Chapter 475: The Mother Goddess Appears

The Ancestor Goddess paused in the air for a moment, clearly needing a bit of buffer time to accept the current devastated state of Eight Peaks. We imagine the past glory of Eight Peaks from stories passed down through the ages, but she watched this fortress develop step by step.

"Clatter!"

The merciful Mother Goddess did not keep us waiting long; she took the Great Goblet from her waist and tossed it into the sky. Nectar poured out from it like a waterfall, transforming into a screen of green rain across the sky.

"Praise Valaya! Praise the great Ancestor Goddess!"

"Sigmar above! This, this is a true god! A true god!"

"So a true god can actually appear before mortals like this?"

As the raindrops fell, vibrant vitality and healing power moistened every attendee. While the clansmen were extremely excited, they were still slightly inferior compared to the humans around them.

The reason for this is that His Majesty Snorri Thorsson had descended divine grace on her behalf on countless critical occasions, turning the tide and saving the situation. Every clansman knew that the Mother Goddess had already awakened, and it was only a matter of an opportunity before she would step into the Mortal World again.

With this psychological expectation, most people could still control their emotions and not be too unseemly. But humans were different; in the lake, unless one was a Grail Knight or the Fay Enchantress, even great nobles had no chance to pay their respects.

Seeing that she was about to return to the God Realm, the cheers of the clansmen grew wave after wave. I don't know which quick-witted person took the lead in swearing an oath, but before she could look back and nod, the situation became uncontrollable, and the venue had already become an enhanced version of Jiliuguan's "Howling Bull Competition"—

I also exchanged for my own gold currency notes. They were divided into two versions; the commemorative version personally blessed by the Ancestor Goddess had her profile on the front, while the back featured the main gate of the Eight Peaks fortress.

The Empire's side was even worse; it seemed that the friend of the mountains, Heldenhammer, had completely left the Mortal World after becoming a god, and even among the successive Grand Theogonists of Sigmar, none had ever claimed to have met him.

The Mother Goddess had turned around to enter the vortex, but His Majesty Snorri called out to her. The honor guard opened seven boxes at the right moment, and she flicked her finger from afar, splitting a green divine light into seven beams that circled a few times before entering them.

If one did not want to organize another Joint Expeditionary Force in a short time, leaving behind some troops to support him was a must. That said, these were all battle-hardened veterans who had experienced major events!

6876.4.29. Logically, after the ceremony and the distribution of spoils, the coalition army should have disbanded and started the journey home, but now another undercurrent was surging among the clansmen. Fifty percent, perhaps thirty percent of the warriors were planning to settle in Eight Peaks—the place where the Ancestor Goddess had descended to the Mortal World again after thousands of years.

It seemed that appearing in the Mortal World like this had a huge cost. The Ancestor Goddess suppressed the thousands of words she wanted to say to us with a deep breath, expressing her attitude and vision in a concise manner.

6876.4.28. The grand banquet lasted from the end of the ceremony until the seventh day. The appearance of the Ancestor Goddess prompted the warriors to skip the originally scheduled merit-based rewards and start drinking and eating ahead of schedule.

The standard version had His Majesty Snorri himself on the front, while the back depicted the half-open gate of the Ancestor Pantheon—this was also the official emblem of the entire Southlands. The first batch had a denomination of ten gold coins, and it is said that other denominations will be launched in the future.

In this atmosphere, I felt as if I had returned to my youth, jumping onto a chair to cheer and swear oaths with my clansmen. Perhaps my aged, hoarse voice could not reach Snorri, but the oaths sworn could not be fake—

The Divine Cup finished pouring the wine and fell back into the Mother Goddess's arms. She pushed her hand, and the treasure flew in front of His Majesty Snorri. He caught it with both hands and then held it high above his head to show it to everyone around.

During the banquet, the humans showed extremely keen interest in the deeds and respective Authorities of the Ancestor Gods. Those in high positions were one thing, but there were not a few grassroots warriors who were not doing well who directly sought conversion.

"Thank you, Mother Goddess, for your grace! I have one more thing to report: may I ask you to leave a mark on this batch of 'Eight Peaks Recapture Commemorative Gold Currency Notes'?"

Just think, placing proper offerings in the temple and having a Priest preside over complex and solemn rituals was all to increase the chance of the vows and wishes being conveyed through the barrier between gods and mortals.

Humans also took a great interest in them, and many decided to receive their earnings in a half-and-half or even higher ratio, holding them for collection or other ideas. If the rumors that the so-called spoils were insufficient were true, this could greatly reduce the pressure on Belegar.

"The Dragonback Clan, from the clan head down, swears to recapture the Bottomless Stairs and realize the ancestors' long-cherished wish! We implore the Mother Goddess for protection!"

"Hah! We, and they, should all thank Snorri. Under his leadership, the race has begun to revive, but to restore the atmosphere of the Golden Age or even surpass it, we still need everyone to work together!"

6876.5.1. Having been on the expedition for half a year, I miss my fireplace and soft recliner. In the past three hundred years, I had never been so far from home; traditionally, the Sons of the Mountains should always guard their own fortresses.

Now that a true god was right before our eyes, if the oath could be witnessed and affirmed by her, then a separate page should be opened in the Book of Grudges of the clan and even the fortress.

On the way back, I have to spend some time organizing what I saw and heard on this trip. Recapturing Eight Peaks is a feat not seen in a thousand years, and witnessing the Ancestor Goddess return to the Mortal World is an supreme honor.

"We support all decisions of Snorri Thorsson; this cup is the proof!"

Regarding the spoils, His Majesty Snorri's original plan was to settle with the humans in kind and try to persuade the clansmen to accept the gold currency notes. But after the Mother Goddess appeared and expressed her support, the Sons of the Mountains flocked to this kind of paper money, with a strong sense that whoever was not active was a stumbling block on the road to the race's revival.

"Respectfully send off Snorri!"

Before the expedition, Alaric and I had made relevant contingency plans. After recapturing Eight Peaks, Belegar indeed had the opportunity to integrate those scattered ancient clans. But compared to the riddled and massive Earth Vein Network, that manpower was far from enough.

"I, Luis of the Red Mane Clan, swear here: with a strong enemy before us, we will never retreat! I implore Snorri to witness this!"

I, Ruben of Haojiaobao, swear to devote my life to the revival of the mountains until death!

The affairs of gods are not something mortals can speculate about, but theoretically, the more believers there are, the more helpful it should be. Haojiaobao also had Demigods in its ancestry, and one can glimpse a thing or two from the few words left by that ancestor.

The little beards were blindly pursuing volume and scale; some were not even satisfied with repeating the three great oaths that His Majesty Snorri had spread throughout the Old World, and wanted to go a step further in hopes of attracting Snorri's attention.

"Granted!"

And my beard tells me that, at the current rate, there will be battles of equal or even greater scale waiting for us before I go to report to the ancestors. His Majesty Snorri is still young; he will not stay outside the Old World forever.

"Thank you for your divine grace!"