Chapter 861 - 216: Evangelism
Disaster, destruction, and divine spirits swept across this maritime Empire like a great wind. Amidst the chaos, faith became the most reliable spiritual support and one of the Empire’s rules.
Maelon, once the largest Technology City, suddenly became a religious place, the birthplace of the All Beings Sect and a sanctuary amidst the spreading plague.
In Maelon, almost all the locals became believers of the All Beings Sect; or rather, it would be very difficult to survive here if one were not a believer.
The gangs that once roamed West City disappeared completely, replaced by the Law Enforcers of the All Beings Sect, wearing broad blue uniforms and carrying exquisite silver-white Longswords as they walked the streets.
Meanwhile, in the central area of East City stood a church occupying a third of the land, along with many affiliated buildings, forming a city within a city, the City of All Beings.
A huge white stone statue over thirty meters tall stood at the center of the City of All Beings, its shadow visible throughout Maelon, even from the seaside.
"The glory of the Lord shines upon us!"
Jia Jinlan, dressed in a luxurious blue robe, walked in from the back door of the side hall, placed his left hand on his right shoulder, and bowed slightly as he spoke.
Mike looked up at him and asked, "How is the situation on the Southern Continent now? Nobu has been there for half a year, hasn’t he?"
Half a year ago, they set sail with thousands of elites to the Empire’s Southern Continent, a place where the Conservative Faction’s power was also heavily plagued.
The All Beings Sect in Maelon, a not-too-big, not-too-small place, had developed to its peak, prompting the need for expansion. Nearby Sindaga was clearly unsuitable, as it gave birth to the Evil God and countless twisted monsters appeared.
In that disaster, at least half of Sindaga’s population died. Those who survived either fled by ship or had to huddle in the northern corners, as other areas had long been corrupted by the Evil God, making them uninhabitable for humans.
Even those lucky enough to survive experienced bodily issues, with parts gradually mutating, potentially making them stronger or proving fatal.
For instance, a small hand might grow on a heart, continuously moving and leading to heart failure and death.
Or someone might continuously grow taller and stronger, reaching four or five meters in height, possessing incredible Power, and even able to withstand a Firearm’s shot with mere muscle strength.
At this moment.
Sindaga was already enveloped by Divine Spirits, becoming a forbidden zone for humans; no one dared to investigate, and even the bold likely perished on the way.
Thus, those still living became wandering souls.
Jia Jinlan first smiled, then spoke with admiration:
"According to the latest news, due to High Priest Nobu and their arrival, the plague on the Southern Continent has greatly eased."
"Just ten days ago, they established the one hundred and seventeenth church in Hero City; now half of the Southern Continent is under the Lord’s glory!"
As he spoke, his expression was full of pride. He was now a member of the All Beings Sect and a Blue-clothed Guardian, with Maelon’s Law Enforcement Team largely under his control.
Mike also showed a hint of a smile, although this outcome was within their expectations, yet his expression turned serious as he said:
"However, it seems another sect aside from the Housheng Sect has emerged on the Southern Continent, likely a resurgence of some Ancient Sect, possibly linked to other Divine Spirits."
"One of these groups is quite dissatisfied with us and frequently provokes and even incites war."
"Now you need to take the sect’s elite forces to support High Priest Nobu and it’s best to make those Heretics see reality."
At any time, demonstrating Power is the most direct method, even between sects.
The doctrine of their All Beings Sect is roughly the same: those who believe in me will live, those who oppose me will die.
Jia Jinlan bowed slightly without hesitation and said, "I am ready at any moment!"
Although he joined later at his total worth, he is a truly devout believer and only the devout can hold such a position in the All Beings Sect.
Loyalty to the Lord outweighs everything.
Mike showed a satisfied expression, nodded, and said, "I have arranged everything else. Get prepared and depart immediately."
"The Lord’s glory will protect you all the way!"
In fact, Su Changxing did not specifically instruct the Church to expand, because due to the statue’s limitations, he could only harvest faith from Maelon to some extent.
The situation and various influences also destined the All Beings Sect to expand towards the Southern Continent, whether to solve the plague or to expand the Church and gather more believers.
Expanding the Church and gathering believers is instinctive for a Church.
This is also their reason for existence.
...
The sea breeze howled, warm with moisture, the sunlight not bright, covered by dark clouds.
"We are almost there; we are about to reach Du Lan. Everyone pay attention, after reaching the destination, do not make too much noise. First, find a suitable stronghold, establish a church, then discreetly attract believers."
Nobu stood on high, speaking to the believers below, all considered elites of the All Beings Sect, possessing decent Ability, and more importantly, Loyalty to the Lord.
"We have just received news that this city is already controlled by another sect, the Black Rope Sect, so try not to attract their attention."
"But we will inevitably be noticed by them, so we must act quickly, establishing a foothold in Du Lan with the greatest Speed!"
"Yifa, take your people with me and be ready to fight at any time if necessary."
The brown-haired youth nodded to show his understanding, eyes full of determination, a Great Sword as tall as a person slung on his back.
These believers from Maelon are not simple either, almost everyone is equipped with at least one short-barreled firearm.
This type of firearm is probably the most advanced in the Empire, with tremendous short-range power. From more than ten meters away, it can blow a person’s head apart with one shot. More importantly, it possesses extremely high precision, and as long as one has good shooting skills, it can unleash considerable power.
They are a group of believers, but also an army.
Just having landed, they saw a horrific scene where corpses were being carted away by wagons and dumped into the water, identical to the situation in Maelon at the time.
"Du Lan, the situation here is quite dire, four out of ten people are dead, and ninety percent are already infected with the plague."
The information Yifa gathered was reported back to Nobu, and he said in a deep voice:
"However, they seem to have developed medicine that can alleviate the symptoms of the plague and extend life, but they don’t have a cure. This medicine is extremely expensive, requiring thousands of yuan per day’s dose.
Only the nobility, wealthy merchants, ministers, and other dignitaries can afford such an expensive medicine, while ordinary people can only wait for death."
"This has resulted in over a dozen riots in the city, but to no avail, all of which were suppressed, as the medicine is indeed very scarce, coming from the Black Rope Sect."
The Black Rope Sect is a church that suddenly appeared after the plague, but at this time, no one paid attention to such a small church, and their believers were pitifully few.
Until they claimed to have medicine to delay plague symptoms, at first no one believed them, but later it was found to be true, and a large number of people went to seek the medicine.
But in such a large city with so many people, the medicine simply could not be supplied, so many people eager to join the Black Rope Sect became their believers.
The Black Rope Sect gradually became the largest church in Du Lan, although illegal according to the Empire, who could care about such things now, and all the plague-infected nobles needed the medicine they provided.
In this process, the Black Rope Sect recruited more and more believers, but their standards for recruitment were very strict, either requiring special talents or prominent identities.
The Black God Cult almost controlled the entire Du Lan, with many dying every day, but their believers grew in number, and the medicine supplied externally decreased.
"Interesting, they can actually produce the corresponding medicine. They’re probably not so simple, not an ordinary church," Nobu nodded, knowing about the plague situation, suspecting a certain Divine Spirit’s handiwork, hence so difficult to treat.
And the fact that the Black Rope Sect could develop the corresponding medicine in such a short time was intriguing.
"Ignore them, let’s do our own thing first. Annis, you go to the nearby streets and proclaim that we have the ability to cure the plague, but tell them not to spread the word, the medicine is limited."
The woman with short golden hair nodded: "I’ll go, but the church isn’t built yet."
Nobu shook his head and said: "No matter, it’s not important."
The people of the Black Rope Sect indeed didn’t pay them any attention, seemingly knowing they had arrived, yet they didn’t care.
A simple church was quickly built, although the location wasn’t ideal, the space was large, and due to the plague, it wasn’t expensive.
They were outsiders, and the locals weren’t too welcoming, even hostile.
However, they soon managed to attract some people, who came for treatment, half-skeptical.
"Can it really work? You’re not lying to me, are you? But it doesn’t matter anymore, given the situation, it doesn’t even matter if I die."
He was a lean young man, with one arm completely rotten, numb, and immobile.
The pain made even standing difficult, but upon hearing there were people claiming to cure his plague, he used every bit of his strength to follow along.
Surrounded by these strangers in white church robes, origins unknown, he originally didn’t believe them, but seeing that none of them showed symptoms of the plague, hope was kindled within him.
The female believer who brought him showed a gentle expression on her face and said calmly: "You needn’t worry, since I brought you here, I won’t deceive you. You should be able to sense that."
"We can cure the disease on you, but it requires a cost, though the cost is not expensive."
The young man leaned against a somewhat shabby wooden chair, scratching his head and asked: "What cost? I can give you whatever I have, as long as you can cure me, I swear!"
The female believer shook her head, smiling: "You need not give up anything, just join our church and become a believer, it’s a simple matter."
At this moment, the man felt he saw light on her face, the light of hope, and quickly said: "I am willing, of course, I’m willing. As long as you can cure me, I am willing to become a loyal believer! I swear! I swear!"
He repeated his words, seemingly afraid she might change her mind.
The female believer nodded at him, picked up a pen, and wrote something on paper, then said: "Name."
"Huh?"
"What’s your name?"
"Adis."
"Where are you from?"
"From Du Lan City."
"Do you have any other family?"
"A son, but he passed away not long ago because of the plague."
"What about your wife?"
"We divorced."