On the Conquest Sea at night, the hijacked passenger ship sailed. In the ship's cabin, Vanya, who had been treating the wounded, finally had the opportunity to interact and communicate with the hijackers. However, not long after the conversation began, Vanya was stunned by Bahoda's words and then spoke in disbelief.
"Tyrannical suppression... savage slaughter... like pirates, you... are you talking about the Church? Would the Church do something like this? Is there some misunderstanding?"
"Misunderstanding? There is no misunderstanding here, Sister. Your Shining Light Church's cruel oppression of otherworld has a long history. Over the years, how many people on the many islands of this sea, whose otherworld beliefs refused to obey you, have been exterminated by you? How many innocent people you call otherworld have died at your hands? Before our Natsuki, there have been countless precedents. You collude with the countries on the Main Continent, slaughtering the people of the islands and plundering their land. These are facts I have seen with my own eyes. Are you still saying there is some misunderstanding here?"
Facing Vanya, Bahoda said with a cold expression. Bahoda's words left Vanya at a loss for a moment, not knowing how to respond.
"That... that, I think there must be some mistake. Generally speaking, as long as they don't respect the Holy Scripture and serve the Three Saints, they are evil... Ugh..."
Vanya, who had grown up influenced by the Church, instinctively wanted to say that anyone who didn't believe in the Three Saints was an evil cultist, but then suddenly realized something and abruptly closed her mouth.
In the religious education Vanya had received, anyone who did not believe in the Three Saints was an evil otherworld or cultist. Cultists and otherworld were absolutely evil and needed to be constantly guarded against; they were all to be eliminated. Vanya used to agree with this statement from the bottom of her heart, until she received Aka's enlightenment and met Dorothy.
After a series of events, Vanya really couldn't say that not believing in the Three Saints meant being a cultist, because in a sense, her own faith wasn't exactly pure.
Seeing Vanya momentarily speechless, Bahoda thought his words had rendered her speechless. He couldn't help but feel a surge of confidence and continued.
"Hmph... It seems you can't defend your Light any further. So the truth is clear, isn't it? Light has no right to force others to accept their ways, no right to casually kill innocent lives. In our eyes, you are the cult, the cultists we must resist."
"Ugh... Even so, even if the Church has many faults, you shouldn't target these pilgrims. Most of them are ordinary people who believe in the Holy Mother... They are not Church personnel. The only person truly belonging to the Church on these three ships is me. Even these sailors, although affiliated with the Knights, are relatively peripheral figures. So, can you release the others?"
Clutching her chest, Vanya urged Bahoda with a worried expression, but Bahoda responded coldly.
"When your Light acts against otherworld believers, you don't consider whether the other party is an ordinary innocent person. We are just returning the favor. Countless people on this vast sea have been persecuted by you. Now it's finally our turn. We don't have time to deal with more things."
Bahoda said sternly to Vanya. Vanya was stunned after hearing Bahoda's words, and then continued to ask.
"Your turn... Could it be that you are currently being..."
Listening to Bahoda's words, Vanya spoke as if she had realized something, and at this moment, Bahoda seemed somewhat impatient with the conversation with Vanya. He spoke directly.
"Alright, our matters, you don't need to know too much about our matters, Sister. Now, complete your task properly and treat the wounded here."
Hearing Bahoda's words, Vanya paused slightly, then sighed, and bent down to continue treating the wounded lying in the cabin. Meanwhile, Dorothy, in the distance, was sitting in the passenger cabin of her ship, organizing the information she had gathered.
'According to what these guys said... they seem to be natives living on remote islands in the Conquest Sea. In this world, in some areas where the 'civilization' of the Main Continent has not deeply reached, the indigenous people still maintain their original beliefs from ancient times, just like the natives of the New World, Kapak...
'However, the difference is... compared to the New World, these islands are closer to the Main Continent, and also closer to the Shining Light Church and the countries of the Main Continent, so they are also more easily affected. It seems that the Shining Light Church is currently cooperating with other colonial countries to carry out forced proselytization on the remote islands in the Conquest Sea. If the natives on these islands refuse to listen to them and convert, they will be subjected to forceful measures, including military action. And the Xia Shu Island, to which these hijackers belong, is currently facing such a threat from the Church.
'So... the reason they hijacked the Church's passenger ship is most likely to use it as a threat, to threaten the Church to stop the forced actions it is about to implement against them. The pilgrims on these three passenger ships are all hostages, hostages in the hands of these Xia Shu natives.
'These guys want to force the Church to compromise on the issue of proselytization through hostage-taking? This is completely impossible. The Church cannot lose face and compromise for these few people. Even if these people cannot be rescued, the Church will never agree to their terms.'
Sitting in her dimly lit passenger cabin, Dorothy thought with some anxiety. In her opinion, Vanya and the others were in a very dangerous situation, because Dorothy believed that the possibility of the Church agreeing to the terms was almost zero. Vanya and the others were constantly facing the risk of being killed. If the Church's rescue was not effective, then these hundreds of people could be considered doomed.
Dorothy felt anxious, and amidst this anxiety, she also had some doubts.
'But then again, how did this group of island natives so accurately attack Vanya and the others? The main Extraordinary combat power of their fleet was detained by the Judge because of the Navaja incident. Their voyage from Navaja to Iweig was in the weakest period of defense, and they just happened to seize this opportunity to carry out the hijacking. This is too much of a coincidence, as if they knew that the defense of this fleet was weak.
'So how did they obtain this information? Could it be that they have an insider in the Church? But it doesn't feel like it. Do these natives have the ability to plant an insider in the Church?'
Dorothy thought to herself with a puzzled expression. However, she still had too little information at the moment, so she couldn't figure it out, but she still didn't know what to do about how to deal with them.
'My main body is too far away from there now. Currently, I can only exert influence on that side through Vanya's senses. There is very limited I can do, so I have to think of a way to increase and expand my influence...'
Dorothy thought to herself, and then she continued to observe the situation in the distant cabin through Vanya's senses, trying to find other points of intervention.
Vanya was Dorothy's first companion, subordinate, and believer. She valued Vanya very much and did not want Vanya to have any mishaps in this incident. Whether the Church decided to launch a rescue or not, Dorothy had to ensure Vanya's safety there.
In the cabin of the hijacked passenger ship, Vanya continued to diligently treat the injured sailors. With her rich medical knowledge and the ability of a Healing Priest, her treatment was very effective and fast. The hijackers watching from the side were all very curious.
As Vanya treated, more and more native hijackers came to the cabin to watch, some of whom had suffered some injuries in the previous battle. Although most of their injuries were not serious, they were still wounds, and they were very painful as long as they were there.
Although Extraordinary of the "Cup" have self-healing abilities, that is generally something that happens at the Chalk stage. Most of these people are Black Earth, and without the aid of Extraordinary items, they do not have self-healing abilities. Therefore, these injured hijackers were a little envious after seeing Vanya's healing ability.
While Vanya was treating the last few sailors, a hijacker said something to Bahoda, the leader, in a language that neither Vanya nor Dorothy could understand. After considering something, Bahoda directly responded to the questioning hijacker. The hijacker who heard Bahoda's response shook his head in disappointment for a moment.
After seeing the other party's reaction, Dorothy in the cabin couldn't help but rub her chin, a few thoughts forming in her mind.
Finally, Vanya finished the initial treatment of all the sailors. After the healing was complete, the Sister in white stood up among the wounded and silently looked at the hijackers before her.
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"Are you done? Thank you for your hard work, Sister. You can go back now. Remember not to run around or do anything suspicious."
Seeing that the sailors' injuries were mostly treated, Bahoda said to Vanya, and Vanya replied.
"No, my work is not finished yet. Didn't you say you wanted me to treat all the injured in this cabin? The sailors' injuries have been mostly treated, but what about yours? You also have many injuries."
Vanya said seriously to Bahoda and the others. Hearing Vanya's words, Bahoda's expression showed a hint of surprise.
"You... actually want to proactively help us treat? We are the ones who hijacked you, your enemies."
"So what? The Holy Mother taught me to face everyone with kindness and tolerance, and you are naturally the same. In my opinion, if you can allow me to heal these sailors, you must not be evil people who regard life as nothing. You were just forced to do such a thing.
"Therefore... I believe you are essentially kind-hearted people. As a thank you for allowing me to heal these innocent sailors, please also let me heal you."
Facing Bahoda and the others, Vanya held her phone to her chest and said sincerely. Hearing Vanya's words, Bahoda couldn't help but be stunned, then spoke.
"You... you don't want to do something to us in the name of healing, do you? Patients treated by a doctor are, in a sense, like fish being slaughtered by a butcher."
Bahoda said vigilantly. In fact, someone on his side had just asked him if Vanya could treat them, but Bahoda refused in the name of risk. But now he didn't expect this Sister to propose to help them treat their wounds herself. This kindness made Bahoda couldn't help but be wary.
"Don't worry, everyone, I sincerely want to treat you and have absolutely no intention of harming you. I will heal you one by one. While I am treating, you can supervise me to see if I do anything abnormal. The healed person can also provide feedback on their feelings at any time. If you find anything wrong, you can stop me immediately.
"In my current situation, I would never dare to do anything to harm you. I am truly trying to practice the way of the Holy Mother and eliminate the pain for all who love each other."
Facing Bahoda's vigilance, Vanya said seriously. Hearing her words, Bahoda couldn't help but think for a while. After realizing that the other party was under his control and indeed dared not do anything unfavorable, he decided to give it a try.
"Okay, you are different from some other Light dogs. I've decided to trust you this time. You'd better not play any tricks."
Bahoda said this, and then said something to his companions beside him in his own language. After a brief exchange, a hijacker with an injured hand and a slightly pale face stepped forward.
"Okay, please sit down, I'll take a look at your wound."
Saying this, Vanya began to treat the hijacker before her. Her treatment process was watched by Bahoda the entire time, who was vigilant for any slight movement from Vanya.
However, Vanya's healing process had no problems. The medicine she used was still from the ship's medical box, which had been tested countless times on the sailors. Her movements were also very careful, with nothing out of place. Finally, the hijacker's wound slowly healed in the orange-yellow halo from Vanya's hand, and the person being treated did not show any discomfort.
Vanya's treatment of the hijacker was more serious and took longer than that of the average sailor. After about ten minutes, she finally finished treating the first hijacker's injury. The hijacker, whose wound was healed, stood up from the chair and looked at his arm, which had almost recovered to normal, in disbelief. After doing several movements and feeling completely fine, he excitedly said a bunch of words to Bahoda that Vanya couldn't understand.
Bahoda looked at his subordinate who had been treated, and then used the Light's Spirituality detection ability to detect the healed wound. After finding no abnormalities, he breathed a sigh of relief and then said to Vanya.
"Nothing is wrong... It seems I was overly vigilant before, Sister. You did treat him seriously. You are indeed different from other Light. I apologize for my previous rudeness. Please treat the wounds of our other injured."
Bahoda said to Vanya with a hint of apology. Hearing the other party's words, Vanya smiled and replied.
"I am just following the teachings of the Holy Mother and doing what I should do."
Vanya said humbly, and then she continued to heal the wounds of the other injured hijackers. They were also very happy to see their injuries healed after the treatment. Those who were originally hesitant also began to actively seek treatment, and some hijackers even brought out their old chronic injuries to ask Vanya if she could treat them.
What these healed people didn't know was that a few of them, not long after their injuries healed, had already begun to undergo some subtle changes. Under these changes, their senses were being perceived by another person many nautical miles away.
"It's starting to work, my mark."
Sitting in her cabin, Dorothy murmured. At this time, she was using the Living Puppet mark to sense the senses of two hijackers, seeing through their eyes and hearing through their ears, but there were no puppet marks on their surface.
The Living Puppet mark that allowed Dorothy's spiritual threads to extend to them was now inside their bodies, under their originally healed wounds, in a place invisible to ordinary people.
Vanya's healing of some hijackers was, in a sense, also a surgery, a surgery to "engrave" Dorothy's Living Puppet mark under the skin. When Vanya used the Healing Priest's ability for the final healing, she deliberately induced the growth of the skin and even the subcutaneous tissue with high precision, making a certain layer of tissue under their skin "grow" a small Living Puppet mark.
This puppet mark is very small, and its growth was designed by Vanya so that it would not leave any negative impression on the person being treated, would not make him feel abnormal, and would not show any traces on the epidermis. When the puppet mark is not activated, it does not have extraordinary traces, so it will not be seen by the Light detection. Even if it can be seen, Dorothy can cover it with the "Shadow" transmitted by the spiritual threads.
This deliberate shaping of flesh and blood was the result of Vanya's skillful application of her abilities and abundant medical knowledge. This shaping is a high-precision surgery that requires Vanya's full attention and a lot of time, and can only be completed without interference. Although it cannot be used in fast-paced combat, she now has enough space to use it.
Just like this, under Vanya's operation, Dorothy's points of interference here increased significantly.
...
On the dark sea at night, on the Xiatree Islands, in a dimly lit hut, an altar made of blood and bones, with twisted flesh wriggling on it, stood there. The pile of twisted facial features had various ears, noses, and mouths, and before the altar, a figure was kneeling respectfully on the ground.
"Sword Scale sir, the operation on Natsuki is going well. They listened to the information I gave them and attacked the Fanatics' weakly defended fleet. They successfully hijacked three pilgrim ships and are now on their way back.
"The conflict between Natsuki and the Church is irreconcilable. I can already foresee the coming of the flames..."