Establishing a Flock

Luther emerged from the shadows, looking at the Aurora Order members on the stage.

"It's endless, it's like a cockroach."

Although the high-ranking Beyonders at the Backlund Society's headquarters in Aurora Order have been wiped out, dealing with the vast number of followers below them is far more troublesome. They may not necessarily be Beyonders, but their faith in the True Creator is equally fervent.

The first step in Aurora Order is to eradicate the Backlund Society's influence in Backlund, leaving no one alive, from the top to the bottom.

"Blasphemy!"

The man in black robes was not frightened by Luther's sudden appearance; on the contrary, his anger stemmed from the blatant disrespect in Luther's words, "The Lord will surely return!"

"I'm not coming back, I said."

Luther said calmly, waving his hand. The shadow beneath the man moved, as if it had a life of its own, rapidly ascending along his body. "He will suffer the same fate as you bunch of trash—being killed by me."

"Whoosh!"

The shadow, thick and heavy, enveloped his body, making his struggles seem insignificant; only his limbs flared out from outside the "bag." Several other believers on the stage suffered the same fate, until their Flesh and shadow completely merged, dissolving into a pool of black liquid on the stage.

What is this now?

Among the crowd below the stage, Old Kohler stared in disbelief, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

First, so many people were inexplicably confused, and then that terrifying man in black robes was easily killed by this strange guy in red robes before he could even finish a sentence. This is too strange! Where have I been brought here? Is this still Backlund?

Then he noticed that after the man in the red robe finished cleaning the stage, he turned his gaze down below, and he was immediately startled.

"So many people."

Luther thought to himself, meeting the gaze of the crowd below the stage. These people, who had been immersed in fervor, were awakened by his sudden appearance and the killing, and appeared fearful and uneasy.

Fortunately, they weren't completely Degeneration Distortion; they were only slightly affected.

He scanned the crowd with exceptional intuition, making sure no dangerous individuals remained.

"Look at me, everyone!"

"Luther shouted loudly, his voice carrying an unquestionable authority," Lu Ze commanded. Everyone, including Old Kohler, instinctively obeyed the order and looked up to meet a pair of eyes that gleamed with golden light.

Forget about what happened tonight, and never remember it.

Luther used the "Spectator" Pathway to manipulate the memories of those present.

The expressions on people's faces quickly turned blank; the ability had taken effect.

Luther thought about it again.

"Is there anyone among you who has reached a dead end and can no longer survive? Raise your right hand so I can see it."

He asked.

At the back of the crowd, some people raised their hands, making up about one-sixth of the crowd, or a dozen or so people.

"Alright, these people stay, the rest of you can leave."

Luther said.

The crowd obeyed quietly. Long after Old Kohler and the others left the room, they suddenly came to their senses but could not recall what had just happened; as for those who remained in the room, they felt as if they had woken from a dream, having lost many memories.

Inside the room, a dozen or so people looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Alright, don't be afraid. Your lives are already terrible enough; you don't even have a way to survive."

Looking at the people who remained, Luther didn't offer any comfort. Instead, he stated succinctly, "I'm giving you a chance. Come with me, and I can give you a way to survive, to have food and drink. Of course, those who don't want to can leave; I won't force you."

A slight commotion arose in the crowd.

"Sir, what would you like us to do?"

One of the older men, who looked rather old, mustered his courage and asked.

"In return, you must accept the gospel of our Lord and become His believers."

Luther said.

In order to Acting of "Shepherd," he plans to build his own Flock, which means gathering some believers. Unlike the Aurora Order, he will not recruit people indiscriminately, nor does he intend to use them as cannon fodder. He will let them go after the Acting is over, and at most give them some compensation.

As he expected, these people with no other choice quickly accepted his terms and followed him out of there, heading to the Lyman Gang headquarters.

"Another group of people has arrived. Arrange their food and lodging."

He said this to Ciel. The latter immediately looked distressed, but couldn't bring himself to refuse.

Similar things have happened several times before. Luther always brings people over and then demands that Ciel provide food and lodging. He feels no guilt about doing this, because Ciel's money and territory were also taken from others.

"Mr. Anderson, I'm afraid we really won't be able to accommodate any more people."

Ciel complained.

"Don't you still have 'connections' with a few Apartment owners? Ask them for a discount."

Luther said casually.

"It's no longer possible; that street is no longer under our jurisdiction."

"The Zimang Party is back," Ciel helplessly. "They have a new leader, and they've been fiercely competing with us for territory lately."

"I see."

Luther glanced at him.

He understood the implication in the other person's words: they were asking him to help eliminate the Zimang Party. To be honest, the reason was indeed valid; without the territory on that street, his Flock would have a hard time finding a place to settle.

"Alright then, let me see what's going on."

Luther said.

He seemed to recall that the Zimang Party was backed by other forces. Its sudden increase in power—could it mean that those forces were starting to act again?

Backlund, Empress Borough.

"We are very unhappy with your friend's breach of contract."

Audrey's psychologist, Escalante, who was also the representative of the Psychology Alchemists, said this to her.

"I regret."

Audrey had no choice but to apologize, "That person had some urgent business that day and couldn't make it to the agreed location on time."

Originally, she acted as an intermediary and arranged for Luther to receive treatment for his mental health issues from an expert at the Psychology Alchemists. However, Luther was attacked by Mr. A on his way there, and by the time the battle was over, it was too late, and he had no heart to receive treatment.

Of course, he didn't tell Audrey any of this; he only said that he had encountered some circumstances that prevented him from making it. As compensation, the prepayment didn't need to be returned.

Mr. Anderson had an urgent matter that day, and then joined the Tarot Club within a week. Did something happen on that day?

Audrey thought to herself, with a hint of something.

Ultimately, she was quite welcoming of Luze joining the Tarot Club.

Because, after all, he was a Sequence 5, and one of the strongest Sequence 5 at that— the Shepherd!

The addition of such an unfathomable and extraordinary being to her organization gave her a strong sense of security. Although Mr. Fool was more powerful, one couldn't possibly trouble a deity with everything, could one?