Spellcasting Gods

"Young Master Benny, this is the income and expenditure statement for the past two months. Please take a look." The old butler respectfully presented a parchment scroll filled with accounts with both hands.

"I actually received 35,000 gold coins this month?" Zhang Cheng glanced at the account and immediately showed a surprised expression.

“Of course! The sugar-making method you provided has been mastered by my people, who can produce at least five tons of syrup every month. If it weren’t for the fear of leaking key technologies by expanding production, the income could be several times higher,” the old butler explained with a smile.

After hearing this, Zhang Cheng nodded thoughtfully: "That's right! Just maintain the current scale, and be careful not to let the news leak out."

Clearly, what he presented was not some sophisticated technique, but merely a method for making simple malt syrup.

It's important to know that sugar and honey, which provide sweetness to food, have always been considered absolute luxuries in Faerûn, especially in the relatively cold Northlands.

Compared to refining white sugar from sugarcane or beets, maltose is relatively easy to make. It only requires sprouting wheat and then cooking it with starchy crops such as glutinous rice to obtain a brown, viscous syrup that can be added to bread and pastries or eaten directly.

Most importantly, it doesn't require the effort of setting up complicated machinery or training workers, making it an ideal choice for getting rich.

"Understood! Please rest assured! I will do my best to protect the workshop's secret from being discovered by outsiders." The old steward quickly bowed.

As the profits from malt syrup increased, he was extremely satisfied with the family's only heir and couldn't wait to remove the womanizing Mandane from his position as head of the family.

Of course, this idea could only remain in his mind; he dared not put it into practice.

Regardless, Mandane was a noble mage, and killing a person or two when he was enraged was as easy as eating and drinking for him.

"As usual, allocate ten thousand gold coins and send them to the Beggar's Nest for Jesse. She's currently vying for control of the Temple of the God of Justice and needs some financial assistance," Zhang Cheng casually tossed the parchment scroll aside and gave the direct order.

"Understood! I'll send someone to deliver the money tomorrow. But I don't understand why you're so concerned about the Beggar's Nest?" The old steward didn't object; he was merely raising a question.

Zhang Cheng replied with a smile, "Because whoever completely controls the Beggar's Nest controls a third of Neverwinter's population, essentially creating a city within a city. Its political and military significance cannot be bought with money. Then, using the Beggar's Nest as a base, we can slowly expand our influence to the port district, the Black Lake district, and the Penisula district. Just think, if more than three-quarters of the city's land and population are under my control, how long can Lord Nasir remain in his position?"

“I see! I think I understand your plan. You are clearly more ambitious and decisive than the master. I promise I will never mention these things to any outsiders.”

After saying this, the old butler placed one hand on his chest, bowed deeply, turned and left the room, disappearing at the end of the dimly lit corridor.

……

Meanwhile, in front of the Temple of Justice in the Beggars' Nest, a large group of ragged poor people were waving sticks and stones, cursing loudly, and occasionally throwing stones and spitting on the temple steps.

If this had happened before a turbulent era, such a serious act of blasphemy might have attracted the descent of a divine incarnation, resulting in a massacre.

Never think that the gods of the benevolent faction are weak and easy to bully!

On the contrary, the kindness they advocate is not about blind indulgence and tolerance, but about justice based on iron and blood.

However, after the turbulent years, the gods finally realized that the unparalleled power of the supreme god Aio was something they could not contend with. They were all banished to the mortal realm to walk as saints, and many gods lost their lives in the process. Therefore, no one dared to descend and incarnate in the material world easily.

Fortunately, the siege did not last too long. As the sun was about to set, the demonstrators retreated into the dark alleys.

Nobody noticed that in every alley, someone was handing out silver coins to these guys.

Yes!

They didn't gather together to cause trouble for no reason!

It was organized! A purposeful disturbance!

As one of the masterminds behind the scenes, Jesse was hiding in a nearby house, watching through the crack in the window as the priests and paladins under the God of Justice in the temple showed expressions of shock and anger. Finally, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

While laughing, she couldn't help but mock, "Hahahaha! These are the servants of the great god of justice? How ridiculous! A bunch of poor bastards have made them look so pathetic. I bet it won't be long before these guys can't hold on and will voluntarily leave this den of beggars."

"Hehe! You're right! But the problem is, why should we give money to those poor people? Wouldn't it be better to just force them to do it?"

"Idiot! What do you know! If we forced them, do you think it would have had this effect? ​​Benny said that only fools resort to violence. We are smart people; we should learn to manipulate people's hearts with interests..."

Chapter 0913 The Outbreak of Plague

Temples are the sacred places of the gods in the material world, places to proclaim the gods' thoughts and ideas, and gathering places for believers to pray and make donations, representing the supreme authority of the gods.

Generally speaking, unless they are followers of devils or demons, or some evil monsters, there are very few instances of temples being besieged in Faerûn.

In particular, the nominal ruler of Neverwinter, Lord Nasir, is a devout follower of the God of Justice. The mainstream faith of the entire city is Tyr, the God of Justice, and his influence permeates every aspect of the ruling structure. Many officials and soldiers are even priests and paladins of the God of Justice.

Therefore, the priests in the Beggar's Nest Temple never understood what they had done wrong to cause such public outrage.

Looking at the mess below the temple steps, he couldn't help but sigh slightly. He said to the senior priest who had come to investigate the situation, "Do you see? These damned poor people have been bewitched by something and have been besieging the temple for half a month. Forget about converting believers, even those who used to come to listen to the teachings have disappeared."

"They just stood outside and never rushed in?" The senior priest frowned subconsciously.

This strange situation made him involuntarily think of some conspiracies and schemes.

“Yes, no one has broken in. But the problem is, they’ve cut off the temple’s water and food supply. No one in the entire Beggars’ Nest is willing to provide us with food and drink, so we can’t even clean the temple right now.” The young priest’s face was full of sorrow.

But that's understandable!

He originally thought that spreading his doctrines in the beggars' nest would be an easy job that would also allow him to build his reputation. Most of the poor people were illiterate, and coupled with their natural reverence for God, he thought he could easily gain a large following.

But the tragic reality shattered this ridiculous idea.

Let alone the believers, the very existence of the entire temple is now in question.

“Hey, this isn’t your fault, kid. Let’s go back first. I don’t think this is as simple as it seems. Maybe we should have Irebeth de Timaland send someone to investigate.” The senior priest was clearly quite rational and didn’t blame the younger man, nor did he fly into a rage.

"Thank you so much for your understanding! Please wait a moment, I need to pack my things."

……

As the incident of the poor besieging the Temple of the God of Justice in Beggars' Nest escalated, the higher-ups of Neverwinter finally realized the seriousness of the problem and hurriedly dispatched people to intervene in the investigation, even hiring some audacious adventurers.

But who would have thought that this place, which was originally just a gathering place for the poor, has now been transformed into an impregnable fortress.

Before they could find anything, they were kicked out by Jesse's men. Those unknown adventure teams didn't even have a chance to get out alive; their bodies were thrown into the sewers to be eaten by rats.

By forming a community of shared interests, Zhang Cheng has turned this place into his own kingdom. Anyone who is honest and willing to cooperate can receive free food every day, but if they don't cooperate, their whole family will disappear.

No one knows whether these people were killed or sold to slave traders.

Just as Lord Nasir was furious about this and wanted to send a large number of guards to clear out the Beggars' Nest, a terrible plague suddenly broke out in Neverwinter.

In just a few weeks, the plague spread to every corner of the city, and hundreds of patients crowded the Temple of Tyre, located in the city center.

Panic gripped the public, and the prices of various drugs skyrocketed.

Especially after the city council ordered the closure of the city gates and the isolation of the flow between different areas, even the price of food got out of control, to the point that the famous Neverwinter Academy had to be temporarily closed.

As if overnight, the once prosperous pearl of the North was transformed into a land of chaos.

Under the terrifying threat of death, the dark side of human nature is unleashed to the fullest extent, with all sorts of heinous crimes occurring one after another, until the prisons are overflowing with prisoners.

Sensing the panic and despair emanating from the entire city, Zhang Cheng couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth slightly. He said to Jesse, who was standing in front of him, "It's time to move on to the next phase. Tell all the residents of the Beggar's Nest that it's time to start anew. Whoever is willing to offer their faith can obtain food and medicine that can resist the plague."

"Faith?! Are you planning to become a god?" Tiflin was taken aback, his pupils suddenly contracting.

“Become a god? No, I just want to conduct an experiment, an experiment about faith and gods. Remember, make them kneel and pray before the idol. If anyone emits a red light, it means they are a fraud. For such people, kill them as an example to warn others, without any leniency.” Zhang Cheng’s eyes gleamed with a profound light.

Apart from himself, no one in the world could understand the profound significance hidden behind the experiment, not even the gods.

"Understood! I'll take care of it." Jesse bowed deeply after administering the drug.

Undoubtedly, such a gaze terrified her, making her feel like an ant being targeted by a dragon.

"Relax, don't be so tense. I promise you, once the plague is over, you will replace me as the underground queen of the Beggars' Nest." As he spoke, Zhang Cheng reached out his right hand and gently stroked the other's smooth cheek.

After months of meticulous preparation, he has now finally revealed his sharp fangs, intending to use the sweeping plague to complete his experiment.

Since the Beggar's Nest no longer has the temple of the God of Justice, one need not worry about being discovered by the outside world no matter what one does inside.

After all, at present, all of Neverwinter's attention is focused on treating patients and preventing the plague from spreading unchecked, so there is no energy left to consider anything else.

"I'll replace you?!" Jesse suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with shock.

“That’s right! Perhaps in your eyes, the title of King of the Beggars’ Nest is full of power and glory, but to me it’s like the weeds and wildflowers that can be seen everywhere by the roadside, nothing to make a fuss about. I have greater goals and will never be confined to one place. So when there are things I don’t need, I will give them to my most loyal subordinates.” Zhang Cheng explained meaningfully while gently playing with the other person’s thick hair.

Because it was merely a projection of consciousness, he remained in a state of extreme mental relaxation throughout.

The reason is simple: even if someone discovers something and comes to kill him, at most his consciousness will return to his body, and it won't cause any real harm.

Titans are so resilient that they feel no threat whatsoever.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this that Sargeras was inadvertently defeated by Medivh's mother, Magna Egwyn...

Chapter 0914 Faith and Antidote

At night, in the basement of a house in the Beggars' Nest, more than forty poor people in tattered clothes sat densely packed together.

They had one thing in common: they were all coughing incessantly and their faces were flushed and unhealthy.

It goes without saying that these are the initial symptoms of the plague. Before long, depending on their individual constitution, everyone will start to have a fever, nausea, and vomiting. In severe cases, they may fall into a coma and eventually lose their lives.

To date, no priest or magical potion in the entire city of Neverwinter can heal him.

Forget about treatment, they couldn't even alleviate the symptoms. The streets and alleys were littered with the corpses of those who had died from the plague, and all the guards could do was keep burning them.

Looking at these pitiful people with numb eyes, almost waiting to die, Jesse took a deep breath and pointed to a statue placed in the middle, saying, "I believe you already know what to do next! Yes, as long as you offer your faith to the great Benny, I will grant you the antidote to cure the plague."

"Really? Is there really an antidote?" A middle-aged man in his forties suddenly looked up.

“That’s right! See those potions emitting blue light behind you? Just drink them and you’ll be rid of the pain and regain your health.” Jesse pointed to the translucent liquid that had crashed into a glass test tube not far away.

Antidote for the plague!

This is what the entire city of Neverwinter is frantically searching for!

It is said that Lord Nasir appealed to his traditional ally, Waterdeep, for help, hoping to leverage the latter's magical advantage to develop a way to cure the plague.

Whoever possesses the antidote will become a hero in the eyes of all Neverwinter residents, gaining not only unimaginable wealth but also the gratitude of the people and unimaginable prestige.

"The antidote! Give me the antidote! I'm willing to give anything, even my soul, if it can save my son!" Another young mother holding her child trembled with excitement.

"I'd love to!"

Give me a bottle!

……

No one who can live wants to die easily, even if death means entering the realm of gods and enjoying inexhaustible food and wine.

Sensing the desperate clinging to this last straw, Jesse stood beside the statue and barked without hesitation, “Shut up! One by one! Kneel down and pray fervently to the statue. If it approves of you, you can receive the antidote to the plague for free.”

"Me! I'll go first!" The first middle-aged man to speak rushed forward, knelt down, and praised with a devout expression, "Great Benny! You are my only faith! You are the only true God in this world..."

But before he could finish speaking, a ball of red light descended from the sky.

"Hmph! Fool! You actually think you can get away with lying?" Jesse sneered, then pulled out a dagger and slit the other man's neck.

puff!