Chapter 440: Converting to Another Religion
The fishman youngster never imagined he would meet Cang Xu under such circumstances.
“This is truly troublesome,” the fishman youngster murmured, his expression heavy with worry.
Even saving himself was difficult now, and Cang Xu had become a prisoner of the saint level priestess Zhou Zhang. Therefore, the fishman youngster not only had to save himself but also rescue Cang Xu.
“What am I to do?” The fishman youngster once again felt the inadequacy of his own strength.
He was merely a silver level. Yet before him, even the gold level fighter and necromancer had been easily captured by Zhou Zhang.
The might of the saint level was too formidable for a gold level to withstand, far surpassing the difficulty of a silver level slaying a gold level!
Besides Zhou Zhang, there were at least five other gold level enemies. Silver level and iron level foes were even more numerous.
If the fishman youngster attempted a direct confrontation, he would have to face an entire undersea army!
Seeing the fate of the necromancers, he felt fortunate he hadn't taken the risk earlier.
Even with his Bloodcore absorbing undead bloodlines, allowing him to transform into an undead, acting alone would still be extremely dangerous.
The moment he became a ghost, passing through the walls of the Ocean Mother Nest to the outside world, would be the moment of his complete destruction. Or he'd suffer the same fate as Cang Xu and the others, captured.
From these prisoners, the fishman youngster keenly sensed Zhou Zhang's formidable power. Even without witnessing the battle firsthand.
Zhou Zhang had captured alive Ba Qi, Lady Sea Snake, Ruan Tang Ren, and the necromancers led by Jian Gui. Such a feat was terrifying.
After all, killing and capturing alive were entirely different levels of difficulty.
Especially when the fishman youngster calculated the time, Zhou Zhang had departed the altar and returned in mere moments. To capture so many powerful foes in such a short span... Such combat prowess was truly terrifying upon reflection.
The prisoners were escorted beneath the altar.
The octopusman escorting the captured Ba Qi was named Zhang Yu Wan, he cursed under his breath before delivering a vicious kick to Ba Qi's shin.
Ba Qi's combat power had been completely sealed.
Zhou Zhang had subsequently cast a divine spell upon him, allowing him to breathe freely underwater and withstand the immense pressure of the sea, yet leaving him utterly powerless to resist.
The brutal kick sent Ba Qi crashing to his knees.
It must be said, this battle was undoubtedly the most humiliating for Ba Qi.
He possessed the Bad Weather bloodline, cultivated the Air Pressure battle qi, and mastered the racial magic Air Element Transformation.
His trump card made him virtually devoid of any fatal structural weaknesses in his body.
Yet he was enveloped by the Opportunistic Deception Spell, completely unaware he was under attack. Even when he thought he was consuming healing potions, his enemies had stolen them, yet he remained oblivious.
His formidable racial magic Air Element Transformation remained entirely unused.
It could be said Zhou Zhang had completely countered him, rendering his formidable power utterly useless.
But victory was victory, defeat was defeat. Ba Qi's face darkened, yet he acknowledged the truth. He knelt on both knees, utterly still, offering no resistance.
Soon after, Lady Sea Snake was dragged to Ba Qi's side and forced to kneel.
Perhaps the kneeling motion was too violent, for she coughed up a mouthful of blood. Her expression was utterly exhausted, her gaze dim and lifeless, stripped of her usual radiance.
Her current predicament was an utterly crushing blow!
Lady Sea Snake had considered Jian Gui and others but never imagined encountering a being like Zhou Zhang.
Success had been within her grasp, only to slip away at the last moment. Not only was the forcibly contracted gold level sea serpent utterly destroyed, but she herself had become a prisoner.
The fall from grace was staggering.
Ruan Tang Ren followed closely behind, forced to his knees.
His condition was equally dire. To subdue the gold level sea serpent, he had not only expended every ounce of strength but also downed two potent potions.
Now, his entire body felt like jelly, utterly devoid of resistance. He couldn't even maintain his kneeling posture, soon collapsing face-down onto the ground.
Even in this state, he hadn't forgotten to care for his beloved.
Ruan Tang Ren dragged himself forward inch by inch, his chin scraping the floor as he moved toward Lady Sea Snake.
“No, don't be afraid. At least we're still alive,” he managed to say, his words strained.
Lady Sea Snake remained unresponsive, her expression vacant.
Seeing his beloved in this state, Ruan Tang Ren felt a sharp pang of sorrow.
Jian Gui soon knelt beside them, joining the line formed by Ba Qi and the others.
Xiao Wang Zi sobbed quietly while being pressed close against him.
Ku Feng had lost one arm. This was the result of his reaction mid-battle, after the effect of the Opportunistic Deception Spell faded, as he fought back with all his might.
His expression was as hard as iron. His combat prowess was at the peak of the silver level, but his opponent was Zhang Yu Wan of the gold level. He had managed to survive due to Zhang Yu Wan deliberately holding back.
Cang Xu, however, suffered little damage.
Of course, this was because he had regained his senses and deliberately ceased resisting.
Cang Xu possessed the weakest strength. In such circumstances, the weakest often fared better than the stronger.
Cang Xu raised his eyes to observe Zhou Zhang ascending the altar, surrounded by the vast undersea army, his heart filled with bitter resentment.
The necromancers had sought to play the role of the third party, only for the true victors to be Zhou Zhang's faction, who had struck last.
This was a crushing defeat in every sense!
"Damn it! Now a prisoner, facing enemies too powerful to hope of escape."
“Must I truly meet my end here this time?”
Cang Xu felt profound resentment, especially knowing the Bloodcore existed.
Yet he also silently urged himself to remain calm: "Since these octopusman didn't kill me outright on the battlefield but instead captured us all and even kindly cast divine magic to keep us alive underwater for now... if they truly intended to kill us, this wouldn't be the moment."
Qing Xin was eventually escorted to Cang Xu's side.
She knelt down of her own accord.
The expression on this wind magician's face was numb.
Her situation had already been dire aboard the ghost ship.
She never imagined that after this battle, she would become a prisoner.
For Qing Xin, it truly felt like there was no worst living environment, only worse ones!
Qi Ling was not spared either, joining the ranks of kneeling captives.
Yet among all the prisoners, her situation might be the least dire.
For she had connections to the Da Ji Clan. After their retreat, the Da Ji Clan had now reunited with Zhou Zhang and the others. This offered Qi Ling a glimmer of hope.
If Zhou Zhang had accepted the Da Ji Clan, perhaps she might also accept her - this special fishman who had always prioritized the tribe, who even after becoming a necromancer, secretly protected them?
Besides those kneeling in the front row like Ba Qi and Jian Gui, every pirate aboard the Fluffy Cloud, and every crew member of the Heroism Pirates, had been rounded up.
But they weren't worthy of kneeling before the altar.
The fishmen of the Da Ji Clan were not treated as prisoners.
Qi Ren, Qi Shu, and Qi Miao scanned their surroundings.
The immense magic formation sprawling across the mountain wall left them awestruck. The sight of the gold level beast bone altar filled them with awe.
Seeing their enemies reduced to captives, a sense of satisfaction and excitement at vengeance filled their hearts.
The clan priestess, Qi Miao, whispered to the clan leader, Qi Ren: “Lord Qi Ling has also been taken captive. Should we report this situation to Lord Zhou Zhang?”
Qi Ren's face darkened as he shook his head slightly. "Now is not the time. We must endure for now. For the moment, they should not be in mortal danger. My greater concern is that we hold no standing to plead for a necromancer before Lord Zhou Zhang. Haven't you seen the looks on the others' faces?"
The vast undersea army encircling the altar fixed their gaze upon the necromancers, their eyes brimming with intense loathing, hatred, fear, and murderous intent.
Compared to the human Ba Qi and Lady Sea Snake, the necromancers were clearly far less welcome.
Zhou Zhang had ascended the altar, surveying everyone below.
Her gaze swept lightly over the others before settling on the captives like Ba Qi.
Zhou Zhang spoke in the Universal Language, introducing herself: "I am Zhou Zhang, devoted entirely to serving our deity, Charming Blue Goddess. As one of the archbishops of the Charming Blue Church, your capture by my hand must be the will of the gods, the arrangement of fate."
“Now, you have a choice.”
“Choose to convert to our deity, the Charming Blue Goddess, and you may gain the chance to survive, even freedom.”
“But if you cling to your former faith, utter annihilation will be your only fate.”
As a saint level archbishop of the Charming Blue Church, spreading the goddess's faith had always been her primary duty.
Hearing her words, the captives revealed expressions of shock.
“Charming Blue?”
“Wasn't she already destroyed?”
“No. As long as a single believer remains, the deity is immortal, at most, she has merely fallen into slumber.”
“So that's why the saint level priestess didn't exterminate us outright...”
After the initial shock, the captives fell into silence.
Convert?
For them, this was an extremely weighty and difficult decision.
In this world, nearly everyone held onto their own beliefs. Many devout believers would rather die than renounce their faith. To these believers, death held no terror. By holding fast to their faith, even in death, they might earn the deity's favor, be guided to the divine domain, and thereafter enjoy the blissful life of heaven.
Zhou Zhang's threat of life and death seemed forceful, but in truth, for some deeply devout believers, it was a negligible threat.
The difficulty of conversion also signifies the difficulty of proselytizing.
Typically, the more powerful the deity, the easier it was to spread their faith. But Charming Blue Goddess was clearly not a powerful deity, and her situation was dire. After that divine war, she had remained in slumber.
Given sufficient time, Zhou Zhang might have employed gentler, more measured methods for proselytizing. But now, tasked with presiding over a blood sacrifice, she possessed neither the time nor the patience. Thus, she resorted to threatening life and death, forcing conversion through sheer force.