"Bring Craig here, the Level 16 wolfman."
Li De looked thoughtfully at the Faith Energy shown on his attribute panel.
At present, the followers of the Dawn Order had grown to over 8,000, and the Faith Energy income each month was quite substantial.
However, the growth of believers had reached a bottleneck, because among the remaining thousand or so residents, almost all were elderly people who had been devoted followers of other orders for decades.
Converting them would be extremely difficult. To expand his followers again, he could only rely on seizing more population during the Months of Deep Winter.
Number of Believers: Zealots: 1, Devout Believers: 487, Believers: 1,883, Casual Believers: 6,105
Faith Energy: 2,350 points
With more than a month of accumulation, his Faith Energy had again risen to over two thousand points.
To convert the souls of Witherbone and Kap, both Level 18 combatants, and make them his loyal subordinates, he would need over ten thousand points of Faith Energy.
But Craig was only Level 16, and his combat strength was far inferior to Kap's, so converting his soul would surely require far less Faith Energy.
If he had enough Faith Energy, Li De's first choice would certainly be to convert Kap's soul.
A Level 18 Beastman King would undoubtedly become a trump card in his hand.
But Faith Energy was scarce. At this rate, it might take half a year to save up enough to convert Kap.
Yet in his next plan, he had to use one of the two beastmen. With Kap excluded, Craig was the only option left.
He wasn't sure whether two thousand Faith Energy points would be enough to convert Craig, but time was pressing, he had to try.
It was already mid-September, and the Months of Deep Winter were drawing near.
Last October, the beastmen had already trampled across the borders in invasion. He couldn't be certain whether this year would be the same.
So he had to accelerate the process.
After Harrison relayed the order, it didn't take long before Craig, bound tightly in anti-magic chains, so weak he could barely stand, was brought into City Hall.
When he saw Li De, the Level 16 wolfman's expression was extremely complicated.
It had been a month. He had been locked in that cramped cell for a whole month. The anti-magic chains binding him had even robbed him of the strength to commit suicide.
He could only live on like some crawling insect, without any hope at all. Countless times, he had wished his captors would come in and kill him outright rather than keep him imprisoned in such humiliation.
He was a mighty warrior of the wolfmen, he should have died on the battlefield, not become a clownish prisoner.
"Damn vampire… why won't you just kill me…"
Craig no longer even had much strength to speak. His voice was weak as a dying breath, as if he might meet the God of Death at any moment.
Looking at Craig's pitiful state, Li De's heart remained as calm as ever.
Killing and death were no longer anything strange to him. The beastmen's hands were stained with as much blood as anyone's, there was no need to feel pity for a beastman.
"Craig, give up your resistance. Today, you will obtain freedom."
Hm?
When he heard Li De's words, Craig's huge wolf head showed a trace of confusion, clearly, these words struck him as utterly incomprehensible.
But his frail body was so weak his vision was already double. In this state, he was unable to think any further.
Li De did not waste more words. He had the vampires behind him help Craig to sit on the sofa. Then he extended his right hand and slowly closed his eyes, beginning to channel Faith Energy.
He had previously tested the Faith Energy on the necromancer Witherbone. As long as he combined it with spiritual force to invade the target's Mental Sea, he could forcibly convert the target's soul, making them eternally loyal to him.
But back then, Witherbone's soul had been too tenacious, and Li De's Faith Energy had been too scarce, so it had failed.
This time was his first true experiment, and Craig would, without doubt, be the guinea pig.
Following his instructions, Nilo had not used any Faith Energy during this time, so he still had over two thousand points saved up. Though he didn't know whether it would be enough, he had no choice but to try.
Clad in his black mage robe, Li De's figure, which usually exuded a hint of darkness, slowly became bathed in holy radiance.
His palm looked as if it were holding a tiny sun, from which endless light burst forth.
Sacred. Divine. Luminous.
The weakened Craig abruptly opened his eyes wide. This scene struck the wolfman warrior with indescribable shock.
This vampire was actually releasing an energy akin to holy light?!
How could this be possible?!
Beastmen were not dark creatures, so they did not react strongly to sacred power. But that wasn't the point, the point was that such divine power coming from a vampire, the very embodiment of darkness, was utterly absurd.
How was this any different from an undead casting the elves' life magic?
But there was no time to think. Craig no longer had even the slightest strength to resist. He could only stare blankly as Li De placed his hand upon his massive wolf head.
The bright radiance made him instinctively close his eyes.
Then Craig felt a clear, gentle presence flow into his mind.
To his bewilderment, he actually felt a sense of intimacy, a motherly aura.
His original will to resist began to melt away bit by bit.
At that moment, the sacred power slowly permeated his soul.
In his extreme weakness, Craig seemed to hear his mother's voice calling softly beside his ear.
"Child."
This voice, engraved into the depths of his soul, made the Level 16 wolfman completely surrender.
"Mother…" Craig finally murmured in a whisper and slowly lost consciousness.
The wolfman's soul began to transform under the cleansing of that sacred power.
His soul grew more solid, and the flame of his life burned brighter.
During this process, the Faith Energy spread throughout Craig's mind, scrubbing clean his soul.
Craig's resistance and defiance toward Li De also vanished completely under the washing of the Faith Energy.
The Faith Energy poured in without ceasing. Craig's soul continued its transformation.
In the wolfman's subconscious, what had once been fear and dread of this holy power turned into dependence and familiarity.
At the same time, the aura of Li De, whom he had once despised, now inspired boundless trust and reverence.
This was a transformation of the soul itself brought about by Faith Energy.
Li De did not know the precise details of this transformation. He only knew that the wolfman warrior's hostility toward him was disappearing.
Craig's soul shifted from rejection to actively accepting the Faith Energy.
During the process, Li De could clearly sense his spiritual force coming into contact with Craig's soul.
If he wished, a single thought would be enough to annihilate this Level 16 wolfman's soul completely.
Absolute control.
Until the final wisp of Faith Energy was absorbed.