Chapter 313 The Maharaja and the Bard

In a real fight, Ryan, who is considered proficient in fighting skills, may also be able to easily defeat these "social people" who don't even have weapons, but it is naturally a good thing to be able to solve them with a light spell.

So soon, under the distressed eyes of Weiss and others, Ryan had eight unfamiliar money bags on his waist. The only regret is that there is not a single Goldstat in it.

But this is normal. After all, in the original historical trajectory, a huge silver mine was discovered near ancient Athens, and the wealth it brought supported the rise of the city, which eventually dominated the entire ancient Greek civilization. And the same is likely to be the case in today's extraordinary version of the world, so the amount of silver is naturally far more than gold.

The amount of this raw material is reflected in the coinage, that is, private consumption is often based on silver coins. In large-scale transactions, even if both parties put tens of thousands of silver coins in large boxes, they are not willing to trade with gold coins of equal value but easier to carry.

"It's really rich, probably enough for a month."

As the saying goes, 'take all the baht and use it like sand', this kind of unexpected wealth is not something Ryan can cherish. However, after receiving the sponsorship from the ‘good Samaritan’, Ryan’s face looked a little strange.

"I didn't expect that the reason why they each carry a wooden stick is actually a factor of the Just Church... No, the paladins don't seem to be completely members of the church."

"Looking at it this way, I still need to buy some more materials to build a spiritual barrier."

Keeping this in mind, Ryan watched the hospitable locals leave in embarrassment. He collected the hair he took from several people and put it into a separate package.

Killing seven or eight people directly in the city would inevitably be a bit too disrespectful of others, not to mention that there are still paladins staying temporarily. Even these 'vibrant social figures' didn't dare to use sharp weapons, so Ryan just took a section of hair in front of them, scaring Weiss and the others half to death.

In the eyes of this group of people at the bottom of society, all spellcasters who are not from the church are proficient in curses and invisible existences that kill people. Having a part of your body taken away by Ryan is almost the same as death.

"Sure enough, just as I had expected, when the clergy spread, it was almost foreseeable that wizards would be demonized and ostracized."

"Athens and the Church of Knowledge are already considered the more neutral ones. Even the king has taken the initiative to promote the development of the alchemy industry, trying to overtake them in a corner and catch up with the Western powers' advantages in population and land. But even so, the private sector Such exaggerated rumors are still common.”

Shaking his head slightly, there are naturally reasons behind the differences between clergy and wizards, who are both spellcasting professions. However, Ryan does not intend to think about this subject that can be named 'paranormal sociology' anymore.

He returned to the corner where he had changed his clothes before, and put on the plain robe of extraordinary quality again. When he walked back to the South District, he didn't look like he had just robbed a group of active young people in the downtown area. Instead, he looked like a standard Athenian nobleman.

In any era, it is very beneficial to pretend to be a decent upper class person. They will be treated politely wherever they go, and it is naturally easy to gain the respect and trust of strangers.

Just like now, if Ryan enters the city again, I am afraid that the heavily armed guards will not only refuse to accept his money, but will also pay him a distant salute and welcome him.

…

In the southern city of Thuringia, outside a three-story independent loft.

Tap tap tap...

"...So, this is another direction for Athens' future development."

"As the only major country among the Panhellenic states close to the East China Sea, it is very necessary to connect the central region of the continent and overseas countries through sea trade and exchange supplies. In addition to alchemy, this is also one of the plans that the kingdom can try to implement. "

"After all, alchemy requires technology and time, and there is also the problem of a narrow audience - you can't expect ordinary craftsmen to afford expensive alchemical creations," while walking on the road, Ryan casually said some un nutritious classical editorials : "But trade is different."

"It only needs policy support, and then Athenian merchants and nobles will spontaneously trade in pursuit of profit, and this large-scale trade will inevitably bring benefits to the people and is conducive to the export of excellent local handicraft products. By the way, the wealth brought from other countries can also enrich the pockets of the middle and upper classes of the kingdom and bring greater sales of alchemy products. "

"Of course, all of this is based on Athens' leading institutions and folk craftsmanship. Only these are the cornerstones that guarantee everything."

"It's really inspiring..." With admiration on his face, a young man in gorgeous clothes couldn't help but nodded in agreement: "Mr. Irvine, you are really knowledgeable... It's a pity that I didn't get to know you until today."

"This is all God's guidance."

With a smile on his face, Ryan spread his hands helplessly.

"Although it's a bit regretful, this is the place I rent."

"I came to Thuringia not long ago and I don't have a fixed property yet. I'm afraid I can't invite a distinguished guest like you to come and sit here."

"Ah - sorry, I interrupted you."

Suddenly realizing that he had already walked all the way, the young man who had just met Ryan at dinner suddenly felt a little rude.

In fact, the classical natives had never heard of this kind of argument that everyone in later generations could relate to, and they were fascinated by it for a while.

"It doesn't matter, this wasn't your intention."

After smiling and saying a few more polite words, Ryan breathed a sigh of relief after the two parties said goodbye. He had finally gotten rid of this young nobleman. In fact, he already regrets it a bit now.

Once reincarnated, many of the old habits from when he was still a mortal were brought back, such as casually chatting with others during meals. Who would have thought that I would meet a serious person and chat all the way to the doorstep of my house.

Squeak——

After closing the door, Ryan walked into the house and put down several small bags he was carrying.

"The materials are finally complete."

"This local nobleman is of some use. At least he knows where to buy these things."

After changing his coat and taking out the things one by one, the package brought back by Ryan was none other than some gold powder, spices, salt and floral essential oils.

These things are not rare or illegal, but because they are mostly used in places where gods are worshiped, people who don’t need them don’t know where to buy them.

Fortunately, the noble young man who was very interested in the "key politics of the classical era" had this way - although Ryan still can't remember his name.

Close the doors and windows and draw the curtains to block out the light from the outside world, and the room immediately becomes dark.

Ryan lit a scented candle in the dark, and then used gold powder and some materials to prepare a light blue liquid. Using this as ink, Lane drew a circle around the entire confines of the house.

Some runes were traced out and distributed inside and outside the circle. When the last rune was carved, a feeling of 'isolation' from the outside world immediately filled the small room.

After completing all this, Ryan extinguished the candle.

"If I hadn't asked those few questions, I might not have known that there is still some trouble in this city."

Looking around the spiritual barrier he created in the darkness, Ryan nodded secretly.

This kind of barrier has no defensive properties. Its only purpose is to isolate the atmosphere from inside and outside. And the person that Ryan needs to isolate... is naturally the source of those energetic young people who want to 'return their evil ways' and use sticks for blackmail.

Paladins are special priests who have been active on the earth before the New Era. They are also a group of extremists who fanatically believe in justice and kindness. They are a professional system created by Themis herself.

But strictly speaking, the paladins may not all be believers of the goddess of justice and law. Most of them are, but not absolutely, even if many of their key powers do come from the gift of the goddess.

They believe in justice, and those who understand justice the same as Themis naturally devote their faith to this goddess, but there are also some who understand it differently, and they choose to clean up the sins of other gods, or simply believe in justice itself.

Fortunately, as a type of clergy, these steadfast paladins have found another place besides the gods that can provide them with holy power, which is the aggregation of human beliefs such as truth, goodness and beauty, the outer world [Seven Hills of Heaven]. Therefore, even if there is no divine support, it will not affect those people with pure wills from performing magical arts.

Of course, regardless of belief or not, as long as all paladins strictly abide by the basic precepts and creeds, the power of the [Sword of Judgment], an artifact from the God of Justice and Law, can be borrowed at will. For this reason, These guys have some special abilities that are hated by many people.

"For example, the exclusive magic [Detect Evil] is among them... because fighting and killing without using sharp weapons are classified as 'fighting' or 'manslaughter', while those using sharp weapons are classified as 'violent organization', 'murder' and ' "Plunder", the "evil degree" reflected by the two under [Detect Evil] is different, and the time required to eliminate most of this evil degree is also different. Therefore, under the threat of the paladin, even these people at the bottom of society unexpectedly. They all abandoned their swords and used sticks instead.”

"Tsk, tsk, what a strange unfolding. But looking at it this way... you have achieved your own 'justice' to a certain extent."

Ryan sighed a little, but he was also happy for Themis.

As an innate god, it is not a pleasant feeling to go against one's own vocation. It seems that she has finally found a balance between law and justice, at least to a certain extent.

Closer to home, the arrival of the holy warriors is naturally not without reason. According to Weiss, there is no temple of the God of Justice and Law in Thuringia, and the holy warriors who have been active nearby recently are said to be tracing traces of some cultists. .

The cultists haven't been found yet, but the security of the entire city has improved by several levels. Even the nobles have become more peaceful, which is quite ironic.

But that has nothing to do with Ryan. What really affects him is what he will do next, which is also something that is unlikely to be known by righteous elements.

After being a mortal without extraordinary powers for a few days, Ryan has roughly solved the problems of 'who am I' and 'where am I'. What he needs now is 'what should I do'.

But no matter what he does, he first needs to master the extraordinary power he can use.

"Logically speaking, as my human incarnation, this body and soul have extraordinary talents."

"If I am willing, I can easily reach the realm of demigods whether I am on the path of a wizard or the current professional path known as a knight, but..."

Shaking his head slightly, to put it bluntly, this is one of the reasons why Ryan's divinity is outside and his human incarnation has to come down.

Don’t think that the respected Lord of the Spirit World has claimed to explore the path to deification since n years ago, and to analyze the authority of the gods from bottom to top, but in fact, his current achievements are actually zero.

Yes, what demigods, what self-generated divinity, these are all things he has studied in the middle of the Second Age, and there was no further way at that time, and there is still no way to go further.

Cohen’s success is at best to prove the possibility of self-generated divinity in different ways from another perspective, but the progress of the ascension itself is also zero.

So in this case, Ryan doesn’t really want to go directly to the various branches derived from these two roads. After all, he doesn’t know whether this is a dead end.

He now needs another power system that can be used at any time, but can be discarded at any time, to temporarily increase some usable power for his human incarnation.

So the question is, in today’s human world, what is the power that can be used at any time and can be quickly cleared once it is put down?

"Of course it's the clergy, after all, this is the borrowing of external forces. And without the gift of the gods... the clergy is just a mortal with a higher life essence and a stronger soul after a long cleansing of the holy power."

Pick up the materials prepared in advance, and in the dark, Ryan continued to arrange.

Warfare and law are not acceptable, so naturally only pastoralism can be chosen, anyway, it's only temporary... But since he has decided to be a clergy, Ryan also needs to consider his own "belief" problem.

The Olympian gods directly pass, and the angels of the spirit world are the same-believing in his own subordinates, even if it has not been exposed, Ryan himself feels that it is a bit strange.

As for directly believing in the "Lord of the Spirit World"...Since the beginning of the world, no mortal has been able to become a god-favored person directly subordinate to the "Lord of the Spirit World". If Ryan does this now, it is simply saying that he has a secret, and all the primitive gods come to watch.

"So, excluding all impossibilities, I now have only one choice."

"Among all the worlds, only He is qualified to be the object of my faith, and only He will not expose my secrets. Similarly, He also has supreme power - cough, why does it sound more and more like talking about the mother tree?"

Shaking his head, putting those useless thoughts aside, Ryan looked at the well-arranged ceremony with a leisurely expression.

Stretching out his hand and pointing, a magic net wave similar to the basic [Light Spell] flashed by. Ryan lit the candle placed at the core of the ceremony, straightened his clothes, and then bowed down.

"The great snake surrounding the courtyard."

"You are the earthly python that devours all souls."

"It is the origin and end of all worldly sins."

"I, in my name, pray to you here... Please cast your power and come..."

The ancient language echoed in the closed spiritual environment, accompanied by the chanting of prayers, and invisible waves spread here. Yes, the incarnation of humanity prays for the power of its own evil thoughts, which is a very reasonable direction.

And there is nothing wrong with the mortals offering sacrifices to the Lord of Hell in order to gain power.

Moreover, the power of the Nine Hells has nothing to do with the spirit world, but the Lord of Hell has an old grudge with the God King on Mount Olympus. Therefore, if Ryan did something blasphemous later, it would be logical, and someone would take the blame for him.

Even the Lord of Hell has a fallen angel who was once in the spirit world, so it should be no problem for him to have many contacts with the spirit world.

In short, three is a natural holy number in the world of Chaos, just like the three goddesses of ash trees, the three goddesses of revenge, the three oracle tablets, the three goddesses of fate... and the name also has important mystical significance.

So when Ryan recited the three honorific names of the Serpent of the Courtyard in full, a certain connection was instantly projected from hell to this extremely simple little ceremony.

The power from the King of Hell began to fall, and in the process of sliding, it combined with the elements, was diluted a lot, and finally became the "hell version of holy power" that conforms to the order of the world. Then, under the guidance of a certain will, it was poured into Ryan's human incarnation without any hesitation.

In less than a second, the simple ritual collapsed directly, and it could not carry more power. But the holy power that came down in this short period of time still brought enough changes to Ryan. The power of hell hovered at his fingertips. From now on, he is a formal priest-side spellcaster.

"Well - it feels wonderful to give yourself a favor."

"But no matter what, I am now a person with a real identity."

"As a tool sent by the Lord of Hell to the human world, my origins have many flaws, but it is not a problem when it comes to the Lord of Hell."

"My purpose here is not other than to provoke discord among the countries in the human world, bring war and destruction, and corrupt the faith of the gods of Olympus. And my ultimate goal is to achieve the ten thousand year plan of the Lord of Nine Hells, to attack the sacred mountain, suppress Zeus, and make the devil clan great again!"

His tone became more and more excited, but his expression did not change. Ryan patted his clothes and took out a strange-looking musical instrument from somewhere.

As the embodiment of humanity, Ryan couldn't always behave like an ordinary person. He was destined to do many things in this era and stir up great waves.

He will intervene in disputes between countries, contact heroes favored by fate, and influence the situation in the world. The further he goes, the more his identity is a bug, which will make all people or gods who know his existence want to explore.

Simple disguise is not advisable. The less others can see the problem, the bigger your problem is. The more ordinary you appear, the more terrible you are. So in this case, if you want to cover up a secret, the best solution is to put on another secret that looks bigger.

The surface identity is a descendant of nobles from a foreign country. In fact, if someone investigates in depth, they will find that Ryan is not a noble at all, because he does not have any divine blood from a certain god... Going deeper, they will think he is a member of a hidden organization or has some special opportunity.

And in the end, someone will naturally find that this is actually a favored person of the Lord of Hell - no one would think that this can be a fake identity, even the King of Gods can't do this.

This identity may also be a lot of trouble, but compared with the "human incarnation of the Lord of the Spirit World", it is a small witch compared to a big witch. And this identity is probably a plus in the eyes of some people.

"Well, that's it. The holy power from hell... although it is mostly effective on the casting side, it seems to be able to nourish the body, but it is more inclined to agility and endurance."

"In that case, my profession should be considered a variant of [Bard] in the understanding of mortals?"

Silently making a judgment, humans always tend to accept inherent concepts, so Ryan does not intend to give his extraordinary path a new name that is too unique. Fortunately, there has been a similar profession in this world, that is, [Bard], which originated from the evil god of the north [God of Drama] at the beginning and gradually spread.

It has both the ability to cast spells and good melee ability. Of course, both seem to be more biased.