A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 524 Dionysian Worship

Rorschach stroked the Pearl of Balan, but the spirit within it did not respond.

Although Rorschach and Balan had made a deal, promising to help Him resurrect in the future and relieve Him of His current half-dead state, the bead's excessive activity during the later stages of the Shadow City incident aroused Rorschach's suspicion. Out of caution, he instead placed layers of seals on it.

If Balaam were in his complete form, the verbal covenant between Rorschach and Him would certainly be "a done deal." Unfortunately, he was just a bead that still needed Rorschach's energy. If another Thoth had not appeared, he might have remained hidden in the dust.

At this point, the person and the bead arrived at the border area between Valois and the southern kingdoms, on the edge of the territory controlled by the "Agnón Papacy". In the distance, one could see the mountain ranges extending north of the Apennines, and closer by, a slightly flat valley.

Rorschach's limited military knowledge, the Pearl of Balan's limited omens, and the signs of activity from both sides' scouts all indicated that war was about to break out here.

Winters in southern Valois are not particularly cold, and the landscape is still mostly green. In this wilderness, there once stood a city, but it has been destroyed in history and buried deep underground. The nearby settlements are just scattered villages. With Rorschach's enhanced vision, one can see knights appearing around the villages.

We need to speed things up.

The mage descended from the highlands to the plains, gradually entering a low grove of shrubs. He raised his hand, and blue energy spread out. Using the [Natural Affinity] derived from the Tree of Law, Rorschach opened the ruins hidden beneath piles of grass, trees, and stones.

The ruins of the marble building and the remaining lime powder on the earthen walls roughly outlined the scale of what had once been a structure. Aside from that, there were no markings to decipher, and no magical reactions that could trigger Rorschach's Arcane Vision. If it weren't for the guidance of the "handsome boy Thoth," Rorschach would never have found this area—no, he wouldn't have come here in the first place!

Based on his appearance and mannerisms, Rorschach identified "The Beautiful Youth Thoth" as "Hercules" in his mind. He had told Rorschach from the starry sky:

Anyone with even a slight understanding of mythology knows about the existence of "pantheons".

"The powerful deities in a pantheon are the chief gods, and the weaker gods or their offspring surrounding Him are the subordinate gods. Even today, the relationship between our Lord and the archangels is essentially a derivative of the chief-subordinate god system."

"The Earth Mother Goddess also has subordinate gods. In fact, in ancient Istani, the 'Danu Gods' and many barbarian gods in the northern part of the continent are considered to be the core of the pantheon. In the age of gods before the Old Empire, the beliefs 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 follower of the Earth Mother Goddess."

A mellow magic emanating from Rorschach spread out, washing over the half-buried ruins. Although it was a valley, in the distant past it should have been the highest point in this area. The place Rorschach was guided to was an artificial garden for worshipping Dionysus, built on the mountaintop.

A huge wine glass responded to Rorschach's response.

Entangled by countless roots, it revealed the green of bronze completely corroded, yet the patterns on it were still clearly visible. Rorschach pulled it out from the air, and the seemingly utterly decayed structure of the Holy Grail was completely undamaged, immediately emitting an intoxicating sweet fragrance upon exposure to the air.

"He may confuse and corrupt people's will and mind, but he can reward people with the impulse to create and reproduce, bringing joy and absurdity."

"The first king to discover the danger of Dionysus was a powerful patron. Dionysus disguised himself as a youth and wanted to enter the city-state, but the king discovered him and refused him entry. The youth then held a banquet on a mountaintop near the city-state, attracting believers with fine wine, songs, and joyful laughter."

"The king's subjects were drawn to the banquets, and even the king's mother and wives attended them, spending their days in revelry with Dionysus."

"The angry king tried to stop people from worshipping Dionysus with laws and violence, but the god easily bewitched the king's mother and concubines, making the two ladies laugh and kill the ruler with a dagger given to them by Dionysus."

"In many pre-imperial eras, at the end of the age of gods and city-states, the worship of Dionysus arose and spread like a plague, and the city-states that were infected quickly declined. And during the most prosperous and wealthy periods of the old empires, the nobles indulged in excessive feasting, which sowed the seeds of their collapse. His influence was evident in all of these."

As Hercules instructed, Rorschach gave the Pearl of Balan its most abundant charge yet, drawing all the surrounding magic into the tiny pearl, which immediately began to stir.

The enormous goblet also sensed the transfer of magic; it began to tremble, shaking off the rust on its surface and revealing an almost golden luster.

The aroma of the wine grew increasingly rich.

The shelling and gunfire signaled the start of the war. The Allied forces were not short of money, and had far more ammunition than the "Antifa" forces on the Arnión side. Unfortunately, the Allied forces were not coordinated, and the commanders of each unit had their own agendas and were unwilling to let their troops be at the forefront.

The army of the Sardinian Kingdom, which was the strongest and contributed the most to the allied forces, ended up being the ones who suffered the most losses.

With them leading the charge, the allied forces slowly advanced towards the valley floor. They had to pass through here and capture the target high ground before they could pose an effective threat to Arneon.

Meanwhile, the enemy had already taken up the target hill, their banners waving, led by paladins. The Venaians bombarded the enemy with their purchased cannons, but their accuracy was poor; not a single flag fell on the enemy's position.

"Are the artillerymen of the Southern Allied Forces all drunk fake alcohol?" Rorschach, who was "archaeologically" working in the center of the valley, was amused by the accuracy of the cannons. He was originally nervously preparing for the ceremony to activate the beads and sacrificial wine cups, but now he had to divert his energy to block the cannonballs falling on his head.

This minor incident did not have much impact, and Rorschach continued to follow Hercules' instructions, putting the fully charged Pearl of Balan into the wine glass.

Next, he took out the tightly wrapped "package" from his storage ring. Inside the layers of ether membrane was transmutation dust, not harmless energy crystals that had been passivated, but raw material rich in divine power.

After breaking the seal, Rorschach carefully placed the transmutation dust into the wine glass. The original solid powder instantly melted, like boiling hot oil. The poor bead tumbled violently inside, while the wine glass remained intact and even became brighter, showing its extraordinary nature.

The Dionysian relic, now at its peak activity, began to affect the battlefield. Rorschach did not stop it or attempt to purify it; this was part of the ritual.

Seeing that the invading enemy had begun to move, the paladins of the Anion Papacy also began to act. Behind them, countless priests began to chant hymns praising God, and the fragrant oils that had been applied earlier began to evaporate. As the ceremony was completed, everyone was enveloped in a faint golden light.

The reason these paladins dared to abandon the Eternal City and follow the Anion Church is simple:

After the persecution of Seraphim, many paladins in Valois lost their power and divine blessings. They prayed in terror, performed penance, and went to the Eternal City to meet the saint, but all their efforts could not restore God's favor. Just when they were in despair, a living saint appeared in Anion, and all the paladins who were enlightened and guided by him regained their glory.

Although the restored power was far less than before the persecution, such a miracle was enough to make the paladins follow the new papacy and enthrone a new patriarch.

"Brothers, our own experiences prove that the City of Eternity, and indeed the entire church, has become corrupt and decadent! Now we will confront our brothers in the southern kingdoms of the continent. The sacrifices made on either side will be to awaken our other brothers and believers!"

The Paladin Commander rallied all his members, and with a command, they began their rapid descent from the high ground.

Both sides plunged headlong into the valley floor, which exuded a rich, sweet fragrance.

(End of this chapter)