Overturned Tower

"So, will they still calm down and hone themselves?"

This is an open conspiracy, an open and aboveboard conspiracy—it’s like trying to maliciously destroy a certain player’s game experience, the Church didn’t choose any aggressive strategy, but was constantly stuffing money, stuffing things, and helping the other party. , Leveling.

When the progress of the game continues to accelerate and accelerate to a certain level, the game will lose its fun.

The church is aware of the tenacity and firmness of the mages' will.Head-on conflict can't be defeated...so they chose another means and let the mages self-destruct.

"Those mages don't realize and will never believe that their path is wrong from the root. The more powerful they are, the closer they are to the 'dream'. It won't be long...those mages who keep using the source of holy order They will continue to expand their strength. After reaching the redshift of about ten levels, they will lose their reason and personality and become a newborn 'demon'.

"—It's exactly the same as those psykers thousands of years ago."

There is no turning back on the path of the mage.

The further you go, the more powerful you will be, but at the same time, the closer you will be to destruction.

Just like eating snakes...the bigger the body, the stronger it is, the easier it is to destroy others, but the easier it is to destroy itself.

As long as the church keeps "feeding experience" to the mages, it can feed them!

...but what about me?

I have also used the source of holy orders, but why did nothing happen to me?

Russell paused suddenly.

--wrong.

He did have an accident.

The first time Russell awakened his twilight essence was after he used the source of holy order for himself in "End Town"!And his redshift was also stuck at that time... Suddenly the barrier was lifted, and he started to be promoted rapidly, and it also started from using the source of the holy order!

It is so, it is so...

Everything is right--

The church has never given up the idea of ​​completely destroying the legacy of mages.

Therefore, the pope clearly is an angel... but he will use angels to make the source of holy orders and sell them to mages.

Therefore, the church obviously does not need any form of cooperation with the mages, and the mages have no interests that can make the church feel attractive, but they will conduct transactions.

Even if the mages realize that something is wrong, the source of the holy order can indeed make them stronger, and there is no problem with its source and function-then who can refuse this free pie that fell from the sky Woolen cloth?

Now, there is only one problem.

Russell frowned slightly, and asked calmly, "Who are you?"

In an instant, a strange, old face appeared on Lycaon's face.

"I am indeed the Lycaon you know. But we 'ascended' are not alone. Besides 'Lycaon', there is another consciousness among 'us'...

"It belongs to [promotion]."

Russell was moved.

Because he clearly remembered the name.It rightfully belongs to this generation of popes.

"... promoted to the twelfth world?"

"No, just a promotion. Just a promotion."

The Pope stood up from his seat.

At that moment, Lycaon's shabby clothes turned into a glorious and sacred Pope's dress in an instant.

"There's never been a 'promote XII'. From the very beginning, I've just been 'promoted'.

"Before that, I had another unknown name.

"Back then, people called me 'Father Andrew.' The mages called me... Andrew the Deceiver.

"—Yes, I am the inventor of the 'God's Descending Device'. The first angel."

[Promoted] Said calmly: "It's the first time we meet...the son of the sheath."

Chapter 66 Group Gods

Instead of Lycaon, what appeared in front of Russell was a wrinkled old man with thinning white hair.

He looks like an aged Magneto.The old man sat in the position just now, exuding a serious and quiet demeanor... His green pupils were the same as Russell's, and his sharp eyes were completely different from Russell's.

The old man professed that... he was not "promoted-12", but just "promoted".

- The initial "promotion".

"……I see."

Russell took a deep breath, and from the ambiguous attitude, he understood the hidden danger hidden in the words.

Since the Sky Island era, the Pope of the Cyber ​​Church has been an electoral system—and will be re-elected every seven years.And each pope will not only become pope once... If in a certain era, there are two cardinals who are good enough, then there is a high probability that the pope will rotate between them.

However, it doesn't really matter who the pope is.That's just used to fool ordinary people.

Because if you want to become the pope, you have to wear the "crown" that symbolizes the pope and make yourself an angel.The highest-ranking angel named "Savior", everything he does is for the world, with a rational and compassionate pure heart.Only such a ruler who is "absolutely dedicated to the public" can gain people's peace of mind and respect.

Instead, the rulers themselves are deprived of their human rights.

Therefore... From a certain point of view, becoming the pope is not an honor, but a "sacrifice".

For the prosperity and continuation of the church, he sacrificed his body and mind, and brought the spirits of the ancient saints into his body.Personality changes are natural... After the seven-year inaugural period is over, it is also reasonable to permanently change the personality, or simply lose the memory of this period.

That is the price of giving up the power of an angel after gaining it again.

Compared with the Pope, who is essentially a "tool man" responsible for work, the name elves are more interested in permanent positions such as "Minister of Internal Affairs", "Chief Referee", and "Registrar" who have power but are not so busy. interested.

And the promotion -1 is the first pope since the Sky Island era.

At that time, the "Church" had just begun to be renamed the "Cyber ​​Church". The first Pope, who was also the first host of the "Savior", was "Father Andrew" who had developed the God's Arrival Device in the past.

Until today, almost 100 years have passed.And there are only twelve "promoted".

However, he suddenly said now that there has never been a "promotion-12" in this world... from the beginning there was only one "promotion".

That can only be Andrew himself.

——The moment each Pope puts on his crown, they are no longer the Cardinal they were before.The infused thoughts completely changed their minds...and let "Promotion" be reborn from their bodies.

"Did you obtain eternal life through this method?"

Luo Sheng asked: "Having controlled the power of the Cyber ​​Church for 100 years... What exactly do you want to do? What did you do?"

Even though his soul was imprisoned in the prayer device, Russell was fearless.

That wasn't Yan Shuangying's behavior of "I bet you don't have any bullets in your gun"...but Russell really has the means to turn the table now.

After the redshift exceeds eight levels, Russell is no longer purely human.Not to mention, for him, the "human" body is just a fragile consumable... Russell, who can modify his own shape at will, can rewrite it into his own shape as long as he borrows a body.

Just like he imitates others, there will be no flaws.

If he had to abandon his body, Russell could also sneak into the dream world, or into the Internet.As long as he can obtain even the body of a bionic human, he can also "backdoor go public" again.Just as the monkey-faced eagle reveals its true form, it can even cause disasters that must be resolved by the self-sacrifice of the name elf...

——This kind of thing, I can do it now!

In a sense, Russell is the same kind of "promotion", and even goes one step further.At least for promotion, someone else must take the initiative to wear the Pope's crown in order to win the soul of the other party...and Russell does not need to use such redundant means at all.

From this point of view, it is not certain whose home field is here!

"what can I do?"

The white-haired old man asked back: "The power of the church is controlled by elves, so what can I do?

"Rather than saying that the Cyber ​​Church is independent of the seven empty islands...it would be more accurate to say that it is shared by the seven giants."

This is true.

Russell nodded.

From the time of the Islamic Wars, a large part of the church's top leaders were elves.But now, as humans have changed several times, the elves from back then are still sitting in their positions... Even among the newly appointed senior management, the proportion of being transformed into elves is getting higher and higher.Today, the Cyber ​​Church has essentially become a pure elf force.

"The souls of the elves have been solidified. They may be able to obtain the power of the holy order, but they cannot become angels. This means that elves cannot become the pope... Only pure-blooded humans can become the pope. Because of this, Not all the cardinals at the top of the church have turned into elves—because there are always people who need to be sacrificed."

The old man sneered.

He only raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a look of mocking all living beings, mixed with pity and sarcasm: "Or, do you think that the purpose of my existence is to stay in this puppet-like pope's position, to get along with those people?" Elves fighting for power?

"If I wanted to, I would have been an elf. I have that gift, and I have been invited.

"I am indeed the first angel in this world...because my original test subject was myself.

"You know, I've always been like this. When I invented the god-falling device, I adjusted it repeatedly on myself... I didn't even know, after I gave the god-falling device to the Pope At the time of acceptance, I was still my original self.

"But so what? I will not let children become my test subjects. The church invited Lycaon because I recognized his talent and character, not because I regarded him as a consumable.

"Before Lycaon, I had already experimented with myself. I will only spread it to others when I confirm that this transformation is safe and controllable.

"Right now the only child fused with me is Lycaon, but there will be more soon.

"The monkey-faced eagle uses this technology to fuse the will of others with itself, devouring and manipulating their individual minds. It is undeniably evil. It is not fusion, but domination.

"And with me as the supervisor, I can ensure the smooth progress of the fusion. I will preserve the consciousness of everyone first, and when everyone is ready, I will be the first to dismantle the barriers of individual consciousness. I will always be the first First, I am the leader, I am the pioneer.

"——At that time, under my leadership...humanity will merge into a true 'group god'."

Chapter 67 Enemy against the Big Seven

The tone of "promoted" is not that of an old man.

He didn't have the complex trait of tolerance and arrogance, modesty and arrogance that are typical of old people.If his words were changed to a different voice, one might think that this is just a young man... or a middle-aged man.

This is also a matter of course.Because of the spirit of promotion, I am afraid that it has been heavily polluted by the "sage".

Dare to try all versions of the "God's Falling Device" on himself... This is no longer an ordinary person.His original self may have been dissolved in the infinite light long ago, and his current "promotion" is more like a fusion of many angels.

That's why he dared to say... Has the act of dissolving the angels into the source of the holy order been approved by the "angels"?

"In the crown of His Excellency the Pope, I am afraid that what resides...is the aggregate of angels with the memory of 'Father Andrew'."

Russell said coldly: "Because you have already been integrated, so you yearn for greater integration."

"I do not deny."

Sheng Sheng replied calmly: "But this fusion is not a mistake."

"Perhaps. Let's talk about it first. If you fuse all human beings together... What are you going to do with this miraculous power? Defeat the illusion?"

Russell frowned, and asked word by word.

He is really having a headache now.

The monkey-faced eagle hadn't been dealt with yet, but another "strange monkey-faced eagle" popped up...

The Pope obviously doesn't have the monkey-faced eagle epilepsy, so he probably doesn't have the support of the twilight trait-the absence of the "twilight" trait means that if the individual's mind is too distorted, it will easily collapse and dissolve.If the redshift of human beings is too high, they will kill themselves... So this world has never had a psyker with a particularly high level of psychic power.

It's not that they are incapable of crossing the wall of Leviathan, but that after they left the "wall", they were swallowed by the "water monsters" in the sea of ​​group subconscious.

This wall blocked their evolutionary steps, but it also protected their safety... This process is like changing the map after the ascension in the novel of Xianxia, ​​and the strength that was originally the peak of the world suddenly becomes mediocre or even humble.Psykers can't fight demons, let alone the "dreams" that pollute the original psykers into demons.

However, "promoting" has its own advantages.

Behind His Excellency the Pope stands the entire Cyber ​​Church... Broadly speaking, they represent the bottom-level people all over the world.

Those who most want to completely free themselves from reality and realize the incomparably fair fusion and unity of all wills must be those who suffer and are oppressed in reality.The more relaxed and comfortable you are, the more privileges and talents you have, the less you want to leave your current life.

But their desire is so strong, which also makes them easy to be used.They will be deceived, and they will become the accomplices of the scum... because they have dreams.

Compared with reality, dreams are like intoxicating wine.It can break free from reality and experience a moment of leisure, but if you drink too much, it will make your blood boil and lose your mind.

Russell knows all too well...

If the church really starts to "integrate" around the world, the "Relief Society" alone will not be able to grab them or stop them.There will only be a small number of people who support the Fuji Society, and more people will be hostile to them-if this integration is indeed fair and has no side effects, and will not be manipulated and destroyed by others...even the Fuji Society internally, may be split as a result.

Rationally speaking, this cannot be wrong.Under the squeeze and persecution of external forces, human civilization has been reborn in a compact posture... This is also a kind of evolution at the level of civilization.

——But as a personal standpoint, Russell can only oppose this integration.

Because he's not really human.

He is the egg of twilight, the unhatched twilight, a great existence at the same level as "civilization".In the fantasy world, this is the god-level pillar of the world, which is completely higher than human beings in terms of life level... When anyone's consciousness merges with Russell, it will only become his nourishment and sacrifice, and cannot truly become part of him.

In other words, if Russell doesn't want to destroy the world...he can't participate in the great fusion.

The whole world merged, only he was isolated—a future that Russell could never accept.

What he fears most is loneliness.