Chapter 45: Waiting for the Rabbit

This must be the reason why the Priesthood has appeared under Pontos. He needs faith, just as Heroes need tales. Both require the thoughts of sapient beings to become the fuel for their promotion to a higher level.

The epics tales can allow a Golden Hero to condense and solidify a Noble Phantasm. This is what Ace learned in the Royal Library.

It now appears that faith, which is more refined than the singing of epics, is very likely to help a Demigod condense a Divine Authority.

Ace continued to think while observing Mulen’s condition.

As an ascetic priest, Mulen’s will was much stronger than the average person’s. Unfortunately, this resolve was powerless against the vast difference in mental strength; his will was being compulsorily weakened.

More and more illusions appeared before Mulen’s eyes. The whispers in his ear made him fearful, made him tremble, and chaotic thoughts filled his mind.

He saw a dazzling light, and a deep voice came from within the light.

“Mulen! Mulen! You are guilty!”

Mulen was in terrible pain. He forced himself to concentrate, trying to see who it was, but only saw the dazzling light.

“Who are you?” Mulen asked hoarsely and weakly.

“You meet me and do not recognize me? Are you still a devout priest of the Lord? I am the Lord’s messenger of justice. Mulen, will you not repent of your sins and beg the Lord for forgiveness?”

The power of the charm made Mulen feel that what the light said was absolutely correct. A massive fear enveloped him, and he even developed an indescribable sense of guilt about himself. He surrendered and prostrated himself on the ground.

“I repent. Before converting to His Excellency the Son of the Sea, I actually held some doubts about Him. I am truly guilty of the greatest sin.”

“Have you oppressed the weak? Have you indulged in selfish desires? The Lord sent me here to hear your sincere confession.”

Mulen poured out his sins like beans, confessing everything from stealing a feather from a neighbor’s chicken when he was young to his current envy that the Grand Priest was more favored by the god.

Ace watched the sobbing Mulen. He hadn’t expected the priest to only have these so-called sins. Aside from the mischief of his youth, his adult sins were merely inner malice. His outward behavior had always strictly adhered to the commandments.

Ace controlled the light he had formed, and it gently stroked Mulen’s head.

“You have been honest with the Lord, and you shall surely receive the Lord’s pardon. Now, you must truthfully report how you have spread the Lord’s glory since becoming a priest.”

“Respected Messenger, ever since I converted to His Excellency the Son of the Sea, I have deeply realized that He is the only savior for us fishermen. We should cooperate with the Merfolk and spread the Lord’s glory together.”

Mulen spoke with a saintly smiel, opening his arms.

“Ten years ago, I received the Lord’s grace and entered the temple to serve. I realized that the Merfolk are the Lord’s naturally chosen people, and our human bodies are inherently sinful. Only by transforming into Merfolk can we get closer to the Lord and serve the Lord better.”

Ace listened quietly to Mulen’s statement. After asking him detailed questions about his duties in the temple and his relationships, Ace cast Stun on him and stripped him naked.

Ace pulled a lock of hair from Mulen’s head, clipped his fingernails, drew his blood, and cut off a small piece of flesh from his backside. He mixed all these together as the Casting Material.

As the Transformation Spell activated, the mixture of blood, flesh, and hair vanished. Ace’s height gradually increased, his skin became dry, he put on Mulen’s priestly robes, and took on a miserable expression full of compassion. No one would have been able to tell them apart.

Ace sensed his transformed body. His internal organs and even his blood and bones had undergone Merfolk transformation. This body was human skin over Merfolk bones.

He took out the goat meat and blood he had prepared and activated the Transformation Spell Model from his Soul Sanctuary on Mulen. Magical energy pulsed. The goat meat and blood vanished, and a mysterious rhythm surrounded Mulen. He transformed into a stunned, collapsed goat.

Ace quietly hid the goat in a nearby family’s sheep pen and used a spell suggestion to ensure they would guard the goat carefully.

The effect of this spell would last for nearly three days, which was enough time for Ace to investigate the secrets inside the temple. He planned to decide Mulen’s fate based on the results of his investigation.

Ace continued along Mulen’s route to the nearby village to preach, proclaiming the greatness of His Excellency Pontos, the Son of the Sea.

The next day, he returned to the temple the same way. Everything was normal.

After returning to Mulen’s residence, Ace was about to go and subtly question the other priests when a young man walked in.

“Priest Mulen, you have returned. I salute you, may the Lord protect you.”

The young man was Anosen, the apprentice and acolyte of the Grand Priest.

Mulen had specifically mentioned him. He was a trusted confidant of the Grand Priest and was easily recognizable by a mole on his brow.

Ace stood up and returned the salute. “May the Lord protect you, Priest Anosen.”

Anosen continued, “The Grand Priest commanded me to inform you to quickly come to the temple hall for a meeting.”

“I will go now.”

“Then I shall not bother you further.”

Ace watched Anosen politely depart, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Where there are people, there is conflict. Mulen’s faction and the Grand Priest were not entirely harmonious.

When Ace arrived at the main hall, it was already bustling. Anosen took a headcount and nodded to the Grand Priest on the platform.

“Fellow priests, silence, please.” The Grand Priest’s voice was slightly sharp. The crowd quickly stopped their discussion after hearing him.

The Grand Priest glanced around, satisfied that everyone respected his authority, and nodded slightly.

“The Lord’s chosen people are the Merfolk. We humans are inherently sinful. But the Lord has pardoned us sinners, allowing us to cooperate with the Merfolk, and has even created the Merfolk Transformation Spell. This allows us to shed our sinful bodies and become Half-Merfolk Priests.”

While the Grand Priest spoke, Ace scanned the room and indeed found Ma’er and his group.

According to Mulen’s description, Ma’er belonged to his faction. Ma’er also caught Ace’s eye and nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

“Some of you were blessed by the Lord’s grace and gradually transformed naturally into Half-Merfolk over a long period. Others are ascetic priests who attained the transformation by enduring indescribable suffering.”

“But now, many more faithful followers of the Lord have yet to be absolved of their sin; they have not shed their sinful bodies. Now, the century-long covenant has expired, and the great transformation ritual we arranged with the Merfolk is about to be completed!”

“The sins of the Cimali people are about to be washed away! Our brothers and sisters will all be permanently transformed into Half-Merfolk! A joint city-state of Merfolk and Half-Merfolk will stand at the southernmost tip of Salia! This is the promised land granted to us by His Excellency Pontos!”

The Grand Priest roared hoarsely. The priests below looked excited, as if they had been waiting for a long time, and began making whimpering sounds of assent.

Ace followed suit, imitating the whimpering sounds, which meant agreement in the Merfolk language.

He began to quickly assess the situation in his mind:

In the short term, remaining in Cimali posed a huge danger.

Both the spiritual brainwashing of the faith and the permanent transformation into a Half-Merfolk were unacceptable outcomes for him. He had to escape quickly.

In the long term, the current enemy might not be the future enemy.

The splitting of Cimali into a joint Merfolk and Half-Merfolk city-state would definitely be bad for Medimus City-State, but not necessarily for Ace.

Wizards, as a rising force, would inevitably be suppressed by the old powers. The conflict between the two Deities and the split of the city-state offered a window for the future rise of the Wizard organization.