Dark Arts

It was around 10 a. m.

The first batch of native Slave was transported back to the camp. The other pirates who hadn't participated in the battle all watched with curiosity mixed with excitement as they dragged groups of Slave off the ship. These native Slave were all rather short, with dark skin and hunched backs; it was unclear whether this was due to their birth or their lifestyle. The pirates kicked and shoved the native Slave off the ship, then locked them all in the camp's cells.

These Slave cannot start working immediately; qualified Slave must undergo professional training.

The Slave originally brought by Soren were still busy working. Upon seeing the captured Slave, they couldn't help but show curiosity and schadenfreude, but little pity or sympathy. Because there aren't that many people in this world overflowing with compassion; otherwise, Paladin wouldn't have become such a spiritual symbol. Strictly speaking, this was a morally corrupt era. Whether it was the nobility or the wealthy, everyone lived a rather luxurious and decadent life. Even the lower classes weren't necessarily kind-hearted. Having witnessed hardship firsthand, many of them were filled with resentment and malice, only they hadn't yet had the opportunity to do evil.

Otherwise, no one would use Paladin as tools for their own purposes.

This situation will continue until the Devil's shadow appears. His instigating words will stir up hatred in the hearts of these poor people, eventually turning into widespread riots and rebellions. This is a harbinger of Time of Troubles, and when rebellions and riots occur, the arrival of the Time of Troubles will be very close.

Vivian appeared on the deck, the young girl seemingly indifferent to everything before her.

Although she was a very kind girl and compassionate towards others, whenever it involved Soren, her moral compass would shift to "her brother is always right." So she simply glanced at him calmly, then turned and went into her room. In her mind, another figure was practically baring his fangs, making the girl want to drag him out and give him a good spanking, just like Soren would lightly slap her when she occasionally made a mistake.

"Lillian!"

The little girl frowned her long, delicate eyebrows, raised her small, white hand, and tapped her forehead. She muttered to herself, "What are you doing, acting crazy! Calm down right now!"

He smacked himself on the head.

The little girl looked a bit silly and goofy at that moment, but also adorable, making you want to laugh just looking at her.

"Did you feel it?! Did you feel it?!"

Lillian's voice was incredibly excited, as if she had discovered some earth-shattering secret, flailing wildly in Vivian's mind. "You didn't feel it? You actually didn't feel it? You really are an idiot! Hahaha!... So my brother and I are the closest!... Am I the only one who felt it?!...

Vivian's cute little face was a little pouty, as if she was unhappy, and she huffed, "Lillian! What's wrong with you! Just say what you want to say!..."

"If you keep doing this, I'll lock you up. You should know that I'm in control of my body now."

Lillian finally calmed down.

no way.

Although Lillian was slightly stronger than Lillian, Vivian was ultimately the dominant one, possessing innate superior control over her body, especially after Vivian also began to master Divine Power. Lillian seemed somewhat resentful, yet dared not openly refute, like a spoiled child completely suppressed by their parent. Suppressing her anger, she said, "What an idiot!... You didn't even notice that brother had already fused with the Divinity of that Bear Spirit!..."

"My brother looks like Godsbane too!..."

I finally realized something.

In the past, although Soren had also killed the Fear God Child, he only absorbed the Divinity; the Divine Power was transferred to Vivian. Therefore, neither girl noticed the difference in Soren's power. They simply believed that the power from the slain Fear God Child had transferred to them, albeit not completely. However, what happened when they fought the Bear Spirit made Lillian realize something different: there was no transfer of Divine Power; the Divinity was directly fused with Soren's.

"Godsbane?"

Vivian paused for a moment upon hearing this, then frowned slightly. She murmured, "Is my brother also Godsbane? But why isn't he like us? He doesn't seem to possess any Divine Power...?"

Silence fell over the room.

Vivian and Lillian seemed to be thinking about something else, and both fell into deep thought.

Soren can absorb Divinity!

But is he truly the Godsbane?

Even Lillian wasn't so sure anymore!

On the other side.

The native tribe had been reduced to ashes. Soren, with his men guarding the native captives, gave orders to the Drow Warrior Leader beside him. Dark Blade - Andri hesitated, seemingly unwilling to accept Soren's request, yet unable to refuse. Finally, he said helplessly, "Your Excellency! We have sworn to renounce our faith in Lolth, the Lolth, and have therefore abandoned many of our more cruel arts. Your request will likely put us in a difficult position!"

"Is that so?" Soren's face held a hint of amusement as he slowly said, "The Dark Maiden has been gone for so long, is your people's faith still intact? Without the Divine Magic bestowed by the Deity, your decline is almost inevitable! Are you still stubbornly pursuing so-called goodness? You've been wandering the Surface World for so long, haven't you seen through the true nature of this world yet?"

"Kindness needs strength to sustain it."

"Without power, kindness becomes weakness that makes you vulnerable! You've already weakened to this extent, are you still going to abandon the important skills passed down by the Drow? They may be Evil and cruel, but at least they're enough to keep your people alive, right?"

"Look at these natives."

"If we don't find a way to strengthen ourselves, it will be difficult for us to survive here for long!"

Soren's words were like Devil's temptation, causing a struggle to appear on Dark Blade - Andri's face. His master was luring them back into their depravity, to reclaim certain abandoned Evil traditions. Those bloody, Cruelty, and ruthless methods were key to the Drow elves' formidable reputation in the Underdark. In their pursuit of goodness and the Surface World, they had already abandoned many Cruelty methods, including extremely brutal punishments and various means of control and enslavement.

"Look."

Soren pointed at the native Slave before him, his voice fervent. "There are nearly a thousand people here. They can work for us, provide us with food, build cities for us, and in the future, train some to engage in handicrafts. These people can bring us everything we need. Do you really expect the Warrior of your tribe to do the work?"

"I have been to the Underdark."

"I know very well how Evil and cruel the traditions within the Drow are, and I loathe their ruthless Slaughter. But those are all twisted wills forcibly created to please the Spider Queen. We can abandon those traditions that arose to please the Spider Queen and rediscover the oldest Dark Arts of the Drow!"

"Only in this way can we gain a foothold here."

"Perhaps you should have a female pastor from your community come and talk to me; I'm sure they would agree with my point of view."

Drow are really strong.

If you know anything about this race, you'll find that every Drow family is embroiled in Cruelty internal strife, with siblings frequently Slaughter each other. And if you look further, you'll see that within each Drow family, families within each city are fighting, and cities are constantly at war with each other. This endless infighting and Slaughter continues, yet the Drow still manage to dominate the Underdark, becoming the most powerful force, and even occasionally sending Elite Troops to harass and attack Surface Elf.

It's easy to imagine just how formidable they are!

Anyone familiar with the traditions of the Drow can clearly sense that they are a race that courts disaster, and the Cruelty rule of the Spider Queen is equally self-destructive. Yet, precisely because of this constant self-destruction, both the Spider Queen and the Drow have grown stronger step by step. When Soren traveled through the Underdark with others, his most immediate thought was that if the Drow Drow and cities united, they could instantly assemble a colossal army of unparalleled power and terror!

In the Underdark, attacks on Surface Elf are carried out by a Drow city.

In other words

The Drow are organized into individual cities, and it's extremely rare for Drow cities to unite. The Spider Queen reasons unknown, consistently encourages Cruelty infighting among the Drow, perhaps finding pleasure in it.

Punishment, enslavement, assassination.

The Dark Arts of the Drow, the useful skills valued by Soren, make them more Cruelty than pirates and more professional than Slave traders, especially the female priestesses among the Drow, who are experts in this field.

Soren needs these Evil methods!

Otherwise, it would have taken him a long time to control these native Slave. In the entire Underdark, the Drow' methods of controlling Slave were second only to the Mind Flayer, and were more skillful than the Beholder who relied entirely on Spell Control. Every Drow city had a huge number of Slave, and their Dark Arts were accumulated over a long period of time.

certainly.

Their Evil also manifests in lewdness, promiscuity, depravity, taboos, and so on.

Dark Blade Andri fears is that once the gates of Evil are opened, his people will revert to their old ways unless some powerful external force forcibly pulls them out of the Abyss of utter depravity. Otherwise, the assassination tradition within the Drow may gradually revive.

It's hard for a person to become good, but it can happen in an instant to become bad.

...(To be continued~^~)