Not only that, the zealots’ faith in their deity is incomparably fervent and persistent—they are ready at any time and place to offer up their lives for their god.

For their enemies, zealots are truly terrifying beings. Their faith is unwavering and extreme, and they cannot tolerate any heresy or evil in their eyes. Anyone who dares to blaspheme in any form will face their frenzied attacks.

But for William Clark, this deity, zealots are extremely rare treasures. Unless he descends in person, it is very difficult to cultivate a zealot.

In fact, even if a god is willing to descend personally, unless by a stroke of luck, it is still not easy to cultivate a zealot. At the very least, it is impossible to casually create zealots at the cost of only a small amount of divine power.

Just having produced Harry as a zealot, this descent alone has been worthwhile for William Clark.

……

Chapter 12: Seven Zealots

……

However, William Clark’s gains would not be limited to just Harry as a zealot.

As Landon, Harry, and the others knelt and sincerely praised and thanked the great God of Light, the rest of the believers also seemed to awaken from a dream. They all knelt down one after another, shouting in unison: “Believer so-and-so, thank our Lord for descending, for protecting the faithful, for judging heresy. We, your believers, are willing to offer our loyalty and lives to our Lord.”

Their voices were grand and sonorous, filled with incomparable sincerity in their excitement. This was absolutely not the behavior of false believers trying to blend in among the faithful. The power of their faith was like a sharp sword, piercing straight into the heavens.

Dozens, a hundred, hundreds of channels of faith were becoming clearer, stronger, and more solid.

Excellent!

William Clark was overwhelmed with excitement. This course of action was originally a plan he had secretly given to the Saintess Catherine during his last descent. Before the plan succeeded, he had always been anxious and nervous, because everyone knows that a plan is just a plan, and the result is the result.

He had thought that if the plan succeeded, there would be great rewards.

But William Clark never expected that the rewards would be so enormous, far beyond his imagination.

Devout believers, devout believers!

One by one, the originally faint channels of faith from shallow believers became very clear and solid channels of faith from devout believers. At the same time, some already very strong channels of faith underwent a qualitative transformation.

For example, the four of Landon’s group were already very loyal and reliable devout believers. They held fast to their faith and, in times of crisis, could step forward and sacrifice their lives for their god.

But after this event, their faith was elevated once again, and they entered the ranks of zealots.

In addition, the peasant girl who had previously received William Clark’s favor—her channel of faith was still strengthening and stood out among the many channels of faith. Clearly, inspired by the current atmosphere, she too was promoted from devout believer to zealot.

“Divine persona, check the status of the believers.”

With excitement in his heart, William Clark called up the list of believers.

Saint Spirits: 0

Saint Believers: 0

Zealots: 7

Devout Believers: 384

True Believers: 0

Shallow Believers: 0

Seven—there were a full seven zealots.

Looking at this data, William Clark couldn’t help but fall into a state of ecstasy. Even one zealot is a treasure, let alone seven. If used well, these seven zealots would help William Clark continuously expand the scope of his faith.

The only slight regret was that the channel of faith for the Holy Maiden of Light, Catherine, had become much more solid and steadfast, but she still had not advanced to the level of Saint Believer.

But that is something that cannot be helped. So-called Saint Believers possess faith that is incomparably pure and untainted, with not a trace of impurity—the sole purpose of their life is to serve their god.

Saint Believers are not so easily transformed. Catherine has the potential in this regard, but she still lacks tempering, as well as deeper refinement of her faith and soul.

Setting aside the distant goal of Saint Believers—

Those 384 devout believers were also beyond William Clark’s expectations. According to his understanding, when a god descends and performs miracles, it is indeed easy for believers to be converted into devout believers.

But the more believers gather, the more uncontrollable the outcome becomes.

In William Clark’s original estimation, after this plan succeeded, it should have been that batch of 30 true believers, plus a group of shallow believers with clear faith, who would be promoted to devout believers. He estimated the total number would not exceed 200, and the rest would almost all be promoted to true believers.

But the current results far exceeded William Clark’s expectations.

Although devout believers are not like zealots who can sacrifice themselves for their faith at any time and place, they are nonetheless the indispensable core elite believers for any god. A devout believer will often unite a group of shallow and true believers around them, forming a core, and quietly spreading the faith for their god, expanding the number of believers.

Moreover, each devout believer can provide about 0.1 points of faith power per day. Just these 384 devout believers alone can provide William Clark with nearly 40 points of faith power every day.

Back when William Clark was at his lowest, it took several days to collect just 1 point of faith power, and he even faced the awkward situation of his number of believers constantly shrinking.

Now, compared to that time, he is more than a hundred times stronger.

Seeing so many high-level believers, William Clark immediately felt much more secure.