When the 1,500 wolf beastmen were created using Barbatos' divine power, the fifteen standard reproduction cards, and the wolf beastman race's genetics, the existing wolf beastmen were not repulsed by the sudden appearance of the new members.
In fact, they saw this as a miracle from their great God of Free Wind and welcomed it. They were well aware that their numbers were insufficient, and the creation of the 1,500 wolf beastmen was like a lifeline for them.
They could also sense that the new wolf beastmen shared their bloodline, so none of them alienated the newcomers.
All the wolf beastmen, including the 1,500 newly created ones, knelt towards Barbatos and expressed their loyalty and faith to him.
Since they were created by Barbatos, their starting faith was at the level of pious believers, with a few even reaching the level of fanatics.
Seeing the increase in his main believer race's numbers, Barbatos was satisfied.
He felt envious that Restara had started out with ten thousand members in her main believer race. Coupled with her rapid improvement and abundant divine energy, Barbatos sometimes doubted whether his divine talent was the origin-rank or hers.
Having a powerful and impressive rival could indeed be challenging.
However, since his rival was a beautiful girl who was not only his childhood sweetheart but also his future wife, Barbatos felt it wasn't so bad, especially since Restara doted on him.
The fact that she gave him three divine liquids just as pocket money without batting an eyelid had moved Barbatos' heart.
He often checked the Class 69 Chat Group and knew that most of his classmates couldn't even acquire one divine liquid, let alone three.
As he looked at the gathered wolf beastmen in front of the ancestral hall, Barbatos thought, 'Now that their numbers have increased, I can finally send them to explore the Eternal Continent and expand the territory of the wolf beastmen race.'
'As a Four-Turn Demigod, I have a divine perception range of a 5km radius with myself at the center. Time acceleration works by expending divine energy to accelerate time within this range.'
'The territory of the wolf beastmen is too small and needs to be expanded, especially with their population increased fifteenfold. But with my divine perception, I can detect that there aren't any dangers within a five-kilometer radius of their territory.'
'There are even precious resources that can elevate First-Order Mortals to Second and even Third-Order. As long as all those resources are gathered and the more valuable ones are saved for the annual sacrificial offering, I don't have to worry about resources for the time being.'
With these plans in mind, Barbatos conveyed his instructions to his hierophant, Eldric.
When Eldric received Barbatos' oracle, his expression became even more pious and devoted as he relayed the oracle to the rest of the wolf beastmen, instructing them to begin their exploration and territory expansion.
As Barbatos' hierophant, Eldric's faith was at the level of a fanatic. He would do everything Barbatos ordered, even if it meant live sacrifices. Eldric wouldn't hesitate to offer the lives of his kin or even his own life if his great god demanded it.
Those who became hierophants of the gods were dedicated to fulfilling their deity's oracles without question.
In the Class 69 Chat Group, Barbatos had heard that some of his classmates had become addicted to the absolute authority they wielded over their believers. It was like playing with an ant farm as children, where the lives of the ants were insignificant compared to the believers they now commanded.
A few of his classmates couldn't extricate themselves from the intoxicating power of being a god, feeling bloated and arrogant. It was like playing a game in creative mode, where some treated the lives of their main believer race as ants to be commanded and played with at will.
Barbatos thought self-deprecatingly, 'Well, I'm not much different from them. If it's for my goal, sacrificing the lives of my believers can be accepted.'
'At most, I would only sacrifice their lives if necessary, but I'm not sick enough to play with their lives at will.'
Barbatos wasn't a saint, so he wouldn't preach to his classmates in the chat group. The lives of their main believer races were their responsibility. From the perspective of gods, their believers were their property.
In nice terms, believers were like lambs guided by a shepherd. In reality, they were slaves or livestock farmed for faith power.
If his classmates chose to play with their main believer races, who was he to judge them?
Rather than being nosy and interfering in others' affairs, Barbatos had more pressing matters to attend to, like exploring the Eternal Continent.
The Eternal Continent was vast, said to be ten times larger than the Divine God City. In other words, it was as huge as a large galaxy or even a miniature universe.
Vast wastelands stretched out in the Eternal Continent, waiting for Barbatos to occupy and conquer.
Before, Barbatos dared not let his believers explore too far from their base for fear of being noticed by other demigods in the Eternal Continent.
This caution was not just due to the limited number of his believers but also because of his weak One-Turn Demigod power.
Now that his power had elevated to Four-Turn Demigod and his believers' population had increased, Barbatos naturally had nothing to fear.
He understood the fine line between cowardice and caution. Being overly cautious and paranoid was a sign of cowardice.
With his newfound power sufficient for self-defense, remaining as timid as before would be a waste of his potential.
Having Restara as a rival only fueled Barbatos' ambition, driving him to grow stronger and more determined than ever.
After receiving Barbatos' oracle, Eldric led the wolf beastmen in expanding their territory.
They dismantled the wooden walls of their fort and began constructing more houses. Eldric, empowered by the wind divine power bestowed upon him by Barbatos, used wind blades to cut down trees efficiently.
Observing his believers working diligently, Barbatos nodded in satisfaction. He then withdrew his divine projection from the Eternal Continent, returning to the Divine God City.
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