Rome Must Perish

"Who is it?"

"Emmerich from Savatoir!"

There was no response from inside the house.

Emmerich patiently waited for a while, but still, no sound came from inside. So he knocked hard on the door, shouting, "Hemijias, open the door quickly! Has the 'Brave Hermi' of Savatoir turned into a coward now? Are you afraid that I might eat you up? Too scared to even meet me?—"

The door suddenly opened. Standing before Emmerich was a lean elder with white hair and beard. His hair and beard were long but well-groomed and soft, making him look spirited, but his expression was indifferent as he glanced at Emmerich, saying, "Speak quickly if you have something to say, then leave!"

Emmerich smiled, "Hemijias, is this how you treat an old friend you haven't seen in years who comes to visit? How did you become a druid back in the day!"

Hemijias didn't respond and reached out to close the door, but Emmerich held it open with his hand.

"The Nix people defeated Wallis and captured his village, so I joined the Nix Tribe," said Emmerich while exerting more force to keep the door from closing.

"The Nix Army captured Savatoir the day before yesterday—

"That's not called Savatoir, it's called Segestica!" Hemijias couldn't help but correct.

"Either way, it's been captured, and the Nix people will give it a new name. I entered Sabatoy at dusk yesterday, and it has changed quite a bit in the past decade.

This morning, I've been looking for you all over, asking many Segestica people in the village until someone finally told me that you neither live in the priest's house near the East Village Holy Stone nor in the house Andreas had specially built for you in the West Village for convenience, but that you secretly moved here alone, which was quite hard to find!"

Saying this, Emmerich's expression turned serious: "After asking so many people this morning, I found out that you are now quite disliked by many Segestica people! They think your divinations and blessings not only failed to bring victory to the Segestica Tribe but led to a series of failures. Some even believe that because of you, the Segestica Tribe didn't receive Divine protection, leading to its near extinction! You've even affected the other priests in the Segestica Tribe, causing them to be disliked by the people—"

"Shut up!" Hemijias finally showed a change in expression, struggling to close the door.

Emmerich increased his strength to hold the door open.

Never mind that they are similar in age, but having lived comfortably and lacked exercise, Hemijias was not as strong as Emmerich.

Emmerich continued to exert force while speaking, "It's not your fault! These Segestica people don't know that your strength lies not in rituals and divination but in presiding over judgments and mediating disputes! I still remember back when we were in the academy, every time we were tested in these areas, you would always come first. Some apprentices resented your talents and openly called you a slave; you fought them and drove them away single-handedly, earning the nickname 'Brave Hermi'..."

"Those were the days of youth..." Hemijias's expression softened, and he sighed, "No matter how well-learned, it's useless; Segestica only needs priests for divination."

"In Segestica, you can't showcase your talents! Join the Nix, and you'll definitely be able to display your full potential!" Emmerich said solemnly.

"If you came just to say this, I'm not interested. Please leave." Hemijias's face returned to indifference; he exerted force again to close the door, but it was futile.

"Did you attend the village gathering this morning?"

"Your soldiers forced me with a short sword to go."

"Then you must have heard what they said. Don't you find those words fascinating?!"

"They might be able to fool the common tribesmen, but not me. I find that talk of 'the Nix Tribe Chief being a progeny of the Danu Goddess' utterly ridiculous!" Hemijias sneered, "Did you fabricate that? You, a druid, aren't you afraid of divine punishment!"

Emmerich confidently replied, "Ever since the Nix people arrived here, the river hasn't flooded as severely, and the winters have become much milder. Did I fabricate this?

The population of the Segestica Tribe is five or six times that of the Nix, and yet the battle-seasoned Andreas was defeated, and the powerful Pannonian Tribe Alliance was defeated. Today, the Segestica Tribe is nearing extinction; did I fabricate all this?

This morning, you heard at the gathering about the system the Nix people use for tribesmen to gain merit and get promoted. Have you ever seen such a system in the knowledge you've acquired? It was established by the Nix leader, who also set up other systems in the tribe that I've never seen before. But I can assure you, these systems will make the Nix increasingly powerful!

But do you know that this Nix Tribe Chief is only twenty years old? If not for the blessing of the Divine, how could a young person devise tribal systems that us druids, who are proud to be wise, have never seen!"

"Only twenty?!" Hemijias was surprised.

"I didn't make this up. You can ask any Nix person, and they'll tell you the same. All Nixes revere their leader as if he were a Divine Son!" Emmerich solemnly stated, "The Danu Goddess oversees this land; the mountains, rivers, and forests are all her creations. Foreign deities couldn't possibly defeat her here. If the Nix leader wasn't her offspring, how could the Nix Tribe defeat the ever-faithful Pannonians!"

Hemijias remained silent; deep within, a voice was calling: Emmerich is right. That's why your past divinations and prayers failed; it's not your fault. How can a person contend with the favored of the Divine for their blessing!

Watching Hemijias's expression, Emmerich continued, "The Nix leader, following the Danu Goddess's divine revelation, is already building her temple. In the future, her temples will be in every single Nix village. The temple priests will not only perform divinations and blessings for the villagers but also teach them to coexist harmoniously, resolve conflicts, love the mountains, build a beautiful homeland, and spread the teachings of the Divine Canon, letting them know—"

"Divine Canon? What Divine Canon?" Hemijias suddenly interrupted.

Emmerich, with a solemn expression and a loud, reverent voice, said, "It's a book the Nix leader has tasked me to compile about the Danu God System we revere. It doesn't just narrate how this world was formed or tell stories of the Danu Goddess and other divine offspring, but it also uses the words and deeds of the Divine to admonish people on what should and shouldn't be done... In short, it's meant to let everyone know where we come from and where we're going, a true Divine Canon!"

Hemijias's eyes showed a hint of light, and he couldn't help but ask, "Is compiling the Divine Canon also a divine revelation from the Danu Goddess?"

"Of course!" Emmerich replied without hesitation, "Do you think this is something a twenty-year-old tribal leader could think of?"

Hemijias remained silent.

Emmerich further stated, "Moreover, the Nix Tribe is going to establish an Academy of Druids, recruiting talented children from the tribe, allowing them to study various skills in the academy and grasp the Druid Teachings. They will delve deeply into the Divine Canon, preparing to become qualified druids upon graduation, then get assigned to altar internships in various villages. After a few years of satisfactory performance, they can become town priests...

Hemijias, I didn't come here to repay the life you once saved but because the Nix Tribe greatly values us druids, and there's so much work to be done!"

Emmerich extended a hand, sincerely pleading, "I truly need the help of a talented druid like you!"

Hemijias didn't take the opportunity to close the door. Instead, he furrowed his brow and said, "Emmerich, we druids worship the Holy Stone and Holy Forest, perform secret rites in the oak groves, and praise nature. But have we ever publically worshipped the Danu Goddess? Can Druids who only honor the Danu Goddess still be called Druids?"

"As I said earlier, the Danu Goddess is the Mother of All Things, who birthed everything here; following the Nix leader's words, it's about acknowledging our roots. Honoring her is only appropriate! Furthermore, the Danu Goddess's revelations align with our Druid teachings: love for nature, cherishing all life, harmonious coexistence with nature... It's like changing clothes but still being the same person."

Patiently, Emmerich explained, "Moreover, in the past, tribesmen, under our guidance, worshiped the Holy Stone and Holy Forest, which was a habit. Most people couldn't truly understand why they should do so because stones and trees are too different from humans. Those lacking wisdom couldn't connect. This led to the Segestica people doubting and despising you, the highest Druid of the tribe, after their repeated defeats! They never truly believed our teachings; they just followed the crowd!

The Danu Goddess not only resembles humans but is exceptionally gentle, kind, compassionate, and loving. The Nix leader himself carved her statue; when the temple is completed, I'll take you to see it. I promise you, anyone who sees her statue will willingly kneel at her feet and wholeheartedly honor her. This is something the Holy Stone and Holy Forest could never achieve, thus making our teachings truly resonate and spreading the Druid teachings among all tribesmen more easily."