From God of Lies to Lord of All Worlds

Chapter 341: Faith is Power, but Also Perseverance

Outside the city, in a desolate Wilderness.

A Monk named John was leading the Transcendents of the Holy See in a frantic escape!

Just moments ago, he had brought his men here on a rescue mission, never expecting to plunge headfirst into a trap. They were nearly surrounded.

The Blood Thralls surged like a vast ocean, threatening to drown them entirely.

In truth, these Blood Thralls were not individually strong. Although there were hundreds of them, their Combat Power was merely at the absolute limit of a normal human. In the eyes of the Transcendents, they should have been easily dealt with.

However, who could have anticipated that it wasn't just these few hundred? The remaining ten thousand captives were all Blood Thralls!

They had hidden themselves flawlessly. When the rescue team approached, they were even crying out for help!

But the moment they rushed over, these black people suddenly transformed. Their skin turned a sickly pale, and sharp fangs protruded from their mouths!

Several clergymen who had stepped forward to help couldn't dodge in time and were bitten outright. Now, they were being dragged along in the desperate retreat.

Right behind them, tens of thousands of Blood Thralls with glowing red eyes were sprinting in pursuit.In one-on-one combat, they could have managed to slowly Clean Up these ten thousand Blood Thralls. But this was a heavily outnumbered fight against fearless monsters. They had no other option but to flee.

If they were truly encircled, a single bite from each monster would be enough to consume them all!

After all, they were not the Divine Favored, but members of the Holy See who possessed Precepts. Their Combat Power far exceeded that of ordinary people, yet they had not reached the realm of the "inhuman."

They were roughly equivalent to Supernatural Monsters that could briefly contend with small military forces. Perhaps in the future, as they continued their cultivation, they would grow stronger, but right now, it was far from enough.

"Do not head toward Luo City! We go into the desert, head east!" John shouted anxiously to the people around him. They were enduring the blazing Sun, their foreheads drenched in sweat, but they didn't dare pause for even a second.

Behind them, a horde of over ten thousand surged forward like a dark tide, threatening to swallow them whole.

He knew clearly that if they fled west, they might encounter reinforcements or the Holy Maiden, greatly increasing their chances of survival.

However, such a decision would inevitably turn the entirety of Luo City into a hellscape of Devils and monsters. Although the city was currently not much different from Hell, allowing ordinary people to endure such Suffering was something his Doctrine and Faith strictly forbade.

"Clergyman John, we can't head southeast either! There's a small town there. We can only go due east!" someone yelled. They immediately made a sharp turn, continuing their grueling and desperate flight.

Originally, they could have easily escaped, but someone raised a grim question: if they truly got away, where would these monsters go?

The answer was obvious. The horde would scatter, hunting for fresh blood in the surrounding areas!

That would result in an immeasurable sin. The mere thought filled them with terror, so John made the final call to lure these creatures into the eastern wasteland.

Only in that desolate expanse could the resulting crisis be minimized.

But it was precisely these frequent course corrections and changing destinations that caused the distance between them and the horde to shrink. Especially now, burdened with caring for the wounded, their movement speed had dropped below that of the pursuing monsters!

What this meant was abundantly clear: it wouldn't be long before they were overtaken.

Everyone knew it, but no one spoke a word of it. Instead, they hoisted the injured onto their backs, pushing their strength to the absolute limit in an attempt to run faster!

"Clergyman John, put us down..." Right at that moment, the several bitten clergymen called out. "We are slowing you down. Leave us here so we can buy you some time!"

John shook his head. "No, you haven't been fully transformed yet. As long as we can make it back and find Cardinal Angus or Her Highness the Holy Maiden, you can still be saved!"

Their divine power could resist the corruption, meaning they would be fine in the short term.

"No, it doesn't work like that. If you keep dragging us along, everyone will die here!" the wounded men replied with utmost composure. "Put us down. We can help delay them a little longer."

Hearing these words, John felt a wrenching agony in his chest. But he also knew this was no time for sentimentality. It was the best solution.

"Put them down!" John ordered loudly.

"Clergyman, there's no need, I can carry them with me!" a Monk protested, but John's mind was made up.

"I said, put them down!" John roared. "I will bear all the responsibility. I will go before His Holiness the Pope to repent for my sins, but right now, drop them!"

Hearing this absolute command, the rest had no choice but to lower the injured from their backs and continue their desperate sprint forward. Only John stayed behind for a fleeting moment, facing the wounded to offer a final blessing.

"The Lord will bless you!"

"We will pray for you from Heaven, clergyman!" The men who stayed behind smiled, speaking in unison. "May the Lord's Radiance shine across the earth!"

John turned and sprinted away without looking back, leaving the few men to support one another as they stood up. They turned to face the incoming tide of Blood Thralls.

These darkened monsters were not scorched by the glaring Sun, as they were not true Vampires. They were merely Blood Thralls—failed creations of a Vampire's conversion. They couldn't fly and lacked potent regenerative abilities, but they were utterly fearless and completely disregarded casualties. That alone left the Transcendents of the Holy See with no choice but to flee.

But now, these few men had stopped running. At this distance, they could clearly see the Ferocious monsters' glowing red eyes and deathly pale faces. An ordinary person would have been paralyzed with Fear.

Yet, these men felt none. They simply stood their ground, silently watching the harbingers of their impending doom draw near.

"Do not succumb to Fear. The Lord's Radiance shines upon us, and the gates of Heaven have already opened wide for us, my brothers!"

The man leading them spoke softly, his voice devoid of hesitation. "This will be our final prayer in the Mortal Realm, brothers. Now is the time to lay down our lives for the Lord's Radiance. Are you... afraid?"

"No!" the youngest Monk shouted. "The Faithful of our Lord must never fear the enemy!"

Even as his body trembled violently, he stood tall and began his prayer:

"I once filled the confessional with the snores of sloth, Today, I vow to become the gatekeeper's stone!

Let monstrous claws tear my shins into a deadbolt, From every fracture shall bloom the suffering thorns of Saint Benedict!"

"How could there be Fear? I fear only that I have failed to spread the Lord's Divine Glory to every corner the Sun cannot reach!" an elderly Priest murmured softly. He too stepped forward, his weathered and aged frame standing straight and resolute.

"I once diluted the Holy Blood with my vanity, Today, I brew it anew with my very viscera!

I pray my torso be crushed into communion host, May my anointing oils and marrow boil into a river of fire to guard the path!"

"Indeed..." The leading man drew his Scepter. He was a Bishop, the steadfast shepherd of a diocese who strictly adhered to Doctrine. "We possess no Fear, only devotion! We have nothing but devotion! Because the Lord's Realm is right before our eyes, and behind us lies the stairway to the Heavenly Kingdom!"

"The cat's-eye on my staff was once set in compromise, Today, it shatters to forge a death-defying Morning Star!

I pray this broken shell becomes a final reliquary, To erupt with the chilling prayers of Monte Cassino's Monks!"

Together, they chanted a unified prayer. "O Lord, You are the one, You are the myriad, You are the Lord of Hosts, You are the absolute..."

At that exact moment, black thorns sprouted from beneath the Monk's feet, emerging directly from his shinbones, transforming into rocky Spikes that formed a barricade before them.

The Priest's Ribs seemed to bleed. As the crimson drops struck the earth, they ignited into an endlessly surging river of fire!

And in the Bishop's hands, the cat's-eye Scepter erupted with a brilliant golden Light, sweeping a devastating Radiance into the enemy swarm!

The advancing Blood Thralls were brutally halted by this three-pronged assault. Only after enduring catastrophic casualties did the horde finally reach the defiant clergymen.

Everyone knew they were going to die, yet no one flinched. Stripped of all Fear, they faced the bloodthirsty monsters with nothing but serene smiles!

They fell to their knees. Welcoming the frenzied Blood Thralls was their collective, final prayer:

"O Lamb of Eternal Life!

Accept this hasty Mass of Blood Sacrifice:

A Monk's bones as the nine-fold communion host, A Priest's blood as the chalice of the New Testament, A Bishop's eyes as the lanterns of Eternity.

We pray You decree—

That the fleeing Footprints brand the earth as an Angel's ascending stair, And that our names

Be carved upon the title page of today's ledger of Martyrdom:

'They laid down their lives for the Sheep.'"

Amidst this solemn prayer, they were entirely swallowed by the sea of Blood Thralls. There were no agonizing screams, no weeping. There was only a final, hushed plea, the ultimate invocation of these clergymen: "Amen!"

The Blood Thralls surged past them, leaving behind three Corpses and a ground bathed in holy light.