The south city of Longshe City.
The old church of the Holy Angels Church.
This is supposed to be a sacred place, but it always makes people feel a little strange.
Today is a pilgrimage day at the old church.
In the square in front of the old church, countless pilgrims were kneeling.
Some of them knelt in front of the church, clasped their hands together, and kept muttering something.
Some of them lay on the ground, kissing the ground in front of the church continuously.
Some lay quietly on the ground, skinny, with dull eyes and their mouths opening and closing unconsciously.
A few brown pigeons were jumping around among the pilgrims on the ground, making "coo, coo" sounds.
“Ding! Ding! Ding!”
Three long bells rang, and two nuns in black robes with white backgrounds came out pushing a cart.
On the car was a large pot of boiled malt, with hot steam rising from the malt. A few wisps of faint fragrance diluted the fishy smell in the air.
The believers in front of the church stood up one after another. There was no noise or argument. Instead, they consciously lined up in two long lines.
Seven Doves, who were walking among the pilgrims, were bumped into by a ragged old man.
The person who was hit was fine, but the person who hit others fell down.
The old man's skin was dry and wrinkled, wrapped around his bones, as if it had been drained of all its flesh and blood, leaving only a skeleton and skin.
His eyeballs were sunken and his eyelids were tightly closed. Even when he fell to the ground, his eyes never opened. He must have been blind.
"Old man, are you okay?"
Qi Ge squatted down and helped the old pilgrim up. The nun at the front desk who was leading the way also stopped and looked back at Qi Ge.
The old pilgrim, who was helped up by the seven doves, did not respond to the seven doves. If one looked closely, one could see that his upper and lower lips were slightly opening and closing.
When Qi Ge supported him, he put his head close to his mouth and heard a sound like panting from his breathing.
"Holy Angel, Holy Angel."
After being helped up, the old pilgrim walked forward tremblingly.
Although he could not see anything, he walked accurately behind the group of pilgrims and moved slowly with the group.
Qi Ge felt like something was blocking him.
He stopped and looked in the direction of the nun.
The nuns of the church scooped a spoonful of boiling wheat porridge from the steaming basin and poured it into the hands of the pilgrims.
The hot broken wheat poured onto the pilgrims' hands, as if injecting some strength into their dry bodies.
The pilgrims could not wait to bury their heads in the porridge. The porridge turned into light and shattered, and was directly absorbed by the pilgrims.
In an instant, the pilgrim's gray body seemed to have color, and even his movements became more powerful.
After they "ate" the Eucharist, they returned to their original positions, and as their mouths opened and closed, the colors on their bodies began to fade rapidly.
Qi Ge is kind-hearted and cannot bear to see this.
He sighed and followed the nun at the front desk again, heading towards the old church.
The food in the world of Heroes does not need to be eaten. Food itself is just a form of energy.
As long as you want, you can absorb it directly.
But generally no NPC would do this.
After all, the process of chewing delicious food itself can make people feel happy.
Unless that thing is really hard to swallow.
In the teachings of the Church of the Holy Angels, enjoying delicious food is a sin.
In his previous life, Qi Ge felt that the person who made up this doctrine must be a conscienceless bastard who should be chopped up and fed to the three-headed dog of hell.
I'm talking about you, Inheim.
The Holy Angels Cult classifies the normal desires of some creatures into the seven deadly sins.
This doctrine suppresses the normal instincts of living things to the limit, thereby cultivating a bunch of walking corpses whose only thoughts are praying to angels.
This kind of walking corpse is called a pilgrim.
That is, the production machine of NPC angels.
They go to sleep and wake up every day, pray to angels, and eat a so-called "holy communion" at a certain time.
After eating, continue to pray to the angel until you fall asleep from exhaustion.
Their prayers will generate faith value, which is converted and absorbed by the "Cloud City" and becomes the nutrients that make up the NPC angels.
Elasia has no shortage of cloud cities or resources, but it lacks faith.
In the previous life, Qi Ge received the task from Adela to change all this, but before he could succeed, he encountered the invasion of Chaos.
During the Chaos invasion, Seven Doves and Adela had to suppress their ongoing plans.
Because no matter what, the pilgrim system is the source of the birth of angel NPCs.
If the Pilgrim System is suddenly overturned, the Angel NPCs on the front line will be unable to connect, and without the main force to fight against Chaos, Erathia will perish.
No matter how hard the lives of those pilgrims were, at least they were alive.
Being swallowed by chaos means death without a burial place.
You can only choose the lesser of two evils.
The seven doves walked through the line of pilgrims and followed the nun step by step into the church.
On both sides of the church are various angel statues. The angels are in various postures, charging, flying, praying, or reading.
These stone statues are dead and have no warmth at all.
Walking in the church, it is so quiet.
Apart from the footsteps of the Seven Pigeons and the nun, there was no other noise.
It was an indescribable hell with a bunch of pilgrims queuing up like the living dead to receive the "Holy Communion" in front of the church.
It was as if Qi Ge had entered a zombie factory.
When they went in, they were full of life, but when they came out, they became zombies.
If possible, since they are all zombie manufacturing factories, Qi Ge would rather enter the succubus's lair.
Rather than having his soul drained, Qi Ge would rather have his body drained.
After all, the seven pigeons have good physiques, so they can last longer and the process will be happier.
Unfortunately, there is no choice.
Arriving at the prayer hall of the old church, Adela was the only one there.
Her back is to the seven doves, and in front of her is a giant statue of an angel reaching up to the top of the church.
The nun who led Qi Ge turned around and said to Qi Ge with some guilt:
“President Qi Ge, actually, it is Legend Adra who wants to see you.
For some reason, this meeting cannot be discovered by others.
I'm sorry for lying to you."
Seeing her trying to bow, Qi Ge reached out his hand, wanting to support her, but then he thought that she might hate men's touch, so he made a hand gesture commonly used by the Church of the Holy Angels and said:
"Don't feel sorry, the angels will take care of all your sins."
The receptionist was stunned when she heard Qi Ge suddenly utter a line that only the bishops of the Church of the Holy Angels would often say.
She raised her head and saw Qi Ge's eyes that seemed to see through people's hearts. This made her a little shy, and she ran out covering her face.
"Are you the president of Timely Rain Chamber of Commerce, Qi Ge?"
Adela had her back to the Seven Pigeons, her voice gentle and pleasant, like a virtuous wife who would prepare a bath for you every time you returned to the territory.
"Qi Ge, I'm curious. Why did you help the coachman?
Is it the guidance of an angel or the temptation of a devil? "
Adela also has the blessing of "Holy Spirit: Insight" and can see through lies.
According to Adela herself in her previous life, whenever she asked a question and the other person answered, a voice would come after the answer: truth or lie.
The standard for judgment is very strict, even if it is half true and half false, it will be judged as a lie.
Therefore, one must be very careful when answering Adela's questions.
Qi Ge thought for a moment and spoke slowly:
"It was my own judgment to help the coachman." (True)
As if getting an unexpected answer, Adela turned around and looked at Qi Ge.
She was wearing a brown nun's robe with a hood, hiding her face inside the robe.
Together with Qi Ge, who is also wearing a white cape and a hood, they look like a couple's outfit.
"Can you tell me why you want to help him?"
The time has come to test Qi Ge's skills.
"To save him." (True)
"If I don't help him, a member of the Holy Angels Church will soon find him and transfer his debt to the church." (True)
"Then, he and his family will step by step embark on the path of becoming pilgrims under the guidance of the church." (True)
"I am very sure that his distraction was caused by the high priest of the church." (True)
“The holy war is going on on the front line, and the rebellion of the legendary hero Sosa has emerged in the rear.
The Holy Angel Church does not have enough troops and needs more angels." (True)
"So, incidents like that of the coachman should increase in the near future." (True)
"And I want to stop all this from happening." (True)
Qi Ge had done special research on how to conceal the truth from Adela's penetrating eyes.
Every sentence in the whole paragraph is true, but when put together it is a lie.
Listening to the whole paragraph together, we can understand that Qi Ge saved the coachman Luo Xiang to prevent him from becoming a pilgrim.
But it’s not.
What Adela asked was why Qi Ge helped him.
Qi Ge’s answer was: “To save him.”
This answer is true, but it is only half the answer. The full answer should be:
"To save him, and to get your attention."
Qi Ge's subsequent words can be seen as an explanation of the sentence "to save him", but Qi Ge did not add any conjunctions after the first sentence.
Qi Ge cleverly used the intervals between words to block the time for the Insightful Holy Spirit to inform Adela.
Use all the true words to weave lies.
He transformed his image in Adela's mind into that of a pagan who was rebelling against the church's pilgrim system.
Adela once again heard an answer that was beyond her expectations , which made her even more interested in the person in front of her.
“I am a saint of the church, and you slander the church in front of me?
Do you think I would judge my own high priest because of your words?
You would rather risk being killed by me than say this in front of me.
Could it be that you have a lot of objections to the church's pilgrim system?"
This question needs to be answered carefully.
The Pilgrim System is the core system of the Papal Faction. The legendary hero Inheim relied on the achievements of this system to complete his legendary journey and become a legend.
Qi Ge thought for a moment and spoke solemnly:
“In fact, I am not completely negative about the pilgrim system.
I knew very early on that this world is neither black nor white, but a delicate gray.”
“From Elashia’s perspective, there is a crisis approaching from the Realm of Chaos in the distance, and powerful enemies from Hell are surrounding us nearby.
There is nothing wrong with the Church of the Holy Angels expanding its military forces and trying to increase the production of angels.
The faith value that pilgrims can provide is more than ten times that of ordinary believers.
Make an assumption.
Under normal circumstances, it takes about 10,000 ordinary believers to pray non-stop for a week to awaken an angel.
If it were pilgrims, only 1,000 would be needed.
Then, if 1,000 of the 10,000 believers are converted into pilgrims, the remaining 9,000 normal believers can work and live normally.
In this way, we can produce a large number of angels to ensure the strength of Erathia's military, while not affecting the overall stability of Erathia."
Adela was a little disappointed when she heard what Qi Ge said, but she didn't say anything and waited quietly for Qi Ge to finish speaking.
“From the perspective of the pilgrims themselves.
Most of the pilgrims are poor people who lost all their relatives in the holy war, or are at the bottom of the society of Elashiya who have been living in misery.
They are either disabled, old, or heartbroken, and they may not be able to survive normally in Erathia no matter how hard they try.
Their own lives are full of pain, and even thinking is a torture for them.
In this case, after they are transformed into pilgrims, they completely give up thinking.
They don't need to work, think, or reminisce. They only need to pray and entrust themselves to the God in their hearts.
This may not be a kind of happiness for them who live in pain.
For me, giving up thinking and becoming a puppet who only knows how to pray is something I cannot accept.
This doesn't mean that I will project my feelings onto them and think that they are also in pain.
Therefore, I will not make any comments on the Church’s pilgrim system.”
Enough, it happens again.
Adela was very disappointed. She was about to interrupt Qige, but suddenly, Qige raised his head slightly and changed the subject.
“But there is a premise for all this.
Those who become pilgrims do so voluntarily, not by force under the scheme and trap of some conspirators.
Otherwise, I can't turn a blind eye.
If you encounter it, you must take care of it. "
Adela shuddered inside her brown nun's robe.
Everything Qi Ge said was true.
She stared at the seven doves carefully, and the blessing of the Holy Spirit's insight allowed her to penetrate the pure white night shadows of the seven doves and see the appearance of the seven doves.
It’s actually a half-elf!
Adela was even more surprised.
She thought she had met a like-minded human companion, but unexpectedly, the other party was actually a half-elf!
Why should he, a half-elf, interfere in human affairs?
Did his father or mother become a pilgrim?
After a moment's thought, Adela asked:
“This is the Church of the Holy Angels.
The pilgrim system was established by the Church of the Holy Angels, and I am a saint of the Church of the Holy Angels.
Aren't you afraid that I will execute you, pagan?"
"No."
Qi Ge smiled confidently.
"You are not only the Saint of the Holy Angel Church, but also the Saint of the people of Elashia."
"You have played an indispensable role in the fact that the city of Longtong Port has not yet been converted into pilgrims on a large scale."
Adela stared at the Seven Pigeons in shock.
It wasn't a tone of speculation, but one of affirmation, and the sentence was also true.
It was as if he knew for sure that I was behind the church's plans to expand its pilgrim program.
When was I exposed? Who exposed me?
How much information does he know?
Will it affect my plans?
In just a short conversation, Adela's attitude towards Qi Ge changed from curiosity, to disappointment, to expectation, and then to questioning, turning back and forth repeatedly, just like riding a roller coaster.
Her patience was also going up and down, rising and falling, and was repeatedly worn away by Qi Ge.
When Qi Ge saw that Adela suddenly stopped asking questions, he knew that the food was almost cooked and the main course had to be served.
Otherwise, some things can only be said in the dungeon.
“Lady Saint, if you want to change the pilgrim system, the people of Elashia will no longer suffer.
At the same time, there is a way to ensure the production of angels and prevent Erathia from losing the foundation of the country. "
Adela was just about to capture Qi Ge and interrogate him carefully, but was frightened by Qi Ge's words and stopped immediately.
Qi Ge's words were exactly the problem that she had been unable to solve, and it was the core difficulty in her desire to reform the church.
She asked anxiously, "What's the solution?"
Qi Ge noticed that her speech speed slightly increased and smiled knowingly. It was rare to see Adela anxious.
He didn't dare to keep Adela waiting any longer, and said quickly:
"All of this starts with the origin of angels."
“The teachings of the Church of the Holy Angels begin with this.
The world loves God, and God loves the world.
But this teaching is wrong.
Angels have no love, no emotions, they are not even living beings, but rather a life of faith similar to a mechanical body."
Adela's pupils trembled!
How would he know?
This is the core secret of the entire castle power. Even in the Church of Holy Angels, there are only a few !
"Angels are reinforcements summoned by the Mother Goddess Asha from a world of order that is about to be destroyed.
There are also humans in that orderly world, but apart from their similar appearance, their abilities and civilization development paths are different from those in our Yasa world.
It was an idealistic world where powerful enough thoughts could change reality.
The humans in that world have long been invaded by hell, suffering greatly and longing to be saved.
Thus, a genius from their world unified human thought through the form of the church.
The powerful collective consciousness distorted reality, and the "City in the Clouds" and "Angels" materialized from their thoughts.
Angels embody the most fundamental dreams of human beings in that world.
He has strong combat power, can fly freely, can resurrect humans, is brave and fearless, is the mortal enemy of the forces of Hell, and will kill any demon he sees.
The thoughts of the creatures of faith are determined by the believers.
Due to the power of faith, the most basic logic of the angels' actions is to destroy hell and protect humanity.
When the angels descended on the world of Yasa, they happened to see humans on the verge of extinction under the oppression of chaos, and subconsciously fought for human forces.
The humans in the Yasa world also regarded this angel who descended from the void as the god who saved them. "
"But, be the strongest angel."
Qi Ge said as he looked up at the statue behind Adela.
"But when the strongest angel obtained the Tears of Yasha and established his own power, everything changed.
High-level angels gradually began to develop their own thoughts. They were no longer pure, and could even break free from the constraints of faith to a certain extent. They had desires other than to destroy hell and protect humanity.
Angels who have just awakened their self-consciousness have only one person to learn from.
It is very regrettable that the object of study has both noble qualities and dirty desires. They happen to be the most complex creatures in the Yasa world.
It is easy to learn bad things but difficult to learn good things.
After the first holy war between the castle and hell ended, the castle's power gradually stabilized.
In the stability, high-level angels soon became infected with human vices and began to have desires.
They pursued enjoyment and even began to enslave humans.
High-level angels even want to transform the humans of the Yasa world into their former creator - the idealistic human civilization.
And through the faith of the people in the Yasa world, it can achieve its own evolution and make itself stronger.
Thus, with the help of high-level angels, the church that believed in angels was naturally established.
But soon, the legendary heroes of mankind discovered that something was wrong with the angels. The earliest group of legendary heroes who were promoted in the First Holy War established a king who could check and balance the power of the church.
In order to survive, human forces in the Yasa continent have to rely on the power of angels.
Angels are lives of faith. If there are not enough humans who believe in them, they will not be able to give birth to a new generation.
The distorted relationship between angels and human forces, which is interdependent and mutually hostile, continues to this day."
Every word is precious!
Adela couldn't control her expression and her thin lips slightly opened.
She had never imagined that someone could analyze the relationship between humans and angels so thoroughly.
What Qi Ge said not only corresponded to what she knew, but also answered some questions she had always had.
Adela used all her strength to release her insight, trying to see the true identity of the Seven Pigeons. She suspected that the Seven Pigeons might be a demon, or a demigod hero who transformed into a half-elf.
But no matter how you look at it, Qi Ge is just an ordinary half-elf hero, not even a master.
Adela was shocked.
How did Qi Ge know all this? It was as if he had penetrated the mist of history and spoke the truth in one sentence.
Qi Ge was sure that Adela must be completely stunned by him now.
Because the truth of these histories was told to Qi Ge by Adela himself one year after the server was launched in the previous life.
The conversation between Qi Ge and Adela now is equivalent to Adela one year later talking to Adela now.
Those words must have hit the softest and most sensitive part of her body, making Adela doubt her life.
Adela took a few steps forward, closing the distance between the seven pigeons.
"How do you know this?"
Qi Ge shook his head and said:
"I was told this by a beautiful and intelligent lady, whose name I am sorry I cannot tell you."
Lady? A lady who is so familiar with the church?
Adriel? Isaiah? Caitlin?
Several names flashed through Adela's mind, but she ruled them out one by one.
"who is she?!"
The seven pigeons had a sad expression.
"The lady who told me this is no longer in this world."
The Seven Doves were talking about "the lady who told him about his past history", that is, Adela in his previous life. Adela in this life did not tell the Seven Doves the truth about the angel.
So in Adela's insight, the words of the seven pigeons were judged to be true.
"Don't give me the cold shoulder. Tell me her name. Although I don't like to solve problems with force, it doesn't mean I can't."
Adela stared at the seven pigeons and issued an ultimatum.
Seeing that he couldn't fool anyone anymore, Qi Ge thought quickly.
This question is difficult to answer, and we must find a way to divert Adela's attention.
"Lady Saint! Something bad has happened!"
The nun at the front desk ran in with great effort. She covered her heavy conscience and shouted breathlessly, "The high priest is here!"