Chapter 413: Great Benevolent Sun War God (22)

Before the divine fire was ignited, the connection between Luosen and most shallow believers was very weak.

If the other party did not initiate contact, he could only achieve a vague sense of their emotions.

After the divine fire was ignited, the situation saw great improvement.

After sensing Aoliangde's prayer, he slightly prompted his thought, easily and very secretly entered Aoliangde's soul, and obtained all the information that Aoliangde had sensed about the surrounding environment.

He saw that Aoliangde was currently in the suburbs of Grey City, surrounded by 28 companions, and the nearly roasted Ms. Gwenna Veril Dengbo was among them.

Everyone present had different expressions.

Some were hesitant, some angry, some fearful, and some desperate.

"Those who cannot escape, give up; we are fundamentally not opponents of the night assassins."

"No surrender? Absolutely not!"

"Even if I die, I must bite a piece of flesh from these damned hunting dogs!"

"Yes, since we have already taken the first step of resistance, we must resist to the end!"

"The problem is, four of our brothers have already been killed, and we haven't even seen the enemy's shadow."

Amid the discussion, Ms. Gwenna Veril Dengbo looked at the perpetually silent Aoliangde.

"Brother, say a word; what should we do?"

Aoliangde sent a plea for help to Luosen in his heart, but he had much inner struggle.

Luosen easily sensed his thoughts.

"Do you still not trust me, or do you have a resistant mindset toward a mysterious powerful being high above, unknown whether god or demon?"

He fully understood Aoliangde's thoughts, because the capable must be proud, absolutely unwilling to bow before others, even if that person displays extraordinary ability.

He did not urge, but waited quietly for developments.

On the other side, Aoliangde naturally understood the gravity of the situation, took a deep breath, and finally spoke.

"Brothers and sisters, look at this staff in my hand; it is called the Death Prophecy Staff."

"You have also personally witnessed its great power, and surely are curious about the source of this magical artifact."

While speaking, he looked around at everyone and said: "To be honest, the person who gave me this staff calls himself the Sun War God Luosen."

"He says he is a true god."

"He says he sympathizes with our plight."

"He also says that if we encounter any insoluble desperate situation, we should pray to him in our hearts, and he will surely bestow divine grace to help us overcome the crisis."

Having said that, Aoliangde took another deep breath.

"To be honest, this true god's power is extraordinary, but he appeared too suddenly, and his origins and background are completely unknown; I truly find it hard to place complete trust in him."

"In fact, I worry that this is a terrifying trap."

"But now we have indeed encountered an insoluble desperate situation; even though I possess this powerful staff, it is difficult to resist assassins' sneak attacks in the darkness."

"So, brothers and sisters, how should we decide?"

"Is it to rely on our own strength, exhausting everything to overcome this crisis, or to follow this mysterious and powerful war god?"

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

After a long while, the previous despairing person spoke.

"I think we should follow this war god, for he has already, through Aoliangde brother's hand, saved our lives."

"Since we already owe him a life, even according to the simplest principle of fair exchange, we should also follow him."

This argument was extremely persuasive, with at least half of the people nodding in agreement.

But Gwenna Veril Dengbo shook her head without hesitation.

"I refuse to follow any being that calls itself a god."

"The goal of our Brotherhood is to overthrow the lofty Thus line: Yueliangcheng. This mysterious Sun War God might very well be a new 'Thus line: Yueliangcheng'."

"So I would rather die for a great ideal than become a servant of the powerful again."

Immediately someone objected.

"No, Ms. Dengbo, I think you are wrong."

"Our ideal is indeed to overthrow Thus line: Yueliangcheng, but our purpose in overthrowing Thus line: Yueliangcheng is to let the mortal realm regain hope."

"If this Sun War God truly sympathizes with us, then he should allow us mortals to build our own world, and certainly would not toy with the fates of mortals as Thus line: Yueliangcheng does."

"Moreover, our current strength is too weak, too weak; we simply cannot contend with the Dawn Eye, and seeking the protection of a benevolent powerful being is not a disgraceful thing."

Immediately someone echoed.

"Yes, that's correct."

Also immediately someone opposed.

"No, wrong; in this world there is absolutely no benevolent powerful being, only hypocritical powerful beings!"

"Exactly, all powerful beings are untrustworthy!"

"The stronger the person, the more brutal! Facts have proven this countless times!"

Seeing that both sides were at an impasse, Aoliangde could not stand it and shouted loudly.

"Brothers and sisters, there's no time to argue."

"Since the crisis lies ahead, let us choose a path that will allow us to survive."

"After all, only by living can there be a future!"

This statement gained the agreement of almost everyone, except Gwenna Veril Dengbo.

She voluntarily stepped back, standing at the outskirts of the group, her slightly pale face showing a resolute expression.

"Brothers and sisters, I will never again follow any concrete being, even if that being is called a god!"

"I also believe that in this world there has never been a so-called god; it is merely a name taken by the powerful to intimidate the weak." "But I will also not oppose your choice."

Hurry up and leave; I'll stay here and try to buy you as much time as possible.

The meaning of her words was clear; she decided to become a martyr.

Aoliangde was shocked upon hearing: "Ms. Dèng Bō, you don't need to do this!"

I've already decided, Aoliangde—go on, lead the brothers and sisters forward; I know you can do it.

And I don't intend to owe anyone a favor.

Since this so-called god saved my life, I will return this life to him.

Having said that, the resolute woman turned back along the original path.

Aoliangde watched her for a moment, took a deep breath, then withdrew his gaze: "Everyone, let us pray to the Sun War God Luosen!"

Saying that, he began to recite the prayer first.

Great Sun War God Luosen, I am Aoliangde, an insignificant mortal; I beseech you to help us—help us escape this desperate situation.

Luosen listened quietly to the prayer, carefully sensing the faith power gathering from each believer, as well as the source substance precipitated within that faith.

Unlike the believers outside the Abyss, these believers are very close to him.

When they focus on praying, the faith channel between them is far more stable and strong than that with distant believers.

But strangely, the amount of source substance gathered is not much—even far less than that of the imperial believers outside the Abyss.

"Why is this like this?"

He couldn't figure it out for the moment, but saving lives was urgent now.

In helping believers escape predicaments, Luosen possesses extremely rich experience.

He thought briefly, then along the faith channel bestowed upon each praying believer a spacetime concealment technique, naming it the "War God's Protective Cloak".

At the same time, he also faintly manifested a trace of divine fire's aura.

The aura of divine fire is the aura of a deity.

To mortal perception, this aura is immensely grand and vast; facing it, one involuntarily feels a strong sense of insignificance.

Sure enough, the bodies of the Dragon Mountain Brotherhood members who were praying shuddered violently, their faces showing utter disbelief.

Those with weaker wills even went "thud" and knelt on the ground, beginning to shout loudly.

"Praise the great Sun War God~~~"

"Great Sun War God, you are the sun in the heavens; I am willing to follow you forever."

For a while, the shouts continued without cease.

Aoliangde also showed shock in his eyes, but his mind was very steadfast; he barely kept his composure.

Yet toward Luosen he felt ever greater awe.

Having received the power granted by the Sun War God, his heart grew greatly settled, and he softly said: "The god protected us with his cloak; we are safe."

Someone asked softly: "What about Ms. Dèng Bō? Do we really have to abandon her?"

Aoliangde sighed: "It's not that we abandoned her; she chose her own path."

Everyone also knows her temperament; it's harder than black obsidian gold—once she makes a final decision, she will never turn back.

That was true; everyone had nothing to say, only able to sigh silently.

Regardless, pursuers were approaching; each member of the Dragon Mountain Brotherhood promptly used their newly acquired spell and vanished into the wilderness.

But no one knew that Aoliangde's heart continued to silently pray to Luosen.

Merciful Sun War God, please save Ms. Gwenaviel Deng Bo.

She is a resilient and pure warrior, also a rare magical genius; she ought not to die so easily.

If you can persuade her to follow you, she will surely become your most steadfast follower.

Luosen listened quietly to these words, and at the same time, using the Spacetime Insight Technique, he gazed far away at the back of that martyr female warrior.

Without a doubt, she is a mortal worth saving.

Not only because of her steadfast character, but also because a great god must have a large number of unwavering supporters.

But whether he could persuade her, Luosen wasn't sure; he could only say he would try his best.

Thus, he responded to Aoliangde as follows.

Aoliangde, every mortal has their own destiny; I respect each mortal's free will and will never use coercion to make them submit.

Although I greatly admire this lady's character and will talk with her, the exact path she takes depends solely on her free will.

Aoliangde felt joy in his heart, and once again keenly sensed the noble, merciful, tolerant nature of this mysterious great being, giving rise to a strange feeling within him.

There was recognition and reliance, like facing a wise elder.

He sincerely said: "Praise you, merciful and tolerant great one."

Almost at the same moment, Luosen noticed that the source substance coming from Aoliangde had suddenly increased.

This moved Luosen's heart: "Could it be related to the strength of faith?"

It seems related, but not absolutely.

Because among the 28 Dragon Mountain Brotherhood members, several have faith strength far greater than Aoliangde's, yet their source substance is not large.

Exactly how, awaits observation with more samples.

Of course, saving lives is urgent now.

After thinking, he used the Secret Passage Technique and directly transported to Gwenaviel's side.

But he did not materialize directly; instead, he remained hidden nearby, waiting silently.

(End of chapter)