Only God
Chapter 271 - 233: God, is this the test you have given me?

Chapter 271: Chapter 233: God, is this the test you have given me?

The new king had ascended to the throne, and everything within the Kingdom was welcoming change.

Five whole years had passed since the new king’s coronation. The ruler, from a remote city-state, held a fierce zeal for Kagawus, making his way to the Great Temple every day come rain or shine. There he’d seek answers to the questions he did not understand or, under the guidance of the priests, offer precious sacrifices to the statues of Kagawus.

Naturally, this new King Anuket had set his sights on the faith of the New Rule Garden within the Ajia Royal City.

Those who believed in God also called themselves the believers in truth, a term originating from a line uttered by Prophet Al thousands of years ago: "God is the unity of patterns, God is the truth."

Since the New Rule Garden was commonly known as the Church, it was occasionally referred to as the True Church, and its followers as True Believers.

With the persistent evangelism by the preachers of the New Rule Garden, their footprints covered the entirety of the Ajia Kingdom and even reached the realms where the Beastmen resided, persuading various Beastman chieftains to try and believe in the God of the mountains.

In the city-states where Anuket had lived before, he had encountered these True Believers a few times, listened to their preached scriptures, knew those lines well, and scorned them.

In his eyes, every Three-eyed Ape People had to believe in Kagawus, for only the Prophetic God could bear the name of creator. No one else was worthy of that title but Kagawus.

Previously, as a side branch of the Royal Family, Anuket could only watch as those preachers evangelized time and again, making the Stone Slaves convert, pray and stirring up epidemics of abandonment against Kagawus, even affecting the pure-blooded Nobles.

Zealous Anuket loathed the Stone Slaves’ betrayal of Kagawus, and even more so the preachers who evangelized.

Times had changed. Anuket had now become the King of this nation.

He possessed enough power and the will to defend everything that belonged to Kagawus.

...

Xilan stood inside the New Rule Garden, taking a deep breath.

Daniel stood beside him, his face showing extreme concern.

Xilan held a letter in his hands, gripping it tightly enough that sweat soaked through the written papyrus.

"What should we do, Teacher?"

Daniel asked anxiously.

Xilan lowered his head to look at the letter in his hand, then slowly shook his head.

In the letter, Casas informed him that the new King Anuket had mentioned the New Rule Garden and those True Believers who believed in God several times in front of the Ministers and Nobles.

Anuket, who was gradually grasping more power, seemed to be plotting something against the True Believers.

In addition, Casas had spoken of rumors he had heard that Anuket, when talking about the New Rule Garden in private with his favored officials, always showed his reverence for Kagawus and dismissiveness toward the True Believers. To him, those believers, primarily composed of slaves, were a source of filth, and the New Rule Garden a den of iniquity.

Xilan’s face turned pale upon reading the letter, fully aware of how the situation was steadily turning against them, but he had never imagined that the new king would have such great prejudice.

"The King has quickly turned the tables, subduing the very Ministers who helped him rise to power. He’s arrogant, selfish, cruel, and yet exceedingly astute—it seems he will not rest until he achieves whatever he sets his sights on," Daniel muttered, relaying what he had heard from other Nobles.

As the New Rule Garden grew in strength, nearly one-twelfth of the Nobles in the Royal City had converted to the Lord of the mountain peak; they recited the same scriptures as the Stone Slaves, hoping for salvation in His name.

Among these Nobles, some were devout, some skeptical, some fanatical, and some indifferent, yet they were undoubtedly a clear sign of the burgeoning development of the True Religion, even to the point where it had become the second-largest faith in the Kingdom.

"I know, Daniel. I have been contemplating this matter a lot recently."

Xilan sighed and put away the letter in his hands.

This new king, now wielding great power, was like another Queen Isis, and given time, his rule might even prove more stable than that of Queen Isis.

What worried Xilan the most was that according to various rumors, Anuket was a fanatical king with an extreme attachment to his faith and power. He claimed to have a king’s broad-mindedness, but in reality, he had little tolerance for any dissent or rebellion, and cleverly suppressed ministers who disagreed with him.

"Warn those preachers not to continue preaching in the Royal City, nor in the nearby city-states."

Ajia Royal City was the foundation of the Church; even if preaching was no longer as rampant as before, there would still be a constant flow of Three-eyed Ape People attracted to the Church.

Meanwhile, the Royal City was also the king’s territory, and continuing to preach as in the past would certainly irritate Anuket.

This new king was not like Queen Isis, who had upheld the oath once sworn to Prophet Noen and had always shown a tolerant attitude towards the Church. As for the former... Xilan couldn’t see any goodwill from him towards the Church, and this new king seemed to harbor great skepticism towards the stories of the prophets.

Xilan paused for a moment, then thought of something and continued:

"I will go find Antion from the Great Temple."

Several years ago, the hermit left the lands of Ajia and returned to Solitary Island, leaving his disciple Antion behind.

Due to the hermit’s influence, Antion’s status within the Great Temple had steadily risen, second only to the kingdom’s High Priest.

Daniel nodded emphatically; his thoughts were in perfect alignment with Xilan’s.

Hermit Naya and his disciple were undoubtedly the people who understood Kagawus best within the entire kingdom.

And the relationship between the New Rule Garden and these two had always been good, with mutual exchanges taking place.

Since Anuket was so devoutly faithful to Kagawus, perhaps if Xilan could bring Antion’s advice, the new king’s hostility towards the Church might diminish.

And during this time, the Church had also done its best to keep the believers low-key, a skill developed since the era of Queen Isis’s rule.

Xilan took a deep breath, facing the three volumes of Holy Scripture not far away.

He stepped forward and gently caressed the engraved characters, his gaze resting on the "Twin Kings Book."

"God... Is this the test you’ve given me?"

Xilan mused to himself, then his gaze became resolute,

"Trust in me...

I am a disciple of a prophet."

After so many years, although on the surface, Xilan still couldn’t be certain whether he was truly given a mission.

But deep inside, as the Church grew in strength and glory, a sense of mission gradually arose within Xilan, growing stronger and more profound by the day.

Xilan even occasionally likened himself to Dertulian or Yarlessto.

Since the successors of Prophet Al were given a mission.

Then he, as a successor to Prophet Noen...

With that thought, Xilan whispered in a low voice:

"Lord, may all nations recite your name, may glory be yours, praise you as King of Kings, God of Gods."

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