A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 526 With a pure mind, drawing the sword comes naturally.

To allow a god of deception to be resurrected so easily would make Rorschach seem like a very casual man. What truly reassured him was Hercules's statement:

Balan sought to resurrect himself by seizing the remnants of Dionysus, firstly to restore a "Thoth," and secondly to completely eliminate the hidden dangers posed by the remnants of Dionysus.

If successful, it would be killing two birds with one stone, a win-win situation. If it fails...

"I will give you the Staff of Two Serpents, Rorschach. If Dionysus wins, let him first completely possess the body you have built with divine power, and then kill him in one fell swoop to eliminate any future troubles." As for what would happen to Balan Thoth, Hercules seemed to have not considered it at all.

The paladins were brought here in anticipation of their prayers and exorcisms, drawing upon the power of the Lord of Light and Order to descend upon the material plane in order to suppress the god of wine who might attempt to revive.

Rorschach was moved by Hercules's well-thought-out plan and sincere attitude. At least for now, He was helping humanity in accordance with the will of the Lord of Light and Order, and it was definitely not because He had taken Hercules's staff.

Lightweight and exquisitely crafted, the willow branch-like staff felt wonderful to the touch as Rorschach held it. The two snakes on it were lifelike, and the staff head was adorned with gathered feathers.

Simply by holding it, Rorschach's body felt much lighter, and his perception of environmental magic reached a new level.

The paladins, praying as they advanced, had reached the edge of the mountaintop altar ruins. Rorschach and Hercules needed these tools to guide the power of light, but they couldn't allow them to interrupt the ritual now.

Rorschach, hiding to the side, waved his twin serpent staff, and all the paladins entered a dream. They remained in their forward-moving posture, but their eyes were closed. Some lost their balance and fell straight down, never to wake up again.

This is a powerful hypnosis; the magic from the Twin Serpents Staff has trapped them in a dream from which they cannot wake up on their own. So-called paladins, unless they reach the level of living saints, are ultimately just mortals. If Rorschach harbored evil intentions, he could easily put these warriors into eternal slumber.

Rorschach waved his staff again, drawing a circle in the air, and the dreams of all the sleeping people were interconnected, allowing him to glimpse them.

The scenes of all the paladins in the dream remained on the mountain, a mountain itself an echo of history, a projection of legend, bridging the ocean of reality and the unconscious. Rorschach suddenly received a text message from Hercules:

"Find a way to support the Lord's warriors and destroy the lingering image of Dionysus in the dream. The Lord of Order has already locked onto this location; the real world is safe for now."

After Hercules finished speaking, Rorschach realized that the sun had already reached its zenith, and all the paladins were fast asleep, bathed in golden light. Meanwhile, the soldiers who had come up were desperately seeking fine wine and beautiful women, but they only saw strange wine cups and people whose faces they could not make out.

He is fit and handsome, which makes others admire him, but cannot arouse the slightest lewd thoughts in him.

Rorschach's clone had been stripped of any features associated with his original self. It was a perfect embodiment of all the elements of the concept of "humanity," and could be considered the original text of the intelligent being "human."

[Axiomatic Creation] – Rorschach did not intend to, but he completed a spell that existed only in theory. The form it created possessed the initial foundation to bear the spirit of a deity.

For the soldiers, seeing that vague, perfect, and sacred person stirred up subtle emotions such as jealousy and inferiority, causing them to unconsciously point their guns at that target.

However, the sunlight soon intensified again, blinding the soldiers who had reached the summit.

Seeing that the real world didn't need him, Rorschach turned his attention to the window of his dream. He raised his serpent staff, first unfurling the wings at its head, increasing its power, then mimicking Hercules's "prank": giving the staff a "flaming greatsword skin" with blazing fire.

The paladins were completely unaware of their true situation, only feeling an unusual warmth throughout their bodies.

Then a horrifying sight appeared in the woods: a young man with wet hair and no decent clothes was beating an old man like a wild beast.

He hit him for a while, then smashed the wine jar and used the sharp shards of pottery to strike the old man's stomach.

"Stop looking." A gentle reminder sounded, but there was no arguing, and all the paladins closed their eyes.

The gentle voice continued, "This is Dionysus devouring the god of dreams. Before the old imperial era, when the radiance of the Lord of Order did not shine widely, the gods were not without primitive and bloodthirsty beings."

The captain realized he could open his eyes, so he quickly gripped his cross sword and assumed a fighting stance. Then he saw a young man in white robes, wielding a flaming greatsword, standing between Dionysus and himself.

"Who are you?"

"I am a cherubim, the angel of the Lord," Rorschach said casually, recalling the divine beast he had seen at the Temple of Thoth.

"No, you are speaking nonsense, claiming to be the messenger of the Lord to deceive us." All the paladins were extremely nervous. They knew that the young man in front of them must be very powerful, but they still could not determine the true identity of the person. For almost all the contemporary paladins, they had never seen a humanoid angel that they could communicate with.

So the leader slowly said, "You must be a demon, an evil spirit."

Rorschach heard Hercules's backstage reminder again, and he immediately put on a serious expression: "Lidthorpe, repent! There is good and evil in the world, angels of God and demons of evil, but how can you make such a judgment so easily? Liddthorpe, you need to be careful; beneath the veneer of vigilance lies arrogance."

All the paladins were immediately convinced and accepted Rorschach's temporary cosplay, because his words just now were very much in line with the character's setting. Everyone said: That's the feeling!

"Please forgive me. All this vigilance is out of responsibility for the brothers I lead. We will always be devout to the Lord and His angels." The leader remained wary, not readily accepting the claim of "angels" of unknown origin. He was only cooperating temporarily for the time being, just as he had with the paladins on the other side.

Rorschach accepted the apology and began instructing the Paladin: "We must slay an ancient god and prevent him from escaping from the dream world."

Wine, a hazy state, and absurd dreams have been inextricably linked since ancient times. Rorschach was initially startled when he thought the old man feasting on wine was Balan, but through analysis, he became convinced that the one who met his tragic end was not the cunning old prophet, but the god of dreams.

It is unclear whether the god of wine here is the only one or an avatar, but He clearly intends to gain more energy by consuming the remnants of another era, thereby winning the resurrection contest against the god of deception.

Of course, neither Hercules nor Rorschach would allow any more powerful gods to exist in the dream world.

He brandished the flaming sword conjured by his twin serpent staff, and the paladins' spirits were instantly jolted—this was the Lord's blessing! And it was incredibly clear and incredibly powerful, completely subjugating them.

The members of the two knightly orders rushed to the scene of the devouring without hesitation.

In response to the overwhelming force of the ritual disruptors, another manifestation of Dionysus's power appeared in the forest: female tree spirits emerged and engaged the paladins in fierce combat.

These little sprites are another manifestation of Dionysus's power, hinting at His connection with the Earth Mother. Their beauty is mesmerizing, their laughter, tinged with a drunken chuckle, is charming and endearing. Alas, these tree spirits face religious berserkers, who only know how to swing their swords fiercely, delivering a fatal blow to their enemies with absolute fairness.

Rorschach was slightly surprised by the paladins' unwavering will, after all, they were dreaming, yet their desires hadn't been amplified.

The disturbance caused Dionysus to stop "dining," and He stared directly at the strongest interferer, Rorschach, as bright red blood, like wine, dripped from between His teeth and lips.

(End of this chapter)