Praise the Goddess! (II)

In the next moment, tears flowed uncontrollably from people's eyes.

No one had expected that the rumored selfish and arrogant goddess would be such a kind and loving goddess. When they remembered their previous disrespect toward her, everyone couldn't help but feel intense shame.

Although Ishtar's reputation wasn't good, in reality, very few people had actually seen her with their own eyes. Most people's impressions of her came from rumors circulating in the streets.

But now, in this kind of situation, those rumors instantly fell apart.

Who said the goddess was selfish and arrogant? She was clearly a compassionate and gentle goddess!

Not only did she not punish everyone for their disrespect, but she generously bestowed blessings, healing everyone's bodies.

Even after considering all the gods, there were only a few with such benevolence!

Many people secretly vowed that if anyone dared to speak ill of the goddess again, they would definitely face consequences!

"Praise the goddess!"

"Praise the goddess!"

As cheers surged like a tidal wave, Siduri, standing on the high platform, looked down at the kneeling crowd below with a face filled with utter astonishment.

As the chief priestess, she was certain that the Goddess of Venus, Ishtar, had never bestowed blessings like this before, as most of the time, this goddess only brought disasters and terror.

'These things...'

Siduri reached out and caught the falling light particles, watching them disappear into her body.

Although the form was different, she was sure she had seen these things before.

After pondering for a while, she realized that these light particles emitted the same aura as the white lance held by that otherworldly king.

"So, this is your plan..." Siduri muttered to herself.

She lifted her head, looking at the towering ziggurat that stood in the center of the city.

"Guhahaha, interesting, very interesting!"

Gilgamesh laughed with his trademark sinister smile, his crimson snake-like pupils shimmering with amusement.

"Even I didn't expect you to come up with such a method! Fascinating, truly fascinating!"

"It's nothing, really... just a little trick of mine." Arkhan replied nonchalantly.

In fact, this was something he had planned from the beginning, and now, he finally had a good opportunity.

"However, you can't accomplish this alone, can you?" Gilgamesh said thoughtfully after laughing.

As someone with clairvoyance, he keenly noticed some details that ordinary people might miss.

To Gilgamesh's question, Arkhan nodded frankly.

"I'm only responsible for providing the power of my Abyss Flower, as the one actually in charge of this so-called ritual is my elder sister."

No one, not even him, knew how much Morgan's magecraft had improved during his thirteen-year absence.

Nevertheless, in just two days, she had transformed the area around the ziggurat into her Territory. It was because of this that she could bestow such a widespread blessing.

At this rate, before the final battle, she should be able to transform the entire city of Uruk into her Temple-level Territory.

With this, their chances of winning the final battle would greatly increase.

Since the Age of Gods hadn't completely faded from Uruk yet, rituals were a crucial part of Urukian life. After all, they had always lived in a world full of gods, and more importantly, most of these gods had quite a temper.

However, as the Age of Gods drew to a close, they gradually distanced themselves from the world of mortals, no longer answering the prayers of the people.

As a result, over time, this tradition was forgotten.

Even in places like the place of worship itself, most priests and priestesses had forgotten the proper way of conducting rituals. Those who still remembered, like the old priests, often met unfortunate ends during attempts to summon Ishtar.

If it wasn't for Siduri's help, it would've been hard to say if the ritual had proceeded as planned.

If even the priests and priestesses were struggling, one could imagine how the general populace felt.

For many, rituals for the gods became a distant memory.

Once, they were terrified by the lack of response from the gods, fearing that Uruk would soon face disaster without their protection. Yet, despite the passing of so much time, Uruk still stood firm.

Without the help from the gods, life went on as usual—neither better nor worse. In the end, people got used to it and began to forget about the existence of the gods.

Therefore, when the temple suddenly announced the commencement of a ritual, nobody expected much from it, especially since it was intended for the infamous Goddess Ishtar.

Even though they knew Ishtar had returned, after decades of godlessness, people's reverence and faith in the gods had been worn away.

In the first place, they came to the ziggurat just out of curiosity, to see Siduri's face more than anything else. However, when the rain of light particles poured down, everyone instantly went mad.

No one expected the ritual to actually work!

After so many decades, the goddess was responding again!

And the goddess was even blessing them personally!

For everyone, it was beyond belief.

Not just them, even the priests and priestesses on the high platform were taken aback.

How on earth did the ritual suddenly start working?

"Chief Priestess, is this really... a blessing from the goddess?"

A young priestess cautiously asked Siduri.

Siduri pondered for a moment, then cleared her throat lightly before speaking seriously.

"Of course, this is the blessing of the goddess. Besides the great Goddess of Venus, who else could bring forth such miracles?"

Upon hearing her answer, the surrounding priests and priestesses let out sighs of relief, devoutly lowering their heads.

"Praise the goddess!"

"Praise the goddess!"

Siduri lowered her head, sighed, and then curled her lips.

She knew very well this wasn't the blessing of the goddess but rather the handiwork of that king from another world.

In a situation like this, she couldn't tell the truth.

It would not only severely undermine the people's faith but also ruin that king's plans.

Siduri lifted her head, looking down at the devoutly praying people below, her expression gradually shifting from resignation to relief.

Regardless of the truth, being able to bring hope to the people during this dark period was still a good thing.

That otherworldly king truly deserved the admiration of even her own king.

Siduri sighed silently in her heart.

Although she had foreseen that this ritual would have a significant impact, the reality proved her speculation to be too conservative.