Goblin Dependency Chapter 715: 358: Priest and Wooden Staff

Capítulo 715: Chapter 358: Priest and Wooden Staff

Xia Nan was, of course, familiar with the Holy Emblem before him.

His experiences in Kalanfor and Neum City had elevated the knowledge of this world’s deities nearly to the highest priorities during his urgent cramming of Otherworld information.

The “Holy Emblem,” as the visual connection between mortals and gods, a symbolized divine mark, was an essential part of what he had to master.

He might not be able to recite the evolutionary process of every Holy Emblem, the specific symbolic anings of their patterns or the stories behind them.

But when it ca to simply identifying the great entities they represented through their Holy Emblems, Xia Nan prided himself on being unlikely to mistake any of the major deities of the Aifala Continent.

Presently, the Holy Emblem on the tightly shut doors of the church in front, featuring a “rosebud surrounded by the morning sun,” certainly fell within his knowledge.

— [Agriculture Goddess] Shang Tiya.

She presided over divine domains including: “agriculture,” “crops,” “gardeners,” and “sumr,” among others.

In different regions of the continent, due to related legends and customs, she was also known by titles such as [Mother of Earth], [Guardian of the Wild], and [Grain Goddess].

A deity with an extrely widespread belief domain.

To so extent, from the North’s Frost Moss Land to the South’s Sea Islands, as long as planting crops is needed and any attempt at sowing is made, interaction with this deity’s divine domain is unavoidable.

Almost all farrs on the great Aifala Continent could be considered her lay followers.

After all, who wouldn’t wish for a bountiful harvest the following year from their laboriously tilled lands?

Perhaps influenced by the domains they govern, deities often exhibit personality traits aligning to a certain degree with their realms.

Just like the lively, playful [Goddess of Fortune] Taimola; the passionate and optimistic, full of energy [Lord of the Dawn] Losanda.

Shang Tiya, as the Agriculture Goddess overseeing sowing and harvesting, with domains involving “family” and “hearth,” was a mighty deity affectionately given the suffix “Mother” by her followers.

Her own nature, in a few rare divine manifestation events, tended to be charitable and serene.

Common in various stories and widely spread imagery, she appeared as a middle-aged woman full of life experience, with a kindly and gentle deanor.

Under such circumstances, the conduct of her affiliated sects and the behavior of priests who believed in this deity often mirrored their revered “Great Mother,” filled with patience and a willingness to selflessly contribute to matters of the land, offering help to farrs.

In so remote regions, priests from small chapels even worked alongside local villagers in the fields, using their Divine Arts to aid crop growth and increase yields or imparting the more efficient farming techniques and crop knowledge they learned in the Church to farrs without charge.

Their reputation was quite positive.

For Xia Nan, equipped with this knowledge, upon realizing the identity of the deity represented by the Sheep Horn Town church, he felt an involuntary sense of relief.

Though he couldn’t understand why sothing overtly malevolent like a pink Jadestone, with its evident Spirit Charm effect, could have spread so widely in town despite the presence of a church and priests.

Nonetheless, since the town’s priest was a follower of the [Agriculture Goddess] “Shang Tiya,” things shouldn’t deteriorate further.

Perhaps he might even receive so assistance from them.

He certainly wasn’t ignoring the possibility of a more extre scenario and had even braced himself for the worst outco.

But before matters escalated to such a point, Xia Nan felt he needed more information regarding this small town and the gemstone currently circulating within it.

His gaze swept over the tightly shut church door, his brows slightly furrowed.

Coincidentally, the chatter from a few farmwives by the square drifted into his ears with the wind.

His interest piqued, he considered asking them for so information.

Yet he recalled the notion that “Intimidation” might be more effective than “Persuasion.”

He paused, his deanor turning a shade darker, enhanced by his fully ard, dark-toned armor equipnt, and his naturally sharp, cold features lent a suffocating sense of pressure.

But after taking only a step, observing the few farmwives chatting amicably, Xia Nan hesitated.

Ultimately, he silently withdrew his imposing aura.

“Forget it; perhaps later I can try to find so hooligans or gang mbers in the streets and attempt ‘Intimidation’ or ‘physical persuasion,'” he thought.

Xia Nan stood there, adjusted his breathing, and toned down his aura, striving to appear less aggressive, like an ordinary passing adventurer.

With a polite smile on his face, he approached.

“Good day, ladies.” He stopped a few steps away, giving a slight nod to them. “The weather today is truly cool and pleasant.”

The won looked up, scrutinizing this suddenly sociable, dark-haired adventurer, a flash of appraisal for the stranger in their eyes, but seeing his friendly deanor, they relaxed slightly.

Among them, the older one, her face weathered by the elents, was the first to respond:

“Good day, sir.”

“You’re right; as the goddess shelters us, not only is the produce excellent every year, but there are rarely any threats from Demons and such on ordinary days.”