Chapter 523 - 255: War of Faith! Graycloak Plague! (Part 2)
"You fear, you tremble, but have you ever thought that this is your only chance? Find a house in the city, secretly change into decent clothes, and you can become noble upper-class people. Why not give it a try!"
Wu Geng stood in the slums shouting loudly, but the passing crowd was extremely apathetic. Although the gates were physically broken by the Tyrant, the gates in their hearts remained, shackling them here.
After a while, the crowd gradually dispersed. A burly man emerged, looked at the young man shouting passionately, and said with a disdainful smile, "What you’re doing is useless."
"Why?"
"Because I tried it before."
Modus wore a reminiscent expression. He rested his chin on one hand and continued, "Once, I thought everyone was born equal, with no distinction between nobles and commoners. As long as belief exists in one’s heart, even the weakest can reach unimaginable heights."
"But that’s not the case. No one paid attention to the beliefs I advocated. Those who showed me through their actions only wanted to be walking corpses, unwilling to resist or fight. They have become accustomed to this life and can no longer truly live."
"Is that so?"
Wu Geng murmured softly, then quietly left.
He went to a street corner, changed into a brand-new grey-black robe, and used the Colorless Divine Power to make his face appear in chaotic black and white, obscuring his true appearance.
Then, a man cloaked in grey robes with a face of black and white chaos appeared on the street, exuding a unique aura of the [God].
His presence soon attracted the attention of many commoners. Countless commoners instinctively stopped and looked at the grey-robed man with distinct [God] effects, in stark contrast to their previous indifferent attitude toward Wu Geng.
’When equal communication fails, consider using overriding authority.’
Modus looked at him, immediately feeling an extremely powerful sense of oppression.
Though he hadn’t directly fought with him, he felt he probably couldn’t win. The aura unique to a [God] was too terrifying. Just releasing pressure caused all his attributes to plummet significantly.
"Big brother, do you know who he is?"
"I don’t know."
"Oh, do you know what power he just unleashed?"
"I don’t know."
"...So what do you know?"
"I’ve never seen this guy before."
Modus answered awkwardly.
Hikari briefly stayed silent and just politely said, "I see." However, such politeness didn’t satisfy Modus; it made him feel even more useless.
Clearly, he was the one who actively brought him out, yet when it came time for introductions, he knew nothing. Was he really this inadequate?
"How about we sneak in first and see what this guy wants to do?"
"Okay."
....
One hour later
A group of grey-robed commoners marched toward the city gates in unison, their movements perfectly synchronized as if driven by a unified will, chanting at the gates:
"The light nurtures all beings, all beings follow the shadow."
"The light nurtures all beings, all beings follow the shadow."
"The light nurtures all beings, all beings follow the shadow."
....
The unified slogans seemed to carry a certain special allure, making everyone who shouted them become more united with the group, thus making the sound more dangerous, causing those who didn’t understand to feel alarmed.
The grey robes marched in unison, entering the symbolically enclosed city gate. At this moment, those oppressed commoners did not feel particularly different; they only felt what they were doing was normal, as if it should be so, without needing any extra thought.
The massive grey-robed actions did not awaken the guards inside the city.
Because they were already eternally asleep
The leading Wu Geng, cloaked in grey, sighed at the sight inside the city, acknowledging the Blood Erosion Tyrant’s formidable power, which had wiped out all the defensive forces inside the city.
If it weren’t for him, we might have needed to endure a fierce battle. With the quality of these people, casualties would have been unavoidable.
But still...
Battle is necessary. Without the tempering of battle, his army could not be refined, and strong combat power could not form.
The commoners’ flaw is their lack of individuality; everyone is like a walking corpse. But at the same time, their strength is also their lack of individuality—once they don the grey robes, they quickly assimilate as one of the grey-robed, requiring no thought.
Wu Geng led the grey robes through the streets, continually gathering the lost, using the [God] effects alongside pressure and mystery to recruit them.
And so, the grey robes gradually grew larger.
They each wore grey robes, showing no differences on the surface, and their behaviors were remarkably similar.
Wu Geng’s grey robe was a unique creation blending Colorless Divine Power with Faith Power, while the grey robes on the others were derived fragments of his, also imbued with Faith Power and containing a trace of divine power.
"The consumption is quite heavy."
Under his grey robe, Wu Geng slightly frowned. To rally such a large force, he already spent substantial divine power, but he had to do so.
Only with grey robes constructed from divine power could such a terrifying effect be achieved. Although this might stifle the followers’ individual beliefs to some extent, they originally lacked beliefs, so the issue wasn’t significant.
Thus, the grey robes spread like a plague both inside and outside the city. Countless grey robes formed teams, silently becoming legions, and then spreading in the most fearsome ways.
"What is happening here."
Adira watched from afar atop the castle.
The streets overrun with grey robes, and several grey-robed figures dragged a frightened young man from his house, cloaked him in grey clothes, and from then on, the young man no longer resisted, joining the grey-robed ranks.
Such scenes frequently occurred, the terrifying grey robe plague continued to spread, and once a sufficient number of people were infected and there was no fresh blood in the city, the grey robes collectively marched outside the city.
Among the countless grey robes, under the most striking chaotic black robe, Wu Geng sighed internally.
If possible, he didn’t want to spread in this manner, but the problem is, the people here are beyond saving. Starting from the grey robes, there might be a chance to awaken new beliefs in them, but continuing to exist as "people" meant that hope was truly asymptotically zero.
Suddenly, a small figure in black robes raised his head, eyes filled with light, softly chanting, "The light nurtures all beings, all beings follow the shadow."
Soon, a dazzling golden light surfaced on his body, and the grey robe’s color shifted from grey to golden, warm, and radiant. He was none other than Hikari, previously blessed by the [Lord of Light and Shadow].
After donning the grey robe, Hikari always sensed something special about it, as if it contained the power of faith fused with divine power, with faith transforming to become sustained divine power embodied in the grey robe.
The faith was very familiar to him, so through continuous attempts, he independently evoked his own beliefs and then transformed the grey robe through personal faith.
Thus, he ascended to the golden robe.
Hikari turned his head toward Modus and said, "Close your eyes, feel your heart, recall the virtues the Lord of Light and Shadow affirmed in you, awaken your belief, and the grey robe will respond to you."
"Okay."
Modus replied softly.
Actually, he had already noticed the problem; it’s just his beliefs weren’t as pure as Hikari’s, so the transformation process was more arduous, and Hikari had taken the lead.
Yet, he persisted in his silent efforts until the grey robe on him exuded a pitch-black radiance, transforming the grey fully into black, advancing into a black robe. Subsequently, he felt as if he had undergone a metamorphosis, with faith’s power permeating his body to convert to divine power, strengthening his belief ever more solidly.
Wu Geng’s grey robe, in truth, didn’t offer any actual enhancement. He couldn’t do it, but the mere mental buff was sufficient since the followers’ faith relies on the subjective mind. The purer their belief in the Lord of Light and Shadow, the more they gain in augmentation.
Thus, in a sense, mental empowerment equates to growth in combat power.
’It really is them.’
Wu Geng glanced at the two of them, his face showing no significant surprise, as he had already noticed these two were unusual. Unlike the other sunken grey robes, their wills were distinct, like flames in the night, silently burning.
Then, the army of grey robes crossed mountains and lands, encircling the next city.