Chapter 347: Change This Era

Once Lu Zhiyu finished the arrangement of the astral world, he turned his focus back to Maria's World. Until this moment, all the seeds of god in Maria's World had become gods. They had started to control the rules of the world, perfected the system of the world, and continued to perfect the prototype of the World Tree.

"Eleven gods sitting on their divine thrones, it seems the astral world has become quite lively all of a sudden."

Maria's World was bathed in divine light as all the gods entered their divine kingdoms. As for the remaining gods' names, because of their particularity, there was now much more uncertainty, and it was more difficult for one to become a god. Therefore, there were not many choices left for the remaining seeds of god. Lynn Ahenaten would prefer to compete with Felix for the name "God of Earth," rather than choose any of the remaining gods' names. That spoke volumes.

"The human civilization is now facing drastic changes. Maybe some seeds of god with potential will be born," said Lu Zhiyu. He looked at the internal changes happening in Maria's World and became lost in his thoughts. There were 17 god names in total, with 6 available to be filled. He would wait to see if any potential candidates for true gods would be born in this new age.

—

The Hollyma Kingdom was in the south of the Alen Continent, consisting of dozens of various kingdoms. Belief in the Master of the Night had prevailed in the Hollyma Kingdom for over a century. The Church of Light, which considered itself to be the center of the world, called the Hollyma Kingdom "the alien land." The conflict between the Church of Light and the Church of the Dark Night had been going on for over a century.

There was also some friction between the Kingdom of Rosa d'Oro and the Hollyma Kingdom from time to time. Battle airships from both kingdoms could be seen engaging in firefights in the sky now and then. Civilians of both kingdoms read news about border conflicts all the time. The Hollyma Kingdom's battle airship fleet would appear above the Kingdom of Rosa d'Oro, the Kingdom of Rosa d'Oro would hit a trade airship of the Hollyma Kingdom, and so on.

"Reporting all this useless information all the time! It's not like there is an actual war! Nothing but squabbles! Those fat nobles of Hollyma are a bunch of morons, and the royal family of Rosa d'Oro are cowards!" Frank said. He was sitting on the couch in the Alva All-You-Need Store, reading the latest newspaper, and criticizing the current politics and policies of both kingdoms. Frank was a former history student in the Hollyma Seminary who had a great face and wore a pair of glasses. He was rather outspoken in the seminary, and he held very unique views on current politics and history. However, after he gave a bold speech on the origin of the Master of the Night and their identity at the seminary, he was immediately expelled.

Frank's teacher regarded him as an idealist with great gifts and intelligence. It seemed to be a compliment, but his schoolmates preferred to call him 'Daydreamer Frank.'

Alva, who was one of Frank's close friends, was mixing potions in the Alva All-You-Need Store. He said sarcastically, "I think that's my paper you're reading. Coming here for food and a newspaper every day. Such a carefree and relaxing life you have!"

"You think I have anywhere else that I can go? I've got no money, so I can only come to you!" Frank said.

"Making such a strong case for freeloading. I yield. Just say you were wrong and apologize to the seminary. You could easily become clergy with your talent. Maybe you could even become a bishop or something in ten years. Or even the Pope of the Church of the Dark Night!" Alva said.

"No!" Frank rejected the idea.

"Then just go to another country. There are loads of opportunities in the three churches, the Church of the Light, the Faith of the Sun, and the Temple of Sky. Or go be an adventurer with the Ruler of the Sea of Storms. I've even got some connections to get you into the Church of the Goddess of Steam and Mechanics!" said Alva.

"Humph! Go back? I'll never go back to those vampires. They only know money, fraud, and dirty deals. Priests at the Church of the Dark Night are all liars. They lie to those humble civilians to satisfy their own desires for luxury and extravagance!" said Frank.

Alva was an alchemy warlock. Though he talked about the Goddess of Steam and Mechanics all the time, he had never been a believer. He was an alchemy warlock of some renown in Biketo, the capital city of the Hollyma Kingdom. His alchemy shop had a bold name, the Alva All-You-Need Store.

Alva was a pale, slim young man the same age as Frank. They were both geniuses born with great mind powers and gifts. However, geniuses were always quirky, unsociable, and eccentric. They were two weirdos who appreciated each other and became close.

Alva shrugged and said, "I don't think things are that bad!"

Frank objected, "Not for the clergy and saints! But this is a terrible time for civilians and average people!"

Alva spoke his mind, "Minority leading the majority. Isn't that quite common?"

Frank slapped the newspaper on the table in anger, "It's not about the minority leading the majority. It's the less than 1 percent leading the more than 99 percent. Take a look at the streets. Civilians have become slaves to the clergy, exploited and used! To become a saint, you need to enter the seminaries of the churches. To become an apprentice in an alchemy workshop, you need to be a clergy under the Goddess of Steam and Mechanics. To be noble or royal, you need to be a descendant of the gods. To use any alchemy tools, you need to be a saint or clergy. Clergy drive steam locomotives. Clergy operate airships. Clergy repair alchemy tools. Clergy control water towers, alchemy, road lamps, and the city systems. Clergy of the Ruler of the Sea of Storms are the adventurers who set sail on alchemy ships. Clergy of the Goddess of Harvest create high yields and great harvests. Everything needs clergy."

"Some morons had the audacity to say that common civilians are useless. They forgot that their ancestors were common civilians. They were just common people borrowing the gods' power. Look at those poor workers in the slums, they work day and night, but get nothing in return but scars and illness. Look at those farmers who reap harvests but still have to sell their children. Herders who freeze to death in their flimsy clothes in winter. They cannot survive without or resist the power of clergy and the divine system, so their lives end in tragic deaths without any chance for accusation or revolt. It's a terrifying world with no hope. We are all pigs trapped inside the pigsty."

Alva nodded. He could understand how horrific these things were for common people, even though he did not pay much attention to the outside world. Alva said, "As the divine system becomes more perfected, and clergy push the entire world forward, the power of common civilian diminishes. They are left with no choice but to be controlled and exploited by clergy."

Frank nodded earnestly and said, "So, we need to change this era!"

Alva looked at Frank in shock. He put down a half-completed alchemy box and asked, "Change the era? How? No way! Are you... are you going to throw gods off of their thrones, high up in the clouds? Eliminate all clergy?"

Frank looked at Alva as if he was an idiot and said, "I may be an idealist, but not a lunatic! For god's sake, I am saying that we should fight for common civilians and help them get back their future and profit so that everyone can be a part of this era. It should not just be an era for the 1 percent clergy and gods; it should be an era for all, including the common 99 percent!"