Holy Fire Continent, Sunset City.

Elemental calendar, year 307, June 24 – the last Monday of June.

That is, the Judgment Day once a month.

At 1:25 p.m., Ammon, who had everything ready, made sure that there was not a single stain on his clergyman's robe, then picked up his covenant, left his room, and walked down the stairs.

"Are you leaving, Priest?"

When he reached the first floor of the hotel, he heard a familiar female voice. It was the hostess who spoke, an old woman wiping wine bottles at the counter.

She had been a guest of the inn in her youth, but fifty years ago, she was seduced by the mastery of the current owner's fishing skills and became the hostess of the inn after a series of stories, and the white-haired old woman smiled and said to Ammon, "Now are you ready to leave for the square?" The old man was going to wait for you to go with him, but the children at home were too enthusiastic to wait, so they left first. ”

"Yes, ma'am. It is the natural duty of believers in our Lord of Judgment to bear witness to judgment, and it is good for children to be enthusiastic. ”

Ammon smiled and saluted with the proprietress as he walked out the door after paying the rent for the day.

Outside the hotel, the sky in Sunset City was gloomy and drizzling, but the warm summer seaside air did not make the rain cold, but rather added a touch of coolness to the hot and humid atmosphere.

"My Lord ......"

Sunset City was shrouded in a dim rain curtain, but Ammon, who had just gone out, couldn't help but lower his head.

Because in front of him, there is a being who cannot look directly, a 'god' who cannot look directly at his face.

Ammon was not surprised when he saw that the Lord of Judgment, whose presence was far more dazzling than the sun, appeared before him without warning, and that neither the innkeeper nor the passers-by seemed to see anything.

[—The word of the Lord of Judgment says: The Lord is as righteous as everywhere.] Whoever does something, he will be known. 】

People should fear God and despise sin, because God knows everything. All sins will be reconciled in the end.

"It is precisely because the Lord is everywhere, watching all people, and is a witness to all the sins of the world, that the punishment is effective and justice is assured."

Thus repeating the contents of the covenant in his heart, Ammon heard the voice of the Lord at this moment.

"Let's go."

A short word, but it seems to shake the soul. Although Ammon still couldn't see the Lord's face clearly, the humble priest could feel that the Lord's tone was more solemn and palpitating than before.

And this indescribable sense of majesty calmed away a trace of doubt in his heart...... Yes, this is the Lord, and if it is too kind, how can the authority of the Lord of Punishment be safeguarded?

"Please let me take you to the place of trial."

He replied.

So Ammon walked with God and walked to the square.

-Sunset City, Square-

The crowd had gathered around the perimeter of the execution table in the square, and a translucent, semi-circular rain cover had been opened to hold back the light rain today.

It was now noon on Monday, and a small number of people continued to work for the sake of the normal functioning of the city, but the vast majority of people, especially the believers of the Lord of Judgment, came to the square, and tens of thousands of people left their work at hand and came to the vicinity of the judgment hall to watch, and gathered into a sea of people.

But unlike the celebrations of the past, this sea of people is not noisy. In the heavy atmosphere, everyone was silent and never whispered.

Except for the faint sound of rain, everything remained quiet.

And in the center of the crowd, on the execution table in the center of the square, a middle-aged man dressed in a white background and gold-trimmed priest's robes, who had just stepped onto the stage, with a long beard that reached to his chest, and a warm glow all around him, while holding a long manuscript of the sentence that was read before every trial.

High Priest of the Sunset City Temple, Glo.

A Chosen One.

"In addition to his own strength, there are other existential forces in his body. The soul is strong. ”

When Ammon heard the Lord beside him say this about the Priest of Glo on the stage, he couldn't help but feel the joy of the old man in his heart—what a great honor and recognition it was to be praised by the Lord? If Glo knew this, he would be happy.

As for the other existences...... Nature. The cultivators of the Holy Fire Continent, in addition to the power they have forged with their own beliefs, also possess the power of the gods.

Purifying the soul, sublimating beliefs, and condensing the power of the elements with it as the center, you can control the elemental rotation of fire, wind, thunder, and even everything and everything in the world—this is the common step for all cultivators in the Holy Fire Continent to purify and sublimate their souls. And the Chosen One, its soul can even be strong enough to transcendence**, briefly becoming one with the elements, and manipulating nature to fight.

In addition, the gods will also send down a part of their divine power, giving many priests stronger powers.

It is said that if you reach the realm of the divine blessing, the soul of the practitioner will even have some characteristics similar to the original soul, and at that time, you can even get the divine blessing and act on behalf of the gods, directly control the celestial phenomena and nature, expel natural disasters, and protect one party.

"Unfortunately, I just can't be the Chosen One."

However, when he thought that his strength was still only a mere revelation level, Ammon couldn't help but sigh - this was probably the confusion and demons in his heart, Ammon always couldn't help but want to question the Lord, and even, even when the Lord was on his side, he couldn't fully believe it, but always couldn't help but doubt.

There is no doubt that his faith is not religious, even after reciting the entire Code.

That's why I want to go to the land of God's descent, to draw close to the Lord in this way...... And now, with the Lord at my side, this is the best chance to follow His path and banish the confusion in my heart. ”

At this point, on the judgment seat, the long preaching was coming to an end.

“…… Therefore the Lord has given us fire, which illuminates the darkness, and who names all things in the world, and who makes codes, commandments, and covenants. We do not live in the world by the grace of the Lord, but by the Word of the Lord. ”

"Grace does not always come, but morality endures, and the love of the Lord is given to the world through his word, and the backslidden ones have forsaken the love of the Lord and rejected the way of morality, and they have gone astray and gone into the wrong way."

"The only thing that awaits those who go astray is the judgment of the Lord of Judgment."

With this passage as the conclusion before the verdict, the priest of Glo retracted the long manuscript and solemnly announced: "The verdict begins!" ”

He then stepped down and began the adjudication process.

The order in which sinners are judged is random, not in severity.

The first person to be brought to trial was a male offender who 'committed violence against his family'.

A priest of the revelatory rank stood in front of the stage, and two knights escorted the sinner to the stage, and the priest swore an oath to the three lords that his statement was not false, but that it was the "holy testimony" that the temple had obtained after several investigations and questioning of all the witnesses, and then began to state the guilt of the offender.

"The man was an alcoholic, assaulted his wife several times, attempted to abuse his children several times, punched his neighbor when he tried to stop him, resisted when the Templars arrived, and was eventually arrested by the group."

"The D&C has a book: Thou shalt love thy family. Those who do not love their family cannot love others, and this is a departure from the Word of God. ”

The priest who pronounced the verdict was a local believer of the Lord of Judgment in Sunset, who was very young, in his early twenties, and had a loud and energetic voice: "Boro the Apostate has broken the precepts for the first time, apologize and admit his mistake, and promise not to do it again." ”

"The second time I broke the precepts, I repented and was forgiven by my family."

This time, he broke the precepts for the third time, and his sin was unforgivable, so the Holy Church pronounced a sentence and deprived him of his rights as a father and husband. His wife does not have to love him, and his children do not have to support him in the future. From this day on, he will have to pay monthly payments to his wife and children for maintenance. If he is not working and has no money, then the Church will enforce his overseer, make him to work and the temple will pay for his maintenance. ”

"Good!"

After hearing this verdict, there was a uniform cheer in the originally silent square—at this moment, tens of thousands of people raised their hands in unison, and they all gave a thumbs up and shouted: "The way of righteousness has appeared!" ”

This is an endorsement.

All those who came to watch the verdict were witnesses, notaries, and if they felt that the verdict was wrong, they would raise objections, and if they felt that the verdict was just, they would agree with it. In other words, they are responsible for the ruling.

"Well, it's not a matter of three things, this kind of person does have to be punished."

And Ammon, who also raised his hand and gave a thumbs up, noticed that the Lord also raised his hand and applauded earnestly.

The priest could not help but rejoice in the Lord's approval, and then wrote it down.

It is indeed one of the commandments left by the Lord. Man is not a god, nor is he a perfect creature, and it is common sense that he makes mistakes.

It is enough to apologize for a small mistake, and if you cause damage, you will be compensated, and if you break the code, it is not without leeway, as long as it is not a felony, the first punishment will be relatively light

Only the true unforgiveness of the grave sin will leave no room for it, even if it is the first time to do it, it will be subject to absolute punishment.

For example......

At this time, under the notarization of everyone, the perpetrator named Boro, who had abused his own family, had signed the contract of the Templar, was escorted by the knights, and left the judgment seat dejectedly.

And the second, a thief.

This is a true unforgivable sins.

"Theft?"

At this time, Ammon heard the Lord's words again, and He seemed to be confused: "Will there be theft in this world?" ”

What the Lord was thinking, Ammon thought he could guess a thing or two.

Indeed, according to the Lord's code for the people of fire, if a mortal is willing to do it, he will never fall to the point of stealing—if he shows that he is in trouble, has no food, or is in dire need of a job, then everyone will help each other. There is no reason to sin in this world.

However, it should be noted that in the face of a request for help, it is not necessary to agree, and the person being asked for help can reasonably refuse.

After all, asking for help is different from begging, and when asking for help, the person who asks for help must declare his future return, for example, before borrowing money and food from others, he must return a larger share than before, and the return needs to be up to three times. If they are not satisfied with this share, there is no need for the person being called upon to respond.

And begging is a sin for the able-bodied. People should work in exchange for money, but everyone with sound hands must work. Ordinary people have no need to give alms, and only the Church has the obligation to respond to beggars.

"I am afraid that the Lord did not anticipate the root of man's inferiority—no one could know how terrible the punishment was until it came, and many people could not empathize with the pain of punishment and even have no reverence for the education code."

Ammon shook his head slightly—that's why the Covenant said that everyone should watch the judgment once a year, if necessary. In this way, through the execution, everyone will know how terrible it is to deviate from the Word of God.

This thief is a typical example of a person who has no reverence for the Code. He was a fisherman, living on the outskirts of Sunset City, but tired of the daily toil of going to sea, he had not gone to sea for the first few days, there was no catch, and the family had no food, so when he went to the port by his neighbor's house to inquire about the news of the gods, he stole a sheep from the neighbor's family.

He had wanted to disguise the theft as a beast attack, but a passer-by noticed it, informed the Templars, and caught him red-handed - when he was caught, he wanted to escape, but how could an ordinary person outrun a knight? Naturally, it was brought back.

"The thief beheads his hand."

"Good!"

The direct and proper announcement of the sentence caused a 'good'! All present gave a thumbs up and indignantly agreed: "The word of righteousness has appeared!" ”

- The heart of the one who begins to steal is already filled with filth. This kind of person does not want to work with his hands, refuses to repay the help of others, and only thinks about getting something for nothing.

In this case, since the offender does not want to work, he takes back his hands so that he will never be able to work in the future, and he will never be able to steal.

As for what will happen to the future after the thieves lose their hands, no one cares. Perpetrators do not have human rights, especially those who commit unforgivable crimes, and are not covered by the protection of the Code.

The knight's hand fell, and the criminal's hands fell to the ground with their wrists. Immediately afterwards, the priest cast a spell to stop the bleeding and heal the wound.

But this time, the Lord didn't give a thumbs up.

The Lord didn't say a word, but Ammon could feel that the atmosphere on the Lord's side was subtly solemn, as if he wanted to say something, but it was difficult to say.

"In this kind of place where it's good to ask for help, you still have to commit crimes, and you are not wronged if your hands are cut off."

It wasn't until finally that Ammon heard the Lord sigh to himself.

And this made the gray-haired priest confused.

Treat unjustly?

How can such a convicted crime be said to be unjust?

There have been no robbers and murderers lately - after all, there is a Lord of Judgment, and even the pirates dare not kill people on the shore, let alone a big city like Sunset City.

The thieves were followed by several convictions for committing lesser crimes.

For example, 'using bad ingredients makes customers have diarrhea'. 'The workmanship materials are not standardized, and the quality of the goods is low'. There is also the crime of 'selling mutton under the sign of venison', 'selling dead fish as if they were alive'.

The punishment to be imposed on these prisoners is nothing more than to compensate the victims several times and to make them promise in front of everyone that there will be no next time – if they do it again, they will be deprived of the right to work in this area, and they may even be scarred on their faces, they will be disgraced for life, and they may even be denied access to the temple to pray.

Ammon saw this, and God gave a thumbs up and agreed.

The process of adjudication was quick, and the longest time was to explain what the prisoner had done wrong, and in about an hour, no prisoner was escorted up to the courtroom.

"It's over?"

Ammon heard Jesus say this, and his tone sounded subtle.

"How so?"

Ammon thought that the Lord was a little dissatisfied, and he was testing himself, so he hurriedly explained: "These are just crimes that have already been committed in the legal code, and for them, they are just judgments and punishments. ”

"But the real importance is those acts that are not regulated in the code, but which are considered by the public to be indeed crimes—the verdict against those acts is the real 'judgment'!"

At this point, the priest could not help clasping his hands together and reverently said, "Judgment by you, Lord of Judgment!" ”

And at this moment, something changed on the stage.

First of all, there were people who began to add firewood to the bottom of the burner, to add nooses to the crosses, and next to the beheading rack, there were knights who checked that it was working well......

Then, with the announcement of the presiding priest, everyone in the square returned to silence again.

"The trial begins."

This time, it was an old man with a disheveled hair and a thin body who was pressed to the stage by the knight.

"This man was suffering from liver disease, and instead of seeking a cure, nor did he leave the city to live alone, but tried several times to sneak into the market, spitting on the food he was selling, with the intention of transmitting the disease to others, and this man ...... other than that."

After saying what the offender had done, the priest who pronounced the sentence said solemnly: "The Lord of Fire, there has never been such a sinful act in the Covenant, and there is no ruling on this crime, so now we will hold a trial. ”

And Ammon noticed that the priest on the stage was already moved in the middle of speaking.

"Aren't you going to kill this kind of person directly?"

In this regard, Ammon first nodded, and then shook his head helplessly: "Lord, you can judge this person, but for mortals like me, there is no such right. ”

"If the Covenant does not say how he should be treated, we cannot rule on his crimes...... So, we can only pray. ”

"Pray?"

"Yes, praying to you."

With that, Ammon turned his head, closed his eyes, folded his hands, and prayed to the thin old man on the stage who was tied to the cross.

"O God of our Lord's judgment—"

Not only Ammon, but at this moment, the tens of thousands of people in the entire square all came in unison to the person on the judgment seat, closed their eyes, folded their hands, and prayed in unison.

"Punish the sinners!"

This prayer was prayed, and immediately after that, everyone raised their hands, and tens of thousands of residents of Sunset City shouted in unison as they waved their thumbs down, "Punishment! O my lord! Punish him! ”

In this world, whenever one prays to the Immortal Lord of Judgment and asks Him to punish wicked sinners, then the Lord of Judgment will inflict heavenly punishment on the offender according to his crimes.

This punishment does not necessarily result in an immediate response, but the more people who pray, the faster the response will be, and if the person's sin is greater than a certain limit, the heavenly punishment is not just a punishment, but an unending retribution of death.

Therefore, the Lord of Judgment is also called the God of Thunder, the God of Judgment, and the Lord of Punishment. It is also symbolized as the god of heavenly punishment who judges everyone after the end of the world.

At this moment, while everyone was praying, Su Sun stared at the thin old man on the stage.

He could sense that the old man had no remorse in his heart, but was just annoyed that he had not spread his illness to more people.

- I won't live long anyway, I'm going to let all of you taste my pain!

Such a crazy idea proves that the priest's previous sentence is true, and even has reservations.

"This still needs to be judged? Such a blatant crime! ”

Thinking in his heart, suddenly, Su Tian suddenly sensed that in the endless wish power entangled in his personal space, there was suddenly a wish power activated—it was coming towards him, as if he was praying for a part of his power.

[Disciplinary ...... Trial...... Imposing Heavenly Punishment on Sinners ......]

In that wishing power, such information was revealed in the dark, and Su Sun could be sure that the source of these wishing powers was the tens of thousands of people in Sunset City around him.

“…… Give it a try. ”

After hesitating for a while, Su Yan frowned slightly, and finally tried to transfer some of his power to that wishing force.

When he landed, a slight thunderbolt flashed around the young man's body, and then little by little it became invisible.

"This?!"

Ammon, on the other hand, noticed the movement on his side, the Lord's body, he opened his eyes, and saw the flickering blue arc, and his heart couldn't help but be shocked: "Did you really respond?" Is this God's response? ”

But before he could think about it, in an instant, above the sky, among the rolling clouds, invisible power began to condense.

In an instant, a strong flash of light burst out from the clouds in the sky, followed by a rolling roar and thunder - everyone in the square, including the priests, looked up in horror, and they all saw that a blue lightning bolt hung straight down and fell on the shackled offender on the cross of the judgment seat.

- The Five Extremes God Thunder True Law!

Su Sun could sense that the thunder splitting momentum formed by his own partial strength, mixed with his willing power, was the same as the power of the divine thunder true law that he was good at—and in this real lightning bombardment, the prisoner on the cross was directly electrocuted into charcoal and killed on the spot.

“…… The Lord of Judgment is above...... There is simply no need for such a large lightning strike. All it takes is a little sign, a little thunder, or a little lightning, and we'll hang him......"

Although he thought so, in reality, Ammon felt extremely happy, and not only that, but the doubts in his heart were almost completely dissipated—if this could not be the Lord he revered in front of him, then what could prove it?

And in fact, it is also true.

At the first moment of the lightning strike, the whole square fell silent, and everyone just stared at the burning cross and the char that had begun to turn into dust, without saying a word.

But then, the mountains roared and the tsunami of ecstatic praise rang out.

"Oh oh oh!! It's a miracle! What a miracle! ”

"Our Lord has answered! This is the judgment, the real judgment! ”

"Not only that, but it's also a lightning punishment! The most sacred and serious punishment of heavenly punishment! ”

In just an instant, almost all the people in the square knelt down in unison, kneeling down in obedience to the small judgment platform where the thunder had fallen—it was worship, the worship of this thunder, of this divine punishment.

Even the priest in charge of pronouncing the sentence knelt on the ground and shouted in surprise: "This is the basis of the Code!" Our Lord has answered us! ”

"Quick! What about the recorder?! Take a picture with a photographic crystal! We're going to send this scene to the Central Church, a 'miracle' that can expedite the D&C Code application! ”

There is no room for the priests to be impartial and rejoice--the thunder punishment is an incomparably sacred proof of judgment for the human beings in this reincarnation world. With such miracles as an example, then the sin of "willful transmission of the plague" has God's endorsement, and the next time D&C 18 is written, it will be written into the D&C as a new paradigm.

"What's there to kneel on?! Do such people still need God's judgment? ”

With his brows furrowed, Su Sun stood in place, he glanced around at the people who were still kneeling and praying, and at the same time feeling ridiculous, he also felt a sense of subtlety in his heart.

He could sense that the power of desire surging towards him had increased a lot in an instant—it was like all thoughts returning to one, which brought him a certain amount of strength, but also made the power of restraint heavier.

However, Su Sun didn't want to refuse...... Since these people have begged for their heads, they still pray for punishment for that kind of sinner, and Su Sun will definitely have to respond.

After all, what if he didn't make a move, and as a result, there was no heavenly punishment, so that this person escaped punishment? He couldn't see that kind of thing the most.

Prayer for miracles is long, but it will come to an end.

As the priest took the lead in getting up and ordered the knight to sweep away the charred ashes of the previous criminal, the other ordinary people in the square also stood up one after another, waiting in silence for the next trial.

And the prisoners escorted up this time made Su Sun feel even more inexplicable.

It was a man and a woman, it should be a husband and wife, they were very particular about dressing, and they knew at a glance that they were not ordinary people, and they had a lot of property.

According to the priest, the couple were engineers at the shipyard, and their 'crime' was to sail a brand new steamship to explore an island not far from Sunset City.

"What kind of crime is this?!"

Su Yan was shocked on the spot - he didn't expect that this kind of thing could be juxtaposed with the previous 'deliberate infection of the plague' to keep himself along.

However, he heard Ammon beside him shake his head and say, "No, my lord, only the followers of the God of the Wind can do this when it comes to exploring the islands of the sea in sailboats and fishing boats. ”

"But this time, they're driving a brand new steamship, which isn't written in the Code, so we need God's verdict to determine if it's a crime."

Seriously, Su Yan sometimes didn't understand the logic of people in this world at all...... Let's not talk about this matter that only believers in the god of wind can explore, since driving a fishing boat and a sailing ship is wrong, then driving a steamboat is not counted? It is not written in the Code of the Dri'A, so it is impossible to tell if it is right or wrong?

What's the difference between this and a robot?

At this time, Su Tian could also hear the ordinary residents of Sunset City whispering on the side.

"What if these two men are pirates' spies?"

"yes, I went to sea for no reason, if it was to contact pirates, it makes sense."

"But I know all the Antur family, they are very good, but they are usually a little crazy and not very familiar with the code...... I guess it was just an accident. ”

"Well, it doesn't matter......"

I can feel that this time the reaction of the people is not so enthusiastic, and the prayers later are not very sincere, and everyone does not care about this matter.

Su Sun could also sense that the wish power that was gathering towards him this time was almost non-existent, if he was not at the overlord level, his soul power was far superior to that of others, and he might not be able to sense this trace of wish power.

Naturally, Su Sun did not respond...... It's stupid, because it's not written in the covenant, is it okay, so it's a crime to do it?

This kind of thinking is a mess!

"There is no heavenly punishment, no warning...... God forgave them! ”

On the stage, after waiting for five minutes to make sure that there were indeed no signs, the priest simply pronounced the verdict not guilty: "Release Mr. and Mrs. Antur." ”

As long as you pray, God will answer, and if you are guilty, judgment will come.

However, if the public trial of tens of thousands of people does not lead to the judgment, then no matter what the person being tried does, he will be acquitted at this moment.

The knights untied the ropes that bound the Anturs, and the two engineers immediately embraced each other and wept bitterly—their legs were almost weak when the lightning punishment came, and they thought they would also suffer the lightning punishment, but now that they were acquitted, they could not stand up for a while.

But even so, the priest admonished them - although they were temporarily acquitted of such acts, if they were to discover and communicate with pirates the next time they went out to sea, they would be arrested immediately, for the Lord had said that they should not associate with backsliddens, for they were not worthy of any devotion or friendship.

And at this moment, Ammon suddenly heard it again, and Su Sun muttered to himself in confusion.

"God chases and condemns. God has no punishment, that is, he is not guilty...... But what if God doesn't have time to intervene? What if the judge is really guilty, but God has misunderstood? ”

Therefore, the priest replied seriously: "If mortals misunderstand, can God misunderstand?" Lord, you are eternally righteous. ”

Moreover, even if you don't repay now, there will be retribution in the future. It is recorded in the Covenant that there was a time when there was no heavenly punishment for ten years after being judged, but suddenly one day after ten years, punishment came and he was struck to death in his home—the judgment may be late, but it will never be absent. Any offender will be punished, it's just a matter of time. ”

"Unless, they run out to sea and leave the divine realm where you are sheltering."

In this regard, Su Yan was silent.

For Ammon's trust, he could only raise his hand, stare at the lines on it, sigh softly, and muttered in his heart.

"—No, God is not righteous."

"I just...... A demon devourer who is good and evil in his heart, and who is free in his heart......"

Mr. and Mrs. Antur left the judgment seat.

Soon, the last person to be tried was escorted up.

Su Sun retracted his mind and looked at the stage.

Then, he found out that the person who was pressed to the stage was very young, about 10 years old, and the gender was about female.

She was covered with exoskeletons, and it was evident that the Windfolk had a lot of blood, and there was even a pair of flightless wings behind her, mimicking the appearance of long brown waist-length hair.

"She doesn't keep the covenant and doesn't believe in Christ!"

And the explanation of the interrogated person was so short that the sentencing priest didn't even bother to say even half a word: "An unbeliever, a pirate's child!" ”