"Three of you, I truly realize my mistake, and I am willing to apologize. You can do whatever you want with me…" Zemur put on a pitiful expression.
A few seconds later…
"Wait! No! Please, no…" A short, painful scream erupted, and the last dark green flame flared up.
Seeing this, Sivis showed no sign of surprise.
He acknowledged that Zemur had some charm, but clearly, the flames of vengeance burned far hotter than the flames of physical desire.
The three attendants in front of him were like this.
Perhaps, countless oppressed peasants in Gandanyir were the same.
As the last dark green flame finally dissipated, Sivis shattered the Corpse Resurrection array.
At this moment, everything had been burned clean—the adventurers' bodies and souls had turned into nourishment. All that remained around the sacrificial array were a few scattered bits of debris.
"Is it over?" Sivis asked, his face briefly frozen in confusion.
He stared at the lingering remnants of the flame, flickering like distant stars. It felt surreal.
Just moments ago, Sivis had been fervently judging those adventurers.
But he had merely been venting his frustration.
Sivis did not consider himself a savior, nor a great person. It was simply that the nobles' moral standards were so appallingly low that they made him, an Evil God, seem like a righteous figure—a mere mortal who would use any means to survive.
Now, the fear that had weighed down on his territory's destruction suddenly vanished.
Sivis no longer had any thoughts of continuing to punish other adventurers. Instead, he felt somewhat relaxed.
An impulse to find a place to lie down surged within him.
"So, what should I do next? Continue developing the territory, slowly growing stronger?" Sivis's eyes reflected a hint of confusion.
He knew that although the adventurers had been morally corrupt, Johnny had been right—
In the world of Gandanyir, the main reason the True God had allowed the world to remain so dark was because of the game's unusual setting of good versus evil.
The True God merely symbolized order and expansion, not justice.
Of course, the Evil God was truly wicked.
The nobles' cruel oppression had built a highly rigid hierarchical order, one that the gods actually approved of.
If Sivis continued to intervene in matters of injustice as he had, he would likely attract the attention of the gods more quickly.
"Even with the system, if I have to fight a god…"
"That's just too hard."
He felt an overwhelming urge to give up.
Developing the territory was certain, but should he continue expanding? Or maybe it would be better to find a way to hide the existence of the territory entirely, to ensure survival?
Sivis's thoughts swirled.
At that moment, he heard hurried footsteps. The three attendants suddenly knelt before Sivis.
They glanced at the monsters behind them, gritting their teeth, and said, "Lord, we are willing to join your territory and serve you. We swear to destroy every noble in this world who creates oppression and injustice!" The three spoke in unison.
The old man's words faltered halfway through, but the two young men grew increasingly excited, even to the point of biting their own tongues and coughing violently.
This scene not only lacked the solemnity typically expected during an oath of loyalty, but instead, it exuded a strange sense of absurdity.
Sivis couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth in amusement.
"Alright, so you want to join my territory, huh? Fine," he said, his tone casual.
"I'll have my subordinates help you clear a small plot of land to cultivate, and I'll teach you some methods for planting crops. Don't worry, since you're here with me, I'll make sure you have a way to survive."
"Huh? Shouldn't we be attacking Hanseter Town first, liberating it as the first step?" The two young men were puzzled, about to speak, but were promptly whacked on the head by the old man. "Quickly, thank the lord!"
"Thank you! Thank you, Lord!" The three of them kept repeating their gratitude, though the old man's expression was purely joy.
The two young men, on the other hand, wore expressions of wild enthusiasm and reverence.
Sivis knew that with just a word, he could send them to their deaths…
"Do they really see themselves as the heroes of some novel or story?"
"Maybe they think I'm going to save the world or something?"
He muttered internally.
For some reason, Sivis felt his heart beat faster.
He had been to school and quickly realized that, as an ordinary person, receiving gratitude from others felt exciting and pleasant. It meant he was...
Normal.
"Perhaps I should shift my thinking a little? It's fine to try to hide the territory, but completely relying on staying undetected by the gods—maybe that's a bit too cowardly?"
"I remember that according to the plot, Gandanyir is about to enter an era of war. In such chaotic times, hiding a monster territory and slowly developing should be doable, right?"
"While expanding the territory, I could also have some fun with the judgment games I played earlier."
"At least..."
"The feeling of being worshipped."
"It feels pretty good!"
Sivis's mood improved significantly. He felt like he had regained some of his drive. "Alright, the first step now is to tally up the rewards from this battle and see how much I can enhance my territory!"
He quickly walked forward, his steps quickening.
After the sacrificial array dissipated, a dazzling and pure crystal slowly emerged.
Sivis took a step forward and grabbed it. A prompt appeared before his eyes:
[Congratulations, you have obtained a rare resource: Holy Light Crystal (Low tier). This can be used to refine and strengthen the Light and Dark Priest, a Silver-tier monster guardian.]
"Finally, something good!" A gleam of excitement flickered in Sivis's eyes.
He knew that when using Corpse Resurrection to create various priests and clerics, there was a chance of obtaining a Holy Light Crystal, but he hadn't expected to get such a great result right at the start. Now...
He already had the main material for refining Werner into a Light and Dark Priest (Silver tier), and the difficulty of obtaining the remaining secondary materials had just gotten a lot easier.
"Once my cultivation reaches Silver-tier as well, I can immediately refine Werner!"
With this thought in mind, a hint of anticipation flashed in Sivis's eyes.
These named NPCs trained into exclusive guardians were all extremely powerful, and they also had passive abilities that provided boosts to the entire territory.
With the protection of the Light and Dark Priest, Sivis's territory would rise to an entirely new level of power!
Originally, he had no idea how to acquire a Holy Light Crystal, but unexpectedly, this resource had been delivered right to his door!
Sivis carefully placed the Holy Light Crystal into his pocket, then went on to rummage through the adventurers' corpses. Most of the miscellaneous items were of no use to him.
He only carefully collected the batch of aphrodisiac potions, expertly crafted by a master-level alchemist at the Gold rank.
As his fingers brushed over the cold bottles, an image of Werner's tempting body flashed in his mind.
Perhaps it was the release of tension after the battle, but Sivis felt a sudden heat rise within him.
"Saint Werner..."
"I almost forgot!"
"Being reincarnated as an Evil God isn't entirely without its perks!"
"I get to interact with so many of my 'wives' from my previous games!"
As Sivis thought about the things he was going to do to Werner, his blood surged!
He forced himself to calm down, suppressing his excitement, and continued to sort through the spoils. Unfortunately, most of the low-level equipment on the adventurers was useless to him as a mage, so he would have to find a way to sell it later.
After finishing with the loot, Sivis closed his eyes for a moment, feeling an overwhelming sense of excitement in his chest!
Now, it was time for the main event!
The consumption of soul points!
Sivis was about to make a move when he suddenly froze. The system panel displayed something that caught him completely off guard.
[Congratulations! Your class level has increased!]
Class level?
Increased?
Why?
Sivis blinked, confused.
It didn't take him long to figure out the reason.
With the last spark of flame from Corpse Resurrection dissipating, a system prompt echoed in his mind: [Congratulations, you have met the first upgrade condition: Achieved victory.]
Just then, a rustling sound came from the distant woods. A group of peasants, armed with farming tools, hurriedly approached.
Behind them, the elderly, children, and women supported one another as they moved forward.
Some of the peasants had picked up weapons, intending to help Sivis defend the territory, while others, having received word from the Goblins, hadn't run far at all.
Where else could they go? Without taking any of their possessions, and in a kingdom plagued by yearly disasters, fleeing blindly was a one-way ticket to death.
From the very start, they had intended to do whatever it took to stay near the monster territory, to remain in this place filled with hope.
Without hesitation, they rushed to Sivis's side, even daring to walk right past the Stone Demons and Goblins. "Lord, please take us in!"
Immediately, the system's prompt echoed again:
[Congratulations! You have met the second upgrade condition: Gained over 100 territory residents.]