Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 300 The Age of Gods

A torrential downpour suddenly arrived, with dense, dark clouds pressing down on the tower, and thunder and rainstorms ravaged the weather-stricken city.

But this might not be a bad thing for the city and its residents.
"Clap."

Rean closed the window, but rainwater was still seeping out of the wooden window.

This time, the rain was completely different from the previous downpours. The rain was so heavy that Rean couldn't even see clearly. The endless dark clouds were a heavy, oppressive mass, and it seemed that this rainy season would probably last for a while.

Meanwhile, the maids were busy at work, the wooden planks and buckets rattling constantly, as the leak in the top floor of the three-story house was more severe. Ophelia and Lia, the two mechanical maids, were an exception; it was best not to risk them until the waterproofing of their metallic bodies was confirmed.

"It's the rainy season, and this time it's not too late. It seems the Lord of Storms is quite satisfied with his offering this time." The conversation between Head Maid Martha and another maid caught Rean's attention. The locals always managed to give Rean some completely unexpected information.

"This... is actually related to gods?"

The arrival of the rainy season is not purely a natural time of year, but rather depends on whether the ocean monsoon brings the moisture-laden clouds to their designated locations.

This summer has been long enough; if it drags on any longer, there will be problems with the first round of planting and the crops in the fields.

In order to keep the gods of the sea and storms from causing trouble, many places offer the most sacrifices and offerings. Even so, they still cause trouble every few years.

"Sometimes, it's to demonstrate their existence; these 'evil gods' often expand their influence through fear and intimidation."

You must believe in me so that I will not bring disaster upon you.

If I don't do something, how will you know how important I am?

Although it may sound far-fetched, such "evil gods" have not only existed in the history of various worlds, but they have also often had many believers and devout followers.

"Lord Rean, you come from the Desert Kingdom. In that environment, even the Storm Gods would find it difficult to bring rain. That is not their sphere of influence, so you are unaware of their methods. Every year, they send storm messengers to negotiate with the royal families of various countries, and many countries have to pay a considerable amount each year."

Rean was truly amazed. Could these churches really intimidate the kingdom and refuse to send rain if you didn't pay them?
“Except for a very few, there is no such direct competition among them. There is also competition among them. There is more than one sea god and storm god. If the country’s contribution is not enough, then the rain will come later. No god will help you adjust the scope and timing. If you are not careful, it will become a disaster.”

While nominally acceptable, the number of "representatives of the gods" capable of communicating with deities and guiding divine power to intervene in the mortal realm is limited.

Those bigwigs are using the money to control the weather in the countries they're funding, guiding things like cloud cover and monsoons. What happens to poorer, smaller countries next will really depend on the weather.

"It's hard to say if it's really just luck; if you don't make offerings for several years, you're bound to encounter bad weather."

At that moment, Rean suddenly realized.

This is a world with a God, who not only embodies the laws of nature but also intervenes in all things in a concrete and persistent way.

Rean found it outrageous, but to the locals, it was perfectly normal.

"The kingdom has long since run out of resources to offer to the Storm Church. They scrape together a little every now and then to try not to offend anyone and rely on luck. It's probably because the kingdom is really out of money that things have been alright these past few years."

This luck isn't even determined by natural weather, but rather by how natural weather will behave after these deities intervene.

"Our priority is the Church of the Sea God. If we keep encountering shipwrecks and sea monsters outside the port, then the city's maritime trade will be ruined."

The sea god and the storm god often have similar divine domains. Some deities hold both positions, while others are internally connected. Only when storms and the ocean are together can they truly intimidate the nations of the mortal world.

Small countries like Iserlohn, if they really lack money and resources, can only make do by contributing to one country, and then the other country won't go too far. Of course, this is on the premise that the country's religion is open, otherwise they will definitely keep an eye on you.

Superpowers, on the other hand, are too lazy to "pay tribute" to us. They only ask us for help when necessary, and that's when they charge a one-time fee.

Of course, such "interference in the mortal world" has a premise: not interfering in mortal political events, especially wars. But in reality, there are still too many traces of interference in history.

Leaving aside the distant future, if this torrential rain, which made it impossible to see one's hand in front of one's face, had come any earlier and overlapped with the cult's attack, no one could be certain what would have happened, and the losses in Radiant City would likely have been much greater. Rean looked up at the dark clouds outside, seemingly enlightened.

Gods may not be able to interfere in the mortal world, but their existence does indeed affect the course of the world. I seem to have underestimated those churches and the gods behind them.

"In such an environment, technological development..."

The demise of that technology-oriented civilization was probably not so simple.

If vehicles had been revolutionized, the traveler's patron god wouldn't have received so many offerings, and if large ships were strong enough to withstand storms and waves, the sea god wouldn't be as powerful as he is now.

The birth of a new concept or a new thing may not be as simple as liberating productive forces; rather, it may give rise to a "new god."

After thinking it over, Rean shook his head, realizing he had been thinking too far ahead.

In a world of the extraordinary, "technology" may not necessarily have an advantage, after all, gods truly exist. With too little information available, making accurate decisions is unrealistic.

The kingdom was too remote, and even the regional bishops were remnants of the past golden age. Living here, it seemed that there would be less interference from the gods. As a result, some dark elf gods came up to try to get a share of the spoils.

"I'm afraid that inventing something carelessly could really cause a lot of trouble."

"But if technology really has a certain limit, I'm afraid the previous 'Li Ensu' would have come up with some outrageous things."

People in low-end jobs and ordinary people will probably never have any connection with gods in their entire lives. At most, they might curse a few words when they suffer.

But Rean has probably already attracted the attention of the regional bishops under the gods, and they will have to consider more factors when making decisions later.

"How about we go check out the dock area?"

After thinking it over, Rean realized that with such heavy rain, going to the Mage Street to find information as planned would probably be a bit of a hassle.

Then, let's take a look at the Weavers' Knights in the dock area.
"Are you going out?!"

What Rean received were pairs of surprised looks.

"If it's not urgent, such a visit will also be a nuisance to the other party."

Rean then realized that, unlike the other world, this level of heavy rain would bring social activities to a standstill to some extent.

Even if you brave the rain to go there, the other person might be locked up and resting at home.

All the shops will be closed at this time because there is no business at all. Even if Rean went to the Wizard Street, he would probably only see closed doors.

Rean initially wanted to struggle a bit, but when he saw the rain gear prepared at home, which was just a fur cloak, he completely gave up.

It's not that there's no waterproof fabric available; the Labour family does business in this area. However, high-quality waterproof fabric is beyond the reach of ordinary families.

There are rain gears that look like big umbrellas, but they are very inconvenient to use. Again, locals are used to resting during the rainy season. If you drag someone along at this time, you will only get strange looks.

Rean was a little unaccustomed to it. While others would go into a vacation mode when it rained, Rean himself was more energetic.

"Uh, let's find something else to do."

Rean actually found some jobs that were suitable for this time of year.

(End of this chapter)