The phrase "False Gods die" had a terrifyingly devastating impact on Orthodox God followers.
From childhood, they were taught to believe in the Orthodox Gods—that the Orthodox Gods were exalted, never making mistakes, to the point that casually discussing them was a grave sin.
All they needed to do was praise the true gods; thinking wasn't required at all.
Therefore, the words they used to describe the Orthodox Gods had to be exceptionally precise, utterly respectful, and absolutely grandiose.
Calling the Orthodox Gods "False Gods" directly was beyond their comprehension. Even followers of evil gods or Outer Gods wouldn't dare do such a thing.
A form of address like this was undoubtedly trampling on the bottom line of the Orthodox Church.
And following "False Gods" was "die"—a word almost impossible to associate with the Orthodox Gods.
Even when Loren had killed an Angel before, the official term for it was "fall." Words like "die" were also blasphemy against the Orthodox Gods.
Right now, in the midst of the Divine War, neither the Orthodox Gods nor the Angels had time to deal with Loren.
They just never expected Loren to return so quickly.
"The end is near, the Witches awaken! The Observer returns, the False Gods die!"
The chant continued to spread through the crowd as Loren activated the effect of the Sun Card, influencing their perceptions.
Faith was something etched into their souls, so even with the Sun Card's effect, they couldn't truly convert.
But as long as they believed, even for an instant, that Loren was the Observer, that was enough.
Due to the excessive censorship* by the Orthodox Gods, the followers had no idea what the Perpetual Observer represented.
This led to the reputation of "Perpetual Observer" being less terrifying in their minds than "Master of Witches."
But for Loren, this was a good thing—it made it easier for people to believe he was the Perpetual Observer.
"Witches of the Holy Flame Empire, I am right here waiting for you to find me. I am the Perpetual Observer, the Master of Witches, your master. I will protect you forever.
"As long as I'm here, you won't have to live in fear anymore."
After saying this, Loren looked at his Reflection in the sky. The next moment, the Reflection shattered instantly, and Veronica, who had been invisible, suddenly appeared.
"How did my Arcane Ability fail?"
"It was because of me."
Loren pulled Veronica into his arms and excitedly kissed her on the cheek.
"My ability evolved again. Before, I could only see through illusions; now, I can directly shatter them!"
Loren remembered that this ability had suddenly manifested right after he finished his declaration about protecting the Witches.
"As I thought, what I really need is the faith of Witches. Human faith isn't very useful to me."
After confirming this, Loren looked forward even more to finding Anna and the others.
With their faith, Loren's authority could evolve further, and he might even gain some extremely powerful abilities.
Like the ability to directly kill an Orthodox God.
"Truth, Reason, Order, Mundanity, Eternity, Continuation..."
Due to the excessive suppression* by the Orthodox Gods, the followers had no idea what the Perpetual Observer represented.
Seeing through illusions was the authority of "Truth," and remaining uncontaminated was the authority of "Reason."
His resurrection might also be due to the authority of "Eternity." If it were a Player's resurrection, it wouldn't be this slow, and Scarlett wouldn't have had to give her own life. Loren knew very well that he had refused Scarlett's life.
Perhaps, with more faith, Loren could acquire other authorities.
What Loren wanted most was the authority of "Mundanity." This authority would likely be exceptionally effective against the Orthodox Gods, allowing Loren to kill them directly.
"What do we do next?"
"Let's just stay here for now. The Orthodox Gods can't come anyway, and even if an Angel shows up, we just kill it."
Loren picked up Veronica and jumped from the roof of the Church. Seeing this, the onlooking crowd below forgot all about the people chanting slogans and scrambled to flee into the distance.
Now, only the people inside the Church remained. Even with all the commotion that had just happened, they were still praying devoutly.
"Listen up. The Church is now requisitioned by me. Anyone who leaves now lives; anyone who stays dies.
"I'm giving you sixty seconds."
Loren swaggered onto the church's platform and, with one swing of his blade, killed the Priest who tried to attack him.
"Forty seconds left now."
Loren snapped his fingers, and the Priest's corpse turned to dust, dissipating into the air.
They must have heard what Loren just said. They knew what was happening right now.
Hearing this, many chose to leave, scrambling and crawling their way out.
They knew how terrifying Loren was, especially since he had just killed the Priest right in front of them—and the Priest was the strongest one here.
"Blasphemer..."
Several Sun-Chasers descended from the sky, their swords thrusting towards Loren. They had rushed over the moment they learned what was happening here.
But before they could even land, Loren casually slashed out a Crimson Blade that cut them into pieces.
They only had time to utter three words.
"And thirty seconds left."
Loren tore down a banner from the wall and used it to wipe off the nonexistent bloodstains on his blade.
He did this just to show his contempt for the God of Light and Fire.
After finishing that, Loren swept his gaze over the people below the platform. Every single one of them was filled with righteous indignation. It seemed they weren't planning to leave.
"Kill him!"
Someone in the crowd shouted. Immediately after, those followers picked up anything that could be considered a weapon and charged at Loren without regard for their own lives.
"I already gave you a chance. You chose this yourselves."
Loren let out a sigh. He didn't really want to kill ordinary people, but some people always forced his hand.
A disheveled woman rushed up to Loren. She was holding a high heel, ready to stab him to death with the heel.
Just as her hand was coming down, tree roots coiled around her arm. Then, branches pierced through her eyeballs, forcefully bursting out from within.
After that, tree roots penetrated her pores and stabbed into the bodies of the others.
Soon, the rabid followers turned into a forest.
They were no longer normal people. They were a bunch of fanatical nutjobs.
The bodies they left behind were drained dry and eventually swallowed by the tree trunks, becoming ordinary trees.
Veronica watched the scene quietly. She had no real concept of human life either. She only knew that anyone who wanted to kill her master deserved to die.
She silently put away her small knife. If Loren's Abundant Magic had been a split second slower, she would have already slit that woman's throat.
"Alright, let's just wait here for the Witch."
Loren continued to use Abundant Magic, creating a cozy little treehouse inside the Church.
The Church of Light and Fire was the organization that hated Witches the most. On the road, Loren had already seen many people patrolling with Crystal Balls.
For a Witch to survive in a place like this, she had to be someone truly remarkable.
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