Comprehensive network wizard, magic emperor.

Chapter 240 The Endless Ritual, The Dragon's Beloved

On the afternoon of the Descent of the Gods festival, a group of men in military uniforms poured into the town of Shita. They wore crisp blue-gray woolen jackets and plain white cotton trousers. There were no military flags or ceremonial guards. Rifles hung limply from their shoulders, their faces were bowed to the ground in front of them, their backs were slightly hunched, and they walked slowly.

This was a defeated army.

The first army in human history to be defeated by the gods themselves is destined to be remembered for eternity.

The soldiers followed the town mayor to the church, laid down their weapons and ammunition, and were then no longer under his control and could do as they pleased. However, the disheartened army did not move an inch, remaining in the church and gazing up at the pictorial portraits of the five gods, like a thousand unstamped envelopes left in a mailbox.

Tormented by guilt and anxiety, and distressed by their uncertain fate, the officers and soldiers in the church remained quiet. Occasionally, they would kneel before the portrait and pray softly, drink some water, or lean against the wall, sharing a cigarette in small groups, the smoke rising in the daylight.

Not long after, the town's radio broadcast the news that the Church of Miracles had been established as the state religion. The people rejoiced and spread the news. The noise drifted into the church, and the soldiers were ordered to go out and inquire. They learned that a miracle had occurred in Hongdu and that the emperor had announced to the island's people that they had converted to the religion.

Upon learning of this, the thousand soldiers, who had been dispatched by the emperor to suppress heresy, realized that their surrender would not be considered treason, and immediately beamed with joy, joining the afternoon wave of laughter in Shita Town.

The town sent people to invite the soldiers to join the grand banquet in the evening. Without any qualms, the soldiers readily agreed and went out into the streets to the food factory to help the cooks. Large plumes of steam and smoke billowed from the factory, covering half of the town's houses.

For an entire afternoon, two million people in Hongdu listened to the black-robed priest's speech. This was not a debate, because the other debaters had already trembled and surrendered; it was a sermon.

The old priest left the stage several times, only to return again due to the lingering noise of the crowd, until the three afternoon bells rang, at which point he led the procession through the church doors and disappeared from the platform. After the closing ceremony, the crowd in the square slowly dispersed, with many believers refusing to leave until sunset.

In the reception room of the Hongdu Cathedral, Emperor Corvin Evan met with the old priest for the second time. The two sat facing each other, the black-robed priest standing tall and imposing, while the island lord's gaze darted away.

"Your Majesty, you have already met with my lord."

"Yes, I was terribly wrong, and I sincerely repent." Cowen Evan thought of the troops he had sent to suppress the bandits, who had probably already razed Stone Tower Town to the ground. Such a sin should be attributed to him.

Despite experiencing the ups and downs of life and the turmoil of the world, this political beast still had a face as white as chalk, his shrunken heart could no longer supply blood to his face, and the blood vessels in his hands and feet were frozen and numb in the winter cold.

He looked at the old priest, awaiting his verdict.

“My Lord knows your deeds.” The old priest took out a sachet of communication paper from his robes. The black paper and silver characters were clearly visible. “He prophesied that you would send an army to provoke the throne.”

Kevin Evan closed his eyes, unable to bear looking at the world any longer.

“Your Majesty, there is no need to be afraid. Our Lord has made arrangements for the fate of all living beings. You are still the King of the Islands, for the time being.”

Upon hearing this, the emperor opened his eyes again. "Doesn't He blame me?"

The old priest stared sternly at the man, inwardly outraged by such barbaric behavior, but his tone remained gentle. “We have long known the ways of nobles. Since we have never had any expectations of you, we will not be disappointed. Our Lord understands your thoughts. The thousand soldiers you sent to White Stone Island have been defeated and surrendered without a single casualty.”

The emperor let out a long breath, his heart pounded again, and sweat beaded on his cheeks and the backs of his hands.

The black-robed priest stood up and looked down at the lord of the archipelago. "Korvin Evan, Emperor Kenning, are you willing to follow my lord and offer your utmost loyalty, unto death?"

"I am willing to obey!" Cowen Evan bowed his head, trying not to let anyone see his expression.

The old priest nodded slightly, took out a brand-new piece of copper paper, and handed it to the emperor so that they could communicate more easily in the future.

"Your Majesty, please issue an edict as soon as possible to legislate against the hunting of whales."

The emperor's expression returned to normal, and he asked in a deep voice, "If we don't hunt whales, where will the whale oil come from? Coal mines are scarce within the empire, and we rely entirely on whale oil to generate electricity and power machinery. Moreover, the whaling industry is the livelihood of millions of workers. If it is abolished, what will become of them?"

"A miracle has been achieved by our Lord, who has provided a substitute for whale oil. Industrial development will inevitably be rapid and fast in the future, and it will not be a problem for millions of workers to switch to other industries."

Specific legislation and measures still need further discussion. No matter how many forces within the empire obstruct it, the will of God will be carried out.

Kevin Evan nodded in agreement.

Turbulence is inevitable. Since the miracle came into being, a political hurricane has been forming that will sweep across the Sail Islands, destroying the old era and allowing people on the ruins to begin building a new world.

The old priest, who had lived through the hurricane season and still remembered it vividly, looked at the gloomy and desolate emperor and whispered, "Do not be afraid. The people will overcome this hardship, for God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Throughout the afternoon of the Descent of the Gods festival, the supernatural events that occurred in Hongdu spread in all directions through all means of communication that humans had mastered, including radio waves, telegrams, letters, secret letters, and shouts.

From Blacktail Island to the edge of the Sail Islands, from the ocean to the bountiful continent and the New World, to every corner of the planetary civilization world.

Radio broadcasts were filled with cheers for the miracle of the five gods, ringing non-stop for hours.

Headland Lighthouse.

Lin Bo sat on the third floor, lightly touching the prototype radio. The historical echoes condensed within it became more frequent and clearer. In a while, it would reach its peak, at which point it would be time for the sacrifice.

Besides the machine, there was also a brand-new relic of the Echoing Sound. He stroked the mage's mask worn on his face, and a prompt automatically popped up on the integrated network information panel.

[Historical reverberation detected...]

This mechanic mask, which had been with him for so long, has now become a sacred symbol of the Kening State Religion. The reverberation within it could already cause phenomena and induce hallucinations in the surrounding creatures from the very beginning, and its potential for future growth is enormous.

Lin Bo stored the mage's portrait in a glass cabinet.

He originally planned to upgrade the equipment, but since it had become a remnant, he decided to redesign it and create a new mage's appearance.

This matter is not urgent. Lin Bo plans to take some time to make design drawings, then purchase components, refine magical metals to create the main frame, and finally assemble it.

In the evening, the townspeople came to invite the doctors from the lighthouse to a banquet. The entire town, along with a thousand soldiers, gathered together. Tables and chairs were arranged inside and outside the food factory, and the food prepared by the cooks throughout the afternoon was served, ensuring that everyone had a good meal.

Lin Bo took out the dwarven liquor gifted by his teammate [Drinking Expert] from the time-space cardboard box and entrusted his apprentices to deliver it to the banquet. This spirit must be diluted with water before it can be consumed normally by humans, so even though there were many diners, each adult received one or two glasses of this otherworldly liquor.

The monk himself did not enjoy drinking alcohol, only using it to moisten his throat. After the meal, he left with his disciples and returned to the cape, not staying to attend the grand dance that evening.

The townspeople neither urged him to drink nor tried to persuade him to stay, watching the night watchman and his old student disappear into the star-studded night.

They lit hundreds of bonfires, and young men and women, middle-aged couples, and the elderly could all invite each other to keep them company. The working people of the town and a thousand defeated soldiers danced together. The emperor's most trusted general drank the most and was already lying under the table, snoring like a dwarf.

The lighthouse shaman crossed the lighthouse and headed to the hearth on the rocky beach, where he would perform his final fire-worship divination.

A ghostly blue flame rose.

Lin Bo danced in his slumbering snake state, his movements as weak as if he were drunk, yet his posture remained precise and flawless.

Listen to the wind, waves, starlight, moonlight, and firelight on the coast; feel the pebbles and sand beneath your feet; hear the calls of birds in the distance; and hear the faint, indistinct cheers of a bonfire party further away.

All things under heaven and on earth were speaking and whispering to the Dharma Master.

The sacrificial dance was repeated continuously, and the priest gradually became immersed in a state of communion with the divine.

Ding--

Fire-based Divination Ritual: Lv4 (Max) unlocks the "Endless Ritual" trait, allowing you to enter a divine state at any time and observe mystical revelations from the smallest details of daily life.
The endless chatter around him suddenly fell silent, enveloped and suppressed by an overwhelming silence. The monk's ears were as still as a deep pool or a calm lake.

Something has arrived and is speaking to him.

Lin Bo stopped dancing, carefully feeling the cool sweat on his body, and listened to the unusual silence around him.

He formed a sword-finger seal and asked in dragon language, "(magical language) Who are you?"

The creature spoke, a soft, trembling woman's voice, as gentle as velvet, imbued with immense intimacy and tenderness.

“I am—Stone, Tower, Town. I am this land itself, a fragment of the absolute spirit, an invisible dragon existing in the imagination of the community. Your kin. My pulse is the sea breeze tossed on the waves, I am draped in seventy thousand brown-red roof tiles, my arms are the skeletons of six thousand ancestors in the desolate cemetery, and the two thousand figures leaping and dancing by the campfire at this moment.”

She spoke softly, gently, in the majestic and resounding language of dragons.

"The waves brought you to this land, the lighthouse keeper helped you up, I saw you sitting by the window eating oysters, I saw you take your first flight, I heard you speak of power. When the hurricane came, you walked the earth, driving the waves. You glimpsed fragments of my true name in the shimmering light of the sea, and now, with your dragon eyes, gaze upon me, control the moonlight to descend upon the sea, and feel my presence."

Lin Bo looked at the sea, where an invisible wind blew the seawater into a specific shape. He rode the moonlight and sprinkled it onto the water's surface. The waves reflected shimmering light, which perfectly formed an intricate and picturesque dragon language rune, vividly appearing before his eyes.

Upon seeing it, the Night's Watch knew its pronunciation and meaning, for it was a real name.

"(In magical language) Why are you telling me this?"

This was the first time Lin Bo had encountered something that voluntarily offered its true name.

The dragon from Shita Town spoke with a smile.

"Because I love you. I love everything about you, every organ of yours, your voice, your walks and the thoughts that flow from your heart, your protection of Stone Pagoda Town. Long before you fell in love with the people here, I loved you and will always remain faithful to this love, my fellow human being, I love you."

Before the words were even finished, it had already gone far away. The sea breeze and waves, the starlight and moonlight, the distant birdsong and the joyful sounds of the dance party once again filled the air. The night watchman stood on the rocky beach, knowing that he only needed to recite his true name to seize the historical destiny of Stone Pagoda Town.

He is a dragon, a miracle worker, a god worshipped by the world, and the lover of the absolute spiritual fragment of the universe.

(End of this chapter)