Chapter 189 Sea Beast Priest Illaoi
Both Lina and Jinx tried hard to appear comfortable and natural during the "video call".
It was as if they had never met any Tam at all.
Levi was silent for a while.
Then he said directly: "Lina, did you meet the toad?"
“Brother…” Lina was speechless for a moment.
She wanted to say something else, but Levi just said, "I'm flying to Bilgewater now. It might take half a day."
"No, don't come!" Lina panicked.
She already knew how powerful Tam was. Aside from Janna herself, no one among the Wind Leaders could possibly defeat him.
Levi couldn't either.
"I have a way!" Levi only told her: "In the past thousands of years, Goddess Janna has actually had many dealings with Tam. I am the Chosen One of Janna, and I have a way to stop him."
"But Lina, you have to hold on until I come—"
"You must not agree to any deal with Tam! Absolutely! Do you understand?"
"Tahm Kench is a picky demon. As long as you can resist the temptation of desire, he will not devour your soul!"
"I..." Lina bit her lips tightly: "I know."
Her tone was not firm.
But Levi told her, "I believe in you, Lina. You are a determined leader. You can do it."
"Yeah." Lina slowly clenched her fists and nodded seriously.
Soon, Li Wei hung up the "phone". The "video" ended, and the Blue Bird incarnation disappeared.
"Huh..." Lina breathed a sigh of relief.
Half a day, as long as she can hold on for another half a day, resist the temptation of desire, and refuse to make a deal with Tam, Levi will come to save her.
This didn't seem difficult for her.
Isn't it just the instinctive desire of human beings? Which leader can't stand such a test?
Not to mention her, an old member, even Jinx...
"Oh, Jinx!" Lina suddenly realized that Jinx's situation might be more dangerous than hers.
Can this little girl resist the desires amplified by the devil?
"Jinx, you have to control yourself."
"Don't let desire control you, understand?"
"I understand!" Jinx said as he touched Lina's calves curled up on the sofa.
Lina: “…”
Jinx: “…”
And in this awkward silence...
A wave of water suddenly appeared on the ground, and the fat head of a fat catfish suddenly popped out from the muddy water.
The big toad, no, it was Tam Kench, appeared again uninvited in such a strange way.
"You?!" Lina's scalp went numb with fear.
But she still instinctively protected Jinx.
Jinx has been controlled by desire and has become a captive of this demon.
"Devil! I won't let you near my sister!"
Tam was silent for a while.
Then, he actually cursed in a Zuan dialect that Lina was very friendly with: "Who the hell wants to eat that crazy girl?"
"This guy's only wish is to make love with you! Such a low-level desire is not worth being 'cultivated' at all!"
Tam looked at Jinx with disdain, as if he was reflecting on his own misjudgment.
Then, he turned his greedy eyes to Lina: "My target is you, Lina!"
"Lina, do you crave power?"
"I..." Lina certainly wanted it. She wanted it so badly.
When Tam asked this question, her heart was already pounding with excitement.
"But I won't make a deal with you, absolutely not!" Lina gritted her teeth and said, "I will never give in to desire and sell my soul to the devil."
"Really?" Tam laughed, "What if I give you a power for free?"
"For free?" Lina couldn't help but be surprised.
"Yes, just like the small cups of drinks provided for free in stores, it's a free trial package." Tam tempted with a kind tone: "Don't you want to try it out and see how it feels to be a superhuman?"
"I..." She was actually a little moved.
But Lina quickly realized that this was the same trick that Tam used in the story of "Two Coats" to deceive the female inventor and exchange her hair for invention ideas.
At first it was hair, and then when they wanted to trade, they started asking for fingers and ears.
To put it bluntly, it means first giving the target some sweetness to make them addicted and then slowly corroding the target's soul, causing them to gradually degenerate.
"I won't fall for it!" Lina gritted her teeth and said, "Go away, I don't want anything from you!"
"My brother is the chosen one of Goddess Janna, and I am also a believer of Goddess Janna. We are not afraid of you, devil!"
"Janna..." Hearing this name, Tam's expression was a little fearful.
But he soon opened his bloody mouth and grinned at Lina, saying: "Lina, since you think you are a devout believer and believe in your own will so much, why don't you try my power?"
"You know the rules—"
"As long as you can resist the temptation of desire after gaining power and don't ask for more from me, I won't do anything to you anymore."
"You can gain extraordinary power without having to pay me anything extra. Isn't that good?"
Lina: “I…”
She actually hesitated again. She knew that the other party was a demon and knew the danger behind this smile, but she was still uncontrollably affected by this voice.
"Take it." Tam was as enthusiastic as if he was selling insurance. "Just in time... your friends need you now."
"If you get my power, you can accomplish great deeds and become the hero you've always dreamed of."
Lina was slightly stunned when she heard this.
"My friend needs me..." She was keenly aware of something: "What do you mean?"
"Hahahaha." Tam laughed heartily: "I can tell you a piece of news for free--"
"Your friends who went to negotiate with the Baju people are now in big trouble."
…
A long time ago, on the other side.
Sarah changed into her old pirate outfit, and Zack also covered his conspicuous "jelly" figure with a robe.
The group quietly passed through the chaotic streets of Bilgewater and arrived at the Snake Mother Temple built on the mountain by the Baru people without any trouble.
This is the territory of the Baju people, and outsiders rarely come here.
Sarah had only seen this place from afar before and had never actually visited it.
This time, as an envoy of the Leader Association and a believer of another true God, she was a little nervous.
This tension became even stronger after seeing the leader of the Baru people, the famous sea beast priest in Port Birch.
This [Sea Beast Priest] Ms. Illaoi... let's just call her Ms.
When she appeared in front of Sarah and the others, carrying the heavy statue of the god, with her tall, muscular body erect,... except for Zack, no one in the team could surpass her in size and aura.
Not to mention, Sarah knew very well that Illaoi and her group of Baru priests called "Snake Callers" possessed terrifying magic that far surpassed that of mortals.
Every year, Bilgewater faces a tide of sea beasts and even the undead fog of the Shadow Isles. Every time, it is the Baru priests who are as powerful as monsters who help Bilgewater block these monsters.
So Sarah was very cautious in front of Ornn.
"Are you followers of Janna?" After they revealed their identities to each other, Illaoi asked straight to the point.
"Yes," Sarah answered carefully.
“My Lord does not like your God,” Illaoi said bluntly. “She uses the storm as her name, but she does not know that the storm is just a form of movement.”
"Haha..." Sarah could only smile awkwardly. She just felt that Illaoi was mysterious.
"But..." Unexpectedly, Illaoi suddenly took out a booklet and handed it to Sarah.
"You have written a good pamphlet."
Sarah took it and took a look. It was the "Brief Introduction of Janna's Thought" that the Leaders Association had sent to Port Birmingham before.
When Illaoi handed her the booklet, she happened to have turned to the chapter on "The View of the Jannaist Movement."
"Motion is the inherent quality and mode of existence of matter. It is the fundamental attribute inherent in matter. There is no matter without motion, and there is no motion without matter..."
Without even looking at it, Illaoi memorized the passages by heart.
She had evidently read the pamphlet carefully.
"It seems that your god has made progress. She can already see through Nagakabouros's true intentions, which is very good."
Illaoi expressed her goodwill to Sarah .
Sarah finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Will the great Nagakabouros allow the Wind Leader to exist ?"
Seeing that Ornn's attitude was relatively friendly, she went straight to the point and stated the conditions that the Leader was pursuing.
The Baru people are the real masters of the Python Islands.
If the Windleader wants to seize Bilgewater from Gangplank and expand his influence to the Serpentine Islands, he must first seek the opinions of the Baru people, or to be more precise, the snake mother Nagakabouros.
The Snake Mother's opinion is:
"We can allow the Windleader to exist in Bilgewater."
"As long as you stick to the true meaning of Nagakaporos and do not interfere with the lives of us, the native people of Baru."
"Of course!" Sarah nodded in surprise.
She also solemnly promised: "Our power will only exist in Bilgewater Port, and we will never try to change the way of life of the indigenous people of the entire Python Islands outside of Bilgewater Port."
Yes, although the Leader has the belief of liberating the world, Levi has no intention of "liberating" these Baju people and changing their lifestyle and social system.
This was not a compromise Levi made to please the Snake Mother.
It’s just that…when it comes to the issue of “liberation”, we need to analyze specific issues specifically in different regions and social backgrounds.
In Zaun, defeating the Chem-Baron is a liberation.
In Noxus, overthrowing the landlords and distributing the land to serfs was considered liberation.
But in the Python Islands...these Baru indigenous people still live in primitive tribal society.
Moreover, they are a maritime fishing and hunting people who are completely independent of the land.
what does that mean?
This means that they have not even established their own personal land-dependence relationship.
The most basic unit of the Baru society is not the business owners, the nobles, or the landlords, but the clans that have almost completely disappeared in Zaun.
People are divided into different tribes, clans, lineages and families from top to bottom based on blood relations.
The family, as the smallest production unit of the Baru people, has at least dozens or hundreds of people.
In order to hunt ferocious sea beasts at sea, these family members must work together.
We work together and share the rewards together.
Fishing gear, weapons, boats, these production tools all belong to the entire family.
As individuals, family members have almost no private property that belongs to them alone.
In other words…these Baru people don’t need to be liberated at all, they are already publicly owned.
It’s just the public ownership of primitive tribes.
If the leader gets carried away and copies the experience of other regions to "liberate" these Baru natives, then this embarrassing situation will definitely occur:
"Why did you beat up my clan leader and then give me our clan's ship?"
"Yes, now I have my own ship. But can I still go out to sea and kill sea beasts alone without cooperating with my family?"
To put it more extremely, this is like killing someone else's father for no apparent reason and then dividing up his property.
Except for some cases of loving fathers and filial sons, most people would not be grateful for this kind of "liberation".
Only by improving the productivity of the Python Islands and completely changing the original production method based on tribes and families can the Baru people truly integrate into the life of modern industrial civilization.
But now... Levi obviously doesn't want to risk offending all the Baru people and help them achieve such a radical change.
"Don't worry, Priest Illaoi."
“President Levi told us before we set out:”
“Leaders must always adhere to the principle of seeking truth from facts and analyze specific issues in specific ways.”
“Don’t think of yourself as a beacon of civilization, or the world’s policeman, or as if your system is the most perfect in the world and can be copied to any place in Runeterra without any adjustments.”
"This is an ignorant arrogance, and we will not make this mistake."
Sarah explained to Illaoi and made such a promise.
“That’s good.” Illaoi said calmly, “As long as you don’t interfere with the lives of the Baru people, we will not interfere with your actions in Bilgewater either.”
The two sides seemed to have reached a consensus so easily.
But Ornn added: "But all this is based on the premise that you can really understand Nagakabouros's true intentions."
"Of course we understand..." Sarah quickly raised the booklet in her hand: " Haven't you also read the theory of Goddess Janna?"
"The article is indeed well written. But the true meaning is useless if it is written on paper. It only has meaning if it is imprinted in the soul."
"So, if you want to gain our trust, you must pass the trial of Nagakabouros."
“Only if the Snake Mother recognizes you can we become friends,” Illaoi said.
"The Trial of Nagakabouros..." Sarah was confused: "What is the Trial?"
"It's simple." Bang -
Illaoi slammed the idol she was carrying to the ground:
"I will summon the tentacles of the Snake Mother to whip your souls that have been extracted by divine power."
"As long as you can survive, you will have passed the test. From now on, the Snake Mother will protect you."
"If you don't survive, your souls will be sacrificed to the Great Snake Mother."
Sarah, Zack, and the sailors: "..."
There was a delicate silence.
Then Sarah swallowed awkwardly and asked, "Has anyone tried this trial before?"
“Of course,” Illaoi replied. “Many people have tried, including me.”
Only those who pass the trial can be recognized by the Snake Mother, be granted divine power by her, and become sea beast priests.
“I survived,” Illaoi said.
The priests around her said the same thing.
“…” Sarah’s mouth twitched.
Nonsense! If you hadn't survived, would you still be standing here and talking?
"I think we need to think about this matter again... Perhaps, we can try a more gentle way of communication? You see, as long as we pray in our hearts, we can communicate with Goddess Janna. Maybe Nagakabouros can also..."
“No!” Illaoi interrupted her coldly: “It seems that your understanding of the true meaning is far from firm enough.”
"Please go back, you are not welcome here!"
