The Beginning of Total Collapse

The actions of the Wild Forest Church leader were so sudden that neither of them had time to react.

One of them was his father, Wild Forest Bishop didn't realize it.

The other was Gong Qiying. He realized what the other party was doing, but he didn't have time to close the Painting World he was adjusting.

After all, who could have imagined that after only two Painting World were released, a holder who had just left would immediately come back and use them during the transition between the old and new days in the dungeon?

The most enthusiastic adventurers I've ever seen in the Zane Dungeon couldn't be this eager, but what exactly do they want?

"I think I'm getting a clue."

Gong Qiying looked helplessly at the captain's figure reflected in the Crystal Ball, and then at the Wild Forest Bishop had already entered the Painting World.

He glanced one last time at the Hypnosis Magic circle he hadn't finished adjusting. It seemed like he'd increased its efficiency, and he still hadn't finished setting it up.

The only one currently in the Painting World is the Wild Forest Bishop.

If we start reducing the abnormal values of the Hypnosis Magic circle now, there might not be any major problems, but that's just a possibility.

The Hypnosis Magic circle had already taken effect on the Wild Forest Bishop from the very beginning.

What else can we do?

"Then let's leave it at that."

Gong Qiying shook her head, like a kindergarten teacher feeling helpless at the adventurer's mischief.

"Let's see how it goes first; we can always offer some compensation if necessary."

"You unfilial son! When I get out of here, I'll skin you alive!"

In the Painting World "Dragon Knight," the Wild Forest Bishop, enraged, shouted and kicked the ground repeatedly in a fit of rage.

He was already approaching sixty, but he encountered a situation where his son was unfilial, which was a real test for his heart.

What? Why would a bishop-level figure worry about his heart condition?

Religion is different from the Adventurers Association. The latter only requires strength to rise in status, while in religion, you gain status through knowledge, persuasive skills, or in other words, charisma. The more supporters you have, the higher your status will naturally become.

Fortunately, although the Wild Forest Bishop was only a Bronze Rank mage, he was very good at persuasion. He successfully convinced a group of people to support him by making new interpretations of the Wild Forest Church's doctrines. Finally, after a series of complex struggles, he rose to power and became one of the few bishops.

Although he was only so-so in terms of strength, he had a great talent for command, and eventually came to this front to serve as a commander.

Because of his lack of strength, his camp was the most secluded, and he would never show himself on ordinary days.

However, the appearance of such a shocking element as the Zane Dungeon was of great importance, which alerted him and brought him here.

The consequence of his greed is that he has now been betrayed by his own son.

"How could that be? My youngest son is arrogant, irritable, and rude. How could he possibly pretend to apologize to lower my guard and then launch a sneak attack? Only a smart person like me would do that."

Wild Forest Bishop scratched his head, which was starting to show signs of baldness, completely baffled by his predicament. His anger was almost overshadowed by his confusion.

What kind of bewitching potion did the Sparkfire Church give my son? His personality has even changed!

It's not Pokémon, why would it change its personality?

He was convinced that the Sparkfire Church had done something wrong, since only the Sparkfire Church would do something like that if they believed in Gwyn.

They must have used some despicable means to mind control my son!

"Aww!"

A sharp, unpleasant Dragon Roar suddenly came from the other side, immediately drawing his attention.

He only glanced at it, and the thoughtful expression on his face quickly faded, replaced by endless terror.

"A flying dragon!" The fleeing people cried out in panic the name of the invading monster.

"Ah, a group of flying dragons!?" Wild Forest Bishop was also shocked.

Although these dragons were slightly different in size from the dragons he was familiar with, their aura of power unique to dragons was undeniable!

He was terrified to death seeing a double-digit number of dragons gathered together to slaughter humans, and he didn't have Hervey's strength.

The Wild Forest Bishop turned and ran, muttering angrily to himself as he ran:

"Damn it, how dare they throw me into such a dangerous place, damned Sparkfire Church!"

Those lunatics who worship the sun must be trying to take advantage of the fact that he's trapped in the Painting World and can't get out to attack the church group he brought!

If I can't get out quickly...

His faithful followers are about to be forced to adopt the colors of the Sparkfire Church!

"That kind of thing must never happen!"

That damned Sparkfire Church! They've actually targeted my followers with mind control! The reason you threw me in here is because my faith is unbreakable and I will never be deceived by your sweet talk, so you want to get rid of me, right?

"I will definitely get out. My spirit is unbreakable. I will defeat them with my faith—"

Before the Wild Forest Bishop could finish his vow-like words, a long string of "information" suddenly flashed through his mind.

That was the "story introduction" of this Painting World, explaining his current role as the Sun Warrior, his duties, the current situation, and what Sun Warrior should do.

It's just an ordinary background introduction, nothing special.

While Hypnosis Magic might take effect at this time, it can at best only stir the adventurer's emotions, making them willing to challenge the dragon—at least before their first death.

However.

"Ah, ah ah."

Wild Forest Bishop, however, was struck dumb as if by Raigeki. His eyes widened in shock, his fingers trembled uncontrollably, and his mouth gaped open, barely able to hold his saliva.

No, no, my faith, my faith.

He trembled violently, and his bald head began to fall out in clumps, turning his Mediterranean-like hair completely bald in an instant.

His struggles weakened, his muttering grew lower, and his dusty eyes turned to the flying dragons attacking the crowd and the people fleeing for their lives after being attacked.

At that moment, someone in the crowd threw a stone at the dragon but was slapped down. Before being eaten, he turned back and shouted to the Wild Forest Bishop:

"Avenge me, Sun Warrior!"

The dust in his eyes vanished instantly, and the Wild Forest Bishop's eyes suddenly shone brightly. He drew his dagger, raised it high with both hands, and shouted:

"Praise the sun! I am Sun Warrior!"

Then, without hesitation, he charged towards the wicked flying dragon.

He was knocked to the ground by the ferocious dragon after only a few blows, followed by the sound of flesh being torn apart. The pain clouded his vision again, and he cried out in a confused state, "Help me, Nature God!"

But the moment he was resurrected, his dusty eyes regained their sparkle.

Praise the sun!

Wild Forest Bishop began with an extremely unorthodox Sun Praise gesture—who knows how he managed to make such a simple gesture so crooked—and then charged towards the flock of dragons with unstoppable momentum.

Although the result was inevitably the same—being torn to shreds—he actually managed to shatter the scales of a dragon with the wisp of Bronze Rank mage who hadn't trained in a long time. An incredible feat was accomplished through his courage!

Praise the sun!

Again and again, the death Charge; again and again, the repetition.

The Wild Forest Bishop shed the tangled leaves that covered him, and with the pure innocence of a newborn, he faced the sunlight and launched a grand Charge against an invincible enemy!

"Isn't this thing a bit too powerful?"

In the city lord's room, after seeing the condition of the Wild Forest Bishop, even Gong Qiying couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"This Hypnosis Magic I got from the Dark Blue Sea Dungeon is pretty powerful. It seems much stronger than usual."

Did that woman somehow manage to send herself something even more powerful and potent, a substitute for something good?

Gong Qiying was about to turn off the Hypnosis Magic circle and use some tricks to restore the Wild Forest Bishop to his original state, but at that moment he glanced at the constantly fluctuating Spirit Power reserves in the Zane Dungeon.

"Huh?"

He saw the Wild Forest Bishop's Spirit Power manifested in concrete numbers, and then his movements paused for a moment.

"This Spirit Power is far beyond what Bronze Rank cultivator should be like."

"Captain, what should we do? There's no turning back now."

Outside the dungeon, at the Wild Forest Church's camp, Wild Forest Captain and his teammates were huddled in their tents, discussing matters with serious expressions.

"Given my father's personality, it's uncertain whether he'll be influenced by the Sun Warrior. We need to prepare for the worst."

The captain's expression was calm, an expression unexpected from a spoiled young master. He spoke methodically:

"But knowing my dad's personality, he definitely wouldn't dare to confront the monsters head-on. He'll try every means to escape the battle. The longer he survives by running away, the longer he'll be trapped in the Painting World. It'll probably be two or three days. We need to hurry these few days."

The captain clenched his fist, his gaze resolute, and said, "Let more people understand the greatness of the Sun Warrior."

His companions all laughed and nodded in agreement:

"That's right, there's no need to believe in this Nature God never answers our prayers. We need to find a deity who can become our spiritual pillar!"

"Although Gwyn is no longer here and cannot answer us, the Sun Warrior he left behind have been resurrected in the modern era!"

"Let's begin, everyone, let's embark on our new journey!"

And so, not long after, as dawn broke...

A number of other churches, including the Sparkfire Church, were so startled by the Wild Forest Church's sudden and drastic move that they couldn't sleep anymore and got up to see what these guys were up to.

The Wild Forest Church seemed to be on emergency mobilization, with church members and even logistics staff being pulled up and organized into teams according to rules unknown to others, before entering the Zane Dungeon in droves.

There weren't many members of the Wild Forest Church stationed here; they were almost completely cleared out in eight or nine teams. All of these teams went through the portal into the dungeon, leaving only a few people to guard the camp, which was a bit too big for them.

"What are they doing?" the Golden God Cult couldn't help but ask.

"Aren't they afraid that people who don't like them will take the opportunity to attack the camp? Why aren't they even deploying more guards?" The Sparkfire Church was also completely baffled.

Is it because they see that Hervey and the others haven't returned yet, and there aren't many people here who could pose a threat to them, that the Wild Forest Church is acting so recklessly?

That doesn't make sense; the Golden God Cult is still around.

But no matter how many questions people had, almost the entire Wild Forest Church went inside.

They stayed inside for an entire day, and it wasn't until evening that the groups gradually emerged, with varying appearances and demeanors among them.

The teams led by the captain and other high-level combatants were mostly full of energy and their eyes shone brightly, as if they had found some life dream. On the other hand, the teams with mediocre strength were full of complaints and dissatisfaction with the captain's sudden action. After all, as logistics personnel, they had nothing to do in the dungeon except get beaten up!

Wild Forest Captain, on the other hand, was quite satisfied with the current situation and ordered all teams to disperse and rest on the spot.

The next day, just after midnight, he pulled up those who had been complaining earlier and forced them to form teams to enter the dungeon one by one, equipping each team with capable members.

The Sparkfire Church members were woken up again by this commotion. If they went to sleep, they were curious about the Wild Forest Church's purpose; if they didn't sleep, they felt restless. Most of them were cursing the Wild Forest Captain in their hearts, but the latter didn't care at all.

Just then, these teams encountered an unexpected situation.

The portal flickered, and a bald figure emerged—it was none other than the bishop!

"How did he get out so quickly? Oh no!"

Wild Forest Captain's face was grim, because the bishop's sudden appearance would surely gather those believers who were not yet ready to fight against him. His plan was not yet complete, how could he let him interfere!

The captain subtly approached his father, who stared back at him with unreadable eyes. The distance between them grew closer and closer, and a tense atmosphere filled the air.

The weakened bishop suddenly swayed and collapsed into the captain's arms. Before the captain could react, he heard the other whisper in his ear:

"Praise the Sun."

"!"

The captain's eyes widened for a moment, then returned to normal, a pleased smile playing on his lips as he raised his arm and said:

"I'll take care of the bishop; you all continue to do the right thing!"

The consciousness of the Wild Forest believers is subtly changing.