Chapter 645: Concealment Cloak, Positioning Nail, Protective Statue, Sheltering Farmstead

Jier asked, "May I ask, what are all these things?"

Following the direction Jier curiously pointed at the mottled-colored plant cloak, the middle-aged Priest who brought the items explained, "This is a type of Concealment Cloak that can hide one's figure in the Forest. It is a tool created by the Church modeled after the Forest Cloaks of the forest spirits. The colors on it resemble the fur patterns of animals, which can evade the observation of Human eyes from a distance. As for these various twigs and shrubs, they are related to the blessings they have received."

After speaking, this middle-aged Priest unfolded a cloak and draped it over his own body. He pulled the hood of the cloak over his head, adjusted the front edges of the cloak across his chest, and covered himself front and back, leaving no part of his body exposed.

Afterward, this middle-aged Priest walked two steps and arrived beside a stone table: "Watch closely."

He first stood still in place.

"There is an emblem of the Agricultural God here on the collar of the cloak; it will change after a light touch." As soon as the words fell, Jier saw the other person reach up from under the cloak and lightly tap that emblem.

Subsequently, all the various plant twigs and shrub branches that were originally drooping on the cloak stood upright as if they had been electrified.

The whole person looked as if they had suddenly become a base for the numerous plants on their body, similar to a mottled tree trunk that had been broken and then bullied by many plants.

"Uh, this?"

Before Jier could finish his questioning words, this thing in front of him, which looked absurd no matter how he viewed it, suddenly underwent a new change.

After activating the internal blessing of the cloak, not only did the plants on its surface stand upright, but as time passed, the surface of the cloak underwent new changes.

The cloak, which originally resembled the shape of a standing person, changed rapidly; the mottled colors on the feet area faded away and were replaced by a deep gray color identical to the surrounding stone floor.

Then, from the feet upward, both the human shape and the cloak gradually vanished, leaving behind a genuine tree trunk, with the trunk covered in damp moss and flowers.

As for the area near the head and shoulders, which most resembled a Human, the shape changed into a round cylinder, the same size as the base, with some vines and flowers quickly crawling up it.

The original twigs and shrubs turned black and became hidden, making them impossible to notice without careful observation.

Thus, in just a few breaths, a middle-aged Priest who was demonstrating a blessed item disappeared right before everyone's eyes, leaving behind only a cylinder the height of a person, covered in moss and flowers.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Jier would never have thought that this thing in front of him was not something that had originally been in this Underground Storage Hall.

Because the base of this cylinder covered in plants and flowers was clearly connected to the ground.

"How is it? After activating the blessing, it can quickly blend in with the surrounding environment. It is not easily discovered."

The stone pillar began to speak.

Jier had a strange look on his face; he hadn't expected this twig cloak to have such a good effect.

Afterward, the middle-aged Priest inside the cloak then squatted down.

At this, the cloak's transformation could barely hold up, but quickly, the squatting Priest's figure changed again; this time it didn't look like a stone pillar, but rather a low-lying green shrub close to the ground.

If it weren't for knowing that there was no custom of placing green plants inside buildings in the Human society of this other world, Jier would have almost thought that this shrub had been planted here by these Priests originally.

"That's enough, that's enough, I have already seen the hiding ability of this cloak; it is truly amazing."

Jier clapped his hands, his metal gloves clashing with a 'clack-clack' sound.

The shrub squatting on the ground stood up, then a hand reached out from within and lifted the hood of the cloak.

The middle-aged Priest then deactivated the concealment ability of the cloak and took it off.

"Then what about this item?"

The item Jier pointed at was a whole set of small gadgets, which consisted of a combination of a metal nail and several stone balls.

Just by looking, he couldn't tell what this thing was used for; he could only guess based on its appearance that the metal nail might be used to fix something in place.

"This thing is a mobile positioning tool used to determine coordinates in unknown environments in the wild. It is a good item developed by the Church over in the Empire, called a Positioning Nail. I will demonstrate it for you once, and you will understand."

After speaking, this Priest beckoned to his companions, and several people each took a part of this set of tools and went to the side, separating from each other.

The middle-aged Priest demonstrating the item held the metal nail, which was covered in tiny Prayer text on its surface, and stood surrounded by the people around him, then rubbed the surface of the metal nail lightly with his hand.

The tiny characters on this metal nail gradually became bright, but the light was very faint, and it was not easy to notice if one didn't pay attention.

After the metal nail lit up, the Priests holding the small stone balls around him successively extended and opened their palms, letting the stone balls in the center of their palms be displayed before Jier and the others.

Jier looked closely and discovered that the metal nail had no other changes, but the stone balls in the hands of the others emitted a fluorescent glow on their surfaces, and this fluorescence did not scatter toward the surroundings, but drifted straight toward the direction of the metal nail.

"How is it? Have you figured out how they are used and where they are used?"

Jier nodded, and then the middle-aged Priest holding the metal nail walked around, while the fluorescence drifting from the stone balls in the hands of the others also constantly changed direction, always pointing toward the real-time position of the metal nail.

"Truly amazing! If one has this set of tools, in thick fog or places with complex environments, one would not be unable to find the coordinates marked by the metal nail!"

Jier praised sincerely, because one could tell at a glance that this thing was truly useful and practical.

Not only that, the Priest holding the metal nail stood still, while the other Priests holding the glowing stone balls walked around.

Jier could see that as they moved, the fluorescence drifting from the surface of the stone balls also constantly changed direction; no matter where the Priest holding it walked, the fluorescence on the stone ball was always pointing toward the metal nail.

After the previous item was demonstrated, the next to be shown were two small Wooden Agricultural God Statues.

As soon as Jier saw this thing, he felt it was exactly the same as the black wooden bird statue he wore on his chest; they seemed to be the same type of thing.

"This statue of the Great Agricultural God is used to assist Priests in combat, exploration, and life in the wild. Everyone knows the name; it is a Protective Statue, or Hushin Statue of the God. Generally speaking, we provide them specifically for the use of Priests, but you, Warrior Jier, have sufficient Divine Power of the Agricultural God on your body, so you should be able to use it."

After speaking, the middle-aged Priest walked over holding the two small wooden statues and handed one to Jier.

Jier lowered his head to carefully examine this small wooden statue—no, the Protective Statue.

Unlike other images of the Agricultural God, although the face on this wooden statue was relatively blurry, its attire was clearly the typical image of a Priest of the Agricultural God Church.

He tapped the wooden statue lightly with his finger and discovered that although this thing appeared to be made of wood, its actual hardness and sturdiness far exceeded ordinary wood; he estimated that even stone was not as solid as it.

When he squeezed it with a little force, a ripple of Cyan Divine Power emerged on the surface of the statue to block Jier's action.

Interestingly, the Agricultural God's Divine Power consumed to produce the ripple of Divine Power was actually paid by Jier himself. Jier clearly felt a portion of the Agricultural God's Divine Power circulating on his finger pass through the metal glove and into the wooden statue.

"Interesting."

The middle-aged Priest took the other Protective Statue and went to a slightly empty space to the side, facing a place where there was nothing in front of him. He held the wooden statue and extended it forward: "The Protective Statue has various uses; the most common one is to make it produce a burst of impact force!"

After speaking, the statue flashed slightly, and a visible ripple of energy blasted from the statue toward the space directly in front.

Boom—

The attack range was not large, only about half a meter wide, the width of a normal person's shoulders, but the attack distance was six or seven meters long. A wave of Divine Power swept past, and some floating dust on the ground was blown up.

"Its power is decent; it is no problem to use it to subdue ordinary people or ordinary Soldiers. It can directly knock people flying or knock them to the ground. The impact will also make people feel a little confused; at this time, one can retreat or step forward to subdue the other party."

"Besides this."

The middle-aged Priest holding the Protective Statue turned around to look at his companion, and the Priest holding the stone ball that was pointing did not hold back either, directly throwing the stone ball in his hand hard toward that middle-aged Priest.

Whoosh—Clang!

The stone ball flew past, but when it was extremely close to the middle-aged Priest, it was blocked in mid-air by a cyan ripple of Divine Power from the Agricultural God that appeared suddenly.

After emitting a loud clanging sound, the stone ball dropped straight to the ground, and at the same time, the protective cyan ripple dissipated and vanished.

"It can also generate a Divine Power ripple with a certain degree of defensive capability in front of the user's body when the holder remains vigilant. It can slightly protect against shots from bows and crossbows for a short time."

"A short time? What is the specific strength? This point is very critical."

Jier asked about the key point; he could not really test the specific defensive power himself, so by asking about the specific situation, he could avoid making mistakes in future use.

"Specifically speaking."

The middle-aged Priest looked toward their leader, that elderly Priest in a black Robe. The other party nodded gently.

Only then did he say: "Looking at the force of bows and arrows, it can defend against seven arrows from a normal archer's full draw. As for crossbow bolts, it depends on the design force of the crossbow; common Soldier bows and crossbows require about ten crossbow bolts. Of course, the further away the incoming bows and arrows or crossbow bolts are, the more power they lose, and the greater the number they can defend against. The variables in this need to be personally experienced and mastered by the user."

The middle-aged Priest continued: "Besides this, it has other uses."

"For example, this."

The Protective Statue immediately emitted light; the cyan radiance was bright but not blinding, and most of the Underground Storage Hall was illuminated.

"And this."

The middle-aged Priest plucked a hair from his head, and with a wave of the Protective Statue in his other hand, the hair on his left hand smoked with cyan fumes and was burned to ash.

"Of course, the most important function is that it can serve as a medium for Priests to offer Prayer to the Great God of Agriculture in the wild. This point is very useful for some young Priests."

As he spoke, this middle-aged Priest also glanced at Bata'er Jiaoshi beside Jier.

Bata'er Jiaoshi immediately coughed in embarrassment.

"In addition, the Protective Statue can also serve as a reliable tool for indicating one's identity to the public, especially to Nongshen Believers; when they pray piously to the statue, it can truly generate a very small amount of Divine Power. It is very useful for indicating identity or uniting believers and gaining the trust of unfamiliar Nongshen Believers."

Finally, the elderly Priest in the black Robe spoke up: "Our Agricultural God Church never engages in that 'going it alone' business; the vastest number of cultivators are our truly powerful strength."

Regarding this, Bata'er Jiaoshi listened intently and learned, but Minggu Jiaoshi showed no reaction. Clearly, within the Agricultural God Church, thoughts and methods of doing things are not consistent.

After the introduction of the Protective Statue was finished, it was time for the next blessed item.

That was a miniature wooden house that looked like a toy.

It was not large, only the size of a fist, round and sturdy in appearance, with a flue opened at the top, no windows, and only a small wooden door made of the same wood on the front.

"This is?"

The middle-aged Priest held the item up, displaying it before Jier and Bata'er Jiaoshi.

"This is a Shelter Farmhouse. A relatively rare blessed item."

The middle-aged Priest looked left and right, finally seeming to give up on something: "The hall is underground after all, so this thing is not easy to demonstrate like other items. It looks very small, but after actual use, it will turn into a large house that can accommodate dozens of people. Moreover, this wooden house looks flimsy, but it actually has stored Divine Power inside to provide energy for protection; if you hide inside, even a Magic Beast has no way to destroy it."

Jier pointed at the small wooden house's door: "But doesn't this have a door, and there isn't a Lock or anything? Does it have measures inside to secure the main door?"

The middle-aged Priest shook his head: "No need. The wooden door of this small wooden house looks ordinary, but in reality, it can only be pushed open by the person who unfolds it each time. Unless others possess the strength to directly destroy the wooden house, they cannot open the wooden door."

Jier did not expect that this thing, which looked ordinary and backward, was actually quite intelligent.

After all the items were introduced, the middle-aged Priest handed the items to Jier and the other one by one, while the other Priests also prepared a paper document for the transfer.

It required the signatures or marks of Jier and Bata'er Jiaoshi, as well as Minggu Jiaoshi who brought them.

Minggu Jiaoshi directly used his finger to scribble a few times on the document, leaving behind a name written with his Divine Power.

Bata'er Jiaoshi could not be so effortless, so he had to honestly sign his name using the ink and quill provided there, then condensed his Divine Power to leave a circular Divine Power mark.

Jier chuckled, he flicked his fingers and also tried to scribble on the document, wanting to write his own name, but Jier did not possess the ability to project Life Energy at this time, so he had to honestly sign his name as well, then used the tip of a pen to prick his fingertip, leaving a drop of blood containing his Life Energy.

The difference between Divine Power and Life Energy was something Jier truly experienced here.

Compared to the convenient transfer and release of Divine Power, a Knight's Life Energy is more introverted; ordinary Knights do not have the ability to project Life Energy.

But this does not mean that Life Energy is weaker than Divine Power; it is different. When truly fighting, no one competes to see which is stronger or weaker item by item like a contest.

Real combat requires taking all kinds of situations into account; numbers, strength, reconnaissance, faith, technique, weapons, items, protection, terrain, environment, energy, fatigue, illness, and so on, all will affect the direction of the battle.

And don't look at the large number of Priests; most of them are not very good at fighting, unlike Knights who make a living through killing and fighting.

Compared to fighting, the actual main task of Priests is to develop Faith for their gods.

Force is merely one link in the development of Faith.

For the current Saint Hors Kingdom, the constantly increasing number of migrants and the second-generation population left the various churches with no mind to attack each other; the ratio of Priests to the public still made the various churches feel that manpower was truly insufficient and they were too busy to cope.

And when most of the land of the Saint Hors Kingdom is developed in the future, the population will no longer grow rapidly. By then, the competition for the faith of believers will shift from the growth of the total population to the struggle for the existing population.

By then, the various churches will not be like they are now, ignoring each other; religious wars might not happen, but conflicts and disputes will likely be inevitable.

After all the auxiliary items were finished, Bata'er Jiaoshi still needed a set of Priest weapons and equipment that he required.

On this point, Jier finally understood that Priests actually need to undergo a certain amount of martial arts training during the Novice Priest stage. Not to mention how strong or powerful they actually are, but at least they can protect themselves under normal circumstances, and the cultivation of a fighting consciousness is there.

Regarding this, the Priests of the Underground Storage Hall brought him a new set of equipment.