Worlds’ Apocalypse Online

A pillar of holy light rose to the sky.

From within the Sanctuary of Corruption, the Pope, 3 Cardinals, 6 Holy Maidens, 12 Archbishops, and 36 Holy Casters as well as 50 Holy Knights had gathered under the same roof.

"Are we clear?" the Pope asked.

"Yes sir. In the rural land behind the Sanctuary, many unfamiliar places had suddenly manifested, in which there were ample resources, numerous people, as well as vast unclaimed lands" a Diviner reported.

One of the Cardinals knelt on the ground and excitedly said: "Your Grace, according to the Corruption Codex, such a situation is extremely rare, but it is also the perfect opportunity to convert people to our faith, this is the chance for all of us to earn more contributions!"

"That's indeed the case, we all thought that it was only a legend, who could predict that it would actually occur" another Cardinal commented, full of emotions.

Everyone was immersed in this discussion, all of them eager about its prospects.

A sense of unspoken fervor and excitement had overtaken the room.

--------the fact that such a miracle had occurred was proof that everything written in the Codex was true.

Additionally, the prospect of conquering an unknown land, as well as its people, and collecting its riches was always something to be excited about.

The Pope brandished the scepter in his hand and declared with a dignified expression: "Declare a Divine Mandate, gather the troops, we shall march on to take over and spread the will of Corruption upon the new land!"

"Yes sir!" everyone responded in unison.

"I will delegate the specific arrangements. The 3 Cardinals will each take command of a legion; the Holy Casters and Holy Knights will return to your posts; summon the Holy Armies of Punishment, Redemption, and Disciplinary; I will personally lead the charge into the new lands!" the Pope declared.

All the followers cheered in joy.

The entire war machine of the Church of Corruption was swiftly mobilized.

In merely 2 hours, the Church's legions had all been assembled and began their march under the Pope's lead across the rural land, heading towards the newly manifested unknown lands.

The closer they approached the unknown lands, the slower the Church's army marched.

Everyone was high-strung with caution.

The scouting groups rendezvous with the main army and reported:

"Report----- there is a village ahead of us, relatively small, and loosely guarded"

"There is a circus and a group of strangely-dressed people, apparently conducting some sort of celebration"

The Pope's tense expression became relaxed.

He looked towards the village in the distance and saw the bright lights from inside, occasionally even seeing fireworks exploding in the sky.

The wind carried the faint sound of cheers, enjoyment, and even applause from the distance.

-------sure enough, they were conducting some sort of celebration.

"Does the village have any protectors?" the Pope asked.

"They do not------ actually, there is an old man. He seems to be a normal villager, but I heard everyone coming in and out of the village call him 'Gatekeeper', perhaps he was originally a guard or something of similar nature" the scout reported.

The bigshots of the Church gradually calmed down.

It's only a village.

They're completely unguarded and are even in the middle of some celebration.

Look at our army.

Strict discipline, armed to the teeth, and morale higher than ever before.

-----it's going to be very simple to conquer this village.

We might even be able to find out the forces in power as well as the structure of the countries in this unknown land from them.

"Send my orders, all troops march forth!"

The Pope loudly declared.

"Yes sir!" the commanders all responded in unison.

The entire Church army charged towards the village-------

The iron heels of the war horses gradually became faster.

In just a few breaths' worth of time, the vanguard troops had already reached the entrance to the village.

As the scouts reported, the one standing guard at the village entrance wasn't any sort of militia or soldier, but merely an old man.

The old man was wearing slippers with a fan made of straw in his hand, currently lying on a reclining chair.

He was happily smoking a pipe, seemingly about to fall asleep.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked outside the village.

"Why are there so many people here?" the old man muttered as his expression changed.

He leapt to his feet and narrowed his eyes to silently observe the Church's army.

Uniforms of the Church of Corruption-------

Sharp weapons and shining armors-------

A large army with overflowing morale------

There were also the Pope, Cardinals, and Holy Knights who donned different garments, their hands wielding things like a glowing scepter and swords.

He then silently sensed the presence they gave off-------

The old man suddenly realized what was going on!

He took a deep breath and turned around, calling at the top of his lungs towards the village: "An unexpected surprise! An especially pleasant surprise!"

"-------The people of the mainland's Cosplay Federation have arrived. Everyone, come out and welcome them!!!"

The entire village went silent from the shout.

Followed by intense cheers that felt like they shook the sky.

Numerous villagers rushed towards the entrance of the village, including the performers of the circus who were originally putting on a show.

"Whoa, it's true!"

A young girl said with her eyes glowing brightly as she looked at the strict and orderly army of the Church.

A young boy standing next to her commented: "Look, the theme they're going for this time is 'the beings of Huang Quan', it's the same style of dress"

The young girl's mother hugged her from behind and pointed at the Pope: "Look, that must be their leader, he looks the ugliest"

Everyone laughed in response.

The Pope's expression went red with rage and ordered: "All troops, draw your weapons"

Shing!

The uniform sound of weapons being unsheathed resounded across the rural land.

The army emanated nothing but killing intent.

But this only drew even more applause from the villagers.

A clown from the circus clapped his hands while commenting earnestly: "That's the real Cosplay Federation for you, their clothes were made to the strictest quality, their expressions and acting is also very genuine"

The teddy bear mascot next to him took off their headpiece, to reveal a muscular man inside.

The man praised: "Performers from the big city sure are different from small-time circuses like us, I really should learn a thing or two from them as the ringmaster"

The Pope really couldn't take it anymore.

-------comparing me to a circus, what unbridled heresy!

The Pope chanted an incantation and shouted: "O' Lord, grant me the power to level this village"

To be able to level an entire village including its inhabitant meant that this was a spell of great power, not something that a single person could complete by themselves.

All of his Cardinals, Archbishops, Holy Maidens, and Holy Knights chanted the incantation in unison to help the Pope complete this spell of extreme difficulty.

A few moments later

Divine Punishment, [Earthquake]!

Rumble rumble rumble---------

The ground began to tremble.

At first, the villagers' expressions changed, feeling a bit nervous, but they quickly calmed down.

"Papa, it was only a Quake spell of this degree!" a young boy called out.