In New York, which was always in a state of martial law, the uniform classical robe was too glaring. For this reason, the Wizard Li high priests still wore casual clothes, including the guy who was quarreling with Hubble.
He was wearing a faded denim overalls with a full beard on his face. He was dressed in a blue-collar worker's outfit that was completely opposite to the former drug lord who always wore a suit and leather shoes. He was the burly white man who threatened him with a spear behind his back when he first went to see the Earth believers.
As the backbone force among the 100 earliest Wizard Li believers who converted, during the period when they were weak and had no choice but to survive in the cracks, the entire sect actually relied on the protection of him and a few other strong male believers to survive.
For this reason, he directly obtained a third-rank high priest position second only to the founder of the church, Katherine. Unfortunately, as a rude construction worker who had more muscles than brains in his head and began to work in the construction site after graduating from high school, Alonsol's talent was really limited. Even though his status was high, he gradually became a marginal figure in the process of the rapid expansion of the Wizard Li church.
However, he did not have any self-awareness. He always had a lot of nitpicking on those Wizard Li believers who were not at the senior-level and did not share weal and woe with him but obtained the position of a high priest because of their ability, especially Hubble, who relied on his ruthlessness and outstanding talent to rise quickly and whose influence had unknowingly become the second person in the church.
He had a rough temperament and was confident that he had Katherine behind him so he was not afraid of any revenge. At this moment, when he was ridiculed by his opponent, he immediately stood up with a 'whoosh'. His nostrils flared as he breathed heavily and clenched his fists.
Sitting next to Alonsol was a thin and tall Indian young man with a strange braid, wearing a fleece hunting suit that looked quite old. When he saw that his good friend was overwhelmed by anger again, he immediately grabbed his wrist and said with a wry smile, "Alonsol, don't be impulsive. This is Wizard Li's sacred place in the mortal world …"
"Hmph!" Alonsol suddenly realized that this was not a place where he could act wildly. He suppressed his anger and sat down again.
"Priest Alonsol, I know that you've always had a bad impression of me. Frankly speaking, I feel the same way about you." Habe pulled out the wine from the ice bucket and poured himself half a glass. He swirled the blood-red wine and sniffed it. With an intoxicated smile, he said, "Fortunately, we may never meet again after today …"
"Why do you say that, Priest Hubble?" The door suddenly opened, and a female voice interrupted the former drug dealer.
"Chief Priestess Catherine, I've accepted the Oracle's suggestion. I'm going to Los Angeles to start a new parish soon." Hubble glanced at the tall lady who had just walked into the room. She was wearing a black rubber bag and had a fishy smell around her. He replied concisely and respectfully.
Although he was quite disdainful of Katherine's cowardly and unambitious attitude after she occupied the Queens' District, the noble character of the founder of the Wizard Li divine religion, who was still working hard among the ordinary believers to consolidate their faith despite having herded millions of 'lambs' on behalf of the gods, still made him maintain a basic level of respect.
"Opening up a new parish is a big deal," Catherine was stunned. She unconsciously looked at Zhang Lisheng, who had a noncommittal expression on his face, and shifted her gaze back to the former drug lord. After a moment of silence, she said, "In particular, Los Angeles and New York are both federal super cities, so perhaps the situation is even worse than New York.
Right now, the foundation of the Queens Parish has been slowly solidified. Other than the federal army and the Atlanteans, there's no force that's more powerful than the church. I'll leave five third-class priests, 20 second-class priests, and 40 third-class priests. The rest will follow you … "
"Thank you for your kindness, Chief Priest, but the church has only occupied one of the five districts in New York, so we also need a large number of priests to continue to 'preach'. For this reason, other than my former subordinates, I don't plan to bring anyone else." Hubble gulped down the wine in his glass in one gulp and smiled as he rejected.
"Preaching is related to the glory of the gods, so it's not a joke. Let me remind you, Priest Hubble, the population of the entire Los Angeles metropolitan area is more than 10 million." Catherine's face turned cold as she said coldly.
"Preaching is related to the glory of the gods, so it's not a joke. Let me remind you, Priest Hubble, the population of the entire Los Angeles metropolitan area is more than 10 million." Catherine's face turned cold as she said coldly.
"Priest Catherine, Sir Messenger has already promised to pray to the Wizard Li God and grant the priests under me the power to cast spells, so please don't worry. I'll definitely make Los Angeles a place shrouded in the glory of the gods."
"Oh, of course, Chief Priest Catherine. Actually, I also have something to tell you." The young man nodded and walked out behind the girl. Before he walked out of the door, he stopped and turned his head to tell Hubble, "Hubble, since you've decided to depart immediately, choose the candidates to go to Los Angeles as soon as possible and leave New York City before the sentry posts are locked down."
"I've already had the candidates in my mind, Sir," The former drug lord pointed to his head and replied, "I'll go gather them now."
Nodding, Zhang Lisheng walked out of the door. When he saw that Catherine, who was one step ahead of him, did not say anything and continued to walk forward, he also remained silent for the time being.
The two of them walked to the beach silently and looked at the boats floating in the distance. Catherine suddenly asked out of the blue, "Sir, do you know how much harvest those strange fishing boats can bring us every day?"
"I don't know, Catherine. I think, erm, it might be thousands of tons." Zhang Lisheng shrugged.
"It's about five times more than your guess, Sir," The girl said in an admiring and grateful tone. "By relying on the priests' sensing and control of the ocean currents, the believers can use sailboats to catch a catch that's similar to the ocean-going fishing ships, and …" She stretched her arm and scooped in the air with her palm, causing ripples to form on the surface of the sea.
Not long after, a water ball the size of a basketball wrapped around three to four small fish of different lengths that were swimming in panic was lifted by the whirlwind and automatically floated to Catherine's palm.
She handed the water ball to the black-haired young man. "These few sea fish that weigh less than two pounds can provide enough salt and nutrition for five adults to survive after they're dried. Wrap the dried fish with the biological protein produced by the priests and fry it hot. It'll be a rare delicacy in the war …"
"Catherine, I'm not a chef, so I'm not interested in greasy protein dry fried salted fish at all. What are you trying to say? Can you just say it directly?" Zhang Lisheng shrugged and interrupted the girl's words.
Catherine said excitedly, "I want to tell you, Sir, that the divine power given by the Wizard Li God to the priests is the most suitable ability in this chaotic world. I firmly believe that His Majesty is the savior of the Earth when the end of the world comes. His glory will spread to the entire Earth sooner or later.
His power should not be controlled by criminals, especially when the priests of an entire parish are drug lords, robbers, and serial killers. God above … "
"Oh, calm down, Catherine. Calm down. Don't forget that the means you use when you're preaching is also very, how should I put it, very 'tough.'" The young man shrugged.
"Sir Messenger, using violence for the sake of a noble faith and redemption of the world and drug trafficking and murder for selfish desires are two completely different concepts …"
"Alright, Catherine, just like you said, using violence for the sake of a noble faith and redemption of the world and drug trafficking and murder for selfish desires are two completely different concepts. Now that Hubble has converted to the church, no matter what means he uses when he comes to Los Angeles to open up a new parish, it's all for the sake of faith and redemption, isn't it?"
"But Sir …"
"No buts." Zhang Lisheng did not want to entangle the topic in the contradiction between his two most powerful pastors on Earth, so he waved his hand and said, "Since I've already made the decision to let Hubble go to Los Angeles to preach, I won't change it.
Not only that, but I've also promised him the right to open up new parishes in other cities and even abroad in the future … "
Upon hearing the young man's words, Catherine's expression changed drastically. However, when she heard Zhang Lisheng continued to say, "However, even though he has the same preaching right as you, you're still the founder of the Wizard Li religion after all. Of course, I'll give you more convenience.
Well, you can choose another 3,000, no, 5,000 believers. I'll pray to God to give them the power of priests and let them open up parishes in other cities in the federation for you. Are you satisfied now? " His expression regained its calmness.
"Is this a disguised competition, Sir Messenger?" The girl became silent for a moment before asking in a low voice.
"You can say that," Zhang Lisheng admitted frankly. "I can't directly preach on Earth for a long time and on a large scale, so I can only use this method to ensure the rapid expansion of the Wizard Li religion.
However, even though it's a competition, you've already started with the parish of one million believers that I've helped you open up, and you also have 20 times more priest power than your opponent. You already have enough advantage … "
"Then, if a new priest appears in the parish under Hubble's and my jurisdiction, it'll be proportional to the number of believers, right?" Catherine continued to ask in a low voice as though she did not hear the young man's words.
"Yes, Catherine. This is why after you've opened up and stabilized a parish, sending the priest power to other cities to preach is the smartest thing to do.
Alright, I'm going to send Hubble off now. I'll give you two weeks to choose 5,000 new priests. I'll leave New York after I've given them the power to cast spells.
The glory of Wizard Li in the future will depend on your and Hubble's ability. " Upon hearing that the girl had already understood his intention, Zhang Lisheng smiled and no longer said anything. Turning around, he left the coast.
In the next half a month, the young man first sent away Hubble and a group of priests who looked like thugs and criminals with just a glance. Then, he gave the 5,000 believers carefully selected by Catherine the power to cast spells.
After a few more days, when Zhang Lisheng sensed that the Flower of Faith had bloomed in several other cities far away from New York, he left Queens with a peace of mind and went to Sheila to ask for a ticket to New Mexico. Then, he came to the city closest to Noah World's spatial gate, Faerun.
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