Wood had no idea what the people of Vista were thinking. As a seasoned follower of the God of Light, he considered him his highest faith and was enraged by Lu Sinian’s words.
“A mere evil creature! Who gave you the audacity to speak to the God of Light like that! You’ve only used some underhanded tricks to bewitch and harm others. How can you compare to the God of Light himself!”
He gritted his teeth, his blood boiling from Lu Sinian’s provocation, and roared at the contracted knights, “What are you all standing there for! Attack!”
Rong Qing spoke calmly, “Should I activate the advanced alert system?”
“No need. Activate the low-level alert device first. I still want to see what a god looks like.”
He was genuinely curious. Although his materialism had been shattered by the system, he had never seen a god—a being beyond imagination.
“God’s words… Rong Qing, can you withstand it? Don’t let the god break through the defense system.” Lu Sinian’s tone held a hint of worry.
Rong Qing seemed somewhat surprised. He said, “This is just a low-level plane. Testing has shown there’s nothing that can threaten the system. Even so-called gods can’t break through the plane’s barrier. Master, there’s no need to worry.”
The function of a low-level defense system is simply to eliminate and reflect any external attacks; it doesn’t have black hole curses or backlash.
At Wood’s command, the contracted knights attacked in unison. Streams of magic energy and blades slashed towards Lu Sinian and the shop. It was a devastating barrage of attacks, radiating various colors of light, fraught with danger.
But despite the overwhelming force, before the attacks even touched the objects, space seemed to warp for a moment. The magic energy was redirected, immediately shooting in the opposite direction.
The stronger the attack, the stronger the rebound. Immediately, screams of agony erupted from the knights as they clutched their wounds, their faces deathly pale.
The onlookers only saw that Lu Sinian didn’t even flinch, and remained completely silent. The air seemed to be filled with a mysterious aura, which vanished without a trace the moment the magic energy was released.
Those who attacked him, unable to see Lu Sinian’s movements with the naked eye, simultaneously suffered numerous wounds, and fell to the ground screaming in agony.
“Heavens…did you guys see the Demon Lord’s movements just now?”
“He didn’t move, and not even a ripple of magic energy! I didn’t feel a thing.”
“To be able to dissolve magic energy into nothingness and injure people in secret—even a god couldn’t do that!”
The crowd exchanged glances, and swallowed hard.
Wood hadn’t made a move. The group that had been so arrogant just moments before was now reduced to a lone figure standing, surrounded by wounded knights.
His eyes widened. No, he couldn’t believe Lu Sinian could be so powerful. This guy must have set a trap.
“I’ve heard this demon possesses many strange magical artifacts, he must have used tricks!”
He kicked angrily at a contracted knight curled up beside him, who groaned in pain.
“Get up, all of you! You’re already done with such a small injury? Don’t forget your duties!”
“The time has come for you to repay the God of Light! Use your flesh and blood to summon the divine! You should feel fortunate, hahahaha, great God of Light! Your faithful followers beseech your power, your divine might, ho ho!”
Wood’s voice was hoarse, and his gaze terrifyingly fanatical. He couldn’t help but begin to dance wildly, and with his words, the contracted knight on the ground slowly rose to his feet.
Their state was clearly abnormal. Previously, at least they retained some semblance of reason, but now everyone’s eyes were glowing, their movements sluggish, and the scene was eerily bizarre.
They formed a triangular circle around Wood, chanting incantations faster and faster. The contracted knights were frenzied, seemingly willing to die on the spot.
“God… God… Your radiance… Your followers… God… God… God…”
The speech grew faster and faster, almost to the point of urgency. The magic circle emitted a strange, blinding white light, obscuring the figures of these people, making them difficult to discern.
Lu Sinian frowned. This didn’t resemble the Church of Light at all, one could easily believe it was the work of possessed demons.
Soon, the contracted knights simultaneously coughed up blood, and their bodies floated slightly in the air. Intense light exploded from their chests, and Wood in the center looked up with fervent longing at the source of the light.
Strands of light converged to form a humanoid shadow enormous in size. Its face was obscured, and blindingly bright.
The contracted knights seemed oblivious to the pain in their bodies as they all gazed at the figure, their eyes solemn.
The contracted knights’ destiny was to sacrifice their lives for the God of Light, their lives were dedicated to summoning the deity.
From the very beginning, they had been instilled with this ideology, and every knight considered it an honor to become the vessel of the God of Light, even if the deity would only appear for a fleeting minute.
Lu Sinian was also curious. He slightly raised his head to look at the God of Light. The light was so intense that he couldn’t help but blink.
The light emanating from the contracted knights grew stronger as their auras gradually weakened. Conversely, the enormous figure became clearer, seemingly perfectly conforming to people’s perception of the God of Light.
Tall, radiant, and full of light.
But at this moment, not a single one showed any reverence for the deity.
A god who appears by consuming the lives of his followers evokes no reverence in them, only fear.
Frozen in place, all eyes were fixed not on the God of Light, but on the ten contracted knights below.
Their auras were almost imperceptible, their magic cores nearly shattered, and the blood gushing from their mouths nearly stained their clothes.
If this continued, and they waited until the god truly solidified, they might lose their lives.
Some couldn’t bear but to turn away, unwilling to witness such a cruel scene.
The world only knew that the God of Light possessed infinite radiance, but they didn’t know that every second of His appearance consumed the lives of his followers.
“Rong Qing… activate advanced alert mode.” Lu Sinian stepped out of the shop, and slowly approached the enormous figure.
“Yes, advanced alert mode activated.”
As Lu Sinian drew closer to the figure, the system’s forced intervention took effect.
The solidifying figures in the air suddenly froze, flickering like a television without a signal.
Wood, beaming with excitement, was completely unaware that the God of Light he had placed his hopes on had gone offline. Seeing Lu Sinian approach, he laughed arrogantly.
“You’re quite clever, but it’s too late to beg for mercy now, isn’t it? The God of Light will personally eliminate you, hahahaha!”
He didn’t notice, but the surrounding crowd watched in disbelief as the god’s form grew increasingly ethereal.
Lu Sinian took a step forward, and the figure blurred a little more, the intense light redirecting in the opposite direction, returning to the contracted knight’s body.
The knight’s aura had recovered considerably, and had been pulled back from the brink of death, his chest beginning to rise and fall slightly again.
Many, many people watched this scene—a scene that could only be described as a miracle.
The God of Light brought death, but the demon brought new life and hope.
The light that made the God of Light appear so sacred was the result of the life force of his believers being absorbed by the god.
The demon was completely unadorned, its abyssal black hair and eyes, streaked with hair, yet somehow radiating a light that seemed to hold a hopeful glow.
The stark contrast between light and darkness caused many to instinctively cover their faces, their eyes stinging with tears.
What is a god? One who protects their followers instead of harming those who believe in them wholeheartedly.
That’s not a god, that’s just naked greed and selfishness—that’s the true demon.
Lu Sinian quickly approached the enormous, now illusory figure.
Standing before the colossal phantom of the god, Lu Sinian appeared so small, yet his aura overwhelmed everything, drawing all eyes to him, holding them captive.
Wood, completely ignored, finally sensed something was wrong. He abruptly turned, about to rebuke Lu Sinian but a glimpse of the abnormally weakened god caught his eye. The words were stuck in his throat, unable to escape.
In his heart, he had long regarded the God of Light as an omnipotent being so how could he possibly see a god so weakened?
Yes, he knew the God of Light’s appearance required the sacrifice of contracted knights, but what did it matter?
To sacrifice oneself for the God of Light was their honor, how could ordinary humans compare to a god?
This secret was known only to the cardinals of the Church of Light, precisely to prevent these ignorant commoners from corrupting the god’s holiness!
They indoctrinated the contracted knights daily with the idea of sacrificing everything for the God of Light, including their lives, all for the sake of this continent.
Damn it, that vile demon! No, everyone here must die! He absolutely couldn’t let them spread the news.
Wood gritted his teeth, and as the God of Light’s figure grew increasingly ethereal, and was about to vanish from the spot, he suddenly began chanting a spell.
“％￥#％……￥……％&*&……％￥#@￥￥％”
A mysterious and obscure language was uttered from his mouth as if carrying a strange magnetic field, slowly rippling with waves. It was extremely impactful, and even the onlookers in the distance couldn’t help but feel dazed.
The contracted knights reacted even more violently, and trembled violently. Their eyes were bloodshot, devoid of any humanity, and filled only with madness.
“Heh heh… Dedicated to the God of Light, dedicated to the God of Light.”
The figure, which had been gradually fading away, suddenly intensified its light, almost engulfing Lu Sinian before him.
“Master, don’t worry. In high alert mode, no one can harm you. Just deal with that cardinal.”
After a moment of silence, Rong Qing’s calm and composed voice rang out.