Gods Are Not Greatened by Faith

God was not great because of Faith.

But those who believed in gods became great because of Faith.

That day, Richie escaped his fate of death on the execution rack. He raised his hand and asked who would follow God's will with him and resist the Tribe's rule.

Everyone kneeling on the ground cried out devoutly.

"God-Chosen!"

"We will follow you!"

Having witnessed the Divine Miracle descend with their own eyes, the people became fervent followers, telling every tribesman of that great miracle.

Thus, a humble sinner who had been about to be executed gathered more and more followers and sounded a horn of resistance that had not echoed for over a hundred years.

Even though most of those in this group had never received any combat training.

They still believed they would win.

Because they believed they were acting in accordance with God's will.

God would protect them.

Faith gave people great courage.

The days of blood and fire lasted for a week.

The moment Richie walked out of the firelit cave carrying the bloodstained head of the tribal chief, everything was settled.

The long night ended, and a new king was crowned.

Holding the heavy stone helmet in both hands, Richie placed the bloodstained stone Helmet of Power upon his head.

At that moment, the gaunt young man who had tried to set out to sea in the dead of night vanished.

In his place stood the true ruler of a Tribe.

The first thing Richie did after taking the chief's seat was completely purge the chief's bloodline.

The filthy, disheveled people were dragged over.

There were elders, women, and children.

"Please spare us. Give us another chance."

The leading woman among those bound there was pale with terror, endlessly knocking her head against the ground.

She was one of the former chief's wives.

Richie merely sat on the stone throne, quietly watching her beg him.

The anger that had once been on his face was long gone. All that remained was unquestionable calm.

"When my parents were about to starve to death and knelt to beg you, did you give them a chance?"

"When those who were about to be burned alive cried out, did you give them a choice?"

"They never had a chance to choose, but you did."

Richie stepped down from the stone throne where the former chief had once sat so high above everyone else and looked at the people below.

"From the very beginning, when the blessings ceased and before famine had spread, God gave you the chance to choose. Yet you chose the crooked path of harming living beings, and God's punishment descended because of it."

"You gave up that first and only chance yourselves."

Richie raised a hand and summoned the guards.

"Burn every adult alive. Let them experience the feeling of flames consuming their bodies firsthand."

"As for these young children, I believe they do not bear such great sins..."

At those words, a spark of hope appeared in the eyes of the youths, who had been as despairing as everyone else.

Richie looked at the group of youths gazing at him eagerly and thought for a while.

"Send them to the mountain. Grant them a painless death."

That was the greatest mercy he could offer.

Because he understood a simple truth.

A person would never forget hatred.

He was like that.

So were these children.

That very night.

The former chief's faction completely collapsed.

Those who had been branded criminals were pardoned.

The sinners escaped their fate, dropping to their knees and weeping loudly as they swore to follow this God-Chosen unto death.

Richie erased the old Decay-ridden foundation and fostered forces that belonged to him.

No one in the Tribe was not awed by the young chief's swift and decisive methods.

Yet a week earlier, this chief had merely been a scrawny, inexperienced boy.

No one knew whether the Helmet of Power had changed him or whether God's unseen power had remade him completely.

[One of your believers has unlocked a new color.]

[You may switch Anchor Points to inspect it.]

[Chief lv1] Richie

[Age]: 28

[Talents]: "Discernment lv1" "Inspire lv1" "Spirituality lv1"

[Knowledge]: None

[Sequence]: None

[An outstanding leader. Under his leadership, the abilities of talented people in the Tribe will be subtly enhanced and awakened. Talented individuals will be properly recognized, allowing them to contribute to the Tribe.]

"This one is surprisingly suitable."

Within the Drawing Board, Mona saw a new color radiating from the soul of this new chief and felt slightly surprised.

In his eyes, human souls displayed all kinds of colored labels.

He could see that the brightness and richness of this young man's soul had become far more vivid than its previously dim appearance.

He had not expected that after becoming chief, Richie would so swiftly comprehend new talents suited to a leader:

"Inspire lv1": In daily life, he encouraged people to act with greater initiative, increasing his people's enthusiasm for work. In battle, it raised morale.

"Discernment lv1": He was skilled at discovering talent. His appreciation for capable people made him more likely to successfully uncover those with ability.

Yet among Richie's predecessors, even those who had become [Chief] had failed to master such talents over long periods of time.

But this so-called "God-Chosen" had merely been lucky enough to be there at that particular moment.

"Interesting. It's like drawing a good hand in a card game."

Mona found it rather interesting.

Such random surprises were the charm of a game.

He deliberately marked the [Anchor Point] on Richie, making it easier to observe him in the future and see whether he would bring any wonderful changes to this game.

After clearing away the rotten foundation, Richie summoned the Tribe's elders.

Although these elders had all been connected to the chief to some extent.

He did not settle accounts with them.

Because he knew he could not turn this predicament around by himself.

The wise elders knew how to read the situation.

They all knelt on the ground.

Their weathered faces were covered in tears, loyalty, and gratitude.

"We have suffered enough under the sinners' tyranny. Forced against our will to become accomplices to evil, we have finally waited for the true God-Chosen to descend. Only you can lead the Tribe onto the right path permitted by God."

To show their loyalty, the elders led Richie to the former chief's "inheritance."

Many things had been buried underground in one part of the stone cave.

Some of them appeared to have been passed down from several generations of chiefs ago.

It could be said that the Tribe's accumulated wealth of more than a hundred years was all hidden within this cave.

They were the items once bestowed by God:

An entire stone jar filled with strange liquid that felt icy cold to the touch.

It was clearly the legendary Holy Water capable of nourishing all things.

Several pottery jars of Tree Cassava and seeds.

They were packed to the brim as well.

The longer Richie looked at those things, the angrier he became.

These were blessings God had given so everyone could survive, things that could have been used to resolve the famine.

Yet the chief had kept them in this cold, gloomy cave for his own use alone.

"Move everything up. Distribute the Tree Cassava among the tribesmen who are about to starve to death."

Richie gave the order.

At the same time, in the chief's name, he lifted the ban on approaching the shore, allowing the tribesmen to ease their hunger through fishing.

After a hundred years, the Tribe finally returned to the embrace of the unfathomable sea.

At first, the tribesmen who had not seen the sea for a century trembled in fear when facing the surging waves.

But soon, after they caught those strange sea creatures and roasted them over the flames until an enticing aroma rose from them.

Their hunger-driven appetites quickly dispelled more than half their fear of the unknown sea.

Occasionally, someone was swept away by the waves and lost their life during high tide.

No one encountered the terrifying sea monsters from the legends, creatures said to possess hard shells.

Thus, people came to regard those tales of sea monsters as lies invented by the tyrants.

After successfully resolving the basic food and clothing needs of some people.

Richie began leading these pioneers across the island's God-Gifted Land, seeking hope in new territory.

In the gloomy wilderness, they used their wisdom to drive away the terrifying giant venomous spiders, claimed the land and cultivated fields, planted crops anew, and watered them with Holy Water so the Tree Cassava could thrive.

On those dangerous cliffs, they overcame their fear, climbed to the heights, and picked incomparably bitter wild vegetables.

Richie personally led the Tribe's Warriors, holding torches as they explored every inch of the island.

Every corner of the wastelands and cliffs bore the footprints of their arduous journey.

Two years later.

The people, their hands covered in calluses, had finally driven hunger from the island.

[Under the leadership of this outstanding chief, the people of the Tribe have gained new lives, resolved their basic needs, and become Inspired ↑]

[People now have higher expectations for life. New professions have also begun to emerge and develop.]

[Your believers have unlocked a new color.]

[You may switch Anchor Points to inspect it.]