Spellcasting Gods

The reason is very simple: it's basically no different from some religions that have parents bring their children to worship and participate in various brainwashing-style scripture readings, thus having an irreversible impact on them.

Children raised in this environment will naturally choose to support the religion they have been taught since childhood and the gods worshipped by that religion.

In short, to gain a devout faith, one needs to create an environment where believers can influence and interact with each other.

Generally speaking, unless the scale is particularly small, there is a certain chance that every secret gathering will be discovered by the outside world.

"The Hermitage?"

Adam on the electronic screen unconsciously frowned, as if he was thinking about something.

After about two or three minutes, he sent over a document and explained in a deep voice, "The Secret Order is an organization that only started operating six years ago. Initially, it was very small and didn't attract my attention. However, they quickly expanded in the eastern continent of North America and currently control more than ten pirate ships, two important ports, and a large number of bandits and gang members. Is there anything suspicious about them that has caught your attention?"

“Yes! As far as I know, this organization has been buying up children under the age of ten. Isn’t that enough to warrant serious attention?” Zhang Cheng asked directly.

He could hardly believe that Adam, who never made a mistake, could have made such a big blunder.

"I'm sorry, Master, I don't think this is anything to worry about. You probably don't know, but the world is no longer what it was before the asteroid impact. Things like human trafficking are nothing compared to this. According to my rough estimate, there are currently about 470 million people in the world, and more than 40 million of them are slaves. That means that on average, more than 1.3 million people are bought and sold like livestock every year. There are countless organizations and individuals around the world that traffic in children like this." Adam spoke calmly about the cruel reality of the world today.

"One million three hundred thousand a year?" Zhang Cheng raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Adam nodded immediately: "Yes! One million three hundred thousand. Of course, this is just the number of transactions, not that one million three hundred thousand people are forced into slavery every year. Many of them are transferred from one slave owner to another. But since you are interested in the Hermitage, I will focus my attention on them from now on, and I will inform you if there is anything suspicious."

"Well, it seems the new era is much worse than I expected. Perhaps we should accelerate the pace of civilization's evolution a little." Zhang Cheng stroked his chin, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Undoubtedly, given the current harsh living conditions and the poor traffic and security situation, finding those gods hiding in the shadows is no easy task.

However, if a few powerful conquerors establish several strong empires around the world and significantly improve agriculture and technology, the population will grow rapidly, and it will not be so easy to spread faith secretly at that time.

With this in mind, he immediately pulled up a map showing the distribution of major powers around the world and began looking for candidates, intending to support them and make them the founding emperors of one empire after another.

Of course, he didn't intend to give up on the Secret Order either, and planned to investigate it thoroughly along this lead first.

……

Time flies, and half a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

After resting in Grindt Harbor for half a month, Joanna finally couldn't stand the loneliness and boredom. She piloted the Sea Serpent back to the vast sea, intending to plunder passing merchant ships along the northward route and then go to Manchas Harbor in the north to see the famous Colosseum.

It is famous because the competitions held here are not like those in other places, where slave gladiators fight each other, or at most, with some ferocious beasts like lions, tigers, and bears. Instead, magical monsters from another world fight against humans, making the cruelty and bloodshed far greater than the former.

Almost every contestant possesses extremely powerful supernatural abilities; otherwise, they would not have been able to defeat a monster that is twenty or thirty times their size.

Just as Zhang Cheng was sitting alone on the deck, enjoying the refreshing sea breeze on his face, he suddenly heard the lookout shout at the top of his lungs, "Target spotted on port! It's a merchant ship!"

"What? A merchant ship!" Joanna's eyes immediately lit up with excitement.

After all, she had never successfully robbed a merchant ship since declaring herself a pirate, so she immediately became excited.

The pirates, busy on deck, were equally excited.

For them, successfully plundering a merchant ship not only meant a large share of the spoils, but also a lavish meal and unlimited wine after the battle.

Soon, thanks to its larger and more numerous sails and streamlined hull, the crew of the Sea Serpent finally spotted a medium-sized merchant ship, almost half the size of their own, on the distant horizon.

Despite its small size, the ship had an unusually round belly, clearly designed to carry more cargo, and its sailing speed was extremely slow.

As the two sides drew closer, the pirates could even see the desperate expressions on the sailors' faces on the other side's deck.

"Hahahaha! Look at those poor bastards! They're almost scared to death!" Ross, who had just been promoted to boatswain, grinned and laughed loudly without restraint.

"We're so lucky! We actually managed to capture a merchant ship that couldn't put up any resistance!"

"Hopefully the goods up there won't be too disappointing!"

"Damn it! This is a medium-sized cargo ship! Even if it's filled with the cheapest grain, we can still make a fortune."

……

Amidst the pirates' cacophony of shouts, they clearly regarded each other as prey, itching to rush forward and take a bite.

But the ship's owner wasn't a fool. He started loudly ordering his men to throw crates of heavy cargo into the sea in an attempt to lighten the load and increase the ship's speed, otherwise they would be in serious trouble if they were caught.

Before they could throw many arrows, the experienced pirates of the Sea Serpent used the ballistae at the bow of the ship to fire arrows with ropes attached to the ends. Then, with the help of the winch, they forcibly pulled the two ships closer together. With extremely skillful movements, they boarded the ship and rushed up to slaughter the crew members who tried to resist. In less than ten minutes, they had taken control of the entire ship...

Chapter 0965 Life is Like a Play

"Unbelievable! This is actually a cargo ship carrying coconut wine and iron ingots!"

"Hahaha! We're rich!"

"Yes! Just tens of tons of iron ingots are worth a lot of money! I can't believe we've been so lucky."

"Don't forget about coconut wine! I can't wait to open a barrel and drink it all."

……

As soon as Zhang Cheng stepped onto the deck of the merchant ship, he heard the excited cheers of the pirates around him.

After all, not every attack on a merchant ship yields such a substantial reward as this one.

Especially the wooden barrels filled with coconut wine piled up in the cargo hold were a deadly temptation for the monotonous life of long-term drifting at sea.

Many veteran pirates would rather go a whole day without food than not have a sip of alcohol to numb their senses.

Given how difficult their lives were, and how they never knew when they might die from something trivial, alcohol became an indispensable part of their lives.

Joanna glanced at the sailors and merchants kneeling on the deck, their eyes filled with despair, and deliberately raised her chin to ask in a haughty manner, "Who among you is the owner of this ship?"

“It’s me!” A middle-aged man who looked to be around forty years old, with his hair neatly combed, cautiously raised his head and responded.

"Which chamber of commerce do you belong to?" Joanna asked, staring intently at the other person.

As a noblewoman, the biggest difference between her and ordinary pirates is that she understands which merchant guilds, large and small, in this sea area can be provoked and which cannot be touched at all, otherwise they will surely die without a burial place.

In particular, several royal families in the western continent have a large number of loyal and powerful superhumans. If they are angered, they will immediately face terrible retaliation.

"Pelican Merchant Guild! Please don't hurt me! I'm willing to write to my family and ask them to pay an extra three thousand gold coins as ransom." The middle-aged man's voice was filled with fear.

Because he had already recognized the infamous Sea Serpent, and whoever the ship's current owner was, he was certainly more powerful than the undead captain, Ryans.

“Okay! I accept your conditions!” Joanna nodded seriously, then instructed the pirate next to her, “Go, prepare a slightly better cabin for this gentleman, and send him food and water on time every day. Make sure nothing happens to him.”

"Hehe! Don't worry, Captain, this is three thousand gold coins. I'd rather go hungry myself than let him go hungry." The burly man with a full beard grinned as he escorted the merchant to the lower deck and locked him up.

As for the remaining sailors who were unable to pay the exorbitant ransom, they had two choices: either join the pirates and become part of the ship, or be imprisoned and sold as slaves to merchants at the next port.

In fact, due to the extreme scarcity of labor, the slave trade is currently very prosperous worldwide, and most people are used to it.

This has nothing to do with good or evil or morality; it is simply a stage that a civilization inevitably goes through in its evolution.

Without a doubt, almost all the sailors on merchant ships chose to become pirates rather than become pathetic slaves.

The reason is very simple: being a pirate at least allows you to control your own destiny, but once you become a slave, you'll live your whole life at the mercy of your master. If you're lucky enough to find a less tyrannical master, you might live peacefully until you're around fifty. But if you encounter a sadist who tortures people, you'll probably wish you were dead.

Of course, being a pirate isn't easy.

When the next boarding action arrives, they will be used as cannon fodder and be among the first to board the enemy ship.

Unless they kill at least one enemy and survive, they will be reduced to the lowest of slaves on the ship.

After receiving the cargo manifest from the merchant ship, Joanna smiled smugly and asked Zhang Cheng, "What do you think of our first job?"

"Not bad! Once all the goods are sold, I believe you won't have to worry about money for a long time," Zhang Cheng replied casually.

Clearly, he had no interest in the robbery whatsoever, nor did he care how much of the spoils he would receive.

"And what about you? Half of this money is yours." Joanna smoothed her long, fiery red hair and winked playfully.

"Me? If nothing unexpected happens, we'll have to part ways after we arrive at Port Manchas." Zhang Cheng stated his intentions directly.

The Hermitage!

This mysterious organization had always instilled in him a strange desire to find out more about it.

According to the information provided by Adam, the Hermitage first appeared in Port Manchas.

Although it continued to expand southward, the place where it first appeared must have been hiding some unspeakable secrets.

"Leave? Why!" Joanna's smiling face suddenly showed a look of astonishment.

“I have some important personal matters to attend to. Besides, haven’t you already awakened your own power?” Zhang Cheng stared into the girl’s eyes with a half-smile.

Joanna's expression changed slightly: "When did you find out?"

"From the moment you awakened. Okay, let's leave this topic here to avoid making things awkward for both of us. Finally, here's a piece of advice: don't be overconfident in your beauty and intelligence. Not all men only think with their lower bodies, and not all of them are fools who will be manipulated by your little tricks."

After saying this meaningful sentence, Zhang Cheng smiled knowingly, turned around, and disappeared into the dark cabin.

An innocent, lovely, kind, and beautiful noble lady?

Don't be silly!

The elite education practiced by the ruling class of this world determines that their character may contain traits such as madness, greed, cruelty, and cunning, but they can never be stupid.

Joanna's seemingly harmless demeanor is actually a deliberate act.

Even in front of her loyal servants, she was always putting on an act, pretending to be kind, mischievous, and rebellious.

To put it bluntly, it's about creating a persona for yourself and then treating life like a performance.

Only in this way could she win her father's favor and lower the guard of her ambitious siblings, preventing them from seeing her as a threat.

Unfortunately, for Zhang Cheng, who can directly read other people's thoughts, no matter how superb his acting skills are, they are useless.

"Damn it! How dare he!"

Joanna clenched her fists tightly, her eyes blazing with terrifying fury, and her sweet smile twisted into a grimace.

But she quickly regained her usual elegant and charming expression, muttering to herself in a voice only she could hear, "No one can refuse me! You will pay the price! A very heavy price..."

Chapter 0966 Joanna's Revenge

Since the "darling of heaven" facade was exposed, the two have not spoken a single word to each other.

This bizarre situation caused great unease among everyone, including Old Banku, who were eager to find out what had gone wrong between the two and whether there would be a rift or a fight on the ship.

If it really happens, which side should I stand on?

Fortunately, all their worries were unnecessary, and the anticipated infighting did not occur until they arrived safely at Port Manchas.

Zhang Cheng didn't even bother to collect his share of the spoils. He left the Sea Serpent alone and disappeared into the chaotic city alleys.

He had no idea that shortly after he left, Joanna visited the city's most powerful slave owner, known as "Smiling Willie."