I planted a sacred tree in Tokyo.

Chapter 535 The Land of Chaos
"Hey, hey!! Stop right there, don't—"

Watching another group of prisoners disappear off the coastline, several shouting prisoners frantically pounded on their armor.

"What's going on with those guys? Answer us!"

"The cells in their cerebral cortex are in an inhibited state, but several groups of nerve cells that control movement are still in an excited state. In terms you can understand, they have entered a 'sleepwalking' state."

A cold, electronic voice emanated from the devices worn by several prisoners.

"Damn it! This isn't scientific!"

"Forget about science, this is R'lyeh—"

It's obvious that the group of prisoners wouldn't have all fallen asleep as soon as they landed; nor would they have gotten up and 'sleepwalked' as soon as they fell asleep: judging from their synchronized movements, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were an army.

God is my witness.

Those guys could never be soldiers!
"Stay alert, this is not a safe place."

Upon landing, the prisoners, shocked and enraged to have lost a group of their 'companions,' looked up to find a coastline composed of silt, wetlands, and massive moss-covered rocks.

These stones are exactly the same as those used to build distant cities, exuding a murky and decaying green.

Just seeing these rocks sent chills down the spines of these strong and healthy prisoners, their instincts screaming for them to leave! Leave!

"go ahead,"

"If you don't want to get an electric shock, move around."

The cold, electronic voice that rang in their ears caused the prisoners' expressions to change several times.

Moving forward, anything is possible; retreating, the only option is to be electrocuted to death.
Clang, clang, clang,
"I'll go ahead."

A calm voice rang out.

A young man named Luigi stepped forward and was the first to walk towards the 'coast' in front of him.

The other prisoners looked at each other, and finally decided to follow: in any case, judging from the attitude of those sons of bitches of 'government' personnel, killing them here was not something they couldn't do.

Even thinking about it more deeply,
Whether there is a 'way out' is a question.

The current situation is: if you don't want to die on the spot, you can only take it one step at a time.

As groups of prisoners stepped onto this twisted land, on the amphibious assault ship anchored in the waters behind, numerous staff members belonging to the 'Holy Church' watched nervously on the huge screen in front of them, observing countless images.

Constantly zooming in and out of the screen, these researchers, though not physically present, also had tense expressions and pursed lips.

That's right, this is their 'holy city'!
However, precisely because they knew what they believed in, no one in the entire 'Holy Church' dared to come.

General Anderson, representing military force, had no interest in such experiments. In his view, the right path was to first cultivate the power inherited by the 'Church' to its limit; to this end, he developed various inhuman high-tech combat and training programs.

They even recently established a 'nuclear explosion laboratory' to study how to withstand nuclear bombs with their own bodies.
Such a 'crazy' approach immediately met with collective opposition from the powerful elites, led by 'Old Edgar'.

They become extraordinary beings to continue living a life of privilege; the risky 'baptism' ceremony is one thing, but after becoming 'favored ones,' they still have to endure daily toil and hardship? Wouldn't that be a waste of their time joining the Holy Church?
As for the research-oriented group represented by 'Dr. Ramley', that is naturally:

Overjoyed!

Since the advent of the Extraordinary, biology, materials science, and energy science have been...
Countless disciplines were devastated, and extraordinary disasters occurred frequently, which was naturally a tragedy for ordinary people; but for these scientists, it was a series of unknown topics, and they studied them day and night, often to the point that even those with superhuman physiques could not withstand it.

With the 'Saintess' returning and focusing on absorbing the power bestowed by the Holy Father, the occurrence of this experiment was only natural in a two-to-one situation.

As for these prisoners, they were serious offenders transferred from prisons within the area under the jurisdiction of the 'Holy Church'.

The official title is 'Level D Researcher', but in essence it is:

cannon fodder.

-----

A few minutes later,

"Help me! Help me!!"

In a 'mountainous forest' area, a prisoner, lifted into the air by tentacles, screamed in terror. Protected by his 'Explorer IV' powered armor, he was not yet dead, but:
call----

With a sudden flick of the long tentacle,
Snapped! !

The prisoner was slammed heavily onto the green rocks.

The immense force instantly twisted and deformed flesh and power armor together, mixing them into a mass that was unrecognizable.

"Run!"

"Stop looking, Luigi!"

The other prisoners turned and ran without hesitation, but the refined young man who wanted to rush up to save the other party sighed and then suddenly lunged to the side.

brush,

A giant tentacle swept across the spot where he had just been standing.
The young man named Luigi nimbly flipped himself to his feet and retreated while observing the tentacles.

He was, after all, a true third-generation rich kid. His grandfather was a real estate developer in Baltimore, his father managed the family business, and his cousin was a state legislator. He himself was a top student who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree in engineering.

He was naturally very familiar with this 'powered armor', and unlike other prisoners who had difficulty moving after wearing it, he could completely control the armor.

Unfortunately, they were still unable to save the prisoner.

May you find eternal peace and enjoy the joy of being in the Lord's presence.

As he retreated, he made the sign of the cross, offering a 'last prayer' for the dying prisoner, before Luigi, bringing up the rear, chased after the other prisoners.

"This place is full of death traps!"

"Buildings, the ground, the sky, the seawater, and even the air we breathe can be affected!"

Along their journey, the prisoners had witnessed countless bizarre and deadly dangers: lakes that suddenly swallowed people, tentacles emerging from the earth, and the breathtaking light in the sky—some prisoners even fell into dreams as they walked, and others inexplicably turned into stiff puppets.

"I quit! I have to quit right now!!!"

As a despondent prisoner turned around, his power armor suddenly flashed with electricity, and he collapsed to the ground, convulsing.

"As D-class members, you have no option to retreat."

A cold, electronic voice came from the power armor worn by another prisoner.

"Forward, or die."

"Then kill me—Aaaaaah!!!"

The prisoner on the ground had just raised his head and roared when visible lightning flashed across his body; a few seconds later, the stench of burning flesh and blue smoke rose from the convulsing corpse.

Yes, it's a corpse!

"You've had enough rest, let's continue."

With the charred corpses on the ground as an aid, the remaining prisoners could only swallow their words and silently get up to continue their journey into the city.

Although it is called a 'city', this megacity called 'R'lyeh' is actually very vast, stretching as far as the eye can see! In fact, due to the distortions that fill the area, from the outside, its size is no less than that of 'Sun Island'.

This is also why the American 'Holy Church' dares not set foot here easily: to put it bluntly, they don't even know where 'R'lyeh' is.

After all, the buildings in this distorted space are all kinds of strange shapes and have no 'signature' features that can serve as anchors.

what?
Should we ask Her Majesty Saintess Kheira?

Alright, alright. In accordance with the principle of 'whoever proposes it, executes it,' I'll give you this opportunity to meet the Holy Maiden.

Aside from the three leaders of the Church, any other being who dared to approach the 'Saintess' would immediately mutate—no, 'ascend'—to become a Star Familiar simply by gazing upon her holy form. Congratulations, congratulations! However, these Star Familiars are somewhat difficult to communicate with, so the members of the Holy Church had no choice but to give up.

In short, the current 'saintess' also possesses a powerful corrupting influence.

Therefore, we can only use these 'D-level personnel' to scout ahead first.

As it turns out, caution is worthwhile.

"'Active Corrosive Liquid,' 'Mantle Tentacles,' 'Illusory Glow,' 'Hypnotic Mist.'"

On the amphibious assault ship, researchers belonging to the 'Holy Church' were constantly recording various information; they were all people who had undergone the 'baptism' ceremony and stepped into the extraordinary realm, with high resistance and a great understanding of various abilities in the extraordinary world.

The current situation is not beyond their comprehension.

Once you understand it, you can handle it.

However, as the prisoners ventured deeper into this distorted space, the signal became intermittent. Even with fiber optic drones deployed as 'relay stations,' the transmitted images and sounds continued to distort and become inaccurate.

at the same time,

The crises faced by the prisoners are becoming increasingly bizarre.

"start running!"

"Damn it, the shadowy figure is catching up again!"

In a building covered in moss, several figures ran past, constantly turning back to fire their guns.

boom!boom!boom!boom!
The bullet whistled out, but passed right through the 'enemy's' body.

These prisoners were not unarmed, but they were only equipped with a Glock 36 pistol; in this dangerous place, it served only as a source of courage.

Even suicide must be aimed at the head not covered by the exoskeleton armor; otherwise, hitting the armor might not necessarily kill.

"Damn it, what kind of monster is this?!"

The prisoners, constantly pulling the trigger, fought and retreated, while their pursuers were:

Two figures,

That's right, it's a projection of a person on the ground.

Even judging from the outline of this shadow, it is still a prisoner like them: after all, the various instruments on this 'Explorer IV' armor are a mess, and the shadow it casts is very easy to identify.

brush,

The figure, riddled with bullets, rushed to the last prisoner. The gun handle that the prisoner hurled at him also pierced through his body, and a dark hand stretched out forward.

As the prisoner bowed his head in despair, the figure's hand plunged directly into his body.

Pfft

Next second,
The hand was pulled out, along with a beating heart.

"Me, me, mine"

The prisoner had no visible wounds on his chest, but he still reached out his hand, trying to snatch the object from the figure's hand.
The next second, he collapsed to the ground, powerless, and the light in his eyes dimmed rapidly.

???

You can't hit them, and then they grab you and your heart just pops out of thin air?!

The prisoners' faces were contorted with despair.

boom!
Just when everyone was in despair, a bullet whistled out and pierced through the shadowy man's shoulder: the darkness suddenly rippled out, and black shadows scattered.

"He has given us not a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of sober mind."

Following the bullets were calm prayers.

The figure with its shoulder pierced

It began to vanish into thin air!
In the blink of an eye, it turned into black ashes and vanished.

thud,

Only one heart, still beating, fell to the ground.

He rolled on the ground a few times, which startled the prisoners so much that they instinctively pointed their guns at him.

Was he instantly defeated?
They just fired so many shots.
"These shadowy figures seem to be killed by devout prayers?"

While the other prisoners stared in disbelief, Luigi, who was changing his bullets, thought for a moment and spoke.

He had fired several shots before, but none of them had any effect; this time, his habitual recitation of a prayer instantly pierced through the opponent's body.

I don't know if it's right or wrong, but I'll give it another try:
"Be strong and don't lose heart; for what you do will surely be rewarded."

boom!
Another bullet whistled out, piercing through another lagging figure.

Sure enough, the figure began to disappear.

efficient!

"it is good!"

"That's awesome! No wonder he's 'Batman'!"

"Hahaha, your bullets can even kill monsters—?!"

The other prisoners were overjoyed, but their cheers were abruptly cut off the next second.

Because one after another 'figure' emerged from the surrounding buildings,

They surrounded them and charged towards them.

"Come on!"

Even Luigi, who had just accomplished the 'feat' of killing the shadow, had to turn around and run for his life again.

With so many figures, unless others can also kill them—

"God bless!"

boom! boom! boom!
"Lord, Fuck, please send down blessings!!"

However, the bullets fired by the other prisoners passed right through these figures without any effect.

Judging from their exasperated state and constant use of vulgar language, they have absolutely nothing to do with piety.

In the chase, the remaining prisoners were finally cornered:
There's a building ahead! The door is open?

"Get inside!"

At the end of the road ahead stood a magnificent yet eerie, pitch-black building with six enormous, twisted arms that gave one an ominous feeling at first glance.

However, compared to the astonishing number of 'figures' behind him, this building, no matter how bad things got, could still serve as a temporary refuge.

After Luigi, who was bringing up the rear, entered the building, the prisoners waiting at the door immediately pushed open the door.

With a loud crash, the dark door slammed shut.

Bang!
They are safe, albeit temporarily.

(End of this chapter)