CHAPTER 202: CHAPTER 198: CHOOSE THE WAY YOU’D LIKE TO DIE

Later, in the ruins of Shilia.

The farming town of the Solia Kingdom had been long since abandoned and captured by the Deca. It had once again risen as a farm town, but now it only fed the Deca.

Blaze didn’t need to eat, but the ever-increasing population of the kingdom did. While they got most of the resources brought to them through trading, Blaze wanted to be a step ahead, as usual, and be independent.

Sure, the other villages, tribes, and small kingdoms sent them tributes and swore loyalty, but he knew better than to trust them. After all, all of them were once loyal to Solia, but with its fall, their trust crumbled.

While Blaze was all-powerful, there were things he couldn’t control himself. Things like natural disasters, like the one that led to the discovery of oil by the Solians.

The food produced by Shilia, now called Arcadia, aptly named by Blaze based on the agricultural city mentioned in Greek mythology, was stored in secret granaries underground. It was reserved to feed the real Decans under dire natural crisis, not those who migrated after the war.

These granaries were under constant protection. As for why they needed protection... it was simple.

The workers who worked in the fields were mostly diseased and captured Solians. It wasn’t Blaze’s decision to enslave them, but his children wanted the oppressors to get oppressed.

Hence, they captured any Solian they came across and forced them to work in the fields. Naturally, this meant the Solians could try to tamper with the produce and ’infect’ it.

It would lead to another disease breakout, and this time Decans would pay the price. At least that’s what the captured Solians thought. The one who thought that to be the case was the former leader of the Hell Raisers.

Kais looked nothing like the formidable man he was a decade ago. While he retained his muscles thanks to the grueling work they did most of the year, the fire in his eyes was constantly dimming.

Even after being captured, he had believed the kingdom would rescue them. It wasn’t until he saw the heads of hundreds of high priests decorated along the walls of Arcadia that his hope died.

Now, he only lived for revenge.

And right now, he was on his way to make that happen.

In the dead of the night, he was inching closer to the locked granary. Usually, there would be dozens of guards there, but with the help of the captured ladies, Kais had managed to lure most of them away.

A few more steps...

Kais wasn’t a fool. He knew most, if not all, of them would be killed the moment their heretic god realized what he had done. Still, he didn’t care. Not about his life, or the others. After all, the life they were living wasn’t much better than death, and at least in death they’d reunite with their loved ones.

However, just as he was about to reach the granary, claps erupted out of nowhere. Lights flickered to life, revealing that every single guard had already surrounded him as they stared at him with bemused smiles.

Not only that, the women who were supposed to distract the tribesmen were on their knees. But what he saw next widened his eyes in horror. Every single woman’s tongue had been severed, and their eyes gouged out.

"Kais, Kais, Kais..." the man in black robes mumbled, leaving the crowd of guards. "Seduction? That’s the best plan you could come up with? Seduction against us?"

Loud snorts and scoffs emerged from the crowd.

Having been deprived of basic sexual functions for too long, these tribesmen had long since forgotten about mortal pleasures. The only pleasure they could receive was from obeying their God’s instructions.

That and because they couldn’t really get it up without Blaze’s permission, as he had absolute autonomy over their bodies. He had done so that only ’desirable’ traits were passed on to the next generation.

Call it selective breeding if you will. After all, even as a zombie god, he was still a Darwin to the core.

"Our lord gave you food, women, and a house to live in, yet you betray him?" Xilo sounded super aggrieved by Kais’s actions.

Kais clenched his fists in anger and helplessness, but then scoffed. What was the point of getting angry anymore? He had one chance to execute the plan, and he failed.

At most, he could now have an honorable death. But given his opponents were the Decans, such a death was out of the question.

"Food, women, house? Is that all you simpletons want in your life?" Kais laughed. "What can I even expect from delirious fanatics like you? Life is in freedom! Can your mighty god give me that?"

"Freedom?" Xilo asked, raising his eyebrow. "What is the use of freedom? We had freedom before our Lord saved us. In freedom, we were miserable, drowning in hunger. We lived, yet we died a little every day. Do you crave that freedom?"

Kais pursed his lips. He knew it was the same freedom the Decans had bestowed on the Solians. But for him, even that life was better than the one he was forced to live in Arcadia.

"Right... your god, pfft~ A coward who never dares to show his face is a god?"

Kais thought he would agitate Xilo and take at least a few of them with him before he died. Unfortunately for him, not even their emotions belonged to them.

The ones he wanted to taunt had already surpassed such limits and turned into statues of absolute servitude, in exchange for strength.

"Our Lord is always with us," Xilo replied, putting a hand on his chest. "He exists everywhere, yet nowhere. The mere fact that the Decans defeated your miserable thousand god worshipping armies is all the proof we need for our devotion to him."

Other who heard Xilo quickly bowed their heads, offering a quick prayer to their god. Meanwhile, Xilo continued.

"Our lord is so kind, he has given you a unique gift," he said, extending his hand towards Kais. "Choose the way you’d like to die."