Chat group, if you have anything to say to my Holy Sword,

Xiling is there, fighting to liberate those assimilated by the ancient gods...

Yes, for the liberation of people, but... not her.

Elena gently patted her cheeks, and a smile returned to her face.

"Why think so much? Things have come to this point, there's no going back. Rather than waiting here to be assimilated by that ancient god, we might as well take a gamble."

Just as the knights were about to rush outside to find the priest.

The door is open.

In the broken moonlight, the shadows at the entrance enveloped the entire church; the priest everyone had been longing for had returned.

Excitement and joy appeared on people's faces. They asked the priest where he had gone, and whether he knew what was happening outside. Some even told the priest not to leave without saying goodbye again.

As Garland walked toward the podium, he smiled and responded to everyone, just as he had always done.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Garland walked up to the podium. He stood on it and looked around at the crowd, and the people also looked at him. Although they were a little puzzled as to why the priest was standing there, they were all waiting for him to speak.

Galland closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, the priest's kindness had vanished, replaced by the indifference of a fraudster.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he slammed his hand on the podium and shouted at them.

"Listen up, everyone!"

The priest's sudden shout was unexpected by everyone. The usually calm and peaceful priest now showed an expression they had never seen before.

But Lanster continued speaking, his voice resounding throughout the entire church.

"All of you, including me, are dead!"

"Did you hear me? You're all dead!"

His words and his current frenzied behavior caused others to exchange puzzled glances, and some cautiously inquired.

"Father Garland, what's wrong with you?"

However, these words seemed to further provoke Lanster, who jumped onto the podium and pointed at his own face.

“Look closely, I’m the same conman from three years ago. I’m not a priest at all. You’ve all been fooled by me.”

Garland spread his hands, as if pleased with himself for being able to deceive everyone.

"You idiots, look carefully! I am Lanster! The priest you all know died the moment this dream appeared!"

"Ah, right!" Lanster seemed to have thought of something and continued to speak to everyone.

"You too, you died the moment this dream began."

"Yes, I lied to you. This is not reality at all, and you have no chance of being rescued."

"Hahahahaha"

Lanster laughed wildly, his eyes wide as if eager to see how these people would react once their lies were exposed. However...

The church was completely silent.

The expected intense reaction did not occur; people watched Lanster in silence, without anger or roars.

Lanster seemed unable to bear the quiet atmosphere, so he jumped down from the podium, grabbed someone, and shouted angrily.

"What's going on with you all? Why are you all so quiet? Speak up!"

No one was caught, but a woman's voice rang out from the side.

What should we say?

Maya stepped out from the side and went to Lanster's side.

Maya stared into the priest's terrifying eyes and slowly began to speak.

"Perhaps you have indeed deceived us, but haven't you been the one comforting us all along?"

"Wh...what?" Lanster unconsciously released the person he was holding, and the person who was released spoke at that moment.

"Actually, we knew a long time ago that you might not be the priest we knew."

“That’s impossible!” Lanster wanted to deny it. If these people discovered the secret, then his deceptive power would be impossible to achieve.

However, he forgot one thing: the power of deception lies primarily in making people believe, not in whether the deception has been exposed.

“We don’t care who you are, we only know that you are the priest who has been with us all along.”

"We remember everything you have done for us."

We remember everything you said to us.

More and more people flocked to Lanster, chattering about what Lanster had done for them.

After everyone recounted their stories, Lanster seemed unable to bear it any longer and roared at them.

"enough!"

Silence fell over the church once again.

Lanster roared in fury.

"Don't you understand what's going on? You're all dead! Do you hear me? You're all dead!"

"We have no hope! Do you understand?"

After shouting all this, Lanster gasped for breath.

"I understand, we're dead," Maya's voice rang out, but it was excessively calm.

But as he spoke, his voice sounded more like that of everyday conversation.

"Ha, so we're dead."

"To be honest, it's great, I don't have to suffer like this."

"Finally, I can take off this armor."

"To be honest, I would have killed myself if I hadn't seen you all still alive."

Lambert looked somewhat bewildered; he couldn't understand why these people were so calm after knowing they were about to die.

Of course he didn't know, because he knew everything. Their perspectives were different from the beginning; he knew they were all a bunch of dead people.

The others who have struggled over the past three years have actually stopped valuing their own lives; the only thing that has kept them going is their companions here.

And this is what the priest taught everyone.

"Alright," Maya gently patted Lanster's shoulder, waking him from his confusion.

“Father, there must be something you’re saying to us, right? Tell us, what do you need us to do, or what exactly is the situation?”

Lanster took a deep breath.

His mind was a complete mess, and he didn't want to care about anything anymore, but he still told everyone everything.

Dreamland.

Ancient God.

And what they are about to do.

Looking at the two weapons the priest carried, they knew that if he swung them, they would disappear from this dream. Of course, they could also wait for that damned ancient god to assimilate them, but rather than let that damned ancient god assimilate them, it would be better to...

People's bodies began to radiate, and the faint glow disappeared into the air.

Maya stepped forward. "Father, can I do you a favor?"

"What is it?" Lanster's voice was somewhat somber.

Maya scratched her cheek a little embarrassedly. "Could you please do me a favor? Also, could you please be quick? I'm a little afraid of pain."

"...If you're afraid of pain, you can wait for that damn thing to assimilate you."

"That would be too frustrating, so..."

Maya took a step forward, but more footsteps followed at once. They took a step toward the priest, their voices not in unison, but all saying the same thing.

"With your witness, we will return to the Kingdom of God."

Maya smiled and said, "Thank you for your help, Father. I should be able to catch up with my brother, since he doesn't walk very fast."

"......it is good."

The knife, imbued with the aura of Garan, was slowly raised. Watching Lanster's movements, Maya slowly closed her eyes.

The blade flashed, but no blood blossomed; Maya's body instantly vanished before everyone's eyes.

One by one, people took Maya's place. Lanster, like a ruthless butcher, wielded his knife, and familiar faces vanished before him, their last words echoing in his mind.

"Father, you've worked so hard all this time."

When the last person disappeared, only two people remained in the church: Lanster, whose expression was completely unreadable, and Elena, who seemed oblivious to everything.

Lanster took a deep breath and walked towards where Elena was. Through the window where she was, he could see the terrifying battle taking place on the edge of the town.

"Are you ready?" Lanster asked.

"I'm fine with anything, but what about you?" Elena turned to look at Lanster, "Are you alright?"

"Hmph! What could be wrong with me? I'm perfectly fine!"

Irena looked at that face filled with nothing but sorrow and stood up from the stool.

"Then let's begin, the final step."

......

"Crimson Moon!"

The terrifying screams of the ancient gods rang out, and the shattered moon that had been floating above the town seemed to be tainted by blood. A complete moon appeared above the town, but it was a scarlet moon.

He was originally unable to use this move, but as the shackles disappeared, his power began to return, which also meant that his plan to seize the Hero's Secret had failed.

This dream that is suppressing Him will soon dissipate.

Just as Xi Ling sensed the opponent's rapidly increasing strength and was about to make the first move.

The ancient god's body underwent another change. His previously soaring power began to decline at an even faster pace. His body began to wither and his authority began to dissipate.

He let out a roar.

"Damn you, what have you done!"

Someone has somehow stolen his power, and even though He could easily take it back given time, but...

The holy sword instantly sliced ​​his body open!

How could He possibly have time to snatch it back!

A painful roar attempted to escape the ancient god's mouth, but the Xiling above it fell instantly, piercing through its mouth.

The ancient god tried to raise his scythe in rebellion, but having lost his power, how could he be a match for Xiling at this moment!

Almost the instant the scythe was raised, His arm and body were slashed apart by the sword, and His arm fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

"If it weren't for that, if it weren't for that, that damned guy, how could someone like you possibly beat me!"

The ancient god, clutching his severed arm, roared at Xiling, yet his roar carried a hint of fear.

It hurts, it hurts too much!

The feeling of the holy sword slicing through my skin was so... familiar. Watching the figure wielding the holy sword walk towards me, a scene from my memory overlapped with that of the figure in my mind.

The holy sword was raised high.

"It's over!"

"Holy Sword—Draw!"

As the torrent of light descended upon him, the ancient god, in his impending dissipation, left behind a few words: "Don't think you've won; this battle isn't over yet."

The light instantly engulfed Him, and His body rapidly dissipated within the light. However, Xiling did not feel anything rushing into His body, which meant that the other party was not dead.