72: Merging of Fish-Men and Humans: The Rise of a Legalist Cruel Official (Part 1)

"Purify it!"

At Lin Zhou's command, Hero Granite Bronzebeard was the first to attack. His illusory body erupted with platinum light, and his warhammer, carrying a breath of "Life" specifically effective against the undead, slammed down toward the Ancient Skeleton Warrior attempting to cross the passage.

*Bang!*

The warhammer, imbued with Heroic Spirit power, collided with the Skeleton Warrior's rusted greatsword, producing a dull, heavy boom. The Skeleton Warrior was shaken back two steps, the crimson soul-fire in its eye sockets flickering violently. The layer of gray spiritual light on its body, existing due to the [Ancient] trait, noticeably dimmed under the impact of the Heroic Spirit power.

Combat Feedback: Heroic Spirit power has an additional penetration effect against the [Ancient] trait!

"Law: Imprisonment!" Hero Snik struck at the same time. The power of Law transformed into several golden chains, instantly binding the Skeleton Warrior's limbs and torso. Runes of "Order" and "Punishment" flickered on the chains, not only restricting its movement but also continuously burning the death energy within its body.

Combat Feedback: The power of Law has a significant purification effect on the undead's [Resentment Entanglement]!

"Vast Righteous Qi, destroy evil and reveal the righteous!" Elwin gave a clear shout. The scroll in her hand moved without wind, and the majestic Vast Righteous Qi transformed into a golden pillar of light, piercing toward the Skeleton Warrior's head like a sharp sword! Under the impact of the Vast Righteous Qi, the crimson soul-fire hissed like ice dropped into boiling oil, rapidly shrinking and dimming.

Under the combined attack of the three, especially with their attributes completely countering it, this LV25 Elite Skeleton Warrior couldn't even mount an effective counterattack. Amidst a silent wail, its skeletal body fractured inch by inch, eventually turning into a pile of dry bones and a small orb of pure death energy, which was thoroughly purified and dissipated by the chains of Law and the Vast Righteous Qi.

Across the passage, that shattered graveyard seemed to have temporarily returned to silence, with only green ghost fires still drifting.

Lin Zhou did not lower his guard; he carefully sensed the state of the passage. The battle just now seemed to have consumed a lot of the passage's energy, making it slightly more stable, but the connection to the Death Plane still existed.

"My Lord, this passage is unstable, but the Death Qi on the other side is deep and heavy. I fear it is no good place," Hero Granite Bronzebeard said in a heavy voice. As a Heroic Spirit, he was exceptionally sensitive to the aura of death.

"Temporarily Seal the passage and increase the number of personnel to stand guard in shifts. Snik, your Adjudication Team will be primarily responsible, cooperating with the Wenxin Elf Spell Group to set up a purification barrier," Lin Zhou ordered. Before understanding the situation on the other side, entering rashly would be foolish. The priority was to stabilize the defense line while accelerating the improvement of their own strength.

"By your divine oracle!" Snik accepted the command and immediately began the arrangements. The Law Fishmen began to outline the barrier nodes with their own power of Order, while the Literary Heart Elves chanted the Song of Righteousness, integrating Vast Righteous Qi into the barrier. This formed a [Dharma Barrier] radiating golden and white light, firmly sealing the passage entrance. Any death creature attempting to cross would suffer continuous purification strikes.

Having dealt with this sudden death threat, Lin Zhou turned his gaze back to the development within his God Domain. The completion of the Hall of Heroes had brought high morale, the Altar of Shennong had made the agricultural Foundation incredibly stable, and the Elite Training Camp was also steadily improving. However, he felt one link was still missing—a special force capable of efficiently and coldly enforcing the Law, maintaining internal stability, and performing external suppression and interrogation.

He thought of the fishmen who had been fused in, who were naturally aquatic and had a high level of orderliness. After a long period of observation and the subtle influence of Legalist thought, they had already shown the potential to become "Enforcers."

It was time to completely fuse the [Fishman Tribe] card and guide them through their final transformation!

Lin Zhou hovered over the lake area where the fishmen resided. Under the nourishment of the Dragon Vein and the Altar of Shennong, the water was clear, the aquatic plants were lush, and various aquatic crops were growing well. Ordinary fishmen residents played and worked in the water, or followed a dispatched Wenxin Elf in a simple school on the shore to learn the most basic Legalist Edicts.

Among them, the most outstanding group, about two hundred people, had been selected to form the "Law Reserve Team," taught directly by Hero Snik. Their average Rank had reached LV13, far higher than the ordinary fishmen residents (around LV8), and they had the strongest understanding and enforcement of the Law.

Lin Zhou took out the [Fishman Tribe] card he had obtained long ago but had never fully fused. The card depicted scenes of fishmen living in primitive tribes. He intended to use Legalist thought as the core and Divine Power as the carving knife to conduct a deep "Huaxia-style" transformation and Fusion of this card!

"The essence of Legalism: No Exemption from Punishment, no omission in rewarding good! With Law as the bone and Legalism as the soul! Fuse!"

Lin Zhou immersed his Divine Sense into the card, invoking the majestic power of Legalist Edicts within the God Domain, mixed with the Fire of Civilization, washing over the primitive rules within the card like a torrent! At the same time, his understanding of "Legalist Enforcers"—that quality of being loyal to the Law, impartial, decisive, and even cold-blooded—transformed into golden runes, branded into the core of the card.

The imagery on the card began to change drastically! Primitive tribal shacks turned into orderly barracks built of bluestone; the simple bone armor and harpoons on the fishmen became standardized, cold-glinting Black Scale Armor and barbed [Law Tridents]; their eyes no longer held primitive confusion, replaced instead by a cold, scrutinizing sharpness, as if they could see through all evil!

Core Vassal Race Update: Law Fishmen → Legalist Enforcers (Fishman Form)

Quantity: 825 (All transformations completed)

Average Rank: LV15 (Received rule feedback during the transformation process, generally increasing by 1-2 levels)

Core Attributes: [Willpower] 25 (+5!), [Intelligence] 18 (+3), [Strength] 16 (+2).

Traits:

[Absolute Lawful]: Immune to fear, confusion, charm, and other mental control effects. Command execution efficiency 100%.

[Law Shows No Mercy]: Attacks deal an additional 10% damage to elite/hero units and can ignore a portion of their defense and damage reduction effects (treated as "Rule Penetration").

[Legal Insight]: Easier to see through disguises, lies, and conspiracies.

[Underwater Adaptation] (Retained): Maintains excellent underwater combat and living capabilities.

Basic Units:

Enforcer Lawkeepers (LV12-LV18): Equipped with [Black Scale Armor] (Defense +8), [Law Trident] (Attack +10, +15% damage against evil units). Skills: [Enforce Law], [Punishment Strike].

Enforcer Adjudicators (LV16-LV22, Elite): Held by Hero Snik and some outstanding individuals. Equipped with [Law Crest], [Law-Binding Chains]. Skills: [Judgment], [Net of Law (Minor)], [Evidence Search].

Hero Unit: Snik (Synchronized Upgrade)

Rank: LV21 (+2)

Attributes: Strength 18 (+2), Agility 21 (+2), Physique 20 (+2), Intelligence 32 (+3), Wisdom 27 (+2), Spirit 31 (+3).

New Skill: [Legalist True Words]: A word-spirit type skill that can briefly enact Words as Law, defining local rules (e.g., "Stealth is forbidden here," "This attack is deemed guilty"), with high consumption.

Equipment Update: [Book of Law (Replica)], [Scales of Justice (Phantom)].

At the moment the Fusion was completed, all the fishmen—no, now the [Legalist Enforcers]—simultaneously looked up and let out a low, solemn roar. Their scales shimmered with a metallic cold light, and their bodies were permeated with a heart-palpitating aura of Order and majesty! The temperature of the entire lake area seemed to drop by several degrees.

Old Farmer Barton saw the brand-new team of Enforcers from afar and couldn't help but shrink his neck, whispering to his grandson, "From now on, you must strictly follow our Lord's Law. When you see those black-scaled masters, give them a wide berth..." Although he was grateful for the good life the Lord had brought, he felt a natural sense of awe and fear toward these Law Enforcers.

Lin Zhou looked at this reborn team with satisfaction. This was what he wanted—a sharp sword to maintain the Order of the God Domain and an iron fist for external conquest! They might not be "benevolent," but in terms of maintaining rules and striking down enemies, they would be the most efficient existence.

"Snik."

"Your servant is here!" Snik stepped forward. Now, his aura was deeper and colder.

"From this day forward, the [Hall of Enforcement] is officially established, with you in charge. You will be responsible for internal Law enforcement, Order maintenance, guarding key locations, as well as military justice, prisoner interrogation, and behind-the-lines sabotage during external conquests."

"By your divine oracle! I shall protect my Lord's Order with the strictness of the Law!" Snik knelt on one knee, his voice forceful and resonant.

With the establishment of the [Hall of Enforcement], the God Domain's operations became more efficient. Phenomena like petty theft and passive resistance that might have existed before almost vanished. Especially when facing the threat of the death passage, these Enforcers demonstrated extremely high discipline and execution, standing guard in shifts day and night without the slightest complaint.

With the interior of the God Domain as solid as a rock, Lin Zhou began to devote more energy to the upcoming School Selection Tournament and that unstable death passage. He had a premonition that this passage might bring him some unexpected "surprises."