Comprehensive network wizard, magic emperor.

Chapter 239 God descends upon the sun

Tomorrow is Pentecost, the most influential and widely participated festival on this planet for centuries. From the land of sunrise to the land of sunset, wherever believers of the five gods go, they celebrate this day.

The joyful atmosphere in Hongdu has become even more intoxicating after a week of celebrations.

In days when people don't have to worry about food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, all they have to think about from morning till night is how to make themselves comfortable and happy. The city's two million inhabitants and two million faces are adorned with smiles that seem half-asleep.

Tourists from various countries stayed in Hongdu to visit the expo and the religious ceremonies of the Descent of the Gods. Many religious clergy members from various branches of the denomination were specially invited from all over the world, and local tourists naturally supported the religious groups from their hometowns.

During the week-long celebrations, people gathered on the streets and peered out of the windows of apartments and hostels to watch priests and believers from various sects rehearse.

The magnificent and brightly lit honor guard was dressed in robes of various colors, such as white, red, blue, and purple, which are the exclusive colors of the Father in religion. White is especially precious and can only be legally used by the orthodox Church.

The magnificent and resounding hymns of the Hongdu Cathedral seem like bright golden smoke, drifting out from the stained glass and white walls, spreading into the hazy atmosphere of the city in winter, like the aroma of milky alcohol, making the tourists and worshippers on the street feel light and carefree.

Newspapers and radio news were all tracking the preparations of the various factions for the grand event, the donations from believers, the rehearsals of the honor guard, and all sorts of news tidbits.

The heretics from Shita Town have attracted much attention, but they rarely show their faces in public and have never conducted any rehearsals or drills. The public knows very little about this honor guard.

The reporters were even more disappointed. They searched day and night, following the trail of the Stone Tower heretics, who occasionally left the Viscount’s mansion in the upper town, only to distribute bread and food to the homeless.

If we're talking about famous public figures, there's only one in this sect, a scarred and menacing man named Roth, who participated in the Hongdu Winter Sword Fighting Tournament. After three days of competition, he won the third-place title out of more than two hundred participants, making him a minor figure of interest.

The people of the Sail Islands are known for their fierce and valiant nature. Sword fighting is a traditional folk custom, and although it has undergone many improvements in modern times, resulting in a significant decrease in mortality rates, it remains a good way for men from humble backgrounds to make a name for themselves in the empire.

This year's third place winner was the heretic from Stone Tower Town, the runner-up was last year's champion, and the winner was a sixteen-year-old youth from Bitterfin Island.

This young man was highly skilled in martial arts and was appreciated by the emperor, who recruited him into the palace guard. The people marveled at his good fortune, but the nobles and wealthy merchants felt increasingly uneasy.

The empire is a pond, and the nobles are the animals floating on its surface; they can hear the wind and feel the warmth and coolness of the sun. Recently, the supreme ruler of this country, the emperor of the archipelago, has taken many extraordinary actions.

Under the pretext of maintaining order, he recruited loyal army troops into Hongdu and dismissed the palace servants and guards. Instead, he lived and ate with his army and stayed with his generals like the ambitious Cowen Evan during the war.

Hongdu Noble was secretly surprised. The Regent of the Empire and the Duke of Protector of the Nation had returned. It seemed that the throne in the palace no longer made the political beast named Kewen Evan feel safe and comfortable. Instead, it was a place where swords and spears were pressing in.

All the sudden changes began on the day the heretics from Stone Pagoda Town came to the palace for an audience. The old priest's words deeply stung the emperor's nerves.

He had praised Bensov and many scholars, but this admiration, which stemmed from the empire's leader's fondness for the pioneers of civilization, turned into utter hatred once he became convinced that Bensov and others were traitors.

Cowen Evan was an enlightened monarch who encouraged scientific progress and increased national strength.

However, if such technological advancements could destabilize his throne, he would instantly become the most conservative and stubborn person in the world, preferring to destroy all books and blueprints and execute all scientists rather than allow these rebels to serve the enemy.

He tried to find out who might have betrayed the palace, especially the two gate guards who had clearly been bribed, but when he tried to arrest them, he found that the two had already disappeared without a trace, and even if he launched a manhunt, he could not find them.

The control of power is spiraling out of control. Corvin Evan begins to suspect everyone—the seemingly loyal guards, the seemingly cautious servants—he can no longer trust them. Everything could be poisoned, and his princess is in grave danger.

However, by refusing to work for these servants, he found himself unable to move an inch in his own palace, unable to find even a sip of red wine or a piece of bread, as if he were the weak slave and the servants had become the masters of the palace.

While the two million people of Hongdu were immersed in the festive atmosphere, the emperor sat in the imperial study, behind the desk where an emperor's corpse once lay, staring at the mountain of official documents, unable to sleep for a long time.

Once he had deployed his troops to the palace and had his most trusted general by his side at all times, Corvin Evan finally slept soundly. He could command his soldiers to perform servant duties, and the warrior's doctrine taught people to obey orders. The soldiers would carry out their orders meticulously, even better than servants.

Once the emperor summoned the champion of the sword-fighting competition to the palace to protect the frightened princess, he finally regained his composure and was able to organize his thoughts to consider how to eliminate this malignant tumor lurking in the roots of the empire.

On the eve of the Descent of the Gods, a troop secretly crossed the sea by boat and marched toward White Stone Island. Led by the emperor's most trusted general, the troop consisted of a thousand fully armed elite soldiers, with complete equipment and formalities, and a clear understanding and firm belief in their objective.

They aim to eradicate the root of the heresy, kill the so-called miracle walkers, and, if necessary, purge all heretical members who obstruct their operations.

Time flows on, day and night alternate.

The grand festival at the end of the year descends upon Hongdu at the moment the sun rises, the city awakens, work and business are suspended today, and the haze that permeates the atmosphere still lingers in the sky, like a yawn held in the mouth.

As daylight illuminates buildings and homes, people wash up, eat breakfast, read newspapers, change into new clothes, and prepare for their meals before going out.

Then, as the bell tower rang out eight resounding chimes, the crowd, like a colorful wind, surged out from bungalows, apartments, shantytowns, and sewer openings, onto the streets, moving towards the Hongdu Cathedral in the city center.

This is the final stop for all denominational processions, and also the starting point for orthodox church processions.

These colorful and orderly processions, like medicine flowing in the city's veins, ignited excitement among the people along the way.

Guards carried staffs, priests chanted prayers, and lads sprinkled flower petals and candies on the crowds. The air was thick with the hum of hymns and prayers, and the festive atmosphere was scorching hot.

Teams, following an officially arranged sequence, walked along fixed routes through streets, riverbanks, and parks, meeting with believers from most parts of the city.

The clock tower chimed nine times, then ten, and then eleven.

The worshippers' shouts had become hoarse, and the street vendors selling sausages, drinks, and various snacks had sold out. Laughter and merriment continued for more than three hours without anyone noticing.

Finally, as noon approached, all the honor guards stepped onto the wide main road to receive the final inspection from the public, and proceeded all the way to the cathedral.

White, red, blue, purple—the colorful processions shone brightly in turn. Prayer flags fluttered high in the winter wind. Tourists from all over the world cheered for their country's priests.

The honor guard, arriving at the destination, walked on a red carpet and ascended the steps one by one, standing high above to overlook the tens of thousands of believers in the square and the hundreds of thousands of people on the streets.

The emperor's entourage entered first, with the empire's ruler in person. Armed soldiers formed a human wall in the square to maintain order and block the excited crowds.

The invited guests were already waiting in the seats on both sides of the red carpet. The nobles and members of parliament of Hongdu, scholars of the Academy of Sciences, international celebrities and dignitaries, nearly a thousand seats were laid out, occupying a small part of the square.

The Miracle Heretic, dressed in black robes, walked at the very end of the procession. He had no horse or armor, no dazzling rust-gold banner, and his numbers were pitifully few.

A burly man at the front of the group held up a long pole with a horizontal frame at the top. White-feathered three-eyed seagulls stood on the frame, overlooking the crowds lining the street.

There were no cheers as they passed by, only noisy whispers and evasive glances. People pointed at the strange creature standing on the wooden frame, a three-eyed bird unlike anything they had ever seen before.

When they arrived at Hongdu Cathedral, the lively and bustling atmosphere cooled down considerably.

The old priest stopped at the steps, looked back at the members of the order, scanned the guests in the seats and the crowd behind the wall of soldiers, then turned and led the group toward the platform.

The square was equipped with amplification equipment made by the Mysterious Machinery Workshop. The microphone on the podium could transmit sound along cables and radio waves to loudspeakers in most of Hongdu's streets, reaching half the planet.

Emperor Kening delivered his opening address, then returned to his high chair. His ever-present general was no longer by his side; instead, the princess and a young guard accompanied him, while officers and soldiers stood guard on either side. He watched as the chief priests of each faction delivered their speeches in turn. The debates and discussions had not yet begun; this was merely a time for each faction to introduce their origins and legitimacy.

Each time a representative from a different denomination appeared on the stage, it elicited a roar of cheers. When the orthodox priest, dressed in white, walked toward the microphone, the sound from the square surged like a tidal wave, shaking the walls and windows of the buildings.

The winter day was cold and cloudy, shrouded in smog, and the world was incredibly noisy.

The heretical cult's honor guard was positioned in the far corner, very close to the armed soldiers. The scarred man gripping the wooden pole revealed the officer's skin pores, his rigid eyes and drooping eyebrows, like a funeral procession.

Scarface tilted his head slightly, making his gaze even more condescending. The officer opposite him lightly pressed his hand against the holster at his waist and grinned.

“It’s our turn.” The old priest patted him on the shoulder and led the scarred man toward the podium.

The solitary ceremonial pole moved along the high platform, passing through layers of brightly colored religious processions, while the heretical friars in black robes were met only with silence.

The old priest stood behind the microphone when suddenly a few cheers rang out from the square. Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw a group of disabled veterans with strong arms and legs, cheering loudly in the vast crowd.

He and Scarface both laughed.

With a gentle tap on the microphone, the old priest proclaimed, "A thousand years ago today, the five gods descended to earth and manifested miracles. Believers, you must believe that their gaze has never strayed; it still watches over the earth..."

At this moment, twelve chimes sounded.

The three-eyed seagull standing on the wooden frame suddenly flapped its wings and soared high into the sky, causing a slight commotion among the people in the square.

The seagulls soared through the haze that shrouded the sky above Hongdu, circling freely in the atmosphere.

A masked figure appeared in the center where seagulls were circling.

The mage, in his illusory form, stood atop the sky, gazing at the clouds above and the smoke below, and spoke in the language of dragons.

"(Incantation) Clear the heavens."

The solemn and powerful ancient language was spoken, the power of the incantation burst forth, the world convulsed in the words of great power, the atmosphere trembled violently, and the thunder exploded, cracking the roof tiles.

The loudspeaker noises echoing through the streets and alleys of Hongdu were drowned out by the thunderous roar. The sudden explosion left two million faces staring in astonishment.

With the sky above the church as the origin, the smoke and clouds within a radius of a hundred miles dispersed and disappeared without a trace, leaving a clean and refreshing atmosphere that was invigorating, and the warm sunshine spread everywhere.

"What's going on?" Two million people asked, and even the emperor of the empire was at a loss.

The old priest and the members of the order smiled, knelt with their heads tilted back, one hand on their chest and the other raised to the sky.

“(Mantra) Light,” the monk whispered.

The sun in the sky was still bright and white, but the light covering Hongdu suddenly dimmed, the azure sky turned purplish-gray, and the stars that had been hidden in the daytime gradually appeared, twinkling and swaying comfortably.

Dense shade covered the earth.

Day and night are blurred at this moment.

A magnificent astronomical spectacle appeared overhead.

The city was in an uproar.

"Worship miracles, people!" the old priest laughed heartily.

As a result, the crowds in the streets knelt down, the guests in the square rose and went to the open space to bend their knees, and the priests and believers on the high platform were so frightened that they dropped their ceremonial regalia and shook off their crowns.

"The miracle is real!" the people of Hongdu shouted.

"The five gods are real!" the clergy cried out in terror.

"I...I am unworthy..." The emperor slumped on his throne, his body flowing to the ground and collapsing.

Golden sunlight gathered into a ball in the mage's hand, its intense heat capable of instantly vaporizing metal; he had mastered the fire of the sun.

The sunlight, manipulated by magic, condensed into something almost tangible, and Lin Bo sculpted it into a spiral staircase that stretched from the heavens downwards, ending in the air in front of the church. The golden light, restrained by the mage, possessed a blinding brilliance and terrifying heat, making it visible to the naked eye, resembling a dazzling and translucent citrine.

The three-eyed skull descends from the spiral staircase, with a bird perched on its shoulder.

The world was able to witness the miracle.

The old priest knelt and raised his hands, hoping for divine favor.

The three-eyed skeleton lightly tapped his index finger, and immediately, the black-robed priest bowed in worship.

Witnessing this scene, waves of cheers spread from the square to every street, a roaring tsunami over Hongdu.

Corvin Evan, pale and trembling, moved step by step toward the Miracle Walker. The King of Men finally lowered his head deeply and knelt in reverence.

At this very moment, on White Stone Island, outside Stone Pagoda Town.

Thousands of Imperial Army soldiers halted, before them floated the figure of a three-eyed skull.

Even the most resilient warriors and believers fell silent and became fearful.

The general, who was deeply trusted by the emperor, sternly demanded that the soldiers around him immediately carry out the military order.

"(Truth) Humans."

A whistling sound came from beneath the skull mask, and the mage raised a finger and pointed.

In that instant, all the soldiers, officers, and generals—thousands of them—lost control of their bodies, stiffened, and then involuntarily dropped their weapons, their bodies hovering a foot off the ground before falling to the ground, all sprawling and tumbling.

After a terrifying silence, the Imperial soldiers, now able to move freely again, knelt down.

This is the Descent of the Gods festival at the end of the year in the Sail Islands, where the Church of Miracles has become the orthodox and sole state religion of the Kening Empire.

(End of this chapter)