There can't be a Harvest Moon in the RimWorld.

Later, a map was provided that briefly marked the location of the religious order as confirmed during historical investigations.

The northern region was originally the Order of the God of Dawn, the Black Forest was the Order of the God of Darkness, the eastern coast was the Order of the Goddess of Springs, the central plains were the Order of the Forest Guardians, and the western wasteland was the Order of the God of Wilderness.

These deities, whose names have all been lost, were eventually named based on fragmentary legends and regionally distinctive religious roles.

For example, in the perpetually frozen polar regions of the north, there has always been a group of resilient nomadic peoples who consider themselves to be the first places in the world to see the sunrise. Therefore, they worship the aurora borealis that often floats across the sky and the sunrise that cuts through the darkness of the earth.

This is easy to understand. For them, when the region enters polar night, countless elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people will freeze to death, plunging the tribe into crisis. Any light that can break through the polar night is an object of their worship.

The other findings, based on the manuscript, follow the same pattern. The Black Forest is a dangerous place teeming with wild beasts, and darkness serves as a shield for humanity from disaster. The east has abundant water resources, with countless gushing springs nourishing the land. The central region is flat, and there lies an endless sea of ​​forests that remains undeveloped to this day. The west stretches across the Gobi Desert, where wilderness has long been the only thing that exists.

People are always accustomed to taking what they like, fear, or expect as their beliefs, which in turn led to the continuous emergence of deities in ancient times on the mainland.

Following the manuscript, adhering to a rigorous academic approach, many reconstruction diagrams of excavated temple ruins were attached, attempting to recreate the era when gods walked among humans on that continent.

"Did you understand?" I asked the two out-of-school children next to me.

You nodded vigorously: "I understand! Big brother! But I have a question, what kind of god does Father Carter believe in?"

Yes, the historical manuscripts say that all deities have disappeared, but isn't the church where Father Carter was also a kind of deity?

It also mentions that religious orders never attack each other. Then isn't the Church's extermination and purging of ancient orders a form of attack? Logically, this historical manuscript shouldn't have overlooked such an obvious clue.

Even more baffling is that it makes no mention of which religious order the church originally belonged to, or the name of the deity the church worships. These crucial pieces of information, which connect the past and the future, are completely absent.

Is there some hidden meaning in this?

Chapter 138 Preaching

"Big brother? What are you thinking about?"

Mei called my name when she saw I didn't react. But I could only respond with a helpless smile. After all, I was just an outsider and didn't know much about the history of this planet. When it came to profound questions about history and religion, I had to ask the professionals.

"I'll ask the priest about that later. Let's move on to the next chapter."

After calming the two down for the time being, I turned to the next chapter to see what was written next, when a gentle voice came over.

Looking up, I saw Father Carter standing on the pulpit, his face full of holiness, looking at the three of us.

Perhaps there was a switch nearby, because the entire church was instantly illuminated, turning this magnificent church into a solemn and sacred place.

...We caught a priest who skipped work and still dared to show off!

Father Carter said, “I have heard your questions. The fact that you can call upon the name of the true God amidst the vast and boundless knowledge of the universe shows that you are all enlightened beings. So let me answer your questions.”

"The Holy Spirit appeared behind these historical events that Marcus mentioned."

"At that time, an astonishing depravity occurred among mankind, and countless indescribable and unspeakable horrors and strange phenomena descended from the heavens and emerged from the earth, disrupting the balance of this world."

"Therefore, in the far north, among the purest of people, the first Holy Spirits emerged. Because these enlightened ones were pure and spotless children, they were also called the Holy Sons."

"The Holy Sons appear from different tribes, different classes, and different appearances, all calling upon one name: the Holy Spirit!"

"The Holy Spirit is like a mark, proving that you have been saved. This mark proves that you have been restored to your relationship with God."

This proves that we are under the protection, guidance, and blessing of the Holy Spirit.

"Communication among the Sons is through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. These three are very close in meaning: psalms are the poems, hymns are hymns of praise, and spiritual songs are hymns of praise sung under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The most important expression of the Sons filled with the Holy Spirit is praising God together with all the saints."

"Relying on unwavering faith and persistent struggle, the Holy Sons finally came together, expelled all those ancient, corrupt, twisted, and bizarre gods, and established the Heavenly Kingdom of the Holy Spirit Church!"

This was the first time I had ever seen Father Carter appear so devout, transforming from an unscrupulous priest into a qualified preacher.

The story he told connected perfectly with the point where I had stopped the class earlier, filling in the gaps in my understanding.

He meant that the Church of the Holy Spirit appeared at the end of the gods' prosperity, and that the appearance of the Holy Spirit's Sons sounded the twilight of the gods.

The gods whose names are no longer known in the manuscripts are thanks to those pioneering saints.

However, I didn't completely believe his description. Religious wars are different from ordinary wars.

Ordinary wars merely plunder population and wealth, at most erasing the memory of a nation's existence and assimilating it entirely. Religious wars, however, are battles fought over ideologies, inevitably ending with the complete annihilation of one side. Therefore, employing methods such as defamation, smear campaigns, misinterpretation, and cover-ups is perfectly normal.

The description in the manuscript shows that a struggle against the Holy Spirit Church also occurred later.

The dragon slayer will eventually become a dragon himself.

Simply put, neither side can be trusted. The original religious order may have become corrupt after a long period of development, and the Holy Spirit Church may also degenerate for various reasons.

The final result can only be that success or failure determines one's worth.

The original cult was completely wiped out and defeated.

The Church of the Holy Spirit continues to this day and has been successful.

What meaning do other things like good and evil, right and wrong have?

"In our pursuit of a holy life, we often become discouraged by failures. The Holy Spirit is our source of strength. Our Sons teach us to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to continually pursue the Holy Spirit’s control over our thoughts and actions, and to live a life that pleases God."

Father Carter, standing on the pulpit, looked at us, these lost sheep, with eyes full of pity, as if he wanted to ask us a question.

"I understand now, what about you?"

"..."

The two little kids next to me looked on with a mixture of confusion and awe, completely admiring the priest's cryptic words!

And I looked at him with clear eyes, as if to say...

"What nonsense are you talking about! All that you've said is practically nothing!"

Father Carter stepped down from the pulpit, turned off the church lights with a hint of reluctance, and sat down next to us.

"Electricity here is very expensive. The church shouldn't have installed so many lights in the first place..." Father Carter's words still revealed his pain.

I asked curiously, "Father, do you not usually hold Mass here?"

The priest said despairingly, “The people in this town are busy every day, and they’re more enthusiastic about going to the tavern than coming here. I bet the previous priest was just too idle for too long, which is why he started this church school.”

"I knew it!" I exclaimed, suddenly realizing. I always thought Father Carter, with his lazy demeanor, didn't seem like the type to enjoy teaching children. Sure enough, he had accidentally taken on a troublesome assignment and was too lazy to refuse, which explained his lukewarm attitude towards teaching the children.

"I have a feeling you're thinking some very rude things..."

From a textbook perspective, the teacher's approach was quite competent. However, in terms of teaching methods, these two children didn't learn anything at all!

"Father, did you also graduate from a church school? Why did you choose this job?"

Father Carter rolled up the sleeves of his priest's robe, rubbed his temples, and began to think.

“I was about two or three years old when my brother and I were sent to the First United School of the Church in Mousse. After that, I listened to these kinds of remarks every day until I graduated and became a priest, and then I was able to relax.”

"Hey, Father, you seem to be making some very disrespectful remarks. I thought you were a very devout believer."

"Believers? Such things don't even exist. From the moment I entered that church school, I was destined to be a preacher, and many things in my mind had to be different from others. Can you imagine? Living like that for more than 20 years, even a normal person would go crazy, let alone two children."

"Father, then why did you choose to become a priest in the first place?"

"There's nothing I can do about it. I don't have any other skills, and I'm not as outstanding or ambitious as my brother. If I didn't come to this countryside to make a living, I might starve to death."

The priest, still with a kind and friendly expression, uttered a string of blasphemous words, completely ignoring the shocked expressions of those around him.

This priest is too dangerous! What if someone actually believes his high-sounding nonsense and converts?

You might think he's a mentor on your life's journey, but in reality, he's just a stumbling block.

Chapter 139 Rome Wasn't Built in a Day

"Boom, boom, boom..."

In the deserted depths of the mountains, the monotonous sound of logging echoed.

The reason people can endure suffering is because of the desire to survive. If a person can enjoy suffering, it must be because of love.

"I truly love the logging industry."

I spoke words I didn't mean, and vigorously swung my axe, preparing suitable wood for use deep in the mountains.

The incident began when, after I finished eating, I saw that it was still early and prepared to fulfill my promise to build the base deep in the mountains.

The first step is to gather enough wood here to build a work platform and tables and chairs.

Gotz, well, then I'm sorry. Anyway, there are so many trees here, you probably won't care if one or two are cut down, right?

As the saying goes, "a rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow," so I certainly couldn't just chop down a tree right at my doorstep and leave my mark. Therefore, I moved my target a little further forward and placed it on a tree lying across the roadside.

"Select work command: fell trees".

Soon, those trees were transformed into high-quality timber, which was piled up by the roadside.

I carried a large bundle of logs and transported them into the secret base in batches.

…………

The first plan for the secret base was to sand down the floors and walls.

This feature has always been available in the colonist system, but I've tested it in many places on the ranch and it doesn't work.

I only discovered this feature was enabled after entering the cave! These two new commands have been activated for the cave walls and floor!

"Select job task: sand the floor."

The floor of this cave was formed by long-term erosion by water, so it is covered with countless tiny holes and protrusions, and you will often trip over it when walking on it.

The colonist system controlled me. I picked up a hoe and went to the target location, repairing the uneven ground bit by bit, slowly shoveling out a flat area.

My first attempt was to sand only a small section of the floor, so the task was completed quickly.

I bent down and blew a puff of air onto the dusty ground, sending a cloud of dust flying up and getting into my eyes.

Once the dust settles, the colonist system becomes unscientific.

"Isn't this floor too slippery?"

I touched the cleared cave floor and felt that the system had performed a series of subtle treatments on it. With a few simple adjustments, the floor was now perfectly flat. There wasn't even a single pore. How could the limestone floor be so smooth and even? Could it be that even the texture of the ground had changed?

I scratched the ground, but didn't see any dust fall, and I couldn't even make a mark with a hoe...

Having confirmed the validity of this work order, I felt even more at ease transforming into a caveman.

Soon, the area of ​​the ground being polished expanded to the entire cave. From the mixed soil and rock surface at the entrance to the mossy surface at the deepest part, I used a hoe to hammer and polish it all.

However, the moment the system task was completed, I felt something was wrong.

There was still a lot of dust and gravel from the grinding process on the ground, and the friction was still quite high. I could clearly feel my feet slipping when I walked.