Chapter 448 Gods Are Not Just (8400, First Update)

Holy Flame Continent, Twilight City.

Elemental Calendar, Year 307, June 24th—the last Monday of June.

Which is to say, the monthly Judgment Day.

At 1:25 p.m., after making sure there wasn't a single stain on his priestly robes, Aemon, who had prepared everything, picked up his Catechism, left his room, and went downstairs.

"Leaving already, Divine Official?"

When he arrived on the first floor of the inn, he heard a familiar female voice. It was the proprietress speaking, an old woman wiping wine bottles at the counter.

When she was young, she had been a guest at this inn, but fifty years ago, she was attracted by the current owner's superb fishing skills, and after a series of stories, she became the mistress of this inn. The white-haired old woman smiled and said to Aemon, "Are you preparing to go to the square now? The old man was planning to wait for you to go together, but the children at home were too enthusiastic and couldn't wait, so he left first."

"Yes, madam. To witness the judgment is the natural duty of us believers of the Lord of Judgment, and the children's enthusiasm is a good thing."

Aemon smiled and bowed to the proprietress with his hands clasped. After paying his rent for the day, he walked out of the door.

Outside the inn, the sky over Twilight City was gloomy and dark, with fine rain falling, but the warm air of the summer seaside did not make the rain cold, but rather added a touch of coolness to the humid atmosphere.

"My Lord..."

Twilight City was shrouded in a dim rain, but Aemon, who had just stepped out of the door, couldn't help but lower his head.

Because in front of him was an existence he could not look directly at, a 'god' whose face he could not gaze upon.

When Aemon saw the Lord of Judgment, whose presence was far more dazzling than the sun, appear before him without any warning, and neither the inn proprietress nor the passing pedestrians seemed to see anything, he was not surprised.

【——The Sacred Words of the Lord of Judgment say: The Lord is as just as He is omnipresent. All that is done will be known.】

People should fear God and despise crime, because God knows everything. All sins will be reckoned in the end.

"It is precisely because the Lord is omnipresent, watching everyone, and is the witness of all sins in the world, that punishment is effective and justice can be guaranteed."

Repeating the contents of the Catechism in his heart, Aemon heard the voice of the Lord at this moment.

"Let's go."

A single, brief word, yet it seemed to shake the soul. Although Aemon still couldn't see the Lord's face, the humble divine official could feel that, compared to before, the Lord's tone was more solemn and more heart-palpitating.

And this indescribable sense of majesty flattened the trace of doubt in his heart... Yes, this is what the Lord should be. If He were too kind, how could the authority of the Lord of Punishment be guaranteed?

"Please allow me to lead you to the place of judgment."

He replied.

Thus, Aemon walked with God towards the square.

-Twilight City, Square-

Crowds gathered around the execution platform in the square. A semi-transparent, semi-circular rain cover had already been activated to block the slight drizzle of the day.

It was Monday noon. A small number of people continued to work for the sake of the city's normal operation, but the vast majority of people, especially believers of the Lord of Judgment, came to the square. Tens of thousands of people abandoned their work and gathered around the execution ground, forming a sea of people.

But unlike the usual festivals, this sea of people was not noisy. In the heavy atmosphere, everyone kept silent and did not whisper.

Apart from the faint sound of rain, everything remained quiet.

And in the center of this crowd, on the execution platform in the center of the square, a middle-aged man in white and gold divine official robes had just taken the stage. He had a long beard that reached his chest, and his body was filled with a warm light. He held the long draft of the pronouncement that would be recited before each trial.

Grollo, the High Priest of the Twilight City Holy Temple.

A Chosen One.

"In addition to his own power, there is the power of another being on him. His soul is very strong."

Aemon heard the Lord beside him evaluate Grollo, and he couldn't help but feel happy for the old man—what a great honor and recognition to be praised by the Lord? If Grollo knew this, he would surely be delighted.

As for the other being... naturally. The cultivators of the Holy Flame Continent, in addition to the power they forged with their beliefs, also held the power of God.

Purifying the soul, sublimating the belief, and using it as the center to condense the power of the elements, can control fire, wind, thunder, and even the rotation of all things and all elements in the world—this is the common step for all cultivators on the Holy Flame Continent, to purify and sublimate their souls. And at the first level of the Chosen One, their souls can even be so strong that they transcend the flesh, briefly unite with the elements, and control nature to fight.

In addition, the gods will also bestow a portion of their divine power to give the many priests even greater power.

It is said that if one reaches the realm of the God-Blessed, the soul of the cultivator will even have some characteristics similar to the Soul of Origin. At that time, they may even receive God's blessing, act on behalf of God's authority, directly control the celestial phenomena of nature, drive away natural disasters, and protect one side.

"Unfortunately, I just can't become a Chosen One."

However, when he thought that his strength was still only at the level of Revelation, Aemon couldn't help but sigh—this was probably the confusion and inner demon in his heart. Aemon couldn't help but want to question the Lord, and even when the Lord was by his side, he couldn't completely believe it, and always couldn't help but doubt.

His faith was not devout enough, that was certain, even if he had memorized the entire Code.

"Therefore, I wanted to go to the Land of Divine Descent, to get closer to the Lord in this way... And now, the Lord is by my side, this is the best opportunity to follow His path and dispel the confusion in my heart."

At this time, on the judgment platform, the long speech was about to end.

"...Therefore, the Lord bestows upon us fire, illuminates the darkness, and names all things in the world, establishes rules, precepts, and covenants. We live in the world not by the grace of the Lord, but by the way of the Lord."

"Grace is not always available, but righteousness lasts forever. The love of the Lord is bestowed upon the world through His way. Those who turn away from the way abandon the love of the Lord and reject the path of righteousness. They walk on the wrong path and enter the path of evil."

"Waiting for those who walk on the wrong path is only the punishment of the Lord of Judgment."

Using this paragraph as the conclusion before the verdict, High Priest Grollo took back the long draft and solemnly announced, "The Judgment begins!"

Then, he stepped down and began the process of judgment.

The order of judging the sinners was random, not based on the severity of their crimes.

And the first person to be brought to the judgment platform was a male criminal who 'abused his family'.

A divine official of the Revelation level stood in front of the platform, while two knights escorted the sinner from below the platform to the platform. The divine official swore to the three Lords that his words were not false, but were 'sacred testimonies' obtained by the Holy Temple after several investigations and inquiries from all witnesses. Then, he began to state the crimes of this criminal.

"This person is an alcoholic, has repeatedly beaten his wife, has repeatedly attempted to abuse his children, punched his neighbor when the neighbor tried to stop him, and still resisted after the Holy Church knights arrived, and was finally arrested by everyone working together."

"The Catechism says: You shall love your family. Those who do not love their family cannot love others, and this deviates from the way of God."

The divine official who pronounced the testimony was a local believer of the Lord of Judgment in Twilight City. He was very young, only in his early twenties, and his voice was loud and full of vitality: "The apostate, Boro, violated the precept for the first time, apologized and admitted his mistake, and guaranteed not to commit it again."

"He violated the precept for the second time, compensated and repented, and was forgiven by his family."

"This time, he violated the precept for the third time, and his sin is unforgivable. Therefore, the Holy Church declares that he is deprived of his rights as a father and husband. His wife does not have to love him, and his children do not have to support him in the future. From today onwards, he must pay money every month to his wife and children to compensate for their upbringing. If he does not work and has no money, the Holy Church will forcibly supervise him to perform labor, and the Holy Temple will be responsible for the cost of upbringing."

"Good!"

After hearing this verdict, a unified cheer rang out from the originally silent square—at this moment, tens of thousands of people raised their hands together, all of them giving a thumbs up and shouting loudly, "The way of justice has been revealed!"

This was to express their agreement.

All those who came to witness this pronouncement and judgment were witnesses and notaries. If they felt that the pronouncement was wrong, they would raise objections. If they felt that the pronouncement was fair, they would applaud and agree. In other words, they were responsible for this judgment.

"Good, everything should not exceed three times, this kind of person should indeed be punished."

And Aemon, who also raised his hand and gave a thumbs up, noticed that the Lord also raised his hand and earnestly cheered.

At this, the divine official couldn't help but feel happy for the Lord's recognition, and then wrote this down.

Everything should not exceed three times, which is indeed one of the precepts left by the Lord. People are not gods, nor are they perfect creations. Making mistakes is common, this is common sense.

Small mistakes can be apologized for, and losses can be compensated for. And if you violate the code, it is not without room for maneuver. As long as it is not a serious crime, the first punishment will be relatively light.

Only truly unforgivable crimes will have no room for maneuver, and even if it is the first time, they will be subject to absolute punishment.

For example...

At this time, with the notarization of everyone, this criminal named Boro, who abused his family, had already signed the Holy Church's contract and was escorted away from the judgment platform by the knights, dejectedly.

And the second person was a thief.

——This is a truly unforgivable crime.

"Theft?"

At this time, Aemon heard the Lord's words again. He seemed to be puzzled: "In this world, can there still be theft?"

Aemon felt that he could guess one or two of what the Lord was thinking.

Indeed, according to the code set by the Lords for the Fire Folk, as long as people are willing to take action, then they will never fall to the point where they need to steal—as long as they state that they have difficulties, have no food to eat, or urgently need a job, then everyone will help them. There is no reason for crime in this world.

However, it should be noted that you don't have to agree to a request for help. The person being asked for help can completely refuse reasonably.

After all, asking for help is different from begging. When asking for help, the person asking for help must state their future rewards, for example, before borrowing money or food from someone, they must repay a larger share than before, up to three times. If the person being asked for help is not satisfied with this share, then there is no need to respond.

And begging is a sin for healthy people. People should use work to exchange for money, and anyone with healthy hands must go to work. And ordinary people have no need to give alms. Only the Holy Church has the obligation to respond to beggars.

"The Lord is probably didn't expect the inferiority of human nature—before the punishment arrives, no one knows how terrible the punishment is. Many people cannot empathize with the pain of being punished, so they have no awe of the educational code."

Thinking so, Aemon couldn't help but shake his head slightly—that's why the Catechism says that everyone should watch the pronouncement process once a year if necessary. In this way, everyone can know through execution how terrible it is to deviate from the way of God.

This thief is a typical example of someone who has no awe of the code. He was originally a fisherman living in the suburbs of Twilight City, but he was tired of the daily hard work at sea. A few days ago, he didn't go to sea, there was no catch, and his family ran out of food. So, while his neighbor went to the port to inquire about news about the divine descent, he stole a sheep raised by his neighbor.

He originally wanted to disguise this theft as a wild beast attack, but a passerby noticed it and reported it to the Holy Church, and he was caught on the spot—when he was caught, he still wanted to escape, but how could ordinary people outrun the knights? Naturally, he was brought back.

"The thief's hands are cut off."

"Good!"

A direct pronouncement immediately caused a chorus of 'good'! of approval. Everyone present gave a thumbs up, righteously and angrily agreeing: "The way of justice has been revealed!"

——The heart of a person who starts stealing is full of filth. This kind of person doesn't want to work with their hands, doesn't want to repay other people's help, and only thinks about getting something for nothing.

Since this is the case, since the criminal does not want to work, then take back their hands, so that they will never be able to work in the future, and will never be able to steal.

As for what will happen to the thief in the future after losing their hands, no one cares. Criminals have no human rights, especially those who have committed unforgivable crimes, and are not within the scope of the code's protection.

The knight raised his knife and dropped it, and the criminal's hands fell to the ground at the wrists. Afterwards, the divine official immediately cast a spell to stop the bleeding and heal the wound.

But this time, the Lord did not give a thumbs up in agreement.

The Lord didn't say a word, but Aemon could feel that the atmosphere around the Lord was a little subtly heavy. He seemed to want to say something, but it was difficult to say.

"In this place where you can just ask for help, you still have to commit crimes, it's not wrong to have your hands cut off."

Until the end, Aemon heard the Lord's murmur after a light sigh.

And this made the gray-haired divine official confused.

Wronged?

How can such an undoubted crime be said to be wronged?

There have been no robberies or murderers recently—after all, with the Lord of Judgment present, even the pirates dare not kill people on the shore, let alone in a big city like Twilight City.

And after the thief, several more verdicts were handed down on criminals who had committed relatively minor crimes.

For example, 'using bad ingredients to cause customers to have diarrhea'. 'The workmanship and materials used are not up to standard, and the quality of the goods is low'. There were also crimes such as 'hanging up a sign for venison, but actually selling mutton,' and 'selling dead fish as live fish'.

The punishment that these criminals will receive is nothing more than several times the compensation to the victims, and letting them guarantee in front of everyone that there will be no next time—if they commit the crime again next time, then they will be deprived of the right to work in this area, and may even have scars branded on their faces, receive lifelong shame, and may even be refused entry to the temple to pray.

For these, Aemon saw that the Lord also gave a thumbs up, expressing his agreement.

The process of judgment was very fast. What took the longest time was explaining what mistakes the criminals had committed. After about an hour, no more criminals were escorted up to the judgment platform.

"Is it over?"

Aemon heard the Lord say this. His tone sounded a little subtle.

"How can it be?"

Aemon thought that the Lord was a little dissatisfied and was testing himself again, so he hurriedly explained: "These are just crimes that have already been in the code. For them, it's just verdicts and punishments."

"And the real top priority is those acts that are not stipulated in the code, but are considered by everyone to be crimes—the judgments made on those acts are the real 'trials'!"

Speaking of this, the divine official couldn't help but clasp his hands together and say piously: "The trial presided over by the Lord of Judgment, by you!"

And at this moment, some changes took place on the platform.

First of all, someone began to add firewood to the bottom of the pyre, to add ropes to the cross, and next to the beheading frame, there were knights checking whether its operation was good...

Then, with the presiding divine official's announcement, everyone in the square became quiet again.

"The trial begins."

This time, the person who was escorted onto the platform by the knights was an old man with disheveled hair and a thin body.

"This person suffers from liver disease. He does not seek a cure, nor does he live alone outside the city. Instead, he has repeatedly tried to mix into the market and spit saliva on the food being sold, intending to spread the disease to others. In addition, this person..."

After saying what this criminal had done, the divine official said solemnly: "The Lord of Fire is above, there has never been such an evil act in the Catechism. There is no judgment in it for this crime, so now, we will hold a trial."

And Aemon noticed that the Lord had already been moved when the divine official on the platform was halfway through speaking.

"Shouldn't this kind of person just be killed directly?"

At this, Aemon first nodded, and then shook his head helplessly: "Lord, you can judge this person, but for us mortals, we do not have this right."

"The Catechism does not write how to treat him, so we cannot make a judgment on his crime... So, we can only pray."

"Pray?"

"Yes, pray to you."

Saying this, Aemon turned his head, closed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and prayed to the skinny old man tied to the cross on the platform.

"Oh, Lord of Judgment—"

Not only Aemon, but at this moment, tens of thousands of people in the entire square all looked at the person on the judgment platform, closed their eyes, clasped their hands together, and prayed in unison.

"Inflict punishment on the sinner!"

Praying like this, everyone then raised their hands, and as tens of thousands of Twilight City residents moved their thumbs down with force, they shouted in unison, "Punishment! Oh, Lord! Punish him!"

——In this world, as long as someone prays to the immortal Lord of Judgment, asking Him to punish the evil sinners, then the Lord of Judgment will inflict a heavenly punishment on the criminal according to the severity of their crime.

This punishment may not necessarily have a response immediately, but the more people who pray, the faster the response will be. And if this person's crime exceeds a certain limit, the heavenly punishment will not only be a punishment, but an endless cycle of death and retribution.

Therefore, the Lord of Judgment is also known as the God of Thunder, the God of Judgment, and the Ruler of Punishment. It is also meant to be the God of Heavenly Punishment who judges everyone in the world after the end of the world.

At this moment, while everyone was praying, Su Zhou stared at the skinny old man on the platform.

He could sense that the old man had no regrets in his heart, but was just annoyed that he had not spread his pain to more people.

——Anyway, I won't live long, I want all of you to taste my pain!

Such crazy thoughts proved that the divine official's previous pronouncement was not false, and even had some reservations.

"Does this still need a trial? Such obvious crimes!"

Thinking in his heart, suddenly, Su Zhou suddenly sensed that among the endless power of will entangled in himself and the personal space, a power of will suddenly activated—it connected to himself, as if it was praying to himself for a portion of power.

【Punishment... Judgment... Inflict heavenly punishment on sinners...】

Such information was revealed vaguely in that power of will, and Su Zhou could be sure that the source of these powers of will was the tens of thousands of Twilight City people around him.

"...Let's try it."

After hesitating for a while, Su Zhou frowned slightly, and finally tried to send a portion of his power to that power of will.

Immediately, slight lightning flashed around the youth's body, and then gradually disappeared into nothingness.

"This?!"

And Aemon noticed the abnormality on the Lord's body beside him. He opened his eyes and saw the flashing cyan-blue arc, and his heart was shocked: "Did He really respond? Is this God's response?"

But before he could think about it carefully, in an instant, above the firmament, in the sky with rolling dark clouds, an invisible force began to gather.

In an instant, a strong flash of light burst out from the flowing clouds in the sky, followed by rumbling thunder—the people in the square, including the divine official, all looked up in horror. They all saw a cyan-blue thunder light hanging straight down and striking the criminal bound on the cross on the judgment platform.

——The True Method of the Five Extremes Divine Thunder!

Su Zhou could sense that the power of this thunderbolt, which was formed from a portion of his own power mixed with the power of will, was exactly the same as the power of the Divine Thunder True Method that he was good at—and in the real and undeniable bombardment of the thunderbolt, the criminal on the cross was directly electrocuted into coke and died on the spot.

"...The Lord of Judgment is above... There is no need for such a big thunderbolt at all. We only need a little sign, a little thunder, or a little electric light, and we will hang him..."

Although he thought so in his heart, in reality, Aemon felt extremely happy. Not only that, but the doubts in his heart had almost completely disappeared—if this could not prove that the existence in front of him was the Lord he admired, then what else could prove it?

And in fact, it was so.

At the first moment the thunderbolt struck, the entire square was silent. Everyone just stared blankly at the cross that had already burned up, and the coke on it that had begun to turn into dust, without saying a word.

But then, a tsunami-like sound of ecstatic praise rang out.

"Oh oh oh!! It's a miracle! It's a miracle!"

"Our Lord has responded! This is judgment, a real judgment!"

"Not only that, but it's a thunder punishment! The most sacred and most solemn heavenly punishment!"

In just an instant, almost everyone in the entire square knelt down and worshiped at the place where the thunder light struck, the small judgment platform—that was worship, worship of this thunder light, of this sacred punishment.

Even the divine official in charge of the pronouncement knelt on the ground. He shouted with incomparable joy: "This is the basis of the code! Our Lord has responded to us!"

"Quick! Where is the recorder?! Take it with the photo crystal! We want to send this scene to the central Holy Church, this is a 'miracle' that can speed up the application of the Code of Conduct!"

The divine official couldn't help but be serious and happy—thunder punishment is an extremely sacred and clear proof of judgment for the humans of this reincarnation world. With such a miracle as an example, then this crime of 'deliberately spreading the plague' has God's endorsement. The next time the eighteenth book of the Catechism is written, this crime will be written into the Catechism and become a new example.

"What is there to kneel for?! Does this kind of person need God to judge?"

Frowning tightly, Su Zhou stood in place. He glanced at the people who were still kneeling and praying, and while feeling absurd in his heart, he also felt a subtle sensation.

He could sense that the power of will that was pouring towards him had increased a lot in an instant—it was like all thoughts returning to one, and while it brought him a certain amount of power, it also made the power of the shackles heavier.

However, Su Zhou didn't want to refuse... Since these people had asked him for help, and were still praying for that kind of sinner to be punished, Su Zhou definitely had to respond.

After all, if he didn't take action, and as a result, there was no heavenly punishment, and this person escaped punishment, what should he do? He couldn't stand this kind of thing the most.

Prayers for miracles are long, but they will eventually end.

As the divine official took the lead in getting up, ordering the knight to clean up the coke ashes of the previous criminal, the other ordinary people in the square also stood up one after another in silence, waiting for the next trial.

And the criminal who was escorted up this time made Su Zhou feel even more inexplicable.

They were a couple, probably husband and wife. Their clothes were very particular, and at a glance, they were not ordinary people, and their family property was rich.

And according to the divine official, this couple were engineers at a shipyard. The 'crime' they committed was driving a new type of steamship out to sea to explore an island not far from Twilight City.

"What kind of crime is this?!"

Su Zhou was shocked on the spot—he never expected that this kind of thing could be equated with the previous incident of 'deliberately spreading the plague' and let himself judge it.

However, he heard Aemon beside him shake his head and say: "No, my Lord, only the believers of the God of Wind can do this for exploring the ocean islands by driving sailboats and fishing boats."

"But this time, they were driving a new type of steamship. It is not written in the Code, so we need God's ruling to determine whether this is a crime."

To be honest, Su Zhou couldn't understand the logic of people in this world at all sometimes... First of all, let's not talk about the fact that only believers of the God of Wind can explore. Since driving fishing boats and sailboats is wrong, then driving steamships doesn't count? It's not written in the Catechism Code, so you can't judge whether it's right or wrong?

What's the difference between this and a robot?

And at this time, Su Zhou could also hear the ordinary residents of Twilight City whispering.

"What if these two people are spies for the pirates?"

"Yes, running to the sea for no reason, it would make sense if it was to contact the pirates."

"But I know the Antuer family, they are very good people, but they are usually a little crazy and not very familiar with the Code... I guess it's just an accident."

"Is that so, then it doesn't matter..."

It could be felt that, unlike before, the reaction of the people this time was not so enthusiastic, and the subsequent prayers were not very sincere. Everyone did not care about this matter.

Su Zhou could also sense that the power of will that was gathering towards him this time was almost non-existent. If he was not a Hegemon, and his soul power was far superior to others, he might not have been able to sense this trace of power of will.

Naturally, Su Zhou did not respond... It's too stupid, because it's not written in the Catechism whether it's okay to do it or not, so doing it counts as a crime?

This kind of thinking is simply a mess!

"There is no heavenly punishment, no omen... God has forgiven them!"

And on the platform, after waiting for five minutes and making sure that there was indeed no omen, the divine official simply pronounced them innocent: "Release Mr. and Mrs. Antuer."

As long as you pray, God will respond, and as long as there is a crime, judgment will come.

But, if tens of thousands of people's public trial do not lead to judgment, then no matter what the person being tried has done, they will be released without guilt at this moment.

The knights untied the ropes that bound Mr. and Mrs. Antuer, and then the two engineer couples immediately embraced each other and cried bitterly—when the previous thunder punishment came, their legs were almost limp, and they thought they would also suffer this thunder punishment. Now that they have been declared innocent, they are unable to stand up for a while because their legs are limp.

Even so, the divine official still warned them—although this behavior has been temporarily declared innocent, if they discover that they are communicating with pirates next time they go out to sea to explore, then they will be arrested immediately, because the Lord once said that you must not befriend apostates, they are not worthy of any dedication and friendship.

And at this moment, Aemon suddenly heard Su Zhou mutter to himself in confusion.

"God punishes, that is guilty. God does not punish, that is innocent... But what if God does not have time to take action? What if the person being tried is really guilty, but God has misunderstood?"

Therefore, the divine official responded earnestly: "Mortals misunderstand, but can God misunderstand? Oh, Lord, you are forever just."

"Moreover, even if it is not reported now, there will definitely be retribution in the future. It is recorded in the Catechism that someone did not have heavenly punishment for ten years after accepting judgment, but one day ten years later, punishment suddenly came and killed him at home—judgment may be late, but it will never be absent. Any criminal will be punished, it's just a matter of time."

"Unless, they run to the sea and leave the divine realm that you protect."

At this, Su Zhou was silent.

For Aemon's trust, he could only raise his hand, stare at the纹路 above, sigh softly, and mutter in his heart.

"—No, gods are not just."

"I'm just... a devil master who judges good and evil by heart and has freedom of discretion..."

Mr. and Mrs. Antuer left the judgment platform.

Soon, the last person who needed to be judged was escorted up.

Su Zhou withdrew his mind and looked at the platform.

Then, he found that the person who was brought to the stage was very young, only about ten years old, and the gender was probably female.

Her whole body was covered with exoskeleton. It could be seen that the bloodline of the Wind Folk was very strong. There were even a pair of wings behind her that could not fly, which mimicked the appearance of waist-length brown hair.

"She does not abide by the Catechism and does not believe in the Lord!"

And the explanation for this trial was so brief that there was only this one sentence. The divine official who pronounced the sentence was too lazy to say even half a word more: "An infidel, the child of a pirate!"

There will be about 3~4 updates today