After being forced to step down, the once-annoying nun eloped with me.

A dark rain of arrows suddenly rose from the edge of the Monster Forest, the arrowheads from the Oak Factory gleaming coldly as they flew toward the vanguard of the Redemption Army.

But the Redeemers had clearly done their homework on the Elves' original tactics. Many, upon noticing the rain of arrows, immediately raised their shields in layers upon layers, shouting for help. These inferior shields were numerous, not to mention the divine magical buffs they received!

The fastest-flying arrow suddenly stopped in mid-air, and after a visible burst of golden light, it lightly struck the wooden shield.

A wide-area divine spell from the Church of Light: a group shield!

Although its individual strength is not as high as that of a single-target shield, it has the advantage of being able to cover all units within a certain area.

It's just that, perhaps because cannon fodder isn't worth giving too many resources, the group shields applied to the cannon fodder formation are obviously very fragile.

Even so, the group shield still significantly bought the cannon fodder a second or two of extra survival time.

"Thump thump thump—!"

The first few arrows were blocked, but the arrows behind, unimpeded, were far more devastating. Under the onslaught of the elven longbow, these arrows easily pierced through one layer of wooden shield, two layers of wooden shield, and even penetrated the corpses of many, but that was all.

The Redemption Army's cannon fodder advanced, pushing against the corpses of their allies riddled with bullets. It was as if those figures with shields strapped to their shoulders, which they were carrying, were not their fellow believers, but rather convenient cover that had appeared out of nowhere.

"A bunch of inhuman bastards!" the elven commander could only curse upon seeing this. This volley of fire had likely only killed a few hundred. "Keep firing! Keep firing! Then retreat immediately! Lure them into our encirclement! Hurry!"

The elves were anxiously preparing for the second volley.

However, the morale of the Redemption Army soldiers was not affected by this.

One reason is the dry food they ate early this morning, which contained a large amount of addictive drugs; another is the slowed mental state caused by long-term cannibalism; yet another is that they themselves were not the ones who died, and they now have human shields in their hands. Most importantly, it is the buffing divine spell the priest cast on them.

"Great God of Light! God of Light! Let us ascend to Heaven!"

The divine magic twisted their minds, turning them into ferocious, warlike beasts. Angels from heaven danced in their eyes, while the demonic forest before them became a sickly, hog-headed demon.

Anyone who kills the demon can be pardoned and ascend to heaven. Those who survive will also enjoy wealth and honor, for the plunder of demons and spirits is permitted by the Lord.

Undeterred by the intense stimulation, they pressed on through the rain of arrows to within 600 meters of the monster forest. This was already the elves' fourth volley.

The fifth salvo was imminent. The cannon fodder shouted the slogans of the God of Light, and the elite troops behind them began their advance.

But in the eyes of the elven commander, the palanquin bearers and the group of knights still showed no intention of making any moves.

"Isn't this being overly cautious?!" the commander gritted his teeth. Just then, he noticed that a second sun seemed to be faintly appearing in the sky...

Could it be...?

His expression changed drastically, and he immediately turned his head and roared downwards:

"Everyone turn around! Archers, retreat immediately! Move! Run!"

That was a type of light magic used for nighttime illumination—before the commander could offer any explanation, he saw a burst of intense golden light erupt from the tree in front of him. His shadow stood out starkly against the golden light, and he even felt the heat behind him from the illumination!

Is this the power of a pastor with so many followers?! A divine spell meant for nighttime illumination can have the power to burn skin?!

The commander swallowed hard. Fortunately, no elves were hit except for the young soldiers. They turned and casually launched their arrows, completing the fifth volley, before hoisting the wounded soldiers, whose eyes had been temporarily blinded by the bright light, and fled.

They will be on standby in the rear, with a trap zone extending 600 meters from the edge of the Elf Forest. A large number of golems are shallowly buried in the ground, and the howitzer golems in the rear, whose trajectories have been corrected, are ready to fire at any moment.

Everything was waiting for the moment the Redeemers entered the forest, everything was waiting for the moment when the riflemen killed the priests and the Apostolic Guards and the signal was given with the sound of gunfire!

But before that...

There's still one more hurdle to overcome.

The elven commander cast a spell, simultaneously placing himself in a state of invisibility and a magical barrier.

Meanwhile, in the distance, the priest used divine magic to command the cannon fodder in front, who were once again subjected to a volley of fire:

"Forward! Advance at all costs! Those with javelins and bows, immediately launch a barrage of arrows into the monster forest until our vanguard and elite troops enter!"

In the ranks of the four legions on which the priests had placed their hopes, four groups of archers broke out of formation and launched three volleys of arrows before the cannon fodder legions stormed into the monster forest.

Of the three volleys of arrows, only a few actually penetrated the forest. Instead, quite a few arrows struck the back of the heads of the cannon fodder. For a moment, the priest felt somewhat embarrassed. After the archers moved forward a little further, he was finally satisfied to see the rain of arrows relentlessly piercing the depths of the forest.

The cannon fodder legion patiently waited at the edge of the forest, while the elite troops were still on their way. Once they joined forces, they would enter the Demon Forest directly and then deploy completely within it—at that time, the sparse forces of the elves and demons would be completely surrounded, and they would accomplish the great task of defeating the elven kingdom before Bishop Stephen!

The pastor was eagerly anticipating the scarf of glory and wealth that was about to be draped over his shoulders.

But then again...

"It's not safe enough... but my divine magic is almost beyond the reach of my range."

He frowned and muttered to himself. As the army advanced, the number of believers around him dwindled, and the intensity of his divine spells diminished.

The [Illumination] spell, which could originally burn the skin directly, now only emits a relatively strong golden light. He had to move forward, otherwise it wouldn't be a minor matter of the Illumination spell's strength decreasing further; it would be a major issue of the cannon fodder, who would lose their divine buffs, falling into chaos once they were out of his spell's range.

Divine magic cannot directly eliminate fear and pressure in people's hearts. What divine magic can do is merely to "cover" courage and glory upon them—once the divine magic is removed, the previously accumulated negative emotions will erupt in an instant. At that time, the cannon fodder troops fleeing directly is a minor matter; the real disaster is that they lose their minds on the spot and become "madmen" who cannot distinguish friend from foe.

A pastor cannot let something like this jeopardize his career.

But for some reason... even though I was clearly outside the range of the elven longbows... even though the elven longbowmen should have been routed and fleeing into the depths of the forest...

Why do I still have this ominous feeling in my heart?

The priest fell into deep thought, while the captain of the guards spoke up, saying that if they didn't move forward soon, the soldiers at the front would soon be out of the spell's range.

"Wait a little longer, wait a little longer. Anyway, my range of influence can probably still penetrate more than a hundred meters into the interior... Wait a little longer. I have a bad feeling about this. Do you think elves really can only shoot that far with longbows?"

"Yes."

"...Okay, let's wait a bit longer."

The priest muttered to himself, ordering the palanquin bearers to lift him a few steps forward before he stopped. He was testing whether an arrow would head-on into his forehead, and for this purpose, he had reduced the output of his area-of-effect spells, clutching a single-target divine barrier to protect himself at any moment.

He waited for two minutes without seeing a single arrow. Even though the legion's archers had run out of arrows in the monster forest, the elves hadn't launched any hostile attack against him.

What was this ominous premonition in my heart?

The priest pondered, while the elven commander, who had almost ordered the riflemen to fire, exclaimed with relief.

The enemy priest was still outside the rifle's precise range; he was stuck in that position, and unsurprisingly, he was holding a powerful divine spell to protect himself—thankfully, I didn't order the firing.

He breathed a sigh of relief, but the sight of the Redemption Army soldiers swarming into the forest below still sent chills down the spine of this seasoned commander.

These creatures were more like demons than humans. Their eyes glowed with a green light more terrifying than the most monstrous beasts. They were clearly in a hallucination, their ferocious expressions making them disregard even the corpses of their former comrades, whom they carried as human shields, leaving an extremely deep impression on the elven commander.

He shook his head and turned to check on the riflemen's condition—several unlucky men had been pierced through the barrier by arrows, but fortunately, the arrows had not caused fatal damage. As long as the wounds were stopped in time, survival would not be a problem.

The commander secretly watched as the wounded elves bandaged their wounds with cloth with the help of their companions. Below them surged the Redemption Army soldiers, while the priests in the distance showed no sign of advancing.

The elven commander was already suspecting he had been exposed. If things continued this way, the Redeemer soldiers at the front would soon discover the ambushers hidden deep behind them. If they couldn't eliminate the priests and drive these most demoralized madmen to the brink of collapse, even with the help of the golems, the elven and demonic allied forces would suffer heavy losses.

If the priest decides not to advance any further, the commander could try attacking the Redeemers below to create chaos and confuse the priest's judgment. However, if he did so, he would lose his original objective of killing the priest and the Apostles.

To fight or not to fight?

At this moment, the elven commander was making a difficult choice between the most important objective and the most conservative outcome. Meanwhile, in the distance, the priest was finally starting to lose his composure.

If this continues, the soldiers at the front will be left without his protection. His inexplicable sense of foreboding might just be a warning sign of the many bad things he's done.

"At worst, we can offer a virgin to the God of Light as atonement when we get back," the priest thought, and ordered the palanquin bearers, "we should move on."

However, he still ensured at least two layers of individual divine barriers for himself before concentrating the rest of his divine power on area-of-effect spells. He needed his soldiers to advance tirelessly with the highest morale, he needed the warriors of the Redemption Army to bring him glory and wealth, he needed many things—and those things could not be dirtied by the priests.

Let you become the sinners who murder for my money—the priest's body swayed slowly as the palanquin was carried, with the stern-faced knights accompanying him.

He was no longer afraid of those inexplicable premonitions.

His triumphant advance finally gave the elven commander an opportunity!

The fat man sitting on the sedan chair finally fucking moved forward!

He raised his head, held his hand high, and then suddenly pulled it down.

Then all the elven riflemen raised their guns as instructed. With the slightest movement, they pulled back the bolts and chambered the bullets. With their exceptional skill and the finest sights, they aimed at the swaying figures on the palanquin. At that very moment, the Redemption Army cannon fodder, who had ventured deep into the forest, had already penetrated 300 meters.

The soldier, now far removed from the priest's divine influence, felt somewhat exhausted. He plopped down, panting, on a large rock shallowly buried in the ground. Because he was so far removed from the priest's divine grace, the illusion of paradise before him vanished, replaced by an inexplicably quiet forest, the pounding of his own heart, and the smell of blood on his hands.

He wanted to rest for a while.

The priest's advance, however, infused divine power into his body.

He felt himself filled with power once again, and once again the guidance of angels and the imminent arrival of heaven appeared before him—but just as he smiled and prepared to fight for the Lord, he was filled with a powerful presence.

-

The world suddenly stopped.

The deafening thunder roared in their ears, and the paradise before their eyes shattered. The Redemption Army soldiers hadn't even had time to react to what was happening, hadn't even realized why thunder was roaring above them. In the eyes of the elven commander, the priest sitting in the palanquin was probably dead.

Four hundred shooters, with over three hundred 12.7x108mm caliber rifles, aimed their sights at the priest's entire body.

With a volley of arrows fired in perfect unison—the priest was dead.

The two single-target magical shields he released could normally stop an elven archer from firing a dozen or so fully charged rounds at close range. But clearly, against 300 seemingly insignificant yet impactful bullets fired from what was called a "rifle," two single-target shields were far from sufficient.

His body was still in shock just before the barrier shattered, and his knights hadn't even realized what the thunder from the forest meant before the priest's divine barrier was destroyed.

The shattering of the barrier allowed the remaining bullets to pierce his flesh with impunity. In the elves' eyes, his corpse swelled unnaturally with each bullet that pierced it, before finally exploding into pieces, allowing subsequent bullets to strike the heads of the knights of the Guards of the Church following behind him without any obstruction.

Bullets pierced the armor of the Guardian Knights, blasting their heads or shoulders apart. The worst victim was struck in the chest and abdomen by more than a dozen bullets simultaneously, splitting him in two before everyone's eyes—his upper body flew into the air from the impact, while his lower body remained on his horse. Blood splattered from his mangled corpse, finally making the knights realize the problem.

"Your Excellency, Priest?!"

They stared in astonishment at the enormous, mangled corpse on the palanquin, its intestines dangling everywhere.

Up in the tree, the elven commander was simply roaring with excitement:

"continue!!"

boom--

Another volley of fire followed, and with the knights of the Guardian Army falling to the ground, the priest's divine magic finally became completely ineffective.

In the instant the divine magic failed, the beautiful paradise in the eyes of all the Redemption Army soldiers shattered into a broken mirror. They looked up blankly at the white smoke rising from the trees, then looked down at the muddy, blood-stained earth studded with arrows.

Without the divine magic, the fatigue from their morning march immediately overwhelmed them.

Without their divine magic, the fear they had felt when facing the elven arrow rain instantly overwhelmed them.

Having lost their divine magic, they no longer had the courage to face the dark forest and the thunder in the sky.

And at that very moment, someone turned around, looked at the chaotic scene of the religious guards and the half-dead body on the palanquin, and cried out in terror:

"Priest! The priest is dead!! We've lost! Run, run!"

boom--!

The collapse of order happened in an instant. Before the cannon fodder running back could even squeeze into the crowd, arrows shot from behind pierced their heads.

The overwhelming rain of arrows further exacerbated the chaos among the Redemption Army soldiers in the trap zone. Before they could even raise their shields in a scream, the distant roar of cannons, like a volcanic eruption, and the falling stones not only shattered the shields in the soldiers' hands but also shattered their last remaining hope.