RNP Chapter 182 When the gods wreak havoc, the demons descend.
Chapter 182 When the gods wreak havoc, the demons descend.
Chapter 182 When the gods wreak havoc, the demons descend.
Although Indra has departed, his divine power, which is integrated with the laws of heaven and earth, continues to transform the Sky Island like an unyielding shadow.
The lush green vegetation grew at an abnormal rate, with dangerous lightning flashing along the edges of its leaves. The dense magic permeating the air brought both life and the bizarre.
A strange disease known as tremor fever has begun to spread among the survivors. In the early stages, patients will experience unexplained fever and tiny golden arcs of electricity appearing in parts of their bodies. In the later stages, they will experience muscle spasms and confusion, as if their bodies are being forcibly transformed into containers to adapt to a new environment.
Even more terrifying, various mutated ancient creatures began to appear in the jungle.
Cloud wolves with fur as hard as iron and teeth crackling with electricity; giant flowers that can spray corrosive lightning slurry; and even lightning spirits composed of pure lightning elements with no fixed form.
These monsters are extremely aggressive and will actively attack any living being, and apart from the attacks by the heroic warriors, they are practically useless.
This means that everyone could be devoured by terrifying creatures at any time.
Despair spread like a plague.
Driven by the instinct for survival, the division began.
A portion of the population, primarily the original priestly class of the Sky Island and some Shandians driven to extreme fear, chose to submit.
They set up an altar on the edge of the safe zone that the Wise Ones of the Clouds barely maintained, and knelt and prayed day and night in the direction Indra had gone.
"Great Indra! Mighty God-King, the true Heavenly Emperor who commands thunder! Please forgive the ignorance of our fellow countrymen."
"Please forgive our sins! We are willing to be God's believers for all eternity, to listen to God's teachings, and to serve God's messengers! We only ask that you withdraw your divine punishment and forgive us!"
He praised the divine power of the thunder, repented for his past disrespect, called Indra the only true God, and regarded the Indian heroes Bhikkhu and Yami as divine messengers.
Surprisingly, this groveling seems to actually work.
The lightning in the sky re-formed two terrifying eyes, this time with a gentle gaze.
"In that case, it's approved."
Those who sincerely prayed and completely abandoned any thought of resistance found that the raging divine creatures around their dwelling areas truly did not advance, as if there were an invisible barrier.
Even more remarkably, some of the most devout worshippers experienced a reduction in their feverish symptoms, and their bodies even began to adapt to the environment, with a slight increase in strength and a more acute sense of awareness.
This change ecstatically enraged those who had submitted, fueling their fanaticism: "Do you see this?! This is the Heavenly Emperor's great achievement! You are so stubbornly deluded; do you still wish to invite divine punishment?!"
The four priests, who were extremely loyal to Enel, angrily rebuked these guys.
"A bunch of opportunists! Do you want to betray your race, betray your faith?"
However, these guys were quite self-righteous: "Our faith? What kind of garbage is that? Can it protect us and help us survive?!"
Weber had no problem with the departing members of his tribe; he understood that they simply wanted to survive.
He was unable to protect them, and therefore had no right to say things that were easy for him to say.
In contrast, those so-called pioneers spontaneously formed a new class, claiming themselves to be God's chosen people.
Then, as in history, they began to reject and even condemn those who still refused to bow down, calling them blasphemers who would bring disaster to the entire tribe.
If the other party is determined, then force should be used.
Whether this force stems from reverence for the gods or from personal desires remains unknown.
The struggle has begun.
Soon, several leading Chosen Ones spotted the Golem anchored in the distance, along with the Bhutul and Yami on board.
They immediately organized a group, bringing with them the best food and offerings the Sky Island could offer, and humbly knelt down before the ship.
"Your esteemed divine messenger!" The leading former priest prostrated himself, his voice trembling with excitement.
Ironically, this guy was the same young man who had previously cursed Indra.
"Thank you for the protection of the great God-King! Thank you for the descent of the divine messenger! Please accept our humble offering, and may the God-King's grace forever surround Sky Island!"
On the deck, the Straw Hat crew looked at the chosen people of God who had been weeping together not long ago but were now unrecognizable, and their feelings were complicated.
Chopper trembled with rage: "How could they do this! Have they forgotten who caused their family's destruction?"
Usopp, equally indignant, exclaimed, "Exactly! How shameless of them to come and give gifts like that! It's outrageous!"
Luffy pressed down on his straw hat, his face grim. He didn't shout or yell, but just looked at the kneeling people, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails almost dug into his flesh.
He felt a stifling feeling that was more unbearable than when facing a powerful enemy; he was facing humanity, a reality that force could not completely eradicate.
Looking at the kneeling crowd below, Bu Jun's rugged face betrayed no emotion, but he sighed and said to Yan Mi and Luffy beside him.
"Do you see? This is the choice of mortals. Faced with absolute power and survival, dignity and hatred sometimes seem so pale."
"Seeking refuge with the strong is the way for the weak to survive. Although Indra's methods are ruthless, the law he represents at this moment does indeed offer a glimmer of hope to those who submit. In a sense, this may be the best way to reduce deaths at present."
Yan Mi also spoke calmly: "The rules have been established. Those who obey live, those who resist perish. This is the natural order of the universe. Personal joys and dreams are not the priority in the survival of the race."
"No!" Luffy suddenly looked up, his voice low but resolute.
"This is absolutely wrong! What kind of bullshit righteous law is this! They keep people like livestock, feeding them when they're happy and killing them at will when they're not. This isn't living for them!"
"Living is about eating heartily, laughing loudly, and chasing dreams with your friends!"
"What's the point of living for a thousand years if you're caged?! Does your righteous law even deprive you of the right to pursue freedom and dream?!"
His words were simple and direct, yet they struck everyone's hearts like a heavy hammer.
Among those chosen people kneeling on the ground, some trembled slightly, and struggle flashed in their eyes, but it was quickly suppressed by fear and longing for grace and privilege.
The war demon Weber of Shandia, far away in his dwelling, seemed to sense something. He clenched his teeth, his eyes blazing with fury.
Some of his own people had joined the chosen people in order to survive, and he was almost overwhelmed by immense grief and nameless rage.
He watched as his people were tormented by a strange disease and attacked by mutated creatures, and he was powerless to help them. This sense of powerlessness was more painful to him than any wound.
Just then, Tescatlipoca stepped forward.
His unusual gaze swept across the crowd, finally landing on a young Shandian warrior hiding at the back, his eyes still filled with resentment and struggle.
"You, boy." Tescatlipoca pointed at him, a playful smile on his face.
"Tell me, where is the golden city of Shandora, the stone that records history?"
The warrior was taken aback, instinctively looking at Weber, then warily eyeing the strange otherworldly deity, Tescatlipoca.
Bhujun frowned, but out of a certain understanding as fellow Descendants, and believing that the Poneglyphs might contain information on how to deal with the current situation, he spoke.
"Tell him. Right now, any information that might change the situation is worth trying."
Yan Mi nodded slightly.
With the warrior's hesitant gaze and Weber's silent acquiescence, Tescatlipoca obtained the information he wanted.
"I...I don't know—only the clan leader, War Demon, should know about that place. I'm sorry—"
"It's alright, very good." Tescatlipoca smiled contentedly, then said to Crocodile and Robin, "Let's go, gambler, learned lady. Perhaps the real answer lies there."
The three ignored the dispute and left. Tescatlipoca's gaze pierced through the dense forest and met Weber's eyes in the distance.
Weber seemed to sense the gaze of some powerful being, a chilling aura emanating from behind him.
However, he had no time to think about all that. He looked at the divided tribes, his suffering compatriots, and the arrogant chosen people before him, and a great despair and anger burned in his heart.
He followed them back to the ancient altar guarded by the Shandians, where carvings were made of the totem of Kasi, the guardian serpent god they had worshipped for generations, symbolizing their connection to the earth and their ancestors.
"Kashi God, ancestors!" Weber knelt before the totem, his hands deeply embedded in the scorched earth, his voice hoarse, filled with helplessness and grief.
"Are we truly left with no choice but to submit? Are we destined to be like livestock, begging for the butcher's mercy?"
"Please, grant us the power—even the power to make a deal with the devil—please give us the power to resist!!"
He wasn't performing any summoning ritual; it was simply an extreme emotional outpouring.
However, what he didn't expect was...
Indra's divine power has long permeated every corner of this land, including this ancient altar.
Weber's cry, filled with extreme negative emotions—despair, anger, and an intense thirst for power—was like a precise coordinate, piercing through the barriers of space via the altar and totems.
Ultimately, they encountered a terrifying being from a distant time and space, who also harbored extreme resentment towards Indra and was profoundly restrained by his divine power!
Yu Yi!!!
The serpent god totem on the altar suddenly burst forth with a deep, ominous, dark purple light!
The sky over the entire Sky Island suddenly darkened, and the thunderclouds symbolizing Indra seemed to be covered by an invisible giant hand!
An indescribable divine power, filled with resentment, greed, and destruction, suddenly descended, and Weber immediately felt his mouth go dry.
Its immense power and malevolence even suppressed the last trace of divinity that Indra possessed.
Those divine beings that had been lurking around, even attempting to attack the blasphemers, now seemed to have encountered their natural enemy. They let out terrified cries, prostrated themselves on the ground, trembling, not daring to even lift their heads!
Even the invisible barrier in the area of the Chosen People was blocked and began to fluctuate violently, as if it would break at any moment!
A phantom, composed of shadows and the hot desert wind, slowly coalesced above the altar, emitting a hoarse and malicious chuckle.
"Hiss hiss hiss Indra, how familiar that nauseating scent is... It's you again, you who have awakened me from my eternal slumber. This time, I will devour your thunder—turn your kingdom into barren, lifeless silence."
Somewhere along the Grand Line, Indra, who was flying at high speed, suddenly stopped. His pupils contracted sharply as he looked toward Skypiea, his face showing an extremely solemn expression for the first time.
He muttered to himself, a knowing smile even playing at the corners of his lips.
"The ancient drought demon, the nemesis that hindered the sacrifice, devoured rivers, and was slain by me with Vajra—indeed, the trajectory of fate is so interesting."
"To make the operation of the righteous law seem more logical, have even you been summoned here by the causal chain of this world?"
His smile grew even more blatant.
The crisis on the Sky Island, triggered by Waver's desperate cry, attracted an existence far more terrifying than the creatures of the Age of Gods.
"False god who stole the power of lightning, do you even know what destiny is?"
Enel was terrified by this guy's unpredictable temper, and he could only shake his head slightly.
In an instant, Indra turned Vimana around and sped toward the sky island at an illogical speed.
"Are you ready—to be killed by me again?"