Wizard: I am a goblin

Chapter 106 The gods love me, but they love gold coins even more.

The workers, having received their money, worked with extra energy. By 3 p.m., with the last pulley block being installed on the scaffolding, the dummy statue was basically complete, with only the final finishing touches remaining.

The old carpenter was personally doing the final checks, hands behind his back, picking at this and cursing that—ever since he got everyone a raise, the old man had suddenly become very confident. He didn't even have to lift a finger, just use his words to pick and choose.

Gebu glanced at the money pouch at the old man's waist; the old man was guarding it very carefully.

So smug, let's see how long you can be so smug.

Ten minutes later, Gebu saw that it was time to call it a day and called the old man and all the workers over.

"Hey, what do you think of this statue?" Gebu asked someone randomly.

The laborer looked down at the completed golem and muttered to himself:

"Does this statue look like... By the way, what does the true god Opak look like?"

This profound question left everyone speechless. They looked at each other, a dozen or so people, but not one of them uttered a word.

Yeah, what does Oppa look like? I've never seen it before!

Upon closer inspection, although the Holy Church worships O'Bak, there are no statues of O'Bak anywhere, not even a single portrait.

No one has seen it, no one says it looks like it, and no one dares to say it doesn't.

"Praise be to God! Bless God! Osaka, your glory shines upon this land!"

Geb suddenly shouted from the crowd and then bowed to the statue.

"Your devout follower, Geb, offers you boundless respect! We are lost sheep, but under your guidance, we cast aside ignorance and embrace the truth... Please guide these lost sheep!"

When these words were shouted out, the workers didn't react in time. How come, one second it was a construction site, and the next second it turned into a church?

"Well……"

"Obak above!" Geb shouted again, his voice rising and falling like a chant, "Let the lambs pray for you! Pray! Honor! Magnus... Holy Obak!"

"O...Obak above!" one of the quicker workers shouted after Geb.

Seeing that someone had gotten there first, sporadic shouts of praise rang out from the crowd. Some people recited the words fluently, while others were less proficient and could only keep up when shouting things like "Praise Oppak," otherwise they just mumbled incoherently.

The crowd offered a jumbled, discordant prayer.

Geb slightly amplified his voice with a secondary phantom, making himself sound like a priest with a deep voice.

Guided by his voice, within a minute, the prayers of more than a dozen people came together in unison.

"Small love is love for family, relatives, lord, and land... Great love is love for God! We offer our great love to God, and God, with His love as vast as the heavens, embraces all! Merciful O'Bak, holy O'Bak!"

This set of proclamations was modified by Gebu from the old shaman's prayers, replacing words like "ruthless," "cruel," and "despicable" with "compassion," "mercy," and "righteousness." The workers were filled with fervor upon hearing it.

The voices of the people resonated in each other's chests, and the workers who were initially just following the trend soon began to shout loudly on their own.

"Love God! Reverence God!"

"I love Opak! God loves me!"

"He bestows a bountiful harvest! He bestows sweet rain!"

"Take my wife away, God, I can't stand her nagging anymore! Or, you could make me deaf."

Humans and goblins are pretty much the same... Once there are many people, they are easily swayed by emotions. Geb thought to himself.

Even the rhetoric they use to deceive people is almost identical.

Why go through all this trouble? Well, it's all to build up the persona of a devout believer.

Since the decision has already been made to build a golem, and to use "building a statue of a god" as a cover, why not go all the way and make a big fuss to get Father Usa's attention?

Based on the conversation I overheard, this old guy is incredibly stubborn; he won't even take money if you offer it to him directly. You have to appear exceptionally devout to get his attention.

When dealing with humans, you have to be flexible and adapt your approach – with the swordswoman you have to talk about money, with the dwarves you have to talk about credit and principles, and with Father Usha you have to rely on faith.

This show isn't over yet... We need to make a very deep impression on these guys so that the word can get out.

Geb continued shouting:

"Look, these believers have built a body for you with their sweat. Because they have nothing else but their own hardworking hands... They ask for nothing in return, only hoping that you will bless them."

"I am not strong enough to offer you my sweat, but please accept my gold! This is all my savings!"

Having said that, the halfling walked to the foot of the statue in full view of everyone, and emptied his dimensional bag—whoosh! Hundreds of gold coins poured out of the bag and spread out in a small pile at the feet of "Obak".

"Obak above!" the workers exclaimed, stunned.

Gold! Glistening, golden gold—not just one, not ten, but hundreds!

"What have you offered to the gods!" Gebu suddenly turned to a laborer and said.

All eyes turned to him; he was suddenly placed on a hot plate, stammering and unsure how to react.

"I...I told...I..."

"Aren't you going to offer everything to the gods?" Gebu's eyebrows furrowed, and he shouted sharply.

The man instinctively gripped his money pouch tighter, took a step back, and bumped into the person behind him. He turned his head sharply and saw the old carpenter's face.

The old carpenter took a step forward and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

When Gebu saw this old troublemaker arrive, he pointed at him:

"What did you offer to the gods?!"

"I go to church every Sunday without fail, and I donate to the church every year on Pentecost. I've just given my all for Him all day, isn't that enough?"

The old carpenter wasn't buying into Gebu's act and said with a slightly sarcastic tone.

"You worked for him for a day, so what, does he want you to take back the wages you received? This halfling isn't a priest, he's just a stranger."

As soon as the old man finished speaking, the crowd fell silent, and the previous enthusiastic atmosphere was dampened.

People looked at each other, feeling somewhat ashamed of their earlier fervor.

"You have so much money, it's not fair for you to haggle over our meager wages."

The old carpenter pointed to the pile of gold coins, drawing everyone's attention to it.

"This money is dedicated to O'Bak. You may disrespect me, but disrespecting O'Bak will bring retribution," Geb said coldly to the old carpenter.

"Obak blesses honest, respectable craftsmen, not glib-tongued merchants—these are Father Usa's words. If Obak were alive, he would certainly share this money with us; that is God's will."

The atmosphere on the construction site became tense the moment the topic of dividing the money came up. People realized what the old man was implying—everyone was thinking the same thing, but no one said it aloud.

The old man turned to look at his companions; some had their heads down, while others secretly met his gaze.

Seeing everyone's performance, the old carpenter gained some confidence and turned to Gebu, coldly saying:

"Judging from your appearance, you're not from around here. The dwarf who came with you is from a caravan, isn't he? The priest said that the gods will punish caravan members. If you're truly devout to the gods, then you'd better step aside."

After speaking, the old man took another step forward. A hint of undisguised greed flashed in his eyes. His hand rested on the iron hammer at his waist, his gaze fixed intently on Gebu!

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The Dwarf Master Craftsman's Surface Construction Manual

Article 21:

"Finally, and most dangerously: Never trust human nature."

"Dwarves possess a beastly side in their souls, but clan discipline and strict social hierarchy suppress this animalistic nature, preventing it from easily revealing itself. Humans, however, are different. Their desires are often undisguised, and once they know they don't need to bear the consequences of their actions, greed will triumph over conscience. They will shed the veneer of civilization, revealing the bones and flesh of jackals."

"Never forget that the first dwarven emissaries to enter human tribes were killed by human bandits for carrying gold jewelry, which sparked centuries of racial conflict. Human civilization has progressed, but people are still people, and that will never change."

"Humans never remember, but dwarves never forget."

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