Chapter 50 Part 1

Just as Xia Xifeng was pondering what to do, Qin Lang sent him a message.

Qin Lang: 【He wants us to help him find an excuse to inform the Sun God about the Sea God’s situation.】

Xia Xifeng scrutinized Siger, but for the life of him, he couldn’t see what Qin Lang had gleaned behind Siger’s gold-rimmed glasses.

Still, Qin Lang’s analysis was definitely correct.

Although Qin Lang liked to deliberately put on a cold and wooden front, he was actually very good at reading people.

Or rather, he was far too good at instantly seeing through others’ “subtext,” which only made him increasingly avoid social obligations—or he’d relay others’ subtext to Xia Xifeng and leave the socializing to him.

Like now.

Xia Xifeng adopted a serious tone. “Bishop, are you aware of the Evil God incident in Green Sand City?”

Siger pushed up his glasses, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. “I am.”

He had thought it would take a few more hints. Had they seen through his intentions, or was this a lucky coincidence?

Following the deities-revering etiquette of the game’s NPCs, Xia Xifeng performed a prayer gesture before mentioning any deity. “The esteemed City Lord Amuruo dispatched knights to inform other great deities about this matter. The situation is exceptionally grave, and we must personally relay the full circumstances to the gods.”

As an aside, this deity-revering etiquette was a habit of the NPCs in the game. After Xia Xifeng transmigrated, he’d never seen Mr. Amuruo or Mr. Suer perform it, nor had the divine champions Perila and Leo.

However, before the Lord of Free Port—who also served as a bishop—Xia Xifeng’s reverent attitude toward the deities greatly won Siger’s favor.

A bit of that favor seeped into Siger’s response. He wore a troubled expression but spoke with a leading tone. “Yet with only that as justification, my great Lord might still be reluctant to learn of unrelated matters.”

Unrelated…

Xia Xifeng recalled the Sea God’s personality from the game and spoke sincerely. “The Sun’s deity urgently needs the great Sea God’s rescue.”

Qin Lang couldn’t help but glance upward at the sun.

Though Leo and Perila weren’t around to relay messages, perhaps because Qin Lang’s strength had grown and his intuition sharpened, he couldn’t shake the feeling that when Xia Xifeng said this, a certain bored, recuperating deity had expressed displeasure.

Siger did indeed want to hear something along those lines.

But put so bluntly, wasn’t the little knight worried about angering other gods?

Looking at the little knight’s clear, limpid eyes, Siger guessed it might also be simple ignorance.

Still, a single ill remark from an ordinary mortal… surely the deities wouldn’t take notice. Not all gods were as petty as his own, after all. And gods weren’t so idle as to listen to every mortal’s words.

Otherwise, when the sea folk faced a naturally formed tsunami and cursed the great ocean by name, his own god would have long been hopping mad, shouting, 【I merely govern the ‘rules’ of the entire ocean! Waves and tides are natural phenomena. It has nothing to do with me!!!】

“Since the situation is urgent, I will immediately contact my great Lord. Please wait a few days, Sir Knights.” Even as he grumbled internally about his Lord, Siger spoke in the tone of a devout bishop.

Xia Xifeng’s voice brimmed with gratitude. “We’ll trouble you then, Bishop.”

“No trouble at all. It is the duty of a clergy who serves the gods.” Shedding his “bishop” persona, Siger returned to his role as a lord and discussed trade matters with the two young fellow lords.

When Xia Xifeng introduced “cheap magic conduit devices,” other regions were still taking a wait-and-see approach. But the lords of the Free Alliance all trusted Amuruo’s judgment.

Even if they doubted Xia Xifeng, a little knight who appeared out of nowhere, they only suspected that these devices came from Suer and the half-elves, merely using an ordinary human knight as a front.

They also suspected that the two seemingly ordinary human knights might not actually be backed by Suer and Amuruo, but by the young Sun God’s Child.

Though the Hope City hadn’t officially been named a holy city, the Sun God Religion already regarded it as their de facto holy city.

Nominally, Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang were the lords of the Hope City. In truth, they were likely no different from the “city lords” of other holy cities—just administrators.

Even if they were only administrators and fronts pushed into the spotlight, it proved they held the deep trust of Amuruo and the two Sun God’s Children.

Once Siger switched to “lord mode,” he became utterly mercenary.

He warmly hosted Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang as if they were close nephews. But when it came time to haggle, he accounted for every last copper coin with them.

All of Xia Xifeng’s business acumen had been honed trading with players in the game. Against a wily old merchant like Siger, he was completely outmatched.

Qin Lang’s intelligence was high, but business relied more on experience. He could only help Xia Xifeng avoid traps; in the tug-of-war over profits, he was equally powerless.

The two business rookies were pitifully bullied by the cunning old merchant. Fortunately, Siger’s nature wasn’t bad, and with Green Sand City standing behind Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang, his deals were essentially with Green Sand City. He didn’t dare go too far. In the end, the deal was barely made at the edge of the two men’s bottom line.

Then again, letting others probe out your bottom line… Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang were truly terrible merchants.

After returning home, Siger couldn’t help but laugh about it with his wife for a long while.

Lady Kaiti pinched the back of his hand. “Don’t go overboard. According to my sister who married into Green Sand City, Xia is Mr. Suer’s disciple. Lord Amuruo might not mind you bullying the younger generation, but you should know Mr. Suer’s true race. Mr. Suer is very protective of his own.”

Siger laughed. “I know. That’s why I didn’t bully them too harshly.”

Lady Kaiti said helplessly, “And what about the deity’s affairs? Is it really all right to go against my Lord’s wishes like this?”

Siger’s smile faded.

He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I originally thought my Lord had merely been provoked by an Evil God trying to usurp Him. With just that much trouble, my Lord could never lose. But with a new holy city appearing in this world, the situation might be more serious than I imagined. Since Amuruo is willing to actively involve himself in divine conflicts, I need to gather more intelligence for my Lord.”

“It has been over a thousand years since the last new holy city appeared in this world.”

…

Fresh from being bullied, Xia Xifeng immediately complained to Suer.

That Siger was truly detestable!

Suer said kindly, “Do you need me to warn him?”

Xia Xifeng quickly shook his head. “No, no. If I keep relying on you, Teacher, I’ll never grow.”

Now that they’d grown closer, Xia Xifeng had finally seized the opportunity to directly call Suer his teacher.

Suer had originally held that two Prophets shouldn’t establish a “firm bond.”

“A term of endearment” was a kind of mysterious curse. When Fate captured him, it might implicate Xia Xifeng.

But Xia Xifeng insisted. After praying to the Heavenly Father, Suer had approved the teacher-student relationship with Xia Xifeng.

Amuruo then also took Qin Lang as his disciple.

Leo had gloated for a long time, pestering Qin Lang to call him Senior Brother.

Suer didn’t know why the Heavenly Father had broken the convention that “Prophets shall not have designated, definitive relationships with one another.” He’d simply follow the Heavenly Father’s oracle.

Suer consoled Xia Xifeng with a few words before they got down to business.

“The Sea God’s situation is dire as well? Sigh.” Exhaustion filled Suer’s brow.

Amuruo rubbed Suer’s brows for him and, on Suer’s behalf, introduced the Sea God to Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang.

Though Xia Xifeng might already know about the Sea God through “prophecy,” a different perspective would give them a bit more insight.

He also took the opportunity to analyze the current state of the gods fighting independently.

The Sea God’s personality was exactly as Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang knew from the game—the kind of god who’d leave behind nothing but a mouth even if His entire being perished.

Xia Xifeng’s response this time had been spot-on.

“The last divine melee was over a thousand years ago. To mortals, a thousand years is a very long time. To gods, a thousand years isn’t enough to erase the suspicion and hatred between them.” Mentioning the last Divine War, Amuruo’s expression showed a hint of fatigue.

Amuruo and Suer’s names hadn’t stood out during the Divine War a thousand years ago. Nearly everyone thought they were “new big shots” who had only emerged in the last few centuries.

But seeing how twitchy they were at the mere mention of the Divine War, Xia Xifeng guessed his teacher and Mr. Amuruo’s busiest “savior” missions had likely taken place during that war.

“Gods” were eternal and unchanging, but the “personas” of gods could change.

No matter how the world had been overturned before, it had all been within the world created by the Heavenly Father.

Gods, like all mortal beings on the earth, weren’t natural allies. Conflicts existed among them too.

And they were even prouder than mortals, believing even more in their own strength—if you didn’t even trust your own power, you might as well hand your divine throne to someone else.

So when facing Evil Gods trying to usurp them, some gods sat on the mountain and watched the tigers fight, some fanned the flames, and some were even the masterminds behind the scenes.

If not for the fact that the Twin Suns were rare gods who had never been replaced since their birth—broad in experience and favored by the Heavenly Father—and knew a little of the “Prophet’s” secrets, they would never have placed their full trust in Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang, cooperating so fully with their plans.

But even if they had glimpsed a fragment of the secret, they still couldn’t directly share the situation with other gods.

Because the other gods didn’t know the severity of the “Outer God” invasion.

They didn’t even believe “Outer Gods” could invade.

The Heavenly Father also couldn’t directly tell them. Otherwise, it would be an “acknowledgment of Outer Gods,” which would benefit the Outer Gods and accelerate their invasion.

Only the living beings of this world could discover the established fact of the “Outer Gods” on their own.

It was much like the “restrictions” on the Prophets.

To avoid Fate’s gaze as much as possible, the Prophets had to act on their own. What the Prophets told outsiders were all things they had “experienced.”

For instance, only after returning from a dungeon could Xia Xifeng tell others about the Blood Moon.

Toward Amuruo and Suer, who were also Prophets and Guardian Knights, Xia Xifeng’s restrictions were relatively lighter—at least he could tell them the Blood Moon was an Outer God.

Even now, Xia Xifeng still couldn’t directly tell others that the Evil Gods were “Outer Gods.”

Even if he accidentally let it slip, those who heard it generally wouldn’t associate this “outer” with being outside the world created by the Heavenly Father. He couldn’t emphasize the true meaning of “Outer God.”

Only after he obtained enough evidence from “experienced events” proving that the Evil Gods stirring up trouble weren’t the usual local gods scheming to usurp divine thrones could he publicly reveal the truth about the Outer Gods.

“Since the Heavenly Father created this world, there has never been a war where the Heavenly Father Himself had to take the field.” Suer finally recovered from his fatigue, showing just how much the Divine War had ravaged him. “You can’t directly tell the Sea God that His opponent isn’t a local god but an Outer God. This is a war that subverts the rules. No living being can survive defeat, not even gods. You can only guide Him, as you guided the Twin Suns, to discover this on His own.”

Xia Xifeng asked, “Once He learns the truth, will He proactively ally with other gods?”

Amuruo rolled his eyes. “He’ll ally with the Twin Suns, but He absolutely won’t trust gods who don’t know the truth. Because the gods themselves know just how stupid and arrogant their own kind can be. If other gods heard His warning, they’d only exploit His weakness to attack Him. The Twin Suns dared to show their vulnerabilities because They are twin gods. Hope’s Sun is wounded, but Birth’s Sun is not.”