Time goes back to one day ago.
When Sebastian arrived at the forest near the Castel mining area, the werewolf Luf, who had already learned the news, was already waiting respectfully with dozens of his most devout believers.
"The High Priest of the Blood Wolf Tribe, Luf, and his followers... greet Master Sebastian."
Luf drew a thorn rose symbol on his chest and said with a pious and respectful expression.
Sebastian glanced at the many followers behind Luf who were moving in a standard manner, and nodded slightly:
"No need to be polite, get up."
The werewolf Luf slowly stood up and signaled the other believers to stand up as well.
Then, they surrounded the dusty Sebastian and walked deep into the forest.
After passing a woodland, the view gradually widens.
Along with the noisy sound, a brand new village came into Sebastian's sight.
This is the settlement of the Blood Wolf Tribe.
No, or to be more precise, this is a settlement that worships the True Ancestor of Blood, established by the subhuman miners of the Castel Mine District and the migrating Blood Wolf Tribe.
In the settlement, there are crisscross roads and thousands of buildings scattered across the land. New wooden houses have replaced the simple tents, and walls have even been erected in all directions to defend against monsters.
In the center of the settlement, a small square was opened up, on which stood a tall altar dedicated to the holy emblem of the thorny rose.
There are many residents in the settlement, most of whom are werewolves and other sub-humans, but if you look closely, you can also see some humans.
When they saw Luf and the others passing by, they all put down their work and greeted them enthusiastically:
"Good morning, Master Priest."
"Priest, may the True Ancestor be with you..."
"… "
The werewolf Luf responded with a smile and nodded to everyone.
It was not until he brought Sebastian back to his cabin that he breathed a sigh of relief and completely relaxed.
"Lufu, it seems that you are doing well. You are becoming more and more like a real priest."
Sebastian laughed.
Luf scratched his head innocently:
"Master Sebastian, you are joking. This is all a gift from you and His Majesty the True Ancestor."
"If you hadn't taken me in, if your Majesty the True Ancestor hadn't saved me, I'm afraid that Lufu wouldn't be alive today. Not to mention Lufu, the entire Blood Wolf Tribe might have already disappeared, not to mention the opportunity to come here and build such a paradise-like village."
Sebastian nodded slightly:
"Your Majesty is indeed merciful."
After saying this, his eyes fell on the village outside the window:
"Now... How is the cult developing? How many believers does it have?"
The werewolf Luv took out a parchment scroll that he had prepared long ago, handed it to Sebastian, and said respectfully:
"As of now, the number of officially registered believers in the cult has reached 3,345, including 2,624 demihumans, 678 humans, and 43 half-elves."
"There are even half-elves?"
Sebastian looked surprised.
Werewolf Luv explained:
"They are some former half-elf slaves. After the Bold-Castel War, they escaped from the defeated noble families and came to us. They accepted our asylum and the faith of His Majesty the True Ancestor."
"As for human believers, they are mainly miners in the mining area and some refugees who fled because of the war. The church took in the refugees during the Gliss rebellion, and won the favor of many refugees and also gained a lot of supporters. Now there is also a branch of the church in Mining Silver City."
"Of course, considering the need for secrecy, the sect did not carry out large-scale missionary work in Caiyin City. The believers they chose were all true believers with clean backgrounds and firm beliefs."
After listening to the report from the werewolf Luffy, Sebastian was both satisfied and surprised.
In order to hide his identity, His Majesty the True Ancestor had always forbidden preaching in public, but even so, it was still surprising that the cult had grown from the initial one hundred or so werewolf believers to the current three thousand in less than two years.
"If it weren't for the missionary restrictions, there would be more."
"Lord Sebastian, the North is really a very suitable place for preaching. There are many non-believers who have fled from all over the world. Even the believers of the Holy Royal Court are mostly shallow believers, and their faith is not firm."
"Excuse me for being blunt, but the Lord God is too far away from mortals, but His Majesty the True Ancestor is very close. As long as His Majesty the True Ancestor can show his miracles and kindness more widely, it will not be difficult to gain more believers."
"The only thing that is restricted is probably the sensitive identity of His Majesty the True Ancestor."
"Oh, yes, there are also core teachings and priests."
"Many of the subhuman tribes have bloodline, and their belief in the True Ancestor is more like ancestor worship. It is not difficult to regain their faith, but for other non-bloodline beings, we still lack core doctrines to gain stronger centripetal force and recognition..."
"As for the priests, there are relatively few of them, and... they don't master divine arts like the priests of other sects, they just awaken some innate magic."
"Including me, there are currently 37 priests. They are all devout believers who have been recognized by His Majesty the True Ancestor and have received His Majesty's grace."
Sebastian was not surprised to hear what Lufy said.
Historically, the period of rapid expansion of any deity’s cult is the time when the deity walks the earth.
The more you communicate with believers and the more you give, the more you will naturally gain.
Although His Majesty the True Ancestor did not grant grace on a large scale, in this age when the gods were still asleep, his personal responses to the believers' prayers from time to time were already more than many gods.
As for the lack of core doctrine and priests…
Sebastian came to the mining area this time just for these two problems.
"Regarding the core doctrine... His Majesty the True Ancestor has issued an oracle that the doctrine of the cult will revolve around darkness and order."
Sebastian said.
"Darkness... and order?"
Werewolf Luf was stunned.
Sebastian smiled slightly and explained to Luffy, imitating Charlotte's explanation:
"Darkness... is the symbol of Miria's otherworldly world."
“The extraordinary world is dark, cruel, oppressive, and difficult to control, but darkness... does not mean evil.”
“Darkness represents the other side of light, and represents the irrational side of the world. Only by embracing and understanding darkness can we control darkness and control the extraordinary…”
"The blood descendants have a strict hierarchy and they value order the most. Order is also one of the key points of our Lord's faith."
"The world cannot do without order. If you control the darkness, you can bring new order to the increasingly chaotic world. With order, you can restrain the extraordinary, restrain the strong, restrain the mundane, and change the world..."
Having said this, Sebastian's expression became serious and he said in a deep voice:
"The restrainer and protector of darkness, the remodeler and maintainer of order, this is the symbol of our Lord's faith!"
"Darkness and Order..."
Werewolf Luf fell into deep thought.
After a long time, his eyes gradually brightened and he bowed deeply to Sebastian:
"Master Sebastian, Lufe has been taught."
Sebastian nodded and continued:
"As for the priests... Strictly speaking, the priests in the cult right now cannot be considered true priests. After all, His Majesty the True Ancestor was not yet ready to officially preach."
"However, things are different now. I came here this time at the instruction of His Majesty the True Ancestor. His Majesty the True Ancestor has already made the decision and is ready to let the cult officially step onto the stage of Miria."
"Officially stepping onto the Miria stage?"
Lu Fu was stunned for a moment, and then his expression brightened:
"Could it be... Could it be that the True Ancestor's power has been further restored?"
Sebastian nodded slightly and said with a smile:
“That’s understandable.”
"The master's power has further recovered, and he has also decided to officially begin preaching in the North."
"Lufu, gather the priests and believers and prepare for the prayer ceremony. I only brought the will of God, but the real missionary oracle still needs to be conveyed by the great master himself."
"Of course... this also includes the gift of God."
…
"The Supreme True Ancestor..."
"The embodiment of darkness and shadow..."
"The source of all bloodlines..."
"Your humble and pious believer, prays for a blessing..."
In front of the tall altar, the werewolf Luffy followed Sebastian and led many believers to pray to the thorny rose.
Looking at the holy emblem on the altar, Luf looked fanatical and expectant.
At the same time, Charlotte, who received the prayer, officially turned her gaze to the altar.
"Are you...ready?"
Sitting high on the Blood Throne, looking at the many believers in the "picture" with pious and expectant expressions, Charlotte's expression gradually became solemn.
As the believers prayed, she could feel her connection with them strengthening, she could hear their voices, and she could sense the power of their blood.
She could even clearly sense that every bit of blood power was converging towards her along the network of faith along with the prayers of the believers, converging in the divine fire in her chest, and being refined into the purest divine power.
The gods are shepherds.
Believers are God’s flock.
The extraordinary power is the wool that is continuously produced by the sheep.
At this moment, Charlotte had a deeper understanding of the nature of the relationship between the gods and believers in the Miriam world.
Although she had followers and formed her own cult more than a year ago, to be honest, the cult was not complete and was only a half-finished product at best.
Now that her divine power is no longer limited and she is planning to officially start her missionary work, it is time to further shape her belief system and make the sect more formal.
Thinking of this, Charlotte controlled the power of blood and spread it along the web of faith to the altar in the distance.
The next moment, the holy emblem of the thorny rose on the altar burst into a brilliant red light, and a vast and majestic will slowly descended.
Under the fanatical, shocked and excited gazes of the believers, an illusory projection appeared above the altar.
The solemn and dignified throne, the shadowy tall figure, and the gorgeous and mysterious golden-red eyes hidden behind the crimson mist.
It was Charlotte who sat on the Blood Throne in an "adult posture".