Radiance—a sun with a face—was carved in both the east and west directions.

This was probably the simple "Grandpa Sun" of the Netherese!

The body of the altar was carved with the text of the "Proverbs" and some patterns of unknown meaning.

At this moment, in Xia Duo's eyes, this so-called Altar was just an ordinary object, possessing no extraordinary power; now it depended on what Laidun did.

To say he wasn't curious would be impossible; not to mention as a Mage, just as a person from Earth, how could he not have any thoughts of peeking at a "god"?

"Begin."

Saying this, Xia Duo stepped back and signaled for Laidun to start.

"Yes."

Laidun responded, then stood to the east of the Altar, knelt on one knee, raised the Holy Emblem (a Magic Artifact), and began to pray toward the sun hanging overhead, slightly to the west.

At first, Xia Duo didn't feel anything, but as Laidun's voice grew louder, a layer of hazy radiance appeared around Laidun and spread outward unstoppably.

Xia Duo stepped back again, but he was still enveloped by this radiance; within this radiance, Xia Duo felt the beauty of the order of the world.

From the natural order of high mountains and flowing water, the birth and destruction of elements, to the human order of national hierarchy and self-regulation, everything in the world was within order.

As soon as this thought was born in his heart, Xia Duo felt the radiance grow even brighter, to the point that a warmth arose, like the sunlight of a winter day, warming not only the limbs but also the heart.

However, that was all.

This radiance quickly converged, concentrating on the Holy Emblem (Magic Artifact) in Laidun's hand, and finally projected onto the Holy Emblem (pattern) on the Altar.

The Holy Emblem on the Altar did not refuse anyone, absorbing all the radiance completely, and thus, a scene that appeared nearly like a Divine Miracle appeared in Xia Duo's eyes—

This crude wooden pieced-together Altar slowly changed its material, merging with the stone bowl above it, turning into a material that was neither metal, nor wood, nor stone.

And in Magic Vision, this Altar was already filled with dazzling holy radiance, and an invisible aura spread out, shrouding the two-meter area around the Altar.

Within this range, countless small insects crawled out of the ground one after another, fleeing as if to save their lives.

Xia Duo was just marveling at the wonder of the Altar when Laidun, who was kneeling on one knee over there, could no longer support himself, collapsed to the ground, and began to cry "woo-woo-woo," while muttering to himself:

"My Lord, you are the Lord of Radiance, the Lord of Order."

"Laidun? Laidun, are you alright?"

Xia Duo stepped forward and patted Laidun on the shoulder, but he did not expect Laidun to grab his leg all of a sudden: "Lord, I saw it, I saw it; My Lord showed me His Dao, My Lord, your Dao will surely walk upon the earth!"

Then Laidun described to Xia Duo, in a disjointed manner, what he had seen in the radiance—the scene of Daxia Territory with strict laws and a harmonious government.

Not only that, he also vividly described a kind of "Tax Law," which was collected in tiers according to the amount of income, and another "Traffic Law," which even stipulated that one must try to move on the right side of the road.

"Lord, everyone moves on the right side, so there won't be any conflicts over the road."

Looking at Laidun's fanatical appearance, Xia Duo really wanted to say, there isn't even a road yet, what "Traffic Law" are you thinking about!

However, that Laidun could actually see the future scene of Daxia Territory from the Divine Miracle of the Lord of Radiance, along with some Traffic Law and Tax Law, was indeed something Xia Duo might do.

Could it be that gods really have the ability to foresee?

Then why didn't he, as the Lord, see it? Or was it that only believers could see it? Or was it just a deduction based on what was in one's own heart?