"This is the trial warrior you spoke of, the one who completed soul reconstruction." In the underground laboratory of Black Hollow, Lynd looked at the three tall warriors in heavy full armor, holding battle axes, and asked Qyburn beside him.
Who would have thought that these three tall warriors, taller than Lynd and almost as tall as Nameria, were previously just three thin and weak Silent Monks.
After the Seven Gods Trial, their bodies had strengthened several times over, turning them into warriors with overall qualities close to the human limit. If it weren't for the side effects of the potion burning out their brains, perhaps they would have already become commanders of the Chosen of God.
"Yes, my Lord." Qyburn's answer was as simple as usual, but his tone revealed his excitement and agitation.
"Let's see how their combat power is." Lynd said in a deep voice.
"That requires your command, my Lord." Qyburn glanced at Moroa and the Redemption Sanctuary trio, and whispered, "Lady Moroa's Loyalty Potion and the three Church Lords' soul reconstruction have made them the most devout Chosen of God. They only obey you, the Godsworn. Unless it's someone you designate, no one else can command them."
Upon hearing this, Lynd turned to the Redemption Sanctuary trio and said, "Each of you choose one."
The trio froze, not understanding Lynd's meaning.
"I will have them obey your commands, to facilitate your work and also to protect your safety." Lynd said with a solemn expression, "In the future, there may be more assassinations, targeting not only me but also you. I hope you have sufficient security around you."
After hearing this, the trio understood Lynd's intentions and did not refuse his kindness, each choosing a trial warrior.
Subsequently, Lynd had the three trial warriors take turns fighting the pirate death row prisoners who had been captured. At first, it was one against many, and the results were excellent. They were still at ease when fighting five people simultaneously, only showing some flaws when the number increased to six, and only getting injured when nine people Siege.
"Enough, stop!" Moroa immediately spoke to stop them as she watched the trial warriors cut down the pirate death row prisoners, who were serving as test subjects, like chopping melons and vegetables.
However, she was not sympathetic to these heinous pirates, but rather because these were very precious test subjects, and one less meant one gone. Because the Silent Monks controlled the screening of test subjects, only truly heinous individuals were allowed to be sent to Black Hollow.
Because of this, the live experiments in Black Hollow had always been in a state of test subject shortage, until recently, when many pirates from the Stepstones were captured, which alleviated the situation. However, the number of pirates who could be sent to Black Hollow instead of the mines was still very small. Now, just to test the strength of the trial warriors, seven or eight pirates had been killed, which made Moroa feel a little heartache.
However, Moroa's attempt to stop them had no effect until the trial warrior smashed the last pirate's head with a heavy warhammer. Only then did Elder Colin raise the bell at his waist and shake it, stopping the test.
Lynd stepped forward and examined the trial warrior's wounds, finding that all the wounds were already close to healing. It was clear that the Seven Gods Trial potion not only strengthened their power but also enhanced their self-healing ability.
"With such powerful trial warriors joining, the combat power of the Chosen of God will also become stronger." Bishop Hulun looked at his trial warrior with excitement, then asked Lynd, "My Lord, should we increase the number of trial warriors, so that…"
"No, this is enough." Lynd shook his head and said, "This method can only be a last resort, to be used only when absolutely necessary, and not as a regular method. If every devout Seven Gods cultivator were turned into such a trial warrior, it would be the greatest blasphemy against their faith." As he spoke, he looked at Bishop Hulun, then at Sister Melissa and Elder Colin, and said, "I hope you all have a bottom line in your actions, and do not resort to unscrupulous means for a little immediate gain."
"Yes, my Lord." The Redemption Sanctuary trio answered in unison.
"My Lord, can these bodies be given to me?" At this moment, Qyburn, the person with the least bottom line among those present, suddenly spoke, pointing at the bodies on the ground.
Lynd looked at Qyburn. He knew very well what Qyburn wanted to do with these bodies. After a moment of consideration, he nodded and agreed to Qyburn's request.
"How is Josais doing?" Lynd asked Moroa again.
When he went to the Redemption Sanctuary last time, he did not see Bishop Josais, who had completed the Seven Gods Trial, because Bishop Josais's recuperation place was in Black Hollow.
At that time, Lynd felt something was amiss, but because he was going to marry Nameria, he temporarily put the matter aside. Today, coming to Black Hollow, in addition to verifying the effect of the Loyalty Potion, was also to check on Bishop Josais's condition.
Moroa replied, "Bishop Josais has recovered quite well. After wearing the Dragon Rune necklace you provided, he won't easily fall into a rage. It's just that his body can no longer return to its normal state."
"Let's go see him." Lynd frowned and said.
After speaking, the group arrived at the dungeon at the bottom of Black Hollow, where death row prisoners were held. Bishop Josais had voluntarily requested to be confined here, saying that in this dark environment full of sin, he could more clearly feel the presence of the Seven Gods.
When they arrived outside the dungeon, they heard a series of neat prayers coming from inside the cells.
These prayers were not recited by one person, but by many people simultaneously, and they were extremely uniform. The sounds produced even created a harmonious effect, making those who heard them feel inexplicably comfortable.
Such a prayer effect was a dream for any preaching monk. In the past, this effect was called 'Sacred Sound' by the Church, believing that such prayer could more easily feel the attention from the Seven Gods.
However, now this Sacred Sound appeared in an underground dungeon, and most of the people imprisoned in the dungeon were heretics from Across the Narrow Sea. Most of them could not even understand the common tongue, but now they could recite those difficult prayers together with others, which in the eyes of Bishop Hulun and others was like a miracle.
"Do you feel it?" As the trio were surprised by the prayer, Moroa suddenly said to Lynd.
Lynd nodded slightly. He saw the faint magic power floating in the dungeon and felt a mysterious power similar to willpower echoing in the dungeon. Obviously, this Sacred Sound prayer should have been produced under the influence of some artificial mysterious power.
Lynd did not enter the dungeon immediately, but waited at the entrance for a while. After the prayers ended, he had the Silent Monks, who had no hearing, open the cell door and led the others inside.
Inside the dungeon cells, the ferocious pirates were now all kneeling on the ground like devout believers, in a posture of prayer. However, if anyone could ignore the faint surrounding firelight and clearly see the painful expressions and fearful eyes on their faces, they would realize that their current actions were not of their own will, but were caused by the influence of some power.
The group quickly arrived outside an unlocked cell at the deepest part of the dungeon. Unlike the other cells, this one had no lamps lit and was completely dark. A faint light scattered from the adjacent cells barely revealed a hooded figure sitting inside the room.
"Light the oil lamps." Lynd ordered Qyburn.
The figure in the room heard Lynd's command and stirred, seemingly wanting to stop him, but ultimately did nothing.
Soon, the oil lamps in the room were lit. Because the person living here had a special status, four oil lamps were provided. When all the lamps were lit, the room was completely illuminated.
A figure wearing an ascetic's robe and with a hood covering his head sat with his back to everyone. Although the person said nothing, everyone could feel that he seemed very worried and scared at the moment.
"Bishop Josais, turn around and lower your hood." Lynd commanded in a calm tone.
Upon hearing Lynd's command, the person hesitated, but ultimately followed Lynd's instruction, turned around, and removed his hood.
Although it wasn't the first time they had seen Bishop Josais in his current state, Bishop Hulun and the others felt uncomfortable, and all took a deep breath in unison, suppressing the urge to exclaim. Moroa and Qyburn, however, were very calm. They had seen many strange things, thousands of times more bizarre than the sight before them, so they naturally showed no unusual expressions.
It was observed that Bishop Josais, after undergoing the Seven Gods Trial, did not experience the body expansion seen in the previous trial warriors. Instead, he maintained his previous physique. The only change was his brain; the back of his head was now twice the size of a normal human brain, making him look like a deformed bobblehead.
Furthermore, all his hair had fallen out, and the veins appearing on his scalp resembled vines, coiling around his entire occipital region, looking somewhat eerie.
"How do you feel now?" Lynd scrutinized Bishop Josais and asked, "Do you still get inexplicably enraged?"
Bishop Josais could feel that Lynd showed no abnormal emotions towards his appearance the moment he saw it, not treating him as a deformed monster, so he breathed a slight sigh of relief and said, "I can no longer lose control of my emotions, my Lord. The necklace you gave me is very effective."
"Do you regret your choice now?" Lynd asked directly again, "Because of jealousy, you took the risk to undergo the Seven Gods Trial, and ended up like this."
Bishop Josais was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "Somewhat regretful." As he spoke, he looked at Lynd with a hint of expectation and asked, "My Lord, are you able to…"
"Sorry, as the Godsworn, I cannot change the outcome of the Seven Gods Trial." Lynd frankly told him that he could not restore his appearance, and then continued to ask, "Was that the ability granted to you by the Seven Gods Trial?"
Josais, who had shown a hint of dejection, nodded upon hearing this, and his tone gained a touch of excitement as he said, "This is an ability granted to me by the Seven Gods. I can establish soul connections with many people and lead them in prayer. The Sacred Sound prayer just now was achieved through this ability."
Lynd thought for a moment and said, "Besides prayer, what else can you lead them to do?"
Josais was silent for a moment, then looked at the prisoner kneeling in the opposite cell. The prisoner suddenly stood up from the ground and walked to the cell bars.
It could be seen that although his face was expressionless, his eyes were filled with fear, clearly indicating that his current actions were not of his own will.
Immediately after, the prisoner raised his hand, opened his left hand in front of everyone, then opened his mouth and bit off his fingers one by one from his left hand, chewing and swallowing them. The entire process showed no hesitation, as if he felt no pain.
Everyone gasped at this sight.
"Release your control over him." Lynd was not too surprised. After a brief thought, he commanded.
Josais obeyed the command and immediately released his mental connection with the prisoner.
When the prisoner regained control of his body, he immediately clutched his hand and let out an incredibly miserable scream. The scream echoed through the dungeon and traveled through the tunnel to other parts of Black Hollow. Those who heard it merely looked around curiously, then continued with their own tasks.
"That's enough!" Lynd had Josais regain control of the prisoner. After the dungeon quieted down, he asked, "How many people can you control at most now?"
Josais thought carefully for a moment and replied, "There are thirty-seven people in the dungeon right now, and I feel like I haven't reached the limit yet. It might eventually be over a hundred people."
"Among us here, who can you control?" Lynd asked another crucial question.
Everyone present immediately tensed up upon hearing this, because they had all seen what happened to that prisoner just now. Such complete control was simply worse than death, and they certainly didn't want to become one of them.
Upon hearing Lynd's question, Josais froze for a moment, then pointed to Bishop Hulun and said, "I can only control Bishop Hulun. I can't do it to anyone else," and then, looking at Lynd, he added, "My soul power can't even get close to you."
Moroa summarized, "So, you can't control people with strong willpower and strong faith. You can only control those with weak wills and wavering faith."
Upon hearing Moroa's words, Bishop Hulun's face instantly became somewhat unsightly. Although what Moroa said was true, and everyone knew what kind of person he was, having it said in front of Lynd still made him feel extremely embarrassed.
Lynd didn't pay much attention to that. What he was thinking about at the moment was how to settle Josais, after all, Josais's ability was very practical. If used properly, it could even achieve effects that an army of a hundred thousand could not.
"I'm giving you two choices now. One is to continue as a bishop in Miracle Sanctuary; you just need to find a way to cover your head." Lynd thought for a moment and said, "The other is that I will establish an independent Church Secret Society, specifically responsible for intelligence gathering and assassination…"
"I choose the Church Secret Society." Before Lynd could finish, Josais immediately made his choice.
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