The People's God: Sacrificing Trillions to Ascend

Chapter 835 - Wargod Han Wu

He Xu’s Demigod recruits went out to meet the intruders, with one of them posing as the ship’s captain to ask their purpose. The leader of the surrounding ships was a beastman with a scar running across his face. His broad back and bear-like build were quite literal.

“You’ve never heard of the great Ghost Bear Bandits? Are you courting death?” the beastman, Ghost Bear, shouted from atop one of the ships as he glared down at the Demigod acting as captain.

The Demigod captain was a cunning fellow. Although he had never heard of the Ghost Bear Bandits, that didn’t stop him from flattering them. “So it’s the illustrious Ghost Bear Bandits! I’ve long heard of your great reputation. Seeing you in person is even more impressive.”

As he spoke, he pulled a small box from his pocket. Inside lay a blue pearl. It had no special power, but it was a rare and precious gemstone worth at least 100 Divine Essence.

“I’ve always admired you, Boss Ghost Bear. Please accept this precious gem as a token of respect. Boss Ghost Bear, I humbly ask you to look the other way and spare my insignificant life. I would be deeply grateful,” the Demigod captain said sincerely.

Ghost Bear didn’t even glance at the priceless blue pearl in the man’s hand. “You think cheap junk like that can fool me? Who gave you that gall? Men, board the ship, take everything of value, and kill everyone!”

In an instant, the surrounding ships simultaneously launched grappling hooks that latched onto Han Wu’s ship. Bandits swarmed up the lines and poured onto the ship.

The captain immediately realized that these people hadn’t come for valuables. Their true target was almost certainly the assassination of the Battlecraze Empire’s Prince Zhan Fanyin.

“Bandits aboard! Open your divine realms and release your units! We cannot let them break through!” the captain shouted.

Han Wu stood at the rear, his eyes burning with the desire for battle. He had just been looking for someone to test his blade on, and now volunteers had delivered themselves to him. This day couldn’t have gone better!

The Demigods’ units varied in power. The strongest aboard the ship were Lord life forms. The Ghost Bear Bandits, however, were numerous. Each ship carried more than 10,000 bandits, bringing the total force beyond 100,000. Even the weakest amongst them was at the Heroic rank.

Faced with the Ghost Bear Bandits’ assault, the Demigods’ units had no choice but to fight with everything they had.

The situation made Ghost Bear doubtful. These people were nothing more than a handful of weak, second-rate guards. They were not qualified to escort a prince of the Battlecraze Empire.

Ghost Bear frowned in uncertainty. Is this the wrong ship?

The intelligence he had received claimed that whichever ship appeared at this location and time would be carrying a prince of the Battlecraze Empire. Perhaps the prince’s ship had suffered a malfunction during the journey and arrived late.

“Doesn’t matter whether there’s a Battlecraze Empire prince on board or not. This ship crossed my path, so its luck ran out. Serves it right to get robbed. That’s just fate,” Ghost Bear muttered.

Han Wu heard every word from where he stood behind him and asked, “You, Bear. Who sent you to assassinate the prince of the Battlecraze Empire?”

Ghost Bear leapt in fright and spun around, finally seeing Han Wu clearly. “Who are you? How dare you sneak up behind me and call me Bear? Are you not afraid that I’ll cut you down?”

“Stop spouting nonsense and answer my question,” Han Wu said, then released his Divine Authority.

The aura of darkness, death, destruction, and war descended upon Ghost Bear. The pressure nearly crushed both his body and mind. He almost dropped to his knees.

Still, Ghost Bear had lived long enough to forge nerves of steel alongside his Earthsunder strength. That power was the foundation of everything he relied upon.

“Brat, you’re courting death. I’ll send you on your way!” Ghost Bear howled and attacked Han Wu.

Han Wu’s brow twitched slightly. His Divine Authority 1 materialised into a greatsword within his grasp. Before Ghost Bear could even register the movement, Han Wu was already behind him. A streak of black blade light swept through the air, and Ghost Bear watched his massive fist drop to the ground before his eyes.

Then indescribable pain came. It spread inward from the wound. Everything the darkness touched—skin, flesh, even bone—turned jet black. The agony never eased for even a moment.

“What did you do to me?” Ghost Bear roared through his pain.

Han Wu ignored the question and simply repeated, “You, Bear. Who sent you to assassinate the prince of the Battlecraze Empire?”

Ghost Bear only screamed in pain and refused to answer.

Han Wu cleanly severed the beastman’s other fist as easily as slicing through a melon.

Ghost Bear’s agony doubled.

“Will you talk?” Han Wu asked.

At last, Ghost Bear broke under the pain, weeping. “Fine, I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything! I don’t know who hired us. The person who approached me wore a mask. All I remember is a clove flower tattoo on their face... I’ve told you everything I know. Please spare me!”

Ghost Bear dropped to his knees and begged for mercy. As an Earthsunder life form, losing both hands wouldn’t reduce his combat power by much. He could still live comfortably in this region with his abilities. He didn’t want to die. He wanted to live a long life.

Unfortunately for him, his opponent was Han Wu.

Han Wu ignored Ghost Bear’s pleas, sat beside him calmly, and recorded the data on how Ghost Bear’s wounds responded to strikes from the greatsword made from his Divine Authority. This data was essential to his growth, so he needed as much firsthand observation as possible to understand the blade’s true nature.

Ghost Bear mistakenly assumed Han Wu intended to spare him. In reality, Han Wu remained focused on the severed hands. Every inch the black energy advanced was a great reward in itself.

Unable to endure the relentless pain, Ghost Bear noticed the blackness creeping farther up his arms and bit down hard. He used his own teeth to tear both arms off at the shoulders. Once the black energy lost contact with his body, the spread stopped immediately. The wounds still hurt, but the pain was far more bearable than before.

Ghost Bear let out a breath of relief, but Han Wu was displeased. Ghost Bear had bitten off the wound sites and ruined the data collection. As such, he delivered two clean strikes to the beastman’s thighs instead. Worried that he would repeat the same trick and bite off his own legs, Han Wu added a third slash across the lower back. He simply didn’t believe that Ghost Bear could bite through his own lower back.

With three separate sources of unbearable agony, Ghost Bear lost the will to live. He slammed his head against the ground and killed himself on the spot.

As Ghost Bear died, the corrosion spreading from the wounds ceased. Han Wu had collected only partial data, and the results were far from comprehensive. Left with no other option, he turned his attention to the bandits who had boarded the ship. In the next instant, Han Wu moved like the wind and struck each target once.

Before long, the bandits’ screams echoed throughout the ship.

Someone spotted Ghost Bear’s corpse and cried out, “Boss Ghost Bear is dead! Run!”

Han Wu snorted. “You started this robbery, and now you want to flee halfway through? Did I say you could?”

He launched himself into the air and drove the greatsword through the Ghost Bear Bandits’ ships. Under its Annihilation trait, every ship crumbled like paper.

With their ships destroyed, the bandits had nowhere left to escape. One after another, they raised their hands in surrender.

The Demigods aboard the ship stood stunned by what Han Wu had just displayed. He had singlehandedly wiped out the Ghost Bear Bandits without summoning a single unit. A combat record like that deserved the title of Wargod.

“Wargod Han Wu, what would you like to do with these prisoners?” the captain asked respectfully.

Han Wu counted the surrendered prisoners. There were more than 50,000, all Heroic rank or higher. Even a God would struggle to assemble a fighting force of that scale.

Still, these were cunning bandits responsible for countless crimes. Letting them live would be like leaving buried landmines behind. The question was how to make the best use of them.

Han Wu thought for a moment and came up with a plan. He summoned his Life Microcosm and swept all the prisoners inside. They would become experimental material for the Origin of Mutation, as well as sacrifices for future use. Once the Life Microcosm reached a sufficient capacity, he would sacrifice the whole batch and eliminate any possibility of future trouble.