Chapter 230 Corrupting and Hypnotizing Tags Are Great Partners (Two-in-one)
“I have a feeling you’re up to something wicked again.” Aerora eyed Shaya with suspicion.
“How could that be?” Shaya shook his head with a solemn expression. “I am a gentleman.”
He reached out and smoothed down the strand of blonde hair on the young girl’s forehead that had sprung up due to her sixth sense. However, as soon as Shaya withdrew his hand, Aerora’s stray hair sprang up again.
“Could it be that Little Ai’s stray hair has a lie-detection attribute?” Shaya tried to suppress Aerora’s hair several times without success and eventually gave up.
At the same time, however, within Shaya’s Spiritual Ocean, bright and crystalline threads, shining like starlight, were extending from Shaya’s spirit as their source, probing into the Spirit World where the subconscious ocean resided.
Since his return to the historical echoes of the First Era and his awakening on the frozen throne, Shaya had not been idly wasting his time during his stay in Snow City. For a Legend whose spiritual power far surpassed ordinary people, even forming an ocean of its own, multitasking, or even doing a million things at once, was as easy as it could be.
While he appeared to be leisurely strolling through this Elf Royal Court as if on vacation, the spiritual power Shaya had divided was continuously, twenty-four hours a day, using the Spirit World and the Astral Realm as intermediaries to analyze everything on the Prime Material Plane during the First Era.
Mythical Creatures were powerful due to their divinity and authority, but this also meant that everything about them was highly bound to the world rules of the Prime Material Plane itself. By analyzing the world’s rules, it was equivalent to analyzing the power of the deities themselves.
And correspondingly, by desecrating their authority, it was equivalent to—desecrating the deities.
Looking at the stars suspended in the spiritual sky of his spiritual world, emitting illusory light, Shaya’s lips curved into a slow smile. Each illusory star represented a deity’s core that he had completely analyzed and could penetrate.
“So, which one should I start with, to make them my companion?” Shaya pondered, looking at the bright, illusory stars in the Spirit World. After a long while, he gently extended his hand, pointing his finger towards a star emanating a bright yellow radiance.
“Then—”
“Let’s start with her.” Shaya’s eyes flickered slightly.
“You styled yourself with the name of Abundance…”
“However, your actions do not live up to the title of ‘Goddess of Abundance’ in the slightest.”
“Choosing such a target makes the psychological burden of altering other intelligent beings’ self-will much lighter.” With this thought, Shaya’s mind stirred. A command was transmitted through his first Soul Pact to the little mink currently sleeping soundly in the Soul Pact Space.
Since Shaya intended to desecrate and fool deities, turning them into his allies, he naturally couldn’t do without the assistance of the great deity of illusions, Yin. After all, since ancient times, the tags “Corruption Fighter” and “Mind Control/Hypnosis” had always been inseparable good partners.
“Let’s go, Kurama!”
“Ying Ying, Ying~ (Master, I’m a mink, not a fox.)” Yin turned his head and glanced at his fluffy white tail. “Ying~ (I don’t have nine tails either, so don’t call me Kurama!)”
…
Prime Material Plane, Western Continent.
Kingdom of Loertala. This somewhat awkward-sounding name meant “Land where gold is everywhere” in ancient Arlanese. In fact, this small kingdom located at the southernmost tip of the Western Continent did possess a geography that lived up to its name. The vast majority of the Kingdom of Loertala was situated on extremely fertile plains. For a long time, the Kingdom of Loertala had been envied by other countries for being the region with the highest quality grain production. The agricultural produce not only met the daily needs of the residents of the Kingdom of Loertala but often had a surplus, allowing them to trade for other necessary supplies with traveling merchants who plied the Western Continent. Although its territory and national strength were not considered strong among the many human kingdoms on the Western Continent, let alone harboring ambitions of ruling the Western Continent… overall, the residents of the Kingdom of Loertala lived and worked in peace and contentment. While not wealthy, even the most ordinary farmers could eat their fill, and even the most common residents could wear smiles on their faces. At least, that was how it used to be. Until—about a hundred years ago, the King of the Kingdom of Loertala declared his faith in a deity named the Goddess of Abundance. Simultaneously, he designated the Order of Abundance, which she brought, as the state religion of the Kingdom of Loertala.
…
“Why is such a young girl coming alone? Where are your parents?” At the entrance of the majestic church, a guard lowered his head and spoke with a hint of dissatisfaction, jolting Rosha from her daze. The Kingdom of Loertala… it was once a place of immense abundance, a happy country where golden maces could be seen everywhere in autumn, and every citizen could eat their fill. She had heard such tales and witnessed such past from the elders in her village more than once. However, since Rosha was born, she had never seen the magnificent sight of golden maces covering the mountainside during harvest season in the Kingdom of Loertala that the legends spoke of. No one knew what had happened to cause the kingdom, which had always enjoyed favorable weather, to become prone to unpredictable weather, floods, and droughts overnight. Even the once fertile soil on the plains had become withered and barren, unsuitable for cultivation. Ever since then, poverty and famine had become the main theme of the Kingdom of Loertala. And in times of famine, praying to the Order of Abundance, and to the great Goddess of Abundance, became the only way for the disaster-stricken people of the Kingdom of Loertala, trapped in famine, to survive. However—even the right to pray to the Goddess of Abundance was not easily obtained.
“My father has an eye ailment, so he asked me to come and pray to the Mother Goddess,” Rosha said timidly, glancing at the guard of the Church of Abundance. “Also, my father specifically instructed me to bring all of the family’s remaining savings.” She took out a few brightly polished copper coins from her embrace and placed them in the guard’s hand. Seeing the gleaming copper coins in his hand, the guard’s expression softened slightly. He glanced at Rosha, who was wearing shabby clothes and was small and thin, and waved his hand, “You may go in.” “The prayer room is to the left of the entrance.” “Remember, sincerity is key.” “Only by holding the most sincere and devout faith in the Mother Goddess will she respond to your prayers and bestow the blessings of abundance upon the land you cultivate.” “Okay.” Rosha nodded and then cautiously entered the church. The Church of Abundance was solemn and magnificent. It was merely a church in a small town, yet it could be described with words like luxurious or even incredibly opulent. This formed a stark contrast with the old, cracked buildings outside the church and the gaunt-faced, dim-eyed pedestrians on the streets. Following the guard’s instructions, Rosha soon entered the prayer room. Inside the prayer room, the statue of the Goddess of Abundance was entirely made of pure silver, exuding grace and nobility. “Be sincere.” “Only by having the most devout faith in the Mother Goddess during prayer will she respond to my hopes.” Looking at the graceful, noble, and beautiful statue of the Goddess of Abundance before her, Rosha recalled the guard’s words and her father’s careful instructions before she left. She tried to calm her mind. Then, she tried to sincerely believe in the deity who symbolized abundance, the embodiment of earth and harvest. However, every time Rosha, as if in a trance, praised the Goddess of Abundance, a series of thoughts that she herself could not control would involuntarily surface in her mind. If the Mother Goddess truly brought harvest to this land as the doctrine stated… then why had the Kingdom of Loertala, which the elders spoke of as once having golden maces covering the mountains, now become synonymous with famine and barrenness? Also, if the Mother Goddess truly loved the world and could not bear to see the suffering and calamities of the mortal world, and thus descended to the mortal realm to protect her followers. Then, why was this Church of Abundance so luxurious? Putting aside everything else… the statue of the Goddess of Abundance, made entirely of pure silver, in this church in this small town, if melted down and sold to traveling merchants for silver, the amount of grain that could be exchanged for would be enough to feed the thousands of people in the town and surrounding villages for several months, helping them to survive this famine. How many fewer people would have to die. Even though she knew that the thought of melting down the Mother Goddess’s statue into silver and selling it to merchants was a great disrespect to the Goddess of Abundance. If such thoughts were known to the fanatics in the Order, it would be enough to get her burned at the stake. However, remembering the withered and dim faces of the farmers along the way, and her father lying sick in bed, such thoughts could not be suppressed in Rosha’s heart. Although her father’s explanation to outsiders was that he had contracted a troublesome and incurable eye ailment… Rosha herself knew very well—her father did not have a difficult eye ailment. It was clearly blindness caused by long-term starvation.
“Hurry up, I’m giving you five more minutes.” “You’re not the only one who wants to pray to the Mother Goddess.” The church guard’s urging from outside the prayer room made Rosha hastily collect her thoughts. She forcefully suppressed the thoughts in her heart, emptied her mind. Then, recalling the steps her father had told her, and following the instructions in the prayer room, she respectfully made a cross on her chest. “Great Mother of Abundance.”
“You are the mother of all things, the autumn wind of the harvest moon, and the embodiment of universal love.” “I implore you to bless my father’s farmland with favorable weather, so that we will not have to sell our belongings again this year and suffer the hardship of famine.” “I also pray that you bestow sweet dew from the heavens above to heal my father’s eye ailment and restore his sight.” Rosha repeated these prayer words three times, carefully and without missing a single word. Then, she respectfully rose, intending to leave.
But it was at this moment—Rosha felt her vision suddenly become blurred. Her consciousness wavered. In the depths of her being, a gentle, soft power seemed to be pulling her. It led Rosha’s spirit, ascending towards a distant direction. Everything before her was a kaleidoscope of flowing colors and illusory light. Amidst the illusory lights and shadows, Rosha seemed to see a bright and dazzling starry sky. Infinitely distant, infinitely bright. Brilliant and beautiful.
The next moment. The illusory and flickering scene gradually became clearer, becoming more real. She saw a field of crimson gold. A breeze blew, causing the entire field to ripple in layers like the surface of the sea, rising and falling without ceasing. The rich scent of maces carried by the breeze caressed her face, making Rosha feel exhilarated. The scenery of the former Kingdom of Loertala, which only existed in the descriptions of the elders in her hometown, had now become a reality and reappeared before Rosha’s eyes.
However, Rosha’s gaze suddenly shifted. For, amidst the golden fields blown by the wind, Rosha saw a dignified, gentle, and exceptionally holy maiden. Maces grew at her feet, springs of water surrounded her, and she wore a laurel wreath woven from laurel leaves, adorned with various flowers.
The Goddess of Abundance—Rosha’s heart skipped a beat. The maiden before her, in her attire and adornments, as well as her sacred aura, was identical to the sacred statue of the Goddess of Abundance that Rosha had seen in the Church of Abundance earlier. Her father had told her… that the most devout followers of the Order of Abundance had a very small chance of receiving a response from the deity during prayer, becoming so-called oracles and God’s Chosen, thereby joining the Order of Abundance and completely changing their destiny. In other words, had she also received a revelation from the Mother Goddess and become one of the Goddess of Abundance’s Chosen?
But—Rosha asked herself. Did she truly have such devout faith in the Mother Goddess? Just moments ago, she had been considering melting down the Mother Goddess’s statue into silver and selling it to traveling merchants to feed the townspeople, helping them to have a full meal. Rosha felt a sense of bewilderment. Moreover, upon closer inspection, she noticed that although the gentle maiden before her had an aura and adornments very similar to the statue of the Goddess of Abundance in the church, her appearance was slightly different from the statue. Compared to the dignified and plump Mother Goddess, the maiden wearing the laurel wreath appeared younger and more childlike—as if she were the Goddess of Abundance in her childhood.
As soon as this thought arose, the next moment, Rosha’s gaze completely froze. In the field of wheat rippling in the wind, behind the gentle maiden who resembled the Goddess of Abundance, she clearly saw a human youth. Black hair, black eyes. He wore a peaceful smile on his face and was gently reaching out, stroking the soft, chestnut-colored long hair beneath the maiden’s laurel wreath. And the maiden who resembled the Goddess of Abundance obediently allowed him to stroke her head, showing no sign of resistance on her face.
“Since I, as your father, have bestowed upon you the name of the Goddess of Abundance.” “From this day forward, your task will be to bring abundance to all living beings across the vast land.” “Let all famine be completely eradicated from this land.” The black-haired human thus stroked the gentle maiden’s head and said softly. “And by doing so, you will bring abundance to the land.”
His palm moved slightly. The next moment, a packet of powdery substance, along with the movement of his fingers, was scattered across the entire field. Immediately after the powdery substance sprinkled down, the wheat field, which had seemed slightly withered and barren, suddenly came to life. In an instant, crops grew rapidly. Then, golden and plump maces were produced.
“Remember, this is called fertilizer.” The black-haired youth’s words echoed across the boundless golden plain and also resounded in Rosha’s ears.
“Of course.” In the black-haired youth’s words, a barely perceptible smile suddenly appeared. “You can also call it—”
“Kin Kola.”
