It is very, very difficult to truly gain trust.
The main reason is that Lucas Reeve is no ordinary person.
If he were just a helpless, ordinary Infected now, he would quickly gain their trust. After all, no matter what ulterior motives an ordinary person might have, it would be useless. With the Guerrilla Squad members keeping order, they couldn't stir up any trouble no matter what.
But Lucas Reeve was different.
Patriot seemed to have mistaken Lucas Reeve for an ancient god. How did he get his trace of divinity? Lucas Reeve wasn't sure about that either. Was it bestowed by the Holy Lance projection or by the statue? That was unknown.
Although he had helped an Oripathy patient in an emergency and alleviated their crisis, after reaping a wave of Prayer Power, Lucas Reeve was sent back to his 'exclusive' wooden hut under Alina's reluctant gaze.
However, Lucas Reeve didn't mind, as long as he could obtain Prayer Power.
These days.
Lucas Reeve was still "living" in the wooden hut. To be honest, it was a bit boring. In the past, he at least had Alina to talk to, but now, there was no one to chat with. Only at night, when Patriot was on duty, would Lucas Reeve go over to chat with him, and it was basically Lucas Reeve talking to himself.
After these days.
Patriot even began to doubt whether this person was a god at all.
In fact, Patriot had deep doubts from the beginning when he was trying to determine if Lucas Reeve was an ancient god. Ancient gods were incredibly powerful, and even if only a remnant soul remained, one could not be complacent. But....
This person's divinity was so, so low, so low that it was almost negligible.
If Patriot weren't a pure-blooded Wendigo, he wouldn't have noticed it at all. This was also what made Patriot curious. A true ancient god, even a fragmented soul, couldn't possibly have such low divinity. But a mortal couldn't possibly have divinity either. This was the contradiction Patriot felt.
Having divinity meant he wasn't a mortal.
But the divinity was too minuscule to be linked to a true god.
And...
He was a bit of a chatterbox.
Patriot had at least never seen someone who could ramble on for a whole night, for several days in a row. Of course, Patriot was also very bored. He actually listened for a whole night without saying a single word back.
In short.
In Patriot's view.
This soul named Lucas Reeve was a very contradictory existence.
He possessed divinity, yet it was pitifully small. His soul strength was also pitifully weak, yet he could alleviate Oripathy and even directly bestow an ability upon someone. His own abilities were also incredibly diverse: he could catalyze plants, cast mental illusions, and alleviate Oripathy. He might have other abilities as well.
Three abilities from completely unrelated fields were gathered in one person, who also had the characteristic of absorbing the power of faith.
No matter how you thought about it, it was strange...
Why would such a soul exist in the world?
Even Patriot, who had lived for hundreds of years, had no idea. He had never seen such a bizarre soul.
A few more days passed.
The one-month appointment with Jessica was getting closer and closer.
The remnant soul in Jessica's necklace seemed to be gradually recovering. In a little while, the remnant soul over there would have completely recovered, and then his main consciousness would probably have to run back and forth between the two.
He kind of missed the cute Jessica, and little Ceobe too.
Not having been able to pat Ceobe's doggy head for so long, he couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic.
Sigh~
And Lucas Reeve hadn't been idle these days either. Under his instruction and with Patriot's approval, the Shieldguards had planted crop seeds in the empty room where he was staying. Lucas Reeve's catalytic ability was naturally at full proficiency, so there was no need to dawdle like Alina. In just three days, the first batch of crops had ripened. These crops were distributed as much as possible to all the comrades in the Reunion Movement.
And to express her gratitude to Lucas Reeve, Talulah had intentionally or unintentionally revealed that the food came from a member who was not convenient to show themselves.
This wave.
Lucas Reeve reaped another large wave of Prayer Power. Although Prayer Power could be harvested without a wish being made, the amount would be a little less. But well, what mattered was the quantity.
Just as Lucas Reeve was about to catalyze the second wave of vegetables.
A very powerful soul force instantly enveloped Lucas Reeve.
The world around him suddenly shattered like a bubble.
Lucas Reeve frowned slightly.
Is this a soul world?
Could it be...
Lucas Reeve suddenly thought of something.
That 'guy' finally couldn't resist coming out to make trouble?!
The surroundings of Lucas Reeve completely turned pitch black. And in the depths of the darkness, a faint gray-white color gradually rose, adding a little bit of other color to the extremely dark space.
Lucas Reeve stood there and looked around. In this huge spiritual world, Lucas Reeve suddenly seemed incredibly small.
Then.
A black mist, as if slowly rising from hell, appeared out of thin air in front of Lucas Reeve. On the ground, disgusting black ooze seemed to be constantly seeping out from the cracks. This black ooze constantly changed shape and condensed with the black mist. After only a moment, an irregular soul body with no discernible shape condensed in front of Lucas Reeve.
"You're the soul hidden deep within Talulah's soul?"
Lucas Reeve raised an eyebrow, pinched his chin, and said bluntly.
This soul body's soul level was very, very high, at least much higher than his own remnant soul. This was no longer a matter of soul strength, but a matter of level. It was as if Lucas Reeve's soul only represented himself, while the soul in front of him represented a behemoth.
"How feeble your divinity~"
The voice emitted by the distorted soul with no fixed form was like a combination of many people's voices, male, female, old, and young. These voices combined together sounded like the roars of demons from the eighteenth layer of hell. Just the sound alone was enough to make one's skin crawl.
"Uh... are you being polite? We're at least colleagues."
Lucas Reeve was suddenly speechless. Although the irregular soul in front of him seemed to be on a higher level than himself, Lucas Reeve didn't feel much fear.
However, this soul didn't seem to pay any attention to Lucas Reeve's joke.
"Your existence is disrupting my plans, and you are slowly influencing my pawn..."
"So.... die."
After the soul inside Talulah's body issued a death warrant to Lucas Reeve, the originally irregular soul twisted once again. Accompanied by an extremely disgusting sound, this soul actually reassembled itself, eventually turning into a huge, pitch-black serpent.
The Black Serpent had also been lying in wait for a long time. It had been observing this soul for the past few days, but...
It was pitifully weak, and its divinity was also pitifully low.
This level of divinity couldn't even be called the most basic of gods... Its existence was simply an insult to the title of god. And after fully understanding Lucas Reeve's strength, the Black Serpent finally decided to devour this 'pest' that was obstructing its plan.
"Uh... what the hell am I obstructing!"
Lucas Reeve was a little puzzled. Why did this person keep saying things he couldn't understand?
What's with the riddles, will you die if you speak plainly?
However.
The Black Serpent seemed to no longer want to waste words with Lucas Reeve.
It twisted its huge body, opened its bloody maw, and rushed towards Lucas Reeve.
Although this soul of his was also just a partial soul, Lucas Reeve was even weaker. In the eyes of the Black Serpent, he was as insignificant as an ant. If not for that faint divinity, like a tiny firefly's glow in the dark night, it wouldn't even have bothered to glance at Lucas Reeve.
For the revival of Ursus.
For the plan in its heart!
The Black Serpent was willing to clear away all obstacles in its path.
If not for the sudden appearance of this soul.
Everything was going according to its plan. The appearance of this soul had slightly disrupted its plan. This variable... could not be left alive!
It had to be said.
The Black Serpent was very strong, at least much stronger than his current remnant soul. If they were to clash head-on in reality, Lucas Reeve would basically be no match for it. But this wasn't reality... it was a spiritual domain independent of the material world.
Watching the Black Serpent charge at him, even though he was incredibly small in front of this huge black snake, Lucas Reeve showed no signs of panic.
He sighed softly.
Then, with a casual wave of his hand.
Instantly.
Behind Lucas Reeve, a phantom with a soul strength that could touch the heavens appeared out of thin air.
Back in Bolívar, Lucas Reeve's remnant soul had shown a characteristic.
Since there was only one main consciousness.
There was more or less some connection between Lucas Reeve's remnant soul and his main soul. However, due to the barrier of the statue, the remnant soul in reality couldn't directly use the power of the main soul.
But things were different here.
This was a spiritual domain independent of the real world...
This was why Lucas Reeve was completely calm. Here, the remnant soul could directly use the power of the main soul!
Looking at the soul that had transformed into a giant black python and was pouncing towards him, although this black soul was of a high level and would be an incredibly terrifying existence if all its soul parts were gathered together... it was obviously impossible. The soul here was just one of its many consciousnesses. Although it looked strong, it was nothing special to Lucas Reeve.
A bright light flashed in Lucas Reeve's eyes. He then slightly raised his right hand, and on his right hand, a longsword completely condensed from soul power appeared in his hand.
Without even preparing.
Lucas Reeve took a deep breath, and suddenly, his eyes released an incomparably dazzling light.
[Honoikazuchi no Kami]
At this moment.
Lucas Reeve was finally free from the constraints of a physical body, truly unleashing all of his power to the extreme.
Flames and lightning intertwined, and crimson pillars of thunder leaped around Lucas Reeve, as if the god of thunder had descended. In an instant, the vast spiritual domain seemed to have become Lucas Reeve's world.
On the surface of Lucas Reeve's body, there were even faint flashes of crimson lightning.
For a moment.
The pouncing Black Serpent actually felt a sense of crisis. Its snake eyes suddenly widened in disbelief. It didn't understand how a guy with such low divinity could erupt with such powerful strength.
A crisis?
How is that possible!
How could I possibly lose to such an insignificant fellow.
However, the next second.
The moment Lucas Reeve opened his eyes, the Black Serpent only felt a flash before its eyes.
In an instant, the entire soul world seemed to be illuminated by crimson light. Lucas Reeve disappeared from his spot in an instant. The Black Serpent couldn't react to such speed at all. One moment the opponent was far away, and the next, he had already appeared behind it.
[Multi-Slash...]
Without the constraints of a physical body.
Lucas Reeve had fused the two breathing styles and brought them to their peak. The perfect fusion of Sun Breathing and Thunder Breathing allowed Lucas Reeve to surpass his limits in an instant.
How is that possible!!
The Black Serpent's eyes widened in utter disbelief.
This person!!
How could this insignificant soul erupt with this level of power!!
Why!!
*Retch~~
A large mouthful of black blood spewed out of the Black Serpent's mouth. Not only was black blood continuously flowing from its mouth, but it was also flowing from various parts of its body.
The Black Serpent still couldn't believe it.
It had been defeated in an instant!!
The next second.
*Splat!!*
With a splattering sound, countless cold glints flashed across the Black Serpent's body with a delay. Fountain-like black liquid spewed out from the cuts all over the Black Serpent's body, and these cracks seemed to be constantly widening.
Finally.
With a loud boom.
The Black Serpent exploded into countless small pieces that fell to the ground, each piece twitching as if it had a life of its own.
Why...
Why does he have such powerful spiritual power when his divinity is so weak!!
The Black Serpent couldn't believe it.
He was unwilling to accept such a fact.
In a fit of intense anger.
The scattered fragments of the Black Serpent gradually dissolved into a black, viscous liquid. These liquids re-gathered together and, just like at the beginning, reformed into the shape of the Black Serpent. However, this version of the Black Serpent seemed to have a weaker aura than before.
"Who are you?!!"
The Black Serpent still couldn't believe it. Although there are differences between gods, the Black Serpent swore it had never seen such a strange fellow.
His divinity was pitifully weak.
But his own soul strength was ridiculously high.
It was simply too contradictory.
"Lucas Reeve.. a remnant soul...."
Lucas Reeve lightly flicked the longsword in his hand. The blade vibrated with a series of sword hums. At the beginning, the Black Serpent in front of him had chosen to remain silent, not even willing to say a word to Lucas Reeve. But... now he was actually speaking up.
"I'm a little curious. What are you, and why are you occupying Talulah's soul?"
"...."
The Black Serpent didn't speak.
He knew.
Given the power the other party had just displayed.
This wisp of his soul was no match for him.
Any struggle would be futile.
So...
Under Lucas Reeve's gaze.
The huge black body slowly dissipated. However, just before it disappeared, it left behind a threat.
"Lucas Reeve... I'll remember you... I hope.. you can withstand the revenge of the Serpent's Scales. Talulah is mine! Don't you dare try to take her away!"
With those words.
The Black Serpent disappeared.
Leaving only a bewildered Lucas Reeve.
Is there something wrong with his brain? Why would I want to snatch Talulah?