Record of a Thousand Lives

Chapter 147

[You have successfully converted Etong Village.]

[The residents of Etong Village have been moved by the deeds of the Skeleton Church Leader.]

[Current Followers: 314]

[+ You will receive the chance to evolve once you gain 3,000 followers.]

This was the fourth mountain village Kang Yoon-Soo had converted. Just as he was about to leave, someone stopped him.

“Aigoo! Skeleton Church Leader-nim!” a farmer called out, running toward him while carrying a basket of steamed potatoes. He asked, “How can you just go? I harvested these from our field. Have some of these on your way.”

Kang Yoon-Soo returned the basket of potatoes to the farmer and said, “A skeleton can’t eat potatoes.”

“Huh? But don’t you always drink alcohol?” the farmer asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“I can only drink liquid,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Then share it with the others, at least. These taste really good because they were just harvested,” the farmer insisted before leaving.

Kang Yoon-Soo let out a sigh, then resumed walking away from the village while holding a basket in his bony hand. Then, a group of children from the village appeared one by one, following behind him. Kang Yoon-Soo turned around and asked, “What do you want?”

The children cried out in unison, “We’re hungry!”

Kang Yoon-Soo stared at the children. He had only preached in a few places, but rumors of him had already spread.

The rumors said that there was a walking skeleton spreading a strange religion, and that he was quite nice for a skeleton. Quite a lot of people living on the outskirts of the city had heard of the Skeleton Church Leader, and the rumors had spread so far that even children were no longer afraid of his appearance.

Kang Yoon-Soo gave the entire basket of potatoes to the children.

“Wow!” The children rejoiced.

Kang Yoon-Soo left the rejoicing children behind and continued walking, but a tall woman blocked his path. She asked, “Is it fine for you to donate the first proceeds of your cult?”

“We don’t need potatoes,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Reanna put a cigarette in her mouth and leaned on Kang Yoon-Soo before saying, “I’m here to loiter around behind Rekil’s back.”

The duo walked for quite a bit in silence. Reanna spoke up first, asking, “What’s your purpose for establishing a religion?”

“I have to unify the religions within two months,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Why?” Reanna asked. However, Kang Yoon-Soo did not bother to respond to her question.

Reanna puffed out a cloud of smoke before saying, “I admit that you’re great at preaching, and your title as the Skeleton Church Leader adds a sense of mysticism to it. Still, it’s impossible to unify all of the religions in just two months.” She tapped her cigarette and let the ash fall to the ground, then continued, “The church might have become corrupt, and the tithe money is being used for all sorts of dirty purposes. However, not everyone is going to be like us siblings and convert. Converting basically means treason in this case.”

Kang Yoon-Soo still maintained his silence.

Reanna asked seriously, “How are you going to unify the religions? A holy war? Are you going to do what countless other religions did in history and forcefully make people convert?”

Kang Yoon-Soo’s response this time would be very important, as Reanna’s trust in him would change based on his answer. Eventually, he answered, “Constructing a cathedral.”

Reanna stopped walking, and she asked with both brows raised in surprise, “What do you mean?”

“I’ll build a great cathedral and unify the religions on the continent,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“That’s impossible,” Reanna said. She put another cigarette in her mouth, and a thin cloud of smoke rose from it as she lit it with a match. She continued, “An enormous amount of money is required to construct a cathedral. No, there’s a bigger issue than that. There’s no way that people will come flocking in just because you built a grandiose-looking cathedral. It’s impossible to unify the religions on the continent just because you built a cathedral.”

“I know,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“What did you just say?” Reanna asked in confusion. In response, Kang Yoon-Soo walked toward her and stole her cigarette in an instant.

“Huh…?” Reanna exclaimed, taken aback by the skeleton’s action.

Kang Yoon-Soo bit the cigarette in his mouth and said, “There’s no law that says only humans can have a religion, right?”

***

“What is the advantage of being a corrupt religious figure?”

“Firstly, they can confidently siphon tithe money. Secondly, all evil deeds can be justified by their god’s doctrine. Thirdly, they can avoid paying taxes.”

“A wise answer indeed. Then, what is the disadvantage of being a devout religious figure?”

“They cannot enjoy the benefits that were mentioned previously.”

“Is that even an answer?”

“No, but it is what other people see. A devout religious figure cannot see their own faults, which is why I cannot judge them for their faults.”

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Rawin, who was a church leader, nodded in satisfaction before he asked one last question. “Tell me about this world.”

“The clergy members go to the most remote villages to spread the gospel, but those fools take advantage of the holy men and women by trying to extort money from them,” replied his conversation partner, Ayhill.

“It is exactly as you saay!” Rawin exclaimed.

The comparison to a corrupt church was spot-on.

“It really is a shame that you follow no religion,” Rawin said.

“It is just that I have not decided which god to follow,” Ayhill said before taking a sip of red tea. He dressed modestly despite being the largest tycoon on the continent.

“What do you think about joining our church? Helix-nim always welcomes a new warrior,” Rawin jokingly said with a smile.

“I cannot help but hesitate when most of the religions out there are so corrupt these days,” Ayhill replied.

“Oh my, is that what you think of our church as well?” Rawin asked.

“You probably have the most integrity among all the church heads out there. Well, perhaps that is why you were muscled out of the cities by the other churches,” Ayhill said, offering a harsh criticism.

The church that worshiped the Sword God, Helix, was the smallest one among the renowned churches on the continent. Their places of worship were all located on the outskirts of urban areas, and they only had a few followers who actually bothered to go and pray there at all.

However, Rawin smiled and responded, “Nothing beats the fresh mountain air when it comes to training one’s swordsmanship.”

“I have no interest in swordsmanship,” Ayhill said.

“I am well aware of that. You prefer to calculate your profits and losses with an abacus in hand rather than swinging a sword,” Rawin replied.

“What can I do? I try to make ends meet,” Ayhill said with a shrug.

“Well, I know very well that you are the type to do whatever it takes if your survival is on the line,” Rawin said.

“That is the destiny of a merchant,” Ayhill replied.

Rawin stood up. His age was bound to slow him down, but he showed no signs of struggling at all when he stood up. As a cool evening breeze blew across the terrace, Rawin asked, “Shall we go for a walk?”

“It is late,” Ayhill replied.

“Look here, you cannot achieve anything sitting around all day,” Rawin said.

“I can turn all the gold on the continent into worthless pieces of metal from the comfort of my seat,” Ayhill retorted.

Rawin awkwardly smiled in response. Ayhill basically meant that he had the power to control the economy of the entire continent overnight; that showed how much of a monopoly the man in front of him had over the continent’s commerce.

“But still, did you not come all the way to this backwater place to cool your head? Going for a stroll under the moonlight never fails to clear the mind,” Rawin said.

Ayhill reluctantly got up in response, and the two men went for a stroll with the black moon looking down on them. He remarked, “The moon is black.”

“It will go back to its original color in a month or two. Perhaps it is because the moon is in that state, but the undead have run rampant these days,” Rawin replied. Then, he went straight to the point, saying, “I heard that the large churches are trying to make you join them.”

“So you were aware of it,” Ayhill replied.

“Just because I live on the outskirts does not mean I have gone senile,” Rawin grumbled in response. The longsword on his waist shook every time he took a step. He added, “All of the churches are eyeing your wealth and real estate.”

“They plan to use it to expand their places of worship,” Ayhill replied with a shrug.

“It is because they think that that in turn will expand their influence,” Rawin said. He carefully asked, “Which church do you plan to join?”

“I am not brave enough to join one. My sense of hygiene is not that good, so it will be a bother for me to keep washing my hands,” Ayhill replied.

“It is as you say. Still, the churches are all corrupt these days, but the church leaders are shrewder than you think. Your life could end up being in danger if you keep maintaining a neutral stance like that,” Rawin warned him.

Ayhill neither agreed nor disagreed with what Rawin said. He might be the biggest tycoon on the continent, but he could not have a moment of peace. In fact, he had spent countless nights awake because he feared for his life. The threats he faced were not the sort that could be solved by hiring a few bodyguards. The main reason he had come to this backwater place was for him to relax a bit, but it was not effective at all.

‘Those damn religious fanatics…’?Ayhill grumbled inwardly. He hated religion. He said in annoyance, “There is not a day that I can be at peace, because all these churches are after my wealth. I sometimes feel as if I want to just throw all my money into a river and be done with it.”

“My friend, do you know how many people would sweat blood just for that money?” Rawin replied, clicking his tongue.

“I know this is a champagne problem,” Ayhill replied.

“It seems to me that you are drowning in champagne,” Rawin said.

Ayhill suddenly stopped. Rawin turned around and looked at him in surprise, asking, “Was I too harsh? Why are you frozen stiff all of a sudden?”

“I think now is the perfect time for Helix to give his blessings to you,” Ayhill replied.

Rawin understood what he meant, ducking immediately. A sword passed through where his neck had been mere moments before.

“Die…! You… religious… bastards…!” a Corpse Knight, which was a high-ranked undead being made up of various corpses combined, cried out as it charged toward the two.

“Guuuuuooh!”?The Corpse Knight moaned as it swung its greatsword.

Whoosh!

“I almost went to Helix-nim! Can’t you just say ‘watch out!’ or ‘duck!’ or something?!” Rawin screamed after avoiding the greatsword.

“Don’t you have to move your feet rather than your mouth right now?” Ayhill retorted.

“Die…! Dogs of the church…!” the Corpse Knight moaned eerily.

The two ran away from the Corpse Knight as fast as they could, but the undead being chased after them at a frightening speed. The two jumped into a paddy field to hide as the Corpse Knight closed in on them.

“You’ve become old. How could you not tell that an undead was right behind you when you’re a church leader?” Ayhill remarked sarcastically while huffing and puffing.

“Damn you. Don’t you know that a Corpse Knight can blend into the darkness very well despite its size?” Rawin grumbled as he readied his sword. He furrowed his brow and bit his lip before saying, “It’s still a relief. A Corpse Knight might be a high-ranked undead being, but it’s the easiest one among the high-ranked to kill. It will die as soon as we destroy the core hidden somewhere on its body. It’s a blue core that glows, so it should be easy to spot as well.”

“Aim for its left shoulder,” Ayhill said.

“What do you mean?” Rawin asked with a confused expression.

“I said, aim for its left shoulder. I saw something blue buried in between the corpses. That should be the core,” Ayhill replied with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Rawin was dumbfounded. He asked in surprise, “Are you telling me you saw that in such a short moment?”

“You really have become old,” Ayhill replied with a sigh.

“I can’t guarantee where my blade will go if you keep being sarcastic like that,” Rawin said in a tone that made it hard to tell whether he was joking or not.

Red divine power flowed out of Rawin’s hands. His divine power did not have healing capabilities, unlike that of other religions, but it had the ability to boost the combat prowess of the user. However, it was considered an inefficient kind of divine power, as it exhausted the user after it was used.

Rawin shouted loudly as he jumped out of the paddy field, “Haaaaap!”

Clang!

The sound of swords clashing reverberated through the air.

Ayhill did not miss the opportunity to run away. He hated the idea of spending his last moments dying at the hands of an undead being in some backwater province. He thought, ‘It’s only after members of the church, so it shouldn’t come after me.’

There was actually nothing glowing in the Corpse Knight’s left shoulder; that was something Ayhill had made up for the sake of survival. The Corpse Knight was only after members of the church, and he saw no point in dying alongside Rawin over that matter.

‘I don’t have a right to criticize the corrupt churches,’?he thought.

He was aware that he was selfish and manipulative, but it was his means of survival. Besides, it was just as Rawin had said. He was a merchant. A merchant needed to be able to cut their losses for the sake of survival.

‘I’ll pray for you every morning if you end up dying, Rawin,’?he thought.

He was now quite a distance away from the Corpse Knight. Just as he was about to catch his breath, however…

Sukeok!

“Euk!”?Ayhill shouted in pain before collapsing to the ground. Ironically, his left shoulder had been cut, and he immediately grabbed his bleeding wound and turned around. There was another Corpse Knight behind him.

“Die…! Kill…! I will…! Eat…! Everything alive…!” the Corpse Knight moaned as it grabbed Ayhill with its squirming hand made of corpses. Ayhill struggled to break free, but the Corpse Knight had no plans to let him go.

Strangely, this Corpse Knight seemed to harbor hatred toward everything living, as opposed to the one from before.

‘Damn it… Am I going to die in a place like this…?’?Ayhill thought as he cursed inwardly. It would be a tragic, yet futile end for him. He could not help but laugh at his circumstances, thinking, ‘I should have joined those damn corrupt churches, if I knew this was how I would meet my demise…’

Then, he would have at least gone to heaven if he joined a church before he died.

The Corpse Knight tightened its grip around Ayhill’s neck. As he slowly felt his consciousness fade, the undead monster opened its mouth in an attempt to bite his head off.

Kwachik!

The blue core hidden within the leg of the Corpse Knight was crushed.

“K… Euughh… Oooh…!”?The Corpse Knight groaned before collapsing to the ground.

Ayhill fell to the ground as soon as the Corpse Knight collapsed, and he wheezed and gasped for air as his neck was freed from the monster’s grasp.

A skeleton with hollow eyes stood in front of him, looking down at him. The skeleton said, “I plan to spread the Church of Madness to the monsters on the continent.”

“What the hell are you…?” Ayhill asked as he looked up.

Kang Yoon-Soo did not bother to respond to Ayhill’s question, instead getting straight to the point. “I will need your help for that, Ayhill Goldwin.”

1. The original words used by the author were ‘you speak as if you are full’, which refers to someone who worries about trivial things when they have more than enough.

2. The original words were ‘you are so full your stomach is about to explode’.