Darkstone Code-Chapter 862 - 860: Old Rivals, New Lives
The power of example is infinite.
At first, some people might have been angry. They saw their respected Saint Akumal being hurt and wanted to retaliate.
But as Akumal calmed them, watching him face his assailant peacefully, people’s hearts gradually calmed down and they just watched.
Initially, there was some noise in the park square, but in the end, only silence remained.
The anger in people’s hearts was dissolved by a force they couldn’t identify, and they suddenly understood the forgiveness Akumal had always spoken of, what true forgiveness is.
Forgiveness is not spoken with words but shown through actions.
Slap!
Another slap, and one side of Akumal’s face was already swollen, the skin seemingly becoming more translucent, with blood veins spreading, as if a little more force would make half of his face split open.
He remained so calm, not changing his expression because of the pain, just looking at the assailant ordinarily.
He did not tremble, but the assailant did. When all the calm gazes turned to him, he felt fear.
If these people had been angry or attacked him, he wouldn’t be as fearful as now; he would laugh at their beliefs being crap.
But they did nothing, no revenge, no obstruction, not even curses, just watching him, causing his pressure to increase so much that his raised hand couldn’t strike down anymore.
This was a mental confrontation, a battle between souls. Without firm beliefs or a destructive desire to destroy everything, one couldn’t defeat someone who had completed self-redemption.
Under Akumal’s calm gaze, he lowered his head, his mind in utter chaos, not understanding why he acted this way or what force made him feel fear.
The only thing he needed to do was ask for forgiveness.
He knelt down, in the almost silent square, in front of thousands or more people, he knelt down.
His forehead pressed tightly against the ground, muttering apologies to Akumal, realizing his shallowness and acknowledging the power of peace.
Everyone in the square seemed to undergo a spiritual baptism at this moment, feeling a joy and excitement from their hearts, witnessing the birth of a myth!
Indeed, violence achieves nothing but destruction, while peace can resolve issues.
Saint Akumal didn’t use any violence, whether physical or verbal, merely his calm gaze made the assailant recognize his mistakes and sincerely repent!
This is a miracle!
This is precisely the self-redemption and awakening Akumal had always spoken of!
The fervent emotion quickly spread under collective influence, and people knelt and kowtowed voluntarily, to express their respect.
The entire square was full of kneeling people, with only Akumal sitting.
He looked at those kneeling believers around him, facing him, with neither worry on his face nor clear joy, just the usual calmness.
The sun hung high overhead, warming the bodies of all beings, while he, like the sun in people’s hearts, warmed their souls.
The former High Priest watching from afar remained silent, his lips moving repeatedly. If someone was close enough, they might have heard him saying, "All gone mad!"
From this day forward, a force no one could ignore began to spread quickly.
In fact, this phenomenon is quite normal. In the early stages of rapid societal development, the speed of societal cultural change can significantly outpace development.
What previously required the accumulation and settling of several generations of societal culture might now be outdated in three to five years. Faced with such rapid cultural and ideological replacement in modern society, people fall into confusion.
This happens in every society, this phase is not unique to Nagariel.
During the initial high-speed development of the Federation Industrial Society, this phenomenon also existed, with people confused about the future, not knowing where it would lead.
At that time, the rapid development of capitalism gave people direction, with self-realization becoming the core spirit of Federation Society.
Nagariel’s situation is a bit more complex, making people feel even more bewildered. At this precise moment, a strong ideology was born, like a lighthouse suddenly lit in the fog, guiding all ships lost in the ocean of the soul towards a direction.
People began to suppress turmoil spontaneously, and Akumal’s followers followed his guidance, not using violence to change those people, but calmly standing hand in hand in front of the mob.
Perhaps at first, those mobs would beat, humiliate, and insult them.
But when people remained unmoved facing all this, with even more compassion in their eyes, those mobs gradually backed down.
Their ferocity is built on fear, and when people no longer fear them, those weak acts of violence become meaningless.
The power of silence and peace is so great that the unrest across Nagariel soon subsided significantly, which was simply a miracle!
This also drew the attention of the Federation and even the world, with people curious about how a country, suddenly caught in chaos, with no binding power internally or externally, managed to calm itself.
People learned about Saint Akumal’s thoughts and the things he had said, which left many philosophers deeply moved.
Saint Akumal is truly a sage rarely seen in a millennium, and his thoughts are meaningful to the entire world.
Having just undergone the baptism of war, although the global anti-war sentiment is not as strong as in the first two years, there is still a significant market.
This is evident in the mainstream content of the film industry, reflecting what global audiences demand.
During the war, they continuously aired war films, urging people to take up arms and fight for the country.
Only a few days after the war, all war-themed films were abandoned, and people began to continue forward in their confusion, with exploration and adventure films filled with pioneering spirit starting to become popular.
Until now, as international society has stabilized, motivational films quietly began to dominate, regardless of the story or background, as long as they were motivational, they would be embraced by people.
Have people seemingly forgotten about the war?
No, people just don’t want to recall the pain brought by war; Saint Akumal’s spiritual thoughts perfectly align with international trends.
We have gone through so many difficulties, hoping that war will never come again.
Some people refer to Saint Akumal as a "giant in thought," and his ideas have begun to spread worldwide, something even he didn’t anticipate.
The unrest that was initially expected to escalate was eventually soothed by Saint Akumal’s ideas, but luckily the Federation Government’s demands also reached a result.
The police in Nagariel’s New Federation will be divided into two parts: one part consisting of Nagariel locals themselves as the main body of the police, responsible only for maintaining daily social order and apprehending petty thieves.
The other part will be an Armed Police Unit consisting mainly of Federation personnel, handling all major criminal cases, and suppressing regional unrest when appropriate.
The Federation Police will be equipped with live ammunition and may fire first when necessary before explaining the situation.
Of course, most of the time they won’t actively respond to incidents and will remain in the police station.
As for their salaries, of course, will be paid by the New Federation Government of Nagariel.
During these inexplicable times, the High Priest took a boat to the Federation.
To his surprise, besides informing Lynch of his arrival, he didn’t tell anyone else, yet aside from Lynch, Provincial Governor Drag... well, now simply Drag, also came to greet him.
This inexplicably brought some smiles to the old Priest’s face, making his facial expression appear somewhat intimidating.
As a former High Priest, he exercised the authority granted by the divine, needing regular communication with the gods.
The method of communication was simple, utilizing the tattoos on his body and the incense containing hallucinogenic fungi.
Now that he had grown older, the tattoos on his face had somewhat blurred, coupled with layers of wrinkles, making him look quite frightening, prompting young people to stay far away from him.
Disembarking from the ship, the old Priest breathed heavily; he didn’t perceive any sweet scent in the air, only feeling a sense of ease.
It was as if the burdens in his soul disappeared from his body at that moment, never to be found again. This feeling of ease had never been felt before.
"Welcome to the Federation..." Mr. Drag approached warmly, holding the old Priest’s hand and embracing him.
They had openly and secretly fought for many years in Nagariel, as political power and divine authority were always irreconcilable, yet now they seemed to stand together.
"You look fatter than before!" The old Priest patted Drag’s arm with some emotion.
Mr. Drag, however, was indifferent, laughing heartily, "My life is comfortable now, I spend my days fishing, playing chess on the roadside with some old friends, or occasionally traveling somewhere."
"I no longer stay up all night worrying about certain issues, nor do I worry about someone breaking into my bedroom while I’m asleep, aiming a gun at my head to wake me up and let me forever close my eyes..."
As he said this, he glanced at Lynch, clearly thinking that if such a possibility existed, it would certainly be related to Lynch.
Both of these men lost everything because of knowing Lynch, yet it’s not entirely fair to say so.
Even though they lost power, they gained a stable life, making it hard to say whether they lost or gained in the end.
