Mage? Spell Engineer!.

Chapter 524 Dionysus Worship
Rorschach stroked the Pearl of Balan, but the spirit contained within it did not respond.

Although Rorschach had made a deal with Balan, promising to help him revive in the future and save him from his current half-dead state, in the later stages of the Shadow City incident, the excessive activity of the bead aroused Rorschach's vigilance, and out of caution he placed layers of seals on it.

If Balaam was in his complete form, the verbal covenant between Rorschach and him would certainly be "set in stone". Unfortunately, it is just a bead that still relies on Rorschach for energy. If no other Thoth appears, it may continue to be covered in dust.

At this time, the people and the beads came to the area where Valois and the southern countries met, at the edge of the area controlled by the "Agnion Church". In the distance, the ridges extending from the north of the Apennine Mountains can be seen, and in the near distance is a slightly flat valley.

Rorschach's shallow military knowledge, the limited foreshadowing of the Pearl of Balan, and the signs of activity by scouts from both sides all indicate that war will take place here.

The winter in the south of Valois is not that cold, and there is green everywhere as far as the eye can see. In such a wilderness, there used to be a city, but it has been destroyed in history and buried deep underground. The nearby settlements are just scattered villages. In Rorschach's enhanced vision, he can see that knights have appeared around the villages at this time.

Gotta speed up
The mage walked from the high ground to the plain, and gradually walked into a low forest of shrubs. He raised his hand, and blue energy spread out. Using the [Nature Affinity] deduced from the Tree of Law, Rorschach opened the ruins covered by grass, trees, earth and rocks.

The remains of the marble building and the lime powder left on the earthen walls roughly outlined the scale of the former building. Apart from that, there was no text to be identified, and there was no magic reaction that could arouse Rorschach's [Arcane Vision] reaction. If it weren't for the guidance of "Beautiful Boy Toth", Rorschach would not have been able to find this area. No, he would not have come here at all!
"The beautiful boy Thoth", from his appearance and behavior, Rorschach identified him as "Hercules". He once told Rorschach in the starry sky:
“As long as you have a little knowledge of mythology, you will know the existence of the ‘pantheon’.

"The powerful gods in the pantheon are the main gods, and the weak gods or descendants surrounding him are subordinate gods. Even today, the relationship between my Lord and the archangels is essentially a derivative of the main god-subordinate god system.

"The Earth Mother Goddess also has subordinate gods. In fact, in the ancient 'Denaun Clan' of Istani and many barbarian gods in the north of the continent, they are all considered to be a pantheon developed with her as the core. In the Age of Gods before the Old Empire, the faith in this land underwent a major change.

"The sign was the rise of Dionysus. It was not until he brought destruction to the southern city-states that he was discovered to be a subordinate god of the Earth Mother."

A mellow and magical power centered on Rorschach spread out, washing the ruins half buried underground. Although it was a valley, it should have been the highest point in the area in the distant past. The place where Rorschach was led to was an artificial garden for worshiping the god of wine, built on the top of the mountain.

A huge wine glass responded to Rorschach's sensation.

It was entangled by countless roots, revealing the green color of the bronze after it was completely rusted, but the patterns on it were clearly visible. Rorschach pulled it out from the air, and the seemingly extremely rotten structure of the Holy Grail was actually not damaged at all. Once exposed to the air, it immediately exuded an intoxicating sweet fragrance.

“He will confuse people and corrupt their will and minds, but in return he can give them the impulse to create and reproduce, and bring them joy and absurdity.

"The king who first discovered the danger of Dionysus was a powerful benefactor. Dionysus transformed into a young man and wanted to enter the city-state, but was discovered and rejected by the king. The young man then held a banquet on the top of a mountain near the city-state, using fine wine, singing and joyful laughter to attract believers.

"The king's people were attracted, and even the king's mother and concubines came to the banquet and enjoyed themselves with the god of wine all day long.

“The angry king tried to stop people from believing in the god of wine by laws and violence, but the god easily bewitched the king’s mother and concubine, making the two ladies laugh and kill the ruler with the dagger given by the god of wine.

"Many years ago in the old empire, at the end of the era of gods and city-states, the worship of Dionysus arose and spread like a plague. The infected city-states quickly weakened. Also, when the old empire was at its most prosperous, the nobles indulged in excessive feasting, which laid the seeds for its collapse. All of this was influenced by Him."

Following Hercules' instructions, Rorschach gave the Balan Pearl the most generous charge possible. He drew all the surrounding magic power into the small bead, and it immediately began to stir. The huge wine glass also sensed the transfer of magic power, and it also began to tremble, shaking off the rust on the surface, revealing a nearly golden luster.

The aroma of the wine becomes stronger.

The bombardment and gunfire announced the start of the war. The coalition forces were not short of money, and they had more ammunition than the "Catholic Army" on the side of Anion. Unfortunately, the coalition forces were not uniform in their dispatch, and the commanders of each unit had different ideas and were unwilling to let their troops rush to the front.

The army of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was the strongest and contributed the most to the coalition, was the victim.

With them leading the way, the coalition forces slowly moved towards the bottom of the valley. They had to pass through here and capture the target high ground before they could pose an effective threat to Agnion.

At this time, the enemy was already standing on the target high ground, and they also flew flags, with the Paladins leading the charge. The Vinaya people used the cannons they bought with their own money to bombard them fiercely, but their accuracy was worrying, and not even a flag fell on the enemy's position.

"Have the artillerymen of the Southern Alliance drunk fake wine?" Rorschach, who was "doing archaeology" in the center of the valley, was amused by the accuracy of the cannon. He had been nervously preparing the ritual activation beads and sacrificial wine cups, but now he had to divide his energy to block the cannonballs falling on his head.

This little episode did not cause much impact. Rorschach continued to follow Hercules' instructions and put the fully charged Pearl of Balan into the wine glass.

Then, he took out the tightly wrapped "package" from the storage ring. Inside the layers of ether membrane was transmutation dust, which was not a harmless energy crystal that had been passivated, but a raw product rich in divine power.

After lifting the seal, Rorschach carefully put the transmutation dust into the wine glass. The original solid powder melted instantly, like boiling hot oil. The poor beads rolled violently inside, but the wine glass was still intact, and its luster even became brighter, showing its extraordinaryness.

The sacred object of wine, which had reached its maximum activity, began to affect the battlefield. Rorschach did not stop it or try to purify it. This was part of the ritual.

Seeing that the invading enemies had begun to move, the paladins of the Anion Church also began to act. Behind them, countless priests began to chant songs praising God, and the scented oils that had been applied long ago began to evaporate. As the ceremony was completed, everyone was covered in a faint golden light.

The reason why these paladins dared to abandon the Eternal City and follow the Church of Agnion was simple:
After the Seraphim persecution, many paladins in Valois lost their power and God's blessing. They prayed in fear, did penance, and went to the Eternal City to meet the saint, but the above efforts could not restore God's grace. At the moment of despair, a living saint appeared in Agnion, and all the paladins who were enlightened and guided by him regained their glory.

Although the power of recovery was far less than before the persecution, this miracle was enough to make the paladins follow the new church and establish a new pope.

"Brothers, our personal experiences have proven that the Eternal City and even the entire church are corrupt and decadent! Now we will confront our brothers from the southern countries of the continent. No matter which side's sacrifice is, it is to make other brothers and believers wake up!"

The leader of the Paladins encouraged all members, and at a command they began to dive down from the high ground and accelerate.

Both sides plunged into the valley bottom which was emitting a rich and sweet fragrance.

(End of this chapter)