The messenger of the Crimson Hand’s surprise became even more pronounced after entering the headquarters of the Redemption Church.
“This is… a Domain?! Such a vast range?!”
After stepping into the church headquarters, the white-haired old man’s expression changed again. He looked in astonishment at the spiritual radiance covering the entire church—visible only to the supernatural beings.
He had only seen such domain power emanating from a few extremely powerful dark creatures, although their effects were limited to a very small area around themselves, nothing like this vast domain that encompassed the entire headquarters.
“A Domain?”
The leading Saintess smiled. “Perhaps the guest meant ‘Holy Dwelling’? This is a gift from our Lord. In the vicinity of every church, this Holy Dwelling effect occurs, bringing benefits to every believer!”
“Indeed… such a domain filled with divine light is very effective at calming the mind and relieving fatigue.”
Seeming to realize his lapse in composure, the old man barely regained his calm. “Seeing that the Redemption Church possesses such strength and serves a true god, I feel even more confident about the purpose of my visit.”
“Esteemed guests, please follow me. The Pope is waiting to receive you!”
After passing through the church, corridors, and a series of religious buildings, a voluptuous female priestess with both angelic and demonic features awaited them.
“This is Cardinal Lena, currently serving as the Pope’s Secretary!”
The Saintess introduced the group to Joseph and the others.
“This woman…”
The old man’s pupils constricted.
Throughout his life, he had seen countless women—beautiful, pure, aloof, proud… By now, he was almost immune to feminine charms.
What startled him was her power.
In his perception, she was like a blazing torch, her spiritual radiance so intense that he felt a stinging sensation just by being near her.
Such a supernatural being was merely a priestess, not even the Pope himself?
“Indeed… The rumors say the Redemption Church’s Pope is unfathomably powerful, and that must be true!”
He mused inwardly.
Without extraordinary personal strength, how could one control such formidable subordinates?
“Thank you!”
Out of respect, the old man’s voice became extremely polite.
Joseph, on the other hand, didn’t perceive things as keenly, but he sensed that this woman was not someone to be trifled with.
Following the elder into the reception hall, his pupils immediately constricted.
Inside the hall were only three people, including Bob, who had previously knocked him into the wall with a single strike, and who now stood respectfully gazing at the person in the center.
The central figure was a seemingly young and handsome man, yet he exuded none of the naivety of youth. Instead, he possessed the commanding aura of someone accustomed to wielding supreme authority over life and death.
Upon seeing the newcomers enter, he immediately displayed a warm smile.
“Praise be to you, Your Holiness, the Pope of Redemption. Glory belongs to the God of Redemption, who bestows earthly authority upon you!”
Following the world’s etiquette where those of lower status introduce themselves first, the elder immediately bowed and said, “I am Louis, an elder of the Crimson Hand. These are Joseph and Lina behind me!”
“Welcome to you all!”
Wu Ming nodded.
To Elder Louis’s perception, Wu Ming appeared completely ordinary, yet the elder dared not show the slightest disrespect.
Because this situation could only mean that Wu Ming had sealed his divine power completely, reaching the Daoist concept of “returning to simplicity and authenticity.”
“Please be seated!”
Wu Ming waved his hand, inviting Louis and the others to sit.
“I am truly pleased to hear that you are willing to embrace the grace of our Lord!”
He smiled gently.
Even while negotiating, everything must be veiled in light—that was the rule of the upper echelons.
“My Lord, as you know!”
Without realizing it, Louis had slipped into respectful address, placing himself in a weaker position. “We who are different can only live in darkness. In modern times, we must hide ourselves even more carefully, fearing discovery, arrest, and experimentation… If the God of Redemption is willing to protect us, we are willing to offer our faith!”
“Even though they speak so humbly, in reality, they’re just unwilling to give up the power from their dark bloodline, right?”
Wu Ming inwardly scoffed.
In truth, he held little regard for those obsessed with maintaining their internal bloodline.
To cling to the power granted by their dark blood at the expense of laws, light, ethics, and even risking everything was, in his view, recklessly and perversely insane.
Still, he spoke gently, “No problem. The God of Redemption treats all lives equally and shows no discrimination! Even dark creatures can bask in the light of our Lord!”
In other words, he promised to use divine power to help these dark nobles preserve their bloodlines.
For the Main God Space, this was naturally a trivial matter.
“Thank you, Your Holiness!”
Wu Ming’s easy agreement brought immense joy to Louis and his companions.
With the Crimson Festival gradually losing its effectiveness, they had exhausted various methods to maintain their bloodline, reaching a point of near despair.
Now, finally, hope had arrived.
“Your Holiness!”
Such religious officials, especially those serving a true god, were highly credible.
Therefore, Louis immediately stepped forward to pledge loyalty. “Our Crimson Hand has assets in various places, and we currently have access to one hundred million gold coins. I am willing to donate all of it to the church!”
“Additionally, we have many personnel and affiliated families in various regions, although their bloodlines are so diluted as to be negligible. Still, they possess a certain level of influence. If there is anything you need, please feel free to give us orders!”
As Louis spoke, Wu Ming’s eyebrows slightly lifted.
Although the Crimson Hand might seem somewhat weak, it was still a long-standing supernatural organization with considerable resources.
…
As Wu Ming aggressively absorbed other factions and expanded the church, a seemingly minor event occurred far away in the Pandorn Empire, which would later have a significant impact on future developments.
The Pandorn Empire.
This was a typical absolute monarchy, where the upper echelons actively promoted the steam revolution, adapting to the trend of the times and thus becoming one of the three major powers. However, feudal remnants were deeply entrenched, and internal contradictions within the empire were very acute.
At this moment, inside a bar.
“Brothers, we can’t go on like this anymore!”
A muscular man dressed in top-class private uniform seemed drunk, jumping onto the bar counter and loudly complaining, “From the northern rebellion wars to the colonial struggles, our footsteps have spread across the northern wastelands, tropical deserts, oceans, and islands… But while we imperial soldiers fight abroad, have our families and friends benefited? No!”
“All they have endured are the rising prices of rice and the ever-depreciating currency at home!”
“They say the officers and nobles claim we must endure these hardships because of the resistance, but the truth is… our factories are working day and night, plantations are gaining huge profits, but none of these benefits reach the common people at all!”
“Why is this happening? Because the imperial bureaucrats, those parasites, are devouring all the benefits! We can’t go on like this, watching our brothers and sisters being consumed by factories, watching the empire interfere in the wars between Purple Jacaranda and Golden Oak, yet unable to solve a single civilian’s problem of food and clothing… We want bread, we want butter, not cannons and war!”
“We want to be like the Kingdom of Golden Oak, establishing a parliament and pushing the monarchy to the sidelines!”
…
It seemed he had drunk too much, and his words became increasingly intense.
Coincidentally, those gathered here were mostly disillusioned soldiers—either those who had no hope of promotion, those who hated war, or those whose families were in dire poverty, exactly as the man described. Under the influence of alcohol, they began to roar along with him: “We want bread and butter, not war! Down with those parasites!”
“Establish a people’s parliament and get rid of the nobles!”
“Arrest him!”
At this moment, the bar doors were rudely pushed open, and a large number of soldiers rushed in: “You dare to spread anti-empire rhetoric. This is an act of treason!”
“Brothers, we’ve been silent for too long!”
The man, with his hands tied behind his back, still roared loudly: “Take action! We hold the guns. Why not shove them right into the nobles’ throats?”
“Damn it, quickly stuff his mouth!”
The soldiers, furious, looked at the crowd in a frenzy. Someone’s hand trembled nervously, and the gun accidentally fired.
Bang!
After the gunshot, the bar was first engulfed in a deathly silence, then plunged into great chaos.
…
“Are we going a bit too far with this?”
In a hidden corner of the bar, two men were quietly watching the scene unfold, yet the surrounding people seemed to ignore them completely.
One of the men in black whispered softly, “With you stirring things up like this, there might really be a major upheaval!”
“This empire… is already sick!”
The man sitting before him spoke in a tone of sorrow. “That soldier was right. We do need to change… Since he wants to be the first to shed blood, I’ll grant his wish. But he was wrong about one thing—the revolution will be led by us! Because we hold the power! With the technology and resources of the Main God Space, we can completely transform this country!”
“Yeah… Not to mention the unknown time when we might die during the survival missions!”
His companion, clearly less confident than he was, added with a sense of helplessness.
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