Ch.286The Road to the Hyacinth Continent (3)

While Victor and the Solar Army were heading towards the Hyacinth Continent, frying, grilling, boiling, and deep-frying Pacific saury, the political situation across the 13 Continents was gradually changing.

Among these changes, the most radical was the revival of the Sun and Moon Order.

The news that the Solar Apostle had resurrected from death and defeated the powers of darkness spread widely from those who had been in the Belka Archipelago. The followers of light and heat, who had until now been living in damp underground spaces that seemed incompatible with their faith, emerged to the surface and wept at the dramatic resurrection of the Sun.

“The Solar Apostle has descended upon this earth! Once again, the sacred voice of the Sun will resound across the 13 Continents!”

“Long live the Master of Light and Heat!”

The Sun and Moon believers, who had endured mockery like “How can the so-called main deity of humanity not even send down a single apostle? Lol,” now found a spiritual center in Victor and began unleashing their pent-up frustrations. Temples of the Four Gods scattered across various regions began to fall silent one by one under the furious attacks of Sun and Moon believers driven mad by years of persecution.

“What’s with these lunatics?!”

“The true God of humanity is returning! Brothers! It’s time to avenge our heroes who had to face martyrdom!”

“You slaves of gods who abandoned the earth!”

“HA!!! Prepare to die, slave of blood and war! Long live the Sun!”

“War against the Blood God!”

The temples of Karil suffered the most damage.

This was because the faith of Karil, the primary contributor to the fall of the Empire and the dawn of the Eclipse Era, befitting his title as the God of War, had always been the eternal target of the Sun and Moon Order.

Especially when news spread that Karil’s apostle had been defeated by Saburo’s apostle, the enraged Solar believers burned temples in their fanatical fervor, offering them as sacrifices to the Sun.

Those who are always persecuted tend to become extremists, and revenge for ancient grievances tends to become radical.

“…Therefore, the opinion that the Sun and Moon no longer intervene on earth fails to reflect reality… I formally request the legalization of the Sun and Moon faith.”

Moreover, the greatest progress was that the Sun and Moon Order began to be recognized as an official religion again.

Unlike in the days of Old Earth, in this world, deities could communicate bidirectionally with individuals. The fact that the Solar Apostle and priests began to hear the voice of Nariakira Saburo again was proof that the Sun was shining upon the world.

Of course, the voices the priests heard weren’t casual conversations like those between Victor and the Sun; they had to pray all day with cold water offerings just to receive a single message. Nevertheless, being able to hear the sacred voice of the Sun again was more precious than gold, confirming that they were no longer serving a dead god but at least a higher being equal to—or more accurately, one that the Four Gods wouldn’t dare to look at.

Among these places, there was one that stood out: Belfort, which had once rebelled against the Sun.

“The Sun has forgiven our sins! We must stand on the righteous path of the Sun and restore the order of the Sun and Moon to this world!”

“Just because he forgave our sins, must we become his slaves?! The fact that our ancestors were the first to deny the Sun remains an unchangeable part of history. This world is not so forgiving to traitors!”

“That’s precisely why we must raise the Sun’s banner! Don’t you understand yet?! For 50,000 years, Belfort has not been chosen by other gods because it was a city that denied the Sun. The Four Gods knew that those who betray once can betray again. Yet despite this, Nariakira Saburo has forgiven us!”

In Belfort, factions arguing for the reacceptance of the Sun and Moon Order clashed with those insisting on maintaining the city’s secular identity.

To understand this, some explanation is needed. As mentioned above, because of the possibility that those who betray once might betray again, Belfort had no proper industry apart from its historical symbolism.

Despite this, they hadn’t completely eradicated the Sun and Moon faith, so followers still remained. The city had survived on tourism based on its historical uniqueness as “the city that denied the Sun’s divinity,” but now that this uniqueness was lost, it became difficult to sustain itself through tourism alone.

In this situation, a different strategy was needed to revive tourism, their only source of income. This strategy involved using the frame of “a city forgiven by the Sun for past sins” to attract Sun and Moon believers as both tourists and pilgrims.

In short, it was a matter of survival.

Being an inland city, they couldn’t develop coastal trade. Fostering their own industry posed the problem of how to relocate and retrain hundreds of thousands of people who had been working in tourism, and they couldn’t even decide what industry to develop in the first place.

Since the floating population was ultimately attracted through tourism, they were waging a religious war for their livelihood as their status as one of the world’s 52 scenic spots became questionable.

-…That’s what they say. What would you like to do?-

“We should support the side that benefits us. Provide them with funds and personnel discreetly. As for the world’s 52 scenic spots… I don’t think we need to worry much. If a city visited by a god who personally forgave its sins isn’t a religious landmark, what is?”

In reality, while other designations might be different, religious landmarks were particularly difficult to redesignate.

In Belfort’s case, despite having betrayed the Sun, they had received forgiveness, albeit grudgingly, and could maintain their status as a landmark.

-I suppose you’re right. Then I’ll begin the operation.-

“Mm. Good work.”

And naturally, these movements were detected by Victor.

The Sun’s power was no joke, and through the massive array of military surveillance and communication satellites in orbit, he could intercept and learn the secrets of various factions.

These ranged from trivial matters like the mayor of Parcifal contracting syphilis to national secrets like a certain kingdom’s prince actually being illegitimate.

No matter how advanced the modern era was, it couldn’t surpass ancient technology, which was proven through the cheat key known as orichalcum.

Victor, now wielding the powerful capital of Turianic Industries, began to expand his influence across the 13 Continents with money, and naturally, the first recipients were the believers of the Sun and Moon Order who shared his faith.

Though his intentions were obvious, this transparency was actually effective, as there was nothing problematic about an apostle providing financial support to his believers out of benevolence.

If he had helped secretly and been caught, it could have raised suspicions like, “Are you hiding something by providing support secretly? Investigate immediately!”

Another apostle might have physically eliminated such problems, but as the Solar Apostle was unique, physical solutions were impossible. So he had to act in ways that wouldn’t arouse suspicion from the start.

Unless one had a strange fetish, what was shameful about an apostle supporting his believers in his name? Since it wasn’t embarrassing for an apostle to provide various forms of support to his followers, the enormous profits from Turianic Industries’ orichalcum exports became the source of his ability to distribute tremendous financial aid to believers across various nations.

Also, though it might be somewhat blasphemous to say, this was also laying the groundwork for the future Victorean Empire.

There is only one Solar Apostle: Victor Walker.

People who received aid in the name of Victor Walker rather than the Sun would gradually engrave his name in their minds.

This is the so-called “preemptive effect,” and those who had never seen the Sun’s face would come to revere Victor, who had resurrected from death, as more than just an apostle.

As the only one with the justification, legitimacy, and ability to rebuild the ancient empire.

Victor, well aware of this, was extremely proactive in crafting his image.

However, Victor’s assistance to them was not for the reconstruction of the empire but for its founding, so whether they liked it or not, they would remember the apostle’s name—the name of the imperial emperor they would serve in the coming future.