Chapter 354: Death and Faith
"Gulp!"
The Plump Elder forced himself to stand still far away in front of Hela, but his trembling legs betrayed his current fear.
As the Regional Manager responsible for the Heavenly Court's Faith Propaganda Team in this Star Zone, the Plump Elder was naturally considered high-level staff within the Tang Group.
He was, of course, aware of Hela's identity within the Tang Group.
However, what truly terrified the Plump Elder was not Hela's status as the Big Boss's mistress, but rather the brutal and bloodthirsty methods of this madwoman. In just a few months since arriving in this Star Zone, Hela had truly shown him what war and slaughter meant.
The Tang Group had originally only purchased two Habitable Planets in this Star Zone to serve as a Base and Cargo Transfer Center.
But three months after Hela's arrival, the number of planets directly occupied by the Tang Group in this Star Zone reached nine. This didn't even include the two planets she had destroyed, or their colony planets.
Because of this, President Ryan, who was in charge of Interstellar Development Business, even had to temporarily halt the construction of the Heavenly Court, ordering over a dozen Weapon Manufacturing Plants to work overnight to produce enough Armed Robots to rule and occupy these planets.
However, in his opinion, the Natives of those occupied planets would no longer dare to rebel.
Leaving them aside, just thinking about the tragic state of that Pirate Planet back then sent shivers down his spine. That was an entire planet!
Pirate Planet, an Asteroid roughly the size of the moon, couldn't even be considered a complete Habitable Planet.
It was famous because many Space Pirates used it as a Supply Port and a Transfer Point for selling Stolen Goods.
To put it simply, Pirate Planet was essentially a Fencing Ground for Space Pirates, much like Knowhere used to be.
This Pirate Planet wasn't very far from one of the Tang Group's Base planets, only about five or six Light-years away.
Although there were no Natural Wormholes connecting the two planets, for an Interstellar Civilization, this distance meant the two planets were practically neighbors. The previous owner of this planet had sold its ownership to the Tang Group at a low price precisely because it was too close to Pirate Planet and suffered constant harassment.
The Tang Group's Interstellar Procurement Department took over this planet. Elder Mandel personally went to Pirate Planet with Yondu and several Ravager Leaders he had subdued.
He met with the Ruler there, gave the Cartman Race individual a large sum of Money, and purchased several Shops on Pirate Planet. Only then did the Tang Group's Base planet stabilize.
Unexpectedly, as time passed, the Tang Group's extensive buying spree on Pirate Planet made them the largest Black Market Stolen Goods buyer on the planet.
Some Space Pirates even bypassed Pirate Planet entirely to save on the Tax Payment they would have to give to the Pirate Planet's Ruler, flying their Spaceships directly to the Habitable Planet occupied by the Tang Group to transport their looted Things, truly achieving "no Middleman earning the price difference."
This immediately made the Middleman uneasy. In the eyes of that Cartman Race individual, the Tang Group was essentially drinking their race's Blood.
In the nearby Star Zones, who didn't know that the Cartman Race had risen to power through plunder? They had always been the ones robbing others, and they had never encountered anyone who dared to rob them.
So, one day, while a Marauder Fleet, permanently stationed at the Spaceport guarding the Base, was out transporting goods, the Cartman Race mobilized hundreds of their own Warships and gathered a large group of Space Pirates to ambush them midway, completely annihilating a Ravager Fleet subordinate to the Tang Group. Then, they turned their Warships around and looted the Tang Group's Transfer Point Base, along with several Black Market Shops.
The moment the incident occurred, Elder Mandel immediately mobilized Manpower, hiring over a dozen Marauders, including Starhawk, to guard the remaining planets.
On the other hand, he reported the entire sequence of events back to Earth as quickly as possible.
Lane, the President in charge of Interstellar Affairs, also reported the news to the Big Boss immediately.
The Big Boss was furious. He rejected President Cain's request to lead the charge, who was in charge of the Tang Group's Security Business, and also didn't assign the matter to any of the other Leaders. Instead, he directly dispatched the Goddess of Death Hela, who was by his side, to this Star Zone.
The Plump Elder learned about the Big Boss's attitude from Pope Hyde. When Hyde was a Cardinal, the Plump Elder was one of Bishop Hyde's followers.
The Plump Elder still remembered the scene when the Goddess of Death (Hela) from Asgard descended upon this Star Zone.
She directly opened the Space Gate for teleportation above Pirate Planet. Facing the hundreds of Warships in the Pirate Planet's Spaceport, ready for battle, she directly conjured a Blood-colored Flag.
The flag swayed three times in Space. The flag grew to be half the size of the planet. With a sweep of the flag in Hela's hand, the entire Space seemed to tremble.
A large Blood-colored Flag waved on that day, a Blood Sea surged, drowning the entire planet. Pirate Planet and the millions of people on it became History from that point on.
In Space, the Blood-colored Flag swayed, and the entire planet was directly shattered.
Only a fragmented Asteroid Belt remained, drifting in that cold Space, proving the former existence of a planet. And this was just the beginning. Next, Hela directly led her Army of the Dead to slaughter the entire Cartman Race. Three planets, hundreds of millions of the Cartman Race, not a single one was left alive.
The Cartman Race, a Space Pirate Race somewhat known even in the Milky Way Galaxy, was thus annihilated.
Now, just looking at Hela from afar, the Plump Elder's mind still replayed the scene of her unfurling the Blood-colored Flag with both hands and the entire planet collapsing.
"It seems Lane's methods for training subordinates are quite good!" Hela glanced at the Plump Elder. "Alright, I'll give Lane some face. My Purpose in coming to this Star Zone is complete. You handle the remaining Matters!"
Hela waved her hand, and a Golden Light Portal appeared before her. The cloud-shrouded plaque above the door had three large characters carved in strange script: "South Heavenly Gate."
Although the Plump Elder didn't recognize the characters, when he looked up and saw these three characters shimmering with Golden Light, their meaning appeared in his mind.
God's Kingdom. This was the God's Kingdom that Pope Hyde had described to them.
The Plump Elder looked excitedly at the Golden Light Portal, his gaze eager to pierce through the door. The next moment, he seemed to feel that staring directly would desecrate this Portal leading to the God's Kingdom, so he lowered his Head heavily.
But the longing for the God's Kingdom made him unable to resist secretly looking at the Portal again.
Hela, however, paid no attention to the conflict on the Plump Elder's face. She beckoned to Fenrir. The Blood-colored Giant Wolf's form began to shrink. By the time it stepped through the air and arrived beside Hela, it had become the size of a normal wolf or dog, and its fur had returned to black.
"Let's go!"
Hela stroked Fenrir's wolf Head and walked directly into the golden Portal before her.
Watching the "South Heavenly Gate" leading to the God's Kingdom shrink, condense into a Light Spot, and finally disappear, a look of wistful loss immediately appeared on the Plump Elder's face.
However, he quickly firmed his belief. Heaven was merely a record in the Bible; going to Heaven after Death was just a means used by The Church throughout history for Evangelizing. But the Heavenly Court was real.
Thinking of the Promise the Big Boss had given them, the Plump Elder felt as energized as if he had been injected with chicken blood. He turned his Gaze towards the Stone Giant on the Ground that was preparing to sneak away.
This Planet Native God, whose Rock Body was burning with Blood Flames attached by Fenrir, had shrunk from its original height of several thousand meters to several hundred meters as its Rock constantly shed. However, its Body Size was still terrifyingly large compared to Humanity.
But now, this guy, as tall as a skyscraper, was acting sneaky and trying to tip-toe away, completely unaware of how conspicuous his Body Size was.
The Stone Giant seemed to realize it had been discovered. Seeing the Giant Beast emitting Blood-colored Flames disappear, it felt like it could do it again!
"No one can enslave Golem!"
The Stone Giant beat its chest with its two arms, as thick as mountain ridges, threatening the Plump Elder.
The Plump Elder casually pointed, and the large Gun Port of the two-thousand-meter-long Warship parked above, which had been extended for a long time, directly fired a white Energy Pillar.
"Boom!"
Mountain Rocks splattered. The Stone Giant watched helplessly as a Mountain Peak in front of it disappeared in the White Light. The ten-thousand-meter-high mountain that had stood there was now just a Giant Pit large enough to bury it entirely.
Stone Giant Golem stared blankly at the Giant Pit until a coughing sound came from above, which startled it awake.
"Great Powerful One, what do you need Golem to do for you!" Stone Giant Golem bent down, looking up at the Plump Elder.
"I have come to preach the Teachings of my Lord! Those who devoutly Convert to the Heavenly Emperor's sect will receive great Blessings! Are you willing to Convert!"
The Plump Elder watched the Stone Giant soften. He flipped out a golden Book, reciting the words of persuasion from it. His words, translated by the Magic Tool Book in his hand, turned into a Mental Fluctuation that entered the Stone Giant's mind.
"I am willing to Convert! Willing!"
Golem felt the golden strange bird above its Head, its Claws subtly aimed at him. Under the Pressure of Death, Golem nodded repeatedly.
Rumble! A tall Stone Giant, a thousand meters in Height, carried a Giant Peak almost equal to its Body Size and placed it at the Highest Point of this planet.
Hundreds of Iron Soldiers flew around this Giant Peak.
Beams of High Temperature White Light shot out from the hands of these Iron Soldiers, quickly shining onto the huge Mountain Peak.
Rock debris rapidly Melted under the High Temperature, turning into blue smoke and dispersing.
A couple of weeks later, a huge Statue stood on the Highest Peak of this planet.
The Throne stood high. Tang Song, wearing an Emperor's Crown and with a majestic and solemn appearance, sat on the Throne, accepting the worship of the planet's billions of living beings.
With the Big Boss's Statue completed, the next step was to build Temples and Churches around the Statue's feet, teaching the Blessings of the Big Boss to the Stone People on this planet.
The Plump Elder, who had been a Diocesan Bishop for over ten years, was very experienced in this. After investigating and learning that the Native Stone People on this planet primarily ate a Rock-associated Liquid as their staple food, he immediately mobilized thousands of Mining Robots from the Parish to collect this Stone Marrow. He used the Stone Marrow to entice the Native Stone People to come to the Temples and Churches to hear them speak of Heavenly Emperor Tang's Blessings.
Those who believed in the Lord received bread and eggs. The hundreds of Believers who came to this planet to Evangelize were already very skilled at doing these Things.
Three months later, hundreds of Tang Song's Statues had been erected on this planet, and millions of Native Stone People devoutly worshipped and offered sacrifices beneath the Statues.
And Boss Tang's Faith Propaganda Team also began using Alien Technology to change this planet. Disasters like hurricanes, Earthquakes, and Volcanoes on the planet slowly began to decrease.
The Natives' Faith was firm and stubborn. When they began to believe in Tang Song, a massive Power of Faith immediately gathered along the Statues, breaking through the air and transmitting towards the Thirty-three Heavenly Palaces high above.
The Faith of one or two Natives wasn't strong, but the Power of Faith from billions of Intelligent Life Forms across several Star Zones and dozens of planets gathered together, turning into a torrent of Power of Faith, continuously pouring into the Incense and Fire Heavenly Pool in the Great Luo Heaven. A portion of this Power of Faith was converted within the Main God Barracks, transforming into Yellow Turban Warriors, Heavenly Soldiers, and Angels serving the Heavenly Court.
On the other hand, this Power of Faith seemed to materialize into Golden Liquid, washing over the entire Heavenly Court again and again.
Under the washing of this Power of Faith, the Heavenly Court, which was originally built with ordinary materials, Jumped to another level overall.
Hela summoned the South Heavenly Gate, which was Refined from the Main Body of Heaven's Gate, and stepped outside the door. Before her was an Immortal Realm surrounded by clouds and mist.
Teams of Heavenly Soldiers wearing silver armor rose on clouds under their feet, patrolling the Heavenly Palace Architecture in formation. The only slightly inconsistent thing was that the Heavenly Soldiers in their hands were not Spears, Blades, or Swords, but rows of Energy Guns engraved with Runes.
Hela, with Fenrir, stepped on a road seemingly paved with clouds and mist, passing through the vast complex of buildings.
As she walked through the buildings and Covered Walkways, golden Streaking Light occasionally flashed between the Golden Tiles and Jade Pillars. Under the Tempering of these bursts of Golden Light, the entire Heavenly Court Architecture appeared increasingly solemn.
In the Great Luo Heaven, a hundreds-of-kilometers-wide Inland Sea was enclosed within the vast Heavenly Court Architecture complex. This was a section of an Ocean from an Asteroid that was pulled in when the Great Luo Heaven was first constructed, and a part of it was preserved as scenery.
Tang Song, wearing only Beach Shorts, was lying by this specially preserved seaside, sunbathing.
Under the warm Artificial Sunlight, Tang Song lay on a Beach Chair with his eyes closed, his Divine Soul already traveling to other universes.
In this not-so-large Inland Sea, a hundred-meter-long Black Dragon rode the clouds and mist in the water, stirring up waves, creating a surfing atmosphere for a group of women playing on skateboards.
To ensure these Boss's Wives had fun, Xiao Hei even had to straighten his dragon body and act as a competent sea slide.
Hela, with a cold face, had just arrived beside Tang Song when Boss Tang opened his eyes, reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her into his embrace.
"You're back. Did you have fun?"
"Fun?! Am I not doing things for you!" Hela slapped away Tang Song's perverted hand reaching for her waist, saying with a cold face.
"The matter is resolved, but your subjects don't seem to want me to interfere!"
After spending so much Time together, Hela understood this man's wicked sense of humor. This scoundrel liked nothing more than seeing her iceberg attitude outside, and then playfully tease her in private.
During those three months, she had developed a strange emotion towards this man before her, one she couldn't quite explain herself.
"They are in awe of Death!" Tang Song wasn't angry that Hela had slapped his hand away. He reached behind him and stroked Fenrir's fluffy dog Head.
"What is it this time?" Hela was noncommittal about Tang Song's words, but seeing Tang Song touching her wolf, she rolled her eyes exasperatedly.
"A Blood Sacrifice Guidance. It's not that important. But Blood Daoist and Beelzebub are fighting in the Abyss, and Yama is Opening Up Hell. They are all busy with other Matters. Lane and Kane's Strength is still a bit lacking, so I can only ask my Queen to preside over this blood sacrifice!"
"Blood sacrifice, or River Styx Blood Sacrifice?"
(end of chapter)