Chapter 381: The Punishment of the Oath Talisman

 The first condition was already quite troublesome for Wei Xiao Bei as given the situation in the Dust World, trying to gather incense and garner prayers by building a temple was virtually impossible.

The temple could not just be ignored and put to the side once it was constructed, as he had to maintain and be responsible for its upkeep, prevent monsters from destroying it, as well as find pilgrims and believers to pray there!

Such a thing was impossible in the Dust World!

However, Wei Xiao Bei was suddenly enlightened. As he thought about it, there was no doubt that such a thing could not be done in the Dust World.

But what about the real world?

Wei Xiao Bei stuttered a little as he asked Ge Da Tian, “Old man, you know where I come from, right?”

“I know. Hurry up and speak if there’s something you want to ask! This god has some urgent matters to attend to after dealing with you.”

Ge Da Tian was now referring to himself as ‘this god’. Even if you were a god and a very minor one at that, the way you spoke would change entirely upon being promoted.

Wei Xiao Bei couldn’t help but rant inwardly. All this work just to be tricked by that old man, I’m the one who is trying to help him get promoted yet he makes it sound like I’m the one who’s begging him instead.

However, he could not just leave things be and turn away either. After all, he had already established a Life and Death Talisman with this god. The more powerful Ge Da Tian became, the more benefits he would reap. The incense burner he mentioned earlier was one such example.

Wei Xiao Bei explained the issue and Ge Da Tian hurriedly nodded in approval as though he had something much more urgent to get to.

Meanwhile, regarding the second condition. Wei Xiao Bei’s eyes shot wide open when he heard the task.

Twenty immortal-quality dishes.

This was no small amount, and it relied entirely on luck.

Judging from his current situation, Wei Xiao Bei would never have enough luck to create two entire pots of immortal dishes in a row.

Of course, Ge Da Tian expressed that he could wait. He was in no rush.

Ge Da Tian didn’t seem to be too bothered by the matter. He reached out and pulled at his own body, pulling out a much fainter silhouette of his own body.

The phantasmal silhouette then lunged at Wei Xiao Bei and dove into his body.

There was no doubt that that silhouette was Ge Da Tian’s clone.

Before he could ask about the functions of the clone, Ge Da Tian’s body vanished into thin air.

 Did he leave just like that?

Wei Xiao Bei was still thinking about having Ge Da Tian help him deal with the soldiers. Thus, he called for the god in his mind.

“What is it? This god has already hidden. You let those soldiers make an oath first, as this god has his mystical way of settling this!”

Ge Da Tian’s voice rang out in Wei Xiao Bei’s mind following his call.

 Mystical way?

The soldiers had now dealt with a small swarm of Sacred Beetle Descendants and were resting in the sand. They hastily stood up when they saw Wei Xiao Bei return.

“Watch carefully.” Ge Da Tian’s voice rang out in his mind.

He immediately felt Ge Da Tian’s clone dive into his eyes. Immediately after, what he could see became entirely different.

Three flames the size of fists were floating above the heads and shoulders of the soldiers. Their colors were red, yellow and green.

“These are the three fires of mortals, fortune, prosperity, and longevity.”

Ge Da Tian suddenly transitioned into an overzealous scientist, endlessly blabbing on and explaining everything to Wei Xiao Bei.

Originally, these three fires were the manifestations of the three destinies of mortals in the eyes of gods.

The flame of fortune represented luck, the flame of prosperity represented wealth and the flame of longevity represented their remaining lifespan.

Wei Xiao Bei couldn’t help but look toward his shoulders and was disappointed. There didn’t seem to be these three fires hovering on his shoulders and head. He then secretly asked Ge Da Tian in his mind about this phenomenon.

Ge Da Tian only chuckled and claimed that his fate should not be revealed, ignoring all of the further questions from him.

Still, Wei Xiao Bei had already gotten used to this behavior from the god.

“This god will cast the Oath Talisman. You have them swear their loyalty to you, and then all oaths sworn by their mouths will be governed by this god. If there is a breach of the oath, they will have to face dire consequences.”

Having said that, Ge Da Tian couldn’t help but start laughing like a mad scientist who had just performed an excellent experiment.

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Wei Xiao Bei’s mouth twitched when he heard the god laugh. They say that promotion and sudden wealth will always change a person, but he never expected that it would be the same for Ge Da Tian as well.

He was relieved now that he had Ge Da Tian’s assurance. He immediately started making the soldiers swear their loyalties to him.

Some soldiers had already come to accept him as their leader. Naturally, these people were sincere when they gave their oath. However, there would always be those who were reluctant but still wanted to reap the benefits of being with Wei Xiao Bei. Thus, these people swore the most severe and serious oath they could to trick him and convince him of their allegiance.

Of course, Wei Xiao Bei knew that some of these soldiers were not sincere. However, he didn’t say anything. He simply watched on as the three fires of these soldiers tilted toward him when they swore their oath. Several dozens of sparks quickly appeared around him and flew toward the fires, which were simply hovering above the soldiers.

Once all the soldiers had sworn their loyalty, Ge Da Tian’s voice rang out: “Alright, the Oath Talisman is done! This god still has matters to attend to, so I will be leaving now. If any of these fellows aren’t being honest, you can use the Oath Talisman to punish them.”

Having said that, Wei Xiao Bei felt Ge Da Tian leave in a flash. Soon, he could only communicate with the god in his mind, having no idea of where the god had gone.

“Since everyone has sworn loyalty to me, I will not treat you poorly. Still, know that there will always be a god watching from above eyeing every one of you. If anyone goes against their oath, do not blame me for not holding back. ”

Wei Xiao Bei started talking to his new subordinates with a smile on his face.

One had to remember that his life had been a pretty sad one before he entered the Dust World.

While in school, he had never even been a subject representative or even a member of a study committee, let alone a monitor. He had been a group leader for a few months, but group leaders were only responsible for collecting homework. Running into more forceful classmates meant that you even had to lend your homework for them to copy. There were no leadership qualities that were taught in that position.

Wei Xiao Bei did not display any sort of excellent traits while he was a soldier either. As a result, he didn’t even manage to become a deputy squad leader. Thus, these soldiers were well and truly his first subordinates.

Wei Xiao Bei had to admit that the feeling of giving a speech was a pretty good one.

Just as his voice rang out, the three fires of an unruly soldier flickered.

Ge Da Tian’s clone, hidden in his body, provided him with the best explanation: “He’s cursing you furiously in his mind. Due to it being a slight breach of his oath, he has been punished by the Oath Talisman and is having a stomach ache.”

This punishment was undoubtedly a very light one.

However, as the owner of the Oath Talisman, Wei Xiao Bei could increase the intensity of the punishment at any time.

His mind moved and the sparks hovering above the three fires fell downward. They started to eat and devour the three fires.

This devouring of the fires was symbolic, not the literal devouring of a mortal’s fires. It wasn’t as if Wei Xiao Bei could actually devour and take away the three fires of a person in this manner. The Oath Talisman of a minor god such as Ge Da Tian did not have such power.

It would only increase the pain that the man was feeling.

Thus, the soldier’s aching stomach immediately intensified, becoming ten times more painful than before.

At this instant, the soldier fell to the ground and started rolling about in agony, clutching his stomach as he did so.

His actions shocked the other soldiers. Some soldiers who were friends with him hurried forward and asked him about his condition.

However, this unruly soldier was almost unconscious from the pain. He couldn’t even voice his thoughts.

“He breached his oath. I can lighten the punishment, but I do not wish for this to happen a second time. The punishment will only be greater if such a breach happens again. ”

There was no smile on Wei Xiao Bei’s face as he announced this to the soldiers.

His promise about both fair rewards and punishments was not meant to be taken lightly. Even punishment had to be dealt out fairly for all to see, as otherwise, even if the Oath Talisman could pick up on their thoughts, it could not prevent betrayals entirely.

After all, there might be ways to work around the Oath Talisman in the Dust World.

After witnessing the consequences of breaching their oaths, these soldiers felt much more fear and respect for Wei Xiao Bei.

Just a simple oath of loyalty could achieve such an effect?

This was undoubtedly the ability of a god to these soldiers!

Even those who still harbored thoughts of rebellion extinguished those thoughts in an instant.

 Who knows how severe these punishments could get!

After being knocked down a peg, those who respected Wei Xiao Bei and those who did not were much more careful. They knew that they could not breach their oaths now and must always remain loyal to Wei Xiao Bei.

Wei Xiao Bei was more than satisfied now that they understood this.

This meant that he now had a group of subordinates that he could temporarily trust.

This was a good start.

Wei Xiao Bei then appointed a captain to lead the soldiers. He decided to focus on the African American man. He was thirty-five years old and his name was Steven. As a sergeant, he was the one with the highest rank amongst the remaining soldiers. His usual task was to help the platoon commander manage the troops and it had been fifteen years since he joined the army! He could already be considered a veteran amongst veterans. According to his self-introduction, he had participated in many actual wars.

As such, Steven had substantial management skills and was more than suited for managing the remaining soldiers.

Once Stephen assumed his role, he immediately appointed two soldiers to help him lead the rest. He then asked for permission from Wei Xiao Bei and pointed out one of the soldiers who would take over his position should he die in battle.

Wei Xiao Bei looked at the soldier named Yurif and realized that his three fires were relatively stable and that his loyalty to Wei Xiao Bei was second only to Steven amongst all the soldiers. Thus, he nodded and agreed to Steven’s request.