Prophet

In many ancient cultures, a prophet was someone inspired by God to convey divine will. By that definition, the Pixelated Villager who had found the [Energy Staff] undoubtedly qualified.

In the Pixel Game world, Lu Yao also needed someone who could understand his intentions. Even if he could understand only a small part, that was better than letting a group of little people blindly guess. Lu Yao did not want to see another baby appear in the [Sacrificial Offering] slot.

Lu Yao clicked [Yes].

The screen displayed:

[The Garlic Tribe has produced its first Prophet. Under the Prophet's leadership and influence, everyone's intelligence has improved slightly.]

At Lu Yao's command, a white glow lit up around the little man, and the question mark above his head turned into a glowing light bulb.

The words [Prophet] appeared above the Pixelated Villager's head.

The Prophet knelt before the Divine Statue in worship, then walked out of the Temple.

The moment he appeared, all the Pixelated Villagers gathered around him, as if they knew he had received God's favor.

The Prophet said, "The sacrificial offerings God requires are wondrous objects beyond our understanding and control. From now on, everyone should keep watch. If you see anything similar, offer it to God, and you will receive God's Blessing."

"The Prophet is right!"

"Listen to the Prophet!"

"Wondrous objects! Go find wondrous objects!"

"A wondrous wild boar! I know of one—a white, wondrous wild boar that no one has ever caught!"

"I've seen a wondrous fish in the water. It eats all meat and bones. It's incredibly wondrous, and God will definitely like it!"

Speechless, Lu Yao looked at the last two Pixelated Villagers who had spoken.

Sure enough, both of them were wearing Leather Vests. Even without any markings or names, Lu Yao recognized them at a glance. They had to be the Pig-Fish Brothers from before.

The two were obsessed with Pigs and fish, like fireflies in the night—far too conspicuous.

Although the Prophet had told the others what kind of sacrificial offerings to look for, no Pixelated Villagers made any similar discoveries over the next three hours. Most of them returned to their ordinary lives, planting Garlic and Berries, then eating them.

Before long, two new babies were born in the tribe. The Pixelated Villagers began assigning people to care for the newborns.

The only one Lu Yao could guide was the Prophet. Even then, all he could do was move him to a designated location. Whether the Prophet understood and what he might discover depended entirely on his own insight.

After watching and directing for a while, it was already half past six in the evening, and Lu Yao began to feel hungry.

He went downstairs to a small restaurant and ordered Green Pepper Shredded Pork Fried Rice. After wolfing it down, he hurried back.

On the computer screen, the Garlic Tribe had undergone a new change.

A Black Bear from who knew where had broken into the tribe. It had destroyed two plots of Farmland and one house, and two Pixelated Villagers' corpses lay on the ground.

Most of the little people hid behind the Temple, trembling in fear. The Prophet stood by the Temple, holding the tribe's two babies in his arms.

The Black Bear was two or three times the size of a Pixelated Villager. To them, it was some kind of Troll. At that moment, it was tearing at the Pixelated Villagers' corpses on the ground.

Lu Yao was furious.

I finally got two newborns, and I'm counting on population growth for Faith Points. You show up and immediately kill two of them. Are you asking to die?

Eat my Justice from Above!

Just as he was about to cast a bolt of Lightning, he suddenly noticed something strange.

Two Pixelated Villagers were confronting the Black Bear. Wearing Leather Vests and holding wooden clubs, they circled it from front and back, constantly striking its head and butt.

As they moved, they shouted.

"Strength of the Pig!"

"I am as Agile as a Fish!"

Those lines clearly came from the Pig-Fish Brothers.

Lu Yao found himself in a difficult position.

If he used Lightning now, the two little people might also be blasted into ashes, just like the Bull Horn Helmet leader before. He had to get them to put some distance between themselves and the bear. The tribe's population could not afford any further losses.

Lu Yao decided to keep watching.

The two Pixelated Villagers moved nimbly. Working together from front and back, one would strike with his club and run away while the other continued the attack, leaving the Black Bear under attack from both sides.

The wooden clubs could not do much damage, but they still annoyed the Black Bear. Anger appeared above its head. It abandoned the corpses on the ground and charged madly after the two Pixelated Villagers. This time, however, they did not keep drawing it around. Instead, they fled together toward the forest.

Lu Yao understood.

The two little people were trying to lure the Black Bear away and prevent it from hurting anyone else.

The Pig-Fish Brothers usually seemed a little unreliable, but when something serious happened, they truly stepped up.

Lu Yao immediately selected the Miracle [Lightning], predicting the direction the Black Bear would run toward the forest and trying to keep the strike as far from the Pig-Fish Brothers as possible.

A silver bolt of Lightning crashed down from above!

The Black Bear was struck in the head by Falling Thunder and dropped dead instantly, its charred body smoking.

Under the Lightning strike, the Pig-Fish Brothers were also knocked to the ground. But after a few seconds, they climbed back up. They appeared to still be alive.

Lu Yao breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing the Black Bear killed by Lightning, all the Pixelated Villagers raised both arms and cheered, smiley symbols appearing over their heads.

Only a question mark appeared above the Prophet's head.

Lu Yao clicked on it.

The Prophet pondered, "Why would a bear come down from the Deep Mountain? We've never seen such a large bear nearby before. Where did it come from, and why did it suddenly attack the Garlic Tribe?"

He handed the child in his arms to a nearby little person and walked all the way to the Black Bear's charred corpse.

Then an exclamation mark lit up above the Prophet's head.

"It isn't a bear!"

The charred bear corpse turned into a dead Pixelated Villager. The tribe's little people immediately panicked.

"It's a Demon Cultist!"

"A person who worshipped the Demon turned into a bear, which is why he attacked the tribe! He wanted to destroy the Temple and attack us!"

"A man-eating Demon! How terrifying!"

"Demon! A terrifying Demon! There are Demons here! I want to leave!"

Three Pixelated Villagers immediately fled in different directions.

The population in the upper-right corner instantly dropped to 25.

Faith Points also fell by 3. Accounting for the 20 Faith Points spent on [Lightning] earlier and the replenishment from the [Energy Staff], the Temple now had a total of 7 Faith Points remaining.

Lu Yao scratched his head.

After working hard for an entire day, he was back to square one in an instant.

Being a God was not easy.

What concerned him even more was the newly emerged Demon Element.

It sounded like Demons and Gods belonged to opposing factions. His tribe had not even been established for long before Demon Cultists came to attack. He did not know whether it was a random event or whether they had been targeted.

What was certain was that he would inevitably have dealings with Demons in the days ahead.

The Prophet found a letter on the Demon Cultist's corpse.

"The letter says: The target is the Forest Tribe. While the Forest Tribe's Hunters are away, kill as many people as possible."

The question mark over the Prophet's head turned into a glowing light bulb again.

"I understand. This Demon Cultist who turned into a Black Bear came to the wrong place. He mistook our tribe for the Forest Tribe, which is why he attacked us. Their target is the Forest Tribe. We are still safe."

Only then did the other frightened little people calm down.

The Pixelated Villagers then began repairing the damaged house and Farmland, all of them busy at work.

Lu Yao opened the Temple interface and found that the [Garlic] in the [Blessing] slot had not disappeared, meaning he still could not provide them with remote assistance.

The [Sacrificial Offering] slot below it was empty, and the tribe had not brought any new sacrificial offerings.

To his surprise, two more Pixelated Villagers entered the Temple.

--Great God, two believers have accomplished feats far beyond their peers. Would you like to transform them into Heroes?

[Yes] [No]