Only God
Chapter 278 - 239 Defending the True Religion

Chapter 278: Chapter 239 Defending the True Religion

"Hoping to suppress the True Religion, it wasn’t just for King Anuket’s personal reasons."

"Instead, it was almost a collective demand from all the nobles."

"Though the nobles were dissatisfied with King Anuket’s harsh punishments and strict laws, they dared not rebel but only to obey."

"Yet the True Believers were mostly powerless and lowly stone slaves, the nobles, unable to vent their dissatisfaction on King Anuket, could only pour out their frustrations on the True Believer issue."

"Prime Minister Ibia wanted to say something else, he asked:"

"But what about that Prophet, the God of the Church..."

"Before he finished speaking, King Anuket on the throne frowned and interrupted the Prime Minister, who was usually so adept at steering with the wind."

"Prime Minister Ibia, what exactly are you afraid of?"

"Has their God of the Church ever revealed himself before us?"

"Never, my Prime Minister."

"At this point, the High Priest Hetep of the Great Temple also stood up:"

"You worry too much, Prime Minister."

"That creator spoken of by the elves has never revealed himself to us, the Three-eyed Ape People."

"Moreover, we Three-eyed Ape People are a race created by Kagawus, the Gods have their divine law, and even if that creator does indeed exist, he must be one of the Gods, and why would he cross boundaries to intervene in the affairs of the Three-eyed Ape People?"

"After Hetep’s speech, Prime Minister Ibia was suddenly at a loss for words."

"The civilization of the Three-eyed Ape People had always been expanding, thus those priests serving Kagawus in the Great Temple were also catching the patterns of the Gods from their stories."

"The priests speculated that there must be something akin to mortal laws or agreements among the Gods that prevent divine beings from interfering in the affairs of another race over personal grievances."

"And in the limited perspective of the priests, the creator spoken of by the elves, however exalted, was but one among the many Gods."

"After all, they had never witnessed the appearance of that creator."

"A noble stood up and said to the Monarch:"

"Your Majesty, we should put a stop to the growth of that Church as soon as possible and restrict their preachers to within the Royal City so that they don’t disrupt the order of our entire Kingdom."

"And High Priest Hetep added:"

"Your Majesty, I have heard from the mouths of the priests that these True Believers do not respect our ancestors and traditional beliefs, their filthy degeneracy has attracted mostly the lowly stone slaves, rather than the pure-blooded Three-eyed Ape People."

"But if given time, allowing them to continue their deceit, I fear even Kagawus’ Great Temple will become another ’New Rule Garden.’"

"The successive exhortations within the Palace were heard by King Anuket."

"King Anuket was wise, but extremely selfish and conceited."

"And that selfishness meant he would act on his own emotions, in accordance with his fanaticism for Kagawus, appeasing the desires of the nobles in front of him, adding fuel to the fire."

"In this Palace, almost everyone despised the True Religion."

"King Anuket thought this and couldn’t help but wonder whether his actions to unify the two religions were too merciful."

"He was the King upon the throne, the opulent Palace was his daily window to the world, the reports of the noble ministers were the public opinion of the entire Kingdom."

"King Anuket saw only what he could see, thinking he could gaze far into the Kingdom’s borders, but his perspective was still narrow, and among the Kings of generations past, even the wisest could hardly realize their narrowness, let alone Anuket."

"Wait, my lords, once General Bek brings us the message of victory, we will deal with the True Religion properly."

...

"Inside the Great Temple."

"Antion was restless."

"As a child of prophecy, he, within the prayer room, prayed to Kagawus in a voice only he could hear."

"Antion was hesitating."

"The current situation was developing more and more unfavorably for the True Religion, and since he had always had a strong private friendship with Xilan and others, he naturally did not want to see the Church crumble."

"In Antion’s eyes, there was indeed a wavering in the belief in Kagawus within the Church."

"However, Antion opposed any barbaric decrees; he advocated debate and inquiry, and compared to the corrupt priests, Antion favored the impoverished True Believers even more."

"Kagawus, the mysterious prophecy, you have always guided me."

"I beg you for enlightenment, tell me, what should I do?"

"Should I go see King Anuket, do everything in my power to find the last turning point for Xilan and the others?"

"After praying, Antion silently closed his eyes, quietly waiting."

"Not long after."

"A strange sensation came from a far place, settling in Antion’s mind."

"Antion slowly opened his eyes, nodding."

"Kagawus, I understand."

"After saying this, Antion clenched his fists, resolutely turned towards the direction of the Palace."

"The Prophetic God had approved the child of prophecy’s thoughts."

"Antion stood up, he walked slowly towards the Imperial Palace."

...

"Not long after, King Anuket welcomed the priest who had come from afar in his study."

"Respected King."

"Antion said humbly."

"The King softly replied:"

"No need for such formalities, Antion, I am but a servant of Kagawus."

"Antion nodded and then King Anuket continued to ask:"

"So, why have you come to see me, Antion?"

"Under King Anuket’s sharp gaze, Antion said firmly and without humility or arrogance:"

"Your Majesty, I have come on behalf of the True Religion, and I have come to defend them."

"I’ve never directly defended them before,

but today, I must pour out what is in my heart."

King Anuket, who had always shown respect for priests and behaved kindly and politely in their presence, now had a cold look in his eyes.

"What is it that you have to defend, Antion?

In the Palace, my nobles have already detailed to me the many crimes the True Believers have committed against our Kingdom.

You just never liked to get involved in the struggles of power, so you haven’t heard the many accusations my nobles have made against them."

Antion stood firm, having heard from other priests about the punishment of the True Believers by law.

But Antion had already formed his thoughts.

So he spoke:

"Your Majesty, as for these worldly affairs, please allow me to elaborate later."

Then, Antion shifted the subject:

"My defense is first and foremost spiritual, guided by the teachings of Kagawus."

King Anuket raised an eyebrow,

"Then let’s hear it, disciple of the Hermit. I’ve heard of the hermit from Solitary Island; he is one of the people in the world who understands the chief God the best."

Antion took a deep breath, prepared his thoughts thoroughly, and looked straight at King Anuket.

"Your Majesty, the True Believers have not offended the glory of Kagawus."

King Anuket stared at Antion and said sternly:

"You are a priest; you know better than I how many of Kagawus’s temples have been desolated by the True Believers."

Antion looked directly at King Anuket and said slowly:

"Your Majesty, it is not the temples of Kagawus that have been desolated by the True Believers, but the temples desolated by the priests themselves."

King Anuket looked at Antion, who stood his ground, eye to eye with the king.

"My teacher, the hermit Naya, was once entrusted by the High Priest Ora to come to the land of Ajia to spiritually overthrow the churches of the True Believers.

My teacher is such a devout man that as soon as he returned to the land of Ajia, he kissed this land blessed by Kagawus."

King Anuket said slowly:

"I am aware of the hermit’s piety.

But what reason do you have to accuse other priests?

Antion, they cleanse themselves daily, strictly adhere to the decrees, and recite the name of the Prophetic God hundreds, if not thousands of times every day."

King Anuket’s voice was calm, yet it resonated with the majesty befitting a ruler.

Antion lifted his head and asked slowly:

"Cleanse oneself, but if it doesn’t purify the soul, what’s the point?

Strictly adhere to the decrees, but if the decrees are those of man and not the Divine, how can such decrees please the Divine Spirits?"

At the sound of these words, King Anuket was taken aback for a moment, then asked in a deep voice:

"Antion, do you realize what you’re saying?"

Nowadays, most priests of the Great Temple stood with King Anuket, and here was Antion, firmly denying the priests of the Great Temple before him, which was nothing short of a defiance.

"I know what I am saying,"

Antion said to King Anuket, word by word:

"Your Majesty, my teacher once intended to crush the spirit of the Church but quietly gave up.

Why is that?

It’s because my teacher knew that those abandoned temples were desolated by the priests of Kagawus themselves, not by the True Believers forcing the priests to abandon them to build their own temples.

Even the New Rule Garden was built on the ruins of abandoned temples."

King Anuket’s face showed his indignation, and he asked in a stern voice:

"Antion, you have gone too far with your outrageous statements.

You are a priest serving Kagawus, you should learn humility!"

Faced with Anuket’s rebuke, Antion leaned forward, showing no fear of this worldly authority.

"Your Majesty, let me ask,

if the priests truly worship Kagawus with devotion, how could they bear to let the temples fall to ruin.

Could it be that their devotion, recited thousands of times in the name of the Prophetic God, is insufficient to endure a life of hardship?!"

Antion’s retort was like a fierce storm, uncaring of the changing expressions of King Anuket,

"Those priests who claim to be ’devout’ so easily abandon the temples."

"What do they truly desire?"

"Do they desire mountains of gold and silver, or the humble and impoverished temples?!"

Antion’s voice grew ever louder, as if he was not just speaking for himself but also representing the disappointed hermits,

"That statue, they adorned it with gold and silver in times of prosperity, and neglected it in times of decline."

"Which god are they really serving?"

"Are they serving the cold, lifeless statues, or the true existence of Kagawus?!"

The echo lingered in the study, the loud questions struck like thunder, pounding at King Anuket.

King Anuket’s face alternated between pale and flushed with rage, his royal robe trembling slightly.

The king was enraged, his royal dignity, disregarded by the priest before him.

Antion’s denunciation of the priests was also an attack on himself, who supported the Great Temple.

His actions had been recognized by most of the nobles of pure bloodline; he was the Monarch of a state, the king blessed by Kagawus. Antion, even a disciple of the hermit, was but a mere priest.

How dare he defy the authority of a king?!

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