Staying in a relatively closed space for several hours with a group of animals that emit strange odors and occasionally urinate and defecate everywhere is definitely not a comfortable experience.
What's more, the other members of the team must always keep an eye on Aberdale, who may go crazy, lose control, and transform into a killer to slaughter all the people and animals in the car.
The only thing that made them feel that the ticket price was worth it was that they could hardly feel any strong bumps when sitting in this huge carriage.
And at noon, the driver also provided each human passenger with a piece of hard bread for free as lunch.
If it were in the past when they had money, even Jaheira, the druid who was the least picky about food, would never chew on something like this with a lot of bran and a little bit of dried seaweed sprinkled with salt on the surface.
But the problem is that the team currently has only a dozen gold coins, and a portion must be deducted to pay the city entry tax, as well as some left for hotel expenses in case they cannot see Zuo Si in person.
In addition, after experiencing the fierce battle in the Tower of Durlag, the armor and weapons of everyone also need to be repaired, maintained and repaired.
All of this requires money.
Therefore, as the person in charge of accounting for the team, Imon would rather spend every penny in half.
So no one dared to complain about the free bread provided in the carriage, and everyone lowered their heads and nibbled on the small piece that belonged to them.
Minsk even broke off a piece of his own bread and gave it to his animal companion, the hamster Bubu.
In contrast, the farmers and farm women who came prepared had much more to eat.
They ate free bread as their staple food, and then took out small pieces of cured meat, sausage, cheese, fruits, vegetables and homemade wine from their own pockets to eat.
The driver opened a small metal can and took out a bowl of still warm clam and bean soup.
Judging from the rich taste, it is likely that a little spice such as pepper and ginger has been added.
It can be said that except for the Aberdare group who were teleported to the countryside out of thin air, the food for everyone else in the car was pretty good.
Thanks to Athkatla's increasingly prosperous, developed handicrafts and trade, the farmers living in the surrounding villages can clearly feel that their lives are getting better and better.
Some farmers have even become acutely aware of the huge demand for meat, eggs, milk, wine and the like in big cities, so they no longer simply sell grain, but instead switch to more profitable, higher value-added breeding.
Their monthly income is already tens of blocks higher than that of farmers in relatively backward areas in the north.
This can be seen from the clothes people wear, the shoes they wear, and the food they eat during their journey.
Generally speaking, farmers in poor and backward areas may only wear one or two sets of worn-out linen clothes all year round.
When eating, let alone adding spices, meat, eggs and milk, people didn’t even dare to sprinkle too much salt on bread or flatbread.
But what about these farmers in front of us?
Not only could they afford meat, eggs and milk, but they could even add a little bit of spices to certain dishes that were previously only available to the rich.
As for the clothes on their bodies, they were generally clean and had no patches, except for the strong smell caused by the large number of livestock in the carriage.
Unfortunately, this change was not noticed by anyone in the team.
Because guys like Aberdare and Minsk, who act faster than they think, naturally won't pay attention to such changes in people's livelihood.
Ai Meng was wondering whether the little money he had on hand would last until he could meet Zuo Si.
Sancho's mind was full of thoughts about being imprisoned in the Tower of Durrag, trying to figure out what Erinikas wanted to do and who the dark elf Viconia was who finally let him out.
Only Jaheira, the harpist, had such sensitivity, but she was completely immersed in the grief of the death of her husband Khalid.
In this way, the magic carriage finally drove through the long country dirt road and stepped onto the "highway" that had been recently built near Askatla, listening to the noise of livestock and poultry in the car in silence.
This is a dedicated three-lane road connecting nearby villages and small towns. It is twelve meters wide and made entirely of asphalt.
Even measured by modern society's standards, there is no problem.
As for the asphalt, it all comes from a natural asphalt lake in the Cherimba Swamp at the source of the Shewei River.
Since it is a typical no-man's land, all you need to do is send airships to transport and process it continuously.
Almost all roads under construction now use this kind of asphalt road, which is basically the same as that in modern society.
On the one hand, the cost of natural asphalt mining and transportation is very low. On the other hand, it is easy to build and does not require waiting for several hours to dry and harden like cement, which can save a lot of time.
You know, in Faerun, there are a lot of wild animals after leaving the town.
Therefore, in the hours of waiting for the cement to dry, it is entirely possible that it will be trampled into potholes by a group of animals running out of the woods and bushes.
Looking at the wide and smooth asphalt road outside the window, as well as the extremely busy horse-drawn and ox-drawn carts coming and going, the curious Imon couldn't help but stick his head out of the window, staring with wide eyes and asking without turning his head: "Hey! Sancho, has the transportation in Am always been so developed? My God, this is simply unbelievable! It must cost a lot of money to build a road that is so long, so wide, and so hard and smooth.
Look, there is a big house on the side of the road ahead, where passers-by can eat, rest, and feed livestock. "
Imoen exclaimed as he pointed at a public rest stop not far away.
Compared with Amn today, Baldur's Gate, which was once a representative of a prosperous big city in her eyes, is like a backward rural place.
Especially the horse-drawn carriages that came and went in a hurry, almost one after another.
The flow of people was so great that it was beyond the girl's imagination.
The prosperity that was visible to the naked eye and transcended the times made her feel as if she was in a dream.
To be precise, the entire Sword Coast, including Waterdeep, would not have enough money to carry out such luxurious large-scale infrastructure construction.
Sancho glanced at the scenery outside the window, smiled bitterly and shook his head: "No, I think these changes should come from the time we were arrested and detained.
At least when I left Askatla, I hadn't seen this kind of black hard roads and public facilities.
If nothing unexpected happens, this should be related to a series of policies after the establishment of the West Coast Empire.
After all, the teacher has said more than once that the things he hates most are ignorance, dirtiness, backwardness and poverty. "
“Are you sure?
The total time we were arrested was only a few months.
How could so much work be accomplished in just a few months?
If this is true, then everything is too incredible.
You know, in Baldur's Gate or other northern cities, it would take at least a few years to build such a long, high-quality highway."
Imoen's tone was full of doubt.
In fact, this cannot be blamed on her, because without the large-scale use of magic, the speed of infrastructure construction in the continent of Faerun is so slow.
Coupled with the lack of a mature and efficient bureaucratic system caused by the feudal aristocracy system, any infrastructure construction involving a slightly larger scale usually has construction time calculated in years.
After suffering devastating damage from various disasters, many cities generally cannot recover for more than ten to twenty years.
Some of them could not be repaired and simply turned into ruins.
But this time, before Sancho could answer, the driver boasted proudly, "Little girl, what you are talking about is somewhere else.
Our West Coast Empire is different! Under the rule of the great Emperor Soth, everyone from the cabinet to the grassroots bureaucrats has always been keen on pursuing efficiency.
Whether it's the priests serving the gods in the temple or the high-ranking wizards, when the empire needs them, they must put aside other things at hand and serve a certain project.
Do you see this carriage under our buttocks that is used to transport farmers, livestock and food? It was made by those mages.
What might take years to accomplish elsewhere, we can do in a few weeks or even a month or two.
You will understand this once you enter Athkatla."
Another young farmer nearby immediately smiled and nodded in agreement, “That’s right.
Once you enter Athkatla, you will redefine the words city and prosperity.
Because it is ten or even dozens of times larger than any city you have ever seen before.
And if you haven’t been there for two or three weeks, you’ll probably get lost, let alone several months.”
毫无疑问，车夫和农夫无比骄傲自豪的语气，给小队成员留下了极为深刻的印象。
因为他们觉得，像西海岸帝国这种强行整合到一起的新兴国家，大部分民众应该会更认同之前的身份，比如说安姆人、卡林衫人、泰瑟尔人等等。
但实际情况与想象中的刚好相反。
比起以前的身份认同，平民似乎更愿意接受“帝国臣民”这个新的身份。
带着强烈的疑惑跟不解，马车就这样沿着沥青公路快速行进，在接近傍晚十分成功停靠在距离城市圈还有几百米之外的车站。
农民十分熟练的驱赶着自己的牲畜，走向不远处专门划分好用来进行交易的农产品市场。
等跟各个餐厅、旅店、酒馆和肉铺子的采购人员谈好价钱完成交易后，牲畜和家禽就会被专业的屠夫杀死并清洗干净，然后以生肉的状态运进城内供市民们享用。
谷物、蔬菜、奶制品等东西则会卖给市政府开办的机构，然后再由该机构负责向下一级的零售商进行批发。
这样做的主要意图是为了防止有人在食品上动手脚，突然搞囤货居奇那一套强行拉高粮食价格，通过低买高卖来赚取差价进而引发粮食价格短时间内剧烈波动的情况。
总之，在连续向外扩张了好几轮的阿斯卡特拉，让整个小队所有成员都目瞪口呆，完全不敢相信世界上居然会有规模如此之大的巨型城市。
金币之都原本被围在城墙里的部分，目前只占城市总体规模的不到十分之一。
以此为中心不断向外扩张道路两旁，早就已经密密麻麻盖满了各种样的四层以上建筑。
其中有些是作为商用的店铺，但更多的还是集中式的居民住宅。
除了中间专门供车马通行的沥青路面之外，两侧还有专门为行人准备的砖石步行街，以及安装了不灭明焰火把的路灯和绿化带。
毫无疑问，这座被选定为西海岸帝国首都的港口城市，已经十分接近地球近现代城市的标准。
那些明显经过详细规划，看起来十分对称且整齐的道路和建筑，将左思骨子里的强迫症和完美主义者倾向表现得淋漓尽致。
如果从高空来看，甚至就连广场、高层建筑和绿化带都是呈完美对称的样子。
所有那些不对称或是与周围格格不入的建筑，无一例外会被市政改造部门贴上拆迁的标签，就连神殿都没能幸免。
虽然神殿区很多的教会对此表示强烈抗议。
但在看到政府给出的改造设计图，以及重建后新神殿宏伟、巨大、壮观的绘画后，纷纷表示其实也不是不能商量。
至于在现代城市改造过程中需要考虑的什么历史文物价值，守序邪恶阵营的左思才不管那么多呢。
他要的是在这个世界上留下一个深深的、属于自己的烙印。
以前那些国家、城邦留下的历史，最好全部从帝国境内消失。
别说是像阿斯卡特拉这种原本就缺乏历史的城市，连南方拥有数千年历史的卡林港都没能幸免，不少古建筑都遭到了强拆。
甚至可以说阿斯卡特拉与整个安姆的繁荣，就是中央集权制大帝国恐怖执行力的最直接体现。
只要身为最高统治者的皇帝一声令下，没有什么事情时办不到的。
看着矗立在眼前这座跟之前完全不一样的陌生城市，桑乔感觉整个人都傻了，用极低的声音吐槽道：“我得承认，您可真是个不折不扣的疯子，亲爱的老师。
在几个月之内就把阿斯卡特拉这样的城市推倒重建……
整个费伦大陆也只有您能干得出来了吧。”
站在一旁的贾希拉显然那听到了男孩的嘀咕，微微感叹道：“何止是疯狂！
这还需要无与伦比的才能、统治力和庞大财富。
尽管在德鲁伊的视角下，所有城市都是在大自然母亲身体上留下的丑陋伤疤。
但我觉得这个伤疤显然更大、也宏伟壮观。
走吧，趁着天黑之前让我们赶紧进入城内。
尤其是阿伯戴尔的情况必须立刻得到解决。
否则一旦他再突然化身成为杀戮者，我们每个人都有危险。”
“同意！他上次在休息的时候突然变身，差点就拧断了我的脖子。”
在说这番话的时候，爱蒙脸上浮现出心有余悸的表情，摸了摸白皙勃颈上那个巨大的青紫色手印。
如果不是她也比原剧情提前觉醒了巴尔之子的力量，保不齐就被活生生掐死了。
看到从小玩到大玩伴的反应，阿伯戴尔赶忙苦笑着解释道：“十分抱歉，我也不知道自己这是怎么了。
自从那个该死的法师完成某个魔法仪式之后，我就感觉自己身体和精神状态不对劲。
也许他从我的身体里偷走了某些无法被察觉到的东西。
反正我现在没办法使用那些觉醒的神术了。”
“别担心，我并不是在怪罪你，只是不希望你变成一个怪物。不过索斯肯定会有解决方案的，毕竟他现在可是伟大的西海岸帝国皇帝。”
为了缓解彼此之间尴尬的氛围，爱蒙俏皮的开了句玩笑。
“帝国皇帝……”
贾希拉用只有自己才能听到的声音重复了一下这个称呼，眼神中透露出非常复杂的情绪。
作为在场认识左思最早的人，她永远不会忘记对方在成为剧毒与疾病女神塔洛娜选民的那个晚上发生了什么。
更不会忘记当时的左思就表现出了令人感到恐惧的阵营倾向。
这么多年过去了，随着对方的名气越来越大、社会地位越来越高、力量越来越恐怖，贾希拉觉得这辈子可能不会在于其有任何交际。
可谁能想到，随着老友葛立安的死亡，一切都开始急转直下。
原以为终结了沙洛佛克的野心之后局势会慢慢平息下来。
但没过多久卡立德与戴娜黑也先后死于非命。
巴尔之子仿佛就像是一个可怕的诅咒，任何凡人只要卷入其中就注定会不得好死。
最重要的是，贾希拉总有一种感觉，那就是左思似乎知道很多的秘密，说不定本人就是整个事件的幕后推手之一。
她想要通过这次见面，把肚子里积攒的疑惑全部问个清楚。
就这样，冒险小队一行人很快就通过卫兵的盘查，进入到了道路错综复杂的城市内部。
尽管最开始的时候，桑乔想要直奔左思的法师塔。
可结果在大街小巷转悠了两圈之后，他突然难以置信的发现，自己竟然迷路了……
毕竟这个男孩被带到阿斯卡特拉之后，大部分时间就一直居住在法师塔内很少外出，只能大概记得几个法师塔周围的地标性建筑。
结果现在整个城市又是扩建、又是改造，地标性建筑物早就已经面目全非。
而且随着“禁魔令”被废除，很多包括蒙面法师在内的奥术施法者都在城内建造了高度差不多的法师塔。
再加上天色已经完全暗淡下来的关系，桑乔就连自己现在处在什么位置都不太清楚。
由于法师塔加持了很多防护法术，因此用预言系魔法进行定位或者追踪某个人肯定是不可能做到的事情。
使用【传讯术】则根本得不到回应，八成是受到了什么干扰亦或者目标根本就不在法术影响范围内。
至于向路人询问，路人也没有知道的。
毕竟城市扩建背后带来的是大量的新移民。
他们充其量也只知道自己居住和工作周围的情况。
最终，一行人只能随便找了家便宜的旅店先住进去，打算等明天早上再想办法。
但代价就是原本就十分干瘪的钱袋，随着两间客房和一顿还算丰盛的大餐直接见底了。
听着最后几枚硬币在口袋里碰撞发出的响声，爱蒙恶狠狠的咬了一口本店最便宜的烤鸡肉，头也不抬的说道：“伙计们！我必须提醒你们一件事情，那就是如果我们不能尽快见到索斯，亦或是找点活干赚钱，那咱们用不了几天就要露宿街头变成乞丐了。”
“别担心，等天亮之后我肯定能找到法师塔的位置。”
桑乔信誓旦旦的给出保证。
但问题是，经历了长达两个多小时的迷路之后，队伍中的另外几名成员再也不相信他了。
性格耿直的明斯克更是没好气的翻了个白眼，摸着肩膀上正在啃花生的仓鼠说道：“你刚才带着我们在街上走了那么长时间，布布对你已经失去了信心。我觉得咱们还是赶快找个活干干比较好。”
阿伯戴尔深以为然的点了点头：“同意！阿斯卡特拉这么繁华，肯定有很多需要冒险者的地方。以咱们的身手，先赚个几百金币应该不成问题。”
可贾希拉却忍不住提醒道：“别忘了你自己的情况。
这不是赚钱或者露宿街头的问题，而是你的精神状态严重不稳定。
According to the laws of Amn, you would surely be sentenced to death after killing so many people.
So we need to find Sos first and ask him to help solve this hidden danger."
"So what do you think we should do?"
Aberdare wiped the grease from his mouth and sighed helplessly.
As a victim, how could he not know how dangerous his condition was.
Especially after falling asleep at night, I often have some strange, eerie and terrifying dreams.
Sometimes he would meet Sarevok, whom he killed with his own hands, in his dreams; sometimes he would dream of his adoptive father Gorion; and sometimes he would dream of his father, Baal, the god of murder.
Whenever these people, whether familiar or unfamiliar, appeared, Aberdare could not suppress the urge to kill in his heart, and instantly turned into a killer, rushing forward and tearing the other party into pieces.
And when you suddenly wake up, you will sometimes see that half of your body has taken on the appearance of a killer.
In this state, he even developed sleep anxiety, and would often take a short nap only when he was too sleepy to open his eyes. He could only get proper relief by killing enemies and monsters.
This is also the reason why he is eager to find something to do.
"We can ask the guards. Even if they don't know, we can ask about the locations of the city hall and the court, and then ask the officials and judges..."
Before Jaheira could finish his words, there was a commotion outside the inn.
Before the adventure team could react to what was happening, they saw the guests who had been eating and drinking a second ago suddenly rush out and follow the crowd on the street towards a huge circular building not far away.
Driven by curiosity, Ai Meng couldn't help but ask the boss who was lying on the bar: "What are they going to do?"
"Is this your first time in Askatla in the last few months?"
The dwarf boss grinned with a slightly excited smile.
"Yes, we are indeed here for the first time in recent months."
Imoen answered in the affirmative without hesitation.
Because she was eager to find out the situation, she stood up and sat at the empty bar to face the other party.
The dwarf boss wiped the table and explained calmly: "See that circular building? It's called the Colosseum. There are three of them in this city.
Every once in a while, people would fight and duel inside.
Some of them are between people, and some are between people and monsters.
The winner not only gets a huge prize, but also gains great fame and is favored by wealthy people.
The last gladiatorial champion became the lover of the charming Mrs. Lesven, and it is said that he maintained a lover relationship with her for quite a long time.
The guys outside are so active just to watch the game tonight.
If I didn't have to visit the store, I would buy a ticket.
What’s more, during the game, you can also bet on your favorite players, which is the most exciting and fascinating entertainment in Askatra.
It is said that the rules of this competition came from Ximen, and many wealthy and powerful people along the coast of Falling Star Sea like to watch it."
"You mean... slave fighting?"
Jaheira, the harpist, frowned subconsciously.
The dwarf boss immediately shook his head and corrected: "No, they are not slaves, all the gladiators participated voluntarily.
They have their own dedicated agent.
Some of the most famous ones can even get paid thousands of gold coins for a fight, allowing you to enjoy a life of debauchery.
Although some churches of good gods and druid sects want to boycott this bloody and cruel competition, there are obviously more gods willing to support it.
Including the god of war Tempus, the goddess of beasts Mara, the god of tyranny Bane, the goddess of wealth Waukin, the god of storms Talos and so on.
Occasionally, you can see exciting magic duels between mages and warlocks.
Believe me, any competitor who steps into a big arena to compete knows exactly what they are getting into.
It is said that some people have even seen Tempus personally descending on the VIP seats to admire the brave fighting performances of the participants.
So strictly speaking, this is an event similar to a celebration.
It's just a little bit bloody and cruel.
In addition, if you perform well enough, even if you are defeated and killed, the priests of the Church of the God of War will resurrect you afterwards."
“It sounds like a good place.”
Aberdare's eyes sparkled slightly, and he subconsciously licked his lips with his tongue, with a belligerent and bloodthirsty light flashing in his pupils.
Minsk, a warrior from Sleiman, also nodded and agreed, “You are right.
There is nothing shameful in a fair fight where one's life is staked.
If given the chance, the great Minsk and Bubu will sign up and prove themselves in battle.”
Hearing the words of the two reckless men in the team, Jahira immediately covered his face and felt exhausted.
Although she is also a warrior, she does not agree with the war god Tempus's ideas. She always thinks that those guys who pursue the honor of battle are simply mentally ill.
Just as a few people were discussing with the dwarf boss how exciting the game would be, Sancho suddenly stood up from the stool: "Damn! I almost forgot! Atona will definitely not be able to resist participating in something like this!
As long as we can find her, we can go directly to the mentor's wizard tower."
"You mean we should try our luck? Then what are you waiting for? Go buy your tickets."
Aberdare was obviously in high spirits. He raised his head, drank the wine in the glass in one breath, and slowly stood up.
Looking at his terrifying height of more than 2.1 meters and the strong muscles formed by long-term exercise, the dwarf boss took a breath and couldn't help but exclaimed: "Oh my God! You are so tall! Maybe you don't need to buy a ticket, but sign up for tonight's game.
I'm sure the organizers would be very happy to see a fighter as tall as you appear in the arena.
"Oh? Really?"
When Edmon's eyes lit up when he heard that it didn't cost any money.
"Of course it's true. If you don't believe me, you can go and try it. But remember, this kind of competition has a high casualty rate, so if you don't have confidence in your skills, it's better to give up as soon as possible.
After saying this, the dwarf boss stopped paying attention to the few people and started to clean up the leftovers on the table with his employees.
After a brief discussion, the team members finally decided to go into the arena to find out what was going on, with the minority following the majority.
With Aberdare's fame in the Sword Coast and his identity as the Son of Bhaal, he easily gained the approval of the organizers.
The other party even promised to provide a good appearance order during the period.
As long as you keep winning, you can get a bounty of 8,000 gold coins.
As for the other people in the team, not only can they get free tickets, they can even sit in the front row of the relatives' seats.
Just like that, Aberdare took off his cheap mail armor, followed the staff to the backstage with his upper body naked.
The others entered the arena through another passage.
As soon as they came out of the dark tunnel, they heard thunderous cheers.
In the center of the huge competition venue, a man wearing only simple armor, revealing large areas of strong muscles, was jumping high with the help of the wall, waving the dagger in his hand with a posture full of power and beauty, and directly stabbing it into the left rib of a troll, using the acceleration of gravity to tear a wound deep enough to see the bone.
Poof! Dazzling blood splashed everywhere! The injured troll was obviously enraged, and let out a terrifying roar, turning around to grab the man's ankle.
It goes without saying that once the latter is caught, there is a high probability that he will be torn to pieces and eaten alive by the trolls.
After all, in this big arena, many contestants were eaten by monsters.
But at this critical moment, the warrior relied on the powerful waist and shoulder strength to make a 360-degree rotation out of thin air without any external force.
Not only did he not let the troll grab his ankle, but he also chopped off several of the enemy's fingers with his backhand.
“Ah ...
The intense pain made the troll scream heart-wrenchingly, and also made the audience in the stands scream with excitement, completely igniting their inner desire for violence and blood.
At this moment, Zuo Si, the instigator, was standing in the corner of the VIP seats, admiring the bloody match he had created with great interest. He smiled and asked without turning his head, "How is it, are you two satisfied with this match?"
"Of course I am satisfied! I couldn't be more satisfied!
This is simply the testing ground that all warriors dream of, the perfect stage for them to pursue their own glory, power and fame.
If possible, I would like my church to host these competitions.”
The God of War Tempus spoke with undisguised joy in his tone.
How could he not like something like this that could spread his ideas to all mortals?
In particular, the bravery, strength and indomitable spirit displayed by the warriors when they collided and fought with each other made every pore of the god extremely excited.
But the goddess of wealth, Wakin, couldn't help but interrupt, "No, great god of war, I think it's better to let my church take charge of this matter.
This is because only by continuously making profits and offering higher bounties can this kind of competition attract more and stronger fighters to participate.
By the same token, only if the participating fighters are strong enough will the audience not get bored of it.
So it would be better if my church took over.”
Obviously, although the God of War and the Goddess of Wealth are both beneficiaries of the gladiatorial games, their focus and interests are completely different.
Tempus values the spread of fighting spirit among mortals, while Waukeen values the huge economic benefits brought by ticket sales, advertising and betting.
Especially with the official endorsement of the West Coast Empire, this kind of competition is bound to become popular in the western part of the Faerun continent and even have a certain impact on the surrounding neighboring countries.
It doesn't take much, as long as the audience prays to the two gods while watching the game, they can both gain tremendous power of faith from it.
“As for who will take over the competition, I think professionals should do professional things.
The Church of the Goddess of Wealth can take over the daily operations, while the Church of the God of War can be responsible for selecting contestants, providing them with more professional training, etc.
In short, I hope that you two can put aside unnecessary prejudices and work together.
After all, you now have common interests.
And they are destined to be members of a powerful divine force, and there is no obvious conflict in doctrine, right?"
Zuo Si offered his suggestions to the two incarnations of gods with a smile on his face.
There is no doubt that he hopes to form an alliance between Tempus and Woking in this way, and then build an interest group composed of powerful and medium-level divine powers around him.
The Goddess of Wealth, in particular, has tasted unprecedented benefits from this cooperation.
Not to mention the cooperation in the ninth layer of hell, just the influence brought by the expansion of the trade alliance allowed her to stabilize at the level of medium divine power and steadily advance towards powerful divine power.
Nowadays, the activities of the Church of the Goddess of Wealth can be seen everywhere on the entire west coast, including the north, and almost half of the Falling Star Sea.
Because with the rapid development of commerce, trade, manufacturing and agriculture, it is an inevitable and normal phenomenon that people's desire for wealth and material things has greatly increased.
This means that Waukeen's influence will continue to increase as the economy prospers.
All gods understood that it was almost certain that she would become a powerful deity.
In addition, after its camp changed from absolute neutrality to lawful evil, the number of believers has also increased exponentially, and it seems like it is about to take off.
Tempus glanced at the goddess of wealth beside him, stroked his chin and pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly: "What you said makes sense. Then let our churches each be responsible for a part of it."
Zuo Si put one hand on his chest and bowed slightly: "Thank you very much for your understanding. As I have repeatedly emphasized before, under the current situation, as long as we continue to deepen cooperation, I guarantee that all gods who are willing to join this alliance will get what they want."
"What if some gods don't intend to cooperate with you?" Tempus asked with a smile.
Zuo Si replied meaningfully: "I think the fate of the Prince of Lies and the extinction of the Oak Father's faith in the empire are enough to prove my attitude."
Upon hearing this, Tempus immediately couldn't help but burst into laughter: "Hahahaha! What a great answer! It also suits my taste very well!
There is no doubt that there is a certain warlike and combative blood flowing in your veins.
If you hadn't chosen the path of magic, I think you would have become the most feared warrior.
But I don't quite understand why you are so hostile to the Oakfather? As far as I know, he and his druid sect have never provoked you, right?"
“No, it has nothing to do with provoking, I just simply hate his theory of natural balance.
In my opinion, the so-called protection of nature and animals is nothing but some kind of cheap self-satisfaction.
It's just as disgusting as those who like cats and dogs and claim that they are man's best friends, but expect these so-called friends to obey them 100% and give them the emotional feedback they need at any time.
Isn’t the principle of getting along between friends mutual respect?
But the question is, does anyone really respect a cat or dog? Not to mention breeding and selecting cats and dogs for extremely selfish reasons, just to get the appearance and personality they expect and like.
I have always believed that nature does not need to be protected, especially animals.
In this world, species go extinct every once in a while, but new species are also born.
Even if the existing food chain is destroyed, a new food chain will soon be born through dynamic adjustments.
Given enough time, climate change can turn a desert into a rainforest, and a rainforest into a desert.
So many times, protecting nature and animals is just a way for intelligent creatures to protect themselves if they are afraid that their living environment will be destroyed.
What is even more ridiculous is that those extreme Druid sects clearly claim that survival of the fittest is the law of nature, but they contradict themselves by interfering with this law and protecting those so-called endangered rare species.
If they really follow the law of survival of the fittest, then they should just sit there and watch all the animals and plants that cannot adapt to the new environment die.
Most importantly, there is a huge contradiction between the ideas of the Oak Father and the rise of civilization itself.
This opposition is irreconcilable, so he is destined to be my enemy."
Zuo Si stated his views directly without any concealment.
Because this kind of opposition is not only about interests, but also a fundamental conflict of ideas. There is no need to cover it up, and there is no way to cover it up.
"So your plan is to attack those gods whose philosophies conflict with yours, and win over gods like me who can find common interests? I have to say, you are definitely the most rational lunatic I have ever seen.
Being rational means that you always know who your enemy is; being crazy means that you dare to declare war directly on a powerful divine power.
But as the Lord of War, there is no reason for me not to support you, an envoy who brings war and killing wherever you go."
After saying that, Tempus raised the glass in his hand to signal, then tilted his head back and drank it all.
There is no doubt that this is a very obvious statement, indicating that Zuo Si has gained another powerful divine ally.
The goddess of wealth, Woking, was radiant and smoothed her long golden hair.
Just as she was about to stand up and say something, the commentator outside began to shout excitedly through the magic loudspeaker.
“Ladies!
Gentlemen! Guests from afar!
Now please welcome new challengers! Heroes from Candlekeep and Baldur's Gate, spawn of Bhaal!
His name is Aberdare Adris!
Now cheer as loud as you can! The spawn of the God of Murder is about to give us the most exciting, bloody, and violent show of the night!"
moment!
In the entire VIP room, whether it was Zuo Si, Woking, or Tempus who was tasting fine wine, all cast their eyes towards the large arena below.
In the blink of an eye, Aberdare, shirtless and without any protective gear, walked out of the dark passage holding a two-handed sword.
His opponent is the champion of the previous competition, a war troll from Dragonspear Castle, with a total occupation level of LV15.
With the current level of Aberdare's fighters, it is almost impossible to defeat such an opponent just looking at the data on paper.
(End of this chapter)