Chapter 148

Chapter 120 The Story of the Church

Patrick was the first human to receive divine favor and possess the power of faith. The deity who bestowed this blessing upon him, possessing great natural power, was revered by future generations as the “Bountiful Mother Goddess.”

The great Bountiful Mother Goddess was the first deity to grant humans a favor. She endowed Patrick with the miraculous power to perform “divine nature miracles,” allowing him to teach these abilities to his fellow humans. One of the most notable characteristics of these divine nature miracles was their ability to instantly grow plants. This way, the majority of people no longer had to worry about dying from starvation due to lack of harvest.

Patrick, the earliest hero of mankind, along with his chosen companions, became a beacon of hope for humanity. Leveraging the reputation and power of the Mother Goddess, they began to spread blessings everywhere, thereby gaining a large number of followers and building a true human home—the Holy City of Abedorian in the center of West Continent.

Patrick used divine miracles to cultivate vast fields of rice and fruit trees, allowing people to revel in the joy of harvest. He also ordered the construction of high walls around the Holy City, making it the first city-state in human history that became the heart’s desire of the people at the time.

Patrick naturally became the leader of humanity, and the deities were regarded as saviors by them.

Unfortunately, good times did not last long. In a certain year, a large-scale plague broke out in the Holy City.

People fell like wheat being harvested in swathes. Patrick was very anxious, but he found that although divine nature miracles could ensure his fellow humans would not starve, they were completely helpless against disease.

Desperate, Patrick decided to pray to the deities again, hoping to receive a blessing that would save his people from the terrible plague.

Patrick knelt and prayed for over ten days, fasting and abstaining from water. Fortunately, the God of Healing responded to him and bestowed upon him a new seed of faith. From then on, humans gained another major miracle—the miracle of healing.

In the face of the powerful miracle of healing, the terrifying plague was nothing to fear. When the golden light shone down on the Holy City, people miraculously recovered, and their faith became even more devout.

As history moved forward, after Patrick’s death, the youngest but most devout follower at the time became the new leader of the Holy City. During this period, the territory of humanity rapidly expanded, gradually forming a second city, a third city…

With more cities, there came nations.

Afterwards, more and more deities began to pay attention to humans. Gradually, the deities discovered with delight that despite their extreme weakness, humans possessed boundless creativity.

Although they lacked claws, they could use mud to make strange ovens, melt hard stones, and then hammer them into sharp strips to replace claws.

They lacked hard scales, but could use stone-baked clothes to replace them, even covering their heads tightly, so that beasts could no longer find a place to bite.

They could also build beautiful and comfortable houses, use some trees to create items called “ships,” and sail across the seas to explore new continents…

Humans showed the deities that they were the most intelligent and adaptable race in the world, thus receiving more blessings. At the same time, more and more followers began to receive divine favors, and those “blessed by the deities” increased in number. They were supported by the people and revered as “the most loyal followers of the deities.”

These people led their compatriots to prosperity, establishing countless city-states in both East and West Continents.

That era was later referred to by historians as the “Age of Divine Presence.”

Afterwards, wars began.

At first, it was only the strong Trolls living in caves. Their leader believed that humans were like stinking rats, multiplying everywhere, ruining the world, and predicted that this trend would soon reach his own homeland. Thus, leading the brave warriors of his tribe northward, they broke through the first city gate when we were completely unprepared.

The massacre took only one night. By dawn, the Trolls moved on to the second city, then the third…

Like savage beasts, they tore male humans into pieces without hesitation and stuck their heads on sharpened wooden stakes, letting them rot and stink, celebrating their victory—though it could hardly be called a battle.

Female humans were temporarily left behind by the Trolls for their amusement until they were played to death.

This was the largest recorded massacre in human history. The Trolls wielded wooden hammers entangled with thorns, easily crushing the skulls of those poor souls. The followers who could only heal and rescue were utterly unable to resist. Large-scale massacres also sent a signal to other restless alien races that humans remained as vulnerable as ever.

Thus, more powerful alien races joined the war.

Countless cities were destroyed, tens of thousands of compatriots brutally killed, rivers of blood flowed, and the stench of rotting corpses filled the air. Hatred between races spread, and soon, almost half of the world’s population targeted humans. Yet, once again, the humans received the mercy of the deities—the people blessed by the deities,

Praying to the Goddess of Sin, I received her blessing and gained the power of mighty miracles.

Finally, humans could use these miracles to defend their homeland.

Rebellion began.

The tide of war turned almost instantly. The unstoppable invaders, under the powerful onslaught of the miracles, became fragile and retreated continuously. The flying race returned to the skies, the merfolk retreated to the seas, and the fairies vanished into the forests.

The war seemed over. Humans began rebuilding the destroyed cities. However, the brief peace was short-lived. More powerful invaders targeted humans, seeing them as a highly threatening existence—the unbeatable dragons.

They spread their wings that darkened the sky and descended from above, spewing flames. War started again…

Over the following period, Professor Morgan vividly described the strength of the dragons and how they cruelly regarded humans as food, swallowing them whole without even chewing.

I frowned at this.

Something felt off, but I couldn’t pinpoint what exactly.

Only a small portion of what Professor Morgan had said matched what I had read in “A Comprehensive History.” He hadn’t mentioned any wars in that book, and barely touched upon those invaders.

Yet, I still remembered the book’s description of the invaders’ beauty. They were capable of brewing wine, singing, and even had maidens who could bloom flowers… These strange yet fascinating beings, which I once wished to see with my own eyes, now sounded so repulsive when Morgan spoke about them…

My mind involuntarily recalled Bai Bai.

It was a dragon too… But would such a creature really eat humans? Would its kind really start a war just because they were seen as “highly threatening”?

No, these weren’t the most suspicious points.

What was truly suspicious was if all the dragons were like Bai Bai—unable to speak… How could such a beast judge that humans were “highly threatening”? It didn’t make sense…

There were other inconsistencies in Morgan’s story, but his tale…

I glanced at Sarah.

She seemed engrossed, as did the other students. Of course, no one questioned it; after all, who else had ever seen a living dragon besides me?

This story must be the official version from the Church, right?

But it was hard for me to believe…

And there was no way to verify it. After all, history was always written by the victors… Clearly, humans were the victors.

Or perhaps, the Church was.

So whatever you say goes… Forget it, it’s been a thousand years. It doesn’t matter much anymore. I’ll continue listening.

Professor Morgan continued, saying that despite having miracles, humans were still at a disadvantage against the powerful dragons until the gods sent their messengers, the angels, to aid them. That same year, Danaelcis used divine power to change the world’s rules, granting humans the same power as the invaders—Order Power.

With this, humans finally had a chance against the dragons. Over a few short years, heroic knight champions wielding Order Power emerged, working with the angels to slay dozens of dragons, slowing their advance. This led to a prolonged stalemate.

Later, continuous warfare devastated the land, burning countless forests. The relentless dragons eventually made the gods impatient, leading to the creation of another dimension called “Dragon Homeland.”

The dragons were ultimately banished from this world, never to return. With this, the conflict between humans and dragons ended.

However, this did not mean the end of war. The invaders’ attacks continued for centuries, but over time, they weakened—fairies lost their sharp hearing, the flying race shed feathers, and even the flower race, which had never participated in the war, stopped blooming.

They gradually disappeared.

Devotees attributed this to the gods’ blessings on humanity.

Next came the formal establishment of the Holy Church.

On this day, the first day of the Common Era, a day of immense significance in human history, the gods entrusted the governance of the world to their followers.

Those “blessed by the gods.”

“Alright, my story ends here,” Professor Morgan clapped his hands, bringing the enraptured students back to reality. “In truth, there is much more to this history. The Church spent decades referencing countless books and documents to piece it together. The wars of the Age of the Divine were far more complex than I’ve described. During that era, many people even chose to side with the invaders out of fear, opening their city gates wide and watching as their kin were slaughtered… They are the shame of humanity, and their names are still etched on the Sinners’ Stele in the Holy City, forever despised.”