Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

However, Augustine listened quietly, not taking Avia's words as a joke, and listened attentively until he finished speaking.

Then he asked Avia a question:

"What is the City of God? And what is the City of Earth?"

At present, neither the Western Roman Empire nor the Eastern Roman Empire has suffered from the invasion of 'barbarians'. To be precise, these people are simply incapable of confronting the glorious Rome of today and can only operate on the periphery of Rome. Naturally, the city of Rome is still impregnable and has never been breached.

"The glorious City of God, whether it travels through time, among the irreverent, lives by faith, or sits firmly on the eternal throne of the future, is not any tangible political organization, but an invisible organization formed by people through the covenant of good in their hearts."

"The cities of the earth are the various organizations that people have seen in this life. The benefits and disadvantages are always shared by good and bad people. As long as one lives in the mortal world, one will eventually die. Therefore, death itself is not the key issue. The key issue is what fate will be after death, which will be determined by one's actions in life."

"Whether we love each other, wage war, or kill each other in this life or the next, we will eventually reunite in the heavenly city to face judgment. The good will be rewarded, and the wicked will be punished, like Cvalus in his youth who committed heinous crimes, or Thrasymachus, the tyrant who pursued the interests of the strong and the winner-takes-all, who bullied and oppressed others. They will all be punished in the Last Judgment."

"Good deeds bring good rewards, and evil deeds bring evil consequences. The best of things are those that are kind and virtuous, and the best of things are those that are cruel and wicked. Those who are kind and virtuous will be rewarded, and those who are cruel and wicked will be punished. Those who are kind and wicked will be punished, and those who are cruel and wicked will be punished. Those who are kind and wicked will be punished, and those who are cruel and wicked will be punished. Those who are kind and wicked will be punished, and those who are cruel and wicked will be punished."

"The initiation declaration of the church should also be based on the covenant of 'good'."

When Augustine recovered from his surprise, his body trembled slightly.

As a believer and familiar with various philosophies, he naturally understood a lot from Avia's two sentences in an instant. To non-believers, Avia's words seemed to be nothing more than proselytizing, but in fact, this argument was not only a theological viewpoint, but could also be connected with political philosophy.

In traditional political philosophy prior to this, the core concern of politics was real life, and religion was basically subordinate to politics.

This political life encouraged people to pursue success and honor in their careers, but the distinction between the two cities negated the substantive meaning of traditional political life. In his view, the honor of the motherland, the gain or loss of political power, and the victory or defeat in war all became unimportant.

These all belong to the "earthly cities," and the visible church is also defined as an "earthly city."

Augustine didn't understand why Avia, who hadn't been baptized according to custom, was saying such things, but at that moment, he only had one thought—

Are there any more?

The black-haired man's expression clearly revealed his inner thoughts, his eyes fixed on the silver-haired youth.

"...Augustine, do you think this world is beautiful?"

The seemingly nonsensical question left the man looking puzzled.

"What does this mean?"

Do you think humans are beautiful? Gentle? Kind?

Augustine did not answer.

Avia looked at him and smiled.

"I understand... what you're thinking is also unlikely, right?"

People are fickle and cannot remain unchanged forever, and Avia knew this well.

Even if the City of God, as it is later promoted, defines the physical church as an "earthly city," those who come to power in the church will inevitably make it a representative of the "City of God." Thus, the church will theoretically possess the highest authority over people, which is unavoidable, as people's desires will always increase.

However, the silver-haired youth's thoughts remained the same as on that day: as long as they could uphold the most basic bottom line, as long as that didn't change, that was enough.

That's why some things can only be done by others.

“Augustine, I have only perfected the beginning of this subject. Could you understand and perfect the rest, so that the world may know the meaning of doing good again?”

Avia paused for a moment, then continued.

"please."

Hearing his incredibly confident words, Augustine was somewhat taken aback and bit his lip.

If one is a believer, one should not have any connection with the dead; if one is not a believer, why does one have such a high level of understanding?

Unable to understand, Augustine suddenly found himself unable to comprehend Avia.

But in that instant, the black-haired man seemed to be transported back to the day he heard those sacred words in Alexandria. Before him lay the central square of Alexandria, and gradually, his appearance and demeanor overlapped with that of the man—

“You are, no, I…” Augustine suddenly nodded, “I understand, I will complete… the task you assigned me.”

“No.” Avia shook her head, still smiling, and said, “Augustin, this was originally your subject, which is why I want to thank you for accepting it.”

Avia's words were a bit strange, but Augustine didn't pay much attention to them, only asking nervously for the first time.

"Do we really want to destroy the church?"

"In any case, the church must be destroyed."

Avia's statement originally came from Cato, a Roman statesman. After the Second Punic War, Cato believed that Carthage might become a threat to the Roman Republic and strongly advocated for its elimination. Therefore, in any speech he gave to the Senate, he would end with the statement, "Carthage must be destroyed."

"Really... won't you regret it?"

“I used to regret things, thinking that I should have done this or that back then. However, there are other things that make me feel ‘thank goodness I did it.’ I don’t look back on the past from the perspective of gains and losses, but rather when I have warm and kind thoughts in my heart and actually take action, I feel afterwards that it was really good to do it.”

The silver-haired youth turned his head to look at the dark sky.

"But it's gone now."

Countless tears of light, the strings of the night tracing traces, a rare meteor shower streaking across the sky, its tail of light serene and profound.

127: I haven't boarded the ship yet!

"Come visit again next time! It's only been a short while, why don't you stay a few more days? I haven't properly entertained you yet. Go see the summit of the iceberg, the scenery there is absolutely stunning."

In the southern port of Scandinavia, the sea breeze seems to blow eternally.

When gentle, it's like a lover's whisper, brushing against your cheek and bringing a refreshing ocean breeze; when fierce, it's like a raging beast, whipping up towering waves that crash against the shore rocks with a deafening roar.

Meanwhile, Beowulf, still shirtless, stretched out his arms and embraced Avia and Siegfried on either side, speaking loudly and cheerfully.

“King Beowulf, you don’t need to do this... This isn’t good.”

Meanwhile, Augustine spoke calmly from the side.

"You missionary are such a hassle. What's with all the talk about good or bad? Avia and Siegfried didn't object, so why are you so concerned?" Beowulf still had his arms around the two of them, his smile unchanged. "You rascal, you were supposed to go back to continue your missionary work after those two days, but you've lingered until now, which means I haven't had a chance to drink with Avia. I can only go to Siegfried instead. How are you going to make it up to me?"

“No, King Beowulf, what you are saying makes no sense at all, and the Church forbids drinking alcohol—”

"Avia isn't a member of your church, so why can't she drink?"

"this........."

Even the eloquent Augustine was momentarily at a loss for words, and could only offer a subtle expression.

Even the smartest person can't speak properly when their brain stops working.

The dark-haired man didn't know how to describe Avia. Was she really that person? Or was she really not?

He really didn't know. This question would be answered when he returned to the Eastern Roman Empire, when the current Bishop of Constantinople, Jerome, would contact Lord Kaubak, who was still hiding in the Great Labyrinth. Then everything would be clear.

In any case, Augustine was filled with gratitude for the problem left by Avia.

"Alright, it's about time. We really should go now. Goodbye, Beowulf."

As Avia's voice rang out, the blond, muscular man nodded deeply.

"You must come visit sometime! After all, you're a great hero of Scandinavia. How about I introduce you to some of our outstanding women?"

“Let’s forget about that,” Avia replied with a smile. “But it wasn’t just me. Beowulf, Siegfried, and several of us participated in eliminating the monster. We are all heroes… Alright, we really have to go now.”

After saying that, Avia and Siegfried boarded a small boat.

As soon as you step onto the platform, you feel the salty sea breeze carrying the scent of the ocean, along with a faint, almost imperceptible fishy smell. This unique ocean scent instantly makes you feel the vastness and depth of the sea. It sometimes gently brushes against your hair, and sometimes roars past, carrying away the worries in your heart and bringing endless reverie.

"Hey!" Beowulf waved his hand. "Siegfried! Don't come next time. Your drinking skills are terrible. Wait until you can outdrink me before you come back, or you can expect to continue your naked fight with me in the snow!"

"........."

Clearly, Siegfried was somewhat at a loss when faced with the enthusiastic Beowulf.

However, I did drink quite a bit of alcohol during this period, and I really couldn't outdrink him.

"This is Beowulf's wish for you."

Avia nudged the bewildered silver-haired man with her elbow, and Siegfried immediately understood, shouting back towards the ever-receding port:

"This request! I agree! Beowulf, I will grant your wish!"

However, this time Beowulf didn't wave like before. In Siegfried's eyes, the shirtless blond man probably nodded and then turned and left... In the end, would there be any chance to come back here after this parting?

The hero who slayed the dragon isn't quite sure, but since he promised, he should find some time to come back sometime.

Meanwhile, at the port, Augustine sighed as he watched the two leave. He would need to stay here for another three years, as he was still the backbone of the Eastern Roman Church here for missionary work and could not return immediately.

"what is that?"

As Augustine walked toward the city, he suddenly noticed that the forest not far from the port began to shake. Birds flew out of the once peaceful woods, countless small birds, eagles, vultures, and even owls, which were supposed to be nocturnal, all took to the sky.

Then, a huge werewolf leaped and ran towards the port at an extremely fast speed.

"Fantasy Species..."

As soon as Augustine shouted, Beowulf beside him slapped his fist and calmly watched the werewolf rushing towards him with a pleased expression.

"What impressive speed! That's the spirit of a true Norse warrior!"

The werewolf's speed seemed to make the sea breeze quite fierce. It howled through the narrow streets of the harbor, stirring up dust and fallen leaves, to the point that you had to cover your face to avoid being blinded by the wind.

"Excuse me, can you do me a favor? I urgently need to see the humans who just boarded the ship!"

"Oh? Just as you wish!"

Although it was just a brief conversation, Beowulf seemed to have no doubt about its authenticity, perhaps because the werewolf's warrior-like aura convinced him.

So he stretched out his hands, and the muscles in his upper arms bulged rapidly. The two-meter-tall werewolf first jumped onto the thick veins that bulged on his muscles, and then Beowulf swung him in the direction of the small boat that had been gone for some time.

Then, the werewolf streaked across the sky like a shooting star, and with its own strength, it finally landed steadily on the ship where Avia and Siegfried were.

"Phew, I made it in time. It took me a while to get that thing, and I almost missed it. I'm so grateful to that blond human..."

The two-meter-tall werewolf, who seemed to be holding something, shook his fur, then lingered on Siegfried for a long time before finally asking, puzzled:

"Eh...you are Siegfried!? What are you doing here?"

Do we know each other? And who are you?

Siegfried looked at the werewolf he was meeting for the first time with a puzzled expression.

Avia, who was rowing the boat, said with a half-smile.

"This must be your brother."

128: King of Kings

"So it wasn't Sigurd, but Siegfried... They are essentially similar people in this era."

"The werewolf sighed."

Simfitley is the son of Zigne and her brother Siegmund. Zigne's husband killed their father and brother. In order to avenge them, Zigne disguised herself as a witch and tricked her brother into having Simfitley with him. Later, the father and son successfully avenged their father, and Zigne committed suicide.

Later, Siegmund married Polsite. When Simfitri returned from his campaign, Polsite gave him three cups of poison to kill him. Siegmund snatched the first two cups, but Simfitri chose to drink the last one.

After dying from poisoning, Sigmund carried Simfit's body to a riverbank, where Odin, disguised as a ferryman, led Simfit to Valhalla.

"Sigurd's brother, the hero Simfitri...?"

After getting to know each other, Siegfried and Simfitley, who was born in the body of a wolf, finally understood each other.

In fact, the dragons that Siegfried and Sigurd killed were both Fafnir, but they were actually similar evil dragons that manifested in the Age of Gods and after the Age of Gods. After the Age of Gods ended, the dragon genes left on the earth could grow again into dragons that fit the present.

Unlike Fafnir, the dragon phenomenon is something that has been ongoing and exists. Even gods may exhibit the dragon phenomenon due to extreme greed.

"By the way, you two have been chatting for quite a while now, Sinfitelli, is there anything you need?"

Although it was also Avia's first time seeing this werewolf, perhaps due to the effect of the runes of the great god Odin, he recognized the werewolf's true identity at a glance.

Upon hearing this, the werewolf, baring its sharp fangs, turned to look at Avia and said with a bright expression:

"You must be the warrior recognized by the Great God. I have come for you."

In fact, the descent of Simphitelli was indeed part of Odin's plan, a trial he bestowed upon humanity as a means of helping them.

However, this was before Odin met Avia. After meeting Avia and receiving her promise, Odin intended to entrust everything to the Greeks and the humans he also recognized. As for Simphitelli, Odin originally planned to call him back directly, but Simphitelli said he wanted to help the people at the moment, so he didn't continue to manage him.

Meanwhile, on the Scandinavian island, Simfitri was working hard to slay the fire dragon guarding the treasure. However, this fire dragon was suspected to have been born from the dragon factor of Jormungandr, so although it was destroyed, its resentment still remained. It would take several decades for its concentration to drop to zero, during which time it would revive once, and then he would have to kill it all over again.

Subsequently, Simfitelli, who was eagerly anticipating the warrior recognized by the great god, did not rush there immediately. Instead, he followed his current werewolf aura to a remote mountain in Northern Europe, found a secluded werewolf village, and finally located the Drop of Star—

"This is my gift to you."