Action (Bonus Chapter)

"It resonated with the pain-control ability housed within the Rope of Oath, and the two linked up to produce an effect." Naimus was immediately intrigued and even mobilized a portion of his true Demon power to observe it.

"For faith to link up in this way is truly unexpected, yet perfectly reasonable!"

Naimus's pain-control ability—the Essence of Pain—had originally been obtained from Pur through the Precept of Forgiveness.

And the Precept of Forgiveness had undergone its transformation because of the Holy Nail formed from the Power of Faith.

Now that Pur believed in Naimus, the Power of Faith he generated was naturally drawn to the Essence of Pain.

"Perhaps this is the proper use of Divine Rank."

"Divinity is the qualification to become a god. Only the faith of others can activate the power of Divinity to the fullest extent."

"However, the Divine Rank I obtained is incomplete, and I have no means of absorbing faith myself. That is why faith in me can only be connected through the Rope of Oath and the Precept as intermediaries."

"The problem remains the same: there is too little faith!"

Naimus kept pondering faith and Divinity, then swiftly intervened further with Pur.

He actively activated the Rope of Oath, but instead of triggering its pain-control ability, he guided the power of the Precept within it, making the connection of faith clearer and more stable.

Sure enough, as the connection stabilized, Pur gradually awakened part of his ability. At that moment, the pain seemed to turn into strength, flooding into his body and becoming the force that sustained him.

The Essence of Pain Naimus had obtained from Pur through the Precept was, through this connection of faith, in turn activating this portion of Pur's ability, granting him the corresponding extraordinary trait—the Essence of Pain.

Naimus had merely gained some enhancement through the Precept, but Pur had activated all the abilities of the Essence of Pain.

Endure pain, perceive pain, then make use of pain.

Pur's struggling body gradually steadied. The two forces causing pain inside him also began to undergo a slight Fusion.

One force was Deep Well Water; the other was the infectious power of Whale-ification Disease.

Deep Well Water should have been able to resist Whale-ification Disease, but the infectious Whale Call of Whale-ification Disease had mixed into the Sky Whale's Whale Call, effectively disguising itself.

Using that disguise, the infectious force broke through the first layer of defense and resistance. The Deep Well Water, which had originally held the advantage, was now forced into a struggle against the disease.

The so-called Deep Well Water was, in essence, well water mixed with Whale Blood.

It shared the same origin as Whale-ification Disease, but had branched down a different path. That was why, upon meeting again, they restrained one another and began to clash.

Only after many explorations had the Village Guardian discovered that the Whale Call of Whale-ification Disease could blend into a genuine Whale Call, thereby increasing its aggressiveness.

And according to the Village Guardian's judgment, the reason he could control Whale-ification was most likely because of this mixture.

While it helped Whale-ification Disease spread, it also restrained the agitation caused by Whale-ification.

The Whale-ification Disease inside Pur's body was, after all, without a source.

As time passed, the Deep Well Water in his body began to gain the upper hand. Gradually, Pur returned to normal.

Infection with Whale-ification Disease: failed.

But that was not a problem. It had been expected.

The Village Guardian had not succeeded in a single attempt either. Only after repeatedly struggling against Whale-ification Disease had he left a small seed of it within his body.

And that seed was no longer rejected by the Deep Well Water. Instead, it had fused with it.

Thus, when necessary, the Village Guardian could activate the power of Deep Well Water and complete his Whale-ification.

"It seems there were still some results." After examining Pur's body, Naimus found that his physical number had been developed slightly.

As a Reserve Village Guardian, Pur had originally possessed a number of only around three.

This intense clash had allowed the Deep Well Water to activate quite a bit of his body's Aura of Life. Combined with the development of his own Essence of Pain, his number had reached four and was approaching five.

It did not look like much of an increase, but for an ordinary person, this was already the harvest of several years.

Take Nigel, for example. As a noble, he had received Paladin training since childhood.

His cultivation resources, educational resources, and time resources had all been excellent.

His physical aptitude was not bad either.

Yet after training from childhood until now, for more than twenty years, he had only reached a number of seven.

On average, he gained one point every three years.

Viewed that way, Pur gaining more than a point in a single night was already an incredible rate.

Of course, there was always someone stronger. Naimus himself was an example.

After falling into the Abyss, Naimus had been born a Variant Demon, starting with a number of ten. Then, in three years, he had raised his true body to a number of three hundred.

"Unfortunately, the power of my true body is difficult to use extensively on the Material Plane," Naimus thought regretfully.

Just like Kurog, that Lesser Demon, he needed to possess someone in order to use his power on the Material Plane.

Naimus was the same. To unleash the full three hundred of his true body's number, he required a vessel with sufficient carrying capacity.

Without completely demonizing Nigel's body, summoning a few Abyss Demons was the limit.

Even if he fully demonized it, he could probably only exert a few dozen points. Unless he did as Naimus had originally intended and slaughtered the entire village, hundreds of people.

Using their souls and lives to elevate Nigel, the vessel, into a Steel Breed, while transforming him from a demonized being into a Demon.

Only then could he use it to unleash all three hundred of his number. Even then, some extraordinary traits belonging to Naimus's true body might not be inherited in full.

Demons were generally stronger than others of the same level, yet they had still not truly conquered the Material Plane.

A major reason was precisely this limitation.

"Tomorrow morning, we'll conduct another experiment. I already have a few ideas. Perhaps we can speed up the rate of success." After examining the body, Naimus reached his conclusion.

The Village Guardian's success had involved many factors, but the key lay in repeated collisions between forces of the same origin, eventually triggering an essential Fusion.

Whale Call, bloodline, Deep Well Water, and even conviction had all been extremely important in the process.

But that did not mean shortcuts could not be taken.

Or rather, those factors were extremely important only when the technique was immature. Once the technique matured, those conditions would no longer be essential.

"Go back. There are still some things to do next," Naimus ordered.

As the new day arrived, Naimus had less and less time remaining.

After all, The Church would send people over in two days.

It was not as though problems would arise the instant they arrived, but things would only become more troublesome by then.

He still needed to make preparations in advance.

For example, warn them, or...

Silence them!

Bonus chapter! Keep the reads steady, brothers and sisters!