I'm not a drama god

Gray Zone.

A village sits in a corner of this desolate land.

There was no sign of life here; it was more like a tribe than a village. Bare stones were piled up to form simple houses, which looked like rows of standing stone monuments, and many believers dressed in crimson robes moved among them.

In the center of the village, a huge bonfire blazed fiercely, its light seemingly possessing some kind of magic, repelling the nearby calamities.

“Why have the ceremonies suddenly become so frequent lately? They used to be held every few days, but now they’re held every day…” A few ordinary believers huddled together, and one of them whispered.

"I don't know... It seems like the archbishops have been more and more active lately. Could it be that 'it' is coming back?"

"Is it possible that the archbishops are preparing to welcome 'it'?"

"Has this day finally come...?"

"They've arrived; the archbishops have come out."

"It looks like the ceremony is about to begin again. Let's get ready."

"..."

At this moment, the village was like a large machine that was gradually getting busy, with more and more ordinary believers coming out of their houses and gathering towards the central bonfire.

The village is not small; it houses over a hundred members of the Crimson Heaven Cult. From a distance, it resembles a series of crimson streams…

In the house closest to the campfire, four savages with red leaves around their waists emerged one by one.

These figures gathered around the campfire and sat down, like a ring, nested outwards in layers. The archbishop and bishops were on the inner side, while ordinary believers were on the outer side, all kneeling respectfully facing the campfire and kowtowing deeply.

The four archbishops on the innermost side let out a few awkward, beast-like roars;

Immediately afterwards, the Jiangtian cultists on the outside shouted in unison:

"We respectfully invite the Supreme Crimson Heaven Savior to return!"

"We respectfully invite the Supreme Savior of the Crimson Heaven to return!!"

"..."

Amidst the shouts of numerous Jiangtian cultists, a faint crimson light ignited from the campfire, and a strange power spread through the void, seemingly able to traverse boundless space and resonate directly with some being in the depths of the universe.

"We respectfully invite the Supreme Savior of the Crimson Heaven to return!!!"

As the crowd reached the summit amidst their shouts, a disdainful snort rang out from the air.

The next second, endless red clouds instantly enveloped the sky, and a huge eye opened from it, like a strange and enormous sun, staring at the entire village!

All the followers of the Crimson Heaven Sect were stunned. They remained kneeling, staring at the strange red clouds and the eerie sun, momentarily lost in bewilderment...

It was the four archbishops who were the first to realize something was wrong and let out terrified screams!

rustling-

Scarlet tentacles descended from the crimson clouds, seemingly possessing their own consciousness, reaching out to grab the crowd!

These scarlet tentacles were so fast that ordinary cultists didn't have time to react. Several figures were directly wrapped around the waist by the tentacles and then forcibly pulled up like fish, flying towards the red cloud amidst terrified screams.

The chilling scene turned the other believers pale with fright. Overwhelmed by fear, they screamed, jumped to their feet, and fled in all directions.

"Escape?" From within the crimson clouds, a figure in a theatrical robe slowly narrowed his scarlet eyes.

"Do you think you can escape?"

Dense red paper tentacles descended from the sky, chasing after the running believers at an astonishing speed. Whether the believers hid in their houses or ran out of the village, they would be caught by the red paper and then mercilessly bound like fish to be slaughtered, and dragged toward the red clouds.

At the same time, a disc opened amidst the red clouds, and all the captured Jiangtian cultists were dragged into it and disappeared without a trace.

"Roar--!!"

The four archbishops, seeing a village of a hundred people so easily become someone else's plaything, roared in fury.

Four red figures soared into the air with tremendous force, compressing the air into ear-piercing sonic booms, determined to fight to the death with the figure in the red clouds!

But the next moment, a gigantic hand, almost obscuring the entire sky, descended from the red clouds.

"Out of control."

A soft voice rose from the clouds.

Om-! !

The moment the giant hand appeared, a vast and overwhelming pressure poured down, and the momentum accumulated by the four archbishops vanished.

Their expressions changed drastically. They felt as if the power within them, enough to set back all civilization, had been negated, leaving them feeling empty inside, with only brute force remaining... Only then did they realize the gravity of the situation and try to escape, but it was too late.

The large hand slowly clenched in the air, as if it wanted to grab all four archbishops in its palm. The four archbishops' faces grew increasingly ugly. They roared unwillingly like wild beasts, using all their strength to attack the hand.

No matter how frantically they hammered with their bone clubs, they couldn't damage the hand in the slightest. In the end, they could only watch helplessly as the five pillar-like fingers slowly closed, completely sealing off all avenues of escape...

The giant hand clenched its fist completely, like an inescapable cage, and finally, grabbing the four archbishops like chickens, disappeared into the red clouds.

Waaaaah—

From the appearance of the red cloud to the complete annihilation of the branch headquarters, the entire process took less than a minute...

The village, which was just a moment ago bustling and noisy, is now deathly silent, with only the howling wind whistling through the empty houses.

From beginning to end, these Jiangtian followers didn't even see a shadow of their enemy.

A red opera robe with black patterns fluttered in the air;

Chen Ling casually raised his hand, and the giant hand directly gripped the earth, uprooting the bonfire at the Jiangtian Sect branch... swallowing the soil and scattered stones below into the red clouds.

After all this was done, the red clouds gradually dissipated.

Chen Ling flicked his sleeves, his expression calm and composed, as if he had not just wiped out a branch of the Crimson Heaven Sect, but casually crushed an anthill.

"This should be the last one," Chen Ling muttered to herself, recalling Teacher Ye's map.

Along the way, Chen Ling had wiped out all the Jiangtian Sect branches marked on the map, and also uprooted their campfires... This phase of the mission was now complete.

Chen Ling looked down at his palm. As the light and shadow flickered, the space that absorbed many Jiangtian Cult members folded continuously, eventually converging into the outline of a disc, which gradually solidified in his hand.

"This quantity should be enough."

Chen Ling tucked the disc into her bosom, a glint of light flashing in her eyes as she pondered something. Then, she slowly looked towards the direction of the ancient collection of opera artifacts…

"That's about it... I should head back too."

Chen Ling took a step forward, her figure transforming once again into a black shadow of reduced dimensions, disappearing at an astonishing speed at the horizon.