Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 393 The Laughing Shepherd

The newly born God of Light and Laughter, "Phillotshi," successfully went public in the dock area of ​​Radiant City. It was only at this time that Rean discovered the pseudonym this great man used when he ascended to godhood.

But this is actually not important at all, because it is not used most of the time. The "true name" of a god needs to be respected and avoided. Usually, only His mortal enemies will call out His name. Then they will have to wait to be punished by the god.

"Glory and joy. A fine title, making it seem like the emphasis is on 'glory' and 'joy'."

A weak deity is best off starting out in a niche market. Although the potential is limited and development is difficult, there will be far fewer competitors.
The phrase "at least for the short term, there should be no need to worry about a divine war," which is a rather weak statement, is already quite an indication of weakness.

Rean's cover-up was unprofessional, and his explanation lacked persuasiveness, but most gods wouldn't start a full-scale war without prior grudges.

However, his relationship with Larry's Church of Shield Radiance had plummeted from near-close allies to mutual distrust. The Sunstriders, on the other hand, were unusually enthusiastic; they actually tried to sell Rean the so-called "Alliance of the Sun God," which actually existed as a loose, private business alliance.

"Let's just take it one step at a time. Actually, we don't have a choice."

The one who spoke rather negatively about the development of the new church was the true master of the city, the noble Princess Dania. As a chosen one of another deity, she had become the "behind-the-scenes manipulator" of this new church.

In reality, without her people intervening and without the professional missionaries she dispatched, Rean's team, composed entirely of newcomers, simply couldn't have supported this new church.

Shepherds are a rather special profession. Heroes who inherit the legacy are of a relatively low rank. If someone were to become a great shepherd through their own strength, they would probably already be marinated by the god they currently believe in.

Of course, high-ranking priests like the goddess who were "paid" to rise to the top are an exception. The path to growth for other priests is to constantly understand and approach the god they believe in. Even if they turn their backs on their own god, they can often only jump to the camp of similar or opposite gods.

Recruiting a pastor is also a difficult task.

Dania had a bit of a headache, and she couldn't interfere too much in the organization of the church.

The core members of a church, the pastor Rean who always took on professional duties and missionary work, didn't care. He treated them entirely as "mass production machines of paladins" and "buff machines of the paladin solar domain."

However, the royal family has always been under pressure from the Church of the Gods, especially since the Mirror Maiden has sent more high-ranking pastors and has even begun to subtly interfere in the city's political affairs.

Now that there is a "trustworthy" church of the true God that they can join to balance the other churches of gods, why would Dania and the royal family give it up?

She was actually even more proactive than Rean and didn't want to miss this opportunity.

“I plan to recruit priest apprentices in my territory, including the dock area and the town of Dania.”

Rean bluntly stated that most church pastors' apprentices were "cultured people" and "orphans raised by the church."

Nobles, wealthy merchants, and second sons without inheritance rights were also excellent candidates. Ordinary commoners and former slaves were, in fact, rather delicate candidates.

“Feigning weakness to avoid conflict with other churches?” Dania couldn’t help but overthink it. She felt that Rean might be trying to avoid conflict with other churches.

However, perhaps we went a bit too far; the first batch of shepherds is extremely important.

Most importantly, if we are to train pastors from scratch, teaching doctrine must begin with teaching scriptures, history, and religious texts, and teaching this book knowledge would probably start with literacy. In this world, most ordinary people do not have the opportunity to read.

"If it takes five or six years before the first batch of pastors can be used, the church simply cannot take shape in a short period of time."

"Have you forgotten that this deity also has a 'literary' realm? He is also the patron of bards, playwrights, and theatrical performers."

Rean spoke, but Dania still looked completely bewildered.

Some of the knowledge was so obscure that Rean wouldn't have known it if the deity hadn't pointed it out. He explained it briefly: "Divine office" is within the scope of the deity's power, but it is also a "target" for getting close to Him and resonating with His spirit.

A shepherd who seeks the way of the sun can elevate his rank in the church of the sun god by purifying the dead, spreading light, and redeeming mortals. Similarly, a shepherd of the "god of art" can elevate his position in the church of the gods through creation, learning, and performance.

"If He possesses both the 'Sun' and 'Arts' domains, then progress in the Arts domain can also raise His priest rank, allowing Him to gain divine magic and special abilities from the Sun domain at a higher priest rank."

"Is this okay?!"

"Of course, those harp societies and other poet organizations are quite adept at this."

In the arts, one can quickly become a "shepherd." Street performers, acrobats, and even "con artists," "poets," and "clowns" can all become candidates for shepherds in the arts.

"Then the level of the church's internal structure." If people from all walks of life join the church and become its core members and founders, then the church will naturally not be "high-class" and will find it difficult to gain the support of nobles and lords.

What's more troublesome is that these people are all seasoned veterans of society. They naturally have their own pursuits and goals. If a large number of these people become the first batch of pastors, then is this new church still under your control, Rean?
Even though a new shepherd has been appointed for the Good Faction, the "goodness" of those seasoned veterans still has a rather flexible moral bottom line. Too many poets who have been thieving and seducing women along the way remain the backbone of the Good Faction.

But if there are too many such people in one church, other churches and nobles will naturally look down on them.

"Let them get out of control. We never intended to hold them in our hands anyway. They just need to follow the doctrine and bring joy and light to mortals."

Rean spoke frankly, saying that he never expected this makeshift church to become a regional powerhouse, since it was never a complete deity.

Seeing that Dania was still hesitating, Rean did not try to persuade her; he knew she would eventually come to her senses.

Some things are better left unsaid, and Rean is not as completely incapable of controlling the church as he claims. I indeed cannot control all of the first batch of pastors, whether they are "wild class leaders" or "pastor candidates who are heirs of heroes." They are all quite opinionated and may even reject this "Knight Commander."

"But the deity is myself."

Needless to say, these "blasphemous" words are unacceptable. Rean may not have much else, but if the authority to kick people out of the church and sever the connection between them and the gods can truly cause the church to spiral out of control, then it is truly his own problem.

Moreover, he didn't lie to Dania. He genuinely didn't care much about the ownership of the church. As long as the Church of Benevolent God operated well and played a positive role as its doctrines suggested, he would be satisfied.

Synchronization rate increased by 16%, and satisfaction rate increased by 10%.

And it seems that these ideas have also been approved by the deity himself.

Dania nodded somewhat blankly, thought for a moment, and decided to do it first.

If we can't get through the difficulties in two years, there's no point in thinking about the long term.

"Oh, I see, you mean the autumn harvest celebration." The girl immediately realized.

The festival has ended, but the end is not quite over yet; the large number of performers, circuses, singers, and entertainers who were invited are still in Radiant City.

If at this time, a "god of arts and culture" starts recruiting believers and pastors, and sets such low entry requirements...
"Uh, Rean, is this really not a deliberate setup? Is it really not a deliberate attempt to use this celebration to recruit new members for the church?"

"Not now, but rather we should be considered to be riding the wave."

(End of this chapter)