BXBX NOVEL Book 8, 92
However, the disparity between the two hourglasses was immediately visible for all to see; The priestess’s mark was half a metre long, the grey sands within only occasionally glinting the colour of gold. There was a mark of the Eternal Dragon on either end, but that was the limit to its decorations. On the other hand, Richard’s was twice that side and the sands within were a splendid gold. His hourglass also had the symbol of his status as a Lord of Space, and it was covered in decorative motifs that were constantly warping.
The Eternal Dragon wasn’t one to do useless things. These elaborate patterns had a purpose to their existence; the more intricate one’s hourglass, the more favour they held. Every symbol and motif represented a specific type of favour, while the size and colour of the hourglass represented the total amount of divine grace one held. Put simply, these hourglasses were a direct representation of one’s status in the Church.
With the two sides jostling against each other, a dozen powerful paladins had rushed into the hall. A good number of priestesses were around as well, observing the confrontation between Richard and this grand priestess. A few of them gasped at the sight of Richard’s hourglass, immediately understanding just how much grace it represented. He was perhaps behind only Ferlyn and Flowsand themselves.
The grandeur of Richard’s hourglass was completely unlike anything these priestesses had ever seen. Banishment was a spell exclusive to followers of the Eternal Dragon, giving them the ability to eternally mark any living being and cast them outside the Church. The branded would never be able to enter again, even if they became legendary beings. The only way to make up for it would be the intervention of someone with superior divine force. The spell was powerful, but it was also fair. If the target had already accumulated a certain sum of divine grace, they were unlikely to be branded.
The grand priestess was actually just trying her luck; if Richard didn’t have enough divine grace, he would immediately be transported out of the Church. Even if he wasn’t branded, she estimated that he would be too humiliated to try and enter again.
However, this was a spell that directly compared the divine grace of two individuals, and the Eternal Dragon always favoured those more useful to him. Richard was someone who offered sacrifices as though they were daily meals; towards the end, even rank 3 offerings had flowed without end. While he did a lot of things that others considered stupid, like using divine grace to force a jump in orbit, the old dragon recorded everything. At present, there was likely no one in all of Norland that could match up to him in this regard. Anyone that came close definitely didn’t spend all their lives cooped up in a church fighting for scraps.
The grand priestess was immediately brought to her knees, suffering the equivalent of a full-force attack. Gasping for breath, she raised a hand to point at Richard, “You... dare attack... a priestess... Kill... No, banish him!”
The woman wasn’t completely muddle-headed yet. She knew that killing someone with so much grace in the Church would incite the Eternal Dragon’s wrath. This was why she only gave the order to banish him, but even so the paladins hesitated. After a short pause, however, they started inching towards him. This grand priestess had controlled this branch of the Church for a while now, almost having it dance on the palm of her hand. Over the years, the paladins had all learned to obey her.
An icy smile flashed across Richard’s face, “Way too arrogant to actually learn anything. Do you really think you’re like any other priests, embodying your god? Might as well show people what happens to such stupidity. Out.”
Richard pointed at the injured priestess, speaking in a soft voice, but everyone in the Church felt like lightning had struck beside them. His words were in the common tongue, making them seem like an empty threat, but the entire Church started to shake as timeforce surged in from the void!
The huge hourglass appeared atop Richard’s head once more, and the one on the priestess suddenly shattered to pieces! Those watching gasped, while the other members of the clergy covered their mouths in shock. Divine grace was the basis of a cleric’s power, and the shattering meant the grand priestess had lost everything. She had dropped from level 18 all the way down to nothing, making her no different from an ordinary human.
The very next moment, the mark of ruin formed atop the former priestess. Threads of timeforce wrapped around her body, blinking her out of the Church instantly. Silence suddenly reigned in the Church, those who had served her only moments ago just watching in shock. That brand was the brand of Banishment, which meant the same rules applied— she would need to accumulate more divine grace than Richard to be allowed back in. However, even the mages sent by Tumen now knew one thing; that was impossible.
What truly alarmed the clergy was the shattering of the hourglass. Richard would have had to pay an equal amount from his own to do it, but he only lost a pair of marks that decorated his. The change was so minimal it might as well have been nothing!
With the first annoyance gone, Richard turned to the paladins who had moved towards him, “You see my grace and yet you dare approach me. If I don’t punish you, how will those plotting against me know how powerful I am?”
Screams of agony immediately rang through the hall, the paladins starting to fall to the floor as timeforce was sucked out of their bodies. This time, Richard showed mercy and only took away half their reserves. They wouldn’t suddenly become commoners, but they also lost all right to be called proper paladins.
The other priestesses in the hall watched on in horror, not daring to speak a word. Richard was using Norland Common, but even so the Church had become a tool that executed his will to perfection. The precondition was that he had to pay everything off, but even sucking away half the divine grace of a dozen paladins, he only lost one more golden motif. Looking at how many were left behind, even a fool knew the best choice to make.
Richard turned around to look at the two grand mages sent by Tumen, saying profoundly, “It really is difficult to use the Prince’s channels.”
Both froze awkwardly, one of them eventually saying, “There should be no more trouble, Your Grace.”
“Of course now there’s no more trouble,” Richard laughed, his gaze sweeping across the clergy in an open threat. There were no politics here, only divine grace, and he had plenty.
The next was the offering, Richard chose a random established divine official as the host, thereafter he went up the altar.