Increase the Intensity

The East River Tribe had no temple on Ship Island. They worshipped a divine statue carved from blue stone, named [Qi]. They rarely made wishes to the deity; it was more like a sacrificial tradition left by the Donghai Clan. Most of the time, the East River Tribe spent their days sailing, fishing, and capturing slaves.

Lu Yao decided to make a test.

He tapped [Miracle], spent 30 faith, and selected [Hurricane].

The hurricane quickly gathered over the water, churning up a massive whirlpool beneath it, and charged fiercely toward the East River Tribe's Ship Island.

Facing the hurricane, the East River Tribe showed no panic at all. They even chatted and laughed.

"Look, it's a storm."

"The storm will churn up plenty of fish, maybe even crabs. How nice."

"Praise Qi God for sending us food."

"The sky after the storm will be beautiful."

"Wow, that's a big storm."

Just as Lu Yao was puzzled, the hurricane suddenly collapsed into nothing as it neared Ship Island, turning into a gentle breeze that swept past the surroundings. The dissipated hurricane instead brought them some fish, which landed on the deck of Ship Island.

The little people of the East River Tribe grabbed their fish spears and began hunting everywhere.

The screen displayed:

[Due to the protection of the Deity Totem, your Miracle cannot take effect.]

Lu Yao noticed that slight cracks had appeared on the surface of the divine statue totem on Ship Island.

The totem seemed to be not just a symbol of faith, but also a defensive artifact, capable of blocking even a disaster like a Miracle.

Lu Yao got fired up.

Let me see just how many times you can block this.

[Lightning]

Strike!

Another bolt of silver lightning descended from the sky, striking the totem dead-on. Just like the hurricane before, the lightning vanished into thin air the moment it landed, posing no threat to Ship Island at all.

"The weather sure is strange today."

"Is it going to rain? Storms and lightning—it must be about to rain."

"Last summer was severely dry, but this spring looks like it'll bring plenty of rain."

"More rain means wider rivers. That's a good thing."

The little people of the East River Tribe were still chatting idly.

Lu Yao clicked Miracle and struck again with Falling Thunder.

[Lightning]!

[Lightning]!

[Lightning]!

Three consecutive bolts of lightning fell on Ship Island one after another, and cracks had already spread across the totem.

This time, even the East River Tribe people could tell something was wrong.

"Wow, what's going on?"

"Are these lightning bolts coming from cracks in the sky?"

"We need to tell Grandmother—something's off on the water today."

"Thank goodness for Qi God's totem, or this would have been a disaster."

Lu Yao cranked up the intensity.

[Lightning]×5!

Thunder and lightning filled the sky as bolt after bolt of lightning plunged down, bombarding the area above Ship Island. The first four bolts dissipated into nothing, but the fifth bolt finally crashed heavily onto Ship Island, striking dead two little people of the East River Tribe who hadn't managed to flee, and starting a fire on the island.

The blue totem, which had been cracking and deteriorating all this time, finally shattered completely, turning into a pile of ash.

The East River Tribe was now thrown into chaos.

Tribe members ran around everywhere trying to put out the fire. Some slaves took the chance to escape on dugout canoes, forcing the East River Tribe to split off people to chase them down.

But what hit them hardest was the destruction of the totem.

"The Qi God Totem is broken! We're doomed!"

"We've lost our protection! We can't fight storms and whirlpools anymore!"

"Qi God has abandoned us!"

"Heavens! Heavens!"

"Why is this happening?!"

In contrast, the five men from the Garlic Tribe each spoke up.

"Lightning! The lightning has returned! The divine lightning has returned!"

"It is the great God Yao! Your attack on the Garlic Tribe has angered God Yao!"

"God Yao is furious!"

"You're in for misfortune!"

But no one from the East River Tribe paid them any attention.

Lu Yao flexed his fingers.

Just as he had guessed, that Qi God Totem was a consumable item, likely a Blessing from a God. The totem looked unremarkable, but it only collapsed under the bombardment of a Miracle worth 210 Faith Points—its durability was high.

The East River Tribe had only a hundred people, yet they had long settled on the East River. They rode Dugout Canoes to attack other tribes, capture slaves, and carried themselves with arrogance.

Their offense relied on Sea Monsters, and their defense depended on the Qi God Totem.

Now that Lu Yao had cut off one of the East River Tribe's arms, they immediately fell into chaos.

Lu Yao observed again and found that the East River Tribe truly couldn't repair the totem. Seeing this, the tribal leader [Grandmother] issued a series of orders.

"You will set out immediately, taking all of this year's Sea Monster molts, and go to the clan Temple to offer Sacrificial Offerings, praying for a new totem Blessing."

"Blockade the river to prevent other tribes from learning the totem is destroyed, until the new totem returns."

"Feed all the female slaves to the Sea Monsters, so they can molt sooner."

Lu Yao watched for a while and roughly grasped the situation.

The East River Tribe's Qi God Totem originated from the Donghai Clan's Temple. As an external branch of the clan, the East River Tribe maintained contact with the Donghai Clan. They raised Sea Monsters—first, to stockpile military strength, and second, because they needed Sea Monster molts to offer as sacrifices to the God.

In other words.

Without Sea Monster skins, the East River Tribe couldn't obtain a totem. Without a totem, the East River Tribe was defenseless.

That made things easy.

A faint smile appeared on Lu Yao's face.

The East River Tribe's fleet seeking aid from the clan set off swiftly. Five Dugout Canoes carried the sacrificial Sea Monster skins, escorted by three Sea Monsters, and sailed east after leaving Ship Island.

Once the boats were far from the tribe's waterborne settlement, Lu Yao activated [Lightning], enveloping all five vessels.

The sudden Falling Thunder instantly set the Dugout Canoes ablaze.

The surviving Pixelated Villagers had no choice but to jump overboard. They struggled desperately on the water's surface, terrified expressions appearing above their heads. The Sea Monsters were helpless against this, barely managing to carry the Pixelated Villagers away from the burning boats.

The Sacrificial Offerings on the Dugout Canoes were completely incinerated.

The survivors, aided by the Sea Monsters, barely made it back to Ship Island.

Hearing that the Sacrificial Offerings had also been burned, the entire East River Tribe fell into utter panic.

"All the Sea Monster skins are burned—we can't go back."

"Lightning, lightning everywhere—the lightning won't let us leave."

"We've angered the God here; we must offer Sacrificial Offerings, or the tribe will be struck by lightning again."

"The tribe is finished, the tribe is finished."

"Let's flee, let's flee."

The once-arrogant East River Tribe, facing a natural disaster beyond human resistance, saw many of its villagers showing signs of surrender and desertion.

[Grandmother], after all, was the tribal leader. At this moment, she displayed the composure and decisiveness of a leader.

"Some slaves say it's the punishment from God Yao of the Garlic Tribe."

"We'll go to the Garlic Tribe and make peace with them."

The East River Tribe's boats slowly docked at the shore.

[Grandmother] brought two Female Captains to meet with the Prophet and the Shaman.

The two sides chatted privately for a while.

An exclamation mark appeared above the Prophet's head: "The East River Tribe has angered God Yao. To earn forgiveness, you must revere the God and offer Faith."

"You need to build a Temple and worship God Yao."

"God Yao is a benevolent God who loves peace and life. His punishment of the East River Tribe is due to your rudeness and offense."

A moment later, a prompt appeared on the screen.

[The East River Tribe has offered you a Sacrificial Offering.]

Thanks to Oxidized Youth for supporting 100 starting points.