First uncontracted believers

In just two days, the entire planet had been conquered. At the same time, the second Void-Anchor found its target, opening a new portal on the main planet. This time, the portal appeared in the extreme south, its location completely random, leaving Ezequiel with no control over where it would manifest.

He recalled most of his Angels from what he now called the Stone Golem world, leaving behind only a few formation masters tasked with setting up the planet-wide energy-gathering formation under the lead of Harray. This task would likely take about two weeks, even with their speed, so starting as early as possible was crucial.

After the Angel legion traveled through the new portal, Ezequiel refocused on the surroundings through his connection with Thanatos. As he took in the view, he was momentarily surprised.

They had emerged on a tiny island, no more than 100 meters in diameter, surrounded by nothing but ocean. Unlike their previous encounter, there were no enemies in sight.

'Did the portal open in the middle of the ocean by chance, or is this world entirely covered by water?' Ezequiel wondered.

The Angels remained calm, and the Archangels quickly sent out four scouts, each with Darkness Affinity, in different directions.

After a few minutes, the scouts returned, having traveled full circle. They confirmed that this planet was indeed completely covered by water—no landmasses could be found anywhere.

Realizing there was no surface to conquer, the Angels turned their attention to the sea. Elise, the lead female Archangel Ezequiel had summoned fist, gave the command, and the Angels dove into the water.

At first, they moved clumsily, needing to hold their breath, but soon their special ability, Holy Wings, activated. This ability allowed them to adapt to any environment as long as it was within their strength, enabling them to breathe underwater and swim as fluidly as fish. Strangely enough, they could even fly through the water, though Ezequiel couldn't quite explain how.

'Spiritual Energy truly is magical,' he thought.

Once again, scouts were sent out, returning shortly with news of the planet's inhabitants: Fishmen. This species, closely related to humans, had fins and gills, perfectly adapted for underwater life. Just a few minutes' swim away, there was a city with millions of inhabitants.

"Do not kill them. Try to convert them into believers. If they resist, there's no reason to spare them," Ezequiel ordered.

He saw the Fishmen as his first non-contracted species. Their high intelligence and ability to manage their environment meant they could sustain a large population, which would, in turn, generate significant faith. As the Angels approached the first city and displayed their strength, many of the stronger Fishmen resisted, speaking of an indomitable fishmen spirit or something like that. But in the end, they were defeated without much effort.

True to their human-like nature, some Fishmen even betrayed their own, stabbing those who resisted in a desperate attempt to win favor with their new leaders.

'So naive and foolish,' Ezequiel thought. 'Don't they realize no one trusts a traitor who betrays their friends at the first sign of danger?'

But it didn't matter to him. After conquering the first city and moving on to spread their Lord's faith across the world, Ezequiel's awareness expanded again.

He was impressed by the Fishmen's technology. They had simple underwater vehicles powered by propellers and spiritual energy, and their buildings were tall and futuristic, though windowless to withstand water pressure. Instead of windows, they had open gaps in their walls.

Ezequiel left the Angels to conquer the rest of the world and began creating another Void-Anchor. This time, the world wasn't fully conquered in two days, mainly due to the sheer number of Fishmen.

Unlike Earth, where 70% of the surface is uninhabitable for humans, this water-covered planet had every inch of ground as livable space. Despite their less advanced lifestyle, the Fishmen population was about 6 billion, with far more cultivators than on the main planet.

'This world isn't far from evolving into a Mid-Level world,' Ezequiel mused. 'I might adjust its development path later, but for now, it's fine as it is.'

Ezequiel was also shocked by how effectively his Angels spread his faith. He had almost forgotten their fourth special ability, 'Voice of Conviction,' which helped them convert others into believers with little effort. The weaker the target, the more effective the ability.

There was another aspect of this ability that allowed Angels to boost their combat strength while singing praises of their Lord. However, they hadn't used it against weaker species like the goblins, which is why Ezequiel had overlooked it.

The ability was so powerful that a fourth of the population had already been converted into his followers.

[Name: Ezequiel]

[Realm: 3rd stage Demi-God]

[Divinity: None]

[Contracted Species: Angels

4175]

[Click to show more detail]

[Uncontracted Believers:

False Believer: 627.065.123

Shallow Believer: 784.202.675

True Believer: 37.865.450

Pious Believer: 185.000

Fanatic Believer: 1.340

Saint: 0

Prophet: 0

Holy Spirit:0]

'It seems I underestimated this ability,' Ezequiel thought. 'The fact that some weak-minded individuals have already become Pious or Fanatic believers is astonishing.'

A pious believer would fight to the death if ordered, and a fanatic would continue to pray and fight even after their god's death. Other gods struggled to gain even a few fanatics, but with just the words of his Angels, many relatively intelligent individuals had made Ezequiel the center of their lives.

Despite gaining only 1/100th of the Faith Points from an uncontracted species, Ezequiel had still amassed... uhh, what? Less than a hundred million Faith Points?! He wondered if keeping the Fishmen alive was even worth it at that point.

Even if he conquered the entire planet and converted all Fishmen into at least Shallow or True Believers, he wouldn't gain much more than a hundred million Faith Points a day. The hundred-fold nerf was severe, but Ezequiel already had a plan for each planet he conquered in the future.

First, he would mandate that all inhabitants become vegetarians. It wasn't about caring for animals; it was about efficiency. Raising animals for food was incredibly inefficient compared to directly feeding plants to the population. This would free up more land for living space, increasing the number of followers and, therefore, the amount of Faith Points. 

Wars would be forbidden, and free healthcare would be provided. Ezequiel didn't want his devoted followers dying prematurely. In a world filled with spiritual energy, there was more than enough for everyone to survive comfortably. He would implement a form of Socialism on all his low- and mid-level planets, focusing solely on producing Faith Points. There was no need for strong fighters or innovation; that would come naturally over millions of years. The only thing that was important was that each fishmen would have a long and happy live. This would not only be great for them but for Ezequiel as well.

Ezequiel also selected a few Angels to spread modern technology in the worlds he conquered, aiming to make the people as content as possible. His ultimate goal was to turn every citizen into a Pious believer, at which point they would finally provide him with a significant amount of wealth.

He envisioned a future where about 50 billion Fishmen lived on this Earth-sized planet.

'Please don't judge me too harshly, Americans,' Ezequiel thought wryly. 'In this case, it's in my best interest to improve the quality of life as much as possible. I swear I'm not a communist.'