Summoning Total War - Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Temple (Part 1)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

If one were to talk about all the buildings in the town of Athens, which one of them was the one that consumed the most manpower and took up the most material resources? 

There was no doubt about it! It had to be the temple! 

Since the emergence of Holy Water, the temple had continuously been the focus of urban development, and its construction had never once stopped. Most of the stones mined in the town were now used in the construction of the temple. The temple had white marble floors, brilliant shiny idols made of gold, and marble columns that were 50 centimeters wide and more than 10 meters tall. These columns had been transported to the temple through painstaking effort. 

It could even be said that there was a huge difference in quality between Murphy’s Governor’s Office and the temple! 

However, all this effort would be duly rewarded. 

. . . . . . . . . . . . 

When Murphy rushed to the central town square, he found that the work for the last part of the temple had been finished. 

The high priestess wore a well-cut, slender priestess’ robe. She stood softly and quietly at the steps of the temple, a gentle smile on her face. It was a spring afternoon, and the sunshine shone on her, making her robes shine like silken scarfs. She was glowing with a faint golden radiance. It was holy, noble, and beautiful! 

This woman never seemed to talk much, and, even more, she rarely raised her voice in anger. 

This had made Murphy doubt if such a gentle woman would be able to effectively manage the temple’s affairs. But now it seemed that he had nothing at all to worry about. This woman was like a ray of sunshine. She unknowingly touched people’s hearts and influenced them! 

This could possibly be the charisma and influence that comes with being religious. 

At this point, even Murphy found it hard to resist! 

At the very least, he wanted to see the gentle appearance of the high priestess praying quietly in the morning light on the steps of the central square before the start of a busy day. 

That was the most beautiful scenery in the town. 

. . . . . . . . . . . .

The temple had nearly doubled in size compared to what it had been before. In addition to the main hall, there were now three slightly smaller halls and some rooms for the temple’s attendants. 

Under the idol located in the main hall, there was a crystal clear pool of water about three meters across in diameter. This pool was connected to the temple’s drainage system, and it was unknown whether it was an act of divine intervention or something else that had caused a small fountain to form inside it. The water fountain was about one meter tall and filled the temple with a pure, refreshing scent. 

There were six marble columns on either side of the main hall. In front of them was a row of cushions that had been prepared for worshippers and devotees to pray. 

In the early days, prayer rituals involved kneeling down on your knees in order to show piety to the deities and then straightening back up to pray. This not only sharpened the believers’ self-discipline, but also gave them the means to exercise their faith. 

It was only natural to bow down when worshipping the gods.

The idol of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, was still the same one from before. She gripped a scepter with one hand, and a thunderbolt with the other. 

When he looked at it from the front, she gave the impression that she was the king of the gods of Olympus! 

But when he looked at it this time, he found that the white brilliance coming from the idol of Athena, the goddess of Wisdom, was stronger than it had been before. 

And after the expansion of the temple had been completed, not only was there a faint golden radiance coming from the idol, but other artifacts in the temple, seemingly affected by the idol, also radiated a golden light and looked like they were bathed in a soft, white bright glow! 

Out of everything in the entire temple, except for the body of the idol, the high priestess seemed to shine the most brilliantly. Under the sunlight, her body even seemed to glow a pale gold. 

It seemed that this woman was really loved by the goddess! 

Murphy couldn’t help but think this. 

After briefly observing the changes in the temple, Murphy found a quiet corner and started looking at the changes in data in the auxiliary system, since the data reorganization had been completed. 

He was taken aback at first glance! 

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Temple: Temple of Guidance

Level: Level 3 Temple. (Can be upgraded.) (Remarks: This magnificent temple is always capable of gaining the admiration of mortals, thus increasing the chance of gaining believers.)

Deity: Athena

Her Job: Wisdom, Warfare, Peace, Abundance, Craftsmanship

Power: Low divine power (Balanced), Thunder (This is the power of the king of the Gods of Olympus!)

Divine Power: Level 3 Divine Gift

Possessed clergy: 24 (Maximum trained clergy 81)! [1 high priestess, 12 priestesses, 1 deity servant, 10 apostles.]

Number of believers: 1,896

The next level: Increase Divine Gift to Level 4 by increasing the level of the temple and Guardian Knights will be upgraded to Knights of the Temple (Battle Experience +1)

Explanation: Level 3 temple grants priests the magic ability to treat diseases, purify wounds, and provide blessings of protection. With a little bit of spiritual magic, they can cultivate Guardian Knights with good combat capabilities. Through this temple, which has been blessed by Athena, the goddess of wisdom, the priest can manufacture 24 ounces of holy water per day. Holy Water can speed up wound recovery and treat minor diseases. The Holy Water loses its magical properties 24 hours after leaving the temple’s premises.

But just this data alone wouldn’t have shocked Murphy. 

What really shocked him was the description of the data beneath the temple system. The word was unfamiliar yet familiar at the same time—faith! 

At the bottom of the temple system, the auxiliary system listed an additional set of data that was different from the data above it!

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Temple: Temple of Guidance

Level: Level 3 temple.

Deity: Athena (lower divine power)

Clergy: wisdom (opening), war (opening), peace, fertility, craft

Power of Faith: +1151 (one month)! [Clergy +200, believers +851, idol +100. ] 

Temple Faith: 2142/15000 (Upper limit of the power of faith)

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Divine grace: War Deity

[Gift of Divine Power]: Athena, the goddess of wisdom, uses the power of faith and gives the soldiers some special powers. These powers are provided by the war deity! Only those with firm determination and experience in brutal combat will be allowed to use and master this special power given by the goddess! (The high priest is required to preside over the grace ceremony.)

[First-class divine power—Berserk]: When granted, this divine power can make soldiers temporarily ignore their pain and explode with powerful fighting power from within! Similarly, after this explosive power, the soldiers will be exhausted and left with almost no fighting power. They will need a day to recover! (Consume 100/1, the power of faith/population.)

Explanation: Although it’s only a low-level divine power, this is still a gift from the gods!

God’s Might: Wisdom clergy.

[Biological Creature Enslavement]: This is the wisdom of the leadership of Athena, the goddess of wisdom. She teaches believers how to enslave other humanoid creatures. The effectiveness of their enslavement is determined by the priesthood and divine power. (Priests are required to preside over the awe-inspiring ceremony.)

[First Class Humanoid Slave—Gnoll]: To ask Athena, the goddess of wisdom, to grant you the knowledge on how to enslave this creature requires a one-time consumption of 5000 Faith. The number of gnolls that can be enslaved is determined by the apostles. (The biological creature enslavement level determines the effects of enslavement and how many can be enslaved.)

Explanation: The gods are omnipotent, but the priests are not! Our priests cannot yet turn these gnolls into loyal hounds, but they can at least make them obedient.

Next level: 6,000 followers are required, and the level 4 temple is required.

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Divine grace was like the sea, and divine power was like a prison!

Murphy couldn’t help but think this after he read the new temple data.

The [God’s Grace] and [God’s Might] systems given after the data reorganization were undoubtedly huge killer tools! 

Although it demanded a great amount of faith, this was the same, as it could widen the gap between creatures in this plane in terms of physical strength. 

This was undoubtedly a very important point when it came to improving their own strength!

And at a glance, the data given just now was just the beginning. There was obviously a more powerful divine power behind this! 

The only troublesome thing was… 

The power of faith seemed to accumulate very slowly.