Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton
Chapter 1521 - 1082: Come Out to Me

Chapter 1521: Chapter 1082: Come Out to Me

"Ah? The Lord of Omniscience? I..." Village Chief Popo wanted to say he didn’t believe. He had never even heard of this deity before, so how could he possibly have faith?

But before he could finish speaking, the tempting aroma from the菜团子 drifted to his nostrils, making him involuntarily swallow his saliva. "Gulp... Uh, do I believe or not?"

Silver Coin pulled out more菜团子 and handed them one by one to the people coming down behind him, speaking kindly, "If you believe in the Lord of Omniscience, you will certainly receive His protection. After you eat, there’s more. If you don’t believe, then after you’ve bought your grain, you may leave."

Why is it that in most planes, goblin merchants have better success than human merchants? It’s not because they’re cunning and dishonest—that’s just slander spread by those who can’t compete with goblin merchants. The real reason lies in their short stature.

Short goblins don’t seem threatening. Standing there, looking up at you with their heads tilted, they seem approachable and kind. It’s easy for people to let their guard down. Who would imagine they could lug around a money bag big enough to flatten someone?

Silver Coin’s friendliness naturally led Village Chief Popo and the others to relax their vigilance, letting out a sigh of relief. So, it didn’t matter if they didn’t believe—they could still buy grain. In that case, they could just not believe, buy grain, and immediately head back...

Thinking this, Popo took a bite of the菜团子. The taste made his eyes widen in shock, his focus instantly shifting to the菜团子.

Chewing a few times, he swallowed and felt the smoothness as it slid down his throat, the lingering taste on his lips and teeth, and the warm sensation spreading through his stomach. Without realizing it, Village Chief Popo exclaimed, "Delicious! This is so delicious, mmm mmm..."

Village Chief Popo devoured the菜团子 ravenously, then excitedly turned to Silver Coin and asked, "Is there really more? Is it still possible for me to believe in the Lord of Omniscience now?"

"Hehe, of course it’s possible," Silver Coin replied with a chuckle, gesturing behind him. "See over there? The Flame of Wisdom—pray sincerely to it. If it responds to your prayers, you’ll receive the protection of the Lord of Omniscience. Go ahead."

Behind him, a newly built altar stood with a dazzling, purple flame burning brightly on top.

At this moment, quite a number of people were already there reverently praying, but looking closely—why were they all veteran mercenaries of the Violet Mercenary Group?

Seeing these mercenaries, Little Fat Dragon muttered sourly from afar, "You’ve planted stooges everywhere, haven’t you? Would you die without stooges? Trickery and deceit—this is outright deception! What’s the point of faith gained this way?"

Anthony laughed and replied, "How can this be called deception? Yes, they’re stooges, but stooges serve different purposes. Here, their role is to guide and demonstrate. Imagine going to an unfamiliar temple. You might think, ’Well, since I’m here, I might as well worship.’ But then you see all kinds of offerings, prayers, kneeling cushions, and magic artifacts, and you have no idea how to use them. What would you do?"

Negris shot back irritably, "I wouldn’t randomly worship in some unfamiliar temple!"

"You wouldn’t, but general believers would," Anthony countered. "In this world, most people are general believers who follow the crowd. Often, their prayers don’t come from genuine devotion but from habit. Do you think I required followers of the God of Farming to pray before meals, thanking the divine for their food, because I wanted them to be devout? Not at all. It was just to cultivate a habit."

Anthony sighed thoughtfully, "The vast majority of sentient beings are ordinary—they lack passion, resilience, or dedication. They cry when they hurt, and they change their minds if beaten. Faith is the hope of the weak. Those with steadfast resolve and strong will don’t need faith."

"We give the weak a hope, leading them to habitually pursue that hope until they eventually reach the land of happiness."

"We shouldn’t condemn them for lacking devotion in their faith. Instead, we must ensure the hope we provide is correct, will certainly materialize, and guide them in the right direction, ensuring they have strength along the way. That is what gods should do—that is a divine mission."

The average person who heard this might feel Anthony’s words were profound. But Negris was utterly dumbfounded, as this was an entirely new theological framework that actually sought to define the mission and duties of gods.

No religious holy code had ever set forth restrictions for deities—only for their followers. This... wasn’t this flipping the norms upside down?

Though shaken, Negris found himself able to accept this theory to some extent. After all, he had stated long ago: It wasn’t gods who created their followers; it was followers who created gods.

With the stooges demonstrating, Village Chief Popo and the villagers almost entirely flocked to the Flame of Knowledge after finishing their菜团子, either devoutly or hesitantly bowing in worship. The more sincerely they prayed, the higher the flame of the Fire of Knowledge rose.

This wasn’t any Flame of Knowledge—it was clearly the Undead Fire, though its flame was so intense that its form had transcended into something entirely different, making it hard to recognize. However, its operational principles remained unchanged.

Those who prayed devoutly would leave afterward, filled and satisfied, their fleas removed, their wounds treated, their bodies bathed, and their health restored. Clad in fresh clothes, they looked rejuvenated, inspiring hesitant people to become devout in turn.

Even those who had intended to buy grain and leave couldn’t resist growing increasingly hesitant. The Lord of Omniscience seemed like a pretty good deal—was it too late to believe now?

More and more airships gathered around the few islands exposed above the surface in the Sea of Omniscience. Those willing to believe in the Lord of Omniscience were transferred into underwater "bubbles," while the rest, after eating菜团子 and paying for their grain, could load their goods and leave.

From time to time, a "balloon" would float up from the sea, and dragging it ashore revealed its underside tied to a string of large, waterproof bags filled with grain. These were sent floating up directly from underwater, effectively preventing theft.

Payment was mandatory before goods were loaded on board. If someone wanted to steal, their only option would be infiltrating the bubble cities underwater.

However, some unscrupulous individuals who managed to sneak underwater quickly dispelled their thoughts upon sensing the massive power of the Earthshattering Thunder Array and the thunder elements it contained.

The Black Tether Organization had once gathered several mercenary groups for an attempt to raid Violet’s Underground City. But raiding the Sea of Omniscience wouldn’t prove so simple. Even the layer of surface water alone posed a significant barrier, while small, sharp incursions risked running afoul of defensive arrays.

Thus, despite the disappearance of grain from the Sea of Omniscience becoming widely known throughout the Void, no major conflicts ever occurred around the region.

But the inevitable would eventually arrive. One day, the Great Ruler dragged a dozen coffins across the Void and landed above the islands. Following him was North Corona.

After a period of searching, they had failed to locate the World-Ending Magic Formation. Frustrated and impatient, they followed their search further and further, unknowingly coming near the Sea of Omniscience.

Seeing the origin of all these occurrences, North Corona recalled the figure who had fought him over the Undying Divine Fire. Glancing at the Great Ruler beside him, his courage bolstered. From afar, he shouted loudly, "Come out! Whoever snatched my Undying Divine Fire—come out and face me!"