Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 151 The Devil's Whispers (Fourth Update)
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My hands and feet were cold and had lost all feeling due to blood loss. I could barely feel the pain that ran through my hands and feet anymore. The images in front of me were gradually becoming blurry, and my mind was starting to feel dizzy.

"call……"

He was breathing unconsciously, his mind was blank, there was no pain or other thoughts, and he could hardly feel the initial cold and tiredness anymore. Instead, he felt a sense of peace.

The dilemma that had been troubling me for so long seemed to have become clearer...

I inexplicably tried to laugh, but the area that should be my lips felt like it was about to lose all feeling; my face felt only cold, and I didn't even know if I had actually laughed.

But just then, a deep voice seemed to ring in my ears.

"Hmm? Have you finally made up your mind?"

That deep voice was completely flat and devoid of any emotion; it was utterly cold.

He once thought the voice was there to stop him, but in the end, the whisper was actually helping him to grow the church into a larger and stronger force.

Along with that sound, a clear image appeared in my previously blurry vision...

As the dark mist gradually filled the field of vision, everything in front of me disappeared, leaving only a vague outline in the depths of darkness, as if an invisible, twisted creature was constantly changing its form.

For some reason, that distorted form gave Joshua a chilling and terrifying beauty.

What kind of beauty is that...

It is neither man nor woman; neither child nor old person; neither good nor evil; neither an ignorant beast nor a wise man…

It is a sentient being, yet not a sentient being...

Just like the deep darkness that hides the stars and the moon when night falls, how magnificent it is.

At this moment, the overly beautiful, invisible creature seemed to be watching him from the darkness. All his senses could feel was the bone-chilling coldness and oppression, as if it were staring at a bottomless abyss, ready to be swallowed up at any moment.

However, looking at that figure that instilled inexplicable fear and trembling, Joshua felt a strange sense of peace. Before he knew it, his throat, which had been numb, seemed to be able to speak again.

“I understand now… I have made my choice.”

He opened his mouth, and his voice was no longer stagnant, showing no sign of being on the verge of death, but Joshua was unaware of this at the moment.

"Between the God I believe in and the merciful people..."

Joshua looked up. All around him was darkness. In a daze, he seemed to have returned to that dream again... In that dream, he was also surrounded by darkness, with only a six-pointed star by his side.

He used to have only God by his side, but now... he is no longer alone.

A smile appeared on his lips, a relaxed smile that hadn't appeared in a long time.

"If God's will is that only the Jews can be saved, while all mankind cannot be redeemed, then I would rather not have this God. If the price of believing in God is abandoning humanity, then I would rather choose to abandon God."

His relaxed words carried a deep sense of relief.

He did not die for God, but for the church he founded.

"Interesting mortals."

A low laugh echoed in the darkness, a laugh filled with a strange, chilling, and demonic charm. However, Joshua was unaware that the laugh also carried a hint of mockery.

"Human, you love the church you founded, don't you?"

The devil’s whispers rang in Joshua’s ears.

"Naturally, I founded the church. Its existence is to bring all mankind under the same faith, so that we can be as close as brothers and have no more disputes."

Joshua smiled, as if he were talking about his most beloved child. Undoubtedly, this doctor, formerly known as Hannah, was a pure idealist who integrated his ideal world into the church and looked forward to the day his ideal would be realized.

However, all he received in response was the devil's unrestrained laughter.

"Hahahaha... As close as brothers? No more disputes?"

“Poor humankind, you do not know that all those who attempt to build a paradise on earth have turned it into a hell.”

There is no hell in this world, because Earth is the hell that the angels spoke of.

The human world is hell.

As he spoke, a hand reached out from the darkness and touched Joshua's forehead. Immediately, countless images flashed before Joshua's eyes... After his death, his disciples and followers preached in the Middle East in his name. Eventually, the "Stone" Peter realized that preaching in the fiercely contested Middle East was not a good choice.

So many disciples traveled north to Anatolia, crossed the peninsula, entered Greece, climbed the mountains, and entered Rome, spreading his teachings throughout the Roman Empire.

Christianity, considered a branch of Judaism, differed from Judaism in many ways from the beginning. Many religions have aspects that belittle women, or even forbid women from practicing. However, Christianity, which advocates love and forgiveness, welcomed female believers from the outset. Many ladies from wealthy families did not idolize war gods or divine kings; instead, they were drawn to the principles of patience and forgiveness in Christianity, thus choosing to embrace it and becoming one of its strongest pillars.

However, another characteristic of Christianity was even more advantageous. In an era when missionary work often took place in cities, Christianity, thanks to Joshua's initial experience of preaching in the countryside, frequently sent missionaries to rural areas, eventually developing entire villages into believers.

Many villages converted to Christianity, and the flame of Christianity... slowly spread from the countryside.

By the time the Roman emperors realized this, it was too late. The Christ had spread widely in many villages, among many citizens, and even in the army, threatening the imperial rule.

No matter how many Roman emperors strictly forbade it, even to the point of killing Christians on sight, they could not stop the spread of the religion. A Roman emperor could kill hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands, but could he kill every single person in the countryside within the entire empire?

Ultimately, even the Roman emperor bowed his head, converted to Christianity, and made it the state religion...

Everything looks so beautiful.

When Joshua saw this scene, his eyes were almost filled with tears, and he was extremely excited, but he did not realize... the sinister smile on the devil's lips in the darkness.

Then, numerous visions of the future appeared before Joshua, finally settling on one particular image...

Holding high the cross banners, numerous knights clad in chainmail and leather armor, along with a multitude of spear-wielding soldiers, their imposing and cold blades piercing the sky, while the accompanying priests fervently proclaimed the glory of the Holy Land.

"East! East! Brothers of the entire Christian world, reclaim our Holy Land!"

The pope, wearing a triple crown, delivered a passionate speech.

Numerous peasants, impoverished nobles, mercenaries, pilgrims... countless fanatical believers, brandishing their weapons, headed toward the holy land described in the classics as "flowing with milk and honey."

The Crusades, an expedition that gathered the strength of the entire Christian world, marched from west to east, slaughtering pagans until their heads rolled and rivers of blood flowed in the Holy City of Jerusalem, while they all cheered for the same name.

"In the name of Joshua (Jesus)!"

"No...it shouldn't be like this..."

As he watched this scene, the young doctor felt dizzy and disoriented. His lips trembled, and he could barely speak. All he could hear was the devil's deep laughter.

“Joshua, Messiah! Listen! See! They are killing, looting, committing adultery, and fighting in your name!”

Witch hunts, tithes, indulgences...

Everywhere there are believers of Christ, everywhere there is the name of Joshua, yet nowhere there is the world that Joshua promised.

The king believed in Christ, yet used his will to suppress the common people, claiming that Joshua had granted him the power; the pope believed in Christ, yet used his followers to amass wealth, while he himself had mistresses and illegitimate children everywhere, yet he kept saying that he was keeping pure for God.

When they committed the murders, they said, "In the name of Joshua!"

When they levied taxes, they said, "In the name of Joshua!"

When they started the war, they said, "In the name of Joshua!"

but……

“I never asked you to do this…”

Joshua's pupils gradually blurred; the ideal world in his heart had been destroyed, leaving only deep regret and self-blame.

But all he could hear was the devil's deep laughter.

“Mortal, your doctrines cannot save them. Your actions have only created a larger power group and increased my followers.”

……

Before Lonnickis, the unusually thin man finally looked at the sky, his face filled with only confusion and helplessness.

In a daze, Lonnukis vaguely sensed that invisible power that had always filled his body, that tenacious power that could be defeated but could not be broken...

It is already broken.

(End of this chapter)