Gospel of Blood

“Faith Network?”

Seeing the new ability that appeared on the Gospel of Blood, Charlotte was momentarily stunned.

She closed her eyes and sensed it, then surprisingly discovered that she seemed to have really woven a vast “network.”

In the depths of her consciousness, the starlight symbolizing her followers had changed. Around each starlight, a network resembling constellations had formed, linking all the starlights together, ultimately converging onto Charlotte as the core.

At the very center of this core was Charlotte’s heart, or more accurately, the illusory crystal of the internal flame in her heart, akin to a divine spark and divine fire from Western fantasy stories.

This network used the statues worshipped by the demi-human tribes as nodes, resembling mobile device base stations, connecting many followers through the statues.

Charlotte discovered that through this network, she could easily extend her power to every “connected” statue and project her power onto the followers near each statue via the statues.

It was like a mobile signal.

Of course, this was just a crude analogy. In Charlotte’s perception, each follower was actually a “base station” as well, capable of receiving and sending her “signal”, albeit with varying strength. Even the weakest signal was far more efficient than the previous crude method of connecting to followers via starlight symbols and projecting power.

Charlotte tried a bit, using the newly appeared faith network to cast her sight on Luff, Sebastian, and Yurst.

She was astonished to find that connecting with them through the faith network almost did not consume any blood divine power!

To make a comparison, before, contacting followers and subordinates was like shouting across a distance, requiring effort to transmit her voice. But now, it was as if she had a phone, needing only to speak in a normal volume.

“This faith network… is impressive!”

Charlotte couldn’t help but exclaim.

At this moment, a new line of text appeared before her eyes—

【The Gospel of Blood detects an active faith network—】

【Faith Network Owner: Charlotte de Castell (Master of the Gospel)】

【Current Network Status: Semi-activated】

【Fully activate it?】

Fully activate?

Charlotte was momentarily stunned again.

After a moment of contemplation, she tried to choose activation in the depths of her consciousness.

In the next instant, the faith network in her consciousness emitted a faint light, and simultaneously, Charlotte sensed her connection with her followers strengthening further.

She showed a curious expression, intending to study it closely, but then an overwhelming flood of voices surged into her consciousness.

“Praise you! Great True Ancestor of Blood, bless me to mine more mithril ore today!”

“My Lord! Please hear your humble follower’s voice and grant me the possibility of bloodline awakening!”

“Great True Ancestor of Blood, I confess to you…”

“Almighty Lord, I…”

“……”

All sorts of prayers from all directions penetrated into Charlotte’s mind, making her startled and quickly adjust the faith network back to semi-activated status.

This time, the prayers gradually faded away, replaced by the continuously flickering starlight in the faith network.

Each flicker of starlight indicated someone praying to her.

Some were strong, some were weak.

“Phew, that’s much better.”

Charlotte sighed in relief.

She wanted to check how much divine power she had consumed to activate the faith network just now, but when she delved into the Gospel of Blood, she found that the accumulated blood divine power had disappeared.

“Hmm? Where did the divine power go?”

Charlotte frowned slightly.

After some thought, she consciously mobilized the blood divine power and discovered that she could still summon the power.

However, this power no longer came from the blood divine power stored in the Gospel of Blood but from her heart!

Or more precisely, from the semi-transparent crystal in her heart that seemed both real and illusory.

Charlotte’s heart skipped a beat as she carefully perceived it, then found that the divine power in the Gospel of Blood hadn’t vanished but had transferred.

The divine power had moved into the crystal with the internal golden flame, merging with the divine power stored in the ancient statue, forming what seemed like a divine power reservoir.

At the same time, this divine power reservoir was connected to Charlotte’s faith network.

Charlotte sensed that the cumulative divine power in the reservoir was approximately the total of the previous Gospel of Blood and the ancient statue’s divine power, roughly 2000 points, enough for her to squander in full True Ancestor state for over half an hour.

“So… could this illusory crystal really be a divine spark? And that flame the divine flame?”

Charlotte’s expression was peculiar.

“Then what am I now? Bloodborne? The Master of the Gospel of Blood? Or… ‘God’?”

She mumbled to herself, perceiving her power, and found that without using divine power, she was still the same little weakling with only Silver Moon strength.

Charlotte was somewhat confused about her current state.

What was this?

Schrödinger’s God?

Demigod?

False God?

Charlotte’s expression was odd, and at this moment, she suddenly had a thought.

In her perception, a starlight in the faith network suddenly flickered, and Charlotte keenly sensed weak energy flowing into the divine power reservoir in her heart through the faith network.

Although very weak, so weak that it was barely noticeable without sharp perception, and even magnifying it tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousandfold might not amount to a single point of divine power, Charlotte could be sure that her divine power reservoir had increased by a tiny bit.

She suddenly became energized, realizing some sort of possibility. She quickly immersed herself in her consciousness, tracing the source of that energy.

Following the faith network, Charlotte easily traced back to the flickering starlight. When she projected her consciousness there, her vision changed instantly.

She “saw” a forest where a fierce beast lay on the ground with a spear embedded in it, and a rough-looking werewolf stood on the beast’s corpse, panting heavily.

His breath was unstable, and his entire body seemed to pulsate with strong extraordinary power. The wounds on his body were wriggling with granulation tissue, slowly healing.

She saw him forcefully pull out the spear, causing a spray of blood. Then he extended his other hand and awkwardly drew the thorny rose symbol on his chest, saying in a deep voice.

“Praise the True Ancestor of Blood for granting me courage!”

Sensing the aura from the werewolf, Charlotte immediately realized what had happened.

“It’s a werewolf believer fighting a beast in the forest. He just broke through to the Starry Sky tier in a moment of crisis…”

“So, the power the faith network collected just now was the extraordinary power that burst out when he broke through?”

Charlotte was certain that it wasn’t faith power.

More precisely, she didn’t know what faith power was. Since transmigrated, she had never heard of it.

In this world, there might not be any faith power like the one in the Western fantasies she had read about. The power just now was purely extraordinary power, the energy that erupted when an extraordinary being broke through.

With some guesses in mind, Charlotte carefully sensed the faith network again.

This time, she discovered many things.

For example, her faith network was actually connected to the bloodline and life of all her followers, seemingly linked through the soul and the body.

Moreover, the more devout the believer, the closer the connection.

This connection was the pathway of the faith network. Charlotte could bestow power to her followers through this pathway and also absorb power from them.

At this point, information about the faith network in the Gospel of Blood continued to emerge, as if it had finally completed verification and loading.

【Faith Network: The Master of the Gospel has the ability to weave a faith network. Through the faith of followers, the network can be woven, constructing faith nodes. By connecting to the followers, the master can bestow divine blessings, cultivate and absorb extraordinary power, and retrieve souls and divine grace upon the followers’ deaths.】

Cultivate and absorb extraordinary power?

Retrieve souls and divine grace?

Reading the description of the new ability, Charlotte was slightly taken aback.

She squinted her eyes, her expression somewhat enigmatic.

“So… the Gods develop followers to establish close ties with them, to have the followers helping them cultivate?”

“And this… is the secret of the Gods?”

Charlotte almost immediately recalled some words that Nice had once said.

“Gods are Gods, faith is faith. Master Cat once heard someone say that Gods are just a bunch of hypocritical, selfish parasites.”

“Parasites… if Gods develop followers to absorb their extraordinary power, that indeed sounds parasitic.”

Charlotte muttered to herself.

Of course, that’s one way to look at it, but not all followers are extraordinary beings; most are ordinary people.

“Ordinary people… for them, if they are devout believers, their souls will return to the divine kingdom after death.”

“So, for ordinary people, it’s about retrieving their souls after they die?”

“Soul power is also a type of extraordinary power, varying in strength from person to person…”

“Gods develop followers, and the followers who possess extraordinary power will provide feedback to the Gods as they enhance their extraordinary power. After the followers’ death, their souls are retrieved by the Gods.”

At this moment, Charlotte finally understood the secret of the Gods.

“No wonder, no wonder the Gods develop followers. Although there’s no concept of faith power, developing followers is indeed a part of strengthening themselves!”

“This is like herding sheep. Extraordinary beings absorb the ambient magical power, or extraordinary power, like sheep grazing and growing wool.”

“And Gods who have established a faith network can absorb some energy during this process, similar to shearing wool.”

“When followers die, it’s like sheep being harvested. The Gods retrieve the souls and residual extraordinary power.”

“This also aligns with the need for funeral rites after followers’ deaths.”

“All churches proclaim that after the funeral rites, the deceased’s soul can find peace, and the remaining extraordinary power in the body can be purified…”

“But in reality, the funeral rites likely ‘guide’ the souls of the followers back to the Gods’ divine kingdom, with extraordinary power being retrieved through the faith network!”

“Of course, this is a win-win for both mortals and Gods because if the extraordinary power in the corpses is not retrieved, it would probably turn into undead.”

“The Gods bestow divine blessings and protection to their followers in exchange for their souls after death and their extraordinary power during life!”

At this moment, Charlotte had an epiphany.

Indeed, the best way to fully understand something is to personally engage with it and even become it.

Previously, Charlotte had only a vague idea about the secrets of Gods and followers, but she never truly understood it.

Now, with the faith network, everything has become clear.

“The method for bloodborne to enhance their power is probably similar. Bloodborne myths rarely care about spreading faith, but they place great importance on the evolution of their descendants…”

“The bloodline of bloodbornes is essentially another form of faith network. My ability to devour other bloodbornes’ bloodline power through the Gospel of Blood is proof of that.”

“In other words, for bloodbornes, the role of descendants likely replaces that of followers!”

Charlotte’s thoughts expanded further.

Simultaneously, she understood why Nice said it didn’t matter if faith was corrupted, because the Gods truly didn’t worry about it.

The Gods only needed their followers to believe in them enough to establish a connection. Even if faith changed, as long as it was directed toward the Gods, the connection remained.

And with the connection intact, Gods could continue to draw power from their followers.

From the function of the faith network, the status of Gods and followers is not equal. Gods can completely control the life and death of their followers, which aligns with the stories Charlotte had read about Gods falling and followers going mad or dying en masse.

But then again, how could the powerful and the weak ever be equal?

Mortals seeking protection and extraordinary power from Gods must pay a corresponding price.

“My current state is probably closer to being a God. Although I’m not a true God, I can’t be regarded as mortal either.”

“Gods, divine power, faith, divine kingdoms… if I have to say, what I lack now is a divine kingdom. Perhaps… that’s the essential difference between me and a true God?”

Charlotte pondered.

She still had many questions about Gods that she couldn’t answer.

However, one thing was certain.

With the faith network, developing followers must be prioritized.

Although there’s no evidence, Charlotte had a strong feeling that she had now embarked on the true path to becoming a God…