RPAGF Chapter 496 The Last Glimmer of Faith
Chapter 496 The Last Glimmer of Faith
Lin Baiyan, at the center of the light shield, frowned. His arm, marked with the Epiphyllum oxypetalum, was burning intensely and was extremely hot. He subconsciously touched his wrist and clenched the Epiphyllum oxypetalum mark.
As soon as Lang Cang opened his eyes, he saw the slightly pained expression on the orc's face. He took a step forward, grabbed Lin Baiyan's wrist with his large hand, and was immediately startled by the burning heat on his wrist. "What happened?"
"Baiyan, Baiyan, wake up!" Lang Cang gripped Lin Baiyan's shoulders, his eyes filled with anxiety.
Lin Baiyan's eyes were tightly closed, his eyeballs were constantly moving. As if he heard Lang Cang's voice, he suddenly opened his eyes, a golden light flashed in his pupils, making Lin Baiyan's fair and handsome face look full of divinity.
Before Lang Cang could realize anything, the golden light vanished in an instant, and Lin Baiyan returned to his usual gentle and composed self. He looked up somewhat blankly, "What's wrong with me?"
Lang Cang saw that he had woken up and subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. His brows furrowed, and he looked at him hesitantly, "Just now you seemed to be..."
"Like what?"
Wolf Cang gripped the orc's shoulder, hesitated for a moment, and then shook his head. "It's nothing..." Maybe he was mistaken.
Hu Qiu, who was standing to the side, closed his eyes after being stimulated by the golden light. After waiting for a long time without hearing any sound, he suddenly opened his eyes and saw the defense enveloping Lin Baiyan and Lang Cang. He exclaimed, "What's going on with this golden light shield?"
As soon as he spoke, the surrounding orcs opened their eyes and saw this strange scene.
The golden light enveloped the two orcs like the strongest barrier.
Lin Baiyan gently touched the light barrier with his fingertip, "This is..."
He looked down at his right wrist, which still felt slightly burning. The ephemeral epiphyllum mark on it had solidified completely, and the exquisite petals on it emitted a slightly ethereal white-gold light.
How is this going?
Lin Baiyan's brows furrowed unconsciously. He clearly remembered that before attacking the Wild Boar Tribe, the Epiphyllum mark was far less solid than it is now.
He had previously made many efforts to solidify the epiphyllum imprint as quickly as possible. The initial collection of faith power was indeed very smooth, but the more he worked, the more faith power was needed to solidify the petals.
Lin Baiyan had done so much to solidify the epiphyllum imprint into its current form, but unfortunately, the last petal was like an insurmountable barrier, remaining motionless no matter what he did.
How come this thing suddenly became whole after coming to the South?
He pondered deeply, and finally his expression hardened.
Could it be... those captured beastmen from the released Boar Tribe?
Most of the faith power he had previously collected was concentrated in the northwest and northeast regions of the Orcish Continent. However, to truly solidify the Ephemeral Flower Mark, it was necessary for all the Orcs across the Orcish Continent to have a convinced faith in Lin Baiyan.
When Ma Yuan released the imprisoned orcs, he used the name Lin Baiyan. At that time, the black rabbit orc had already run far away, but he stopped in the same place, as if he had made up his mind. He turned around and rushed to Ma Yuan, looking at him hesitantly.
This might be the bravest thing he's ever done in his more than ten years of beastly life: "Why let us go?"
These orcs are the cheapest and most useful laborers, aren't they?
Ma Yuan looked down at the half-grown sub-beastman cub, as if he were seeing his own little mouse, Le, through it. He stepped forward and gently extended his palm.
When the Black Rabbit Beastman Rabbit Fur saw his raised arm, he instinctively closed his eyes.
The imagined pain did not occur. A pair of rough but warm hands gently patted his head, and Ma Yuan smiled softly, "Because our high priest taught us that you are innocent."
"High Priest?" Rabbit looked at him in confusion. They asked the Black Rabbit Tribe because of their physical condition, the tribe was large in number, reaching nearly a thousand people at its peak. They had once had their own priests, but the priests of the Black Rabbit Tribe never taught them these things.
Ma Yuan smiled faintly, his eyes filled with a hint of emotion and nostalgia. "If it weren't for the High Priest, we would probably have died in the northern winter by now."
"He taught us how to build houses, how to identify food, how to distinguish right from wrong, and led us to where we are today."
Hearing his words, Rabbit Fur's still somewhat childish face was full of surprise, "Isn't he afraid that you'll learn all his knowledge by doing this?"
Before the Black Rabbit tribe was attacked, Rabbit Floss's meager memory only remembered that the priest was fat and bloated, who only knew how to bully and toy with the tribesmen all day long. He would beat and scold other orcs at the drop of a hat. Rabbit Floss was very afraid of him, but the chieftain listened to him.
Because he could decide the life of an orc with a snap of his fingers, he kept all the knowledge he had learned firmly in his own hands and never allowed other orcs to touch it.
Even those students he mentioned never actually came into contact with his knowledge.
Seeing the surprised look on the little orc's face, Ma Yuan was not at all surprised. "The high priest told us that knowledge is very precious, but life is even more precious than knowledge. If this knowledge can help more people, then its existence is meaningful."
Two years ago, Ma Yuan might have felt the same confusion, surprise, or even doubt as him. But now, after being cleansed by knowledge, Ma Yuan's eyes are full of clarity, completely different from the male beastman who had lost his leg and was filled with despair back then.
Ma Yuan was only grateful that he had met the High Priest and hadn't become the same Ma Yuan who had lived a muddled and aimless life.
After listening to Ma Yuan's words, Rabbit Fur felt as if she were listening to a book written in heaven. Are there really such selfless beastmen in this world?
He couldn't believe it, but looking at the resolute and courageous male orc in front of him, a voice in his heart told him that it was all true.
For a moment, Rabbit Fur felt a pang of jealousy towards the male beastman in front of her.
Why, why can't their Black Rabbit tribe have a high priest like this?
If such a priest were from their tribe, wouldn't everything be different?
The Black Rabbit tribe will not be wiped out by the priest's selfishness and greed, nor will my father, mother, and sister die in that war.
Rabbit fur's eyes were filled with pain and resentment.
He stood there for a long, long time. Suddenly, Rabbit Fur, with her head bowed, asked in a low voice, "What's his name?"
Ma Yuan didn't quite understand his question at first. "What did you say?"
Rabbit Fluff raised her voice slightly, unconsciously lowering her eyelids to conceal the longing deep within them, "I want to know, the name of your High Priest."
Seeing his hesitant appearance, Ma Yuan chuckled, "His name is Bai Yan, and he is the High Priest Bai Yan of our Beast City."
The beastmen revere fire and cannot live without it. In their hearts, Lin Baiyan is a faith that is just as important as fire.
He was their one and only high priest, and the flame that guided them, these orcs, forward toward the light.