Dozens of cargo ships of various kinds were anchored on the beach west of Froststone Camp. Looking down from the air, even in the dead of night, one could clearly see the scene on the beach, illuminated by torches as if it were daytime. People busily moved back and forth, carrying chests full of treasure, dragging cages containing war beasts, and helping the weak and sick tribesmen, without stopping for a moment.
It took the fleet three whole nights to unload all its personnel and cargo.
The arrival of tens of thousands of new residents has completely blocked the area around Froststone Camp. A cursory glance reveals that the entire mountainside is filled with immigrants searching for a place to settle down.
Thanks to Rachel's prior preparations, everyone who arrived was provided with sufficient food and tools upon disembarking. After arriving near the camp, under her overall management, a residential area of one square kilometer was cleared in the surrounding forest, and people were assigned to different areas according to their needs and ethnic origins, thus properly arranging their accommodations.
Even though Rachel and the other camp administrators tried everything they could to meet the needs of the residents, the camp's population exploded and the racial forces became more complex, leading to numerous internal problems.
The first and most serious problem was the bullying and killings occurring within the camp. Although Todd repeatedly emphasized that the captured Ulsters were a valuable human resource for the camp and servants recognized by the gods, and that no one should arbitrarily take their lives.
However, many who had just gained their freedom, filled with hatred for the slaves of Ulster, openly or covertly used extremely cruel methods to wantonly rape and kill their captives. Even the camp's security forces or the knightly order led by the Valkyrie could not stop these slaves' thirst for revenge.
The second problem is the conflict between the tribal chief and the warriors in the tribe.
To encourage warriors to fight bravely, and also to reduce the chieftain's influence and increase cohesion within the camp, Todd deliberately broke with the tradition of the chieftain distributing spoils of war. Instead, he allowed warriors to choose and keep their own spoils based on their battle achievements.
This approach was welcomed by the majority of the tribesmen, inspired the warriors' will to win, and further enhanced the organizational cohesion centered around Todd.
There is a group of people who are extremely dissatisfied with this distribution method, and these people are naturally the tribal chiefs.
Originally, the most beautiful female slaves, the finest tableware, and the most expensive treasures should have belonged to these clan leaders. Now, with the implementation of a merit-based distribution system, the clan leaders can only receive the same share as most of their clansmen. This disparity has caused resentment among every clan leader.
Todd's identity as the "Son of the Gods" and the power manifested in his Tyrant form intimidated most of the tribal leaders, but a very small number of them still used their chieftain's authority to forcibly confiscate the "spoils of war" from their warriors.
The most serious incident involved a tribal chief named Aimo, who, along with dozens of his cronies, forcibly seized the spoils of war from Quetta, a warrior in his tribe.
Although the latter tried to resist, the tribal chief Aymo used Quetta's family as leverage, ultimately forcing him to hand over all his possessions.
The final issue is faith. Froststone Camp has a population of over ten thousand, but due to the composition of the population, which comes from multiple regions, the gods they worship are naturally diverse.
Some believe in the Son of Gods represented by Todd, others in Christ who came from the South, still others in the ancient gods with a long history in the North, and some even worship the mysterious and unpredictable Voodoo religion.
The sheer number and variety of religious beliefs has given rise to a problem: the mutual exclusion of religious beliefs has led to conflicts among believers in the camp.
This conflict may currently remain merely a verbal dispute, but if it is not resolved soon, it will eventually escalate into a religious catastrophe.
To resolve these issues, Todd spent a full half-day establishing "soul links" with everyone relevant in the camp, including the slave leaders, representatives of the Ulster captives, and shamans and priests from all religious sects. In total, these individuals numbered over seven hundred.
After all the residents were settled, Todd deliberately chose a clear night and, in the name of a séance, gathered the more than seven hundred people in the camp square.
Around nightfall, everyone sat cross-legged on the ground, quietly waiting for the descent of the "Son of the Gods" to perform the descent ceremony.
Seeing that everything was arranged, Todd nodded to the shaman Minnie beside him.
The old woman bowed slightly, then began to recite a lengthy prayer. At that moment, countless torches rose around the square under the astonished gazes of the crowd. Circles of runes made of cobblestones transformed the entire square into a giant ceremonial platform.
Hearing the tense and uneasy whispers of the people around him, Todd sat silently on the wooden platform erected in the square, his eyes closed.
The prayer had been recited for about a minute when the shaman Minnie shouted into the air. Suddenly, the divine script made of pebbles floated into the air, startling everyone in the square.
Rachel, who was manipulating the stones with her 'telekinesis,' coughed softly at Todd in front of her. Under everyone's watchful eyes, the latter suddenly stood up and used her 'focusing' ability to gather moonlight and firelight in her hands, then blasted them at the floating stones, causing the runes in mid-air to emit a gentle yet dazzling light.
"Ah! This is a miracle!"
"The gods have appeared!"
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