RNP Page 426
Page 426
"The hero of the Moth Tribe!"
Even the moths that had drunk the most were instantly awakened by the fervor, burping and cheering. They sat on the edge of the platform and instinctively tried to stand up and crowd towards the radiant figure, but accidentally fluttered their wings and landed awkwardly on the ground.
The towering Radiance seemed to sigh helplessly at the scene, but fortunately, its face was hidden inside its helmet, leaving only a pair of eyes that shone with the power of light, so no emotion could be discerned.
It straightened its back slightly, glanced around at the people in the square, handed the greatsword behind it to the moth beside it, then retracted its wide wings of light and walked towards the old prophet, led by the prophet's assistant Snyder.
The aura that Latis sensed slowly receded, and he frowned slightly, silently comparing it in his mind.
Leaving aside the title of god, Radiance's current level seems to be around legendary. Although monsters are known for their physical strength, Radiance does not seem to be a pure monster, but rather a creature that combines the real and the illusory. Therefore, Radiance's physical strength is likely inferior to that of bloodline warriors of the same level.
Of course, this only applies to the time of the celebration. Later, Radiance gained the faith of humans on the surface, and its level must have increased rapidly. However, it is rumored that after being defeated by the goddess of magic, it is unknown whether its strength has diminished.
In short, let's see how much we can contain them. We can't let Jennifer and the Church of Light run into trouble in the short term. Of course, the civilians of the Wilderness Territory are also very important.
Latis withdrew his gaze, looked at the smiling little prophet in front of him, scratched his head, and asked:
"I was so focused on Radiance, uh, Lord Radiance, where were we?"
The little prophet tilted his round head, shook his tentacles, and said:
"We were just talking about our Moth Warriors, which is a very long tradition. But you young boys and girls probably don't know about it. In short, it's a profession that is responsible for spreading the faith of light to other monster territories. Hmm... But since Lord Radiance came to the tribe, this ancient tradition of warriors has gradually disappeared. After all, we are no longer in such a barbaric era!"
"It seems that Lord Radiance has indeed changed a lot of things."
Latis nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and couldn't help but ask curiously:
"Speaking of which, Your Excellency the Prophet, is this celebration some kind of custom?"
The little prophet glanced sideways at the crowd gathering towards the center of the square, flapped his pure white insect wings, retreated to the wall, and then said:
"This celebration is to commemorate Lord Radiance's enlightenment of the power within the sacred flame, and also to mark its impending departure to embark on its own journey. So, perhaps it will become a tradition in the future."
"Is that so..." Latis stroked his chin, muttering to himself:
"It seems the Moth Tribe has indeed been commemorating Radiance ever since it left, otherwise they wouldn't have started referring to it as a god..."
"Well?"
The little prophet didn't hear what Latis said clearly in the noisy environment. She glanced at the old prophet's location, then turned to Latis and Jennifer and said with a smile:
"The celebration is about to begin, let's hurry up and get ready!"
……
……
"I have served as the prophet of the Moth Tribe for nearly five hundred years."
The old prophet, his body covered in white spots, slightly unfurled his somewhat decaying insect wings, coughed hoarsely, and spoke:
"Before Lord Radiance arrived, we had no concept of a year. There was no sunrise in the underground world, nor was there a sun. Until one day, Lord Radiance sat quietly on the top of the sacred fire and suddenly resonated with some distant power of light. Only then did we realize that the light in this world ebbs and flows according to some fixed pattern."
"Following this pattern, we began to observe the resonance between the sacred flame and the distant light, and called the day when the light power that resonated with Lord Radiance was strongest the year."
Latis looked up at the old prophet standing on the platform and raised an eyebrow in surprise.
It turns out that the monsters underground also have a calendar, and it sounds like their New Year is still on the summer solstice. If it's based on the summer solstice, then the monsters' New Year is probably quite regular.
However, when he passed by the Night Elf tribe earlier, he felt that the Night Elves had become quite fuzzy on the concept of time, probably because the Moth tribe had slowly disappeared from the public eye.
"Actually, the light is not that far away."
The old prophet took the staff from Snyder with some difficulty, and, supporting himself, said:
"Although Lord Radiance doesn't speak often, we can all sense the true heart of light within him. Perhaps, meeting Lord Radiance is a fortunate thing for the Moth Tribe. However, we must not forget that light itself is never entrusted to just one person."
"No moth should stop its pursuit of light under the illumination of Lord Radiance. This is Lord Radiance's wish. It cannot represent the will of light. Even if it can protect the moth tribe for a time, it cannot stay here forever."
At this point, the moths in the audience suddenly fell silent. After a moment, a few hesitant voices spoke up:
"Your Excellency the Prophet, what you mean by these words is..."
The old prophet smiled gently and replied:
"I am also getting old. From this day forward, Little Fire will succeed me as the Prophet. Lord Radiance will also be leaving soon, but the transmission of life will never cease. You must also continue to pursue the light!"
The group looked at each other for a moment, then sighed helplessly and exclaimed:
"We will cultivate diligently, Your Excellency the Prophet!"
“Alright.” The old prophet beckoned to Snyder, and with her help, descended the platform. He then looked at the young prophet and smiled.
"Little Fire... no, Your Excellency the Prophet, the Moth Tribe is now in your care."
The little prophet placed his hand on his chest, bowed, and said:
"Teacher, even if the light is about to fade, I will hold on until the very last moment."
"If the light fades, there's no need to make things so difficult for yourself."
The old prophet smiled magnanimously and said:
"One more moth tribe in this world makes no difference, but one less moth tribe doesn't make a difference either. You are now the prophet of the moth tribe, and everything depends on you."
"The light in my heart will always exist."
The young prophet nodded vigorously to show his determination, stood there watching the old prophet leave, then looked at the crowd, took a deep breath, and said with a smile:
"The celebration begins! Prepare to crown Lord Radiance!"
……
“If we pay close attention, the search for traces of the Kingdom of Radiance might begin with the radiance in this dream.”
Latis, holding the ceremonial objects, whispered to Jennifer:
"Perhaps we should try to sense the state of divine power from it first, but in any case, we should not deviate from the trajectory of the celebration."
“I know, I know.” Jennifer chuckled, nudged Latis with her elbow, and whispered in his ear:
"Hey sis, don't you get that thrill of secretly being a spy?"
"..."
Latis suddenly burst out laughing, speechless. He couldn't help but recall that almost every time he and Jennifer embarked on a journey, they encountered some very thrilling and exciting things. Now they were even planning to take down a god.
What's next? Steal the magic goddess's bra?
He sighed, gave Jennifer an elbow in return, and said seriously:
"Don't make it sound like we're doing something wrong! We're a perfectly respectable couple."
“That’s true.” Jennifer pondered for a moment, then suddenly her expression changed, and she said in shock:
"Wait, are we... saving the world?!"
"Save you my foot..."
Latis took a deep breath and couldn't help but complain:
"I'm saving you, my silly knight!"
"Eh?"
Jennifer blinked, not quite understanding for a moment what the search for the Radiance had to do with saving her, but since Latis had said so, she simply believed him.
However, she wasn't too happy with the word "idiot," so she snorted, opened her mouth, and bit Latis's ear with a soft "whoosh."
"What are you doing?"
Latis shook his head abruptly, glancing at Jennifer with a bewildered expression. Seeing the smug look on her face, Latis raised an eyebrow, breathed on his hand, and smacked Jennifer's bottom with a loud "smack." Then, watching Jennifer cry out in pain and clutch her bottom, he sneered and said:
"Let's see if you dare to bite people again, you..."
"...The two hosts of the celebration?"
The little prophet's voice snapped Latis back to reality. He quickly looked up at the little prophet, who was staring intently at him, and called out:
"Your Excellency the Prophet, what is it?"
"...You guys are really into it."
The little prophet's gaze swept over the moths behind Latis, who were suppressing their laughter, and he sighed helplessly, saying in a slightly strange tone:
"Although you are a virgin, you have become husband and wife some time ago. However, in order to maintain a good condition for the celebration, we have not allowed you to reproduce. Since you are already so intimate, you can start reproducing after the celebration."
"...Wait, no!"
Hearing the snickers around him, even someone as thick-skinned as Latis couldn't help but blush. Looking at the little prophet's confident expression, he opened his mouth, but for a moment didn't know how to explain, so he could only awkwardly say:
"I...I'm a decent person, I don't have those kinds of thoughts..."
"puff."
Hearing Jennifer's breathless laughter, Latis turned to look at Jennifer, who was covering her mouth and chuckling, and immediately said in a low voice, annoyed:
"What are you laughing at? You're being pressured to have a baby in public! That's so embarrassing!"
"Eh~" Jennifer nodded feigning ignorance, then stuck out her tongue and whispered, "But you were saying you'd feed me grass when we get out..."
"..."
Latis slapped his face, took a deep breath, straightened up, and said to the little prophet with a stern expression:
"Your Excellency the Prophet, let's quickly summon Lord Radiance, lest we waste time!"
"It's alright, this kind of excitement is something Lord Radiance enjoys watching."
The little prophet twitched her tentacles slightly and said with a smile, then slowly her smile faded and she sighed in a low voice:
"But since we're on the topic, the celebration must continue. Assistant, please go and fetch Lord Radiance. He's in the forge discussing the details of the statue with the stonemasons."
“Yes, Your Excellency the Prophet.” Snyder gently lifted the hem of her winged skirt, winked at Latis who was looking at her, and then turned and ran towards the forge.
"Hmm..." The little prophet seemed a bit listless, but remembering that this was ultimately a celebration, she forced herself to cheer up and said to Latis:
"Boy, why don't you come up and say a few words while we have the chance?"
"what?"
Latis pointed to himself with a bewildered expression, glanced at Jennifer who was gloating beside him, remained silent for a moment, and then walked heavily onto the stage.
He and the little prophet exchanged a glance, and for some reason, he suddenly felt like he had been tricked.
"Was the celebration really like that back then...?"
Latis muttered to himself, looked up at the moths below, and after a long pause, said: