Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

The remaining shells were about to fall on the parish, causing devastating damage.

At this critical moment, a blinding burst of lightning suddenly erupted from the top of the Tiantong Cathedral!

A humanoid figure, entirely composed of blazing white lightning, stepped out from the lightning; it was the lightning avatar left behind by Zhang Zhiwei.

If Zhang Zhiwei himself were present, facing this dense barrage, he could simply use "Eight Gates Transfer" as he did last time, creating eight enormous black holes in the void to envelop the entire Tiantong Church District, and then transferring all the incoming artillery fire back intact.

However, this lightning avatar was only an avatar and could not use the art of divination. Nevertheless, he was not without options in this situation.

If you watch military channels, you'll know that most air defense interception systems in later generations launch missiles from the ground, detonating incoming missiles in the air with extremely high speed and accuracy. The landlady's lion's roar just now was actually based on this principle.

Lightning Incarnation can do the same thing, and he can do it even better, more accurately, and faster than the Landlady!

Actually, even if the landlady hadn't made a move, Lightning Incarnate would have done so once the cannonballs were close. Seeing that the landlady was overwhelmed, he finally intervened.

The lightning incarnation raised its hands, and its palms shone with a light even brighter than the lightning surrounding its body.

"Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!"

Thick, palm-sized bolts of lightning shot out from his palm! They were like incredibly precise laser beams, catching up with the stray shells at an astonishing speed!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

In mid-air, bursts of dazzling fireballs exploded!
Those shells that were supposed to explode and claim lives within the parish were all precisely detonated in safe airspace beforehand! Not a single one escaped!
The landlady, who had just unleashed her Lion's Roar, was panting heavily when she saw this scene, and a relieved smile immediately appeared on her face.

"The little celestial master... has finally made his move!"

Fire Cloud Evil God, Landlord, and the members of the protection team below all breathed a long sigh of relief.

In their eyes, the leader of the Tiantong Sect, also known as the Little Celestial Master, was practically a god who could reach the heavens. With him around, the Tiantong Cathedral would definitely be safe.

This is not because they blindly worship, but because they have real lessons to learn from the past.

The last time the Japanese pirates' combined fleet invaded our borders, wasn't it all dealt with by Zhang Zhiwei single-handedly? Once is never enough!
Moreover, last time it was just a hasty response, but this time, he made meticulous arrangements in advance within the parish, which is the biggest source of their confidence to lead the believers to defend this place to the death.

On the command vehicle in the distance, Takeshita Yujiro could not see the specific situation inside the Tiantong Church, but he could clearly see that all the shells fired by his own fleet and cannons were precisely destroyed by streaks of silver lightning that stretched out from the church when they flew over the Tiantong Church!
His face darkened, and he immediately knew that this must be the work of that young celestial master. After all, that master was most skilled in thunder magic.

I just don't know if this lightning magic was launched by the "lightning ghost god" they mentioned, or by that little celestial master himself?

Takeshita Yujiro pondered for a moment and decided it should be the former. The young celestial master probably hadn't arrived yet. After all, the current situation wasn't so dire that he needed to personally intervene to turn the tide. According to his original plan, he should have forced the young celestial master out by building a Jingguan (a mound of statues).

"General, what should we do in this situation?" The chief of staff asked, somewhat at a loss, looking at the fireballs exploding all over the sky.

"Let's try firing another round of shells!" Takeshita Yujiro said coldly. "This time, spread out even more! Fire the naval guns first, then cover the mountain guns, and finally the bombers' heavy bombs! Give me a saturation attack in batches and from multiple angles! I don't believe his torpedo magic is endless and can stop all the shells!"

"Hai!"

The order has been given, and another round of even more intense artillery fire is about to plow the land!

However, no matter how fast their artillery fire was, it couldn't outrun lightning.

Faced with this overwhelming attack, Lightning Transformation remained motionless, his hands becoming a blur of motion. The continuous palm lightning bolts, like Gatling guns, spewed out dense bolts of electricity, weaving an impenetrable net of lightning that intercepted all the incoming fire at a safe distance.

Outside, even a lightning incarnation would exhaust their energy after several rounds of such intense use of palm lightning, forcing them to retreat and rest. But this is the Tiantong Diocese! Here lies the "Well of Yanghao," personally arranged by Zhang Zhiwei!
The boiling pool of lightning underground is continuously providing energy to the incarnation of lightning.

His power here is almost limitless. Even if Takeshita Yujiro used up all his ammunition and blew up all his cannons, he still couldn't outlast the lightning incarnation backed by the "Well of Yanghao"!

Moreover, when Takeshita Yujiro arranged for the bombers to dive and drop bombs again, the Lightning Incarnation was no longer content with passive defense.

With a sudden movement, he transformed into a real bolt of lightning and soared into the sky!

“Sizzle——!!!”

He suddenly spread his arms wide in mid-air, and countless thick bolts of lightning erupted from his body, instantly forming a terrifying thunderstorm area!

The fighter jets had no time to dodge and crashed headlong into the thunderstorm.

The violent electric current instantly pierced the aircraft's skin, burned the sophisticated instrument panel, and detonated the fuel tanks and the bombs it was carrying!
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A series of violent explosions rang out in the air! Several fighter jets instantly turned into huge, burning fireballs, trailing thick smoke, and spun towards the earth like kites with broken strings.

The shockwave from the explosion created visible white shockwaves that rippled outwards, shattering the surrounding clouds.

With his fighter jet destroyed, Takeshita Yujiro was furious! He never expected things to turn out this way! The enemy not only withstood all the artillery fire, but even had the strength to retaliate and destroy the Empire's fighter jet!

Everyone around witnessed this scene.

Not only Takeshita Yujiro, but also the people hiding in the parish, the foreigners from the Municipal Council watching from afar, and even some Chinese military reconnaissance personnel lurking in the shadows, all witnessed this miraculous scene.

The crowd was initially shocked, but then erupted into a thunderous cheer!

"This... the Heavenly Tong Sect Leader!"

"This must be the spirit of the Heavenly Tong Sect Master manifesting himself!"

"I knew it! At a time like this, the Heavenly Tong Sect Leader would never turn a blind eye."

"Please, Lord Tiantong, unleash your divine power and wipe out all these despicable Japanese pirates!"

Many of them, although members of the Tiantong Church, were just ordinary believers who occasionally went to the church to burn incense and pray for peace. Therefore, they did not immediately hide in the church this time.

But now, having witnessed firsthand the divine power of the Heavenly Lord in protecting all living beings and shooting down enemy planes, they were filled with boundless reverence and gratitude. They secretly vowed to be even more devout in their faith in the Lord and to follow him even more faithfully!

The foreigners at the Municipal Council were utterly shocked, their mouths agape, speechless for a long time. One consul muttered to himself, "No wonder the Church of God withdrew from here; it turns out... such a terrifying force was hidden here!"

The spies from the Jianghu Inn were so excited their hands trembled. They quickly took out specially made magical artifacts to record the entire scene. This was big news, enough to shake the entire world of supernatural beings!
As for the Shenzhou army's reconnaissance personnel, their eyes lit up despite their shock.

"good chance!"

"The Japanese fleet is keeping a close watch on this place, and many of our aircraft are tied down here! This is the perfect opportunity for us to launch a counterattack and retake the position!"

In the distance, atop a tall building.

Army General Matsui put down his binoculars and looked at the sky reddened by the fire. His navy had suffered a setback, with casualties and planes crashing. On his gloomy face, there was no anger, but rather a sneer of schadenfreude.

"Hmph! Navy idiots! What a bunch of useless trash!"

He said to the army staff officer next to him, "This group of useless people always shouts slogans loudly, puts on a grand show, and is more eager than anyone else when it comes to asking for funding."

"But once the fighting starts, their true colors will be revealed! Look at the battles over the years, the Northeast battlefield, the North China battlefield, every victory was won by our mainland army."

"If we rely on these useless ship-flyers, our empire will be finished sooner or later. It's a pity... those dim-witted high-ranking officials in headquarters are always fooled by the slogans of these idiots! This time, let's see how they get out of this mess!"

Yujiro Takeshita looked at the scene before him, his face so gloomy it seemed as if water could drip from it.

He realized that continuing to simply bombard the area with artillery fire was pointless and would only be a waste of ammunition; he had to find other ways to break the deadlock.

"Soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals. To deal with ghosts and gods, you still have to use ghosts and gods."

He took a deep breath and pulled out several talismans with black characters on white paper from his pocket.

This was a talisman personally given to him by the High Priest of Shintoism before his departure. Each talisman sealed a powerful spirit, which, once activated, could be summoned to fight for him.

Then, he suddenly threw the several talismans in his hand into the air.

The imperial edict rose into the sky, higher and higher.

Immediately afterwards, the jet-black runes on the talisman began to flicker with an eerie light, and large clumps of black mist appeared out of thin air and spread rapidly.

From within the black mist, eerie laughter echoed, sending chills down one's spine.

"Jie Jie Jie Jie..."

The laughter was extremely penetrating, reaching not only the ears of the surrounding Japanese soldiers but also penetrating through layers of walls, exploding directly in the minds of everyone in the Tiantong Diocese.

Immediately afterwards, a sharp, piercing sound rang in everyone's minds:
"Master of the Heavenly Tong Sect! Come out and face your death!"

Within the parish, the believers, who had just settled down, suddenly changed their expressions.

Everyone gasped in astonishment, clutching their heads and looking around. Many covered their ears, but the sound remained crystal clear. They were horrified to discover that the sound wasn't being heard through their ears, but had instead penetrated directly into their brains, leaving them with no way to escape it.

"What's that sound? It's so eerie!"

"My God! Is this a ghost calling back its soul?"

But soon, someone pointed out the window and exclaimed, "Look! Outside!"

The sky outside was now shrouded in a thick black fog, making the already gloomy sky even darker, as if the end of the world had arrived.

"What strange tricks have the Japanese pirates used this time?" Fire Cloud Evil God frowned as he looked at the black mist outside.

"It should be." The landlady's expression was solemn. "Legend has it that the Shintoism of the Japanese pirates is most skilled at exorcising spirits and commanding ghosts. This commotion is probably caused by the ghosts and spirits they have summoned."

"Don't be afraid!" the landlord said, trying to appear calm. "In this respect, Taoism is their ancestor! To think they can deal with the Little Celestial Master using these unorthodox methods is just wishful thinking."

Although the group had blind faith in Zhang Zhiwei, the voice that had just rang directly in their minds was a terrifying torment for the ordinary believers, especially the infants and children adopted by the Tiantong Church.

For a time, the parish was filled with crying, and many children were so frightened that they cried loudly, and some even had seizures on the spot.

Outside the Tiantong Diocese, black mist churned violently, with countless terrifying figures appearing and disappearing within it.

Most of them had scarlet, menacing eyes, and as they swept through the air with gusts of eerie wind, they emitted a sharp whistling sound, like a real parade of a hundred ghosts.

And deep within that thick black fog, several enormous and terrifying figures slowly emerged.

One of them was about ten feet tall, with a bright red body, two heads, four arms, a ferocious face like a demon, protruding fangs, and four weapons—a knife, a spear, a sword, and a halberd—held on its four thick arms. It exuded a strong aura of bloodlust.

The other demon was entirely black, with hard black scales covering its skin, a sharp horn on the top of its head, and eerie black flames burning around it.

Beside them stood a monster with a bird's head, a human body, and a pair of broad black wings on its back, holding a tin staff and with eyes as sharp as an eagle's.

In the very center of these three demons, an even taller figure slowly emerged.

It wears the robes of a Shugendo monk, high-toothed wooden clogs, holds a feather fan, has a crimson face, a high nose like a peak, and wings on its back that can be spread several meters wide, each flap of which brings up a gust of wind and lightning.

As soon as these four ghostly figures appeared, a chilling wind howled and ghostly wails filled the surrounding area. Not to mention the ordinary people around, even the battle-hardened Japanese soldiers felt a chill run down their spines and a sense of unease.

On a distant high-rise building, Army General Matsui, who was watching the battle through binoculars, saw this scene and his expression changed drastically.

He used to visit the Ise Grand Shrine frequently, so he naturally recognized these things.

Although the main deity enshrined at Ise Grand Shrine is Amaterasu Omikami, other guardian spirits are also enshrined in some side halls that are not open to the public. The four figures in front of us are clearly the top-tier shikigami that the chief priest enshrines in those side halls!
"A four-armed demon, a black demon, a crow tengu, a great tengu... and so many lesser demons! That idiot Takeshita Yujiro actually got such strong support from the Grand Master! With so many demons around, he should definitely be able to take down that church. But this fool didn't tell me a thing? He deserves to die!!" Matsumoto cursed inwardly. (End of Chapter)