Chapter 61

After stealing the soul flame of faith from Ang, Negris knew that this day would eventually come. A divine rank, with faith, would he still fear not having a divine rank? Unless discovered by a true deity and killed with a single strike.

The problem was, the King was gone.

As long as no one came to stop Ang, with his current scale of believers, he should be able to ignite the divine fire and achieve a divine rank in a few hundred years.

Don't think it's slow; there are even slower ones, like the God of Knowledge...

Negris spent over six thousand years to ignite the divine fire, thanks to his long life as a bronze dragon, or he would have died waiting.

Originally, it was thought that it would take a few hundred years to ignite the divine fire, but who would have thought that the original divine rank was sealed in the main flame of the Resting Palace, directly allowing Ang to skip a few hundred years of accumulation.

What else could be said? Besides dumb luck, Negris couldn't think of any other words to describe it.

Now, he was more curious about what divine skill Ang had awakened.

"What's a divine skill?" Ang tilted his head, puzzled.

"Like your Scythe of Death, a skill that can be used without much effort," Negris explained.

A skill is a combination of techniques that fit the power system and can be used without much effort.

For example, the Golden Skulls can easily summon skeletons by stomping on graves, thus creating the Royal Arrival.

Awakening means suddenly understanding how to summon skeletons more easily.

Skills must fit the power system; a mage would never awaken a skill related to martial arts.

However, a divine skill is a bit more complex. It must fit both the power system and the faith system. A necromancer who kills like cutting grass would never awaken a holy light skill to heal and protect.

But to fit the power system and the faith of the people, it can lead to some strange changes. For example, the divine skill of the Goddess of Harvest is "Gaze of Conception." Under her gaze, the chances of conception increase significantly.

Many infertile couples hang the statue of the Goddess of Harvest in their bedroom, engaging in marital activities under the watchful eye of the benevolent goddess holding a sheaf of wheat every night.

Isn't that strange? According to Negris's research, it's because in the simple beliefs of the people, harvest and conception are linked. Harvest represents abundance, the ability to raise more children, and the harvest of children.

Ang tilted his head and asked, "Your divine skill?"

"Huh? Why ask that? It's not me who ignited the divine fire," Negris said nervously.

It's because I don't understand, Ang tilted his head to the other side, "Your divine skill?" Rarely had he heard such a puzzled tone in his voice.

Negris hesitated before saying, "Enlightenment Halo." His voice was so low that it could easily be missed.

"What does it do?" Ang asked again.

Since it was already out, Negris didn't hold back, "It has a tornado effect. People around me can more easily gain wisdom, learn more knowledge, and have more inspiration and academic achievements."

Honestly, this divine skill was super useless. It could only enlighten others, not Negris himself.

So, as long as he stayed with others, their wisdom would improve while his remained the same. Wasn't this just a reverse dumbing halo?

Moreover, the halo's effect was gradual, not immediate. It only affected those who stayed with him for a long time.

Wisdom is something that only shows significant improvement after accumulating to a certain level.

Who could stay with a bronze dragon every day? It's easy to see how useless this divine skill was.

"Oh." Ang nodded, indicating he understood, then transferred the heavy-armor zombies into a circle, with Negris's bronze book at the center.

Negris felt a surge of blood to his head. Was he supposed to enlighten these zombies?

Ang nodded, "Can't do it?"

Zombies and skeletons have very low intelligence and need enlightenment the most. If they could be as smart as the small zombies and angel skeletons, it would be much easier to command them. It's just unknown if it would work on zombies and skeletons.

"Can." Negris gritted his teeth, "I think you need enlightenment more."

"Oh." Ang responded, a bone hand reaching out to grab Negris. Clearly, Ang had taken his words to heart and was preparing to carry the bronze book to enlighten himself.

"Wait! You're smart enough, you don't need the Enlightenment Halo. Let me stay here; these zombies really need to improve their intelligence." Negris quickly changed his mind.

He was crazy to go out. Sealed in the bronze book, Negris had no self-defense ability. What if he was stolen? Where else could be safer than the Resting Palace? Projecting out would be more free and safe. He was foolish to let Ang take him out.

Ang retracted his hand.

Negris wiped the nonexistent sweat, thinking, "Kabada, I won't talk to this silly skeleton anymore. He takes everything seriously."

The bronze book obediently landed in the center of the circle of zombies, emitting an invisible halo. In the Resting Palace, it didn't matter where the bronze book was placed.

"You haven't said what your divine skill is. You didn't awaken a skill, right? That doesn't make sense. Once the divine fire is ignited, you should know what abilities you have." Negris asked, puzzled.

Ang didn't know how to describe it. He thought, and appeared in the farm area.

Negris followed quickly, seeing Ang point at a flower without a bud.

As Ang pointed, the flower instantly bloomed, then quickly withered and turned to ash, the entire process taking less than a tenth of a second.

Negris's entire book jumped up, exclaiming, "Kabada, Rapid Death? Halo? Does such a divine skill really exist?"

"Rapid Death?" Ang tilted his head.

Negris explained, "I always thought such a divine skill was made up. In the Rapid Death Halo, all life burns through their life force quickly, rapidly entering a state of death. Any living being, whether animal or plant, will die quickly."

"An organism that could live a hundred years might die of old age in a few hours in your halo. No defensive magic or equipment can resist it, unless it's a similar barrier or domain."

"That's too extreme. In the future, anyone fighting you will risk rapid aging. Fighting you for half an hour could age them by a decade. Species with short lifespans won't dare provoke you?"

"That's unfair. Why did you awaken such a practical divine skill? Are you the illegitimate child of the Goddess of Fortune? Scythe of Death, Rapid Death Halo, all practical combat skills, but you don't like fighting. Why would a farming skeleton awaken such a skill?"

Negris was almost resentful by the end. Why couldn't he awaken such practical skills?

Ang ignored him, running to the center of the farm and stomping a footprint in the empty ground.

After obtaining the Transdimensional Hand, Ang had been farming here, planting seeds on three hundred acres, a tenth of the entire farm.

This was almost the limit of what a single skeleton could farm before. But now, with the Scythe of Death, harvesting was much faster, and he could manage a bit more.

The moment he stomped, the surrounding crops sprouted, grew, matured, and withered, all visible to the naked eye.

Perhaps because the area was large, the speed wasn't as fast, taking three hours for the entire growth process. Just as the crops were about to wither and turn to ash, Ang suddenly interrupted the Rapid Death Halo and used the Transdimensional Hand to wield the Scythe of Death over the crops.

The entire rapid death process was forcibly interrupted.

Negris snapped the book shut, unable to watch. He knew this would happen. Any skill in Ang's hands would turn into a farming skill. Kabada, was this the reason he could awaken practical skills?

...

Silver Coin clung to his box, "No, I won't give it up. I'll die if I lose the box."

"No, Silver Coin, you're too big with the box. Our teleportation array can't handle it. Don't worry, you go first, and we'll send the box right after," Lan tried to persuade him.

"No, I'd rather not go back than be separated from it," Silver Coin refused loudly.

"Then we'll send the box first, then you. How about that?" Lan suggested.

"No, that's even worse. What if it's lost? No goblin would let their general store leave their side. Give up on it," Silver Coin was firm.

Lan was getting angry, "If our teleportation array wasn't so small, and if you didn't have connections in the human world, would we bother you? I'd go myself. We've talked so much and given you so many benefits, and now you're refusing because of a box?"

"We never agreed to be separated from the box. No force can separate me from it. Give up on it. If I knew you wanted to separate me from my box, I wouldn't have talked to you," Silver Coin said angrily.

"Can't even money change your mind?" Lisa stopped Lan from losing control, walking to Silver Coin and handing him a bottle of Holy Essence.

"The things in your box are mixed and messy, not worth much. You said this pure Holy Essence can sell for 1,500 mana crystals, equivalent to 15,000 dwarf gold coins. Can it change your mind?" Lisa asked.

Hearing 1,500 mana crystals, Silver Coin instantly gripped the bottle, his face showing hesitation.

The things in his box were indeed messy, very picky for buyers. If he found the right buyer, like bronze dragon scales, he could sell them for 500 mana crystals, but without the right buyer, many things were worthless.

The box itself was probably the most valuable, a fake spatial item, but even so, it wasn't worth 1,500 mana crystals. But the problem was, it was a goblin general store. Without the box, could he still be a goblin merchant?

Silver Coin hesitated for a long time before weakly saying, "Not impossible, but it needs more money."

Lisa smiled, handing him another bottle, her eyes flashing dangerously, "One bottle is a deposit. You'll return it after getting the box. If you want more money, it's a purchase, and the box is ours. How about that?"

Lan hugged Lisa, knowing her character. Negotiating was fine, but talking about more money could make her lose control. She didn't want to ruin everything by beating Silver Coin's head in.

Silver Coin nodded, hugging the essence, and handed the box to Lisa.

He crouched and sat in the small teleportation array, disappearing in a flash of white light.

After he vanished, Lan spat, "That damned goblin, a money-grubber. Can he be trusted? What if he never comes back, and we can't build a large teleportation array?"

Building a large teleportation array capable of transporting living beings was a dream of Ice City. Their current small array could only handle someone as small as Silver Coin, which was very inconvenient.

To build a large array, they needed several key materials, which were not available in this plane and were controlled, making them impossible to buy through normal channels.

With Silver Coin and the Silver Light Guild, the chances of obtaining the key materials were much higher.

Not just the materials, but also a large amount of food. Ice City's planting area was burned, and feeding the remaining people would be very difficult.

Silver Coin was part of the Holy Spear Army, but the Silver Light Guild was not. Silver Coin was just one of the partners.

In such a guild, a vice president was like an independent caravan, with high autonomy. Silver Coin had his own people and business, reporting only to Leonard and the quartermaster. Most of the Holy Spear Army didn't even know he existed.

With Leonard dead, the Holy Spear Army would likely be in chaos. No one would remember a goblin before a new Holy Knight took over.

As long as the quartermaster was taken care of, a report of "adventuring into the enemy camp, captured, bribing the guards, escaping, and bringing back important information" would appear on the Cardinal's desk.

With this plan in mind, Silver Coin returned to the human world and secretly visited the quartermaster's private residence at night. Just as he knocked a few times, the door opened, and a black hand pulled him in.

Inside, he saw three shadowy figures, one of whom was holding the quartermaster, a blurry face sucking out soul flames.

"Black... Black Knight!? Don't, don't search my soul, I'll tell you everything." Silver Coin was so scared he wet himself, confessing before the Black Knight even spoke.

The Black Knight holding Silver Coin coldly snorted, twisting his neck, and began to extract his soul and search his memories.

After a long time, the Black Knight's eyes cracked, muttering, "Farming skeleton? Holy Maiden? Sword Saint? Angel? Strange combination, interesting abyss... The Bishop would like this."

His voice grew fainter, like his shadow, until he disappeared, leaving only two corpses.

(Combined two chapters) Request for monthly votes.