Chapter 477: The Corrupted Goddess
Dark red mist enveloped the Little Goddess of Holy Light’s body.
She was digesting the energy absorbed from Qin Chu, which was not an easy task.
To Qin Chu, this might be the purest energy, but to the Little Goddess of Holy Light, this energy was filled with pride, wrath, lust, greed, gluttony, envy, sloth, death, hatred, coldness… and so on, filled with chaotic and complex negative emotions.
Like a composite of countless evil thoughts.
Among them, gluttony and lust were particularly strong.
Qin Chu had just experienced a war, a confrontation with the will of a god, which directly led to his own energy depletion.
After that, his energy rapidly recovered, and the Evil God’s heart played a crucial role in this.
It was the Evil God’s heart that converted the energy from the Evil God’s remains into Qin Chu’s energy. This energy was perfectly normal for Qin Chu, without any issues.
But for the Little Goddess of Holy Light, it was tantamount to adding a large amount of poison to abundant energy.
The Goddess of Holy Light had already sensed this during the previous few times she absorbed Qin Chu’s energy. However, the negative emotions contained within the energy weren’t as exaggerated back then. Moreover, she was still in the state of the Great Goddess of Holy Light at that time; even if there were negative emotions, they could be easily suppressed and purified by the Great Goddess.
At this moment, the Little Goddess of Holy Light was undergoing a strange torment. She could choose to expel this energy from her body to avoid being affected.
But, she needed this energy to recover.
Ultimately, the Little Goddess of Holy Light chose to endure. In this Void, what she lacked was energy, and what she didn’t lack was time.
Although her body had shrunk, she was still the most powerful native god of the Heavenly Continent. She believed she could resist, suppress, and expel these negative wills, and her own consciousness would not be truly eroded.
Killing intent, death, indifference, hatred…
Wisps of weaker negative emotions were gradually cleared away by the Little Goddess of Holy Light.
Countless mad whispers seemed to echo in her ears. In a trance, the Little Goddess of Holy Light felt as if she had returned to the war filled with blood and death from millennia ago.
Sloth was expelled.
The Little Goddess of Holy Light’s spirit jolted.
The original dark red color also became lighter and lighter.
Envy was expelled.
Pride was expelled.
Greed and wrath were also expelled.
At this moment, among the negative emotions, only the last two remained: gluttony and lust.
Among them, the emotion of gluttony was clearly stronger. Comparatively, the emotion of lust was slightly weaker. The Little Goddess of Holy Light initially wanted to clear away lust first.
But although this wisp of emotion was weak, it was far more cunning than the will of gluttony.
The Little Goddess of Holy Light even found it difficult to capture the traces of lust. Helplessly, she could only choose to clear away gluttony first, and finally deal with this wisp of lust.
After an unknown amount of time, the will of lust, which had been hiding everywhere, was finally caught by the Little Goddess of Holy Light. Relying on her own powerful will, she suppressed lust and then peeled it away from her body bit by bit.
On the surface of the Little Goddess of Holy Light’s body, the dark red color had completely disappeared, leaving behind pure energy like clear water, resembling glass.
The reddish-brown markings on her face were also rapidly receding.
The Little Goddess of Holy Light finally parted her cherry lips slightly. The next instant, the pure energy was swallowed whole with a whoosh.
However, the Little Goddess of Holy Light failed to notice that at the very moment the pure energy was completely swallowed, a faint pink trace, almost imperceptible, flashed briefly and disappeared, then entered the Little Goddess of Holy Light’s body along with the rest of the energy.
…
Meanwhile, Qin Chu left the rebuilding headquarters of the Holy See and headed towards the commoner district.
Under the name of the Holy See, Veronica had purchased multiple plots of land in the commoner district. There weren’t many buildings on the land, just simple walls built with stones or wooden planks.
Within the walls were quite spacious, plaza-like areas.
The plazas were divided into different sections, filled everywhere with elderly people sitting on the ground. Each area had at least one Holy See member brainwashing… no, lecturing these elderly people.
Perhaps the preaching methods used by these Holy See members weren’t that easy to understand. How great the Goddess of Holy Light was remained too abstract, but these elderly people understood at least one thing: devoutly believing in the Goddess of Holy Light meant they could eat their fill every meal.
Veronica, the person in charge here, noticed Qin Chu’s appearance. Her eyes shone with almost fanatical joy. She quickly walked over to accompany Qin Chu on his inspection.
While passing through one area, Qin Chu frowned slightly: “Veronica, pick out that one, and that one… those few over there, pick them all out.”
Although Veronica didn’t understand what His Holiness the Pope intended to do, as a fanatical believer, Veronica would absolutely not question His Holiness the Pope’s command in the slightest.
She immediately arranged for a group of Holy See members to select all the old men and women pointed out by Qin Chu.
These few elderly people still looked somewhat puzzled.
Qin Chu didn’t explain anything to them, just walked straight to the next area and selected a dozen more people from the believers there.
From each area of the vast plaza, some elderly people could be selected, ranging from a few to dozens. In the end, over a thousand elderly people were gathered.
Such a large group huddled together, whispering. Some didn’t take it seriously at all, chatting in pairs and threes, beaming with smiles.
Clearing his throat, Qin Chu’s gaze finally swept over the figures before him: “Everyone, you may go back now.”
As soon as these words were spoken, a wave instantly rippled through the crowd. Even Veronica looked astonished.
The group of elderly people were even more stunned. They looked at each other, completely unsure what Qin Chu meant. Why could they go back now?
It wasn’t even lunchtime yet, let alone dinner.
Letting us go back now, what about the food?
Not everyone recognized Qin Chu’s identity, but these elderly people could vaguely sense that Qin Chu’s status should be very high. An old man, trembling slightly, mustered his courage and spoke up timidly: “This, this Lord, what do you mean?”
“Exactly what it means literally. You can go home directly now, and you don’t need to come back in the future.”
Although it was a group of elderly people, Qin Chu’s voice and gaze held little pity. Qin Chu never considered himself a savior. In his eyes, this was just a transaction.
He provided them with food, they provided him with faith; both sides got what they needed.
Since it was a fair trade, there was naturally no need for partners unwilling to provide their end of the bargain.
He deliberately infused magic power into his voice, making it echo in everyone’s ears throughout the entire plaza: “You have been stripped of your qualifications as believers of the Goddess of Holy Light. You will no longer receive the Goddess’s grace. Do you understand now?”
Understood. Even the most foolish person completely understood at this moment.
As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd instantly erupted.
The voices of over a thousand people mixed together, sounding exceptionally noisy. These elderly people widened their eyes, seemingly unable to believe this would be their outcome. They were angry, unwilling.
They even hated these Holy See members who had previously given them free food.
Why?
Why?
There was free food every day, fragrant bread and smooth milk.
You asked us to come here to listen to lectures, to pray, and we came. Why strip us of the qualification to enjoy free food?
The free food was simply too important to them. If they could eat their fill here for a day, their families could save some food. Grandchildren could fill their bellies, sons and daughters-in-law wouldn’t have to go to work hungry.
Once the free food disappeared, their entire families would have to return to the previous life of hunger and cold.
Although brief, these elderly people had already grown accustomed to this life without wind or sun, where they could get food just by sitting here every day and chatting casually with their companions.
Now, suddenly having this taken away, who could bear it?
A large group of old men and women instantly surged towards Qin Chu, shouting curses loudly. All sorts of foul language spewed easily from their mouths.
They accused Qin Chu of being heartless, greedy, and disregarding human life.
Some even grabbed handfuls of dirt from the ground, attempting to throw it at Qin Chu.
Others claimed the Holy See was burning bridges after crossing the river. Because the previous internal conflict had weakened the Church’s power, they wanted to use commoners to expand their believers. Now that the situation had stabilized, these commoner believers had lost their value and were being kicked aside.
Shameless, disgusting, vile, little bastard, where did this trash come from…
Filthy curses drilled into Qin Chu’s ears from all directions, but Qin Chu didn’t care at all.
Watching the old men and women, faces flushed red, eyes bloodshot, Qin Chu revealed a cold smile. After a long while, his low, suppressed voice finally spread through the area:
“All of you, shut up.”
An invisible pressure spread out.
The group of red-faced old men and women felt as if a giant hammer had slammed hard into their chests. Their bodies swayed uncontrollably, the foul language already at their lips forced back down.
Their faces even turned pale, an indescribable fear enveloping everyone’s heart.
“You probably don’t know that as the Goddess’s servant, I can see whether you possess faith. Since the Goddess of Holy Light doesn’t exist in your hearts, why should the Goddess’s grace descend upon you?”
“Remember, the Goddess’s mercy and compassion only descend upon the most devout believers. And you are unworthy of the Goddess’s favor.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the surroundings fell into a brief silence.
Qin Chu could clearly feel that the power of faith emerging from the heads of some elderly people who hadn’t been targeted by him became much stronger than before.
Clearly, this act of killing the chicken to scare the monkeys was quite effective. No one wanted to lose this free food.
After the brief silence, this group of elderly people became noisy again. They had also been praying properly every day, so why say they weren’t devout enough?
Was it just because they chatted with others while praying? Who stipulated that praying couldn’t involve chatting?
Even chatting is controlled? Is there any justice left? Is there any law left?
A large crowd surged towards Qin Chu, seemingly wanting to use their numbers to force Qin Chu to retreat, yield, and thus preserve their daily free food and the right to chat freely.
Otherwise, if they just prayed here every day, it would be too boring and tedious.
Even the Holy See members probably wouldn’t dare to kill so many elderly people at once, right?
Age became an advantage at this moment.
Veronica frowned tightly. Although she didn’t want to kill a large number of elderly people at this time, as a fanatical believer, she could do anything, especially when these people threatened His Holiness the Pope’s safety.
The next instant, the tall captain of the Holy Knights raised her right hand.
Shua! Instantly, numerous Holy See members around drew their swords. Under the soft glow of the magic lamps, the blades glinted with a chilling light.
Hiss!
At this moment, the old men and women gasped collectively, their bodies shivering violently, their gazes fixed in terror on the surrounding swords.
Their throats moved continuously, swallowing saliva.
They wouldn’t really dare to act, would they?
This is over a thousand people, and all elderly!
The dignified Holy See shouldn’t commit such a cruel act, right? They must be trying to scare us, definitely…
People paused in place, wanting to advance but fearful, wanting to retreat but reluctant to give up the free food.
“Blasphemers.”
Qin Chu spoke in a cold voice: “Either leave here, or leave your corpses behind.”
“All Holy See members, heed my command. Anyone who dares take another step forward will be considered disrespectful to the Goddess and attacking the Pope.”
Gulp.
The eyes of the Holy See members holding weapons around them already showed a hint of ferocity. Once deemed an attack on the Pope, they had the right to kill on the spot.
“I don’t believe it. You really dare to act,” an aged voice broke the deathly silence.
It was an old man with white hair and beard. His face was filled with anger; he had also cursed the loudest and rushed to the front earlier.
But this time, he hesitated.
This old man was clearly more cunning than the others. His murky eyes darted around, and a plan seemed to form in his mind.
The next second, this old man suddenly turned around, directly facing all the other believers in the entire wide plaza. He seemed to use all his strength, shouting at the top of his lungs: “Everyone, listen to me.”
“The Holy See is just a bunch of bastards who burn bridges after crossing them! Just because they gave us a little food that tastes like death, they think they can make us work for free for life? Dream on.”
“They should be paying us wages! We sit here praying every day, how hard is that? Asking for a little wage isn’t too much, right?”
“Now they can kick us out with one foot. In the future, this kind of thing might happen to you too. Only if all of us unite now and stand up together to resist can we protect the benefits we deserve.”
This old man’s words were very inflammatory. Some muddle-headed old men and women actually felt they had sacrificed so much hardship, and the daily free food simply couldn’t compensate for their efforts. After a period of hesitation, they joined the previous group.
In an instant, at least two thousand people crowded before Qin Chu, a vast, dense mass.
The remaining elderly people looked at this group with either disdain or pity.
These idiots, don’t they know who this new Pope of the Holy See is? On the very day he took office, he slaughtered thousands upon thousands of Holy See members. Do you really think a bunch of old bones like you can make him yield?
Dream on.
“Record the identities of all of them, including their families. They are forever forbidden from becoming believers of the Holy See. Then drive them out. If they refuse, forceful means may be used.” Qin Chu snapped his fingers with a pa sound, then turned and left, preparing to head to the next area.
Not long after, Qin Chu vaguely sensed a slight change in his Death Divinity.
He knew Veronica had already acted, and the first death had occurred.
It seemed that not only his own actions counted, but even the deaths caused by his subordinates following his orders were calculated into the Death Divinity. That was quite convenient.
…
Meanwhile, in the Void.
Without those troublesome negative emotions, with the Little Goddess of Holy Light’s strength, digesting this energy posed no pressure at all.
In a short time, the energy was completely converted into the Little Goddess of Holy Light’s own power.
Only then did the Little Goddess of Holy Light finally open her eyes.
Her golden pupils shimmered with a silver-white luster.
“Truly filled with evil thoughts.”
A slight curve touched her lips as she murmured softly, her voice holding both disgust and a slight tremor.
This was the pure power of the strongest Evil God. The Little Goddess of Holy Light would never mistake it. As a goddess who had fought that terrifying existence for many years, she knew this energy better than any other being.
Her expression suddenly turned somewhat sorrowful, yet also pitying!
