Only God-Chapter 596 - 504 Xilan’s Preaching

For Kaelonde, who had fallen into a frenzy of war, Xilan’s emergence was truly untimely.

Everyone in Kaelonde, from top to bottom, was cheering for the recent major victory at the front lines. Now, not only had they recaptured the long-lost Helong Mountain Range, but they were also marching toward Golan. Soon, those humans who once looked down upon the Dwarves would grovel beneath the might of Dwarven machinery.

For the Dwarves, the submission of humans brought an indescribable pleasure.

The race of Dwarves had always revered human culture, learning from them technologies of textile, agriculture, trade, noble etiquette, and so on. The upper-class Dwarves took pride in wearing clothes woven by humans and Three-eyed Ape People, instilling the notion that closeness to humans equaled civilization, and distance from them equaled savagery.

Despite the Dwarves often loudly emphasizing the glory of their ancestors, the pride of their craftsmen, and the great faith of Hiris, they still felt an inevitable inferiority before humans. Humans were taller, more composed, and had more dexterous fingers than the Dwarves, and they had even defeated the once invincible Beastmen... apart from forging, it seemed humans bested the Dwarves in every aspect.

For these reasons, when the Dwarves heard of Kaelonde’s colossal victory, they were so ecstatic that every hair on their bodies trembled.

To make an inappropriate comparison, it was as if a short and ugly dwarf admired a beautiful, noble lady who scorned him, but one day, the tables turned, and the noblewoman, compelled by power, was forced to kneel before the dwarf, tearfully begging his forgiveness and mercy.

This was the mentality of the Dwarves of Kaelonde.

They vented their feelings and reveled all through the night, with taverns brightly lit until dawn, and offerings at the Craftsmen Temple reached a peak.

What the Dwarves wanted was not to stop the war, but to continue it. Some vile characters had even started fantasizing about buying several human female slaves after the war.

Like an Observer, Xilan saw the underlying currents throughout the journey.

He did not cheer or mourn, but often stayed behind closed doors, living a Hermit-like existence in the noisy and bustling Royal City, only advising those around him to refrain from their war hysteria.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t long before he was arrested.

The cause was that a Dwarf accused him, claiming he was a spy sent by the people of Golan.

During the war, the Dwarves were extremely sensitive to such accusations, and Xilan was thrown into jail the day after being denounced.

In the dark, cramped interrogation room, a dim oil lamp burned.

The lamp’s light cast a glow on Xilan’s face. Having just been captured, he hadn’t suffered any mistreatment or coercion, and sitting before him was a burly Dwarf Prison Warden.

"Who are you?"

"Xilan, I have no surname."

Xilan replied.

The warden noted down the name on paper, and then said,

"A common name. Are you a True Believer?"

Xilan nodded.

In this world, thanks to the influence of the True Religion, there were countless people named Xilan. It wasn’t something worth pondering deeply.

"Are you a spy? Someone accused you of spouting nonsense everywhere."

The warden said with contempt.

Xilan looked calmly at the warden,

"That was not nonsense, I wouldn’t dare to spout nonsense."

The warden snorted coldly,

"Ceasefire, what is that if not nonsense?

I know, you’re a human, and from the marrow of your bones, you look down on Dwarves. Although some say you have done much good, in my eyes, all that amounts to condescension from on high."

Xilan shook his head,

"No, I have not."

The warden was noncommittal and continued the interrogation,

"The area you lived in, many people were graced by you. Some say you are a doer of Miracles, someone definitely blessed by God. Tell me, is all of that true?"

Xilan replied frankly,

"They’re right, I am indeed on a mission."

A mission?

Upon hearing this word, the warden almost laughed out loud,

"What kind of madman are you? Dare to presume the name of the Father of Hiris and talk of a mission? At best, you’re a charlatan, a phoney!"

Xilan spread his hands,

"It seems you do not believe me."

The warden stared at the man before him, he would have to be mad to believe this stranger.

With years of experience, he was growing increasingly sure that Xilan was a spy sent by the humans, the kind who used the name of God to win trust through good deeds, just to gather intelligence from other nations.

The warden thought it might be better to play along with his story, to find the opportunity to expose his lies.

"I could believe you, but what is this mission?"

The Dwarf warden asked gently.

"The mission is not an easy one, it’s very heavy."

Xilan tapped the edge of the table,

"I have come to quell the conflict."

Xilan spoke earnestly, with no hint of concealment, but the Dwarf warden neither believed nor accepted his words.

"That’s all? Isn’t there a deeper plan? To quell the conflict? Just by yourself? Where are your accomplices?"

The warden leaned forward, sensing he had caught a big fish. This man must have accomplices, and if he could expose them all at once, securing a great achievement and a promotion would be a sure thing.

"My accomplices?"

Xilan hesitated before raising his hand and pointing upward.

The warden was taken aback,

"Here in this prison? On the floor above?"