The Lord Demon King is Unfathomable!

Chapter 1283 378: Dongshi Imitates Xishi (Part 3)

He clearly understands how he succeeded; the Extraordinary Power is just one aspect. More importantly, it's because of the absence of order in the slums, allowing strongmen like him to exploit opportunities.

The settlement under his command must never experience similar incidents again. This world does not need a second "Messiah" who declares war on the Wasteland.

He began selecting servants among his followers who have the potential to perceive "Source Power," replacing Outer Realm's Divine beings in the Void to actively bestow them Strength and appoint them as "Ruins Shepherds." He sent them to more distant wastelands to spread the holy gospel of the "Messiah."

An epic and mighty holy war has begun.

A "Divine Envoy," who is ten times more brutal and absurd than any mob, declares war on the marauders across the wasteland, aiming to establish a Divine Kingdom absent of violence and death.

Though it sounds ridiculous, to the Scavengers struggling on the Wasteland, it's absolutely wonderful...

...

Merk is successful, and so is Kael.

At least, that's how it began.

On the cruel "Steam Ruins" of the 178th Void Realm, no power is more tempting than that rivaling Divine beings.

Coincidentally, his enlightened object was an "wraith" whose ambition was no less fierce than his own.

This wraith would soon begin assimilating other wraiths.

Time accelerated its flow, and the snowball built from resentment rolled across the wilderness in an incredible speed.

A newly emerging cult, named "Ark of Redemption," rapidly grew under the leadership of "Divine Envoy" Kael, attracting countless desperate Scavengers.

They quickly grew, using the blood and flesh of followers and God-given Holy Light, conquering and annexing surrounding tribes through the most brutal means, followed by deceiving distant fools with false promises and a promising future.

Initial success made Merk extremely excited in the observation room.

He almost regarded Colin's thesis as a guiding principle, believing he had thoroughly grasped the ultimate mystery of Void Realm intervention!

It was too easy!

"Not enough!"

Through the Void Lens, Merk greedily watched the rapidly expanding divine kingdom, continuously issuing new orders to his "Divine Envoy" Kael.

"Kael, you don't have enough followers yet. You shouldn't just indulge in immediate pleasures; there are still many pitiful people in this wasteland awaiting your salvation!"

"Go unleash their potential! Let them embrace your divine kingdom, with body and soul, until this filthy wasteland is entirely purified!"

Kael firmly believed in Merk's teachings.

Like the enlightenment he drew from history, it was people's endless pursuit of material things that led this world into the Abyss of decline.

Now, he saw a better choice.

Why not lead his kin to embrace a more advanced spiritual ideology?

Whether for civilization or his personal ambition, this was the most beneficial choice!

A larger ambition germinated within Kael. He not only wanted to be the King of this land but also its God!

While Merk's Mage Tower accelerated the flow of time in the Void Realm, Kael actively recruited more Transcendents to join his "Salvation Army."

The significant advantages brought by Source Power indeed accelerated the end of chaos in the wasteland, allowing the "Ark of Redemption" to expand at unprecedented speeds, even leading to brief yet incredible prosperity.

However, on the other hand, it also spawned new and even more terrifying chaos, sowing the seeds of disintegration within this grand and bloated organization.

Those selected as "Ruins Shepherds," and who also mastered Extraordinary Power, soon became dissatisfied with the worship of lower-tier followers and the intangible spiritual comfort.

They began to crave more, more tangible things—such as wealth, slaves, and unrestricted power!

Under the guise of "salvation," they enslaved; under the guise of "charity," they plundered; under the guise of "civilizing," they spread ignorance and foolishness.

A form of exploitation more thorough than feudal aristocracy came into existence on this advanced yet decaying land.

Here, "Nobles" were not called Nobles but "Messiahs," just like the Nobles in the High Tower were not called Nobles but Professors or Masters.

While exercising supreme power, they need not bear any corresponding feudal obligations. The oppressed "saved ones" could only endure in silence, praying humbly that these high and mighty messiahs possess good personal virtue and cultivation...

But in the wasteland, this is the rarest thing of all.

Merk did not intentionally weave the doctrine of the Ark Sect but inadvertently transmitted the Academy's model to his "Divine Envoy," who cleverly "localized" it.

Meanwhile, to obtain more "Source Power" to please the God and satisfy their own swelling desires, the "Ark of Redemption" sect began adopting more radical and even cruel methods to spread the gospel of Holy Light.

These methods included but were not limited to seeing all non-believers as Evil Spirits to be massacred, and intentionally causing man-made disasters for the sake of spreading salvation.

For instance, creating a plague or famine, then saving the survivors when the Scavengers barely cling to life, singing praises to the death that could have been avoided.

In the end, redemption became the credit of True God Merk, while how death arrived was lightly buried in the dust.