The witch thought I am a Demon God
Chapter 907 - 469: The Holy 22 Bells

Chapter 907: Chapter 469: The Holy 22 Bells

The pilgrimage came to an end at the City of The Holy Seat in the City of Ten Thousand Cities, the nominal capital of Ancient Civilization, located on a peninsula within the realms of the Holy Empire’s Royal Capital.

Ivita, all by himself dressed in simple white linen clothes like a devout believer of The Church, traveled lightly all the way, treating everyone he met with kindness, like a breath of fresh spring air. He gave alms to everyone he saw, be it a beggar or a rich man.

As a result, the procession of pilgrims following Ivita swelled in number and size, drawing the attention of all.

With so many people following Ivita, if the Empire and the Alsace Kingdom were to send an assassin, it could potentially lead to many deaths.

However, the Empire and the Alsace Kingdom were currently too stretched to act.

Thus, today’s conspicuous demonstration proved to be relatively successful. It seemed as though the grand pilgrimage procession had no guards and relied solely on the blessings of the God of All Things and the faith and friendliness of the believers. In truth, the Hearthstone Witch and the Blue Illusion Grand Witch were always following Ivita, and with Ivita’s own Magical Power, the group, which was mostly composed of the elderly, women, and children, was very safe.

Furthermore, as the scale grew larger, the pilgrimage was no longer just about Ivita; it had become a matter for The Church as well.

They were walking along the pilgrimage path trodden by saints in the ancient era, a path of thorns in the mortal world. How could anything happen to these people?

If anything did happen, it would be a loss of face for The Church.

Therefore, along the way, the monarchs of various countries and the parliament of the Republic were all giving the green light to Ivita, which also represented the choice that the nations had to make between Ivita and Oyo III.

If Oyo III did nothing and was unable to turn the situation around, he would fall behind Ivita amid the cheerleading of international forces.

Ivita bowed at the gates of the Sacred City and performed the rites of pilgrimage. In his ears rang the proclamation by the elders of the Sacred City’s Senate, as they rode on their high horses, proclaiming the three-thousand-year legacy and sanctity of the city.

This city is the representative of the God of All Things on Earth, existing not only in the physical realm but also in the spiritual world—it is equally the City of Divine Kingdom!

While the Senate’s elders took advantage of the most conspicuous event of the last decade orchestrated by Ivita, they postured and pretended that the Sacred City was still the capital of the Holy Empire and that it remained the observed capital of Ancient Civilization. They reminisced about the time of the Senate’s glory and power when the bell in the tallest tower of the St. Sophia Great Church rang out, startling the noisy crowd, the pretentious elders, and even the Knights tasked with their protection.

The bells of Saint Sophia Cathedral in the city rang out.

That was sacred music, comprising twenty-two different tones, each corresponding to a divine virtue bestowed by the God of All Things upon mankind. Legend has it that if one possessed all twenty-two virtues, they could follow these virtues to the ten primordial elements, bringing them closer to the divine nature of the God of All Things at the moment of creation.

Of course, that was just a legend. The knowledge of the twenty-two virtues had long been lost, and people, in their worship of the divine, were unable to learn the virtues God had imparted upon them.

In the Sacred City, the holy bell of Saint Sophia Cathedral only rings during the most sacred seasons and holidays.

And there’s one other occasion—it’s to welcome an esteemed guest.

When the Imperial Emperor comes to the Sacred City for his coronation, the sacred bell rings twenty-two times, but in his lifetime, this honor is bestowed only once.

Legend has it that when the Emperors of Ancient Civilization used to come to the city, the city of the gods would also toll the bell twenty-two times for them.

The rest of the time, when a Saint dies, the bell tolls eleven times to represent their holy mission and great accomplishments.

Then there were the mighty Conquerors, who, by virtue of their grand armies and threatening the once Pope with military force, persuaded the Popes to toll the bell for them.

They succeeded, and the Popes tolled the bell seven times for them.

The Conquerors who received such great honor all met dramatic deaths the following day; they died of choking due to nasal blockage while drunk, died on a woman’s belly (some suspected a curse), or died on the back of a frenzied hippogriff, with a total of three such individuals.

Since then, no Conqueror dared to assault the city again.

The authority of The Church grew more and more.

The city’s bell rang, one peal following another, its melodious toll spreading to every corner of the city, and then beyond to the outskirts, as the divine universal Law manifested within the sound of the bell, dancing over the city’s skies.

Music and the divine deeply merged here.

Suddenly, from the crowd behind Ivita, someone called out, "The bell has tolled more than seven times. That is the bell of a great Conqueror. Ivita Alsace is truly the king appointed by God; he is the rightful King, the most devout apostle of the God of All Things."

The crowd added to the declarations of divinely ordained King’s Right.

Ivita stood up, bowed his head toward the empty city gate, where the clergy and Soldiers had already left the city. When the bell of God sounded, these servants of God could no longer pose any opposition to Ivita; instead, they began to show respect and even some reverence.