Chapter 676: The Faith of the Merfolk

In an instant, every merfolk turned their gaze upon the two elders with eyes full of cannibalistic hunger. Compared to them, the killing intent radiating from Reflection Naclis was nothing.

At this moment, their hearts felt as though they had swallowed excrement. Yet this was not even the worst of it. The true despair came when they saw their body doubles kneeling before Loren, to the point where they began to question whether retreating behind the scenes had ever been the right choice.

They knew perfectly well that explanations were useless now, just as all the things they had done before were useless.

"As your god, no matter how you insult me, I do not mind, because protecting you is my duty. Failing to protect you is my fault.

"But I have my bottom line. I will absolutely never harm my believers."

The elder's earlier words had merely been questioning Loren, yet Loren had slapped a label on her of harming other believers. Even so, the merfolk did not question it. This was the terrifying power of the Sun Card.

They had already subconsciously accepted Loren's words as truth, without thinking about their reasonableness or veracity.

"But it does not matter. I forgive you. As long as you recognize your mistakes and correct them, you are still my believers, under my protection. I have always been this merciful."

Loren wore an expression of boundless compassion, and a faint Buddhist radiance even appeared around his body.

It really did appear, a Buddhist radiance simulated by Loren using light magic.

Immediately, a host of merfolk began praising Loren's benevolence, declaring their undying loyalty to Loren and their determination to reclaim everything that belonged to them.

"Damn it..."

The two elders instantly understood that they had no power to turn the situation around. They planned to quietly slip away, but just then, Reflection Naclis appeared behind them:

"Where do you think you're going?"

Before they could react, Reflection Naclis stabbed two syringes into them, injecting the solution within.

"What is this!"

Their eyes were filled with terror. If it were merely an ordinary poison, they would not have been this afraid, but this time, they could feel their power disappearing.

Even among the records left behind by the Dawn Princess and the Dawn Society, nothing like this had ever been documented.

"Do not worry. You are cripples now. Just wait quietly. Do not even think about resisting."

What Reflection Naclis had just injected into them was the Mundane Heart Potion, something Noah had developed earlier.

The elders refused to believe it and began chanting magic, only to discover to their horror that magic had completely failed.

Not only could they no longer construct magic circuits, they could not even sense magic energy anymore. They had been completely reduced to ordinary people.

"Keep watching. With what you just did, even if the Observer kills you to rally the people, no one will object.

"From the moment you chose to betray the Perpetual Observer, you should have thought about what would happen to you today. Power did not just corrupt your minds, it also lowered your intelligence. What made you think you could oppose an omniscient and omnipotent true god?

"Was it the experience you gained playing house in this tiny little pond of yours?"

Reflection Naclis did not conceal her mockery in the slightest. Compared to what she and Loren had been through, these merfolk elders really had just been playing house.

On the other side, Loren was still giving his speech. By now, the executioner had completely submitted as well, laying down the blade in his hands.

"Since there are still those who doubt me, I shall prove it to you once again! Bring the Merfolk Princess up here!

"I will ensure that my believers never waver."

If someone was forced by others to prove themselves, the credibility would be much lower. Loren was voluntarily presenting evidence, so the effect was completely different.

Under everyone's gaze, Crystal, wearing a heavy gown, swam up onto the execution platform.

Rather than spending time refuting the legitimacy of Crystal's princess status, it was better to simply make use of her.

"Crystal? Why would she help us..."

Melody was somewhat puzzled when she saw Crystal. She knew exactly how Crystal felt about her.

"She helps whether she wants to or not."

Before coming here, Loren had pricked Crystal all over her body with needles. The moment Loren activated the Justice Card, she would feel extreme agony.

This was also why Loren had her wear the gown, so that others could not see the wounds on her body.

So even though she was deeply unhappy, she still had to come up and testify for Loren.

She hated Melody, but not to the extent of making herself suffer endless torment just to screw Melody over.

"After I obtained the pendant, I received a divine oracle. The Perpetual Observer will descend, and Loren is the Perpetual Observer!"

Crystal raised the pendant on her chest and announced loudly.

Just as the people were growing even more fanatical from Crystal's declaration, the corpses of the fake elders spoke up as well:

"Though we held the right to interpret the divine oracle, we could not actually hear the divine oracle at all. For this, we even framed Lady Melody, nearly causing us to lose the Observer...

"We are unworthy of the Observer, unworthy of all merfolk, and so we have decided to resign from our positions as elders!

"Having committed such a grave error, we deserve death a thousand times over. We... are sorry to everyone..."

The fake elders grew more and more agitated, and finally, one after another, they drew their weapons and took their own lives on the spot.

Seeing this, the merfolk did not feel fear. Instead, they grew even more fanatical.

Earlier, the real elders had already realized these fake elders were corpses. Rather than risk exposure, it was better to simply turn them into corpses directly.

"I have seen your loyalty to the merfolk race, and for this, I am willing to retain your positions as elders!

"You did not simply commit suicide, you are martyrs! You have displayed the unstoppable courage of our merfolk race!

"With courage like yours, we shall be invincible!"

Loren declared decisively. His words were like pouring oil on the fire, driving the merfolk's frenzy to its peak.

"Now, I have already grasped the method to deal with the Orthodox Gods. When the time comes, we will pull all the Orthodox Gods down from their altars. At that point, I will become the only god, and all of you shall be part of the divine race!

"Not only will you be able to stand beneath the sun, you will stand above humanity!"

Once Loren became a god, he would have no use for these merfolk anyway. Loren drew his promises as big as possible, because he had no intention of fulfilling them whatsoever. Even if he told them they would all become gods themselves, it would not matter.

After these words, the merfolk's faith in Loren reached its peak, so much so that Loren's grasp of authority broke through another critical threshold.

Now, Loren could share the True Sight Eye with others, and this ability had no limitations whatsoever. No matter how many people it was shared with, or how far the distance, it could be used normally.

From the time of his transmigration until now, the True Sight Eye had helped Loren countless times. He was well aware of just how powerful this effect was.

However, what was shared was only the most basic ability, capable solely of seeing through all falsehoods. Still, that was enough.