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

...........

Bishop Stephen stared blankly at everything before him. Through his divine magic and spiritual perception, he roughly knew that the stone bridge had been foreshadowed and then destroyed by the enemy.

He sighed with relief, thankful that he was quick-witted and that the true divine magic of the God of Light allowed him to create the most valiant and fearless soldiers—look, these half-corpse soldiers of believers who could neither die nor live were his most perfect masterpiece.

Initially, Bishop Stephen hesitated, wondering if he could maintain his current supply of divine power if he planned to create undead soldiers—after all, the dead were no longer believers, and the dead could not provide him with divine power. Therefore, Bishop Stephen was very cautious at the time, fearing that creating too many undead soldiers would reduce his divine power and lead to a loss of control over the soldiers.

But soon—Bishop Stephen suddenly had an inspiration.

Since the dead [corpse soldiers] can no longer provide divine power, and the living [believers] have too low combat strength and morale, could we compromise and create half-corpse soldiers that are not as strong in combat but whose morale and faith supply are no longer a problem?

It must be said that Bishop Stephen was a genius.

As the only bishop in the diocese with a military career and experience commanding large-scale operations, he quickly realized that half-corpse soldiers were a viable option.

But how exactly to turn living people into half-corpse soldiers is another good question.

...At first, Bishop Stephen didn't think of a good solution. After all, the distinction between the "dead" and the "living" is a rather vague concept.

But one day, when he learned that some believers had seemingly lost their minds and were just laughing stupidly day and night because they had eaten too many people, he decided to give it a try and brought these believers back to his camp to conduct experiments.

And that's how Bishop Stephen succeeded.

Having consumed so many humans, these believers seemed to be conceptually in a state of being "half-dead" or "on the verge of death." Bishop Stephen successfully used the "Corpse-Giving Divine Art" to transform them into half-corpse soldiers and successfully covered their bodies with a layer of hard stone armor—but this was not enough.

Because if they were to eat people until they were half-dead, their remaining 20 troops might dwindle to only 5. Bishop Stephen had to maintain the numerical advantage of the northern expeditionary force as much as possible, because aside from numerical superiority, their only remaining advantage was in divine magic.

However, the elves seemed to possess the ability to kill priests from a distance, and the priestly order led by Bishop Stephen, strictly speaking, had to be deployed in a dispersed manner, destined to be defeated one by one—in this light, it seemed he couldn't unleash divine magic at any time. Thus, the Northern Expeditionary Force's magical advantage was barely on par with the elven mages.

If we can't even maintain our numerical advantage under these circumstances, then our defeat is only a matter of time—so what should we do?

Bishop Stephen was in a state of utter confusion when, inadvertently, his small eyes caught sight of the hallucinogens.

These are hallucinogens and addictive substances commonly found in parish churches. They have a variety of uses, whether it's to create the illusion of "divine grace" for believers, or simply to get them to reveal their true feelings in a psychedelic state and sign a contract—these addictive substances and hallucinogens are common in the parish, and can even be mixed into food to provide soldiers with enough morale before battle.

However, these addictive substances have relatively strict usage standards... After all, if too much is ingested at once, even the strongest man will become mentally impaired, wandering aimlessly in the streets, and will become completely intellectually disabled in a biological sense...

But Bishop Stephen was thinking—

If excessive intake of addictive drugs can cause people to become demented, similar to those who have overeaten, then could we increase our efforts and combine the two to multiply the number of half-corpse soldiers several times over?

If you have an idea, do it.

Bishop Stephen immediately ordered his rear to send him more human flesh and addictive substances, as well as a large quantity of raw materials for making hallucinogens, which possess both hallucinogenic and toxic properties.

He instructed the cooks to increase their efforts to feed these foods specifically to the cannon fodder believers, and a month later, he achieved the results he desired.

A group of "living dead" who can only lie paralyzed on the ground, letting themselves be submerged in excrement, yet can only grin foolishly.

These undead became Bishop Stephen's research material, excellent materials for creating half-dead soldiers, and the best fanatics to provide his side with a source of divine power in the upcoming decisive battle.

He covered these half-corpse soldiers with stone armor—although the thickness of the armor was reduced due to the large number of them, it was better to have armor than nothing.

He cast divine spells like [Courage] on these soldiers—because, strictly speaking, they weren't truly dead, so the illusion of heaven was also very useful to them.

He openly told the unaffected mercenaries and highly trained soldiers that these peasant believers, after undergoing brutal training, had become some of the elite warriors. He specifically ordered a squad of half-dead soldiers to act according to his commands; although their movements were slow, the discipline and coordination that was nowhere near the level of the filthy peasants greatly inspired the rest of the soldiers.

Only the bishop knew that it wasn't about discipline and coordination at all—it was simply because these half-dead soldiers needed the priests' control to function and attack properly, which was also a major reason why he had to disperse the priests.

But overall...

Even today, Bishop Stephen still possesses his most powerful army, and has even received support from the diocese's Griffin Knights squad.

He's determined to win this battle.

Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, he watched with high spirits as the sun slowly sank into the Demon Forest.

After half the sun had set into the forest, he raised his scepter high:

"By the God of Light!"

Let my fallen believers escort me to heaven!

Chapter Ten: Fierce Battle, Eagle and Griffin, Light and God of Light

Accompanied by the deafening prayer of "By the God of Light," the vanguard of the Northern Expeditionary Force began to advance with a slow but steady pace.

The priests became the [command nodes] and assistants for casting buff spells for the half-corpse army. They directed the undead soldiers, who were making their first appearance outside the research lab on the 70th floor of St. Petersburg, to advance slowly. Their first target was naturally the middle section of the trench, which had been thrown into chaos by the previous [stone bridge] - but because the battlefield in the middle section was limited in width, they had to disperse their troops to the other two entrances.

This gave the elven alliance a chance to take advantage of the situation—they chose to abandon the golems who were still fighting the soldiers in the trenches. After everyone returned to their bunkers, the elves and demons closed the temporary gates made of wood and clay. These gates were made of countless gaps in the fences, allowing the soldiers behind them to easily stick out their spears through the gaps to stab the enemy who was attacking from below. Meanwhile, the archers and riflemen hidden in the treetops behind them could also take advantage of the terrain to shoot from above.

Generally speaking, even elite troops, as long as they are composed of humans, will not choose to launch a direct assault on such a camp without siege equipment. Even if they do launch a direct assault, they must be fully prepared. Even if they have an overseer behind them, they will still have a high probability of fleeing due to the lack of progress and the prospect of being slaughtered like pigs.

The problem is that the elven alliance is facing a group of half-corpse soldiers controlled by priests who have no morale whatsoever!

"—"

These half-corpse soldiers advanced slowly, weapons in hand. They seemed to be roaring and howling, but because of the stone armor covering their entire bodies, they could only make dull, unintelligible sounds.

Incendiary shells fired by the Golem rained down from the sky, knocking down several half-bosses and splashing flammable oily liquids onto the surrounding half-bosses, causing the raging flames to engulf every humanoid creature. However, thanks to the protection of the stone armor, the flames only charred the half-bosses inside the armor, leaving them scorched on the outside and raw on the inside, without affecting their movements in any way.

The burning half-corpse soldiers charged down the trench like demons from hell, and the elite troops of the Northern Expeditionary Force waiting in the rear nearby were greatly encouraged by the sight.

They were delighted that someone had died in their place, and they admired the unparalleled courage and fighting prowess displayed by those lowly people—and this was precisely the best use of the disguised half-corpse soldiers! This was another contingency plan of Bishop Stephen! This was the first truly valuable tactic that Bishop Stephen developed for the Church of Light's [Corpse-Born Divine Art] system!

[Disguise the undead soldiers as fearless warriors to break through the enemy's defenses and boost the morale of friendly forces!]

Bishop Stephen smiled as he watched the half-corpse soldiers charge into the trench. Accompanied by the golden light of the priests casting spells in the distance, he knew that once the half-corpse soldiers were encased in group shields and various buffs, they would surge into the demon forest with unparalleled power and speed, catching the filthy demons and elves completely off guard!

Their arrows are of little use to the half-corpse soldiers, and their fire rain cannot burn the stone-armored corpses! Once our main force advances a few more steps and our archers can launch volleys at their positions, the elven and demonic alliance will collapse!

Bishop Stephen had even imagined himself standing on the land of the Elf Kingdom, wantonly humiliating that proud and perfect race.

But at that moment, a thunderous roar coming from the other side of the trench made Bishop Stephen frown.

He was far from the battlefield, so he was not the enemy's target at all—but the enemy's target was definitely the priests, because Bishop Stephen could clearly see the shields on several priests near the trench suddenly flash, and then shatter into pieces, resulting in the bloody scene of the people inside being smashed to pieces.

At the recent roar of the controlling priest, the half-corpse soldiers abruptly stopped all movement and began to wander aimlessly. Fortunately, the priest in the middle regained control of them, and after casting more single-target shields on themselves, the priests dared not offer any group buffs to the half-corpse soldiers.

Even if the elven archers began raining arrows down on the half-dead soldiers—the priest had realized that as long as he remained alive, the battle line could advance steadily. As long as his safety was ensured, enemy ambushes would be futile.

They realized it, and Bishop Stephen realized it too.

"Is this a tactic specifically developed for us clergy? Hmph... If my priests were just ordinary infantrymen, perhaps your strategy of forcing priests to use group shields by killing soldiers would work."

But you're only shooting at a bunch of apostles who have already fallen into hell! A bunch of worthless scum! How could we possibly use divine magic on these corpses when we're facing casualties? Fools!

Bishop Stephen chuckled, but he soon realized that the thunderous sound was no longer directed at the priests, but at the half-corpse soldiers!

Bang Bang Bang!

Gunshots rang out one after another.

When the riflemen discovered that the enemy priest had protected himself with a shield thicker than a tortoise shell, they immediately abandoned their plan to snipe the priest from a distance. They separated ten riflemen, having these ten warriors cast invisibility spells and leave the main battlefield, and began firing at the densely packed half-dead soldiers in the trenches.

Unlike the longbow, the Japa 1404 rifle was powerful enough to shatter stone armor directly—and once these half-dead soldiers started moving, the stone armor on their bodies would regenerate more slowly. After the rifle shots shattered their joints, these half-dead soldiers could only turn into worms writhing on the ground.

"Attack the joints! Attack the joints!"

Even in front of Fen, the elven commander, facing immense pressure, had completely abandoned his elegance. He ordered everyone to fire at the joints of the undead soldiers, thus rendering these seemingly indestructible creatures immobile.

But just as the riflemen and archers fired two more rounds, and the foremost half-bodied soldiers were about to reach the wooden gates and fences of the camp protected by the golems and demons...

A nun suddenly appeared from nowhere. Her face was pale, and she held a bullet that emitted a faint white light in her hand.

"Try this bullet!" Mother Teresa shouted, tossing it to a rifleman. "Shoot it! Quickly!"

Although he didn't know what the nun was doing, the elven rifleman finished reloading as quickly as possible in this critical moment. He fired the bullet, which emitted a faint white glow, at the densest area of ​​the undead soldiers.

The bullet shattered upon impact with the corpse soldier's stone armor, then burst into a dazzling white light in the dim light of the night after dusk. A circular magic circle appeared on the ground directly at the bullet's point of impact, emanating a sense of peace and joy that penetrated the heart, and even a faint, strange medicinal scent could be detected.

The moment the undead soldiers passed through the white magic circle, they let out shrill screams that even their stone armor couldn't conceal. Countless wisps of white smoke rose from the cracks in their shattered stone armor. Some of the undead soldiers, who had been in the magic circle for too long, even broke free of their stone armor and collapsed to the ground, becoming completely motionless corpses.

--This is?

"A mass healing spell!" Finn exclaimed in surprise as he cast the spell alongside the people. "I never expected that Bayer Zans's Light Magic would be effective against these corpses?"

"To be precise, only healing-type Light magic works—! I'd better hurry up and continue enchanting the bullets! A group healing spell lasts for two minutes, so you guys better conserve your resources!"

After Mother Teresa finished speaking, she immediately rummaged through the supply pile on the ground and began enchanting bullets. Her enchanting was delivered with great conviction and utter profanity; if the Light truly had the capacity to care about its last remaining nun, it might have been so enraged it would have spat out blood.

Fortunately, the nun hadn't been slacking off during this time—her previous efforts in proselytizing for the demons hadn't been in vain. With the divine power provided by the demon believers, although Sister Teresa couldn't create a mass healing spell covering all three attack routes of the camp at once, she could at least produce enchanted ammunition in batches...

Speaking of ammunition...

The elves had a fair amount of ammunition, but it wasn't much either. In a time when bullets could only be handcrafted by artisans, these bullets were extremely precious, originally intended to target priests and the Guardians of the Church.

But since only firearms could effectively kill the zombies, the riflemen had no choice but to use their bullets in these strange places.

Fortunately, they weren't completely without cover—at least the Golems waiting in front of the gates were the best tanks.

(But... these cheap golems made of stone and dirt can last a long time, but if the other side trades a priest's life for our golems, then we'll probably still lose! What should we do?)

The nun was extremely anxious and her hands were busy working—but just then, Finn suddenly grabbed her arm and teleported away from there amidst her scream.

The moment the nun left, a rain of arrows fell from the sky from the archers of the central legion of the Northern Expeditionary Force. Although the elves did not suffer many casualties due to their constant magical shields, the demons were caught off guard by the sudden attack in their dense formation.

"Damn it! Forget about the corpses! Take out the archers first!"

The elven commander cursed and swore, and with a volley of fire from the riflemen and longbowmen, a large number of the northern expeditionary force's archers fell instantly—but because they gave up suppressing the undead soldiers who were right in front of them, the undead soldiers charged forward without any suspense and were then knocked away by Golem.

Golems have an absolute advantage over ordinary humans in terms of size, strength, and attack range.

But there were just too many undead soldiers. Even if the golems could throw the undead soldiers back again and again, stomp them flat on the ground, or roll around on the ground with their sturdy bodies that were impervious to sword cuts to clear a space, that would be fine.

Many soldiers still managed to slip through the gaps in the golem and then rush directly onto the city gates and fences.

The surviving demons fought back with swords, axes, and spears, but their weapons were insufficient to penetrate the sturdy stone armor of the undead soldiers in one strike...

In the end, the demons discovered that blunt weapons were more effective at striking joints than sharp weapons, and they were able to barely withstand the attacks of the zombie soldiers.

However, this is just the beginning.

While all three sides were struggling to hold on, Yang Hao received a message from Naruja saying that the Golem howitzers had run out of incendiary shells. Even if they were to fire stone projectiles, the barrels on their shoulders were gleaming an ominous red light from absorbing too much heat.

They were no longer able to provide support from the rear—upon learning this, Yang Hao immediately divided all the grenade launcher golems into three teams and deployed them behind the three gates as reserves. The grenade launcher golems became a vital force for the elven alliance, giving the elves more confidence to hold back the advancing corpse soldiers. But this was not enough.

Yang Hao discovered once again that, in the gradually darkening night, the priests had begun to move forward again.

They seemed to intend, under the cover of night, to use divine magic to exchange their lives for the golems standing before the gate. This reckless act made Yang Hao spit on the ground.

"Have the riflemen aim at the priests! Fire the moment they let their guard down!"

An ominous premonition, an ominous premonition—Yang Hao didn't know what would happen next, but he had to bite the bullet and order the riflemen to aim at the priest.

No need to fire, just keep aiming and applying pressure. As long as the priest doesn't remove his shield and unleash an offensive spell, we won't fire—Yang Hao knew this was the best course of action. But just as the elves turned their guns around, in the distance where the bishop's palanquin was located, Yang Hao suddenly saw a white sphere slowly rise...