novelraw Chapter 110: Noah
Chapter 110: Noah
"Master Mentor, welcome to the Kingdom of Gonia."
Loren was already accustomed to being greeted upon arrival whenever he stepped out of a carriage.
Those who came to greet him were people from the Church of Pain. They were called "Sufferers," a local specialty troop similar to the Scarecrows, but different in that they showed their faces. Therefore, Loren could also see their faces, ravaged to the point of being unsightly.
Unlike the commoners who gained happiness by losing the sense of pain, the Sufferers were the exact opposite. They obtained power by experiencing extreme pain.
The leading Sufferer had no eyelids or lips. His nose and ears had been sliced off, and many needles were embedded in his eyeballs. Just looking at him made Loren feel a wave of pain.
That wasn't all. A row of fishhooks hung from his arms, with fishing lines dragging casually on the ground. If they snagged on something, the consequences would be unthinkable.
"I'm only staying here for a short while. I'll be heading to the Kingdom of Anselm soon. Please help arrange the itinerary."
Anselm was a nation that worshipped the God of Vows and Wind, and it was also the rendezvous point Loren had agreed upon with Mara.
In the Kingdom of Gonia, Loren's reputation still carried weight. The Church of Pain would also do their utmost to serve Loren, all to curry his favor.
"Please wait in the inn for a moment. We will make the arrangements immediately."The Sufferers had already prepared a carriage and a room for Loren in advance. Even Laila was starting to get used to this kind of treatment. The current Laila had become the type of person she used to despise the most.
Loren and the others boarded the carriage. Here, carriages were a rare sight. What they used more often were rickshaws.
Not the kind of rickshaw pulled by a person, but literally using people to pull the carriage. Here, people were much cheaper than horses.
Loren had just seen a passing rickshaw where the person pulling it had half of his foot worn away. Such injuries were nothing major. Followers of the God of Pain had strong regenerative abilities. As long as they weren't missing arms or legs, most wounds would heal on their own overnight.
Their faces were all beaming with happy smiles. They could only see how much money their hard work had earned, completely unable to feel the immense pain they endured for it.
In a sense, the scenes here were even more unsettling than those in Bardo.
"I feel the territory of the God of Bountiful Harvest is actually quite nice."
Having witnessed the scenes of another country yet again, Anna felt even the Kingdom of Gedlan had become more beautiful. At the very least, the majority of people in Gedlan were still normal.
"That's true. Over in Gedlan, even though they don't treat people as human, at least people still resemble humans."
Loren looked at a Sufferer escorting them outside the carriage window. She had shaved her head and embedded a spiked iron chain into her skull as a substitute for hair. Her face was covered in dense, tightly-packed wounds.
Faced with Loren's open criticism right in front of her, the Sufferer did not react at all. Loren was not someone she could afford to offend.
Anna and the others just took one glance out the window and couldn't bear to keep their eyes open. Tragedies were everywhere here.
"The highest level of cruelty is not even recognizing it as cruelty."
Loren looked out the window and sighed with emotion. Then, he turned and said to the coachman:
"Take us to the church first."
Loren's thinking was simple: since they were already here, they might as well get a blessing from the God of Pain. Although it wouldn't help him much, there was no reason not to take it if it was offered.
Going to kill the gods while carrying the blessings of the gods would also satisfy a bit of Loren's mischievous taste.
"Of course! I'll take you there right away!"
Hearing Loren's request, both the coachman and the Sufferer acting as guard felt incredibly overjoyed.
They had heard the story: it was when Loren visited the Plague Church to pay his respects that he sang a Hymn, causing a qualitative transformation for the Plague Church.
The already powerful Bountiful Church was one thing, but the relatively weaker Church of Pain truly felt the pressure. If the God of Plague decided to make a move, the first to suffer would be the God of Pain.
If Loren could compose a Hymn for them as well, the pressure on the Church of Pain would lessen considerably.
"Thank you for your trouble."
Loren gave a polite reply. He didn't actually plan to compose a Hymn. The benefits weren't that great, and there was a risk of aiding the enemy. What Loren intended to do was simply go and obtain the blessing.
Upon learning Loren was going to the church, the coachman became very enthusiastic, driving noticeably faster. Soon, Loren arrived at the cathedral of the Church of Pain.
The architectural style of the Church of Pain was extremely bizarre. It was roughly similar to Gothic architecture, but the walls were covered in various irregular spikes, even with several corpses hanging from them. Severed limbs and body parts were scattered everywhere.
Sacrificial rituals were frequently held here. The method of sacrifice was also simple: torture the offering on the altar as much as possible, making them experience extreme pain. Therefore, there were also considerably more people using Crimson Magic here than elsewhere. Eldrin's magic also originated from here.
"I'll go by myself. You all stay in the carriage for now."
The scenes inside the church were even more terrifying than outside. Loren still wanted to protect their eyes a bit.
Led by the Sufferer, Loren entered the church. Many people were already praying inside.
The people praying were of two types. One type were shallow believers with weak faith, simply chanting hymns.
The other type were much more devout. At this time, they would double their sense of pain. They would chant hymns while making themselves feel as much pain as possible, thereby pleasing the God of Pain.
There was one prerequisite for all this: the pain could only be pain. Therefore, Mirrorheart could never succeed in prayer in this lifetime.
A group of people knelt inside the cathedral. A man in a white robe in the very center was exceptionally devout. Only a little white remained on his white robe;
the rest was already stained red with blood.
His body was covered in instruments of torture. Even needles were stuffed under his fingernails. The man repeatedly banged his head against the ground, blood splattering everywhere. The gazes of the surrounding believers looking at him were also full of awe.
The man's hair was a deathly pale white, completely different from Naclis's silvery-white hair. An aura of death emanated from the man. This despair, coming from the depths of his heart, was even enough to infect those around him.
And this man looked very familiar to Loren. He walked forward and took a look at the man's face.
"As I thought..."
Loren did indeed know this man. His name was Noah, the very same follower of the Goddess of Love who perished together with the God of Confusion in the game. At this moment, he clearly had not yet become a follower of the Goddess of Love. He was still trying to use the power of the God of Pain to alleviate his own suffering.
Noah's experiences could be summarized very simply. Two words were enough.
Simp. A simp who only started simping after the goddess died.
Loren didn't really like him, but keeping Noah alive now was useful. If he could go and kill the God of Confusion, Loren's plans would proceed much more smoothly.