The dying succubus was still trying to persuade the abuser to put down his weapon. Meixiu Kant looked at the group of his kin, tears streaming down their faces in pain, unable to fight back, and felt goosebumps erupt all over his body.
"Truly terrifying," Meixiu Kant flicked the blood from his whip, his expression obscure. "What a twisted and selfish kindness. Now I understand why the Abyss consciousness allowed you to become a lord."
"What are you doing?" a similarly distorted six-armed snake demon shrieked and lunged forward. Meixiu Kant immediately retreated, avoiding these soulless husks.
"They just want to love you! Is there anything wrong with that?"
The six-armed snake demon embraced the dead succubus and wept bitterly, screaming hoarsely, "Why is your heart as cold as stone? Don't you ever feel lonely and in need of care?"
A half-dead succubus dragged its broken body to Meixiu Kant. The six-armed snake demon, ignoring its accusations towards Meixiu Kant, immediately reached out and snapped the succubus's neck.
"My dear sister, please forgive me." The six-armed snake demon's sorrow was so genuine. "I cannot bear to see you in such pain. Rest in peace! May all your troubles and sorrows depart, and I will carry your life forward and live it earnestly!"
This absurd scene was playing out everywhere, committing evil in the name of love, and then sincerely repenting. Such a sight made Meixiu Kant, who had seen his share of bloody battles, unable to help but frown.
The faint sound of a horn made the succubus queen momentarily dazed. By the time Meixiu Kant regained consciousness, the new lord was already close.
A humanoid female with butterfly wings embraced a horrified Meixiu Kant. The succubus queen felt unable to think. The fear that had just begun to arise slipped away like sand through her fingers, leaving only peace and joy filling her mind.
The next moment, Meixiu Kant found everything he saw incredibly lovely. The whip in his hand fell, and a pure smile, identical to that of his kin, appeared on his face.
At this time, in the prime material plane, a celebration was being held in Waterdeep.
It had been some time since Tycha officially ascended to godhood, and this was her first time attending a celebration in her honor.
The Church of Benevolence had declared the day Tycha ascended as a holy day, and every year on this day, a grand celebration ceremony was held for the goddess's birth. The poor would receive a hearty meal, merchants funded by the Church of Benevolence would offer discounts, and with the participation of the Church of Commerce and Wealth, this celebration was particularly lively.
Tycha and an avatar of Waukeen appeared on the streets. Passersby unconsciously made way for the two goddesses, and even at close range, they could not sense the presence of the deities.
"Commerce is vibrant in times of peace. Although commercial activities are unprecedentedly prosperous during wartime, only ashes remain after the burning, and they cannot last."
Tycha seemed to be simply sighing, but Waukeen did not think so.
"It's not that I don't understand," the goddess of commerce and wealth said with a wry smile. "But the profits from weapons and food trade are too high, and my followers are willing to take the risk."
This winter was particularly cold. Unlike ordinary people who only saw what was before them, leaders were paying attention to the movements of the orcs!
Orcs who could not get enough food had begun to gather troops. Before the snow completely covered the land, the orcs had to obtain sufficient food, which meant that war between orcs and humans was about to begin!
"Your Highness Waukeen, not only the nobles but also other good deities' churches have become dissatisfied with your followers."
The two goddesses stopped under the shade of a tree. Tycha earnestly advised, "Expanding trade with the orcs at this time is no different from aiding the enemy, let alone trading in food and weapons! In the near future, this wealth will be stained with the blood of warriors!"
"And regardless of the outcome of the war, these beneficiaries will become scapegoats. The orcs will not look upon them any differently for the weapons and food brought by the merchants; humans will be filled with anger because of their aid to the enemy!"
Waukeen was also troubled by this. As the goddess of commerce and trade, actively preventing commercial activities was undoubtedly contrary to her divine office, and the power of the commercial sphere would distance itself from Waukeen.
But if she allowed merchants to interact with orcs, her position within the pan-human pantheon would become increasingly awkward. If the war escalated and the gods themselves were drawn into the conflict, Waukeen would be in a terrible situation. When her own interests were touched, who would care about the impact of the lack of commerce?
At that time, the merchants would have to disgorge everything they had taken, and worse, their past dealings with the orcs would be unearthed, and they could very well be hanged.
"I have already instructed the church to organize devout followers to suspend some trade routes, but not all trade routes are under my control."
Waukeen sighed, looking at the noble district not far away. "The nobles of Waterdeep have their own trade caravans. I am powerless to do anything about these clandestine transactions."
The noble goddess Shenzhou Si was unwilling to cooperate with Waukeen, which Tycha found normal. If the blame for colluding with the enemy was placed on Waukeen, Shenzhou Si would not be stained by any filth.
The influence of divine offices could not be ignored. Just as if the orcs were to suffer an unfavorable start, the orc pantheon would absolutely not stand by and watch, Shenzhou Si would place the interests of the noble class above all humanity. After all, even if things went wrong, there were taller people to take the blame. Although the pan-human pantheon was not united, with several powerful deities as a fallback, it was by no means something that the orc pantheon, with only one powerful deity, could shake.
"Your situation is very dangerous now."
Tycha did not hide it and said directly, "Because your followers do not have enough strength to protect themselves, most of those mercenaries will turn against the merchants who hired them at a critical moment! No matter how wealthy they are, the influence of merchants and nobles cannot be compared. The rulers will definitely make an example of these rich merchants!"
Without the protection of the state, what good end could these fat sheep meet?
"Your only option now is to abandon those followers who continue to trade with the orcs! Expel them from the church, and do not accept them under any circumstances. Then, declare your stance to everyone. If anyone still disobeys and continues to supply weapons and food to the orcs, anyone has the right to deal with them!"
Waukeen fell silent. Doing so would undoubtedly greatly weaken her church. Li'erla and Shenzhou Si might seize this opportunity to replace her! The consequences of such an action required careful consideration from anyone, but time was running out. If she continued to hesitate, there would be no room for maneuver.