The First Magic World War

The third labyrinth, too, lay on an island.

Well, it couldn't be called just an island anymore, as seen from the sea. The shoreline stretched endlessly, almost resembling a continent. Had Charles not calculated their voyage and known they had not yet reached the New Continent and were still in the Agres Sea, he might have suspected that they had indeed arrived at the New Continent.

Aboard the Holy Light Divine State Title, Charles gazed at the land ahead. Its coastal side was lined with shallow beaches, clearly unsuitable for large ships to dock, compelling the fleet to drop anchor far out at sea. Beyond the sprawling beaches were towering cliffs, upon which a temple had been constructed.

Unlike the previous two labyrinths, which had been palace-like, this labyrinth was a temple, which struck Charles as slightly odd. He contemplated in secret, "Has Agmilas captured the realm of an Evil God again?"

On this occasion, Charles, accompanied by Agon and Kratos, took a boat and landed on the island.

As soon as he set foot on land, a thought transmitted from the diary he held: "Charles Meklen is about to challenge the third labyrinth—the Golden Temple. It was originally dedicated to the God of Gold and Wealth, whose temple became a place without a master after he was torn apart by three Evil Gods.

Charles, with Kratos and Agon, climbed the cliffs and came upon a bustling small city. The city was built around the Golden Temple, with a flourishing market centered around it. Beyond the temple, there seemed to be buildings akin to government offices. The city was teeming with life, people bustling to and fro.

Although no hints had been provided, it was clear to Charles that the inhabitants of this small city were ordinary humans. They were no different from any city in Fars, except for their distinct local customs and culture.

As soon as Charles and his companions appeared, a group of more than ten youths ran up to them, calling out, "Strangers! Where are you from? Do you need our help?"

Unable to resist, Charles asked, "Do you often have outsiders come here?"

One of the youths, exceedingly handsome with features as delicate as a girl's, replied with a cheery grin, "Of course not! Our Golden Island lies off the beaten Ristofor Route and is even further from the Ferdinand Route. Normally, ships from neither the old nor the new continents pass by here. But there are always exceptions, with the occasional lost ship stopping for supplies, and there is some trade with a few inhabited islands on the Ristofor Route."

To Charles's mild surprise, he knew of Golden Island—it was considered an inhabited island along the Ristofor Route, albeit far off course. Under normal circumstances, ships indeed did not pass by, but it was not an unknown island.

Having done his homework and perused navigation records, Charles knew that most residents of Golden Island were subjects of the Sherlock Dynasty. Due to the fall of their nation, many subjects of the Sherlock Dynasty had headed to the New Continent in an attempt to rebuild their own country. A portion of them halted along the way, settling on certain islands, with the inhabitants of Golden Island being one such group.

These people had brought an abundance of books with them and engaged in exchanges with the outside world. They were not insular, so the youths showed no great curiosity upon meeting Charles and his party, simply looking to make some quick money.

Charles cracked a slight smile and said, "How much would it cost to hire you as our guides?"

The youth with the beautiful, delicate features replied, "You can exchange your money at the temple for the local currency. Hiring us as your guides will only cost one centime."

Intrigued, Charles responded, "Alright, lead the way into the city first!"

Entering this city, a thought emanated from the diary in Charles's arms, "To rebuild the faith in the True God in Pale City, you can complete the third Labyrinth challenge."

Pale City originally worshipped the God of Gold and Wealth, but after Lano Di Dui's fall, Agmilas usurped the authority of the Golden Temple. Charles Mecklen, you need to expel Agmilas's followers and priests and change the faith of Pale City, replacing it with that of any True God.

Charles thought to himself, "That would surely mean establishing the faith in the Serpent of Destiny!"

"However, this time they are all common people, I can't harm them. I can only use gentle means, something I'm not very good at!"

Charles now had three Legendary Warships, seven Magical Alchemy Warships, eleven ancient Magic Ghost Warships, and five to six hundred Ghost Ships at his disposal. Conquering this small city wouldn't be difficult, but changing its faith was a delicate matter.

In fact, the prevailing attitude on Earth is that the people of backward nations should remain forever backward, preserving their distinctiveness...

And generally, it's believed that conquest does not make people submissive...

Of course, if one flips through history books, one can see that even Rome was conquered, and even Persia was able to change its faith...

The three of them were led by a group of young boys to the Golden Temple, where one could indeed exchange for the local currency.

Ah, the ancient currency of the Sherlock Dynasty.

In fact, after Fars rose to prominence and replaced the Sherlock Dynasty, it inherited much of the Sherlock Dynasty's culture and systems. For example, the currency units—Aegeus, Fore, and centime—as well as the language. Fars Language and Ancient Sherlock Language belong to the same language family, sharing over ninety percent of vocabulary, with very similar pronunciation, and even the grammatical rules are similar. The reason Charles is proficient in Sherlock Language is not because he enjoys ancient Sherlock culture, but because Farsians naturally understand Sherlock Language. With just a little effort, one can master it.

Of course, although the currency units were inherited, Fars would definitely mint its own coins and not use Sherlock Gold Coins. Charles used two Gold Aegeus to exchange for a full bag of ancient Sherlock centime copper plates. He casually gave half to Kratos and half to Agon, but kept only a dozen or so centimes for himself, which he distributed among a dozen young boys.

These dozen or so young boys were very happy. They had thought they would each receive only one centime since leading the way was not skilled labor and since they normally hung out together. Even if Charles had hired only one person, the others wouldn't have dispersed.

Charles inquired about the name of the lead boy and learned it was Ding Tang.

The name carried a slight derogatory connotation, meaning "spoon." It hinted at the bitterness of adding another mouth to feed in the family.

Charles casually inquired about the situation of Pale City, then said, "Not only are we travelers, but we are also missionaries. If you are willing to believe in the Serpent of Destiny and become his followers, each of you can receive a centime of Faith Gold every month. If you can bring more children to the faith in the Serpent of Destiny, for every new person you bring, I will pay an additional centime. Are you willing to believe in the Serpent of Destiny?"

Overjoyed, Ding Tang exclaimed, "The people I bring, will they also have a centime of Faith Gold every month?"