GDK 605: Prayer
“You want to die?” Han Shuo looked askance at Tiana and sneered, “I’m not gonna let that happen easily!” Incorporeal whips landed on Tiana, causing her enormous blows to both her body and mind.
Tiana could neither escape nor evade Han Shuo’s whipping. All she could do was bear the double whammy humiliation. Below Tiana was a crowd of Shrine of Ice disciples. They were not being massacred by Pegasus and Graeae at this moment and were looking up to the sky, painfully watching Tiana being tormented like a caged bird.
Many of the disciples started to pray, praying for the god they believed in to provide assistance.
To these disciples, Snow Celestial Tiana was the mightiest existence of the Shrine of Ice. However, that very same person was being humiliated without even the capacity of escaping. This scene had truly caused them enormous wound to their spirituality.
If even Snow Celestial Tiana was too powerless to do anything, what exactly could these people do?
As disciples of the Shrine of Ice, for these pilgrims to be in this snowy holy land was proof in itself the staunch conviction that they had in their faith. And now that they were in utter and complete helplessness, their dependence towards the seemingly illusionary god was suddenly magnified by infinity.
Han Shuo’s whipping had left Snow Celestial Tiana’s snow-white gown tattered and ragged, revealing the wonderfully curvaceous body underneath. She looked no different from a degenerate servant being heavily punished for faults.
Pegasus and Graeae the banshee who came with Han Shuo had paused with their butchering. With their cold eyes, they gazed at Han Shuo who was taking his time in flogging Tiana in midair as they awaited further instructions.
It wasn’t clear who took the lead but at this moment, the powerless Shrine of Ice disciples on the frozen summits suddenly started to kneel and piously chanted, calling for the Ice Goddess’ blessing. The voice grew from low to high as everyone started singing it in unison. Some of those disciples even temporarily gave up on escaping to participate in this impressive scene.
Even Tiana, who knew that she had no way of escaping, harboring the most sincere belief towards the Ice Goddess, began to pray even when she had no idea if it would be answered.
The frozen mountains were located at the center of the snowland where cold wind and snow blew the wildest. The frozen mountain summits were like longswords piercing into the blue dome of heaven. It was rumored that the Ice Goddess had specifically selected this location to be the base of the Shrine of Ice. No one knew if there was anything profound about the choice, but the Shrine of Ice disciples had always felt that they could get closer to the Goddess and better receive her guidance in this place.
In reality, there really was something unique about these frozen mountains at the center of the snowland. Those disciples back at that time had actually altered the few frozen peaks in accordance with the instructions of the Ice Goddess.
The sound of prayers resounded throughout the whole snowy peaks. Towards the seemingly futile effort of these Shrine of Ice disciples, Graeae and Pegasus said nothing, only smearing their faces with ridiculing, contemptuous smiles. They felt that these people must have turned into fools after being intimidated by Han Shuo.
Even the basegod of darkness, Ayermike Cotton, thought the actions of these disciples to be absolutely senseless. He leisurely hovered amongst the clouds, beaming ear to ear as he watched Han Shuo beating up Tiana.
However, Han Shuo, whose strength was in a godly realm, could clearly sense some gradual changes to water elemental energy inside this snowfield as these Shrine of Ice disciples recited their prayers. A field similar to the Domain of Divinity was miraculously being produced at the center of the few frozen mountains.
“You demon, just kill me, I won’t let go you even in death!” Tiana’s shriek was mournful and even carried a weeping tone. After being repeatedly shamed by Han Shuo, with the double torment of her body and soul, Tiana was clearly on the brink of a breakdown.
Han Shuo did not pay attention to her crying, nor did he continue with the flogging. Glistening radiance shone from his two eyes as he observed the peculiar changes around the snowy mountains and thought about the abnormality of this holy land.
Suddenly, the element of water started to rapidly revolve at the center of these snowy mountains. Intensely frigid beams erupted from the tall and pointy structures at the summits of those snowy mountains. The powerful light beams radiating from those structures intersected with each other. Frosty aura abruptly burst forth, causing the temperatures in the surroundings to rapidly decline.
The snowland where the Shrine of Ice was located was a frozen mass to begin with. However, when the temperature suddenly plunged further, not only were these pious believers of the Ice Goddess not affected, every one of them started to cheer, “The Goddess is manifesting! The Ice Goddess has heard our prayers!”
All the aggressors, including Han Shuo, were affected by the cold air. The weather threatened to hamper them if they didn’t act fast. The air walls that Han Shuo used to keep Snow Celestial Tiana imprisoned started to creak. After streams of freezing cold air seeped through the air walls Han Shuo deployed, the air walls lost all of its original power.
Snow Celestial Tiana who was beaten black and blue clenched her teeth as she glared at Han Shuo. Her half-bare smooth, fair breasts bounced rapidly up and down. She screamed in a voice as cold as ice, “The Ice Goddess must have heard our prayers. None of you will be leaving this snowland alive!”
“What in Lord’s name? It’s not fucking working, is it?!” even the rank-six manticore Pegasus sensed the peculiarity with the surrounding atmosphere. He couldn’t help but cry out in surprise after listening to Tiana’s words.
“Bryan, can the Ice Goddess really make an appearance?” Ayermike Cotton inquired Han Shuo. He was rather unflustered.
After experiencing the double Domain of Divinity from Han Shuo, Ayermike Cotton knew that Han Shuo was an actual god. He had no idea what would happen following the unusual transformation to this snowland, but he believed that Han Shuo should at least know a thing or two.
Han Shuo nodded, calm and collected as he explained, “When the power of faith of these believers miraculously converges with the help of altars, magical matrices, offerings, or other vectors as they feverishly call for the worshipped, that god can indeed sense it. Then, through altars or other mediums, that god could even manifest itself from across countless material planes for a short duration.”
Han Shuo paused, looked around, made a gloomy face and groaned, “From the terrain, it appears that these ice-bound mountains of the snowland are naturally-suited for the Shrine of Ice to form a giant magical matrix. Using some unique arrangements and applying the power of faith, if that Ice Goddess has serious strength, she indeed could hear the thoughts of her believers at this place. There is a chance of manifestation.”
“What should we do?” Pegasus, who was massacring without restraint just a moment ago, screamed in panic.
He had a clear understanding of the strength he possessed. It was absolutely impossible for him to deal with a god. It hadn’t been easy to escape from the Primordius Dragon’s boundary and he had no wish of returning there or getting killed.
“What are you losing your head for?” Han Shuo shot a cold glance at Pegasus before he calmly explained, “Any god, as long as they have not traversed across material planes and arrived with their divine body and divine soul, would not be able to unleash their full strength. Even if they used an intermediary, by assembling a new body using substances, or manifesting through their believer’s body, they just could not unleash much strength. No matter how powerful the Ice Goddess is, she is still bound by the universal law just the same!”
“Arrogant chap, the Ice Goddess possesses a countless amount of believers in every major material plane. As a mighty goddess that has existed since ancient times, even with just a hundredth of Her power, she could still kill you all,” Tiana hastily put on a new gown. She mocked them, hatefully glaring at Han Shuo with gritted teeth.
“You are indeed correct. If the Ice Goddess were to do this herself, even by descending that way, we would be dead without a doubt!” Against Tiana’s expectations, Han Shuo did not refute but calmly admitted to the fact.
While Tiana was astounded and puzzled, Han Shuo simply sneered loudly and ridiculed, “But, do you really think that the Ice Goddess will come here in person just to deal with me? Just for petty matters like you guys? The Ice Goddess has countless believers in all major material planes. If she were to perform every single task in person, wouldn’t she work herself to death?”
“We are the most devout believers of the Goddess. The Goddess will definitely take pity on us. Besides, this is the territory of the Ice Goddess. She would absolutely not allow anyone to damage it,” although Tiana thought that Han Shuo’s words made sense, nonetheless, she was reluctant to admit the fact and disputed it.
Han Shuo sneered disdainfully and did not further defend his explanation. There was still one last thing that he hadn’t told Tiana – a god would have to undertake many additional risks in having their soul traverse to a different material plane to fight for their believers using mediums. In addition to that, doing so would exhaust some of their divine energy. Generally, unless compelled by circumstances, they would surely not do so rashly.
The Ice Goddess was different from spider goddess Rose. From what Han Shuo knew, the Ice Goddess was an overgod. An incomparably mighty overgod would never concern itself for a smidgen of believers from a small material plane called Profound Continent.
As a god himself, Han Shuo was sure that these gods did not give a single hang about the believers that worshipped them. They only considered their believers as objects that provided them the power of faith. There was no chance that they would do the job personally for such a trivial matter.
It was thanks to this rationale that Han Shuo did not immediately flee in panic when he observed the abnormal changes produced in this snowland. Rather, he planned on staying to see it through.
“Lord Bryan, what should we do?” Graeae the banshee stammered.
Han Shuo bunched his brows and thought for a moment. He knew that no matter the rank of the god dispatched by the Ice Goddess, Graeae and his company would have no way of defending themselves.
“You three leave for the time being and wait in the distance until it is time. I will stay here to greet those sent by the Shrine of Ice,” Han Shuo took a quick glance at the three, nodded, and advised them not to let their lives be sacrificed unnecessarily.
As soon as Pegasus and Graeae heard those words, they rushed into the distance as though they had received a pardon. Ayermike Cotton, however, looked deeply into Han Shuo’s eyes and said, “Be careful!”
“Don’t worry, nothing will happen to me,” Han Shuo replied smilingly and cordially. It was obvious that Ayermike Cotton was truly concerned about him, unlike Pegasus and Graeae.
Ayermike Cotton nodded and said no more. He then flew in the direction Pegasus and Graeae had fled.