Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton

There were large rocks underground, but they looked peculiar. Their shapes and outlines were very irregular. How could they be described? It was as if a glob of water had struck a certain point and then had splashed all over, solidifying into stone.

When Ange had cleared all the nearby soil, he was taken aback to find that indeed a glob of water had struck a person. The splashing water had encapsulated most of his body, leaving only his hands and feet exposed.

His thoughts scanned through the feet, clearly seeing the textures of the internal skin, muscle, bone, and other tissues.

Negris looked at this petrified person, then glanced at the position of the temple entrance and speculated, “Could it be that the angel statue had emitted some weapon or technique that petrified this person? But if it was an attack launched by the Holy Spirit Angel, why did the angel itself also turn into stone?”

Shamara touched the exposed hands and feet of the petrified person and suggested, “Unless, he is the God of Balance.”

“What? The God of Balance? The Equal Cross, beneath the cross, all things are equal. But it can’t be, why would the Holy Spirit attack their god?” Negris asked, utterly bewildered.

“It’s only like this. If the God of Balance is petrified, the person who attacks him will also be petrified,” Shamara replied matter-of-factly.

Negris was torn between belief and skepticism. He guessed then that Shamara had awoken some sort of divine technique related to perception. Her predictive ability was very strong. If she felt this petrified person was the God of Balance, then there was a high probability it was the truth.

But if that were the case, it would imply another problem. Why would the Holy Spirit Angel attack their own god?

Shamara shook her head, “I don’t know, perhaps it was hurt.”

While they were talking, Ange quietly summoned the Scythe of Death, motioning as if to strike at the neck of the statue.

“Stop! Cease! Hold!” Fortunately, Negris noticed in time and bellowed, stopping Ange’s actions.

Ange tilted his head in confusion.

“You can’t cut. If it is really the God of Balance, then the equal action on your body would be as if your soul was also sliced, you can’t cut, you should try something else first.”

Ange tilted his head again.

“Cast a Purification spell on him. The Holy Light will not harm him. If he can absorb the Holy Light and it affects you, then he is the God of Balance.”

When he finished speaking, Negris murmured uncertainly, “In theory, the Equal Cross is a rarely used divine technique. As a Master God of Light, it formally ‘equalizes’ with any enemy, wouldn’t that put it at a disadvantage?”

Shamara looked confused, “Why not use it when the enemy is too weak, and use it when you can’t beat them?”

“Pff…you make a lot of sense. If you can’t beat them, then use it. This isn’t a God of Balance, it’s a God of Double Standards. It is deployed when needed and packed away when it’s not. Bada.” Negris was extremely irritated. It seemed like all these Gods of Light used sneaky and cunning tactics.

Shamara uttered obtusely, “You seem to have some misconceptions about gods. Gods became gods because they hold power, not because they are equal and fair. Without power, no matter how fair and just, he is not a god.”

“Huh?!” Negris was stunned by Shamara’s statement. Although such an argument is popular among mages and atheists within the Republic of Stellaris, it should not have come from Shamara. “You’re not supposed to talk like that. Aren’t you a devout believer?”

“Yes, I am a devout believer. I believe in the Light, I pursue pure light. When it is no longer pure, it is no longer the light I pursue. God, has betrayed me,” Shamara explained matter-of-factly, seemingly oblivious to the darkening Sacred Flame within her.

Her comments profoundly shocked Negris. He suddenly had a better understanding of why he no longer had fanatical followers and why Shamara fell from grace. He seemed to have misunderstood the concept of ‘god’.

A god became a god because they acquired power, not because they became a god, then acquired power. Therefore, the notion that adapting to the rules would make one a god was fundamentally flawed.

If he hadn’t possessed the power of the Bronze Giant Dragon to begin with, could he have become a god? Initially, if he hadn’t used his own power to secretly help those guys in their exams, could he have become a god? If…

Negris considered many things. A lot of things he didn’t understand before suddenly made sense.

A god, having gained power, establishes a set of rules and upholds them. More and more people adapt to these rules, believe in them, integrate into them, and become part of these rules.

The power of a god, will grow stronger as a result, and the rules will be further solidified.

When these rules can benefit everyone, the believers will naturally uphold, protect, and practice them. All who oppose will be annihilated.

In the end, the operation of these rules becomes an inertia. Even if the Gods of Light disappear for a thousand years, they continue to function independently.

This is the intrinsic logic of how a divine power system operates, a concept he had misunderstood all along.