Chapter 229: Faith

In a short while, a green-skinned Sahuagin warrior roughly pushed aside the soldiers holding tridents.

His status was evidently slightly higher; his fins and body were a full size larger than those of ordinary Sahuagin.

He mimicked the human manner, clumsily and crudely bowing to Rod.

Then he chattered away in their Sahuagin tongue.

Rod did not understand a single word.

The male mage under siege over there saw the Sky Sail descending and shouted urgently, "My lord! These Sahuagin are bandits who occupy this place! They oppress commoners and kill the innocent without cause; they have long been notorious. Kill them all quickly!"

Only then did the male mage notice the scene on the ground where Zena's limbs were all severed.

Immediately, a chill ran through his heart again.

He hurriedly said, "My lord, you just saw it! This woman ambushed me! My actions have absolutely nothing to do with hers! I never thought of laying a hand on you! My lord, please act quickly! Sahuagin are naturally of terrible and cruel character; they must not be allowed to remain here for long."

That Sahuagin of slightly higher status seemed to have understood his words.

He glared viciously at the male mage and spouted a string of gibberish; one need not guess that it was trash talk.

Rod activated the translation skill of the 【Tremor Soul Blade】.

"He is saying that this man and woman stole their Sacrificial Offering."

Behind him, Kalist, who had ordered the Sky Sail to land, spoke in a soft voice.

She regarded the mutilated body of that ultra-aggressive woman, Zena, with keen interest.

"Sacrificial Offering?"

Rod was curious.

On the current continent, this word was not a good thing.

The Sahuagin before him seemed to notice his bad expression and hurriedly explained, chattering away.

At this moment, Rod finally understood what he meant.

It seemed that after being baptized by a legendary spell more than twenty years ago, their main combat forces had been completely wiped out, forcing them to reform and abandon their past ways.

He said that over these years they had not harmed a single person along the Hansen River.

They had not even killed small animals on land.

Even the Sacrificial Offerings held for the annual early-winter ritual were conducted by using hand-carved wooden objects and purchasing jewelry and meat products from humans.

While he spoke, the lie-detection spell cast by Kalist showed no reaction.

This proved that what they said was the truth.

Besides.

This place, the Koshi Plain, was still within the sphere of influence of the Argyle family and fell within the news coverage area of the Snow Hill Evening Post.

Rod had never seen any negative news about the nearby Sahuagin in the newspapers.

In fact, once he had even seen an account of Sahuagin helping local residents salvage drowned cattle and sheep.

"Sahuagin are originally aquatic intelligent races with a cruel nature, but does this group that migrated to freshwater rivers completely lack these personality traits?"

Rod pondered silently.

Intelligent beings of land and sea usually have great differences in character.

Most aquatic intelligent beings do not care about morality and emotion; they are more cruel and possess gluttonous traits.

Whether it be Sahuagin, Kuo-toa, Sea Naga, or the Sirens whom many mistakenly believe to be mermaids, if one were to list their menus.

One would undoubtedly find that it encompasses the vast majority of creatures on the continent, even including their own kind.

"They believe that seawater is the source of becoming violent and cruel."

After checking Zena's condition, Kalist triggered an ice arrow that pierced her heart. Zena's eyes widened, and she died completely without making a sound.

After killing her, Kalist was not done; she specially used a purification spell to treat the corpse and the blood.

"Do you know these Sahuagin?"

"They are more famous than you imagine. They are the only group of Sahuagin on the continent capable of surviving in freshwater. Academies in Aethelorn compete every year for the blood samples they provide."

Is there such a thing?

Then wasn't that male mage just trying to fool me like a fool?

Rod immediately looked at him with a displeased expression.

He was already barely holding on, and seeing his last hope shattered.

Under the assault of rage, his mana reversed, he could no longer maintain his magical shield, and he was immediately captured on the spot.

Seeing that Rod had no intention of interfering, that Sahuagin of higher status hurriedly pulled out the male mage's magical satchel.

He quickly found the Sacrificial Offering inside.

He also understood some human customs; he grabbed a handful of jewelry and a palm-sized statue, saying he wanted to give it to Rod and the others as a greeting gift.

The jewelry was unnecessary.

Rod could not stand the fishy smell on them.

He only took that brown wooden carving—a statue that perhaps was human-shaped.

Why say "perhaps"?

Because it only had basic contours; what it was depended entirely on one's imagination.

From Rod's perspective, it was a seated human with a large beard.

"This is a fictional deity named 'Hoff' worshipped by the Sahuagin."

The Continental Encyclopedia, Kalist, stated.

"They intentionally blur the content of the carving, believing that anyone who sees the appearance of the god Hoff will be possessed."

Rod was puzzled; he thought about it from the perspective of divine faith and said:

"A deity without a clear appearance, could it not affect the faith and inheritance of believers? And... they seem to shape their race's deity into a terrifying image."

The vast majority of races worship their deities by shaping them into benevolent, motherly figures.

Take the Lizardfolk's Lizard Mother Goddess, for instance.

She is a mother deity who embraces all Lizardfolk.

The Snow Hill Evening Post once reported a scandal of this sort: a Lizardfolk councilor in Nightlight City, who was a rival for the position of Vice Mayor, was exposed for hoarding thirty-six "imported" magical dolls in his home, each with a picture of the Lizard Mother Goddess pasted on its face.

Though shocking, it was enough to prove how kind and benevolent the Lizard Mother Goddess truly is.

Deities like the Sahuagin's God Hof are absolutely the exception.

"The natural forces in the deep sea are far more hostile than those on the continent; perhaps they regard a certain disaster as a deity. The Sahuagin might actually be bullies who pick on the weak, or they might worship an exceptionally powerful individual from the deep sea as their god."

Lady Kali scowled:

"As for the claim that 'seeing the appearance of God Hof causes possession,' a similar spell can be found—【Name Echo】, an eighth-tier spell. The caster sets a specific word; as long as anyone on the continent speaks it, they can sense it."

Ho.

Quite powerful.

An eighth-tier spell? Rod pondered silently.

For someone who has mastered an eighth-tier Spiritual Art, an eighth-tier spell does not seem so unattainable.

Although his mana accumulation is only second-tier.

As he thought this, Rod glanced at the hyper-aggressive woman named Jenna, whose heart Lady Kali had pierced through.

"Did you find anything?"

He asked while bidding farewell to the Sahuagin.

The two leaped onto the Sky Sail and slowly ascended.

Lady Kali spat out a word: "Beast Transformation Sickness."

(End of Chapter)