Save the simulator and make Sarkaz great again!

A strong sense of suffocation filled their hearts.

Their hands, gripping their weapons, trembled involuntarily. They tried to move their feet, but found their bodies rooted to the spot, unable to move an inch.

Sakta recognized Shen Lin in the group. His eyes widened, his lips trembled uncontrollably, and he uttered a series of indistinct syllables.

"The Demon Lord... He's the Demon Lord!!"

All the Sakotas were shocked, but none of them dared to raise a weapon against the other side.

He took a step forward, and the tens of thousands of Sakota soldiers unconsciously retreated, as if his every step was treading on their souls.

Shen Lin's gaze swept across their faces, his eyes showing neither anger nor contempt, only a disappointment bordering on pity.

"Staying still will lead to sedimentation, and sedimentation will lead to corruption."

"You have long forgotten the real struggle, and you have forgotten those who have to use this means to survive."

"Following and controlling leads to the destruction of the weak... The living never perish, the dead live on forever, the cycle never ends, and the struggle never ceases."

"Having lingered in comfort for too long, you have even lost the courage to face your fears, the unbreakable will and faith—and you have already lost them."

"Your only purpose now is to add a brick to Lateran's tombstone."

Chapter Seventy-Seven: Faith in the Flames

The sounds of explosions in the North Third District had not yet completely subsided when other areas of the inner city were engulfed in even fiercer fighting.

Charge! Crush them all!!

The Sarkaz army surged towards the heart of Laterano like a black torrent. Their offensive was swift and fierce, as if no force could stop their advance.

On the narrow streets, the Sarkaz soldiers' guns spat out dense flashes of fire, and bullets rained down on the Sarkaz tanks.

The spent cartridge cases clattered to the ground, but the crisp metallic clanging was completely swallowed up by the roar of the tank tracks crushing the ruins.

"Damn it!! We're going to lose!! The ammunition for our light firearms can't penetrate their armor at all!!"

Just then, a Sakota engineer jogged from behind cover to the musketeer commander at the front and handed him the remote control for the bomb he was holding tightly.

"Thirty-seven Originium bombs were buried underground... Bishop Fidel authorized the use of the Originium bombs!"

"We can't worry about the civilian wards now; only those who survive have the right to talk about sin!"

They are currently fighting in the Holy City, and allowing the use of weapons of mass destruction means that they will no longer prioritize the safety of civilians.

They can simply shift the blame onto those devils, and no one will know what happened on the battlefield.

It was all worth it to defend Laterano!

A strange light flickered in the eyes of the cavalry commander; he knew this was their last chance.

"Detonate!"

Seeing the Sarkaz chariots and royal troops surging towards him, he shouted and then quickly retreated.

boom--!

A deafening explosion rang out, and the enormous shockwave swept across the entire street. Buildings on both sides of the street collapsed in the blast, and debris and dust flew everywhere.

Flames raged through the streets, billowing smoke and distorting the air with intense heat. Like a monstrous beast, it devoured everything in its path. The armor of the tanks warped and deformed under the intense heat, and fallen Sarkaz warriors were engulfed in flames.

The Sarkaz commander, hiding behind cover, wore a relieved smile. He believed the explosion would halt the Sarkaz advance, at least buying them some time.

As long as we wait for heavy artillery reinforcements to arrive...

But his smile quickly froze on his face.

A cold wind blew by, slowly revealing the scene behind the thick smoke. The fallen Sarkaz warriors had risen, their bodies engulfed in flames, like demons emerging from hell.

The armor of the chariot emitted a piercing metallic creaking sound under the high temperature, and the array flickered with an uncertain light in the flames.

"For—Victory!!"

A roar erupted from a charred body, the sound like thunder exploding across the battlefield, or like the shriek of metal cracking in high temperatures, carrying endless anger and determination.

It was the roar of a Sarkaz warrior, his voice piercing through the flames and smoke, shaking the hearts of every Sarkaz soldier.

"For victory!!"

More Sarkaz warriors joined in the roar, their voices coalescing into an invisible force that seemed poised to tear the battlefield apart.

Their steps were faltering, but they remained steadfast, as if no force could stop them.

Their bodies were engulfed in flames, their skin charred and cracked by the high temperature, but they seemed to feel no pain.

Originium spells and cannonballs bombarded the defensive line built by the Sarkaz, and in an instant, many Sarkaz lost their lives due to this brief moment of distraction.

"This...how is this possible?!"

"Are they...are they immortal?!"

"Devils...they are devils!"

A Sakota soldier said, his hand trembling, barely able to hold the gun.

"They've gone mad...they've all gone mad!!!"

At this moment, a chill ran through all the Sarkaz.

At the same time, a Sarkaz tank engulfed in flames suddenly started up, its engine emitting a deep roar.

The tank's turret slowly rotated, its dark muzzle aimed at Sakota's defenses.

The tank's armor glowed red-hot in the intense heat, and its tracks screeched as they rolled over the burning ground. Like a raging beast, it charged recklessly toward Sakota's defenses.

Its armor was covered in flames, like a demon bursting out of hell, and it broke through the alloy defenses set up by the Sarkaz with unstoppable force.

"Damn it!! Fire! Fire now!"

The commander of the Sarkaz roared, his voice filled with despair.

However, the bullets hitting the tank's armor only created a series of sparks, doing nothing to stop its advance.

The tank gave it its last bit of life – a shell struck Sakota's bunker precisely.

boom--!

The shockwave from the explosion instantly overturned the bunker, sending debris and metal fragments flying everywhere.

The tanks behind continued their charge, their tracks grinding through the ruins with a deafening roar. Their turrets spun continuously, raining shells down on Sakota's lines.

Each shelling was accompanied by a huge explosion, with flames and smoke filling the air, turning the entire street into a living hell.

The Sakota soldiers were completely devastated. Their eyes were filled with fear and despair, and they could barely hold their guns.

They had never seen an enemy like this before—even as their bodies were engulfed in flames and their armor was scorched by the high temperature, they still charged forward without hesitation.

"This...this is not a battle...this is a massacre..."

A Sakota soldier muttered to himself, his voice filled with helplessness.

The Sarkaz's defenses began to crumble under the Sarkaz's charge. The soldiers' morale completely collapsed in the face of the enemy's fearlessness, their eyes filled with despair and fear.

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!"

The commander roared, his voice filled with undisguised despair.

However, it was too late to retreat. The Sarkaz warriors had already charged in front of them, their weapons gleaming coldly.

The Sarkaz soldiers were forced to fight the enemy, but their morale had already collapsed, and they were no match for the Sarkaz's fierce offensive.

Sarkaz soldiers fell one after another, their blood staining the shattered ground.

The sapper who planted the Originium bomb eventually fell in a pool of blood. His eyes were still filled with disbelief, as if he couldn't understand why the enemy could face death so fearlessly.

"Who...who are they...?"

He muttered to himself, then closed his eyes.

Nothing could stop their advance—not bullets that could pierce their bodies, not the intense flames that enveloped them, not even death itself.

Until their last breath, their steps never faltered, as if their souls had transcended the constraints of their bodies, transforming into an indomitable will that burned eternally on this battlefield.

Beyond this perilous path lies the dawn of hope!

Laterano's defenses are crumbling step by step.

In the instant the defensive line completely collapsed, a Sarkaz soldier, thrown by the blast wave, fell backward. The last image frozen on his retina was the burning Sarkaz warriors charging forward, stepping over the corpses of their comrades.

The flames dancing on those charred shells shone brighter in his eyes at that moment than the light of revelation emanating from the Holy City's bell tower.

Flesh and blood will eventually turn to ashes, but faith will live on forever in the fire.

……

The air seemed to freeze, heavy and suffocating. Smoke and ash hung in the low air, as if suppressed by an invisible force, unable to rise or dissipate.

The distant sounds of artillery fire were intermittent, like the low growls of some giant beast, each boom causing the ground to tremble slightly. The sky was obscured by thick clouds of smoke, preventing sunlight from penetrating, with only occasional flashes of fire leaving brief streaks of light in the darkness.

An eerie silence filled the surroundings, as if time itself had stopped at that moment, leaving only the sound of a heartbeat echoing in one's ears, rapid and heavy.

“I have read your Bible.”

The man's voice pierced the deathly silence, chillingly calm. His figure appeared and disappeared in the smoke, his black trench coat billowing in the evening wind, seemingly blending into the surrounding destruction.

“Once, the devil was cast out of the Garden of Eden and fell into Hell because he brought suffering to the earth. Because God forcibly separated us, we are unable to access the path to God’s Kingdom. We are a race abandoned by God.”

"And as creatures like us, demons with black horns, despicable beings who covet sacred objects, the root of suffering on earth, we too will eventually meet our end..."

"He should be torn to pieces among the piles of bones at the bottom of the abyss."

His gaze held only a cold calm.

He raised his hand and made a grasping motion, and the space in front of him suddenly fluctuated in distance. Before Fidel could react to what had happened, the people at the very front turned into a blood mist in an instant.

Blood splattered on the shattered tactical panel, making a faint dripping sound, as if timing the massacre.

"Cognitive barrier!"

"There are no devils on the battlefield, only the will to survive."

This unexpected turn of events nearly broke Fidel's already taut nerves. He drew his sword and roared, his voice filled with his last bit of stubbornness and despair.

"Hold your ground! Aim at that demon leader—"

Before he could finish speaking, a sharp pain exploded in his right shoulder. He looked down and saw his entire arm turning to ash. His skin, muscles, and bones rapidly disintegrated under some unseen force, turning into fine dust that drifted away in the wind.

The man didn't even glance at him, as if his existence was nothing more than insignificant dust on the battlefield.

“You always say that life is multifaceted, gloomy, crazy, and tragic... In the face of destined suffering, everything is just a futile struggle.”

"If that's the case, why don't you accept the suffering that is about to come with a clear conscience?"

Fear spread like a plague among the Sakota soldiers. A recruit screamed and pulled the trigger, but their prized etching bullets mysteriously melted into molten iron before even touching Shen Lin, dripping onto the ground with a hissing sound.

His fingers trembled, and the gun slipped from his palm, hitting the ground with a dull thud.

"How ironic, a group of believers in false gods, a group of traitors who attempt to erase history."

"Who gave you the right to judge us?!"

At this moment, the man's overwhelming killing intent was no longer concealed, and the oppressive atmosphere in the air almost materialized. It felt as if an invisible hand was gripping the throats of the Sarkaz soldiers, and every breath they took was accompanied by a burning pain.

He alone brought darkness to the entire holy city.

The soldiers of Sakota were terrified by the sound, but they still gripped their guns tightly, trying to use their last bit of courage to resist this unstoppable enemy.

"Fire! Fire!!"

Fidel's voice was hoarse and desperate; his commands echoed across the battlefield, yet seemed utterly powerless.

In an instant, the heavy firepower they had set up unleashed a destructive torrent, with ammunition raining down on the man's location.

Originium shells powerful enough to flatten mountains, armor-piercing shells capable of penetrating any armor...

However, the scene of the enemy's defeat that they had imagined did not occur.

The man's figure froze like a sculpture amidst the hail of bullets. He merely raised his hand slightly, and the bullets stopped in front of him, as if bound by some invisible force, unable to advance even an inch further.

The air emitted a shrill whistle like shattering glass, as if time had been sliced ​​into countless still fragments.

Centered on him, the battlefield within a hundred-meter radius was instantly enveloped by some indescribable force field. Shells were reversed, and the trajectories of armor-piercing shells were bizarrely twisted into spirals.

A metallic storm, composed of their shrapnel and artillery, swept towards their ranks with unstoppable force. Metal and blood danced in the force field, playing a symphony of death.

The soldiers watched helplessly as the bullets they fired pierced their comrades' chests. The Originium shells suddenly hovered, then transformed into countless burning meteors, precisely striking the last flank of the Sarkaz.