A sorcerer’s power originated from their bloodline, a mage’s power originally stemmed from the magic network, and a priest’s power originated from gods. A paladin’s strength was derived from ‘goodness and order’, one of the basic foundations of the world. They had to abide by the code of goodness and order, not the doctrine of a particular god.
Therefore, this group of people was not well-liked by the gods. A paladin also did not need to believe in the gods. Only the Goddess of Morning was an exception because her teachings were very close to the ‘order and goodness’ that they believe in. As a result, the Goddess accepted these paladins who chose to believe in her.
These paladins also become the Goddess’ representative, becoming a group beloved by her.
In the past, when the gods were not visible, the only reason the Theocracy was able to stand strong was due to the great efforts of these warriors. Because their power did not come from Gods, they were able to remain strong even in a world without them. As long as their hearts remained pure, anyone could become a paladin with mighty power. This resulted in the Theocracy obtaining superior status.
Paladins could also appear among Louie’s followers, but becoming one meant abandoning their faith because no matter how one looked at it, Louie’s teachings and actions were not in line with the dogma of the paladins.
Louie looked at the beautiful sacred paladin with interest. As she was being surrounded by the civilians with reddened faces, she tried her best to refute their words, but hopelessly found that to be fruitless.
In an instant, Roselia’s heart wavered, and began to wonder if what she had done was really wrong. Was the justice she was exercising not the justice that the people saw?
She thought of the past lives of these believers from their fervent faith and anger. Like most people on the continent, their lives had been at the bottom. They could not even afford food to eat or clothes to wear until the Dragon God appeared. After various events, they were happy to be reborn. They got to enjoy their basic rights as people, and they were finally able to live well.
From this point of view, the dragon was a good god, and his teachings were mostly to persuade people to do good, but the city had a lot of dark spots.
It was the first time she had heard of these casinos that could lead people to become corrupted. Although gambling existed in the world, it was the first time she had heard that even the most virtuous people could be corrupted if they were drawn into gambling.
He also supported slave trading. Other than elves, he allowed people to plunder women of other races and sell them to Flower Street, as well as accept money stained with evil. She also heard from passers-by on the way to Dragon City that there were a large number of slaves being turned into products by the dragon to provide for the needs of the city.
All of these were the dragon’s sins. He encouraged people to go outside to rob, kill, and plunder. For the development of the city, to meet its needs, he approved people to commit evil.
Would such a God one day also have his followers commit murder and rob others?
If Louie knew what Roselia was thinking, he would have scoffed at her. Louie would not let his followers become such madmen. Although this would bring Louie a lot more followers in a short time, this would become a big blocker for long-term development. Even if he was currently a high-tier god, he would fall to mid-tier with the passage of time.
Although Louie had hidden his power as a ‘foreign god’, he would not just give up the development of the city and abandon the godhood of the Dragon God. This was the best way to fool people. No one would be able to see through the fact that he was hiding his true power.
The paladin was confused.
‘This city was built on the death, dedication, and blood of countless people. It can be said to be an accumulation of brutality. Therefore these people are actually eating human blood buns to live a good life. It could be said that they have sacrificed others.’
‘Therefore, shouldn’t they be sinful? Shouldn’t I just judge them like how I judge other evils? Shouldn’t I just judge these civilians?’
‘No, Roselia, you can’t do that to the innocent. They are just working their hardest to obtain resources and survive. They don’t know anything and don’t kill, loot, or plunder others just to have a better life.’
‘But they ate human blood to obtain what they have now… Ahhhh.’
‘You can’t break the law. Killing the dragon for no reason like this… this isn’t even done for the greater good, nor is it done to protect fellow humans…’
Roselia felt as if she was about to go crazy.
The paladin’s inner angel and demon were locked in combat with each other for dominance over her conscience. She began questioning the creed that she once blindly followed.
There weren’t any written manuals that she could consult, so she could only use her heart to find the way forward.
Whoooosh—
A shadow dragon came from high in the sky and changed to human form as she landed next to Louie.
The people around who were cursing Roselia all respectfully saluted when they saw Noella. As Louie’s subordinate, the city’s residents treated her as the protector of Dragon City and gave her their greatest respect.
“Aha, it’s surprisingly a paladin.”
After seeing Roselia, Noella’s crimson eyes flashed and her voice filled with excitement and bloodlust.
“You don’t seem to like her.”
“Of course. There’s no one in the world who likes paladins. If it wasn’t for those crazy paladins sacrificing themselves a thousand years ago, how could I become what I am now?”
Noella said with hatred in her voice.
Louie listened and smirked.
‘A thousand years ago, you destroyed two principalities and killed who knows how many people. You were basically asking for it.’
“Milord, it seems that you don’t like these crazy people either. What are you trying to do, making the paladin fall? This is probably the best way to let these annoying bastards perish, letting them drown in their own goodness and order and letting them decay and self-destruct.”
Noella acted like a great demon king as she excitedly shouted with a twisted expression.
“The dogma of a paladin was not unchanging as ‘order and goodness’ had also changed meanings in the past. In these 30,000 years, the gods had fallen dormant, resulting in a change in their dogma. Right now, I’m just teaching this paladin that after the awakening of the gods, order and goodness will once again change. If she cannot adapt to this new change, then she would lose all her powers and be annihilated under ‘evil and chaos’.”
With one hand behind his back, Louie was like a god giving others the power to choose.
Suddenly, the knot on Roselia’s face was untangled. She once again became holy and radiant. She accepted the curses and accusations from these people with a firm expression, without any feeling of anger. Her holy aura and power were also increasing.
Noella froze, “I came here to witness the fall of a paladin not to witness her destroy the demon in her heart and grow stronger.”
This thousand-year-old Queen of Calamity was a little bewildered.
Louie’s expression also became serious, “That is the divinity of the Goddess of Morning. This paladin is her chosen one that she had always been observing.”
Gods were truly attracted to each others’ presence like magnets. With the coming of the age of gods once more, these gods were beginning to spring up all over the place.
Louie did not expect that after meeting the Goddess of Night, he would encounter another god in such a short period of time.