Chapter 161
Chapter 161
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 161
Chapter Title: The Sects of Ya-cheon
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With the gods united under the name of the Myriad Gods Hall, all believers across the continent now followed a single religion.
However, just because everyone believed in one religion didn't mean their expressions of faith were all the same.
Even a simple example showed this: in the past, the elves who believed in Eldar—that is, Mu-yeong—sent more prayers to Mu-yeong than to Ya-cheon. Some among them even disliked Ya-cheon, citing old tales from history.
'That level of deviation is fine. If you don't accept that exceptions always exist, you might build up needless grudges. Besides, it's somewhat true that the elves were tormented.'
Choi Seong-un was quite objective about himself.
In any case, the establishment of the Myriad Gods Hall didn't mean every individual's beliefs were fully unified into one religion.
Those who believed in Kramphus and Mujin still believed in Mujin,
those who believed in Runda and Mangyeol still believed in Mangyeol,
those who believed in Wisdom and Sokseon still believed in Sokseon,
and those who believed in Jangwan and Cheongryu continued to believe in Cheongryu.
The Myriad Gods Hall affirmed all these numerous sects.
This was because it didn't diminish the influence of Seong-un—that is, the main god Ya-cheon.
On the contrary, after the Myriad Gods Hall was established, Ya-cheon's followers increased even more.
With the Heukrin Empire rising to prominence and leading order, it was only natural for followers to emerge.
Of course, that wasn't the only reason.
'The more believers there are, the more need there is to distinguish between them.'
Within the Myriad Gods Hall, Ya-cheon's denomination was unofficially divided into three sects.
One was the faction that followed Ya-cheon's aspect as the God of Thunder.
Represented by Apostle Rakrak, this was the most traditional Ya-cheon denomination, and the values they expected from Ya-cheon were courage, ethics, and sacrifice.
They used the book Ya-cheon, written by Sairan Muel, as their scripture and affirmed the grand history achieved by heroic figures of the past and Ya-cheon.
This 'Thunder God Sect' had the most followers, and generally, if someone said they believed in Ya-cheon, it meant they followed the Thunder God Sect.
'Their outward strength is undoubtedly the Chosen Ones.'
Seong-un had now delegated the selection of Chosen Ones to Rakrak to some extent.
This was partly because his own tasks had multiplied too much, but above all, it felt more fitting for Rakrak now, in Seong-un's view.
The second sect was called the 'Cogwheel Sect'.
They were mostly engineers, engineers, scholars like astronomers, or merchants.
It was hard to see the members of the Cogwheel Sect as fervent supporters of Ya-cheon.
Instead, they had strong worldly aspects and a intense desire for knowledge and capital. However, since Ya-cheon embodied high value in those things, they could be considered believers in Ya-cheon.
As such, the figures they respected in history were those like Jaol, who built Orazn—a relatively overlooked name in Ya-cheonism's history— the first astronomer Star Reader, and Hwikyung of the fifth waterwheel.
'The Cogwheel Sect's power lies in gunpowder and capital, of course.'
Gunpowder had shown a dramatic paradigm shift in warfare, but capital had not yet.
This was because all nations had previously merged religion and power.
But with the advent of the Myriad Gods Hall, players' religions would separate somewhat from power.
'Over time, power will naturally be passed through capital rather than bloodlines.'
This transitional period was a natural occurrence in Lost World as well as Earth's history, so it wasn't unusual. And for players, it had the advantage of fewer restrictions.
Now, the third denomination became important.
'The Arrivers' Sect.'
This Arrivers' Sect could be seen as the most recent one to emerge.
Those who worshiped Ya-cheon as an Arriver were the mages, the smallest in number and the most secretive.
But Seong-un had successfully brought them in.
'It started with a lie, but since I obtained the unique domain of magic, it's no longer a lie.'
The three mages were taking disciples and expanding their influence.
Not all of them fully believed Seong-un's tales of Arrivers, but at least they seemed to think it was worth keeping in mind.
Officially, the mages didn't belong to Ya-cheonism, but they taught their disciples about what Ya-cheon was.
They couldn't be sure if he was an Arriver, but it didn't matter.
He had helped them when all mages were being persecuted.
Above all, he affirmed the pursuit of magic.
Of course, Seong-un's relationship with them wasn't just because he liked mages.
'Because they're useful.'
─┼
-Boom!
As gunfire echoed through the jungle, a flock of birds took flight with startled cries.
"We should head back to camp!"
Thione Itimo shouted as he ran.
Beside him, Basen Rak Orazn ran too, reloading his matchlock rifle.
"Then the camp's in danger. Besides, those guys... no, they'll be faster than us."
Suddenly, a massive shadow enveloped Thione and Basen.
Basen instinctively shoved Thione aside and used the momentum to roll in the opposite direction.
-Thud!
A gigantic lion-shaped monster landed right where Thione and Basen had been running.
First, the snake-headed tail at its end glanced at Basen.
Realizing its body length couldn't reach him, the snake flicked its tongue.
Then its four-legged body turned.
It had a lion's mane, but its face bore the deeply wrinkled eyes, nose, and mouth of an aged human elder.
It was a manticore.
"Spare me."
Manticores were known to have almost no intelligence, but this one seemed able to crudely mimic a few human voices, like the Sapients.
"Agh! My arm! I don't want to die!"
Basen grabbed his dropped spear and hid behind a tree.
"Recalling the last voices of the people it ate? What a nasty bastard."
Basen had been exploring a small ancient ruin in the area with his comrades and some Pangolians, taking time to do so.
Even as the expedition leader, Basen's role was closer to protecting the scholars and engineers—who handled the work themselves—with the remaining forces until they finished.
Originally, Hilrob or Katyuru, or even Gordius, were supposed to join, but Basen had dissuaded them.
They would be away from the Pangolian city of Siol for over two days, and Siol might be attacked in the meantime.
The Fabirang Alliance, the Oguri, and the Ashurada tribe Rakshasa hadn't made any moves yet, but rumors from afar spoke of the Deep Ones stirring.
Thus, Basen judged it unwise to move their top forces for a simple expedition.
'But I almost wish I'd brought at least one.'
The ancient ruin seemed to be the remnants of a vast ancient city.
Though called a city, most of it was buried underground, so it was hard to tell where the city began or what to discover first.
The expedition had been checking what they thought was the city's entrance when Basen, suspecting a guardian for an ancient ruin, moved to the city's center with a scout team.
But the guardian they found was far more dangerous than Basen had anticipated.
'Still, it's fortunate. The other scouts escaped successfully, so if the camp prepares thoroughly...'
Basen felt a chill and rolled forward.
A whip-like tail lashed over Basen's head, the snake head lunging.
The snake barely missed Basen's head and bit the tree he had been leaning against.
-Hiss!
The snake opened its mouth wide in fury, threatening him.
'Opportunity.'
One might be startled by the fist-sized snake head, but Basen instantly knew what to do to boost his survival odds.
Basen drew his sword, stabbed it into the snake's head, and slammed it down against the tree trunk.
"Aaaah!"
The manticore let out a human-like scream.
As Basen turned, he spotted the manticore already aiming for his back.
'Its movements are quiet and fast, despite that huge bulk.'
Basen fled under the stabbed snake tail.
The manticore struggled briefly with its tree-pinned tail.
Basen ran to Thione.
"You okay?"
"Reloaded?"
"Yes. Just now."
"Aim for the eyes. Fire right before it swallows us—gotta hit precisely."
"...Will that work?"
"It has to. ...It's coming."
The manticore didn't know how to remove the blade and ended up yanking its tail hard, tearing its second head in two.
The manticore stared blankly at its limp, dragging tail, then charged at Thione and Basen in rage.
"Monster! Help!"
Basen clicked his tongue at the manticore's voice.
Basen said to Thione,
"Pull the trigger when I signal."
"Got it."
"Aim..."
But Basen couldn't shout "fire."
Someone had intervened between Basen and the manticore.
"What a pathetic creature."
"...?"
The manticore seemed confused as it stared at the figure.
"A human face, lion's body, snake for a tail. Nothing truly your own."
"...Spare me?"
"Even the voice. Do you even know what you're saying?"
He was a very tall man, seemingly carrying a large load on his back—but upon closer look, it wasn't. Those were wings, rare among other races.
He was a Garuda.
The manticore clearly didn't understand the Garuda's words.
But it seemed to grasp the genuine contempt in his demeanor.
The manticore growled and raised a massive forepaw the size of a human torso.
"Movements are sluggish too."
As the Garuda raised his staff, the manticore's lifted paw thudded to the ground.
The manticore stared in confusion at its severed forepaw.
"...Die?"
"At least your last words make sense."
With that, the manticore's head slid diagonally and fell to the ground.
Its body collapsed.
The Garuda, uninterested in the manticore, turned to Basen.
Basen, who had been aiming his gun, stood and approached.
The Garuda Mazdari said,
"It's been a while, Basen."
"...Mage Mazdari? What brings you here?"
Mazdari raised a finger as if to say wait, then pulled a sealed paper from his bosom.
"An edict from His Majesty of the Heukrin Empire. In summary, it orders me to assist you."