Mercenary Wars

Chapter 147 An Illustrated Guide to Mysticism

“It’s nothing…Cassandra, you’re beautiful.” Gaugano knew, of course, that his fantasies couldn’t be realized through prayer.

Cassandra was taken aback for a moment.

Then she reached out and touched Gao Jiano's head, laughing and saying, "You little rascal!"

Gaucano was tall, but he was still no match for Cassandra. When touched like that, he looked like a child.

The atmosphere is a bit subtle.

After a while, he asked, "Why did you suddenly go to the Kiso Mountains?"

“Because it is God’s will,” Cassandra said, walking away from the crowd until she reached a secluded corner of the training ground.

Gaucano followed beside her: "Phoenix?"

Cassandra nodded: "He guided me to find an ancient altar."

She noticed that Gaucano still had a curious look on his face, so she smiled and said, "You will also receive divine instructions in the future—unless you never pray again. Fortunately, the creed of the Erynesian Furies is very simple, and her revelations or oracles are usually quite straightforward."

As she spoke, she took out a gray-covered book from her storage ring and handed it to Gao Jiano.

The book was large and heavy, and even in Cassandra's hands it seemed quite large; in Gaugano's hands it would need to be held tightly.

“This is the Illustrated Guide to Pukert’s Mysticism. Take a look when you have time,” Cassandra added. “It’s a forbidden book, so whatever you do, don’t let the church find out.”

Gao Jiano nodded, put the books into his storage ring, and then, after a moment's thought, took out a package.

"This is?"

"Some specialties from the Underdark, like stem mushrooms and fire wine," Gaucano said, handing the package to Cassandra.

Cassandra asked in surprise, "You went to the Underdark?"

Gaucano: "Yes, the process is a bit complicated..."

He recounted his experiences in the silver mines and the Underdark to Cassandra.

After listening to his story, Cassandra also shared her own experience in the Kizil Mountains: "Unlike you in the Underdark, I hardly encountered anything in the Kizil Mountains. The only monster I encountered was a wild Zulian tiger, which I guess escaped from some troll beast tamer."

She continued, "However, I encountered a Nidhogg follower."

"A follower of Nidhogg?"

“Or rather, the name of Nidhogg,” Cassandra explained. “You may have heard that Nidhogg and Phoenix are mortal enemies in mythology, and their followers have inherited this relationship.”

"Like water and fire elements?" Gaucano thought for a moment.

Cassandra shook her head slightly: "It's much more serious than that. Named individuals of opposing elements simply hate each other, but it's almost impossible for a Nidhogg and Phoenix named individual to coexist. So as soon as we met, I started fighting with that guy."

"Clearly he is no match for you."

"Of course, Nidhogg doesn't care about the lives of his followers, not even those he favors..."

They chatted until evening.

As the sun set, the two waved goodbye, with Gaucano turning and leaving first.

Watching his retreating figure, Cassandra first smiled, then her face lit up with a thoughtful expression, as if she were considering something.

A few seconds later, she suddenly turned around.

Gaucano glanced back. Unfortunately, Cassandra was faster, so when Gaucano turned around, all he could see was her strolling away from the training field…

When Gao Jiano returned home, he happened to catch Owl Xiao Gu waking up, so he personally fed it some Eye Demon jerky.

"Gurgle!" Little Gu clearly loved eating the Eye Demon jerky, making a cheerful sound and occasionally nuzzling against Gao Jiano.

Gaucano reached out and touched it.

Little Gu has grown rapidly and is now a level three magical beast. Compared to its mother, it is significantly smaller in size, but it is smarter and has a higher aptitude for wind magic.

During the day, it sleeps soundly on the top floor, but at night it is full of energy, and all kinds of small wild animals passing by become its snacks. Of course, thieves will also suffer its merciless blows.

The security situation in Southsea Town is not very good—at least that's how Gaogano sees it. Two thieves have already tried to visit at night, but neither of them escaped Xiaogu's advanced dark vision.

After feeding Little Gu and exchanging a few words with Daris, Gao Gano returned to his room.

He took out the "Illustrated Guide to Pukert Mysticism" that Cassandra had given him and began to read it carefully.

The author of this book is Pukert, a prolific occult scholar.

The so-called "mysticism" is a concept that is opposed to "theology".

Theology is a noble field of study, while mysticism is considered something sordid and unworthy of serious consideration. Specifically, mysticism, as a discipline, studies the "secrets of the gods."

Those who study the secrets of the gods will naturally not maintain reverence for the gods, nor will they agree with the monotheistic concept of "one true God." Therefore, all mystical works are forbidden books in the eyes of the Mosaic Church, and will be burned as soon as they are discovered.

In the time of Fong Fu Lo, only books were burned; in the time of the Datuk, people were usually burned as well.

This book, "The Illustrated Guide to Pukert Mysticism," is rich in content, including complete portraits of hundreds of important gods and demons, as well as some fragmented partial portraits.

Besides the illustrations, the book also touches on a lot of more obscure occult knowledge.

For example, the "favored ones" that Cassandra mentioned.

Compared to ordinary recipients of names, those who receive a name can receive extra attention and blessings from the name giver.

The main characteristic of those who receive the bestowed name is that the holy name is the giver's own name, without any prefix or suffix.

Clearly, Cassandra was a benefactor of Phoenix, so her fourth holy name was unadorned and simply "Phoenix".

Generally speaking, only high-ranking gods and demons have those who are favored, and there are two main ways to become one of their favored.

One method is "taking a chance." If a person receives two holy names from the same name giver, the two names of the same origin will be simplified into the name giver's original name, making the recipient a benefactor.

Another way is through oracles.

Gods and demons would issue divine pronouncements to assign tasks to those named, and those who completed the tasks would receive rewards; becoming a "favored one" was one such reward.

There are many ways to obtain an oracle. For example, the red dwarves obtain the Prometheus Oracle through rituals, while the more common way is through prayer.

Before or after a prayer is fulfilled, the god who received the prayer may send a divine message.

Of course, not all prayers are heard by God.

In fact, God ignores and is completely indifferent to the vast majority of prayers in the world. He is only willing to listen to one in ten thousand of them, which is considered a rare occurrence.

Prayers being heard by God, aside from a very few cases of pure luck, are mostly due to the fulfillment of certain conditions—such as Gaucano's current possession of the "Sword Prayer."

(End of this chapter)