Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton Chapter 1153

Chapter 1153: Chapter 717: Not Letting the Devout Down Chapter 1153: Chapter 717: Not Letting the Devout Down “This… this is for me?” Aesclis felt like she was dreaming as she looked at the three big bags of food. It was the first time someone had banished an elf only to return and offer tribute to her.

Anthony was somewhat taken aback, “The first time? This is the first time? Hasn't this happened before? But your actions, essentially, are just continuing the species of Void Elves, taking care of them through their most dangerous juvenile period. Aren't they grateful to you? Even if most aren't, there should be one or two who are, right? Why is this the first time?”

“It really is the first time; it's never happened before.” Aesclis didn't know why either.

“What did you say when you drove them away?” Anthony asked.

“I just told them directly that there wasn't enough food, I couldn't support them, and they had to leave to find a new habitat or something like that,” Aesclis explained.

Anthony couldn't help but laugh and cry, “Couldn't you have used a more tactful way of saying it? You could say: 'You've grown up, it's time to leave the nest to experience the storms of life, to grow into real Void Elves. I will pray for you here.”

“Or perhaps: 'The forbidden land is in ruin and needs your help. Bring back more resources to strengthen the land, so more young elves can grow up healthily, the future of the Void Elves depends on you'.”

“If you want a closer connection, you could say this; if you don't want to take on too much responsibility, you could say that, this and that, binding the whole tribe of Void Elves tightly together. Even if they leave this place, they would still pray to you or make offerings from time to time, wouldn't the food and Soul Flame come then?”

Anthony never could understand, why a Necromancer who had lived for three hundred thousand years, had ignited Divine Fire, and possessed a tribe of possibly five hundred thousand intelligent beings, was so weak in Divine Power, unable to withstand a single punch from Ange. But now he was starting to get it.

Aesclis listened with her eyes wide and her mouth agape. Was that really an option?

Changing the wording could indeed make the banished elves feel less resentment, at least she felt, after listening, that the forbidden land drove her away for her own good, not because there wasn't enough food.

Seeing that she was getting it, Anthony couldn't help but say a few more words, “With enough food and Soul Flame, you could perform 'miracles' that are unbelievable to them but effortless for you, strengthening their faith. Why resort to scaring them with the Rotting Tree Monster?”

“If you had the Divine Power of Master Ange, I could conquer a Plane in less than a year, turning all the intelligent beings into worshipers of our master; yet, you've spent hundreds of thousands of years and still ended up like this,” Anthony lamented with a broken heart.

Aesclis stood there, flustered, and finally asked with embarrassment, “So, what do I do now?”

“What to do? Of course, to court them fully. They were so rudely driven away by you but still thought of coming back to offer tribute to you. These are the most devout zealots. Needless to say, court them fully. Give them all you can and then set them up as examples. Tell the others that they are the Great Elf's favorite, that by offering tribute to the Great Elf they too might receive all this,” Anthony was speechless. Was that even a question?

But Aesclis was troubled and said, “I don't know what to do, and I don't have much to give them.”

Anthony held his forehead in frustration. It seemed raising a deadhead of several hundred thousand years old to a true deity was too difficult. Sometimes just one Favored One of the God could make people fight with reckless abandon, and yet this deadhead, after living so long, couldn't come up with anything?

“Forget it, stand aside, Lightning, Lightning, come here,” Anthony called out.

Lightning scampered over, asking cheekily, “What do you want with Lord Lightning?”

“Pretend to be a messenger of the Divine Tree, can you do that?” Anthony asked.

Lord Lightning glanced at him sideways, “Are you belittling me? Human, do you want to incur the wrath of thunder?”

In a series of questioning tones, lightning pulsed from the horn of Lightning, giving off the impression that it might strike at any moment if provoked.

Anthony slapped his thigh and said, “That's the attitude, exactly right, just keep up that act.”

Lightning immediately flicked its tongue in pride, asking slyly, “Looks good, right? What's my reward for acting well?”

Anthony smiled darkly and said, “You still want a reward? Alright, I'll have the Lord keep all that Fruit of Life, sweet beets, Titan massages and so on to himself, and reward you one by one after you complete your tasks in the future. How about that?”

Lightning quickly shook its head, “No need, no need, serving the Lord is my honor. How could I ask for a reward? Watch how I'll fool them. How much should I fool them?”

Anthony said, “Make them acknowledge you as the messenger of the Divine Tree, that the Great Elf is very satisfied with their offerings. Ask them about their troubles, then cry out 'Lord, Help Me' and perform a miracle for them.”

Lightning rolled its eyes, “Isn't that too easy? If I just shout 'Lord, Help Me' and perform a miracle, they'll believe anything I say–no challenge at all. You could send any old log to do it, do you even need Lord Lightning myself for this?”

While grumbling about the lack of difficulty, Lightning pranced up to the three elves. Whatever it said, the three didn't listen for long before they knelt down and started banging their heads on the ground, tears streaming down their faces.

Aesclis was stupefied, then turned around incredulously and asked, “What did that horse say? Why are there so many Soul Flames arising from those three elves, such intense Soul Flames?”

Anthony spread his hands nonchalantly and replied, “Who cares what it said? It's nothing but basic operation. When Lightning curses, that's when it's truly formidable. It might not be very professional at fooling people, but it gets the job done.”

The others felt the same. Even Negris wasn't curious about what Lightning had said. If even a few naive elves couldn't be fooled, would it still be considered Lightning?

At that moment, Lightning suddenly shouted out loud, “You have a pious heart, the Divine Tree blesses you, expelling all your pain, Lord!”

Lightning started to cry out for help from the Lord, but the 'help' was silent in its mind. Its horn lit up with a holy glow, then touched one of the Void Elves.

The Void Elf, shocked, pulled open his shirt to find a ferocious wound quickly healing.

The other two elves also saw this scene, overwhelmed with excitement, knelt down, and resumed their fervent head-banging.

Aesclis continued to stare dumbfounded as surges of Soul Flames poured toward her.

Negris leaned in slyly, nudging Anthony with his elbow and said teasingly, “Didn't you say this didn't concern us? Then why put on such a show? We can't stay here too long, you know.”

Anthony sighed and said, “If these elves came to offer their respects with grateful hearts but received no feedback at all, they would be quite disappointed, wouldn't they? I'm a kind-hearted person; I can't bear to see the devout disappointed. If I can help, I might as well, and try to get this sorted before Big Cat recovers.”

Negris looked at Anthony in surprise, feeling that Anthony's words seemed sincere, not just spouted to deceive it. Was it really just to avoid disappointing the pious?

Chapter end

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