332: Chapter 333 The Great Vengeful Seeds, Coming Together to Be Fertilizer

The red light of the Church of Calamity drew closer and closer.

Lin Qi stood before the window, his hands clasped behind his back, his eyelids barely moving.

He was watching the trajectory of that red light.

Three streaks.

It wasn't one streak of red light, but three. They were approaching the perimeter of the D-3 Region from different directions, forming a triangular encirclement formation.

"Chen Shu, tell me the situation."

Chen Shu's dry voice came through the terminal.

"Three deacon-level Law controllers, codenamed 'Ashes', 'Eye of the Abyss', and 'Bone Crown'. Ashes specializes in fire-type Law erosion and can directly rewrite the temperature Law of an area into an uncontrolled state. Eye of the Abyss is of the perception type; in their church, he is specifically responsible for marking and locking onto targets before 'Judgment'. Bone Crown is a melee type; his body has undergone sacrificial modification, with his bones turned outward to form armor, the hardness of which approaches that of subspace Ore."

"Is that it?"

"There are also about two hundred cultists accompanying them, with Ranks ranging from Second Transition to Third-Turn. These people are cannon fodder; within the church, they are called 'Firewood', specifically used to serve as energy for the deacons' Law skills."

Hearing the word "Firewood", Lin Qi smiled slightly.

"Using living people as batteries—this bunch really knows how to make the most of everything."

Chen Shu did not reply. He knew very well that this kind of smile from Lin Qi didn't mean he found it funny; it meant he found it boring.

Instructor Su Qing had already dragged Zhang Wei back from the warehouse.

The fatty was panting for breath, the joints of his exoskeleton armor creaking. As soon as he entered the command center and saw the three streaks of red light approaching on the projection screen, his legs began to tremble again.

"Qi... Brother Qi, what is this stuff?"

"Guests." Lin Qi didn't even turn his head.

"Guests?" Zhang Wei swallowed hard. "What kind of guests bring this kind of lineup? This isn't a visit; this is a demolition crew, right?"

"Pretty much."

"Then I..."

"Don't go anywhere." Lin Qi finally turned around and glanced at Zhang Wei. "Stand here, don't go out, and don't get in the way."

Zhang Wei nodded vigorously. "Don't worry, Brother Qi, I can stand steady. I definitely won't go out. You couldn't drag me out even if you killed me."

Instructor Su Qing walked to Lin Qi's side, holding a dagger, the blade reflecting the red light from outside the window.

"Boss, do you want me to go out and test them first?"

"No need."

Lin Qi shook his head.

"This is my territory. If they want to come in, they have to cross the threshold first."

The "threshold" he referred to was the physical barrier of the array map.

This barrier was not an ordinary energy shield. Its operational logic was written into the underlying code of this land—it didn't rely on brute-forcing energy, but on Law repulsion.

For example, this region was like a personal computer, and the barrier was the firewall. Anything coming from the outside, as long as it wasn't on the whitelist, couldn't even complete a handshake protocol.

The three streaks of red light stopped at a position about two kilometers from the perimeter of the D-3 Region.

The projection screen switched to the perimeter surveillance view.

In the image, on a pitch-black wilderness, three figures draped in black robes hovered in mid-air. Each of them stood upon a dark red magic array, and the arrays were inscribed with the same symbol as in the previous footage—that torn eyeball.

Behind them, more than two hundred cultists wearing the same black robes knelt in perfect unison. Their kneeling posture was standard: knees on the ground, foreheads pressed tightly against the dirt.

They were chanting.

A rough, indistinct murmuring sound drifted over with the night wind. The sound wasn't loud, but its penetrating power was strong. It didn't enter the ears, but drilled directly into people's consciousness.

Zhang Wei was pricked by this sound, and his head throbbed violently.

"Damn it!" He covered his temples. "What is this? My brain is buzzing!"

Instructor Su Qing's eyebrows furrowed, then relaxed immediately.

"Mental erosion, a very low-level tactic." She looked at Lin Qi. "Boss, do you want me to help the fatty block it?"

"No need."

Lin Qi raised his hand and traced a line in the air with his index finger. A tiny rune flicked from his fingertip, landed on Zhang Wei's forehead, and instantly dissolved. The buzzing sound vanished.

Zhang Wei's head cleared, he froze for two seconds, then took deep breaths.

"Brother Qi... what was that?"

"Applied a Band-Aid."

"..."

Zhang Wei decided not to ask.

In the projection screen, the leader among the three deacons—according to the intelligence provided by Chen Shu, it should be "Eye of the Abyss"—raised his hands.

His robe sleeves slid down, revealing a pair of arms so pale they were translucent. The arms were covered in black veins, and those veins were slowly wriggling, as if something was crawling beneath the skin. His eyes were covered by a gray cloth strip, but two points of dark red light shone from beneath the strip.

"Usurper!"

The voice exploded in the night wind, not coming from a mouth, but emanating from behind that gray cloth strip.

"You have occupied the Domain of 'Our Lord' and rewritten the Law Foundation sown by 'Our Lord'!"

"According to Article 7, Section 3 of the End-Times Canon, you are judged to be—a False God!"

"Tonight, 'Our Lord' will, through our hands, reclaim everything you have stolen!"

This statement spread to every corner of the D-3 Region.

Although the federal engineering personnel inside the defensive barrier couldn't hear the specific content clearly, that oppressive feeling coming from their bones still made many of them go weak in the knees.

Zhang Wei stood behind Lin Qi, and after hearing this, he muttered,

"Article 7, Section 3 of the Canon? Do these people have to consult a manual even when killing someone?"

Lin Qi ignored him.

He looked at the guy in the projection screen who called himself "Eye of the Abyss" and tapped his right index finger rhythmically on the tabletop twice. Two very quiet taps.

Then he said something.

The voice wasn't loud, but through the resonance System of the D-3 Region's array map, it was precisely transmitted to the ears of those three deacons two kilometers away.

"Are you done?"

"Then it's my turn."

"My land doesn't accept religious solicitation."

"Go back and tell your 'Our Lord'—I've paid for this plot of land, and the receipt is already issued."

"If he has any objections, tell him to come find me himself."

"Sending three dogs to bark at my door is quite impolite."

The body of Eye of the Abyss trembled.

Not because of fear.

It was because of anger.

In the belief System of the Church of Calamity, the "Throat of Devouring Heaven" was a presence above all else. It was the ultimate rule of this world, the source of the Law, and the final destination of all life. Yet, this young man in front of them actually called their master—

"Audacious!"

"Ashes", standing to the left of Eye of the Abyss, was the first to lose control.

He thrust his hands forward violently, and a stream of grayish-white heat surged from between his ten fingers. The heat flow didn't attack the barrier directly but diffused into the air, attempting to rewrite the temperature Law of this region.

Within the range of his ability, he could cause one square kilometer of space to heat up to three thousand degrees within three seconds, causing all matter to directly vaporize. This was an attack at the Law level, not just simple fire.

The grayish-white heat flow touched the boundary of the D-3 Region's barrier—and then vanished.

It wasn't bounced back, nor was it canceled out. It was simply gone.

Ashes was stunned.

He pushed another palm strike.

Still gone.

It was like throwing a pebble into a black hole. No echo, no feedback. Not even a ripple.

He turned his head to look at Eye of the Abyss.

"The barrier... it's not blocking, it's—"

"Swallowing." Eye of the Abyss's voice became low. "The underlying Law of this region has been tampered with. After our attack enters its rule range, it is automatically classified as 'foreign data' and then cleared."

"How is this possible?" For the first time, there was wavering in Ashes' voice. "Only an existence at the level of 'Our Lord' could achieve this—"

"That is why the church has classified him as a False God." Eye of the Abyss interrupted him.

Inside the command center.

Lin Qi picked up that cup of spiritual spring water and took a sip.

"Instructor Su Qing."

"Yes."

"How long do you think it will take for them to give up attacking from the outside?"

Instructor Su Qing thought for a moment.

"If they were smart, they should have left already."

"Then they aren't smart." Lin Qi put down the cup. "Keep watching."

In the image, Eye of the Abyss slowly raised his hands, and the red light beneath the gray cloth strip grew brighter and brighter.

He began to chant a scripture different from the previous one.

This time, the two hundred cultists kneeling on the ground began to tremble simultaneously.

Black cracks appeared on the surface of their bodies.

Blood seeped out from the cracks, gathered along the ground, and formed a massive magic array.

It was a sacrifice.

They intended to use two hundred human lives as the price to forcibly initiate a higher-level Law strike.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Wei's expression changed.

"Brother Qi, they... are they killing their own people?"

Lin Qi watched the screen and placed the cup on the table.

"Not killing."

"Charging."

He stood up and picked up the entrenching tool leaning against the wall.

"Alright, don't let it go to waste."

"Using these lives as fertilizer is much more valuable than being dry batteries for their god."

Instructor Su Qing's hand was already clutching her dagger.

"Boss, are you going out?"

"Going out to get some fresh air."

Lin Qi weighed the entrenching tool and walked towards the door.

"And by the way, loosen the soil for our new home."