Dark Wizard: Rise! My undead army!

A world plagued by disease.

The grayish-yellow sky began to brighten. It wasn't that the sun had come out; rather, the plague fog that shrouded the world's surface was diminishing.

The myriad phenomena floated high in the sky, arms outstretched, and dark purple mist surged from its body, like a giant net covering the entire sky.

The grayish-yellow plague mist was sucked into the net, compressed, condensed, and then swallowed by all things.

The sky is turning blue, the clouds are turning white, and the sunlight can now reach the ground directly.

On the ground, the plague cultists who were still putting up a last-ditch resistance suddenly discovered that their divine magic had failed!

A priest stood on the city wall, chanting incantations to the dead below.

He recited it three times, but there was no light in his palm, no smoke from the incense burner, nothing at all.

He was stunned, and read it again, but still nothing came up.

He looked down at his hands, which were trembling.

"Where's my divine magic? Where's my divine magic?" The people around him were also trying, but no one succeeded.

The plague god's magic has all failed!

An old priest slumped to the ground, his face deathly pale.

"God...God is dead?"

This statement spread like a plague.

The soldiers on the city wall threw down their weapons and ran, while the believers in the temple rushed out of the gate and scattered in all directions.

The priests took off their grey-green robes, threw away their incense burners and badges, and ran out into the crowd.

Some people ran into the mountains, some into the forests, and some into Free City.

A priest ran to the gates of Free City, but was stopped by the soldiers guarding the city.

He was dressed in civilian clothes, but in his haste, he hadn't removed the plague badge from his neck.

The soldier stared at the badge, then at his face.

"People from the Plague Church?"

The priest knelt down and kowtowed.

"I'm not... I've quit... God is dead... No, the God of Plague is dead... I'm not a believer anymore... Please let me in..."

The soldier hesitated for a moment, then stepped aside.

The priest scrambled inside.

A long queue stretched out at the city gate, filled with priests and priests who had taken off their robes, as well as the defenders of the faith who had thrown away their weapons.

They kept their heads down, avoiding eye contact with others.

...

Free City, Administrative Hall.

The young man who had stood atop the Statue of Liberty, absorbing the "power of the world," was now frowning.

Lyon sat at the long table, a pile of intelligence spread out in front of him.

Some were brought by spies, some by refugees, and some by members of the plague cult.

Every single one of them says the same thing—the plague has finished the church!

The divine spell failed, the priests fled, the guardian army collapsed, and the temple was destroyed.

The rampaging undead are still killing people, but they are not only killing plague cultists, but also civilians.

Leon put down the intelligence report in his hand and rubbed his temples.

What happened recently was truly dramatic. He had just rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight the God of Plague, but before he could even make a move, the God of Plague was finished.

This is not a good thing, because a more powerful enemy has emerged.

They defeated the terrifying undead monsters that were the Plague Church and even the God of Plague!

But... is the plague god that shrouds the world really dead?

Or were they seriously injured? Or did they escape?

In any case, He is finished.

This is a good thing, but those spirits are still here!

Those skeletons, those insects, those giant beasts, still roam the earth, killing all life in the world.

Free City hasn't been attacked yet, but what will they do once all life outside is wiped out?

Lyon didn't know.

"Leon." The door was pushed open, and a woman walked in.

She wore a white robe, her blonde hair was tied in a ponytail, she had no makeup on, and her eyes were very bright.

Sophia, a saint from the Church of Wisdom.

Now that the goddess of wisdom is dead, her divine status has been stolen, her temple has been destroyed, and her followers have been killed, she is just an ordinary person.

"You're worrying again." Sophia walked to the table, glanced at the intelligence reports, and said, "The Plague Church is finished, which is a good thing."

"Good news?" Leon looked up at her.

"The Plague Church is finished, so what? The dead are still here, where is their master? What will he do? Could he be more terrifying than the God of Plague?"

Sofia paused for a moment.

"The Grand Elder prophesied that you are the savior who will lead us to victory."

"The Grand Elder?" Leon smiled bitterly. "Did the Grand Elder foresee these spirits? Did he foresee the black-robed figure standing on the mountain? Did he foresee that eye?"

That's right, with the help of the divine artifact "Free Will," Leon has successfully found the master of the undead monster.

That mysterious man in black robes, and his terrifying minions.

Sofia fell silent.

The Grand Elder of the Temple of Wisdom has passed away, and some of those enigmatic prophecies have become invalid.

Lyon stood up and walked to the window. Outside, the streets of Liberty City were crowded with people.

Refugees poured in from all over the country, bringing their families, carrying bundles, and leading their children.

They sat by the roadside, lay under the eaves, and crowded in the square. The streets were so packed with people that it was impossible to move.

"How many more people can live in the city?" Lyon asked.

"It's full," Sofia said. "The food supply will last for another two months."

"Two months," Leon repeated. "And after two months?"

Sofia did not answer.

Leon turned around and looked at her.

"Those undead outside are all bones; there's no flesh to eat. Even if there were flesh, would you dare eat it? Wouldn't you turn into a monster like them?"

Sofia lowered her head. "There's always a way."

"What method?" Leon's voice sounded somewhat irritated.

"Beg that man in black to spare us? Beg him for food? Beg him to accept us as believers? Do you know what he wants? Does he want faith? Or does he want the whole world?"

"If that's all you want, we'll give it to you! We'll even worship him in Liberty City! Just let him spare our lives!"

"But none of that happened. He just allowed his monsters to slaughter all living beings; he wanted to destroy our entire world!"

Sofia fell silent.

Lyon turned back and looked out the window.

In the square, a mother sat in a corner holding her child. The child was crying from hunger, and the mother put her finger in the child's mouth to make him suck.

An old man lay on a tattered mat nearby, his eyes closed, his chest rising and falling, but very weakly.

Further away, several young people were arguing and shoving each other over a piece of bread.

Leon closed his eyes in pain, a self-deprecating smile playing on his lips.

"Savior? But I can't even save these people, how can I talk about saving the world?"

Sofia walked over and stood beside him.

"The Grand Elder is not wrong, nor is the God of Wisdom. You must have a way."

Leon opened his eyes and looked at the sky in the distance, which was beginning to turn blue.

The fog of plague is receding, and sunlight is shining in.

The sunlight shone on the rooftops of Liberty City, on the crowded streets, and on the faces of the hungry.

It's warm, but useless; you can't eat sunshine.

They are merely clinging to life.

"Perhaps...we can talk to that man in black," Sophia said softly.

Leon turned to look at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Let's negotiate. What does he need? What can we give him? He won't help us kill the plague god for no reason; he must have an ulterior motive. If we can help him achieve his goal, maybe he'll be willing to help us."

Lyon remained silent for a long time.

"How do you know he's willing to talk? How do you know he's not here to destroy the world?"

"If he came to destroy the world, Liberty City would be gone long ago," Sofia said. "Those undead could have stormed into Liberty City, but they didn't. What are they waiting for?"

Lyon remained silent.

Those undead did not attack Free City; they passed by outside the city and through the city gates, but they did not come in.

Why?

Could it really be the protection of a divine artifact called "free will" that descended from the heavens?

But...why haven't the surrounding cities been attacked? It's as if the monsters deliberately avoided this area...