Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton
Chapter 1623 - 1184: Who is Lighting the Fire?

Chapter 1623: Chapter 1184: Who is Lighting the Fire?

Anthony’s methods were downright dirty; anyone who’d met him would never think of him as ’kind-hearted,’ especially those he’d deceived. Every time his name came up, they’d gnash their teeth in anger.

His style had nothing to do with ’goodness,’ either. Whether directly or indirectly, those who had died by his hands numbered not in the thousands but tens or hundreds of thousands. Massacres, exterminations, framing, spreading rumors—he’d employed every method imaginable.

The rumor about Nikola raping seven virgin sows, for instance—that was entirely fabricated and disseminated by Anthony. He waited until Nikola was dead before spreading it, offering no chance for rebuttal.

With such methods, his actions couldn’t be remotely associated with ’kindness.’ Even Negris had discussed this topic with him before, and Anthony himself didn’t think he was kind-hearted. He merely believed that, having experienced over a dozen rebirths, his governance was polished through accumulated expertise. For subjects under his rule to die off—it would be downright humiliating.

Though that’s how he framed it, under his governance, tens of millions had managed to survive. His original intentions no longer mattered; even if he thought of it as sparing his pride, could these lives saved truly be excluded from his credit?

If you mercifully release a carnivorous fish into a lake, and it devours all the other fish in the water—can you truly call that kindness? The fish eaten wouldn’t think so.

Anthony was now charging forward, ostensibly to protect the anchor point. But in reality, the South Coronet had shifted focus onto him, temporarily pausing its mass slaughter. If Ange could arrive quicker, he might yet rescue most living beings from this dire predicament.

Unfortunately, that was no easy feat; Anthony was far too fast. Yet the form he inhabited in this world was that of an ordinary human—a body so feeble that a single sudden leap could rupture its internal organs.

As for one serving as the vessel for Divine Power in the role of Holy Priestess, everything else was secondary, but physical robustness was nonnegotiable. A qualified Saintess needed to be stout, sturdy, and shockingly strong.

From this perspective, Lisa and Shamara’s earlier suitability as Saintesses had been questionable; Oke, on the other hand, later grew as robust as a Minotaur. Without even using Divine Power, he could preach faith just by swinging a heavy stick.

But for a Saintess, adhering to divine will sufficed. If she was physically weak—then just make her stronger.

Anthony’s cycles of healing and rebirth wrought visible transformation in Natalia; her physical strength visibly surged, and the Divine Power she could withstand grew stronger still.

Of course, relying on this alone to escape the South Coronet was impossible. Anthony kept rushing toward a terrain riddled with complexities while hurling Light Balls behind him.

Blinding Light Balls emitting dazzling brilliance were tossed out at random—Holy Light Balls. Their intense radiance and waves occluded his figure, blocking sight and disrupting perception.

The South Coronet didn’t flinch or evade, barreling straight into them. Such weak Holy Light Balls posed no threat whatsoever.

In no time, the South Coronet closed in to within mere kilometers of Anthony, regarding his figure with intrigue. It had never conceived that an Origin World entity could birth a native deity—like a dragon hatched from an egg, mistaken at every turn.

The Origin World had always been under the South Coronet’s jurisdiction. While occasional instances of totem worship were unavoidable, over time, such practices might birth faint traces of sacred power within the totems. However, these powers were strictly confined; any excessive belief energies surpassing totemic thresholds would be obliterated directly.

In cases where Divine Fire would ignite, the phenomenon was loud and unmistakable. The South Coronet had never sensed any Divine Fire igniting before—was it possible someone lit it in its absence?

As it puzzled over the deity’s origins, suddenly, a sharp crack—’pi-pah’—rang out. A Crystal Bottle, concealed within a Holy Light Ball, smashed against its form, shattering on impact. Its contents splattered across its body.

The South Coronet froze for a moment, incredulous. A bottle? Was someone attacking with a bottle? This made no sense—did they really intend to use glass as a weapon against it? Ridiculous...

As the South Coronet began to laugh, it suddenly noticed the spilled liquid quickly permeating its form, transforming into clusters of silvery blotches that spread rapidly.

"Jellyfish?!" the South Coronet startled, its body freezing automatically. It reached out reflexively to tear the silver blotches away, but whenever it touched them, its own hands would instantly become tainted by the silver contamination.

"Jellyfish?! Is it really jellyfish? How could he possess jellyfish?" The South Coronet stared toward Anthony in shock.

Seizing the opportunity afforded by its hesitation, Anthony, alongside Natalia, darted into a stone forest—a sprawling region of towering Stone Pillars and Stone Mountains forming a labyrinth of rock, complete with underground tunnels stretching in all directions. As soon as Anthony entered, he vanished without a trace.

The South Coronet scraped at the silver taint in vain, unable to cleanse it. Relenting, it closed its eyes. With a "swish," something darted outward from its tainted form, condensing into existence several kilometers away. The object was a White Crystal.

Upon the formation of this White Crystal, a shadow quickly emerged within it, solidifying into the South Coronet’s physical body. Simultaneously, the tainted form corrupted by the Source of Water dissipated bit by bit until only a puddle of Source of Water remained, hovering mid-air before trickling down.

A simple transfer had erased the contamination from the Source of Water. Yet the South Coronet felt no joy—its intent was to slaughter a chicken, yet the chicken possessed the capability to blind it? This was far from amusing.

Hands clasped behind his back once more, as the South Coronet attempted to regain composure, a flickered flash darted swiftly from the stone forest. The South Coronet took note—a human figure was missing from the light. The female companion was gone, likely left behind, enabling the light to speed dramatically.

"Revealing true divine form now, huh? Hah, cunning creature." With the deity fleeing, the South Coronet naturally refrained from committing vast energy resources toward unleashing the South Coronet Strike against a mere mortal. Instead, it retracted its strength and continued pursuing Anthony.

Yet simultaneously, a question surfaced in its mind: "Is he truly a native deity? Why does he feel familiar?"

This familiarity arose because the South Coronet had previously encountered a sly thief who’d stolen the South Coronet Strike. Clever to the point of infuriation, the deity now reminded him of that same absurd sensation.

Without Natalia weighing him down, Anthony’s speed doubled. Massive angle shifts no longer posed a threat of crushing human bodies.

Whether sweeping curves or sharp turns, he navigated them effortlessly, frequently plunging into the stone forest, diving into riverbeds, or darting into underground tunnels whilst casting Holy Light Balls continually to obscure the South Coronet’s vision.

The South Coronet found itself averse to pursuing too aggressively—fearing Anthony might conceal the Source of Water within another Holy Light Ball. Striking wasn’t an option either; the South Coronet Strike was poorly suited to hitting swiftly moving targets. All it could do was twist and weave in futile attempts to exhaust him.

Amid this relentless chase, far away within the Stone Forest, Natalia climbed upon the peak of a towering stone column. She clasped her hands solemnly before herself, gazing intently toward Anthony’s figure. In a voice steeped in utmost reverence, she prayed:

"Eternal and unending, forever blazing radiant God Star, your gaze vast as the cosmos, your strength burning like fire..."

If moments ago Natalia’s prayers seemed ethereal, they had solidified entirely in this instant. The God Star she venerated moments prior had become fully embodied in Anthony—his weathered face now haloed with kindness and authority.

Zzz—Anthony stared incredulously at his chest as a flicker of Faith Fire emerged, unwittingly grabbing hold of it: "What the hell? Who’s igniting fire? Natalia?"