This heretic cannot be burned, he must be hung up and whipped!

"Impossible... They are all... dead..."

A young soldier suddenly rushed out from the ranks and ran towards a figure in the mysterious team.

"Sir! Commander Johnson!" he cried, tears welling in his eyes. "You saved me... You covered my retreat..."

As he approached, he saw that the familiar officer's face was somewhat illusory, as if another unfamiliar face was hidden underneath. This "Captain Johnson" winked at him, made a silencing gesture within the range visible only to the two of them, then hugged the stunned soldier tightly and dragged him to the back of the crowd without explanation.

Karsus watched the entire scene unfold. He narrowed his eyes, his doubts growing even deeper.

Neos could actually manipulate the souls of the dead, even allowing them to reappear in the mortal world? This was beyond his understanding of the laws of the mortal world.

"This war has already cost too many innocent lives," Neos said calmly. "We are negotiating at the headquarters nearby."

Karsus was silent for a moment and nodded in agreement.

On their way to the headquarters, the Black Grail cultists were ecstatic, believing that Neos's compromise was a sign of weakness. They whispered to each other:

"The great Lord Karsus has intimidated the enemy!" "The hypocritical saint has finally revealed his true face!"

Meanwhile, the Crusaders were bewildered and uneasy. They had followed Neos through last night's bloody battle, witnessing his miraculous slaying of Asmodeus. Why would such a powerful leader choose to negotiate with the Plaguebringer?

"Your Excellency the Bishop, this is not worth it..." a senior officer whispered to Neos.

"You've already proven your strength. There's no need to negotiate with such a demon." Another general added, "Please allow us to eliminate this heretic and avenge our fallen brothers!"

Neos just shook his head calmly and continued walking forward. No one noticed that when he turned around, a look of pain flashed across his forehead and a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes.

--------

Inside the command center, sparks in the air were almost setting the room on fire.

Neos and Karsus sat facing each other, with only a simple wooden table between them. Behind Karsus stood several members of the cult. The Hell Wizard had disappeared, replaced by a hunter wearing some kind of animal skin and holding a huge bow.

Behind Neos are several of his most trusted commanders.

The atmosphere in the room was tense, and everyone could sense the hostility and vigilance in the air. Outside the window, on the battlefield in Dongcheng District, soldiers from both sides faced each other from a distance, neither daring to act rashly.

"Nyos," Karsus began, his voice as rough as sandpaper. "I must admit, you crushed Asmodeus like an ant... impressive. But do you really think you can change the course of this war single-handedly?"

Neos calmly stared at the other man's tumor-ridden face: "I never thought so. War is never decided by one person."

Karsus sneered, "Then you should understand your situation. Budapest has been completely surrounded by us. Your supply lines have been cut off, while our ammunition and manpower are endless. Even your proud air superiority has been rendered useless by our locusts."

"You're right," Neos nodded, "but you overlooked one point—you're not fighting beasts or corpses, you're fighting humans, and humans' greatest weapon isn't guns, but faith."

Karsus sneered: "Faith? Can faith stop artillery shells? Can it cure the plague? Look at those infected soldiers, hahahaha!"

It laughed loudly, pus splashed everywhere, and when it hit the blue and white barrier beside Neos, it emitted a hissing green smoke.

"It was with this belief that I expelled the power of Hell." Neos snapped his fingers, and a golden flame appeared on his hand, more than an order of magnitude smaller than the one last night. "Just like what I did to Asmodeus last night."

Karsus's expression changed slightly, and a hint of fear flashed in his eyes: "Asmodeus was too arrogant and underestimated you. I won't make the same mistake."

"Well then," Neos retracted his essence, concealing his fatigue as he leaned forward, "let's talk about more practical matters. I propose a prisoner exchange."

Prisoners of war? Are you kidding? Perhaps other Hell-leader chapters would take prisoners for spell material—especially that greedy Mammon—but their Black Grail Order would not take prisoners.

Neos wasn't a native of this world after all. He had only previously heard from Dominica about the existence of human prisoners in Hell. This was a huge loophole, and Karsus became more and more certain of his thoughts.

"This cursed one is definitely stalling for time!"

Karsus thought. The Lord of Flies has always operated differently from the other six leaders of Hell! Unlike those lords of Hell who primarily operate in the mortal realm through mortal followers, any creature infected with the Black Grail—human, horse, dog, insect, or otherwise—will quickly die. Then, driven by the demonic will, the corpse will stumble to its feet, half-dead and half-alive, becoming the next vessel for the spread of the Black Grail plague.

Any member of the regiment is at least a knight of the Order of the Fly. They must be fanatics who are willing to degenerate and accept the Black Holy Grail. Therefore, the Black Holy Grail Order does not accept and has no need to accept prisoners of war.

The atmosphere in the room relaxed slightly. Karsus gave a thoughtful look. "That's an interesting suggestion. But we have far more prisoners than you do."

Yes, there are quite a lot. As for whether they are alive or died and are now alive again, don’t ask.

"Quantity is not a problem," Neos also began to make up stories. He would never believe that a religious order named after spreading the plague would take so many prisoners. He could believe that the heretics would have a change of heart, but he would never believe that the loyalty of the Crusaders who fought to the death in the East District to him was fake!

Karthus laughed at Neos for not understanding the Black Grail, and Neos laughed at Karthus for not understanding loyalty.

This may be the difference in thinking between the two. Most of the loyalists of the Heretic Legion are bewitched by the power of Hell, or they turn to Hell in order to gain more powerful power.

Neos did not give the Crusaders indestructible armor and swords that could cut through iron like mud, nor did he give them planes, cannons and tanks. He would not use psychic power to turn mortal soldiers into puffs like God created the apostles.

All he can give to mankind is loyalty, courage and hope.

This is something more precious than diamonds, and the heretics will never understand.

"Your plague has claimed too many lives, and the soldiers you captured are suffering inhuman torture."

Neos could already guess that Karsus was stalling for time, probably waiting for reinforcements.

Karsus narrowed his eyes. "You seem to be well-informed about our...activities."

"I know more than you think," Neos said. "I know you're secretly preparing to try to get someone from Hell to give me a big shit."

This sentence froze Karsus's expression for a moment, but he quickly returned to normal. "Your intelligence work is good. But what does it mean to know? Can you appear in every corner of the city at the same time to stop the ritual?"

"Hmph," Neos raised his eyebrows, "but I can eliminate the mastermind of the ritual—you."

Karsus laughed. "You think I'm afraid of such a threat? If you truly possess the power, why waste time negotiating? Why not just kill me like you did to Asmodeus?"

Neos didn't answer immediately. The atmosphere in the room grew tense again, and the entourages of both sides began to talk in low voices. Karsus's lieutenant whispered in his ear, while Neos's commanders looked uneasy.

Karsus continued, "You should know that the number of Crusaders trapped in Budapest far exceeds our expectations. Even Lord Beelzebub was surprised. You resisted bravely, but bravery alone does not bring victory."

"If you think we are cornered, you are mistaken," Neos countered. "Reinforcements are gathering and will arrive soon. And, as you have seen, I have the power to dispel your plague and cleanse you of your curse."

"Stop acting. You definitely can't do it right now."

Karsus stood up. The ceremony had been completed and there was no need to continue to feign coziness with this paper tiger.

At this moment, a strange tremor erupted, and the ground shook slightly. Then, columns of purple-black smoke began to rise from all over the city, and the air was filled with the smell of blood and sulfur. Cultists struggled in agony before being transformed into even more powerful soldiers.

Karsus looked at the Lord of Hell's grace that had already covered the cult and laughed triumphantly: "It seems the time has come."

Neos' expression remained calm.

Outside the window, the Black Grail believers cheered, raised their hands, and prayed fervently to the sky, while the Crusaders gripped their weapons tightly, their faces filled with determination.

"You know, Neos," Karsus stood up, his voice filled with triumph, "I doubted your power from the beginning. Such a powerful psyker cannot exist in the world, not even a saint blessed by the God Tyrant."

Neos didn't say anything, just stared at the other person quietly.

"Now I understand," Karthus continued, a malicious glint in his eyes. "You are nothing but a paper tiger. A monster that grows in strength by burning the souls of its own kind!!"

The purple-black smoke outside the window began to converge, forming a huge vortex above the city. The ground tremors became more and more intense, and the buildings began to shake.

"The Black Grail Overlord is about to descend—witness the power of our Lord!" Karsus laughed wildly. "Then we will see if your so-called divine power can still protect you and your soldiers!"

Neos remained silent, which made Karsus more confident in his judgment.

"Look at you, you don't even have the energy to refute," Karsus said contemptuously. "Last night's battle must have exhausted all your strength. Those so-called 'resurrected' soldiers were nothing but illusions, a carefully designed deception to intimidate our soldiers."

Neos finally spoke, his voice still calm. "You are right, Karsus. Last night's battle did consume a great deal of my strength. Those soldiers were indeed merely illusions created by burning the souls of the dead. If I increase my strength further, I will, as you said, escape reality and enter the ethereal sea."

This frank answer made Karsus stunned for a moment, and then he burst into even more rampant laughter:

"Hahaha!! You admitted it! You finally admitted that you're just a liar!

A liar and a thief has become the new god of the ants!"

Neos smiled slightly. "I am not a god. I am just a man, a man who is willing to fight for what everyone believes in."

"Faith?" Karsus scoffed. "How many souls can your faith save? Haha! Save? You're just like the God Tyrant, treating the souls of ants as consumables. You have no cards left to play now!"

Neos stood up and walked to the window. The vortex above the city grew larger and larger, flickering with an ominous light. His soldiers stared at the sky in horror, while the Black Grail cultists knelt in excitement.

"I'm not here to play cards with you," Neos chuckled. "Just like you thought, we're both stalling for time."

"What?" Karsus had a bad feeling in his heart.

Neos raised his hand and pointed to another direction in the sky: "What a coincidence, I'm waiting for reinforcements too."

Karsus looked in the direction he pointed, and the expression on his face froze.

On the distant skyline, hundreds of fighter planes were approaching, the Vienna Air Force scrambling out in full force, their engines gradually becoming clearer. At the same time, a large airborne force began to jump from the planes, their parachutes forming a spectacular sight in the sunlight.

A transport plane flew over the ice of the Danube River next to the headquarters, and a figure wearing a battle robe and carrying a huge sword jumped out of the plane.

"This cross doesn't look very nice. I think my unit should use an eagle as its emblem from now on. What do you think?"

Neos asked back with a smile.

"Boom!" The fully armed paladin fell heavily to the ground, making a small hole.

"Warmaster! Kill that bastard in the city!"

Dominica knelt on one knee with a huge sword in hand, and said in a loud voice:

"Your will is obeyed—your majesty!"

PS: 240 votes, next update 4.5k...

Rising Flames: 1914: The Great Expedition Begins Sunday at 6 PM

As the title says, the book club of this book (the group number is in the first comment area) will organize a running group at 6 o'clock this Sunday evening. There will be a total of four book friends participating in this running group. Bei Zhai will guide the characters of the four book friends to conduct a trench expedition as a KP.

Since the rules of the board game Trench Crusader are that two players form a battle group to fight each other, it is not suitable for a group of players like us to play in a group, so Bei Zhai modified some of the rules, using Trench Crusader as the background, and modified the skill point mechanism of coc to create a rule.

Bei Zhai designed the plot of the group based on the identity cards of the book friends who joined the group. After all, if there is a heretic in the team, Bei Zhai will also design special tasks for him.

If you think Bei Zhai didn't respect the original work, I have no objection. You are right. Trench Crusader is a brand new open world adventure game. Players will set the identity of their own character card (it can be a heretic, a pagan, or a crusader), and encounter:

Different personalities - refers to crazy people and schizophrenic people;

Unique abilities - how could there be a Stand user?

Astonishing skills - Hua Tuo is reborn, and medical treatment is not enough, relying directly on faith and prayer;

Playing the pig and eating the tiger - a thin, sweet and soft little man-girl, but a Primarch;

Each with his own agenda - 24-year-old, a member of the White Lotus sect

companions, and together they defeated powerful enemies and completed a trench expedition mission-at the same time, gradually uncovered the truth about the identity of their teammates.

------

After the group run on Sunday, Beizhai will organize the running records and write a short story for everyone in literary language. He will choose whether to be anonymous based on the requirements of the participating book friends.

If you are a brother, come and dig trenches!

In Flame: 1914: Chapter 42: The Final Battle of Budapest

"Then let's see who will win in the end!"

"boom!!!"

After Karsus uttered these harsh words, all the tumors on his body exploded at once, and yellow-green pus and blood mixed with the power of the Lord of Hell invaded everything.

As soon as these liquids contaminated by the power of hell came into contact with Neos's blue-white flames, they turned into a gray-green mist and quickly spread outward. After only a few seconds, the command center was shrouded in the smoke of the Lord of Hell.

"Your Majesty!" Dominic shouted, waving his giant sword and rushing forward, wanting to kill Karsus, but was stopped by Neos with a gesture.

Neos' voice was heard in the thick fog: "He escaped. He has some brains."

Neos stepped out of the command center and held out his hand. A faint, pale blue flame slowly flowed from his hand, blazing on the ground. Unlike his previous devastating blows against the forces of Hell, this time Neos's flames took a long time to dispel Beelzebub's power. Several generals exchanged glances, concern in their eyes.

"Saint... He needs to rest." "Last night's battle consumed too much of his strength..."

Hearing these comments, Neos straightened his back, forcing himself to nod and smile at the soldiers. Only Dominica noticed the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth and the cold sweat that continued to seep from his forehead. The commanders knew that Neos was the last spiritual pillar of the city, and he must not fall!

"Long live the Saint!" a general shouted, and other soldiers quickly echoed him.

"Long live Neos!"

Neos waved to the soldiers with an encouraging smile on his face, but Dominica could see the weariness in his eyes. His arms stayed in the air for much shorter periods than usual, as if raising them required immense effort.

Dominica looked at Neos worriedly. Neos shook his head slightly and came closer, saying weakly, "Let's finish this quickly and drive the Black Holy Grail out. I can't hold on for much longer."

The voice grew fainter as Neos slowly made his way to the passenger seat of an S-1 Holy Judge, seeking a moment to catch his breath. Last night's battle had already taken a heavy toll on him, and he had also consumed his essence to imbue Dominica with the flames that could restrain the power of Hell. He desperately needed rest, but the increasingly pressing battle showed no sign of letting him off the hook.

"But Your Majesty—"