On the raised platform before the Temple of War, all the priests—including Naina—had fallen into a dull, sluggish state following the impact of the "spiritual storm," an indescribable silence settling over them.
Lucian, draped in a simple white robe, smiled as he surveyed the crowd below, then said calmly to Naina: "Your Eminence, might I ask whether it's time to announce the results of the theological debate? It seems to me that Priest Nob and the others no longer have the heart to continue the discussion."
Naina's body trembled slightly. She cast an icy glance at Lucian, then addressed Nob and the other priests: "Do you agree with Priest Leviathan's proposal?"
Nob instinctively wanted to object, but his mind was utterly blank—he couldn't find a single word of rebuttal. Instead, descriptions such as "ineffable," "supreme," and "transcending all things" surfaced in his thoughts.
In a daze, his mouth betrayed his "will": "N-no objections."
"Neither do I." The priests of the God of Love and the God of Wisdom, who had already lost in the first round of debate, answered in dejected tones.
The remaining priests struggled and hesitated for a moment, then likewise gave up their opposition to Lucian's proposal. In the end, three deities would be allowed to remain in the Sorna River Valley. Even excluding the Gods of Resurrection, Abundance, and Redemption, the deities they worshipped still had hope.
Naina half-lowered her eyelids, concealing her emotions, and said in a thin voice: "In accordance with the divine oracle of the supreme Lord of War, there shall be three winners of this theological debate. Their sects shall be granted the right to preach in the Sorna River Valley. The three victorious sects are..."
Without realizing it, she had applied the description "supreme" to the Lord of War.
Nob, Bolkan, and the other priests held their breath, waiting intently for Naina to announce the winners. On stage and off, the atmosphere was suffocatingly oppressive—as though even the slightest breath might blow the desired outcome away.
"...The sect of the God of Resurrection, Abundance, and Redemption." Naina's tone was calm and unruffled. The surrounding priests and the believers below neither showed surprise nor drew a sharp breath—they remained tense and somber, for this was an expected result. It was rather "Leviathan" and the Francis beside him who stayed perfectly composed, giving people a vague inclination to believe in the god El.
Observing the composure and reactions of a sect's priests and missionaries could indeed offer a glimpse into whether the god they worshipped was truly divine and great.
"...The sect of the Moon God." The moment Naina uttered the word "Moon," Nob dropped to his knees in excitement, pressing his forehead to the wooden planks, murmuring prayers and words of gratitude. "And the sect of the Lord of the Underworld."
Bolkan, the priest of the Lord of the Underworld, cried out in jubilation, praising the Lord of the Underworld and thanking the Lord of War, while the priests of the God of Thunder and Lightning, the God of Wind and Storm, and others turned pale, their bodies seemingly drained of strength, swaying with every passing breeze.
Naina spoke with cold cruelty: "Before the sun sets tomorrow, all temples and shrines belonging to sects other than these three must leave the Sorna River Valley entirely. Those who worship them must change their faith—or they too shall be cast out of the valley!"
"What?!" The priests and believers of the other deities stared at Naina with mingled shock and fury. They had assumed being cast out of the valley would be a gradual erosion of each god's foundation. They never expected it to be so drastic.
The Sorna River Valley was rich and fertile. Most of the lower- and middle-class commoners here could fill their bellies with hard work. But once expelled from this place—and refused entry to the other prosperous lands controlled by the Lord of War—they would have to fight wild beasts, magical creatures, and "monstrous aberrations" daily just to scrape together a bit of food. All the priests understood that, barring fanatical believers, no one would willingly follow their sect on a pointless migration. The inevitable outcome after such a struggle would be a change of faith.
But for the priests themselves, there was no such choice. They could only walk their path to the very end. The moment they attempted to change their faith, the seed of spirituality would devour both soul and flesh.
Naina showed no fear before the numerous looks of shock, rage, and hatred. She raised her right hand sharply, and the soldiers immediately lifted their blades. With crisp, clanging sounds, they formed a dense forest of black iron, radiating a cold, piercing gleam.
Witnessing such synchronized precision, recalling Naina's strength that rivaled that of her own deity, and thinking of Beritan City at the mouth of the Sorna—the six great priests bowed their heads in sorrow and led their respective priests down from the raised platform.
Naina didn't so much as glance at them. She turned to Lucian, Nob, and Bolkan: "Your preaching in the Sorna River Valley must follow the laws enacted by the Temple of War. Otherwise, you too will be cast out of the valley."
With that, there was no celebratory ceremony, no "words of encouragement." She simply turned and walked into the temple.
Watching Naina's retreating figure, Francis secretly transmitted a message to Lucian, his tone casual: "It seems this High Priest of the Lord of War already intends to kill us. Or rather, the Lord of War intends to kill us—otherwise she wouldn't be so dismissive. Heh, our little speech just now elevated the great god El a bit too high..."
Speaking of something so grave, he seemed almost indifferent.
Lucian "struggled to maintain" his composure, letting a touch of surprise befitting his identity, experience, and personality show: "Then what do we do?"
"We'll talk about it shortly. Things are still changing." Francis gestured for Lucian to head to their inn to regroup with El, Jacob, and Anchus.
Lucian nodded solemnly, thinking to himself: *Is he waiting for the priests of the God of Thunder and Lightning, the God of Wind and Storm, the God of Wisdom, the God of Love, the Earth Mother, and the Sun God?*
Stepping down from the raised platform, the surrounding believers swarmed around him, their faces filled with longing—as though expecting salvation.
They were all followers of Avando, the God of Flame and Destruction, and had no particular resistance to the "two-in-one" god El. After hearing the rhetoric of Lucian and Francis, they found that compared to the terrifying and bloodthirsty Avando, they were far more willing to worship the great God of Resurrection, Abundance, and Redemption—and enter the Paradise of Eternal Bliss after death, where joy would never end.