City of Sin

Book 4, 83

In The Name Of God

Richard shook his head before walking into the command centre, activating a magic map and putting all his attention into studying the terrain and situation. Time passed quickly as night fell once more on the Bloodstained Lands, setting sun dyeing the world crimson.

As he was working on strategies for the upcoming war, a light knock sounded from the door to the room. Hearing his approval, Faylen slowly walked in.

Richard didn’t even lift his head, “Priestess Faylen, I haven’t come to a decision yet.”

“I know,” the woman said gently, but then her voices started to tremble, “I am... here to assist you with that.”

Confused by her words, he lifted his head to see the priestess removing her enchanted robes. Her hips gyrated as the long vestment fell to her legs, the skirt underneath slipping down with a quiet tug. The priestess of the Goddess of Spring Water thus stood naked in front of him.

Faylen was a mature beauty, her unbelievably supple skin glistening with a perfect blend of purity and sex appeal. Her status and normal behaviour only increased the impact.

Richard knitted his brows, “What are you getting at, Priestess?”

Faylen took one step closer, glimmering like a waterfall under the sun. “As long as you are willing to provide us with soldiers, my Lady will be in your debt. I am willing to sacrifice myself for Her!”

“You’re beautiful,” Richard admired her body thoroughly, but his eyes still remained calm. Although he didn’t look away from her most personal areas, he didn’t pay close attention either. After the initial look, he acted like she was fully clothed.

Faylen was shocked to see him shake his head and say, “This is not enough. I have no desire to sacrifice my soldiers’ lives without reason, especially when there are enemies lying in wait to take advantage of the situation.”

Faylen flashed another alluring smile, “If you are willing, I believe the two other priestesses would be willing to sacrifice themselves as well. In fact, I can ask them to come over right now and we can all... Apart from us, any cleric of our Churches would be willing to offer themselves to you so long as you are interested!”

The proposition had been seductive at the beginning, but as her speech dragged on into more risque topics the woman’s voice grew more stable, as though she was preaching. Richard thought it over for a second and realised that this priestess really was doing this purely on behalf of her goddess. It seemed rather absurd to one of his sensibilities, but considering her situation it wasn’t hard to understand.

Studying the pantheon of the plane was extremely important in every invasion. His studies in the Deepblue had given him some understanding of how the divine worked, and with the help of the Book of Gods from Kellac Flowsand had managed to piece together the approximate hierarchy in Faelor. As a man who was once a great priest himself, Kellac had managed to provide some vital information about the working of Faelor’s pantheon.

In the end, the distribution of power amongst the gods of Faelor was ultimately no different from that in most other planes. Even though the mortals did not understand planar war and classified all invaders as demons or devils, it still played an important role in the realm of the divine. The more effort a god put into suppressing invasions, the more intruders they destroyed, the more powerful their domain would become. This was an important channel for lesser deities to obtain more power, and the three goddesses who could barely avoid falling could only grasp at such straws.

Under such circumstances, the clergy itself wouldn’t think much of material and fleshly sacrifice. After all, as pious worshippers they would gladly give up their very lives without second thought.

“Sigh. I understand what the goddess has to gain from this, but what’s in it for you?”

Faylen felt strange and uncomfortable when Richard asked this question. They were only an arm’s length away and she was completely naked, but here he was delving into a serious discussion. It made her feel extremely anxious, to the point that her hands automatically raised up to cover her private parts.

However, they had barely moved before she dropped them once more. Instead stretching to tidy up her hair, she forced a calm voice out of her throat, “You have seen for yourself that Fermi, Shea, and I have grown in power ever since we set up a church inside your city. New followers have been streaming in regularly to the praise of my Lady, and a great contribution in this war would give Her a decisive victory. I might have the chance to be granted the position of pope because of my stellar achievements.”

Richard was quite surprised. He knew Faylen had something to gain, but hadn’t expected the advantage to be so great. However pathetic the three goddesses were, the power of a pope was still unattainable for most people.

“Is that enough to move you? Laying with a future pope?” Faylen stepped forward as she spoke; even leaning forward now would bring her breasts in contact with Richard’s body. She flashed a wholesome smile, placing her hand on his chest.

Richard smiled and led her hand away, “I am someone who greatly respects the three goddesses, and that respect extends to you.”

The priestess bit her bottom lip, looking at him with some resentment, “So what do I have to do? Tell me! As long as it is something the goddess and I can accomplish, we will do it!”

Richard finally received the entreaty he was waiting for. Although his conditions had long since been prepared, he pretended to think over it for a while before answering, “Hmm... It’s actually quite simple. I have the utmost of respect for the three goddesses. Even though I cannot be considered a worshipper, I hope my contribution can earn me a position as a titled priest. Furthermore, from this day forth I need full reign to use the names of the three goddesses in my military expeditions.”

Faylen immediately paled. This was a much greater sacrifice than she had imagined! A titled priesthood wasn’t much to care about. Having seen Flowsand’s might, she knew Richard wasn’t interested in the divine abilities of the three goddesses. However, for a mortal to start wars in the name of the divine... This wasn’t something even the most brazen of monarchs would dare to ask for. It was the equivalent of all three goddesses playing into Richard’s palm. If they agreed, they would then be tied to his every move.

This was a request that far exceeded Faylen’s authority to grant. She felt her throat go dry and hoarse, completely unable to utter another word.

Having expected this, Richard threw out another card, “If the three goddesses promise me this, then I, Richard Archeron, will mobilise all of my troops and battle the invaders to the death!”

He politely grabbed Faylen’s hand and guided it to the magical map, stretching out to point at the junction of the Bloodstained Lands and the Land of Turmoil, “This is where you will see the invaders fall!”

Faylen’s heart started beating uncontrollably, an image of the papal sceptre waving goodbye flashing across her mind. Richard turned to look at her and smiled, throwing out his final card, “The protection of all three goddesses would be the best. However, even if only one is willing to acknowledge my contributions, I will still fight the invaders to the death!”

Faylen’s heart started beating even faster, her enormous breasts trembling as she heaved, “I will report this to my Lady immediately, please wait for Her response!”

The priestess rushed towards her clothes as she finished talking, about to go to the church and pray. However, she only managed to dress halfway before stopping abruptly, expression now changed as she raised her head with glee, “My Lady was paying close attention to the events of this day. She acknowledges your sincerity and has sent an oracle that she agrees to your conditions. I can prepare the ceremony tonight, we will confer you with a titled priesthood tomorrow.”

A smile spread across Richard’s face and he bowed slightly, “I thank Her for Her benevolence!”

Faylen stopped wearing her clothes, saying softly, “Even though my Lady has agreed to your conditions, my original offer still stands as well...”

Richard flashed a dazzling smile, “And I look forward to it. But right now, we need to prepare for battle. Once these invaders have been destroyed completely, we can look into this... proposal.”

The priestess just grit her teeth in resignation, “Alright then. Just know that I am always ready.” She regained her composure just before leaving, flashing a seductive smile of her own while her eyes signalled that she would be awaiting the day.

Given some peace once more, Richard pumped his fist in excitement. As long as he could win this war, he would take root in Faelor permanently. With the power to act in the name of the three goddesses, anyone trying to look for his true identity would be faced with tremendous difficulty. In a situation where he would have to face these opponents anyway, he had just been given a free bonus for victory.

Once he recovered a little from his joy, he finally contacted the broodmother once more. Her connection with him seemed intermittent, the thoughts that did stream through very tired. It was to the point that he was left slightly worried.

“Master, I just finished building a worm nest. No need to worry, the exhaustion will be gone after I eat and recover my energy.”

“Worm nest?” This was an unfamiliar term.

“Similar to a beehive. The worker drones provide nourishment for it, and I can store partially complete battle drones in there and have them grow from that point. A winged serpent embryo would take about a week to finish, while a wind wolf would only need a day. It increases my productivity by about 30%.”

“Where does the nutrition for this worm nest come from?” he asked.

“For now, the workers that feed me can gather enough nourishment for the nest as well.” Her reply allowed him to relax.

And then, just as he was about to tell her to start on twenty magical horses for rune knights, she sent him some shocking news. She already had thirty waiting for him!