Chapter 415: Let Us Celebrate! (Part 7)

Weier's singing ended.

The surroundings were extremely quiet; after all, no one had expected that in such a noisy celebration held in a temporary Yingdi, there would be such an elegant and wonderful poetic performance.

Truthfully, Weier had never trained his voice, and although his face was handsome, not losing to the most famous Bards in big cities, his voice and stage performance were still far behind those Bards who made a living from it.

Especially since his body was injured, making it difficult to expand his chest to project his voice, which resulted in the people at the very edge of the crowd not hearing it very clearly.

But this was still the most wonderful poetic singing the vast majority of the people present had ever heard in their lives. After a moment of silence, starting first with the female members of the crowd, applause like a tidal wave erupted.

"Sob, sob, my hometown, I don't know if I can ever go back." Some people even wept tears because of this.

Others shook their heads and sighed: "My father and mother both got sick and died on the road while fleeing. I no longer have a hometown, so where can that moonlight guide me to?"

The female members of the crowd were mostly emotional, weeping for the poet's homesickness in the poem, and feeling excited because of the poet's feelings for a certain Moon Goddess. The male members of the crowd, meanwhile, discussed how things were in their own hometowns at this moment.

And where they would go in the future.

People were therefore discussing it in hushed tones.

Someone picked up a handful of loose soil from the ground, gradually squeezed it tight, and said to the people around: "I've decided, I will live here in the future. I heard from Knight Jier that maybe later we can bring our families over from the White Stone Pass. If that can be done, that would be the best."

There were also members of the Armed Squad wearing leather armor and leather skirts who spoke loudly: "Life these past few days has confirmed to me that compared to farming at home before, I prefer following Lord Jier to fight and struggle along the way. This kind of life suits me better. I will follow Lord Jier forward and fight together from now on."

"The Nongshen has pity on us, which is why He guided us through pain to this beautiful new home. My family, friends, and I will piously follow the guidance of the great Nongshen, settle down here, and work hard to cultivate this fertile soil." Some Nongshen Believers also discussed their decisions loudly.

The image of the Nongshen on the campfire nodded slightly, clearly approving of these believers' decisions.

Regardless, uniting to cultivate new land and develop agriculture is always the right thing to do.

Weier bowed slightly to the crowd and Knight Jier, then walked back to where he was staying with a graceful movement. Along the way, female members of the crowd called out to him loudly, wanting to come over to talk to him and touch him.

The old Merchant saw Weier's awkwardness and leaned into the ear of the boy Bobo to whisper something. Afterward, the boy jumped up and ran to Weier's side, using his hands to pull hard on Weier, dragging him out from the crowd's encirclement and shielding him behind his back.

There were not many children in the group, so the boy Bobo was usually well-liked by the people. Seeing Bobo blocking like this, everyone stopped trying to get close, which finally let Weier heave a sigh of relief.

"Well done, Weier. Have you really never thought about changing your method of revenge?" the old Merchant teased with a grin.

Weier showed a troubled expression: "Spare me, Mr. Fentijia. This is a very serious matter. I don't want to turn it into a farce and end up unable to do anything to those enemies."

The old Merchant shook his finger: "That's not necessarily true. Do you know how this land beneath our feet, the Saint Hors Kingdom, came to be?"

Weier was from the Southern Lianmeng Wangguo and naturally did not know the history of the founding of the new kingdom in the north, especially since the Saint Hors Kingdom had been founded for over ninety years—that was a time before his grandfather was even born. Unless one was a local of the Saint Hors Kingdom, or a scholar or Noble from another country with knowledge of literature and history, one would not know the specifics.

He shook his head. Seeing that Weier really did not know, the knowledgeable old Merchant told Weier how the great Bard Hols led his band to represent humanity and defeat all other races at the Ten Thousand Races Music Festival hosted by the gods of the world, winning the favor of the gods, being rewarded with such a vast kingdom, and becoming its king.

"So, is the country beneath our feet ruled by a Bard king?" the boy Bobo asked curiously.

Weier was also quite surprised. He had never expected that the Saint Hors Kingdom, whose population and economy could not compare to the Southern Lianmeng Wangguo but whose land area far exceeded it, had come about this way, and that the king was actually a Bard who could only sing to entertain people?

Could the world be any more bizarre than this?

"I heard not quite. The gods loved him so much that they gave him eternal youth and a long lifespan. And our king is not a power-holder willing to honestly govern the country. He is a romantic Bard, so he let his son manage as Regent while he himself travels and performs year-round. Who knows which human country he is wandering in now!"

The old Merchant knew a lot about these strange stories. After all, he had been a Merchant for a lifetime, traveling north and south and seeing everything; he knew a little bit about all kinds of common and uncommon news and intelligence.

After hearing this, Weier pondered for a while, but he still sighed: "Those enemies of mine owe my family too much blood debt. If I don't take revenge on them one by one with my own hands and instead use other methods, I cannot accept it."

The old Merchant nodded: "Then let's stick to the method we discussed before: get close to Knight Jier, become his good partner, look for an opportunity to become a Knight, and then go back to take revenge. Sigh, this is not an easy path either."

"When I made up my mind, I knew this was not an easy path," Weier clenched his fists and said firmly.

"For the next program, let me see, ah, it's perfect for performing right now," Jier said with a grin, holding the paper in his hand high.

Some people still remembered what it was like when they signed up for the programs, so they shouted loudly: "I know, I know, Lord Jier, is it the collective Prayer of the Nongshen Believers in our group?"

Jier snapped his fingers, *pop*.

"That's right, that's it. Just today, at this moment, the great Nongshen has descended before us all, so this collective Prayer of the believers is sincere, joyful, filled with gratitude, and truly earnest. Let us offer it to our great Nongshen, wishing Him eternal glory, greatness, mercy, compassion, generosity, friendliness, and tolerance."

After Jier finished speaking, he also raised his wooden bowl full of gratitude to pay tribute to the images of the Nongshen on the campfire, thanking Him for giving him and everyone such a rich and wonderful celebration with drinks and food. For the refugees who had suffered hardships all the way, this could be considered the most suitable good ending.

Priest Bata'er also led the believers in the group who had officially converted to the Nongshen faith to the open space in the center of the Yingdi. Everyone faced the images of the Nongshen on the campfire in unison, then knelt down, clasped their arms together with the believers on their left and right sides to show that everyone was closely united, and finally, everyone pressed their palms together in Prayer.

Priest Bata'er started it off, and then everyone recited in unison.

"I was lonely for a long time."

"We were lonely for a long time—"

"I could not endure the hunger of every day."

"We could not endure the hunger of every day—"

"I suffered much bullying."

"We suffered much bullying—"

"I had never seen what care and love were."

"We had never seen what care and love were—"

"Until I stepped into the fields and worked together."

"Until we stepped into the fields and worked together—"

"Until I stepped into the orchard and picked diligently."

"Until we stepped into the orchard and picked diligently—"

"Until every time I bent down to work, straightened my back, and smiled at my partner."

"Until every time we bent down to work, straightened our backs, and smiled at our partners—"

"I understand."

"We understand—"

"I am no longer lonely."

"We are no longer lonely—"

"The outstretched palm will always be gripped tightly by someone."

"The outstretched palm will always be gripped tightly by someone—"

"I understand."

"We understand—"

"Every day, I am no longer hungry."

"Every day, we are no longer hungry—"

"Hard work brings rewards; overflowing granaries and bulging pockets make me laugh heartily all night long."

"Hard work brings rewards; overflowing granaries and bulging pockets make us laugh heartily all night long—"

"I understand."

"We understand—"

"I will no longer be bullied."

"We will no longer be bullied—"

"Simply because the strength of our unity is far greater and more numerous than others."

"Simply because the strength of our unity is far greater and more numerous than others—"

"But I will not be tyrannical, nor will I inflict violence upon others."

"But we will not be tyrannical, nor will we inflict violence upon others—"

"I understand."

"We understand—"

"I have finally seen true care and love."

"We have finally seen true care and love—"

"You and I have never met, but I know that you and I are brothers, sisters, and truly one family."

"You and we have never met, but we know that you and we are brothers, sisters, and truly one family—"

"We are one family."

"We are one family—"

"We unite around the Priest of the church."

"We unite around the Priest of the church—"

"Prayer to the Great God of Agriculture."

"Prayer to the Great God of Agriculture—"

"Please watch over me."

"Please watch over us—"

"Let me labor."

"Let us labor—"

The God of Agriculture watched the Nongshen Believers, and the believers also raised their heads, bravely meeting the gaze of the God of Agriculture.

The Nongshen Believers wept with relief, for they prayed to the wooden sculpture of the God of Agriculture every day, and today, the God of Agriculture had truly appeared before them.

The images of the God of Agriculture on the campfires also nodded affirmatively to these new believers at this moment.

Without speaking a word, for the believers, this affirmation was already enough.

Subsequently, the cyan light on the campfires gradually extinguished and drifted away; the Divine Power gradually transformed into ribbons of Cyan Divine Power above the camp, and one by one, the images of the God of Agriculture waved to the crowd, vaguely turning into cyan Divine Power as they rose, mingling with the streaks of the God of Agriculture's Divine Power in the sky above the camp.

The believers tried hard to pray silently before the deity departed, while the people around who were not believers raised their own Wooden Bowls and loudly praised the God of Agriculture in unison: "Thank you for your fine wine! Thank you for your delicious food! Thank you for sending Knight Jier and Priest Bata'er Jiaoshi. Thank you for your generosity! Goodbye!!!"

Regardless of age or gender, the words of the crowd finally turned into a single "Goodbye."

At this moment, the last image of the God of Agriculture was about to dissipate, but the flames of several campfires strangely began to flicker, their colors rapidly changing to a mottled green, and the tops of the flames even twisted into vine-like shapes resembling snakes.

This last image of the God of Agriculture was a young farmer; he glanced at these campfires that were showing bad changes, his eyes showing slight surprise and anger, and with a wave of his large hand, he whispered: "Return to where you came from—"

The Divine Power of the God of Agriculture above the camp flared with intense cyan light for an instant because of this.

When the Divine Power returned to normal the next moment, the campfires that had shown abnormalities now turned into normal flames. A certain existence that had wanted to appear and shout a few words was expelled by the God of Agriculture before it could officially emerge.

At the same time, this ritual of summoning the deity was also stopped at its root by the God of Agriculture.

The image of the God of Agriculture smiled at this moment, and to everyone who did not understand what had just happened, he gestured a "Goodbye" with his mouth.

Then he disappeared.

"What a 'Feast of the God of Agriculture' this was." Jier brought the raised Wooden Bowl to his lips, sighed, and then drank the wine in the bowl. With the departure of the God of Agriculture, the wine in the Wooden Bowl no longer replenished automatically, which made Jier quite emotional; he put away the Wooden Bowl, leaned against his carriage, and looked up at the Divine Power of the God of Agriculture drifting far away overhead.

At this time, Priest Bata'er Jiaoshi walked over; he had already let the believers gradually disperse, and upon walking over, he asked: "Is the celebration over just like that?"

"I suppose so."

Jier looked at the campfires in the camp and found that the fires had turned into normal orange flames, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

He had not expected that a simple dance would evolve into such a situation.

But the final result was not bad; everyone was very happy, and everyone had eaten their fill and drank to their satisfaction. The several celebratory performances were also quite good.

"What's next?"

Priest Bata'er Jiaoshi was full of energy at this moment, looking to be in excellent condition, far from the listless state he had been in earlier when the Divine Power of the God of Agriculture was consumed by treating the wounded for a long time.

Perhaps when the God of Agriculture arrived in person just now, the Divine Power of the God of Agriculture he had consumed was secretly replenished by the God of Agriculture?

Jier looked the Priest up and down and said with a smile: "It seems you can't wait, but no matter how anxious you are, you must first get the camp on the right track. Let me calculate."

Jier counted on his fingers: "The subsequent arrangements for the camp, logging, building houses, and reallocating team supplies and such, although they can be arranged simply by letting the people in the team handle it themselves, the organizational structure for handling affairs must be set up, right? After all, both of us have to leave, and it won't do if there's no one here to make decisions."

Priest Bata'er Jiaoshi nodded, feeling that although Jier was young, he had quite a lot of experience in handling matters. He would not just rush off and leave the Refugee Team, which could be considered to be on the right track, unattended.

"Secondly, it is the contact with the Human villagers of Torito Village. After all, the team is going to settle here, and contact and cooperation with the original Human villagers here are necessary. Otherwise, contradictions will only erupt later, causing conflicts. And our team possesses stronger military force, while the villagers are quite wealthy; when something bad happens then, it will only be blamed on the two of us."

Priest Bata'er Jiaoshi pursed his lips and hurriedly said: "Leave this to me. When I communicated with the villagers before, I found that many of the villagers were actually secretly believing in the Great God of Agriculture. Using faith as a bond, under the same faith, I believe the two sides will communicate amicably and gradually merge together."

"Merging requires someone to guide and lead; if no one manages it, contradictions will only erupt due to differences. So, after rescuing the villagers of Changmai Village, do you intend to bring people back here?"

Jier guessed, and he continued: "After all, to put it bluntly, it's hard to say how many of the Changmai Village villagers can be saved. But the population and believers here are real and present."

Taking a deep breath, Priest Bata'er Jiaoshi's expression was not very good; he clearly still had feelings for the more familiar Changmai Village villagers. After a pause, the Priest said: "I hope they can hold on. After we rescue the people, we will make a decision based on the situation at that time. If their physical condition is suitable, we will rebuild the village at the original site of Changmai Village. If the villagers' physical condition is poor, we will find a way to bring them back here to resettle."

Jier waved his hand: "Don't make a choice yet. Listen to me: the refugees here don't need the carriages anymore, so we will clear out the carriages, take only the necessary supplies, call some people to drive, and we will head south quickly. Let the carriage convoy wait at the ruins of Changmai Village, and we will take a small number of Refining Qi warriors, follow the tracks—there should be tracks, right? —follow the tracks to find the villagers who were taken away, and defeat that group of defeated and out-of-control Soldier teams."

Jier waved his hand: "Regardless of the physical condition of the Changmai Village villagers, bring them back here directly by carriage; you and your villagers can just settle down here. I must take those Dwarves away from here, find a large city for them to contact Dwarves living in Human society, and then catch up with the army. You stay here, lead and manage the Refugee Team, and handle the contact and integration with the Torito Village villagers."

Bata'er Jiaoshi looked somewhat troubled; Jier saw the other's hesitation, for after all, not everyone can manage over a thousand people well, and the vast majority of people lack this confidence and management ability.

He patted the Priest's shoulder: "Don't refuse; this job is one only you can do. Think of the good things, don't think about those things that make you feel you aren't up to it. The specific population of Torito Village is unclear, but it's probably around five or six hundred, and our team has over eight hundred, nearly nine hundred; even at the low end, that's nearly fourteen hundred people, which already counts as the population of a town."

"There are no other churches or other priests competing with you for population and believers; you are the only Priest of the Agricultural God Church, so what else are you dissatisfied with? Do you insist that I offer you my congratulations, Lord Pastor Bataer?"

Facing Jier's teasing, the Shepherd Priest Bata'er blushed and hurriedly waved his hands to tell Jier not to say any more.

"What do you mean 'don't say more'? Isn't this obvious? Today the great Agricultural God even came in person, spoke to you, and encouraged you; this is an expectation, a responsibility. Since the great Agricultural God chose to favor you, how could you refuse? So don't worry, do it boldly."

The Priest closed his eyes, pursed his lips, and finally agreed.

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