From God of Lies to Lord of All Worlds

Chapter 386: The Church, The Church!

Under Mario's orders, members of the Church all over the world spurred into action.

Although the consecutive waves of purging led by Angus had reduced the forces the global Church could mobilize to perhaps a mere tenth of what they once were.

The speed at which this remaining tenth mobilized was hundreds, if not thousands, of times faster than before!

In almost an instant, everyone in the vicinity was rallied. Even those far away immediately sprang into action, rushing to the nearest church to pray, hoping to lend some measure of strength to Mario's operation.

As Mario's plane approached the area, the surrounding nations received official notifications from the Church.

Golden Hair's administration was naturally the first to receive the message, which left them stunned. "What does this mean? The Church is voluntarily taking on these monsters?"

"Yes, Great Leader. His Holiness the Pope stated that they will ensure this monster does not leave the Caribbean Sea. They intend to safeguard the majority of the world's population!"

"So, do we need to clear a dedicated flight path for them?"

Golden Hair nodded instantly. "Clear it! Give them whatever they need and send them straight to the frontlines! Do not hesitate, do it right now!"

"Even though we do not yet have a way to fight these monsters, if the Church is stepping up to combat them, we absolutely cannot hold them back!""Setting aside everything else, we are all human. At the very least, in times like these, we must stand united!"

Golden Hair's words brought a heavy silence over the room, but what silenced them even more was the live feed displayed before them.

Following Kuchamama's commands, the Chosen by Heaven he had mutated were reduced to mindless instruments of slaughter.

Everyone knew exactly what kind of massacre these monsters would unleash once they reached the mainland, yet no one volunteered to intercept them.

Since the initial targets of these creatures were the surrounding islands, the major powers would not be the first to suffer. Therefore, their immediate thought was to wait and see.

After all, as long as the slaughter had not reached their own doorsteps, they felt no pain and suffered no loss. They preferred to let someone else bear the brunt of the assault.

Some even reasoned that the area was relatively close to Mexico, so surely the followers of the American God System ought to step up and handle it, right?

As for striking first themselves?

On what grounds? Why should they? Deploying their own forces meant spending money, persuading Congress, and facing attacks from political rivals. To them, such an endeavor was far too costly, so practically no one wanted any part of it.

At the very least, not a single one of these individuals, all content with being a figurehead and dodging responsibility, wanted to get involved.

Hadn't everyone seen the two ships full of Transcendent Beings retreating? They all shared the same mindset: die a Daoist friend, not a poor Daoist. Since the blade wasn't hanging over their own necks yet, let others bleed first. Such was human nature!

Just as they assumed the entire world shared their cowardly mindset, two patrol boats deployed from the French vessel, carrying black-robed clergymen.

"The Church is already making their move," Baron noted with surprise, standing beside Golden Hair. "They only have two dozen men, and they are preparing to clash with those monsters?"

"I guess they want to buy time for the people behind them to evacuate," Qian Si remarked with a sigh. "My God! Is this the Church you wished to establish?"

Even the most selfish individuals could not bring themselves to make snide remarks upon seeing this. They themselves might refuse to step onto the battlefield, but they could not help but admire the heroes who did.

Except—"All of our people are gone, right? Only the ship remains in place, broadcasting the feed?" Luo suddenly spoke up, causing everyone's hearts to skip a beat.

Why did that sound so tragic? Their people had actually all perished...

...

"The Lord laid down His life for us, and so we know what love is; and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." On the small boat, the bishop and clergymen from France were reciting their doctrine.

They had witnessed the combat power of these monsters and knew full well that their own abilities were far from enough to withstand such an onslaught.

Yet, as the bishop spoke those words, not a single clergyman chose to leave.

"We are brothers, we must stand together and offer our bodies completely!" someone declared. "His Holiness the Pope wishes for us to stop them, and so we must do exactly that! This is our vow, and our ultimate purpose!"

"We do not fear death, we only fear failing our mission!"

Just like that, this group blocked the path of the crystallized monsters, shouting, "This path is now forbidden! If you wish to pass, you will have to step over our bodies!"

Hearing this, Kuchamama turned his gaze toward them and sneered. "Three hundred years ago, that Spaniard said the exact same thing. He even wielded the Shroud, yet didn't he still end up as a cursed corpse? What makes you think you can stop me?"

Upon hearing this, the bishop grabbed his scepter without a second of hesitation and ruthlessly smashed it against his own head.

"O Lord, please transform this pain into thorns to impede the enemy's advance. Let my head become the cornerstone of this blockade, and let my body become the barrier that cuts off the eternal foe!"

His body visibly slumped, yet the bishop glared at Kuchamama and bellowed, "We are not trying to stop you ourselves, but the Lord's Radiance shall become an eternal foundation, enveloping this entire domain!"

He roared at the top of his lungs, "The blood of the lamb shall fill this chasm, and the eternal dam shall block out the abyss!"

Kuchamama was suddenly alarmed. "You lunatics of the Church! That guy from three hundred years ago was one, and so are you!"

He naturally wasn't afraid of these men fighting to the death, but this bishop wasn't trying to fight him—he was burning his life force simply to buy time.

This gave Kuchamama a very bad feeling. The people of the Church were utterly fanatical. If they really managed to pull something off, wouldn't he be the one left in a bind?

But it seemed he was a step too late. These men were terrifyingly resolute. They had already begun their final prayers, dropping to their knees on the small boats. Their voices echoed through the air, converging into a flowing river of brilliant light!

"Please accept these broken bodies as the final holy reliquaries. We beseech Your decree:

Let my blood be the mortar, Let my body be the bolt, Let my soul be the barricade.

Ego sum Ostium! (I am the door)"

At that very moment, their prayers transformed into solid, tangible Wish Power. Before everyone's eyes, an incredibly magnificent high wall unfurled!

The golden wall towered over the surface of the sea, completely obstructing the monsters' path forward!

"We have a strong city; salvation is set as its walls and ramparts!" the bishop declared loudly. He grew visibly weaker, for this prayer had drained nearly everything he had.

Yet he still refused to fall. Staggering to his feet, he locked eyes with the evil god before him. "The Lord shaped this world, and so the safety of this world shall be guarded by us, the servants of the Lord!"

"The Lord said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light!"

"We will hold the line here until your schemes end in total failure!"

This unnamed French bishop calmly watched as his own life force slowly slipped away.

For in that brief span of time, the crystallized monstrosities had already begun ramming into the barrier!

An ordinary shield could never withstand their relentless impact, so he directly linked his own life to the barrier, hoping to sustain it just a little while longer.

'Unfortunately, it won't hold for long...' he thought with a trace of regret. His face instantly drained of color, a sign of his body undergoing rapid depletion.

Right at that moment, a monk stepped forward, picking up the scepter that had fallen to the deck. Smiling at the bishop, he said, "Your Grace, how could we let you bear this burden alone? Count me in!"

"Don't! You are not me; you possess far less power and will be drained completely dry!" The bishop tried to stop them, but his efforts were in vain.

One after another, the monks surged forward to grasp the scepter, smiling softly at him. "Your Grace, we are fighting for this world. So, let us meet again in the Heavenly Kingdom!"

The golden barrier solidified once more, completely halting the crystallized monsters in their tracks. They could not advance a single inch and were forced to watch helplessly as the boats before them faded away.

Meanwhile, this exact scene was still being broadcasted to the high-level officials of numerous countries around the globe. As they watched, their eyes filled with deep sorrow and regret.

"What a fine group of monks... Just to stall for time... do they really have to sacrifice their lives?"

"Yes, just to buy time, they must sacrifice their very lives!" Mario whispered softly. "Is this the darkness that His Holiness Saint George spoke of? We, the Church, have met it head-on!"

Death and the apocalypse threatened the safety of all mankind, but in the face of such disasters, there were still those willing to stand as a shield before humanity. They were the Church!