Within the palace at the peak of Dragon City rested an immense dragon. Its immense frame lay on a heap of gold as it contemplated its affairs.
By now Louie was no longer worried about being exposed as a fake primordial dragon. As he was getting ready to ascend, he was on the cusp of obtaining an even nobler identity, and once he truly attained deification, no one would care about what kind of dragon he initially was.
At Louie’s feet, the senior members of Dragon City prostrated themselves. There was the creator of the Dragon God Church and the future pope, Clooney. There was the dragon known as the Crimson Calamity who brought havoc to the continent thousands of years ago, Noella. There was the beastman who traveled a long distance to find a safe haven, Lysfer. There was the Ranger General from the Silver Mon Kingdom, Sisna. There was the person Louie assigned to train mages, Marches. There was also the one who recently made an oath to serve Dragon City for a hundred years, Roselia.
Other than Roselia and Sisna, the others were all Louie’s believers.
Clooney’s faith was the most sincere out of everyone’S. He was in the process of building a church and gaining a more profound understanding of Louie’s teachings. After understanding Louie’s thoughts and intent toward him, his faith had become so firm that he had become one of those fanatical believers.
Marches was originally in a master-slave contract with Louie. Louie was his master, and when his master became a true god, he would also rise with the tide, which naturally solidified his faith.
As a beastman, Lysfer originally believed in the gods of the beastmen race, but as she brought her people to Dragon City, her faith was gradually transformed and also turned into the Dragon God’s faith.
Sisna remained a believer of the Silver Moon Goddess, but even if that was so, Louie’s relationship with the Silver Moon Goddess allowed him to naturally command this legendary elven ranger. Even if he asked her to dedicate her body to him, the Silver Moon Goddess would not say anything. After all, Gods had the power to take anything they wanted.
Roselia was a believer of the Goddess of Morning and a paladin. It was impossible for Louie to make her change her faith. As long as the secrets of Dragon City were not divulged to her, then there would be no problem for her to fight on the territory’s behalf.
If other people believed in the gods for various reasons, then Noella did it because she was extremely smart. She clearly knew that an era of chaos was soon coming. The gods would gradually have a deeper and deeper impact on the world, resulting in every creature in the world having faith.
Even if she was a dragon, she still needed a God’s backing, and hence she needed to believe in one of them Since she and Louie were relatively close, and Louie had the original godhood of the Dragon God, Noella knew who she had to believe.
Louie gazed at Noella’s faith. At most, she could be considered a pseudo-believer, but as long as she believed in him and proclaimed to be his believer, then she would also become a true believer with time.
In the era of gods, mortals needed to have faith. It did not matter which god they believed in, but having no faith was a complete aberration.
People who believe in gods would have their souls return to their kingdom upon death. This meant that mortals did not truly die. They could continue to enjoy life after death until their souls were completely merged with the divine kingdom and reincarnated. After many reincarnations, their souls would also become a part of the god.
The stronger their faith, the better the treatment they receive after death, and the closer they were to their god.
But because the divine kingdoms no longer existed, Gods could currently not build their power bases this way.
When the age of gods returned, those who did not believe would suffer in the underworld after death, while those who believed would continue to their deity’s kingdom. A happy life after death would certainly make the faith of mortals explode in numbers and let them believe more firmly in the gods.
This was not the same as karma in Buddhist practices. Those Buddhist scriptures of having a better life in the next life could not be proven, but the fact that people could ascend to the divine kingdom could be proven.
‘This is truly a good era. If this was the era of the gods, new gods wouldn’t be able to compete with the old gods whose roots have spread far and wide. There was no chance at all for a new god to spread their roots.’
Louie thought so and felt thankful. He even felt a little bit grateful to the Terran Civilization. If it were not for the Terran Civilization that crippled the gods, then he would not have gained such a good opportunity to become a powerful god.
In the era before the Terran invasion, the Gods who had lived for eons had definitely accumulated many believers in their divine kingdoms. The few powerhouses who could not create their own divine kingdoms were not in fact inferior to new gods. Moreover, the main continent’s faith was divided up, preventing new gods from finding new sources of faith.
It was difficult to become a god in times of peace. Only during periods of great change could one obtain an opportunity. The relationship between deities and believers was complex and difficult to describe.
Louie pondered upon these rules. These were also rules that he had to follow until he fully developed the foreign god’s godhood. Following these rules was also the best way for a god to develop as they accumulate experience.
If he and the Silver Moon Goddess weren’t together, then he would not have known any of this information and would be walking blindly.
Afterward, he looked at Noella with interest.
This paladin was wrapped in an aura of divine justice. She held a slim silver longsword that carried the aura of a god. This was Louie’s old trophy, the ‘Holy Iris Sword’.
What Roselia was currently experiencing was the critical moment of transformation from mortal to legendary.
‘I thought that it would take several years before she could become a legendary paladin, but I didn’t expect her to reach the legendary rank in just a few days after giving her the Holy Iris Sword.’
Roselia was a famous paladin of the Theocracy. She was also the new commander of the Holy Iris Order. Her fame was known all over the continent, and she was originally a ninth rank powerhouse who was infinitely close to the legendary rank.
‘This time, she came to Dragon City with the will of the paladin and braced herself for the worst. However, she not only made the Goddess of Morning descend but also received the Holy Iris Sword. This could be considered to be a glorious moment for a paladin. She was not only favored by the Goddess of Morning, but she also gained the Dragon God’s approval.’
‘Her story should have spread throughout Dragon City and to the world, causing her to become widely known on the continent. This gave her the chance to break through the legendary rank in one fell swoop.’
Her ascension was of great interest to Louie. After all, the benefits accompanying it wouldn’t be insignificant.