Marsh Divine Grace Spray Operation

Central District, Resurrection Corps headquarters, inside a room like a water bubble.

After hearing the report from the yellow crystal, Ji Qiufeng said solemnly, "The situation is excellent. I never expected their idea to work this well. Youyou, aren't you going to take a look? Such an impactful battle—you'd be missing out if you skipped it."

Youyou had buried her entire body beneath a pillow, rolling around frantically. "Shut up! I don't want to see it! I don't want to see it!"

"Oh, they're preparing a new weapon!" Ji Qiufeng said loudly. "As expected of a weapon personally modified by Lord Dragon's Return. It looks extremely sacred. Very mighty!"

Thinking of what was about to happen, Youyou immediately let out a scream of despair. "My lifetime reputation is going down the drain—aaaaah!"

"My lord, the harbor front has been breached! All the believers have fled!"

"Their methods are too vicious. We can't hold them off..."

"My lord, this is bad! Bountiful Settlement is about to fall!"

One communications officer after another rushed into the villa in western Deeproot Settlement, their anxious reports rising and falling in waves. Adali, seated at the center, was left dizzy by this barrage of bad news. He struck the floor three times with his cane to signal for silence, then roared, "Shut up, all of you! You—tell me exactly what happened."

The messenger singled out clutched his chest, his expression a mixture of lingering terror and relief at escaping death. "My lord, they've all gone mad. The Doom Knights and the Divine Child are shooting X from guns! Everyone's fighting to eat X!"

Adali nearly thought there was something wrong with his ears. "What did you say?"

"That... that stuff can treat Light Poison." The messenger spoke with vivid gestures. "It's sacred. It's a sacred X!"

The others all chimed in. "Yes, it's so sacred..." "That's a miracle..." "It's holy X..."

Adali was practically about to faint from rage. He took two deep breaths, then bellowed at everyone, "Change tactics! Have the believers hide all the patients in their homes! Don't let them eat it! Send our people in to force a battle!"

"My lord, it can't be done..." The messenger looked ready to cry. "Everyone infected with Light Poison is running outside on their own... They're chasing the vehicles to fight over X!"

The messenger was not lying. The scene he described was playing out all across the Marsh. The valiant fighters swept through every corner with modified Riptide Guns, painting every major settlement in the colors of blessing. Behind a convoy formed by five armored off-road vehicles, a shining procession followed close behind like a chain. That chain consisted of Glowing Corpses covered in light. Though they should have lost consciousness, they had voluntarily run out of their homes and were racing after the convoy with both hands raised, like devout pilgrims.

The settlement residents watching from the sidelines were moved nearly to tears. "How devout! Of course they deserve the gods' blessings!"

In truth, the Glowing Corpses' pursuit had nothing to do with any blessed divine power. That fervor originated from the center of the convoy. Ji Huaishu's light shield sat atop a strange pot-like device. The amplification device personally built by Youyou had increased the light shield's brightness nearly tenfold, as if a miniature sun had been fixed to the roof.

"I know Glowing Corpses are drawn to light, but don't you think this thing is a little too powerful?" Chu Hengkong shouted while covering his nose. "Even the Glowing Corpses from neighboring Richsoil Settlement have come running over!"

Ji Huaishu was speaking while driving one-handed. "First, this thing is a magical artifact built by Lord Youyou, so it inherently has a light-attracting effect... Second, I've been constantly feeding it energy! This thing is draining me dry with how much power it uses, so hurry over here and drive for me, will you?!"

"Sorry, I have psychological trauma about driving for other people. Captain Huaishu, the capable should do more."

For once, Chu Hengkong was slacking off and cutting corners. He had actually moved to the passenger seat to secretly take potshots. His marksmanship was unbelievably precise, every shot landing right in a Glowing Corpse's mouth without wasting a single drop of blessing. This made Jie An in the back seat click his tongue in amazement.

"You're fucking full of ideas. How did you come up with such a wicked plan?"

"Let's be objective. At first, I only intended to use water guns to suppress and help the patients. It was the medicine you improvised that elevated this plan to heights it never should have reached." Chu Hengkong raised a thumbs-up toward the back seat. "You, Jie An, deserve the foremost credit for this Spray Operation!"

"Ah, fuck, shut up!" Jie An looked on the verge of tears in the back seat. "Foremost credit? If my father's spirit saw this, he'd strike me from the family register!"

Ji Huaishu tried hard not to laugh. "How could that be? If your father saw you using shi... using blessings to save everyone, he'd be very gratified! Someone's coming up ahead now, so hurry and bring out your backup plan!"

Along the way, Adali's subordinates had already tried to intercept them three times. Without exception, they had been brought down by the foul-smelling spray tactics before they could even get close. But this time, the High Shaman had clearly gone all out. Six bizarre demon-possessed men led armed cultivators in blocking the settlement exit. This squad of daredevils not only wore iron armor, but had also brought hastily made mud masks to block out the stench. Even amid the constant "splat, squelch," their roars could be heard clearly. "Everyone, stop eating X! I'll expose the evil god's poison arts right now—gods above, what is that?!"

The squad's roar became a cry of alarm at the end, because a brand-new weapon appeared before them. It looked like a long-barreled Riptide Gun, except it had six ominous barrels, with a disk at its middle beginning to spin. Jie An hefted the new gun and let out a chilly laugh.

"Let me introduce everyone to the brand-new holy artifact we prepared for judgment: the Blessing Gatling."

"Don't be afraid, everyone!" The daredevil squad leader hoisted a massive steel shield and did his utmost to steady their morale. "We have a protective Relic blessed by the gods—pah! Protected by the gods! The evil dragon's power will never break through the bulwark of our faith!"

The squad leader was brimming with confidence. His great shield was a genuine Grade One Relic; mere Water Bullets could never penetrate its defenses. Those X bullets were only a little smelly and had no killing power at all. As long as they forced these people into a real fight, they had ten thousand ways to drag them into the X... mud pit!

Jie An pulled the trigger. The six barrels roared as they sprayed out blessing rounds. The daredevils braced themselves for the impact, only to discover that this ammunition was a little different. The rounds were a full circle thicker than before, and began to shake violently after leaving the barrels. Wings and webbed feet sprouted from the blessing rounds, followed by long necks and goose heads, turning into a flock of Water-Repelling Geese...

A flock of foul-smelling Water-Repelling Geese, the exact same color as X, flying wildly through the air!

The expressions of the daredevils twisted in perfect sync with the blessing rounds. Only one thought had time to flash through their minds.

There's X in the geese!

"Honk! Honk! Honk! Honk!" The yellow-green geese charged into the enemy ranks, flapping their wings! Hundreds of foul-smelling feathers drifted through the air! "Ah, no!" "It's coming over!" "Get away! Get away!" All the daredevils could see was yellow and green filling their vision, while boundless stench crashed down upon them with tremendous force. Their defenses meant nothing before the flying flock of geese. Startled by these demons and monsters, the terrified geese honked wildly, pouncing on whoever they caught and pinning them in the mud for a frenzy of pecking.

The daredevil squad leader barely endured the first wave of attacks with his great shield. His fighting spirit was on the verge of collapse as he prepared to flee. But the moment he opened his eyes, he saw a fresh barrage of goose rounds! "Honk! Honk! Honk!" The second flock of geese smashed into them one after another. In an instant, blessing feathers filled heaven and earth, and rain seemed to pour from the sky over the settlement.

"I don't want to eat roast goose for the next half month..." Ji Huaishu dry-heaved. "I think every time I go to the cafeteria in the future, I'll remember..."

Chu Hengkong had the urge to cover his face. "Shut up! Don't say another word!"

Jie An stood amid the hail of gunfire, his voice astonishingly resonant. "This holy artifact was bestowed in a dream by the great master Jingzang. Unable to bear seeing the people of the Marsh suffer, he taught me in my dream to use blessings to relieve suffering, and this holy artifact to rescue those in distress. This thing can bless three thousand six hundred people in a single breath; every firing releases several lives. It is truly boundless mercy and compassion, delivering all living beings across!"

"How kind..." "As expected of the great master Jingzang." "Great merit, great compassion!" The kind Marshfolk all pressed their palms together and praised it in joyous approval, then swarmed forward to fight over the holy geese. Those who moved more slowly dragged the daredevils who had been pecked unconscious off the road, thinking that these shameless bastards were still eating without end.

Enough token resistance already. Everyone's in a hurry for blessings. If you eat all the sh... if you eat all the blessings, what are we supposed to eat? Get the hell out of here!

The dutiful team members found time to add a few more shots. The few daredevils still capable of struggling also fell amid blessings scattered across the ground. Deeproot Settlement's resistance was completely pacified, and an off-road vehicle withdrew from the chaos and drove south toward Bountiful Settlement.

From that point onward, nothing could stop the convoy's advance. Wherever they went, residents voluntarily gathered around them, and the Marsh was drowned in festive stench.

"My lord! They've entered Deeproot Settlement!" "Some of the cultivators have fled..." "They said they'd rather die fighting than choke to death eating X..." "Let's surrender..."

The chapel was shrouded in gloom. The dark clouds of defeatism hung over everyone's heads, and Adali almost wanted to chop these fools into pieces and feed them to fish. Yet he understood there was nothing to be done. The Marsh had always been a rabble. Those with ability and strength did not vainly beg the gods; only weak, helpless sheep borrowed divine will to swagger like foxes beneath a tiger's might.

For one moment, Adali doubted his decision. Would the situation have been better if he had not bought the Glowing Corpses? With those thirty elite soldiers, he could at least have bought more time. At worst, he would have had enough strength to negotiate peace... But he immediately discarded the useless thought. There was no point thinking about it. At this point, could he still surrender? Even if he lived after surrendering, what would remain of Adali the High Shaman?

"Open the armory doors," Adali said gently. "Then you may leave."

There was a convincing power in his voice. It steadied his confidants once more, and they headed for the armory behind the prayer room. Half a minute later, the heavy stone doors opened, and dazzling light shone through the scattering dust. The terrified cries of the ignorant stopped abruptly after a moment, followed by slow, deep swallowing sounds. Adali's smile was nearly mad.

"It's all right. I'll take the field myself...!"

"Chu Hengkong, get ready. It's coming!"

As they drove out of Deeproot Settlement, Ji Huaishu issued a warning. Chu Hengkong put down the blessing gun, rose from the vehicle, and loosened his limbs.

A faint tremor came from afar, followed by strange, immense sounds from the dense forest outside the settlement. People began to murmur, curious whether it would be another miracle or some new holy artifact. No one was truly worried. After all, the omnipotent divine envoys were right ahead.

But suddenly, the chatter of the onlookers vanished. An inconceivable radiance stabbed at their eyes. The Marsh was dark and lightless year-round, yet a blazing light rose from the gloomy forest. The radiance surged up from the depths of the mud, and the churning sludge even toppled ancient trees!

It was a gigantic thing made of mud and light. Filthy, rotting matter formed its enormous body, while over a hundred patches of light joined together on its "belly" to form an ugly face. Hundreds of Relic weapons were embedded in its shining body, protecting its form like spikes.

Jie An stared at the giant face in the distance, his eyes full of loathing.

"Torchlight Corpse Heap... This thing is a bona fide king of poison. It can match at least a hundred Glowing Corpses. Chu Hengkong, can you handle it alone?"

As easily as picking up a stick, the Torchlight Corpse Heap tore an enormous tree from the ground and hurled it at the convoy. Chu Hengkong leaped from the roof of the vehicle and shattered the thick trunk with one kick.

"I guarantee I'll take it down," he said.