When Humans Think, God Laughs

After treating Isabelle to a simple victory feast, Lu Yao sent her back to Pixel World.

The reason was the Blood Knight.

When it came to this newly acquired level 60 Apostle, Lu Yao had mixed feelings.

What pleased him was the Blood Knight's level and abilities.

Blood Knight Nevid had solid stats—high and tough, capable of both attack and defense. His [Corruption Creation] and exclusive ability, [Flesh is Weak], were practically divine tools for recruiting and training troops.

What worried Lu Yao was that the Blood Knight's intelligence was far from ideal.

Not long ago, Lu Yao had issued the Blood Knight his first command.

—Eliminate the enemies around the castle.

"Yes, God."

The Blood Knight picked up his greatsword and charged out of the castle, cutting down anyone he encountered and slaughtering every living thing nearby.

The enemies in his eyes included, but were not limited to, Wandering Savages, Corruptors who had lost their orders, fleeing Salt Pool Tribe merchants, loggers, salt workers, herders...

Even Pacing Birds that only walked back and forth, and rabbits passing by, failed to escape the knight's blade.

As long as they were not followers of God Yao, the Blood Knight killed them on sight.

Lu Yao was utterly baffled.

He hurriedly called him to a stop and questioned the Blood Knight.

—What are you doing?

"Eliminating enemies."

—Are civilians and birds dangerous?

"Dangerous civilians. Dangerous birds."

Lu Yao sensed that something was wrong.

Perhaps because he lacked the fundamental ability of [Wisdom], Nevid did not possess Isabelle's intelligence or capacity for independent thought.

He was more like an exceptionally high-level special unit, capable of faithfully carrying out combat orders.

But asking him to make creative adjustments or break a deadlock on his own? Sorry, impossible.

Only then did Lu Yao understand.

Despite Nevid's high level, [Whistleblower] had only granted him Hero status rather than transforming him into an Apostle. There really was a reason for that...

Still, it could not be forced.

Everyone had their specialty. The Blood Knight might not have much of a brain, but his fists were hard enough. If he had truly been a flawless all-round warrior, Lu Yao doubted he could have subdued him.

Lu Yao gave Nevid a clear role: artificial armory, training machine, and powerful enforcer.

None of those three roles required much Wisdom. He only needed to carry out orders.

Because of the Blood Knight's inherent flaws, he had little initiative and was rigidly dogmatic, making him completely unsuitable for flexible exploration and expansion tasks.

So Lu Yao ordered him to guard the castle, train the Corruptors, and await further orders.

Lu Yao moved the mouse and stopped the view above the Salt Pool Tribe.

Blood Knight Nevid had been brought under his command, and the Salt Pool Tribe had become a thing of the past.

Under Isabelle's guidance, the Garlic Tribe arrived here and took over the Salt Pool Tribe's former industries and houses.

Most of the Salt Pool Tribe chose to join them, causing the Garlic Tribe's population to soar from just over six hundred to 2,151.

Besides the huge population increase, the Garlic Tribe also gained a merchant class and acquired two precious resources it had not possessed before: salt pools and Pacing Birds.

The salt pools went without saying. Salt was both a necessity for tribal human life and an important raw material for the Blood Knight to create Corruptors.

Pacing Birds, meanwhile, possessed two attributes: Meat and Feather.

Meat was an important part of the food supply.

The Salt Pool Tribe's herders collected Pacing Bird feathers and made them into Feather Garments. Feather Garments provided warmth and were also a common commodity, similar to down jackets in the tribal age.

As for extraordinary power, Lu Yao took control of the Corruptor Legion.

The Blood Knight reorganized the Corruptor group. After repeated battles and losses, only twelve Corruptors remained, all between levels 10 and 13.

What left Lu Yao somewhat regretful was Giant Forrest's death.

Isabelle's [Lingering Prayer] could not take effect. Perhaps the soul of the Forest God's chief Apostle had already been captured by [Whistleblower], or completely destroyed.

Next, Lu Yao surveyed the surrounding environment.

There were no other human forces nearby. With the Blood Knight stationed at the castle, quality mattered more than quantity among the Corruptors.

He ordered the Blood Knight to devote most of his efforts to training troops, using [Flesh is Weak] to train these Corruptors and striving to produce advanced [Rotten Guards] as soon as possible.

By this point, Lu Yao controlled most of this land.

The Salt Pool Settlement in the west, the Garlic Tribe in the center, and Ghost City Sanilo in the south had become connected as one.

Only the dense forest and fog-covered regions in the north remained.

The northern territory was vast, and Forest Elemental Creatures roamed there. However, with Treants guarding it, along with Striped Lynxes and packs of forest wolves, the defensive line was very secure.

The task of continuing the exploration of the Forest fell to Isabelle.

While Isabelle explored the map, Lu Yao had work of his own.

As a God, his duty was to watch over the development of the faith civilization, find suitable [Blessings], and provide remote assistance to the tribal villagers.

Previously, Lu Yao had been constantly tense, either watching the Flayer's Altar or observing the Blood Knight.

He had only noticed the disappearance of Iron Hammer from the [Blessings] afterward.

Lu Yao fell into thought.

In the past, he had always proceeded step by step, guiding the tribes of Pixel World along the general course of human civilization.

What kind of reaction would they have if he gave them something beyond their understanding?

Now that things had stabilized, he could give it a try.

Lu Yao rummaged through the cabinet and found a Tongji Edition copy of Advanced Mathematics.

He placed the book on the mouse and sent it into Pixel World, then waited somewhat nervously for their reaction.

A moment later, the villagers around the Temple were the first to cry out.

"God's Blessing!"

"God has sent down the Gospel again!"

"What is this?"

"%￥&*))*@!￥..."

"I can't understand any of it."

"What exactly is this?"

"Writing, symbols, pictures... put together... I don't understand... I can't comprehend it... it's too profound."

Lu Yao nearly laughed.

Not just you. If you made me read it now, there would be plenty of parts I wouldn't understand either. I'd forgotten it all long ago.

Question marks appeared over the tribal villagers' heads as they came up with all kinds of ideas about this latest Blessing from God.

"Perhaps this is a Divine Book left behind by God, teaching how to become a God... I must understand this book. Maybe then I'll be able to stand beside God!"

"This book is strange. The symbols and writing inside must record something. Perhaps it is God's history, or perhaps it contains revelations that can predict the future. No matter how much time it takes, I will translate it."

"Divine writing! Those are divine words! Damn it, why can't I understand them... Forget it. I'll keep reading tomorrow. I'm going fishing first."

"The Prophet is dead. No one can understand God's will anymore. Prophet, what a miserable death you suffered."

"The Apostle must be able to understand it. I'll copy down this Divine Book. If I ever meet the Apostle, I'll ask her to teach me. The Apostle is so beautiful; she must understand everything..."

Now, the person in the tribe closest to God was Astrologer Shahan.

A box appeared above his head as well. "Could it be that this records the essence of faith in God? Do we need to interpret it and then spread it to every place?"

Looking at the many guesses from these Pixelated Villagers, Lu Yao thought of an old saying: when humans think, God laughs.

To be fair.

It was true.

He had only been conducting an experiment.

Yet someone in the Garlic Tribe had no interest in interpreting Advanced Mathematics. His perspective differed from most others.

"This thin, soft book is made of grass."

Yulian, the genius youth and inventor of the Galley, said, "I want to take it apart. Maybe I can make something like this."

"..."

Across from him, the old leader Yu Zou said nothing.