【 CLEANSING OF FAITH 】

After taking a moment to reflect on their victory, Li Mu quickly rallied the players to handle the post-battle cleanup following their conquest of the Orc stronghold.

The destruction of the Golden Canopy Tribe was not the end of their operations but rather, it was merely the beginning of a deeper consolidation of power.

The next crucial step was breaking their faith. Forcing the captured orcs to abandon their belief was necessary not only to prevent future resistance but also to sever Uller’s lingering influence in the region.

In a war of faith, this was perhaps the most effective way to weaken an enemy god’s base of power.

The players were already well-versed in this, as two months of raiding smaller tribes in the Desert had given them extensive experience.

Without hesitation, some players brought out the makeshift clay statues they had prepared in advance and forced the orcs to desecrate them one by one.

A restless stir spread through the square where the captive orcs were being held. To them, their faith had been deeply ingrained over the years.

As the players imposed their will, resistance soon emerged among the prisoners, as expected.

In fact, during their previous raids, forcing the orcs to abandon their faith had always provoked such similar reactions.

But with their weapons confiscated and their strongest warriors long since slain, the captured orcs were powerless to resist.

Their struggles were weak and futile, nothing more than the final, pitiful defiance from a people who had already lost everything.

It didn’t take much effort for a few mid-sized guilds assigned to guard duty to suppress any dissidents. The orcs’ protests, whether in words or action, were met with cold efficiency, their defiance snuffed out before it could spread.

The resisting orcs were swiftly cut down, their bodies turning to ashes beneath the players’ blades.

The entire process was done in a methodical and eerily practiced manner, as though performing such merciless acts had become second nature to them.

The ruthless efficiency and cold-blooded precision with which the players executed the resisting orcs drained the color from the faces of the remaining prisoners.

Seeing their fellow tribesmen cut down without hesitation, their bodies reduced to ashes, the surviving orcs were paralyzed with terror. Any lingering thoughts of defiance crumbled in an instant, replaced by the chilling realization that any resistance meant immediate annihilation.

Some wailed in despair, others knelt in stunned silence, and a few begged for mercy.

One by one, they reluctantly followed the players’ orders, desecrating their Patron Deity’s replica statue.

With that final act of submission, these orcs’ faith was completely shattered.

This scene played out before the eyes of the native elves who had fought alongside the players. Seeing what was happening in front of them, their expressions grew increasingly complex, showing a myriad of emotions, ranging from unease to contemplation and silent judgment.

After spending so much time with the Chosen Ones, the natives had believed they had already understood their nature well.

Yet, watching them now being so clinical and merciless in their eradication of their enemy’s faith, the native elves couldn’t shake the feeling that the players were something far more foreign than they had ever realized.

To many elves who had never witnessed the players in battle, these Chosen Ones had seemed odd and even amusing in their eccentric ways, but ultimately sincere and kind-hearted beings.

Yet now, as they watched their brutal methods—especially the sheer ruthlessness with which they crushed the orcs—the elves were shaken to their core.

And that was before the looting began.

After conquering the orc tribe, the players plundered its resources without restraint.

Many natives had never imagined that the same Chosen Ones who laughed and joked with them, who easily flattered them with endless praise, could also be so…barbaric.

“Does it seem cruel? Shocking, even?”

A young voice broke through their conflicted thoughts.

The elves turned around, immediately straightening upon recognizing the speaker.

One after another, they pressed their hands to their chests and traced the symbol of the Life Scepter, bowing respectfully.

“Greetings, Lord Aél!”

It was Aél Moonlight, who was on good terms with Demacia and had joined the Heart of Nature’s legion army as the commander of the native elven forces for this operation.

Once the youngest of Eve’s divine champions, he had grown significantly over the past two years.

Though he still retained a youthful appearance, his demeanor was far more composed, and his eyes carried a quiet weight—an understanding born only from witnessing both the triumphs and horrors of battle.

Hearing his question, the natives hesitated before answering honestly.

“Indeed…We never imagined that the Chosen Ones had such a side to them.”

“We always thought that, despite their strange behavior, they were also kind-hearted, just like us.”

This misunderstanding stemmed from how players interacted with NPCs. Over time, they had learned to read the natives’ personalities, tailoring their actions to increase their favorability and present themselves in the best possible light.

There were even dedicated guides on the official forums detailing the exact actions players needed to take to win the natives’ approval.

As a result, many elves, especially those who had never seen the Chosen Ones in battle had developed a one-sided perception of them.

Aél listened to their words without showing much reaction.

His gaze swept over the Chosen Ones in the distance before shifting back to his fellow elves, before sighing lightly.

“This is the reality of war between races and opposing faiths,” he said. “Only by abandoning mercy can we claim victory in a conflict as brutal as this.”

“Our people have declined over the past thousand years, not just because we lost the protection of our Patron Deity and were bound by the racial shackles, but also because we were too kind.”

He then paused momentarily, his voice tinged with emotion.

“…Alas, such kindness has no place in war.”

“I once heard the Chosen Ones mention an old saying from their homeland, a lesson passed down from one of their ancient sages: ‘A kind heart does not command an army.”

“In their explanation, this phrase refers to the relationship between a general and their soldiers—how a commander must not be too soft-hearted, lest they hesitate at a critical moment and lead their army to ruin.”

“But in my view, this saying applies just as much to one’s enemies.”

“We may cherish peace, revere life, and long for a world without bloodshed, but there are moments when we have no choice but to fight.”

“The world does not bend to our ideals. Faith, race, survival—these struggles persist everywhere, unrelenting and unavoidable.”

“And in war, the act of mercy toward the enemy is cruelty toward ourselves.”

His fellow elves fell into a contemplative silence.

Sensing the shift in atmosphere, Aél exhaled softly before continuing, his tone measured yet resolute:

“Of course, I’m not suggesting that we should mirror the Chosen Ones in all that they do.”

“They are warriors summoned by the Goddess from another world. To them, fighting in these battles is merely a game.”

“But when a person treats war merely as a game, it is inevitable that their actions will inevitably lack restraint and regard for consequence—actions that ordinary people will find difficult to accept.”

“For them, this is just a game, so they can do whatever they want. But for us, this war is real, and it’s only natural to feel conflicted over the brutal scenes we witness.”

“Fret not. It’s natural to feel uneasy about some of the Chosen Ones’ actions, to question their methods and wonder if such ruthlessness is truly necessary.”

“But understand this—no matter what, all of this is ultimately for our race to emerge as the victor in the end. The Chosen Ones are our strongest allies and most reliable companions.”

“There is no right or wrong in war. But only the victors have the right to dictate what is remembered and how history will be written.”

“When the dust settles, as the ultimate victors of this war, we will have both the power and the right to shape history as we see fit and forge a new future for ourselves.”

“All of this… is for the glory of our Goddess and the Elvenkind!”

Aél’s voice carried solemnity and conviction, each word striking deep into the hearts of those who listened.

Moved by his words, the elves’ gazes gradually hardened with determination. The uncertainty that had clouded their minds began to fade, replaced by a steely resolve.

“For the glory of our Goddess and the Elvenkind!”

Aél nodded approvingly.

“Good…It seems that everyone here is gradually growing up.”

From a distance, Evé silently observed the exchange between Aél and the elves, nodding to herself in quiet satisfaction.

The natives were gradually becoming accustomed to battle.

They were beginning to abandon their deeply rooted ideals of showing mercy in battle, shedding the hesitation that once held their race back.

Though they still frowned slightly at some of the players’ more ruthless methods, they were learning to approach these matters with a calmer, more pragmatic perspective.

This was good.

At the same time, the Heart of Nature’s army was proving itself to be quite capable.

Evé had initially assumed she would need to intervene to deal with the Golden-rank high priest. However, in the end, she merely observed as the players handled the situation on their own, effortlessly turning the tide of battle in their favor with the strategic use of a few holy statues.

“The Divine Punishment Meta Demacia devised was truly a plague upon the enemies… I can only imagine how Uller and Hodür reacted. If my senses weren’t mistaken, there was a moment of hesitation in Hodür’s divine punishment, which suggests he was conflicted about carrying it out.”

Evé mused to herself.

To punish or not to punish—that was the dilemma. For Gods of Faith, deciding on what course of action to take in this situation was a tough decision.

After all, their power stemmed from the faith of their believers, and maintaining one’s faith required upholding their lofty, untouchable public image.

Should they failed to deliver divine punishment, it could shake their believers’ belief. But if they acted recklessly and their efforts were thwarted, it would only serve to tarnish their prestige.

For deities, their public image wasn’t just a matter of dignity as it was directly tied to their divine authority.

As such, faith was both their strength and their weakness.

With this thought, Evé refocused her consciousness onto the game system, shifting her attention to the other battlefields.

Heart of Nature had been the last to launch their operation among the players’ legion army, yet surprisingly, they were the second fastest to conquer an orc stronghold.

Much of their success was attributed to the ‘Divine Punishment Bombs’ they employed.

The other armies lacked both Demacia’s vast resources and the means to procure such devastating secret weapons. At most, they could scrape together enough funds to purchase a few holy statues at exorbitant prices from Amway, reserving them for only the most critical moments of battle.

Nevertheless, while the remaining orc strongholds were weaker than the Golden Canopy Tribe, each legion had its own strengths.

For instance, Moe Moe Committee, with its immense wealth, had deployed over forty trebuchets. The sheer barrage alone from these siege weapons had nearly shattered their target’s protective barrier.

Moreover, Moe Moe also maintained a strong alliance with Heart of Nature. Therefore, their leader, Little Salty Cat, had also received a holy statue or two from Demacia.

Though their target was a tribe nearly as powerful as the Golden Canopy Tribe, it was only a matter of time before they breached this stronghold.

Meanwhile, the First Legion, which had no access to holy statues and only a limited number of trebuchets, relied instead on their numerical advantage. With their guild boasting the highest concentration of combat players, their Guildmaster Tomato decided to launch an assault on the Silver Canopy Tribe in a straightforward manner.

Ideally, their target was the closest orc settlement to the Dark Mountains, and so this particular tribe had already endured countless raids, leaving them battered and exhausted even before the main operation began.

Under these circumstances, and with the powerful assistance of Tiberia—whose true strength was nearly on par with a legendary-rank being—the First Legion managed to sustain the longest battle duration, gradually grinding down the orcs through relentless waves of melee attacks.

Thus, shortly after Heart of Nature secured their victory over the Golden Canopy Tribe, the First Legion finally broke through their target as well, bringing yet another orc stronghold to its knees.

From a gaming perspective, their operation was by far the bloodiest and most visually appealing, resembling the brutal close-quarter clashes of traditional medieval warfare in which shields clashed, swords rang, and bodies pressed tightly together in the chaos of battle.

However, the sheer number of casualties they suffered made Evé wince.

The biggest surprise, though, came from the Autobots Guild.

This latecomer guild, formed by players from the third beta was significantly weaker than the three major guilds. No one had expected them to stand out, let alone outperform the others in this whole operation.

Yet, to everyone’s astonishment, they were actually the fastest to bring down their designated orc stronghold.

Their swift victory wasn’t due to overwhelming individual strength, nor was it because their chosen target was particularly weak. Instead, it was the result of a meticulously crafted strategy of their Guildmaster.

Transformer Ji Gang devised a cunning plan well before the operation even began. Rather than engaging in a prolonged siege, he leveraged their NPC support, Rose, the legendary-rank Spider Queen.

At his request, she launched a devastating surprise attack from underground, burrowing beneath the enemy stronghold and causing its walls to collapse in an instant.

With the magical formations on the walls destroyed, the tribe’s protective barrier never even had the chance to activate.

And just like that, the orc settlement was overrun.

Watching the battle unfold, Evé found herself once again marveling at the ingenuity of the players. Their unpredictable, almost reckless creativity in approaching warfare never ceased to surprise her.

As she monitored the other battlefields, a familiar voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts:

“Lady Zero, we’ve secured all of Uller’s holy statues. We await your orders for further action.”

Evé withdrew her consciousness from the ongoing battles, and shifted her attention on the speaker.

It was Li Mu, his expression calm yet tinged with anticipation.

She gave a small nod of approval.

“Good work. Lead the way.”

Rising to her feet, she followed him, her thoughts already shifting toward the next phase of the operation.

Li Mu led Evé through the war-torn encampment, past the scattered remnants of battle and into the tribe’s shrine tent, wherein an assortment of holy statues, both large and small, had been gathered.

Some bore intricate carvings while others were much simpler, crude but no less revered by the Orcs.

The most imposing among them towered over three meters tall, a statue of Uller wrought from stone and reinforced with the concentrated power of faith. Undoubtedly, this was the Golden Canopy Tribe’s primary enshrined idol—the vessel in which housed their accumulated faith and served as the source of power for their divine barrier.

In the vicinity, a crowd of players had already gathered, their gazes filled with regret as they eyed the holy statues imbued with the power of faith.

What a waste…

If only Uller’s Divine Punishment hadn’t been modified to a single-target spell—these statues could have been used as makeshift bombs, especially the largest one, which could have triggered a three-meter-tall “nuke.”

Just the thought of these powerful items being useless to them was almost painful to bear. If circumstances had been different, they could have harnessed these statues for devastating attacks…

But now, with no means to repurpose them, they had no choice but to simply hand them over to the NPCs to deal with.

Evé stepped forward, her gaze sweeping over the collection of statues.

With a solemn expression, she traced the symbol of the Life Scepter across her chest and declared in a reverent tone:

“Praise be to Nature, praise be to Life, praise be to the great Goddess Eve!”

“Your Divine Grace, please grant me your power and purge the enemy’s lingering faith from these statues.”

As her voice fell, a radiant light surged from her being, and a divine presence descended upon the area.

In the next moment, a shimmering green light enveloped each of Uller’s statues, and one by one, the energy within them was siphoned away, stripping them of their sacred luster.

Within seconds, they became nothing more than ordinary sculptures, devoid of any lingering power of faith.

What she had just performed was the Ritual of Cleansing of Faith, a practice commonly employed during Wars of Faith.

This act, while a direct challenge to the losing deity, was implicitly accepted by most gods as an inevitable consequence of divine conflict.

The process itself was done in a straightforward manner in which priests would offer prayers, invoking the power of their patron deity to sever the lingering connection between enemy idols and their respective gods.

Of course, minding one’s decorum was necessary.

After all, despite being on the losing side, one could not simply desecrate the enemy gods.

Any priest could perform this ritual.

But since Evé was the highest-ranking entity present, she simply prayed to herself.

With this act, their conquest was truly cemented.

A deity’s domain was not just measured by the lands they controlled but by the reach of their faith network—woven through their believers and the enshrined idols erected in their honor.

Now, with Uller’s influence stripped away from this place, the area around the Golden Canopy Tribe was no longer under his direct control.

In addition, with the surviving orcs’ faith forcibly erased, Uller’s overall influence over the northern region of the desert had already begun to wane.

As a result, the restrictions he had imposed to block spatial teleportation in the area would soon dissipate, allowing teleportation arrays in the region to function freely once more.

Not long after Evé completed the cleansing of faith, Moe Moe Committee finally broke through the last remaining orc stronghold.

With their victory, all four major orc strongholds along the northern border of the desert had fallen, marking the complete triumph of the players in this phase of the war campaign.

Uller’s control over the border region was shattered, and the players had finally cast off the shackles that had restrained them.

Now, with nothing left to stand in their way, the gates to the Desert of Death lay wide open, beckoning them toward the heart of enemy territory.

— 518 —

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep