Be Ashamed of What You've Done
But Agni merely bowed slightly to him.
"Please, Father..."
I swear on my life.
The priest didn't use any superfluous words to describe anything else; he simply looked at the woman before him and spoke calmly.
The single remaining eye gleamed with unwavering determination.
The woman bit her lip.
She looked at the child in the priest's arms, forced herself to remain silent, and quietly took off the ring from her hand, placing it beside the child.
Step back and bow your head.
There was so little she could do in the face of disaster.
Entrusting her beloved child to a priest is the best thing she can do for him now.
And once the first person made the decision, more and more people began to do so.
Most of them were women... They didn't believe in priests, but they knew that at this moment, they couldn't even protect themselves, let alone their children.
Therefore, they could only place their hopes for a miracle on the priest.
Soon, a large number of Sarkaz children gathered inside the church.
The priest watched silently at that moment.
"The pursuers are coming! Run!"
Just as the crowd was moving, their companions suddenly called out from afar.
Before they knew it, a large group of soldiers had caught up with them.
This further disrupted the crowd.
More and more people are struggling to get their children into the church before everything happens.
The priest also stepped in, dragging his still-recovering body, and did his best to help everyone present place the child in the small area of no more than ten square meters.
Perhaps fate was on the children's side; just as the Allied Forces soldiers rushed in to begin the massacre, the children managed to escape...
"Da da da da--!"
Flames spewed forth, mercilessly slaughtering the crowds who had not yet had time to evacuate.
The priest, gritting his teeth, stood outside the church, risking being shot, his lungs straining to keep the air in.
"Stop! Everyone! Stop!"
He growled like a wild beast.
Unfortunately, his words had no deterrent effect. The Allied Forces soldiers around him continued to mercilessly slaughter all the Sarkaz in the vicinity before turning to look in their direction.
The dilapidated church had no walls to conceal it, and everyone could see the Sarkaz children inside.
But they showed no mercy and immediately raised their weapons.
It was at this moment that the priest resolutely raised his weapon.
His injured body could not conceal the rage in his eyes; the burning flames whipped up a hurricane, billowing his long, black, silent robes.
Even if there's only one person.
Even if all he had was a Guardian Gun that wasn't fully loaded.
He remained as steadfast as a mountain, confronting all the soldiers present.
"Are you trying to declare war on Laterano?!"
He growled, his voice carrying a quiet madness.
These words did indeed intimidate all the soldiers present.
They looked at each other, momentarily at a loss for words.
The characteristics of the Laterano priests cannot be faked; the conspicuous halo and wings amidst the flames of war are the best proof.
Although they couldn't figure out how a Laterano could run a church here, they knew they couldn't attack the other party inside the church.
On a small scale, this is just friendly fire on the battlefield; on a larger scale, it could be a provocation against a religious country.
Although Laterano is small, everyone knows the fighting prowess of that group of fanatical religious figures...
Just when everyone was at a loss, the commander of the group of soldiers stepped forward.
He stood before the priest, dressed in a crisp military uniform.
The cold gaze swept over the priest's shoulder and landed on the Sarkaz in the ridiculous church behind him.
"I have no idea when the Laterano churches will accept the Sarkaz."
"Perhaps you don't know enough about churches."
Seeing that the other party showed no intention of making a move, the priest silently breathed a sigh of relief.
He gripped his Guardian Gun, refusing to lower it.
"Please have your soldiers lay down their weapons; it's Sunday..."
"..."
The commander looked at Father Sankta in front of him, paused for a moment, then raised his hand in the air as if to press down. The surrounding soldiers also hesitated and lowered their guns.
"Perhaps... I rarely interact with people like you; I've only heard about you."
The commander did not deny what the other person had said to him; he simply lowered his head and, after a moment of silence, gazed at the other person.
"But this is a battlefield, Father... I understand your compassion, and I respect you and Laterano behind you, so I'm willing to give you a chance."
"Let's choose ten from these children."
"This is the biggest concession I can make... You should understand that for a soldier, such an action is tantamount to betrayal..."
The man spoke, but the priest only gritted his teeth.
"I'm so sorry, I love all these children, and I don't want to lose any of them..."
The priest still refused to budge.
The commander standing to the side frowned.
"You mean you're going to protect these savage monsters?"
"I can still tell the difference between a human and a beast."
The priest's eyes were calm; he took a deep breath, his tone unyielding...
"Please leave... Fighting is not allowed inside the church."
"..."
The commander neither spoke nor left; he simply gazed silently at the man before him, his eyes calm.
"..."
Above the sky, the ruthless warships showed no mercy...
The fully equipped soldiers had indistinct expressions...
Maria wandered through the chaotic ruins.
Her steps seemed to lag behind the army entering the city. There was no sound of breathing around her; even the blood that had just flowed had dried up from the flames of war.
Maria frowned slightly and continued walking.
Soon, she arrived at a ruin whose shape was no longer discernible, and slowly stopped.
Right in front of her.
A crippled man with a black halo above his head lay quietly against the wall, holding a child in his arms.
Inside the ruins, severed limbs and broken pieces were scattered everywhere...
Chapter 267 Be ashamed of what you have done.
"... It's you."
Even at this point, the priest was still alive.
Beneath the gently rising and falling chest, a heart pounded like a motor starting up.
He clung to his last breath.
Maria could clearly see the wide-eyed, incredulous Allied Forces soldiers around her, who seemed to never have imagined, even in their dying moments, that this heavily wounded priest, who was all alone, had managed to take them all down with just a single Guardian Gun.
"Um."
Maria nodded.
She naturally saw which group of people the shattered bodies in the church belonged to, but she said nothing. She simply walked forward silently, looking at them with regret.
She knew the other party would fail, but she didn't expect the failure to come so quickly.
She didn't say anything to provoke the other person; in her perception, the other person's vital signs were getting weaker and weaker.
He's beyond saving.
"What a... sorry state..."
The priest said with a self-deprecating smile, forcing himself to raise his head and try to smile at Maria.
But in Maria's eyes, that smile was more unsettling than a cry.
His blood-covered, ghastly face made him look both pathetic and laughable.
In the silence, Maria paused for a few moments and gently exhaled.
"I'm not a professional, and I don't know the procedure for praying for the deceased, but..."
She reached out and slowly placed her hand on the man's face, gently stroking it.
"You've done very well..."
"You're already very talented..."
"Now, enjoy the peace you deserve."
Maria tried to soothe the man's eyes, urging him to give up on his last breath of pain.
Unless a miraculous doctor appears at this point, there is no chance of saving the patient.
Rather than continuing the painful struggle, it's better to let go.
He had done everything he could... only in the end they all failed.
Maria, however, clearly underestimated the will of men.
In this moment of severe blood loss and collapse, he miraculously reached out his hand as if in a final burst of energy!
He took Maria's hand!
"Not yet..."
He whispered, his tone ethereal and indistinct, yet even at this moment, a startling light still shone in his eyes.
His emotions began to fluctuate, and his voice grew increasingly low.
Above his wide-open single eye, a flame of desire burned.
He wasn't willing to let it end there!
Maria did not break free from his grasp, but simply looked at him calmly.
What else do you want?
"..."
It was just a simple sentence, but it silenced the priest who had finally managed to ignite his passion.
He still doesn't know what he wants; he's just unwilling to accept it...
He had prepared for decades, accumulated knowledge and experience over the decades... He even hoped that he could save these children and become a spark that could change the world.