Unknowingly, three months had passed since Punk first arrived in Dolez City, and the gentle season had given way to a new one. Now, the ordinary commoner living in the Pheren plane were on the verge of celebrating the start of the evergreen season, symbolizing growth and hope for what lay ahead.
For most farmers whose main income came from farming, the evergreen season was the most relaxed among the six seasons. During this time, they didn't have to toil in the fields, and they didn't need to worry about extreme weather conditions. They simply needed to tend to some wild weed seedlings now and then, leaving them with plenty of time for rare entertainment. After all, for most commoners, living at the bottom of the society, any leisure time was hard to come by.
The bard's poetry season was always among the most popular entertainment sources of the townspeople. Living in such a remote town, like the town of Niailan, most people would never have the opportunity to leave the area of Dolez, because the moment they learned to walk, they had to start working day and night just for a few copper coins. Still, despite such hard work, they were despised by both the nobles and the professionals. Hence, their only fate was a quiet and forgettable life through poverty and oppression.
In an era when communication mainly revolved around conversations, bards' poetry was one of the few means for people to connect with the outside world. Even the elderly, who had seen the ups and downs of life, yearned for the legendary tales of brave heroes. That's why, whenever they had a spare moment, the townsfolk would gather in the town square or tavern to listen to the bards' songs. And whenever they heard something very interesting or entertaining, some generous people would donate one or two copper coins to the bard without hesitation.
Today, on the first day of the evergreen season, there was a scattered circle of idle townspeople on the square illuminated by the brilliance of Mira and Casa. They were all listening attentively to the young bard telling stories of some hero on the stage.
But, the number of onlookers was somewhat abnormal today; it was simply too small. And the reason for the abnormal decrease in the number of people was a religious organization called "The Ti Xiaer Church" that had recently emerged in the town of Niailan. They started to preach and organize rallies everywhere in this small town, and many young townsfolk had participated in them due to their curiosity.
This Church that seems to had emerged overnight spread with a terrifying speed, and most people who joined this mysterious Church had to drink a glass of mysterious "holy water" to express their piousness in the Goddess Ti Xiaer.
Although most ordinary people on the plane of Pheren believed in one or two gods to comfort their hearts, and there were usually many churches preaching everywhere, but this kind of weird and unknown religion still made many townspeople uneasy.
It's a pity that even if they were dissatisfied and worried, they could not do anything except to close their doors and windows tightly.
Today, on the third day of the Ti Xiaer Church's extensive preaching campaign, Bilan, eager to go to the square to meet Dickie, found herself caught up with the missionaries of this Church.
"Sorry, I have something urgent to do. I can't listen to your sermons for the time being, and also, you should not stand directly in the middle of the road like this; it is really inconvenient to the passersby."
Bilan, who was walking fast, was suddenly stopped by a strangely dressed missionary. Although Bilan was not happy with his behavior, the kind-hearted girl still politely prodded him for his inappropriate conduct in the middle of the road.
However, this sluggish-looking middle-aged missionary completely ignored Bilan's concern and slowly took out a crumpled paper and started to chant about the Supreme might of the true Goddess Ti Xiaer in front of Bilan.
"Confused poor lamb, why have you not awakened from the deep darkness? The only true God has come, and now it is the most glorious opportunity of your life to be able to offer pious faith to our great Goddess..."
"Sorry, I'm really in a hurry. Can you please let me pass?"
Seeing that the abnormal preacher was strictly blocking her way in such a rude manner, Bilan couldn't help but frown. Now that most of the morning has passed, Dickie's singing would be over in a while, and if that happened, Bilan, who didn't know any prophecy spells, would not be able to find Dickie anymore.
"Confused Lamb, this is a gift from our great Goddess; why not open your heart and embrace the true redemption?"
"Yes, believe in the only true God Ti Xiaer. I can guarantee that you can really be redeemed. I was also redeemed by the gift of the Goddess Ti Xiaer."
Bilan didn't know when another believer from the Ti Xiaer Church in the same robes also came near her. This young man did not have the same strange and dull eyes as the missionary from the beginning, but his eyes were full of crazy fanaticism. His pupils were constantly shaking and changing, and the muscles on his face were tangled; because of all these, he gave a sense of ferociousness instead of the so-called enlightened and redeemed sacredness.
Bilan took a step back with some fear on her face. As a mage, of course, she did not have any affection for gods or anything like them, so from the beginning, she just wanted to find an excuse to push them away like the missionaries who came before. Under such circumstances, most missionaries would just leave after calling her a heretic, but these two strange missionaries were obviously not willing to give up this easily.
"You actually feel contempt at the gift of Goddess Ti Xiaer, You evil creature, do you know that you are giving up the only salvation in front of you. A terrible disaster is about to come. Aren't you afraid of falling into the eternal darkness?"
"Yes, the great Goddess has come. We humble lambs must offer our faith for the only true god"!
After seeing that Bilan was unwilling to join their religion, the two missionaries became angry. They got close to Bilan, and the young missionary even clenched his fists and roared loudly at Bilan's pale face.
"Okay, okay, I will join, OK?"...
Facing these two crazy missionaries, Bilan felt that it would be much better for her to compromise for now; otherwise, the two men might not let herself go, and she also didn't have time to continue arguing with these two guys whose brains were burned by faith.
"Hold this."
Hearing that Bilan agreed to join the Church, the older missionary calmed down. He took out a badge engraved with spider patterns and forced it into Bilan's hand.
"Take the gift of the Goddess Ti Xiaer, and remember to come to the square to pray in the evening. This is the only chance you can get redemption. Let us all offer our most holy faith for the coming of Goddess Ti Xiaer..."
Bilan didn't listen to the following words. She casually put the badge in the pocket of her robe and hurriedly passed around the young missionary who kept looking at her with bloodshot eyes.
"Dickie's singing is almost over..."
Thinking of this, Bilan started to run anxiously.
On the other hand, at this time, in the various towns near the city of Dolez, the same blatant harassing scene appeared on many streets. Crazy missionaries in gray-red robes stopped pedestrians, and until the pedestrians clearly indicated that they would join the Ti Xiaer Church, the missionaries would block their path, and then they would start to roar loudly at the pedestrian's unforgivable sins.
A strange atmosphere slowly enveloped the entire city of Dolez, and even the weather became gloomy in response to the atmosphere.
In the city of Dolez, many professionals who were unwilling to engage in religious issues decided to leave Dolez.
And most of the nobles were still enjoying the festivals at the advent of the first day of the Evergreen Season, and the townsfolk only regarded these fanatic missionaries as accidental encounters.
The official-level dwarf warrior of Dolazi City was carefully shaping the precious metal materials he obtained accidentally without caring about the incidents in the city.
Punk had already entered the luxuriant Jungle to explore the spider cave. Although he had some doubts about this "Ti Xiaer Church," but a turbulent city would not cause him any harm; instead, it would be much easier for him to collect experimental materials.
Besides...no matter how big the trouble was or how many people died in Dolez, that was the matter of Dylan Kingdom, and Punk simply didn't care...
As a result, the unusual actions of the Ti Xiaer Church were, consciously or unconsciously, ignored by everyone!