“The Passage of All Things Is but Sand in Your Hourglass”
Previously, apart from “Dominion,” the other three scepter icons had all been dim and gray. She could not even click on them to view their descriptions.
But now, although the newly illuminated scepter was still giving off only a faint glow, it could clearly be touched.
Wendy gently tapped it.
“Evolution”: The passage of all things is but sand in your hourglass. (285/1000)
A glowing white description appeared.
Wendy stared at the words and slowly smiled.
Just as she had expected, Faith could illuminate the other three divine authorities.
Although she still could not use the power of this newly awakened authority, the number displayed after it should represent the amount of Faith required to fully illuminate it.
This proved that she was on the right track.
If that was the case, then as long as she continued hunting Xenotypes, awakening the Sea Tribe, performing miracles, and obtaining Faith, she would be able to acquire the divine authorities of the gods.
Evolution.
Evolution and regression.
Heredity and mutation.
As she pondered the term and its description, an idea gradually formed in her mind.
Perhaps the power of this authority could interfere with the evolution of species?
Wendy became somewhat excited.
She yearned for power, and the thought that such tremendous power might one day belong entirely to her caused a wave of intense excitement to wash over her.
After examining the newly illuminated authority, she turned her attention back to “Dominion.”
During the previous two upgrades, from E-rank to C-rank, the amount of Faith required had not been particularly large, and the changes had felt roughly the same.
The difference between the ability before and after upgrading was simply that her power became more abundant, her recovery speed became faster, and she could control more things.
It felt like an ordinary supernatural ability rather than the power of a god.
But now, after the Faith value crossed the million mark and “Dominion” reached B-rank, she felt as though a qualitative transformation had occurred.
She looked toward the cities deep beneath the sea.
The Sea Tribe members who had received healing had begun rebuilding their cities.
The Sea Tribe members awakened earlier were doing the same. They had spontaneously organized themselves to clear away the ruins and rebuild their homes, gradually restoring the destroyed and eroded city ruins to their former appearance.
But now…
She tried directing her power toward the deep-sea cities below.
Sure enough, the buildings within the cities underwent significant changes in response to her thoughts.
Throughout dozens of cities in the Sandstone Sea, the Sea Tribe members who had just begun preparing to rebuild their homes suddenly noticed the changes taking place around them.
Houses and towers that had collapsed because of the sunken ground trembled and rose from the earth.
The violent shaking caused the mud and sand covering them to fall away.
In only a moment, they had been restored to their former appearance.
The barnacles, seaweed, and mussels clinging to them were also stripped away, revealing the stone underneath.
Apart from the pits and wear left behind by billions of years of erosion, they looked as though they had never been destroyed or collapsed during the catastrophe at all.
The Sea Tribe stared at everything before them in disbelief.
It took them a long while to react.
Then, overcome with excitement, they began swimming in circles and curling their tails in reverent salute toward the surface of the sea.
Words filled with gratitude, joy, and affection transformed into fragmented whispers that reached Wendy’s ears.
At the same time, streams of Faith continuously transformed into points of light and flowed into her panel.
The number displayed after “Evolution” changed:
435/1000
Wendy noticed that the increase had slowed.
Earlier, when she had used [Blessing] to heal the newly awakened Sea Tribe members, almost every individual had contributed at least one point of Faith.
But now, the instantaneous reconstruction of their homes—a transformation far more miraculous and useful than healing—had only yielded a little over one million Faith.
She looked at the little mermaids happily examining their restored homes and lowered her eyes slightly.
It seemed that “miracles” could not be performed too frequently.
If divine manifestations occurred too often, the threshold of her people would rise, and the amount of Faith she could collect would decrease.
A long time seemed to have passed.
Wendy exited the Sea of Consciousness and opened her eyes, looking at the wristband on her right hand.
It was already 11:09 p.m.
The dormitory was pitch-black.
The only sounds were Mingmei’s deep, sleeping breaths and the faint sound of waves.
The natural white noise made the moment incredibly peaceful.
There were still five hours before she had to wake up.
Wendy yawned and entered the Sea of Consciousness once again.
There was one last thing she had to do.
Once she finished, she could finally sleep.
This time, she had awakened 49 cities, but neither the territory size nor the prosperity level in the [Civilization] section had changed.
It should be because the oceanic pathways had not yet been connected.
Although all the cities awakened this time were located in the Sandstone Sea, some nearby cities had already had their barriers merge together. They no longer appeared as isolated as before.
But without a connection to the Royal City, they could not be considered a complete territory.
Without an increase in territory size, the civilization’s prosperity could not increase either.
Therefore, she had to connect the oceanic pathways as soon as possible.
And connecting the oceanic pathways required Action Points.
Wendy looked at the pitiful 73 Action Points remaining on her main panel and quickly switched to the [Civilization] section.
The military strength panel had changed.
[Civilization – Military Strength: Train the Army (Current Progress: 4)]
[Sea Hunter Legion]: 300,000
Combat Power: 6
Commander: Tuolie Suola
[Guard Army]: 200,000
Combat Power: 4
Commander: Naqimusher
Wendy looked at the information displayed on the panel and was somewhat surprised.
The 15 Sea Hunter clan cities she had previously awakened had a combined population of 550,000.
She had originally assumed that no more than 300,000 would be selected for the military.
She had not expected there to be as many as 500,000.
That meant only 50,000 Sea Hunters had either not participated in the selection or had failed to be chosen.
She checked the Sea Hunters who had not been selected.
Almost all of them were underage children or elderly people in the twilight of their lives.
Wendy looked at the two armies that had been selected.
In the decree she had issued to Hega Luoyin, she had only said that she wanted a unified elite force that abandoned the divisions between clans.
So there should have been only one army.
Yet two had emerged.
It was obvious that Tuolie Suola and Naqimusher had hesitated, discussed the matter, and made this decision themselves.
As for why they had made such a choice, Wendy clicked on the detailed information of the two armies and immediately understood.
There was a significant difference in the combat strength and composition of the two armies.
The Sea Hunter Legion commanded by Tuolie Suola consisted entirely of strong, prime-aged Sea Hunters with the highest combat ability.
They were the elite force selected according to Wendy’s requirements.
The Guard Army commanded by Naqimusher was older on average. Their teeth had also suffered varying degrees of wear.
Their combat abilities had declined to some extent, but they were still capable of going onto the battlefield and killing enemies.
The Sea Hunters were a race of warriors in which everyone was a soldier, and throughout their lives, becoming a warrior was regarded as an honor.
Wendy did not need to think to know what had happened.
Once news of the military selection spread, the Sea Hunter branches from all fifteen clan cities had undoubtedly rushed toward the Royal City.
Tuolie Suola and Naqimusher had probably been unable to persuade them otherwise, so they had no choice but to divide them into a second army.
The Sea Hunter Legion had been selected according to Wendy’s wishes.
Their mission was to eradicate the Xenotypes throughout the seas.
The weaker Guard Army would be responsible for guarding the cities and protecting the Divine Attendants.
It was a very reasonable arrangement.
Wendy smiled lightly. After clicking [Act as Proxy], she scanned the seas and found Tuolie Suola in the Royal City.
Inside the training grounds, the red-haired mermaid was clad in crystal armor and holding an axe-like weapon. She hovered above the group of Sea Hunters, apparently conducting military training.
Wendy issued her the mission.
This was the first time the red-haired mermaid had received an imperial decree through [Act as Proxy], and she was visibly stunned.
She stood there in a daze for a while. Then, after glancing at the Sea Hunter soldiers below, who had shown no reaction whatsoever, she tentatively looked upward.
Was that the King’s voice just now?
The King is above the surface of the sea, yet she can directly transmit her decree into our minds?
But why does she want Divine Attendants assigned to the army?
Psychic energy may be powerful, but the Sea Spirits have such weak physiques. They’re so delicate and frail. If we’re hunting Xenotypes, wouldn’t weapons imbued with psychic energy be enough?
The red-haired mermaid tilted her head, seemingly unable to figure it out.
Nevertheless, she followed the decree and swam toward the temple in the upper city.
A point of light floated out from her body and transformed into Faith, which was added to Wendy’s panel.
Wendy glanced at it before exiting the Sea of Consciousness.
From the bed across the room came the rustling sound of someone getting dressed.
It was almost midnight, and Mingmei had already gotten up to prepare for her night patrol duty.
There were still four hours before the alarm would ring.
The violent wind and rain were completely blocked by the sturdy alloy hull.
The dormitory remained dark and peaceful, with only the surging waves of the vast ocean continuing to crash against the vessel.
She closed her eyes and sank into a deep sleep.