From God of Lies to Lord of All Worlds

Chapter 322: Faith, Without Compromise!

"If this were politics, then Your Excellency, the Great Leader, you would be the most outstanding politician of them all—you have taken Interests, relationships, and conditions all into account!" Angus declared, his expression remaining exceptionally placid. "However, I am not a politician, nor am I someone who weighs pros and cons!"

"I am Angus Bennett, the Chosen by Heaven of The Lord, the executor of Angels, and a Cardinal of The Church. I did not come here to discuss matters of mutual interest with you!"

"I have come to spread the Divine Glory of The Lord and to warn Your Excellency against consorting with Darkness!"

Angus's words sounded extremely stern, rigid, and deliberate, but that was simply his nature.

Had he not possessed such a temperament, he would never have been chosen by Bai Yang, valued by Mario, nor would he have sparked a wave of Catholic reform in this Realm!

Because of this personality, he was originally destined to serve as a Priest in a small town for his entire life. Modern society despised people like him, and the profoundly corrupt Catholic Church of America certainly would never have promoted him.

Yet in the eyes of a God, these traits were the absolute best. This was especially true for Yahweh; that overbearing power would never allow anyone else to contest Him. Thus, this stubborn disposition was precisely what made him Chosen by Heaven.

Just like right now. Looking at the infuriated Angus, Golden Hair actually felt somewhat surprised. "Are you saying you refuse to accept?"

Golden Hair was a Merchant. His father and grandfather had also been Merchants. What their Family believed in was the logic of business.

Even his election as the Great Leader and becoming the head of this country was mostly driven by commercial logic. The primary reason, of course, was that he succeeded!Therefore, Golden Hair was even more convinced of his own reasoning. He believed that business transactions were everything. No matter what the issue was, this principle applied—and naturally, that included Transcendence.

So he chose to negotiate with the people down south, to talk with the countries that possessed Transcendent Power. Everyone adhered to this logic. Interests and commercial ties were generally far more important than things like Divine Faith!

However, he clearly overlooked The Church. The logic of Monotheism and polytheism was entirely different!

Just like at this very moment. Faced with Golden Hair's borderline threatening words, Angus nodded decisively. "It is not that I refuse to accept it, but that The Church refuses to accept it!"

"When it comes to Divine Faith, there is no possibility of compromise! If America intends to pivot toward a Demon God, then The Church will not permit it!"

The Cardinal's stance was exceedingly clear, causing Golden Hair's face to instantly turn icy. "So, there is no room for discussion?"

"None!" Angus stared right back at him. "If you wish to obtain your own Transcendent Power, you may follow the methods of the demon hunters and acquire it through personal training. But if you want to take the shortcut of Demons or Hell, The Church forbids it!"

"King Solomon could do it, but I cannot?" Golden Hair pressed.

"Even King Solomon never allowed the faith of Demons to spread into this Realm!" Angus replied coldly. "Divine Faith is The Church's bottom line, and that bottom line must not be tested!"

"Our people will Clean Up the Demon God faith in this Realm. Infidels are indeed detestable, but heretics absolutely cannot be spared!"

Angus turned on his heel and walked away, his mind clearly made up. Meanwhile, from behind Golden Hair, all the High Officials of the White House slowly emerged.

"Your Excellency, the Great Leader, it seems our negotiations have failed!"

"Indeed, they failed..." Golden Hair's face darkened, but his brows soon relaxed. "Fine. Let us use Jose to test the waters. Seeing the true caliber of The Church right now can also be considered a harvest!"

Hearing Golden Hair's words, the crowd was stunned. "Great Leader, are we going to Abandon Jose?"

They exchanged dismayed glances. Everyone had inserted quite a few of their own people into Jose's Extraordinary Power System. Were they really going to Abandon it just like that?

The money lost would be their own!

"Yes, Abandon him! The ancient Babylonian Demon Gods are no match for an Angel. How could a mere apostle of a Demon God be a match for The Church?" Golden Hair's expression was indifferent. "If anyone here refuses to Abandon him, then you will handle all the ensuing problems yourselves!"

Everyone fell silent. They knew exactly why Golden Hair was in such a foul mood. Failing to suppress The Church's momentum this time meant it would be even harder to keep them in check in the future!

In this Era of the Extraordinary, was America truly doomed to march forward under the shadow of The Church?

However, no one suggested striking first or assassinating Angus. The recent stories of an Angel manifesting had already warned them. If they truly resorted to underhanded tactics against this man, the next thing they faced might very well be a genuine Angel!

...

If the atmosphere inside the White House was At Daggers Drawn with cold words and subtle threats, then outside the Luo City courthouse, it was a very real, physical standoff with live weapons!

Nicky answered Angus's call, hearing the commanding voice on the other end: "Destroy the Demon God's creations and arrest the Demon God's believers! The Divine Faith of The Lord must not be tarnished in the slightest!"

"Understood!" Nicky hung up the phone. Looking up at the massive Stone Statue before him, he calmly spat out his verdict. "Infidels can be forgiven, but heretics must be Cleaned Up!" "Religious Tribunal!" Nicky's voice, amplified by the holy light, suddenly boomed with deafening volume!

"We are here!" All the members of the Religious Tribunal thundered in unison!

"O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?" The chanter of the Holy Blood called out the words of judgment. Behind him, the Precept-bearers raised the tomes in their hands. "Hallelujah!"

The holy light manifested its presence. Amidst the blooming Radiance, it seemed as if something extraordinary was slowly emerging!

Seeing this scene, Jose turned his head, wanting to see what his Allies were doing.

Then, he saw the wariness and distance in the eyes of Baron and Austin. It seemed that after receiving a phone call, their attitudes had quietly shifted.

At the very least, there was no longer any warmth or friendliness in the way those two looked at him.

And his "future prophecy"—which hadn't triggered for a very long time—violently burst forth at this exact moment.

It was a vision of himself abruptly surrounded by a squad of Dragon-Blood Warriors. It was an image of himself ultimately falling under a hail of gunfire. And looming behind that vision was Golden Hair's face—seemingly smiling, yet dripping with absolute apathy!

"Have I been betrayed?" A hoarse, grating syllable rasped through the air, causing Baron to snap his head up.

He heard Jose's voice. It wasn't just him; everyone present heard Jose's voice.

Earlier, the voice Jose produced had sounded like an ordinary human's—but in reality, it wasn't his real voice. It was a pre-designed synthetic voice. That was how he had been communicating with others.

But now, he finally spoke with his own voice. That hoarse, ancient language—brimming with pure, bestial savagery—slowly spilled from his lips!

"Are you... betraying me?"

Jose seemed to be asking a question, but he received no reply. No one present could understand his obscure ancient syllables. His previous remarks had only been possible because of a language compiler Golden Hair had gifted him so he could interact with people.

But now, even that machine had been locked down. Jose knew he had already been Abandoned by Golden Hair!

With even the ability to communicate gone, leaving behind only future Despair, Jose lost any desire to explain himself.

He was just an ordinary man who had relied on a few self-taught spells, simply wanting to live a better life. That was why he had chosen to cooperate with the Government.

In the beginning, this partnership had been rather pleasant. He attained the life he had always dreamed of. He didn't even need to take significant risks to secure a high social status. He had lived happily.

Therefore, Jose hadn't used his emotion-manipulation abilities to throw this country into chaos. His simple values told him that if he treated others well, they would treat him well in return.

He loved that feeling. Being relied upon by everyone, having good relationships with everyone—it made him feel incredibly comfortable.

But now, stark reality and the visions of the future were loudly declaring that his belief in trading genuine sincerity for genuine sincerity was nothing but utter bullshit!

These Politicians, when were they ever genuine with him? There were only Interests, and that barely-existent transactional connection!

"So it turns out... everything was just my fantasy! It turns out that there is no warmth, no freedom..." Jose muttered to himself, finally coming to terms with his own naivety.

And so, Ancient and Solemn Spells slowly surfaced from his lips. "Oh, great Demon God Gaap... I completely understand it all now. This... is my choice!"

His face aged at a visible rate, but his body abruptly erupted with blinding radiance at this very moment.

Gaap had promised him before that if he chose to exchange for Knowledge, his body would rapidly age. He had made the exchange once in the past. Now, facing the threat of The Church and the betrayal of American Officials, he was going to make the exchange one more time!

Beneath that withered face beat a heart filled with lingering regret. "Gaap, Demon of Knowledge! I wish to cast my curse! I curse the man who betrayed me! He and his Family shall forever be Abandoned by Knowledge!"

"Even if I die here today, this curse shall be fulfilled!" Facing the Religious Tribunal before him, he spat out viciously!

This was the Era of the Extraordinary; every choice came with a Price!