On the surface, the Dark Sun Order was a peaceful charitable organization. Some who heard its teachings could not help developing a favorable impression of it, and after hearing them repeatedly, they would even donate to the order.
Behind the scenes, the Dark Sun Order trained intelligence agents, assassins, and even pirates.
There was nothing particularly special about the Dark Sun Order's teachings.
Yet believing in the Dark Sun God and joining the Dark Sun Order really did solve their problems of food and clothing, deepening their faith from the heart.
Its influence ran especially deep among orphans and children.
Cyrik's words held an extraordinarily persuasive power.
That was because his voice carried the power of a Devil Fruit.
Even recordings lost none of their effect.
That was precisely what allowed the Dark Sun Order to snowball in such a short time.
By now, after a little over a year, the Dark Sun Order had grown to more than twenty thousand members.
Its potential believers numbered over a hundred thousand.
It had built churches on more than sixty islands.
Anyone willing to listen to Cyrik preach its teachings could become a potential believer of the Dark Sun Order.
Cyrik had also slowed the order's growth, focusing most of his energy on developing its intelligence network, establishing an assassin organization, and consolidating and expanding Dark Sun's various businesses.
Otherwise, the Dark Sun Order would have had even more members.
The seas were far from peaceful. Although the Dark Sun Order had drawn the attention of some powers, there were not many.
They had no idea how far the Dark Sun Order had developed.
Some members worked in churches, while others did not.
Nor did they bear any distinctive marks.
Most powers, especially kingdoms, remained fairly friendly toward the Dark Sun Order.