From God of Lies to Lord of All Worlds

Chapter 308: The World's Reaction

"What? Say that again?" On the other side of the ocean, Golden Hair was dragged out of his bed in the White House by Qian Si. Hearing the news, he could not help but freeze in pure shock.

"Are you telling me that all ten thousand of our personnel at the base are just gone?"

Qian Si hurriedly waved his hands. "No, Your Excellency. A portion of them died, and another portion fled beforehand. As for the rest..."

He trailed off, but Golden Hair already understood.

In truth, the Tokyo Air Base had received intelligence several days before the Supernatural incident descended upon the city. Consequently, those in power had long since evacuated to other locations.

Some took leaves of absence, while others arranged sudden business trips. Only a handful of poor, unlucky bastards remained in the city, unwittingly turning into targets.

There were not many of them left—perhaps around two thousand people in total. However, the ensuing shockwave immediately severed communications with over a thousand of them.

Naturally, they could not all be dead. Some might have perished, while others might have managed to escape. Who knew?

This was the extent of Qian Si's knowledge. Beyond this, he had absolutely no further information!

Golden Hair shook his messy blond hair, still disheveled from sleep, and sat down in his chair, taking the tablet Qian Si handed to him."What exactly is going on? I refuse to believe those people in Japan actually have the guts to pull something like this!"

He immediately dismissed the possibility that the Japanese government was responsible. If they truly possessed that kind of backbone, they would not still be living like obedient dogs.

"Is it an issue with that Supernatural Monster? Did someone redirect the conflict toward us?" Golden Hair quickly formulated a theory. Since it was a conflict, there had to be a way to resolve it, and deflecting the problem onto a foreign power was the easiest method.

"Yes and no!" Qian Si replied, frowning deeply. "To be precise, the government did nothing. The one who did the deed was a Transcendent. An ancient Onmyoji named Abe no Seimei lured that Ghost King right into the base!"

Golden Hair understood. "So, that Onmyoji and the Ghost King are the ones responsible for the base's destruction, right?"

"Yes. They even fought a battle right inside the base and destroyed all the aircraft..." Qian Si hesitated for a moment but could not resist delivering the final bill. "Now, everything is gone!"

"A Transcendent... A Transcendent who destroyed an entire base..." Staring at the footage on the screen, Golden Hair looked somewhat deflated. How could he possibly seek vengeance for this? Trying to hold them accountable would just be asking for a death wish!

He refused to believe the other party did not know it was a US military base. The fact that the Transcendent went there anyway proved they had reached a terrifyingly arrogant conclusion: they found the American presence to be an eyesore!

"This is what it means to be a Transcendent. If they feel slightly displeased, they can directly retaliate without bearing any responsibility whatsoever!" Golden Hair lamented.

He quickly made a decision. "Hold the Japanese accountable! Tell them they must take full responsibility for this, or face severe sanctions! Make them pay reparations! And this time, five hundred billion dollars won't cut it. I want two trillion!"

"Then, arrest all the base commanders who fled and hold them accountable. The dead get a pass, but if you survived and ran away, you have to pay the price! As for the rest, you know what to do!"

Qian Si nodded emphatically. "I understand, Your Excellency!"

The two had worked together for so long that they complemented each other perfectly. They both clearly understood exactly where the true difficulty of this matter lay.

Or rather, they knew exactly where to apply their pressure!

In reality, it was a simple process: invite them to the table, execute the dissenters, and force the rest into submission. Since these people had exposed their own vulnerabilities, they could not blame the administration for bringing the axe down swiftly.

It all came back to the same old saying: power that did not belong to them was not true power, and a system they could not control was no system at all!

Take, for example, these overgrown overseas garrisons that had become too large to manage. Golden Hair had long wanted to withdraw them or severely trim them down, but due to deeply entrenched networks of mutual interests, he could neither cut them nor touch them!

Now, the perfect opportunity had arrived. It was finally time to shake things up and start swinging the axe!

"But if Japan's Transcendents are causing this much of a stir, where are our people?" Golden Hair dialed a number on his phone. "Notify Austin. I need to know the exact movements of our forces!"

He did not mention international optics or influence, nor did he bring up retaliation. Those simply were not options on the table. The Transcendents in his hand—whether it was Leon, Chris, or the figures from The Church—were completely beyond his control.

Everyone knew how righteous and resolute Angus was; a man like him would never sway his principles for a trivial matter concerning America.

Ultimately, this was an issue of the state, not an issue of The Church. Since the offending party had not insulted The Lord, The Church naturally could not directly intervene. And if he could not use The Church, was he supposed to send in the Supernatural Teams he had worked so painstakingly to cultivate? Not a chance in hell!

Regardless, someone still had to pay for the destroyed base, and the Japanese government was the perfect scapegoat. He refused to believe they would actually dare to resist!

They were going to obediently cough up the cash!

...

In reality, the fallout from the Tokyo base incident was far more colossal than anyone could have imagined. After all, even though America's global influence was not what it used to be, it still wielded massive geopolitical power!

The average person would assume that after being attacked like this, they would launch a frenzied retaliation, right?

Of course not. Their faces had been slapped swollen in the Middle East, yet they still paraded around claiming they were "winning big."

They were contracting their forces across the entire globe, and their strategic foothold in Africa had nearly been wiped clean. Did people really believe they were withdrawing voluntarily?

Being bogged down by an overgrown and unmanageable structure was the truest reflection of their current state. It was precisely for this reason that, with the intervention of Supernatural forces, countries all over the world began to stage their own rebellions and hatch their own petty schemes.

This was especially true for nations that had suffered deeply under America's heel, such as the European nations that had long been treated as nothing more than personal ATMs.

The countries closer to the north began searching for their own identity and ethnic roots closer to home. For instance, the nations that had once birthed the Viking raiders and the Germanic tribes—essentially the broader regions of Germany—initiated frequent negotiations with the Nordic Five, which served as the heartland of the Asathru faith.

Under these circumstances, choosing to embrace the gods of their own bloodline did not seem like such a massive leap.

As for the regions with deep Christian roots, major powers like France naturally began gravitating toward Italy!

After all, a dutiful son of the Catholic Church was still a dutiful son, wasn't he? Furthermore, France shared an incredibly tangled and inseparable history with the Vatican, making it essential to maintain that relationship.

The Vatican also recognized France's elevated status, as certain regions of the country had once been territories of the Papal States. Many of the historical bishops, popes, priests, and Holy Maidens had deep ties to France!

Among them, the most renowned figure was, without a doubt, Joan of Arc.

Because of this shared heritage, Macron personally chose to visit Rome and took the initiative to seek an audience at the Vatican.

Pope Mario also found the arrangement fitting. The two of them hit it off instantly, eagerly discussing plans to maintain The Church's greatness and drive out the followers of other faiths!

Macron had grand political ambitions, while Mario embodied the unshakable will of The Church. It just so happened to coincide with an era where Europe was formally shifting to the right, beginning to cut ties with the left-wing. Consequently, the refugees—who had originally carried political motives and enjoyed the backing of the American left-wing—suddenly found themselves facing mass deportation.

However, The Church was even more radical in its approach than Macron. They sought to enter and claim dominion over the Holy City of Jerusalem, forcibly halting the administration and atrocities of the people of Isaac!

It was under these momentous circumstances, right in the middle of their summit, that they received the shocking news.

"What? America has actually fallen this low?" Macron exclaimed, utterly unable to hide the glee on his face!

Beside him, Pope Mario also paused in surprise. It seemed associating with major global powers truly had its perks. The Church's intelligence network had not yet fully expanded, making it extremely difficult for such high-level information to reach his hands directly.

Being able to receive this news the moment it broke was undoubtedly a tremendous advantage.

However, Mario simply could not bring himself to feel happy, for he knew exactly what this event signified.

Thus, when Macron turned his head, he was greeted by Mario's profoundly grave expression. "His Holiness the Pope, are you mourning for the deceased people?"

Mario shook his head slowly. "I am pondering a far more somber question!"

"What question?" Macron asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Crown Gabriel, Crown Raziel, and Crown Michael have all stated that this world is not at peace, and that an even greater Darkness will descend in the future... I suspect that this incident in Japan is one of the harbingers of that encroaching Darkness!" Mario declared, his tone incredibly heavy.

"Darkness descending?" Macron was visibly startled; he had never heard of such a prophecy. "What does that mean, exactly?"

"Demons, dark creatures, fallen angels, and even the otherworldly divine enemies of The Lord will all descend upon us!" Mario said grimly. "The Church's current power is still far too weak! Excellency Macron, I must ask—when exactly will the relics of the Knights Templar be returned to the Vatican?"

Hearing this, Macron's mouth twitched uncontrollably. Why was the Pope still asking for things? Was there no end to this?

"I will rush them as soon as I return!"