As the False Belief Voice and Painful Life took effect, the faces of Happy Town's residents grew increasingly strained. Fear, despair, resentment, shame, numbness, and countless other emotions surged through them at once.
The strong-willed could still grit their teeth and endure, though their faces gradually twisted into grimaces;
the timid and the ordinary had already fallen to their knees, praying to the gods they worshipped... except that the Mentor of Deceit's ability redirected every prayer to Liu Bo.
Seeing that the moment was right, Abner sealed the False Belief Voice again, then sent Tran forward to persuade them to leave once more.
Tran still didn't quite understand what was happening, but he trusted Abner and did as he was asked.
The result took him completely by surprise. The people who had argued with him now looked at him as though he were their salvation. They were a step away from clinging to his legs and begging him to take them along.
Your Excellency Braine is incredible! Is this what a demigod can do? It really is far beyond human limits! Tran marveled. He also felt a little vindicated. These people had rejected his help and attacked him with words, and he had been no match for them in an argument.
Now their behavior stood in such sharp contrast to before that Tran couldn't help feeling secretly pleased.
What he didn't know was that Abner had deliberately arranged the whole thing to get even for his descendant.
"Abner really is amazing!" Miss Gwen exclaimed as well. Beneath her admiration, though, lay a trace of dejection. She had worked so hard, yet the gap between them kept growing.
After much pleading, the townspeople headed for the docks under the direction of Tran, Lydia, and the sailors, ready to board the ships.