Federal, Mississippi.
With the lowest GDP in the country, a poverty rate of 14%, at least one murder every day, and close proximity to Mexico, Mississippi is also one of the most religious states in the country.
There was once a joke: Mexico is hell because it is too close to the paradise of the Union. Then Mississippi is like the thorny road between heaven and hell, with countless demons fighting and committing crimes on the edge of darkness. If you win, you can take the money to enjoy yourself in Las Vegas, and if you lose, you can tie yourself to a stone and travel to the Gulf of Mexico.
In the town of Lena, Leake County, all the residents walked out of their homes and looked at the burning church under the night sky in fear.
The police were maintaining order at the scene, but the residents were very quiet, standing outside the cordon in silence. There were clearly hundreds of people at the scene, but it was so quiet. Under the night sky, the only sounds were the crackling of flames burning wood from the church and the screams of humans.
After treating the wounded, the watcher Victor couldn't help but shudder, took out a cigarette, lit it, and muttered, "It's really creepy."
At this time, a hideous-looking man walked out of the burning church. He was covered in blood and held two children in his hands.
As soon as he appeared, all the residents outside the church immediately knelt down, kissed the ground with their heads, and cried sadly: "Judge me, forgive me, save me!"
"Judge me, forgive me, save me!"
They kept repeating this sentence, but in the light of the flames, their faces were fanatical and happy, as if they were soldiers who were about to be rewarded for their merits.
"I am not qualified to judge you, only the law is qualified to do so; I am not qualified to forgive you, only the families of the victims are qualified to do so; I am also not qualified to save you."
The man put down the unconscious child in his arms and said loudly: "I am just a mortal. The only one who can save you is you yourself."
“Take them all to the police station for questioning and don’t let the criminals escape justice.”
"yes!"
The kneeling people were dragged away by the police. They struggled and resisted, kneeling and unwilling to leave. Some cried out loudly: "No, you are God's messenger, God's son, a saint on earth, an angel!"
"Angel Zach, judge me, forgive me, save me!"
At this time, Zach had already led the team back to the car, and rolled up the windows to block out the noise outside. Noticing that the atmosphere was a bit dull, Zach smiled and said, "There are no new tasks for the time being. You can take a few days off after you go back. You can meditate or go to the bar."
"Captain, I suspect you are targeting me. I have not been to the bar for a long time." Victor put out his cigarette and said, "But captain, aren't you tempted? Hehe, a large group of people are willing to let you dominate their lives. By the way, is this the first religion that regards you, captain, as a god?"
"What's so exciting about this? What's so exciting about being the object of worship of a cult?" Zach said coldly, "I just feel disgusted."
Victor understood very well and said, "That's right. It's like if a female celebrity knew that many men were using her photos to tease each other, anyone would be unhappy, right?"
There it is, Victor’s wonderful metaphor!
Disgusting and obscene but irrefutable!
The other team members tried to hold back their laughter when they saw Zack's gloomy face, which made his face, which was already covered with scars, look even more ferocious.
"Hey, Captain, don't hit me. I'm the one driving. Harassing the driver is illegal." When Victor saw Zack raise his hand, he quickly used the law as a shield and stepped on the accelerator to drive away at lightning speed.
Zach put down his hand in dismay and said in a cold voice: "Anyway, this is another evil cult that is using my name to indulge their desires. They are still doing sacrifices, summoning, and devil rituals in the 21st century, causing the deaths of nearly a hundred people... a bunch of beasts!"
"Speaking of this, I have something to say but I don't know whether I should say it or not..."
"It's not right to say that."
"But I still want to say it," Victor said, "Captain, you might as well have plastic surgery. I just read their internal pamphlet, and it seems that their doctrine considers you to be a 'fallen angel', so they want to hold fallen rituals such as sacrifice to please you and strengthen you."
Victor glanced at Zack and said, "Although I am embarrassed to say it, Captain, you really look like those ugly, strong, and perverted alien demons in "The Devil May Cry"."
The watcher in the back seat felt like a volcano erupting in his heart - if you are really embarrassed, don't use so many adjectives!
In another place, Victor would have been turned into a doll by Zack, but Victor used driving as an excuse, and the law-abiding angel Zack had to swallow his anger: "It's the same even if I become more handsome! They just chose an extraordinary person as the object of their prayers!"
"This is different. If you are good-looking, people will spontaneously form a fan club for you. Look at that cloth—"
"cloth?"
Victor tilted his head and shook his head: "Nothing. But seriously, Captain, you should tidy up your image a bit, and then announce to the whole country as an angel that your only official fan club is the Watchers. If believers want to get close to you, they must study hard and strive to become Watchers, or spend money to buy "Angel Handshake Tickets" from the fan club president Victor. Other ways of belief are piracy and infringement..."
puff.
The watchers in the back seat couldn't help laughing. Zack glanced at Victor and didn't feel that angry anymore - Victor was a bad person in many ways, but he was good at livening up the atmosphere.
Overthrowing a cult was a daily routine for Zach, but it was too disgusting and painful for the other Watchers. With Victor around, at least they wouldn't be immersed in the ugliness of human nature.
Although Victor still has to fight.
"I am an atheist. I will never hold a belief in my heart, nor will I ever become a belief itself."
Victor was not surprised. Zach had said this more than once in Watchmen. However, he still insisted, "So you are going to allow these cults to continue to appear in the Federation for the sake of your own boring principles? You know it yourself. It is precisely because you have become the glory of the Federation that those people will fanatically participate in their belief in you. Look at so many cults. Who believes in the foul-mouthed Youjian?"
"As the glory of the Federation, isn't it your responsibility to protect the people? Can't you put aside your illusory principles, tell some white lies, and keep the people away from those evil whirlpools?"
"cannot."
Zach said in a deep voice: "I am not the Messiah. I cannot save anyone, nor can I respond to their expectations. Once I take this step, it can indeed curb the cult phenomenon in a short period of time, but in the long run it will only make more people immersed in the empty but tangible faith."
"If you can't do it, don't give it hope."
"I am not God, nor an angel, I am a human. I am not in heaven, I am on earth."
"I would rather they call me birdman like You Jian, than call me an angel."
Victor sighed, "But a devout man will not change easily."
"The walls of the hospital have heard more devout prayers than the church," Zach said. "If they have to hold on to something to survive, I would tell them: trust science."
"Nothing can destroy one's faith more than an active angel saying this." Victor smiled and said, "So, you don't like the Supreme Being, so you suggest leaning towards the World Tree?"
Zach shook his head: "No, I have great respect for the Supreme Being, and even if the Supreme Being is not the leader of the World Tree, his will can greatly affect the World Tree."
"The extraordinary person on Xuanguo Weibo said that the Supreme Being and Renesse's visit to the World Tree triggered the future reverberations of the Asgard and World Tree members, which is enough to explain the attitude of the World Tree towards the Supreme Being."
"The reason why we prefer to cooperate with the World Tree instead of the Asgard is because..."
"Were you beaten by a monkey?" Victor said casually.
Zach ignored him: "That's because Asgard has interfered in the world too many times. Contact with Asgard will affect the independence of the Federation."
"On the contrary, the World Tree has little interference in the world and is very willing to cooperate with us. In "The Magician Under the World Tree", you, Victor, fought side by side with the magician."
"Moreover, the magic system of the World Tree is completely different from the current one. Both magic and the newly emerged truth are very different from the spiritual energy system. If the Federation can access these two powers, it will definitely be able to overtake and surpass the extraordinary system of Xuan Nation."
"The Xuan Kingdom is undoubtedly leaning towards the Immortal Palace, and even sent a powerful person like You Jian to seek marriage with someone from the Immortal Palace. Even if the Federation goes over, it will probably be suppressed. It is better to have a good relationship with the World Tree, which is in a subtle competitive relationship with the Immortal Palace."
A watcher asked: "Captain, if the World Tree recruits you, will you agree?"
"If possible, yes, but I must be able to return to the Federation at any time, just like attending college in the World Tree. If the World Tree allows me to move around in the human world, then it's not a bad idea to just list myself in the World Tree."
Zach said softly: "If I can join the World Tree, I can be closer to that person..."
Victor glanced at Zach in the rearview mirror.
He suddenly felt that Zack's current expression was a bit similar to that of the fanatical believer who was kneeling on the ground just now.
He deliberately asked casually: "Which one?"
Zach didn't answer, but smiled and said, "Victor, you and Caroline have a connection with the World Tree, which is our advantage."
Victor said, "You have a connection with the Monkey King and the Black Coffin Demon King, which is our disadvantage."
Zach smiled and said nothing.
When the car arrived at the hotel, Zach got out and waited for a while. Seeing Victor still in the car, he said, "Why aren't you getting out yet?"
“I like to smoke a couple of cigarettes in the car after work.”
"Get off the bus and smoke."
"No, I want to go to McDonald's to buy food later..."
"I'll fly you there."
"No, you are such a bad guy, Zack, I don't want to get off the car, I don't want to--"
The scene that happened next was too much for the other watchers to bear watching. They suddenly understood the evil cult in this small town: if anyone saw Zack now, they would definitely regard him as a fallen angel and try to please him in a devilish way...
…
…
To be honest, this result was a little beyond Ren Suo's expectations.
He thought that the angel Zach was probably also a ninth-level cultivator, but he didn't expect that he was only an eighth-level cultivator.
And even though he was only an eighth-ranked warrior, Zac's title was "World Tree Angel" - what the hell? Zac joined the World Tree 30 years later?
But the World Tree organization was just something Ren Suo made up...
This situation is like Ren Suo created a QQ group called "Pigeon Nest", and the nine accounts in the group are all his smurfs, but then suddenly someone pops up and says he is "The Tenth Pigeon of Pigeon Nest"... This makes people very confused.
Could it be that Zach was fooled?
Or is this some kind of chuunibyou syndrome, similar to calling oneself a 'graduate of Clayton University', a 'villager of Fantasy Village', or the 'chief seeker of Xuanguo Quidditch'?
Ren Suo thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure it out, so he put the matter aside and looked at the data of these new partners:
"Roy, Scourge Monk, Ranged Combat Position, deployment cost 18 points"
"Attack: Strong, Defense: Weak, Attack Range: 4 Squares"
"Feature: Aurora: Attacks will be concentrated on one point. The more times you attack a single target, the higher the damage caused, up to a 50% increase in damage (enhanced after the seventh turn)."
"Hedao Spell: Dark Dawn: Burning spiritual energy increases attack speed by 100% for a short period of time, and after the end, you will be unable to attack for a period of time."
"Trust: 0%"
"He Dao Cultivation: Fourth Turn 0%"
Ren Suo nodded secretly. Unlike Miss Fan of the Remnant Fire, Roy was a single-target output type of Scourge Monk, suitable for dealing with some heavily armored Ark Legions.
"Fina, support monk, long-range position, deployment cost 5 points"
"Attack: None, Defense: Weak, Attack Range: 3 Squares"
"Feature: Battle Prophecy: Each time you enter the battlefield, you will add a battle prophecy to any friendly army (defense +10%, attack +10%) (enhanced after the seventh transformation)."
"Hedao Spell·Prophecy Distortion: Affects all units within the attack range, greatly increases the recovery speed of the friendly army, greatly reduces the defense of the enemy army, and causes aura void strike to any enemy army. Unable to attack before launching the Hedao Spell."
"Trust: 0%"
"He Dao Cultivation: Fourth Turn 0%"
Ren Suo's eyes lit up; this was the first time he saw a supporting monk.
Support monks are very similar to supernatural monks, but supernatural monks are more inclined to attack, while support monks, as the name suggests, focus on auxiliary support.
Like Fina, if she doesn't use the spell of Hedao, she has almost no attack power. But even if she doesn't use the spell of Hedao, it's worth using her as a tool and deploying her on the battlefield to add the "Battle Prophecy" buff to other legions.
What's more, Fina's Hedao spell is very good, enough to serve as an emergency healing monk, and even greatly weaken the enemy legion!
Roy and Fina both gave Ren Suo big surprises. Now, it depends on whether he can continue to surprise people -
"Zack, Fortress Monk, Melee Position, Deployment Cost 21 Points"
"Attack: Medium, Defense: Extreme, Attack Range: 3 Squares"
"Features: Watch: Can resist three enemy units and can build a watchtower."
"Second characteristic: (activated after 8th transformation)"
"Harmony Spell: Glory to Humanity: Defense is increased by 25%. Each time the target is damaged, it will deal damage equal to 70% of Zac's attack power. Every 3 times of damage, Zac will convert 30% of the total damage into healing energy to heal all friendly legions within the attack range."
"Trust: 0%"
"He Dao Cultivation: Fourth Turn 0%"
Ren Suo's eyes widened - the gap between the eighth turn and the eighth turn is too big! ?
If the attack power and defense power are divided into five evaluation levels: extremely weak (1 point), weak (2 points), medium (3 points), strong (4 points), and extremely strong (5 points), then the comprehensive evaluation of most elite monks is around 6 points, and occasionally 7 points.
Angel Zach is the only elite monk Ren Suo has ever seen with an overall score of 8.
And what the hell is his Hedao magic? It can enhance defense, counter damage, and recover! ?
Judging from the data, he is visibly powerful. Compared with him, Dragon King Zhao Huo is considered to be the shame of the Ninth Turn!
And what is this watchtower?
Ren Suo shook his head, returned to the base, and found a new constructible facility.
At the same time, he also saw a blond handsome boy who stood out from the crowd of children. He was being held hostage by a group of children, with a helpless look on his face.
Did Angel Zach look so feminine before?
Ren Suo sighed, and felt that Angel Zach was more manly now. After all, such a sissy and weak boy would probably cry for a long time after getting punched.
Angel Zack is the oldest among the famous extraordinary people nowadays. The oldest among them is Roy, a gangster who has been foul-mouthed and has not even graduated from elementary school, and Haska, a polite and well-dressed South American nobleman.
Ren Suo was filled with emotion every time he saw them. They could never have imagined that after they grew up, they would be tortured by life and become a different person: Zach became more manly, Roy became patriotic, Haska became a body painting master, and Zhao Huo could no longer wear women's clothes...
He clicked on the buildable area, and the game popped up a prompt: "Do you want to consume a fairy source stone to build a watchtower?"
In view of the huge benefits that would be brought about by establishing future communications, Ren Suo would naturally not be stingy.
A tall tower rises from the ground.
"The watchtower was built successfully."