To become a citizen of Dragon City, the most important thing was to become a believer in Lord Louie.
A person didn’t need to become a devout believer, and they could just be a pseudo-believer, but to become a citizen of Dragon City, one couldn’t have faith in any other Gods. For the time being, the only exception to this was the elves. The lord had allowed them to believe in the Silver Moon Goddess while staying as citizens of the city.
To obtain a high power in the city, the most basic requirement was to believe in Lord Louie. Naturally, to prevent those with strong faith but little ability or idiots from obtaining high positions, Louie had set up an extra rule. Talent would be the first basis of consideration when selecting individuals to fill these roles. If more than one person was qualified, then faith would be taken into consideration.
In this way, Louie could ensure that his regime would not collapse for a few hundred years.
Every morning, evening, and before meals were the times of prayers for the inhabitants of Dragon City. There was also a day of worship every ten days where everyone rested and was required to go to church to worship. This was a rule set up by Louie’s church.
Other than this rest day, believers could worship at home or at the city square with other believers.
For the citizens of Dragon City, they considered this as an act of piety and a way to become closer to the great dragon. As a result, most of them took the initiative to get up early, come to the square, and under the leadership of a priest, they would hold a ceremony similar to a flag-raising ceremony.
In the past year, Louie’s Dragon God Church’s foundation and growth were thanks to Clooney. He was a true religious genius worthy of being someone who was trained by the Theocracy. He led the development of the religion from head to tail and from top to bottom without neglecting anything.
A magnificent church had also been built at the center of the city. Although it was not yet fully completed, it already exuded a magnificent atmosphere.
Regarding building a church and gathering believers, Louie felt that even if he were to take on the task himself, he would not necessarily be as good as Clooney.
At this time, Louie had already concealed himself and stood in the square, watching the prayer ceremony.
In the past year, the Dragon God Church had also trained some priests at the bottom of the hierarchy. Because Louie was not yet a true god, these fellows did not have the ability to perform divine magic, but their professional ability to propagate the faith and lead believers to pray was very strong.
These priests were extremely devout. Even if they did not obtain any supernatural abilities, their faith still remained pure.
‘Once I become a true god, these priests will certainly be able to grasp divine magic. Although it won’t be strong in terms of fighting, it should be capable of healing. As long as believers pay a certain price, they can ask these priests to cure them of ailments.’
Louie thought. As the person who had the complete divine authority of life, he had already surpassed other gods in healing divine magic. If the Goddess of the Moon was not compatible with the divine authority of Life, she wouldn’t have given it to Louie.
This was also why Louie did not create any hospital businesses in this world. This was because a priest’s healing ability could exceed that of medical science. The highest level of healing magic could even bring the dead back to life, which was something modern medicine could never do.
It would still be difficult to have these priests go to the battlefield, but once the church expanded more, they would naturally be included in the church’s armed forces.
Under Louie’s watchful eye, a young priest respectfully and reverently placed a divine emblem in front of the stone table for prayer.
Louie’s divine emblem was disc-shaped. In the center was the head of a dragon and around the circle were dragon heads looking in various directions, adding up to a total of nine heads.
As a former Chinese, Louie had always believed that nine was the extreme of numbers. Nine represented the highest and noble meaning but also had the meaning of nine sons born to the dragon (idiom: everyone has different qualities). This was also done to distinguish himself from the Five-colored Dragon God.
When the priest placed the divine emblem on the altar, he recited the doctrines and scripture in a loud chant.
“God said, I came into the world as light, but whoever believes in me will never dwell in darkness.”
“God said, though you were small in the beginning, you will be great in the end.”
“God said, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
“……”
“O Lord Louie, you are the God who is and was forever.”
“……”
“O Lord Louie, you are the lord of dragons, the only true god of dragons.”
“……”
“O Lord Louie, you are the weaver of dreams, the guardian of earth, the champion of magic…”
“……”
“O Lord Louie, you are the master of Dragon City, you are our protector…”
“We are all your sheeps and goats grazing on the earth. Glory to you. Victory to you. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
“……”
“O, Lord Louie…”
As the priest spoke, many believers also chanted. The more they chant the more the chants united into harmony, creating an overwhelming, sacred, and magnificent atmosphere. No mortal dared express any other emotions other than awe; awe at the scene that made them feel cleansed from inside out.
People kneeling on the ground were becoming more and more devout. In this mass-like atmosphere, those unbelievers would also turn their heads and join in. Naturally, this ceremony was done in order to change people’s hearts.
In the vicinity of the city square, there were many people from other parts of the continent. These people were taken by the ritualistic prayer ceremony and did not dare make any moves as they stood still. Even those who did not have any faith would unconsciously bow their heads and express their respect.
Some of them even instinctively kneeled on the ground as they were influenced by the atmosphere of the ceremony and began to pray.
The power of faith gathered in the sky above Dragon City. The power of faith looked for their master and descended upon Louie’s body. With his power as a god, the faith transformed into divine power and then stored in the quiet godhood.
Countless voices echoed in Louie’s mind. There was not only the crowd praying on the spot, but also from many other places. These sounds resounded in his soul. There was no clutter from these sounds as they washed Louie’s divine soul, almost making him moan out.
‘How wonderful. This is the feeling of God!’
Now that Louie’s divine fire had been lit and he had a divinity, a godhood, and a divine authority, he was already a god in normal situations. But because the world’s rules had not yet returned back to normal, Louie was unable to begin his apotheosis.
Although Louie was not yet able to use the transcendent abilities of a god, his senses were already on that level.
‘If a mortal receives this much faith, they would probably collapse and die… Also, I think I should have them add one more phrase to the end: you are the giver of life. This should correspond to the divine authority of life.’
Because Louie did not yet have full possessions over the divine authority of magic and earth, he only called himself the champion of magic and guardian of the earth. Although he was already on hostile terms with the Goddess of Magic and God of Earth, it was still better to not stimulate those two gods too much and give them a basic level of respect.
Thinking this way, something suddenly caught Louie’s attention as he looked towards the gate of Dragon City.
‘Eh? The Subila Empire’s royalty and the paladin from the Theocracy?’
‘The words, ‘ you are the master of Dragon City’, in the prayer meant that Louie was ruling the area centered around Dragon City, representing that he had divine authority over the region. He ruled over the area of a hundred kilometers around Dragon City. Therefore, his perception was infinitely expanded over the area. No movement, not even from the wind or grass, could escape his eyes.
This kind of divine authority was not strong. At most, it could make a person become a low-tier god, but if the divine authority was turned into a supplementary one, it had its uses, just like what Louie was doing now.