"You look a little lost."
Just as Wuer Nuode was sinking into despair, a clear voice rang out.
"Who's there?"
Wuer Nuode spun around and demanded, stunned.
Before him stood three figures: an eerie-looking man and a silver-haired elder, both standing respectfully behind a young man.
"How... how is this possible?"
Wuer Nuode was completely taken aback.
This was the heart of the Light Church. Outsiders shouldn't have been able to get in. Yet these three had appeared right in front of him without making a sound.
That could only mean their strength far surpassed his, and he couldn't sense even a trace of their presence.
Of course, that wasn't the most frightening part. The most frightening part was that the Pope inside the hall hadn't reacted at all.
After all, he was a god-level powerhouse. His character might have been awful, but his strength was genuine. Could these people be gods?
"May I ask what brings you here, my lords?"
Wuer Nuode quickly made the best decision he could. Lowering his head respectfully, he asked.
"Good. You know how to read the situation. My name is Huosi. From today onward, this Light Continent belongs to me."
Huosi spoke calmly, leaving no room for argument.
"Is that so?"
Wuer Nuode was momentarily stunned. He'd been prepared for something like this, but he was still shocked by the young man's words.
After a long silence, Wuer Nuode ventured, "My lord, I have no authority to decide this. The Pope is in charge of the Light Church."
"The Pope? He'll soon be nothing but a corpse. I only want to know whether you're willing to serve me."
Huosi cut the presiding judge off and asked in a grave voice.
"Th-this..." Wuer Nuode was at a loss.
"You've seen what the Light Church is like now. You've seen how people across the land live. You came from the common people yourself. Don't you have anything to say about it?"
Huosi stared straight at the presiding judge, his tone full of scorn.
"Your Lord of Light really is magnificent, isn't he? Choosing someone like this as Pope. What a cause for celebration!"
"The people of this continent may go hungry and lack warm clothes, but they're all subjects of the Lord of Light. They should be happy."
"They won't die. They'll simply return to their Lord's embrace."
With every word Huosi spoke, the presiding judge Wuer Nuode grew paler.
"My lord, please... please stop!"
Wuer Nuode fell silent for a long while before finally speaking bitterly.
"I know. I know all of it. I know everything that's happening, but I can't do anything about it."
If he could, Wuer Nuode would never have wanted things to turn out this way. He'd been born a commoner.
He knew all too well what life was like for ordinary people. Under the previous Pope, he'd still been able to put many people on trial.
But now the entire continent was falling into chaos.
He knew the root cause, yet he couldn't stop it. The Pope was a god.
A realm that filled even those in the Saint Realm with despair: the realm of the gods.
"If you can't do anything, I can help. I can help you kill the Pope, and I can make you the one who governs the continent. All you have to do is dare to accept."
Huosi didn't give up. He continued.
"My lord... may I ask, what do you intend to do after unifying the continent?"
Wuer Nuode asked tentatively.
"Everyone under our rule will have enough to eat and warm clothes to wear. Our people will be cared for in old age, and our children will be cared for as they grow. We won't allow parasitic nobles and royalty to prey on them!"
Huosi rolled his eyes at Wuer Nuode and explained.
"How could that be possible?" Wuer Nuode blurted out.
He understood Huosi's words, but he couldn't believe them.
They were simply too outrageous. Even if Huosi was a god, plenty of things couldn't just be changed at a whim.
"Just because the Lord of Light couldn't do it doesn't mean we can't."
Huosi replied without a care, staring straight at Wuer Nuode.
"The Lord of Light... the Lord of Light..." Wuer Nuode murmured. Then he dropped to one knee.
"Lord Huosi, I'm willing to serve you."
He'd completely lost faith in the Lord of Light. He couldn't go on worshipping him.
Though this was his first time meeting the young man before him, Wuer Nuode could sense that Huosi was different—nothing like the lofty Lord of Light.
He was willing to place his trust in Huosi. Besides, he believed that Huosi's rule over the continent couldn't possibly be worse than the Pope's.
"Adkins, proceed."
Huosi glanced at Adkins behind him.
"Yes, my lord."
Adkins replied respectfully, then grabbed Wuer Nuode and vanished with him.
"Wait, you—"
Before Wuer Nuode could finish, he felt himself being whisked away.
Meanwhile, inside the Hall of Light, Pope Aodarming glanced disdainfully at the Saintess's corpse.
"Honestly, another one's dead. These Saintesses are far too fragile."
Aodarming yawned, showing not the slightest remorse.
"You really are beyond saving!"
"Hm?"
Aodarming's expression changed dramatically. He turned toward the voice.
A familiar figure stood there, glaring at him furiously.
The presiding judge, Wuer Nuode. Aodarming knew him well.
"Wuer Nuode, you've got a lot of nerve—"
Before Aodarming could finish, someone grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up.
"You! You!"
Aodarming had never suffered such a humiliating defeat, but right now, staying alive mattered most.
"My lord, spare me! I'm willing to serve you! I am!"
Adkins punched him. In an instant, his divine core hit the ground.
"Bah! What a piece of trash. 'Serve you'? The Federation would be disgusted to take in a scumbag like you!"
Adkins spat and spoke coldly.
"H-he's dead?"
Wuer Nuode suddenly felt as if he were in a dream. The Pope was a Lowgod, after all, yet he'd been killed in one move without the slightest chance to fight back.
Could this lord be a Midgod?
Wuer Nuode felt a pang of bitterness. If these lords had appeared sooner, perhaps...
Wuer Nuode forcefully wiped away his tears. He had more important things to do now.
That day, the Light Continent underwent a great upheaval.
The Light Church's presiding judge, Lord Wuer Nuode, announced the abolition of the Light Church's doctrines and called on everyone to abandon the Lord of Light.
At the same time, strange flying objects appeared above the continent's major cities.
Each of them was at least a hundred meters long. A huge screen appeared, and on it, the presiding judge Wuer Nuode gave a speech, denouncing the Pope of Light as a devil who had slaughtered countless people.
The entire Church was thrown into turmoil. The kings of every kingdom were dumbfounded, with no idea what was going on.
Then local officials received word that a strange army they'd never seen before was advancing from the coastal regions.
The troops wore unfamiliar uniforms and wielded incredibly powerful weapons no one had ever seen. They swiftly occupied vast swathes of territory.
They called themselves the Interstellar Federation. They said they had come to eliminate the nobles and royalty and liberate the common people.
After taking a city, they didn't rush on to the next one. Instead, they stayed behind to root out bandits, marauders, and other such forces, and publicly executed the local noble families' members who had oppressed the people.
What was more, the army didn't take a single coin or grain of rice from the common people. On the contrary, the Light Element magicians serving in its ranks would even treat people for free.
They were the revered magicians, after all! In the past, ordinary people couldn't even catch a glimpse of one. If a magician killed them for no reason, they had no way to seek justice.
After killing the local officials, the troops immediately appointed replacements, while large numbers of support staff began making their way into the towns below.
The support staff helped rebuild basic infrastructure. Earth Element and Water Element magicians helped improve and divide up the land, and construction began on new roads.
At the same time, they built a great many homes and established a series of laws specifically targeting the once high-and-mighty nobles.
In Tanshan Town, the mayor stood with several elderly residents, watching workers build houses up ahead.
A week earlier, when the troops had arrived, the elderly people in town had shouted that they'd fight the heretics to the death.
The young people had managed to talk them down. They planned to do as they always had: hand over some money and food, and endure it.
"We can't put up with this! They're not like the bandits from before. Bandits only want money, but these people show disrespect to the Lord of Light!"
These elderly residents had spent their whole lives in the town and had worshipped the Lord of Light for just as long. How could they understand when heretics invaded?
But now they'd realized these people were nothing like the mercenary bandits who'd come before.
When they arrived, they refused the large amount of gold the mayor offered, and turned down the food and meat the town prepared for them. They didn't even intend to seize the townspeople's homes.
Instead, they gave meat to the hungry children in town and treated the sick and injured.
They told the townspeople that the Federation wouldn't harm civilians. It would provide them with good land, access to medical care, and convenient roads.
At the same time, they wiped out the nearby bandits and mercenaries, and brought those who had once slaughtered villages into town for public execution.
Within just a few days, the elderly people who'd worshipped the Lord of Light all their lives watched the children happily eating meat each day, the injured regain their health, the bandits who'd killed townspeople get executed, and the troops leave them untouched.
Their eyes filled with tears. For the first time, they realized how useless the Lord of Light was.
In the past, when bandits preyed on them, they would pray to their Lord and ask the Church to intervene. The Church would drive the bandits away, only for them to return after a while, but at least the townspeople got a little breathing room.
Now, they finally understood what the Lord of Light was worth! To hell with him! From today on, they believed in the Interstellar Federation.
Before you continue