Chapter 196 Atonement

  On the continent of Westeros, except for the northern border, every town must have a temple dedicated to the Seven Gods.

  Eagle Island is no exception.

  Although due to the "negligence" of the lord, not all the citizens here are believers of the Seven Gods, but the monk Ivan believes that he will be able to spread the light of the Seven Gods all over Eagle Island in a short time so that everyone here Can listen to the Gospel of the Seven Gods.

  At this moment, he is standing in front of the newly built church, smiling, welcoming every believer who comes to worship.

  At this moment, a middle-aged man with a flustered expression caught Ivan's attention.

  He knew this man named Gongga, who used to be a savage. Because he joined the territory earlier and was clever and quick-witted, he was quickly appreciated by the lord and became Lord Caesar's retainer, responsible for managing a vineyard.

  " Lord Gongga, are you here to worship?" Ivan walked forward with a smile and asked.

  He remembered that Gongga believed in a certain mountain god. If he could convert this person to the seven gods, it should drive a group of savages to convert to the seven gods.

  "Your Excellency Ivan..." The monk called him Lord, which made Gongga a little uncomfortable, but he couldn't help but feel a little happy.

  Thinking of what he had done, he felt uneasy, but he still asked with a glimmer of hope:

  "I heard that the Seven Gods are benevolent, and as long as one prays sincerely, they can forgive all sins. Is that so?"

"Yes, Lord Gongga." Ivan smiled more and more kindly, "The Father judges all sins, and the Mother forgives all sinners. Do you want to pray for atonement?"

  "Yes, a prayer for atonement!" Gongga rubbed his hands timidly, " But... but I am not a believer of the Seven Gods..."

  "As long as you want, you can become a believer of the Seven Gods at any time."

  "Really? Then...then I am willing to serve the Seven Gods! As long as they can forgive my crime."

  "You made a brave choice." Ivan drew a seven-pointed star on his chest, "Please come with me, you need to confess your sins to the Seven Gods first, and then sincerely repent."

"Okay, okay! " Gongga nodded repeatedly.

  He followed Ivan into the church, and when he passed the prayer hall, he saw many believers waiting for worship, Gongga couldn't help asking in a low voice:

  "Brother Ivan, did I delay you from leading these believers to worship? "

  Ivan smiled gently: "It's okay, I will help you pray for sin first."

  Although in the eyes of the Seven Gods, everyone is equal, but Ivan knows that some people are more equal.

  "Thank you so much!"

  Gongga followed Ivan to a confession room in the side hall of the church.

  The confession room was very small, with a small altar made of white rocks in the middle, and an exquisite white crystal was placed on it.

  Ivan's expression became extremely solemn, and he said:

  "Gongga, you should bow your knees to the seven gods."

  Gongga quickly knelt in front of the altar.

  "I ask, you answer. There must be no concealment in front of the Seven Gods." Ivan's voice became empty and distant as if it came from the sky.

  "Yes, yes." Gongga seemed to feel the brilliance of the Seven Gods and nodded excitedly.

  "Gongga, what crime do you have?"

  "I, I killed someone."

  "Who did you kill?"

  "Tiffy. She was a female worker in the plantation I managed." "

  "Why did you kill her?"

  " Me, I didn't do it on purpose. She doesn't listen to discipline and is always lazy, so I had no choice but to punish her with a whip, but...but I accidentally beat her to death..."

Ivan frowned, he didn't speak for a long time.

  Gongga gradually became anxious. He raised his head, looked at the monk beside him with hopeful eyes, and begged:

  "After killing her, I felt very disturbed and guilty, but I really didn't mean it! That's why I came here to Pray! I ask the merciful Mother to redeem my soul!"

  "Sinner!" The monk's voice was like rolling thunder, which made Gongga tremble, "Your sin will make your soul fall into hell! You will be burned by the fire forever! "

Gongga burst into tears and hugged Ivan's thigh:

  "Merciful Mother! Please save me! I don't want to do this either! Master Ivan, you said that the Seven Gods will forgive all sins!" Please! Please!"

  "The Seven Gods are merciful." Ivan's tone suddenly softened, "But they will only forgive pious souls. Gongga, are you pious?" "

  "Pious! Pious!" Gongga hugged Ivan's thigh as if hugging a life-saving straw.

  He knew that if he killed someone, he would be hanged according to the law of the territory.

  Gongga didn't want to die, so he came to the church with a glimmer of hope.

  "How will you prove your piety?" Brother Ivan asked.

  Gongga quickly took out a money bag from his pocket and stuffed it into the monk's pocket:

  "This is all my savings! I dedicate it all to the Seven Gods! I only ask the Seven Gods to forgive my sins!"

  Ivan took the money bag and placed it aside without opening it, and said:

  "Pray, sinner Gongga, pray to the seven gods with your utmost piety! Let the merciful Mother see your sincerity, and she will surely save your soul."

"!"

  Like a drowning man catching driftwood, Gongga quickly knelt down in front of the altar and began to pray loudly.

  Ivan picked up the crystal on the altar and placed it under a ray of light coming through the small window.

  The light was refracted by the crystal, and the rainbow-like seven-colour light appeared on Gongga's face.

  "Well, you are indeed a pious person." Ivan nodded and said, "The seven gods have redeemed your soul."

Gongga wept with joy when he heard the words. He was bathed in the seven-colour light, and he felt that all the sins and pains seemed to have been far away from him. Go, like a new life.

  This feeling made him extremely intoxicated.

  "Thanks to the benevolent Seven Gods!" Gongga said sincerely, "From today on, Gongga will be the most loyal servant of the Seven Gods!"

  Ivan put down the crystal, lifted Gongga up from the ground, and his face recovered With a kind smile:

  "Master Gongga, you are innocent."

  Gongga immediately expressed his gratitude and promised to help spread the gospel of the Seven Gods.

  Ivan smiled more kindly when he heard the words, and personally sent Gongga out of the church.

  But as soon as the two of them went out, they saw Guard Bruce standing there with a dignified expression.

  "Gongga!" the magistrate said, "Someone reported that you killed Tiffy, come with me."

  Gongga trembled all over and then looked at Brother Ivan for help.

  Ivan took a step forward and said with a smile:

  "Master Bruce, Lord Gongga has already confessed in front of the Seven Gods just now, and the Merciful Mother has pardoned his sins."

  Bruce shook his head coldly and said: "Sorry, Priest, Gongga, He violated the law of Eagle Island, and the forgiveness of the Seven Gods could not save his life."

  Ivan asked calmly, "Which law did Lord Gongga violate?"

  "Murder !"

  Ivan smiled slightly, and said: "Master Bruce, then you are mistaken, Lord Gongga accidentally killed Tiffy while punishing her, this isn't considered murder . "

  Bruce immediately froze.

  Gongga hurriedly shouted: "That's right! That's right! That woman made a mistake. When I was punishing her, I accidentally killed her. The Seven Gods have already forgiven my mistake. What right do you have to hang me?" "

  "Nonsense!" At this moment, a young girl stood up and pointed at Gongga angrily, "My sister did nothing wrong! It was you who coveted her beauty and wanted to rape her! She tried to resist, so she was beaten to death by you!"

  "You liar!" Gongga scolded, "When did I want to rape her? Where is your evidence?"

"My sister told me! You said you harassed her many times and said you wanted to marry her! But you already have a wife!"

  "Lies! They are all lies!"

  Ivan looked at the girl and asked, "Who is Tiffy to you?"

  "She is my sister, My name is Timett."

  Ivan nodded and then turned to the sheriff: "Lord Bruce if it's just Timett alone, it doesn't prove anything. In her grief, she will probably lie to avenge her sister "

  "I didn't! I swear on the name of the mountain god!" Timett said.

  "Then I dare to swear in the name of the Seven Gods!" Gongga followed suit.

  Ivan smiled and looked at the guard: "Lord Bruce, who do you trust?"

  Bruce frowned suddenly, although his intuition told him that Timett should not have lied, but he was from the River Bend and a believer of the Seven Gods.

  At this time, many people have gathered around, and among them, believers of the Seven Gods account for the majority.

  This puts more pressure on Bruce.

  In desperation, the guard had no choice but to find his superior——Todd Flower, who was in charge of the defence of the territory.

  It's a pity that Todd is also a believer of the Seven Gods, so he couldn't make up his mind after hesitating for a while.

  Finally, Gavin, the head of the territory, was found.

  The key point is that Gavin is also from Reach, a believer of the Seven Gods...

  Priest Ivan's smile became more and more kind. At this moment, he seemed to be the incarnation of the heavenly father:

  "My lords, since you can't make a verdict, why don't you leave it to the seven gods and their spokespersons in the world? I suggest that the composition of the seven-member jury should decide this case."

  Gavin glanced at the confident Gongga, then at the angry Timett, and remained silent for a long while.

  He is no longer the dock labourer on the Mander River. Gavin has been in charge of Eagel Island for so long. Of course, Gavin knows that this matter is not just a murder case.

  It's a battle for territorial arbitration rights!

  Regardless of whether the final "seven-member jury" declared Gongga to be an innocent or an intentional murderer, the church has already achieved its own goal - to

  interfere with the territory's trial of criminals.

  From then on, as long as the leaders made mistakes, they would all run to the church.

  At that time, where is the majesty of the lord?

  But if Gavin wanted to make it clear that he was against the Church of the Seven Gods, he really didn't have the courage.

  Moreover, he was also worried that if he mishandled it, it might cause dissatisfaction among the believers of the Seven Gods, and even lead to turmoil in the territory.

  After hesitating for a while, Gavin decided to put it aside temporarily:

  "Let's wait for the lord to come back and deal with it in person."

  Ivan said: "Isn't Lord Caesar still fighting in Dorne? I'm afraid he won't be back in a short time."

  " No. I received the letter, and lord is returning with his army."

  Ivan was stunned for a moment.

[END]