Chapter 8: Lamb of the Lord

Moonlight gradually spread, enveloping Felix's body, with a warm mist, tinged with a hint of coolness, enveloping him. The will that spanned the void left a "seed" on Felix's body and finally covered the entire square.

Obviously, this level of transaction was not enough to summon the Shadow Queen herself, which left Felix, who had hoped to witness the goddess's grace, feeling disappointed. The Shadow Queen was tolerant; her power came from her own knowledge, not the faith of her servants. She did not have many demands for her servants, even allowing them to believe in other gods.

In the realm of magic, the Queen was also a wise guide, and her famous saying opened a window to "eternity" for all spellcasters in the world.

"I only believe in myself, I am faith!" — Shadow Queen, Christie Anna.

Gamma mages were a unique existence, they did not focus on physical training. To them, the body was just a vessel for the soul, and it wasn't difficult to find a new one. Of course, a perfect "soul transfer" could only be achieved by Gamma mages who had stepped into the "golden" realm.

There was a common misconception that wizards' bodies were very fragile, some even so frail that a gust of wind could blow them away. This absurd myth was surprisingly believed by many. If you were a wise wizard, would you tolerate a body so weak that you'd be out of breath after walking a few steps? Wouldn't you try to change this? Wouldn't you set aside some time to train your body?

Spellcasters were widely recognized as a long-lived profession. A frail body could not be the cornerstone of a long life. For spellcasters, living a little longer, a bit longer, even more, meant getting closer to "true eternity."

In fact, aside from combat skills, most spellcasters' melee abilities were on par with intermediate knights. This refers to those who have entered the "silver" realm and undergone "elemental transformation." The strength of close-combat professions lay in their fighting skills earned with blood and sweat, not just physical strength. The human spirit has no limits, but the body does. In terms of pure strength, a beastman Sword Saint might not match a Blade Ogre over twelve feet tall, but a million Blade Ogres couldn't defeat a single Sword Saint! Physical strength was only part of one's power, just as in the eyes of spellcasters, abundant magic was merely a "fulcrum," not everything.

Black mages were adept at modifying others, while Gamma mages excelled at modifying themselves. Over 90% of Gamma mages' first experiments in modification were on themselves, like Felix's "trump card."

There was a saying in the spellcasting world.

Alchemists were madmen, and Gamma mages were the 'maddest among the mad.' When it comes to one's own death or another's death, people always make a choice, irrespective of moral issues. Striving to survive is an instinct of living beings.

When the light faded, the ritual finally ended. To Felix's surprise, the Shadow Queen, Christie, did not take the offering he had quietly placed on the altar. The Shadow Queen had left her "brand" on her "prey"; it seemed the evil queen planned to play with the knights' faith slowly. Perhaps this was the cruel humor of the gods.

Three magic hours passed.

The seventh chosen one did not appear, and the knights cheered as if they had survived a catastrophe, expressing their gratitude to Felix. Looking at the excited knights, Felix couldn't help but think of a word that was definitely "taboo" — Iyeta's lambs! Translated into the common language of the continent, it meant knights kept by the gods.

Since the Byzantine Empire split from the Vatican to form the Eastern Orthodox Church, the power of the Papacy plummeted, and the subsequent rise of the Church of the Holy Mother and the new religion formed by emerging nobles further fragmented the "Faith of the Lord."

The Pope and the Patriarch, the two "representatives of the Lord" on Earth, had a century-long struggle for the "Rod of God," weakening the Church's influence in the world. Of course, behind all this, the hand of imperial power was at play.

Here's an interesting thing - nobody knows who the "Lord" is. People are used to calling the "Lord" God, but that's not the "Lord's" name.

On the North American continent, beastmen and barbarians who worship the war god also call their deity God. In the original text, God represents the "Heavens" or the "Sky." The only thing that can be verified is that the Light God is the "Lord's" son and the "Lord's" representative. In the northern part of the Western Continent, the Light God is called "Jesus," while in the south, he is called "Iyeta."

Both names translate to the same meaning—Saint and Disciple.

It's worth mentioning that before the schism of the Church, over 90% of knights on the entire Western Continent believed in "Spirituality" and "Devotion." One of the eight primary beliefs, "Spirituality," represents loyalty to the "Lord." This means that when blasphemers against the gods appear, more than 90% of the knights on the continent will draw their swords and fight for the "Lord's" honor.

It's a terrifying figure!

Fortunately, all this is in the past. The decline of the Church allowed the knights to escape the "Cage of Faith" and gradually shed their "Lamb" status.

Here, I must mention the new religion and the Church of the Holy Mother.

After the shattering of faith, many knights embraced "Honor," "Valor," and "Devotion" as their main beliefs. This caused the Church to lose its sharpest spear. In the struggle between the Pope and the Patriarch, the rising nobles, unhappy with their divided interests, secretly established the new religion and gradually grew stronger.

The new religion still serves the "Lord," but they chose the "Lord's" "bastard" as the main belief—the Archangel Michael.

Michael is also a powerful god. Although he hasn't ascended to the throne of the main god, everyone believes his strength is no less than the Light God or even Satan. A legend has circulated among humans that after giving birth to the Light God, the Holy Mother Mary gave birth to another child, Michael.

The Church of the Holy Mother originated from the Holy Mother Cathedral.

According to spellcasters, it was those "unsatisfied" old virgins who couldn't stand the power struggles between the Pope and the Patriarch and decided to turn a blind eye. They established the Church of the Holy Mother and separated from the center of power.

Leaving other things aside, the fighting power of the Church of the Holy Mother must be mentioned.

These "unsatisfied" old virgins have an absolutely devout faith, and because they haven't been ravaged by love, they are strong because of their "purity." In the last operation to suppress heretics, these old virgins demonstrated a nearly "vengeful" fighting strength!

The painful loss made all the heretics grind their teeth in anger, wishing they could march straight into the Holy Mother Cathedral and defile those "unsatisfied" old virgins!