Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton

The underground city of Resting Abyss, the place of the Undead Temple, the stronghold of the witches.

Before the Undead Fire, Oke knelt devoutly, his forehead touching the ground, his hands spread out with palms up, murmuring prayers under his breath.

The Undead Fire was like it was being fanned, the flames leaping over a meter high, resembling a large stove.

The Undead Temple of today had completely changed, pillars, arches, railings, tiles, everything that originally belonged to the temple was now brand new.

They were of a type that would automatically repair with energy. When the Flame of the Undead absorbs enough Soul Flames, the residual energy that overflowed was enough to repair the temple.

Whenever Oke prayed, the Silver Skeleton would silently approach and stand beside him. The Faith Elemental Force reverberated between it, Oke, and the Undead Fire, creating the simplest network structure — the Soul Network, finally reaching Lord Ange in the distance.

In this process, each node benefited. The areas of the Silver Skeleton where the bones were loose were already repaired by the Liquid of Rest. Now the bones were turning from silver to gold, and from certain angles, you could see a golden shimmer.

The Silver Skeleton was transforming into a Golden Skeleton.

Oke’s changes were not obvious, but when he straightened his back, one could see the robust muscles of his back and broad shoulders. He was still in his teens, and although not yet an adult, he already had a great foundation.

Divine Arts, the power that is easiest to obtain in the world yet the most difficult. It’s easy to comprehend since as long as one receives the favor and the grace of God, they can quickly become a powerful magician.

However, it is a power that values talent, will, and belief the most.

Some people pray for a lifetime and are just believers, not even a follower. However, some, even at a young age, receive God’s Grace, like Lisa, the saint chosen for the Holy Spirit Possession.

As long as they are graced by God, within a year or two, they can become the spokesperson, messenger, and embodiment of God on earth from being a mere mortal.

From the day Oke started believing in Lord Ange, he was a follower that even Negris would envy. Now, almost two years had passed, he was still the same fervent believer, but his understanding of the will of God has deepened.

He is luckier than Lisa. When Lisa became a saint, the will of God required her to love the world, bestow glory, collect taxes, sacrifice, eliminate heretics, purify the dissident… the list could go on for two to three pages of paper.

The will of God that Oke perceived had only two aspects: to plant and to eat.

So, in line with the will of God, Oke worked hard to plant holy mushrooms all over the grounds of the temple that could be expanded, then provided corresponding food to believers who offered Soul Flames.

As the world’s hub began to operate, more residents of the underground city migrated there, unsurprisingly donating their houses to the temple as they left.

However, Ange’s principle of equivalent exchange deeply entered Oke’s heart. He insisted on giving an equivalent amount of food, basically a few bags of grains, as houses near the temple were not worth much.

With expanded territory came an expanded planting area. Besides praying, Oke’s other task was to purify the Holy Water. With his increasing proficiency in the use of divine power, not only was the purified Holy Water sufficient for the expansion of the planting area, but he also had a surplus to provide to his followers.

Now, people were accustomed to turning to the temple for troubles such as abdominal pain and diarrhea, injuries, uneasiness, dizziness, weddings and funerals.

Of course, matters of marriage and death were not Oke’s concerns. Lisa had extensively reconditioned the surviving priest of the two that Luther had sent over.

It’s unclear how she managed, but now that holy priest is unwaveringly loyal to the Undead Temple. Moreover, she is adept at handling daily affairs, far better than Oke.

The priestess is willing to handle anything except managing the undead. This is because among the undead Skeleton Zombies, a shoddily dressed, ugly corpse with dried and tough skin was a former companion of hers.

Perhaps this was, in part, why she was so loyal to the temple.

Oke slowly sat up, unable to contain the Soul Energy within his body. Instead, it erupted into flames around him, transforming him into a figure encased in fire. The Soul Flame wasn’t extinguished until well after some time had passed.

Silver Skeleton… perhaps it should no longer be called that, as it had begun its transformation into the Golden Skeleton. However, Oke always referred to it by another name—Lord Bone Priest.

As the Silver Skeleton silently turned to walk away, the sound of a broom sweeping echoed in the desolate temple once more.

“Lord Bone Priest indeed possesses great perseverance. I heard it has kept up sweeping for over a thousand years. It holds an indomitable belief, even stronger than the Black Crystal. It is an example I must learn from.” Oke mused, “I’ve heard that was also the case for Lord Ange, who persisted in tending to vegetables for a thousand years and ultimately became the Undead God.”

If Negris heard his words, he would undoubtedly wish to drown Oke’s head in water. It was not because Ange had persisted in tending to vegetables for a thousand years that he became a god. It was because he stumbled upon the Goddess of Fortune’s remains and, as a result, found the Undead Godhood.

At that moment, Oke felt a throbbing sensation. A commanding voice echoed in his mind: “Eating the sapling? Kill! Hermorthos.”

“This… is this an oracle? Who is Hermorthos?” Surrounded by blazes of Soul Flame, Oke murmured in surprise.

As he murmured, a hole suddenly tore open in the space behind him. The Silver Skeleton, broom in hand, crawled out from it. It tilted its head in puzzlement, first glancing at Oke, then staring at the summoning passage that was fading behind it.

“You, summon, me?” The Silver Skeleton surprisingly spoke.

Oke was equally baffled. “It… it seems so.”

Back at Hope Oasis, Lisa was conducting a skin rejuvenating Face Purification Technique for Sofia. Suddenly turning her attention, she muttered, “Kill? Who is Hermorthos?”

Not long afterward, the Purple Corpse stormed into the room wielding a large club and trailing lightning. Thundering with an equally resonating voice, it asked, “Lisa, who is Hermorthos? I’ll crush him immediately!”

Thousands of miles away, Silver Coin was struggling to carry a chest of gold coins into a storehouse. Stacking it amongst a pile of chests laden with coins, he complained, “This is too heavy. If I knew, I would have opted for the Demon Crystal.”

Ange’s voice flashed through his soul, sparking his spirits. He jumped onto his feet and darted outside.

All around him were buildings styled in the design of the Church of Light. This was undoubtedly a city of the church, guarded inside and out by the forces of the Church of Light. Silver Coin, a witch, strode casually between priests and paladins. Those who recognized him even paid their respects humbly because he was an influential figure by the Archbishop’s side.

Finding Anthony without any obstruction, Silver Coin urgently asked, “Did you hear? It’s a divine message. This is the first time Lord Ange has delivered an oracle. Who is this Hermorthos?”

Furrowing his brows, Anthony replied, “I heard. This Hermorthos is a complicated character, though.”