From God of Lies to Lord of All Worlds

Chapter 337: Test of Conscience

As Saintess Caroline fell to her knees, the situation at the scene continued to spiral toward an irreversible and rapidly deteriorating state!

The battlefield dynamics were steadily worsening. Leon and George, currently engaged in fierce combat, were being subjected to relentless pressure.

The combined might of the demon and the Blood Ancestor of the vampires was simply too overwhelming for two individuals who had only recently acquired transcendent abilities. Their combat space was constantly compressed, and their will to fight was gradually crushed. The two transcendent monsters made it completely impossible for them to even mount a counterattack!

The sheer disparity in power caused the Paladin's golden light to flicker erratically.

Furthermore, the addition of the werewolf legion and the vampire army drastically escalated the pressure on the duo. At one point, they could not even lift their heads, allowing one of the two archdemons to free up his hands and directly approach Caroline.

"Just as Crown Baphomet said, you self-righteous fools who believe yourselves to be kind will always let that very kindness drag you into the abyss!"

"Tell me, if I go and slaughter those black serfs right now, what will you do?"

This former farmer still could not forget his so-called black agricultural tools. He declared, "I will slaughter every black person in this city! What right do they have to stand alongside a superior race like mine? They belong in the fields, picking cotton!"

The transcendent monster's gaze swept over everyone present. His sinister smile made them shudder. "Of course, I wouldn't mind turning this city into a new metropolis of vampires, either!"

"Sunlight will never reach this place again. This city shall become a dark sanctuary for vampires!"Vlad III's words stunned everyone into absolute silence. Only then did the crowd realize that the sun had long since vanished from the sky, replaced entirely by a dense blanket of dark clouds.

In the distance, many residents had already begun fleeing toward the city's outskirts. They were the first to react and attempt an escape, but it was an impossible endeavor.

There were simply too many smart people in this city. They had completely clogged the roads, forcing many to abandon their vehicles and set out on foot in a desperate bid to leave this city before the apocalypse engulfed it!

At that moment, Vlad III ascended directly into the air. Under everyone's watchful eyes, he suddenly spread his arms wide, scattering blood-red energy across the city like a massive spiderweb. The crimson beams struck numerous vehicles that had not managed to evacuate, blowing them up in deafening explosions!

An entire street, an entire district, was reduced to a sea of fire under the bombardment. The roaring explosions made everyone tremble in terror.

The agonizing screams, frantic shouts, and fearful wails of humanity rose and fell. To Vlad III, it was a spectacular symphony, causing him to narrow his eyes in sheer pleasure as he hovered in the sky.

He raised a hand, and streams of blood were forcefully extracted from the dead and dying. The crimson energy fed into his body, visibly strengthening his already formidable power even further.

This vampire's actions were the very definition of unbridled cruelty!

Caroline was furious. "The choice you presented isn't even over yet, and you're already so impatient to slaughter ordinary people!?"

Hearing this, the two demons exchanged a glance and burst into uproarious laughter!

"There was never a choice, Saintess! Hell is not like Heaven, offering you tiny slivers of hope. Hell has only ever offered despair!" Vlad III's smile was incredibly reckless and wild. He pointed at the two transcendent beings before him, then at the surrounding space, his face twisted in a smile brimming with dark desires.

"These two here will die, the ten thousand people outside will die, and everyone in this city will die!"

"Whether it happens now or in the near future, their deaths are merely an impending inevitability!"

"And they will all die because of your choices, Saintess!"

"No matter what you choose, the outcome remains entirely unchanged. You will witness the birth of this terrifying crisis, and you will watch as these faithful believers perish completely due to your decisions!"

The massive audience watching was thrown into an uproar. Only now did they fully grasp the demons' true intentions. These monsters never planned to let anyone live; everyone was going to die!

"No! This is Luo City, the place where God first manifested. Something like that will not happen here!" George bellowed. "Your Highness the Saintess, please leave this place first! We will win this battle!"

Leon hurriedly chimed in, "He's right, Your Highness! You cannot let anything happen to you. If the situation goes south, these two will definitely target you first. Please, leave immediately!"

They were still struggling immensely just to defend themselves, but the sincere concern in their voices deeply moved Caroline.

Hearing their words, Vlad III suddenly plummeted from the sky, slamming terrifying rays of light onto the two knights. "As expected of The Church's lapdogs. So incredibly stubborn!"

Remus's tone, on the other hand, was much more nonchalant. "But since this is still being broadcast live, I might as well make it simpler. People of this city, look closely. This is Saintess Caroline. If you can betray her right in front of us, we might just spare your lives!"

He stared at Caroline, his face full of morbid amusement. "Hell isn't completely intent on killing everyone. As long as you do as I say, I guarantee you won't die. How about it?"

"This is the destiny of a Saintess. Joan of Arc couldn't escape it back then, and neither can you!" He leaned his face toward the screen. Incredibly, that ferocious, terrifying visage carried a strange charm, its beguiling intent practically self-evident.

Caroline had already seen through his facade, and the divine light in her eyes grew even more intense.

Upon hearing those words, many people who had already lost all hope of escape abruptly turned their heads around!

A dangerous glint appeared on their faces as a tiny sliver of hope sparked in their hearts. If it meant staying alive, wouldn't betraying the Saintess be an acceptable price to pay?

After all, The Church wouldn't do anything to harm ordinary people, but the demons absolutely would kill them without hesitation!

Consequently, many suddenly began to mutter, "Your Highness the Saintess, just so we can survive, it's fine if we temporarily betray you, right?"

"Yeah, you guys haven't even won the battle. We can't just throw our lives away just because we believed in you!"

"I'm going to betray you, little girl. I have to live..."

Hearing these selfish murmurs, Caroline clenched her fists tightly.

It wasn't until this very moment that some of the independent media and journalists who were still filming came to a sudden realization.

What choice? Why would a demon ever offer a genuine choice? They had prepared everything in advance; they had set this entire stage just to attack her heart and shatter her spirit!

The Church represented the good guys, and so the good guys were the ones who ended up with a gun pointed at their heads!

This was a deliberate manipulation of human nature. Could the Saintess even say 'no'?

She couldn't. She didn't even have the opportunity to utter a single word in self-defense or justification. Any attempt to do so would merely sound like excuses, and in a matter of life and death, no one would bother listening to her explanations.

The Saintess was also a good person. Therefore, if she wanted to save people, her only option was to eradicate all the demons. Yet, even if she did, she likely wouldn't receive any gratitude. People would just complain, 'Why didn't you act sooner? Why didn't you save more people?'

'If you had just acted earlier, everyone wouldn't have died! Why didn't you do something?'

The sharper minds could even deduce that the core of this incident wasn't about the battle or the threats. It was about stacking all these burdens together to inflict immense psychological pressure and mental oppression upon Caroline!

It was an open conspiracy, a brutal test of conscience for Saintess Caroline!

She had done absolutely nothing wrong, yet it was precisely because of her choices that the people here were plunged into a horrifying crisis!

Under the malicious guidance of the demons, everyone—whether physically present or watching the live broadcast—would start to wonder: Was it simply because she showed up that so many people had been dragged into this nightmare?

First the ten thousand people, then the transcendent beings on the scene, and now the entire city. Her very excursion seemed to be the catalyst for the disaster.

Caroline naturally understood this as well. Her face pale, she continued to kneel in prayer. 'Teacher, is this the pressure Joan of Arc endured? I think I understand now...'

...

"Crown, we aren't going to help, right?" Alvin, who had been closely observing the scene, asked with a hint of surprise. "If Caroline fails to hold on, this city will literally become Hell!"

"Even God was willing to send down the Great Flood and destroy a world. Why should I be unable to let go of a single city?" Bai Yang replied casually. "Besides, the demons won't just slaughter indiscriminately; it won't affect the grand scheme. More importantly, have faith in our very first Godhead Shard possessor. Her piety surpasses anyone else's!"

"Whether she succeeds or fails, we reap the benefits. Furthermore, the Underworld for various races is currently being established. Even if people die, I can still make them serve a purpose in the world to come!"

Bai Yang had noticeably become much colder. With the completion of the Faith Sealing the Nation plan, the Wish Power of the entire planet was now fully under his control, sparking new ideas within him regarding the very structure of this world.

The survival of a single city, a single region, or even a specific group of people was no longer critical. The true crux lay in the convergence of faith, the physical manifestation of the deity itself, and the understanding that the world's believers held toward that divine entity.

To be precise, it was time for an expansion update. The world needed to transition from having mere fragments of transcendent power to the era of the War of the Gods!