"Splash..." The seawater surged madly, whipped into a chaotic spray by the down draft of the helicopter's rotors.
It was just an ordinary helicopter. Hovering directly over the open ocean without a patch of land in sight was, of course, incredibly dangerous.
Yet, no one on board seed the least bit aware of this peril.
This was because the passengers in the helicopter were transfixed by an even more terrifying crisis unfolding before them:
"Oh Lord, You are the one true Lord, the Lord of Hosts, the rciful Lord..."
On the screen, the young girl nad Carolyn softly murmured her prayers. She knelt on the deck of a ship, using her own power to sustain the protective shield enveloping the vessel.
Inside the shield lay a pile of corpses and an even greater number of severely injured, dying people. They clung to life under the sanctuary of the light barrier. However, the Holy Maiden, renowned for her powers of healing and restoration, could not spare even a fraction of her strength to treat them.
At the front of the shield, several clergyn from the Church had collapsed from exhaustion, their breathing stilled.
And on the outside of the barrier, a horde of crystalline humanoids continuously battered the crumbling light shield with their heavy fists.
Further in the distance, several Transcendent powerhouses stood on the frost-frozen surface of the sea, locked in a standoff against a massive crystalline monster.
Under the blessing of a radiant man wielding a glowing cross, these Transcendents were incredibly powerful—seeming even stronger than they had been before!
Even so, they were still in constant, mortal danger. Every ti the crystalline monster threw a punch, it unleashed endless tidal waves and thunder and lightning, forcing the Transcendents to dodge desperately.
Although they could still barely hold their ground and occasionally counterattack, anyone with a discerning eye could see that they did not have much ti left before their inevitable defeat.
"Crown, the arrival of Father Angus and Holy Maiden Carolyn has indeed stabilized the situation, but—" Niki's voice was heavy with grim certainty. "Their holy light is beginning to wane. Defeat is only a matter of ti!"
"News has co from Arica. They have made a decision: the mont our forces are completely defeated, ten ten-gaton hydrogen bombs will be dropped simultaneously!"
"They are prepared to fight to the bitter end. Even Russia has already begun unearthing the remaining Tsar Hydrogen Bomb!"
Hearing this, Mario looked sowhat moved. "They, too, understand that humanity has reached its most dangerous hour!"
On the screen before them, the terrifying False God was issuing a horrifying declaration for all to hear: "I regret it. I think I should kill all of you. Otherwise... you will definitely bring us imnse trouble in the future!"
What he referred to, naturally, was the scene unfolding right before their eyes.
Because even this False God had never anticipated just how much trouble this endless, surging tide of humans would cause him!
He had snapped the giant axes of the Vikings, struck down the colossi of two Indigenous Aricans, knocked down George, who had obtained a Saint's power, and turned swarms of Transcendents into a field of scattered corpses.
Under such circumstances, even a man made of iron should have known to retreat. Even the most devout believers of a deity should have known when to let go!
But this group of people simply refused to give up!
Braving staggering casualties and terrifying despair, knowing full well that victory was impossible, they still led the survivors to charge forward!
One by one, they sacrificed their lives, using their blood to buy what was perhaps an insignificant amount of ti, using their deaths to delay and fight for a future that held only the slimst glimr of hope!
It was not just the Church. Even the Indigenous Aricans and the Norsen acted the sa way! Shouting the nas of their respective deities, they charged straight at him!
This relentless sacrifice of life, all just to buy a few extra seconds, finally made the foreign False God feel a trace of fear. If this group of people were truly allowed to grow and mature, just how terrifying would they beco?
Consequently, he elevated his power once more, determined to thoroughly annihilate this group right here and now. He intended to destroy their source and completely sever this terrifying religious fanaticism from the world!
At this very mont, Mario finally arrived at the Caribbean Sea. Watching the events unfolding on the screen, he thought back to the agonizing tornt he had endured along the way.
Throughout the journey, even his steady heart had felt a terrifying, tearing pain.
Because George, the Saint, had already ascended to Heaven.
Yes, the man he had handpicked to be the future Grand Inquisitor of the Inquisition, the inheritor of St. George, Saint George Stacey, had completely lost his life.
To stall the False God, he had squeezed dry every last drop of his physical strength and faith, using it to teleport Angus and the others all the way from Arica.
His reason for doing so was simple: the entire Indigenous Legion and Norse Legion had been nearly wiped out!
Kuchamama indeed had not been boasting. He possessed power akin to that of a true deity. The abilities wielded by those Heaven-Chosen Supernaturals were rely fragnts of power he had released. When he truly unleashed this divine power, these Transcendents—who did not even fear Arica—collapsed at a speed far beyond imagination!
Without the backing of a true deity, their power was pitifully weak in the face of a real god.
Thunder and lightning, storms, and surging power turned the Transcendents into dead corpses within monts of contact. The subsequent waves of attacks inflicted devastating losses upon them. This grim situation was only barely stabilized with the arrival of Angus, Carolyn, and two other Transcendents from the Indigenous Arican regions.
The mont Carolyn arrived, she imdiately channeled her vibrant holy light to draw those on the brink of death back from the edge, directly healing their wounds and restoring their strength to fight once more.
anwhile, Angus stepped up to the frontlines without hesitation. Taking the place of George, who had ascended to Heaven, he withstood Kuchamama's brutal onslaught.
However, the price of this stubborn resistance was the mass death of the clergyn they had brought with them!
Because the battlefield was never solely focused on fighting Kuchamama; there was also the endless battle against the monsters he had revived!
They were using re human strength to oppose a monster wielding the power of a god...
Mario looked at the sprawling ocean before him and took a deep breath. "Niki, report the casualties!"
"George Stacey is dead in battle. Lyon Lankechi is severely injured. Angus Bennett has sustained light injuries. Carolyn Olsen is completely exhausted..." Niki reported grimly. "Right now, their combined combat power is equivalent to less than one person."
"What about the rest? Our people, their people..." Mario asked again. "How many are left?"
"Nearly half of our clergyn, knights, and monks have perished. Everyone left is carrying injuries, and that is only because Her Highness the Holy Maiden has been continuously healing them!"
"More than two-thirds of the Indigenous Arican Transcendents are dead. Those who remain are all still fighting on the battlefield!"
"As for the Viking warriors, only three are left. They are lying beside Carolyn, and they no longer show any signs of life!"
Hearing this, Mario fell silent for a very long ti before finally speaking. "This is the price of battling a powerful foreign False God... Back in the old days, when the Church fought against so many foreign gods, so many Demon Gods, and so many demons, just how staggering a price did they have to pay?"
Niki shook his head. "I don't know, but we have to go help them, Crown. Otherwise... it will truly be too late!"
Mario gently shook his head. "Not 'we,' Niki. Just ! I will go to face him directly, and you will stay behind!"
The elderly Pope slowly reached into his personal satchel and withdrew a Crown of Thorns. Cradling it in his hands, he gazed down at the withered, broken briars and spoke softly, "Niki, what you need to do is wait until I am in position, and then rescue everyone and get them out of there!"
"Everyone?" Niki froze, a look of horror spreading across his face. "Crown, what... what are you planning to do? The Church is still waiting for your leadership! You absolutely must not..."
He was terrified that Mario would recklessly charge forward and shoulder all the responsibility alone. That was too horrifying!
Mario chuckled softly, an expression of profound relief appearing on his face. "Niki, I am already eighty years old. Everything I have experienced in my life has been wonderful enough! I have even witnessed the revival and descent of The Lord... It is already my ti to go and serve The Lord in person. What are you so afraid of?"
"If my life can be exchanged for the safety of this world, I will do so without a second thought! Besides, we haven't lost yet!"
His eyes were razor-sharp, his spirit surging with boundless vigor. It was clear that he had fully prepared himself long before arriving here. "If I achieve victory, the light of Heaven will cascade down and bless every single warrior!"
"If I unfortunately pass away, I will detonate the power of the Shroud with my dying breath—this Vatican cipher is our ultimate trump card!"
"When that ti cos, I hope you can save Angus and Carolyn. He will beco the new Pope, and the Holy Maiden will be the ultimate hope of the Church!"
Niki wanted to refuse, but he knew deep down that he had no right to do so.
"As you command, Crown!"
As the words left his lips, Mario's figure had already vanished into the distance.
The Pope of the Church was going to keep his Transcendent appointnt!
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