Chapter 494: The Winged Army Arrives, You Heretics!

[Year sixteen, age forty-two.]

[Faced with the chaos caused by the constant stream of escapes from Lingwei Star, the Winged God Church issued new regulations.]

["Defeatism is a violation of doctrine. No matter who the enemy is, we will defend our homeland and fight to the death against them! Effective immediately, dismantle all Star Harbors!"]

[Though Dalabeng had vanished,]

[the Winged God Church continued to operate.]

[This vast ruling class would not simply collapse because one person disappeared. The various echelons were still struggling through the chaos to maintain organizational order and control over their territories.]

[To further prevent residents and cultivators from fleeing the planet, and to curb the chaos caused by the escaping crowds, the Winged God Church decided to dismantle the three Star Harbors on the planet.]

[While they were tearing down the harbors, you were busy scouring the area for the remaining High-Grade cultivators.]

[By the time you received word, they had already demolished two of them, leaving only the last one standing.]

[You rushed over at top speed and stopped the Winged God Church from dismantling the final Star Harbor.]

["Are you trying to tear down the harbors so my Rebel Army can't land?"]

[Facing your interrogation, the commander of the Third Winged God Army Corps responsible for the demolition could only express helplessly,]

["We have absolutely no such intention. It's just that the new doctrine prohibits escape, so we chose to dismantle the Star Harbors to curb the tide of defection."]

["Fine then, this Star Harbor belongs to me now. I guarantee no one will be able to set sail from here!"]

[The Third Army commander had no recourse against you, so he could only go along with whatever you said.]

["Very well, we'll withdraw our forces. I hope you won't make a move."]

[You stood high in the sky and said calmly,]

["I told you before, it will be the human Rebel Army that wages war against you, not me."]

[Just as the Third Winged God Army was preparing to retreat, ripples appeared in the seven-colored rainbow light above the Star Harbor—a sign that Star Ships were about to land.]

[Everyone looked up and saw several large transport-class Star Ships descending.]

[The Third Winged Army commander immediately realized that this was likely the Rebel Army from Fortune Star. He instantly gave the order,]

["Enemy attack! Fire on the Star Ships! Shoot them down!"]

[One siege cannon after another was rolled out, muzzles raised, aimed at the Star Ships still half-way through their descent.]

["Ready—"]

[Before the Third Army commander could shout the order to fire, he saw you standing between the cannon formation and the Star Ships.]

["Grand Marshal Chen Dong, didn't you say you wouldn't interfere? Are you not allowing us to strike first?"]

[You smiled and pointed at the Star Ships behind you.]

["I just wanted you to get a better look, so you don't shoot the wrong targets."]

[The Third Army commander suspiciously pulled out a long cylindrical magical artifact and held it up to his eye—presumably something similar to a telescope.]

[Now he could see clearly.]

[Not a single human was aboard those Star Ships. More than half of the passengers were Winged Clan members, and the rest were all sorts of non-human races!]

["They're our own people?"]

[Suddenly arriving with so many people was clearly not the case of passing merchants or travelers. Their posture was obviously one of coming to fight.]

[But they were of the same race.]

[If they weren't enemies, then they could only be allies?]

["Don't open fire! These are our reinforcements!"]

[Someone was skeptical.]

["Commander, do we even have reinforcements?"]

["It should be the sub-churches of Fortune Star and Longevity Star getting word and sending people to support us."]

[Fortune Star and Longevity Star were the other two third-class stars in the Winged Feather stellar system, also under the rule of the Winged God Church.]

[These people would soon be disappointed.]

[Because the arrivals were not their allies, but the Winged Army—believers of the Winged Ancestor—led by Sotuofeiren, the Winged Ancestor's Emissary!]

["Sinners! How dare you point your cannons at the Winged Ancestor's Emissary? I declare! Your sins are grievous, and only death or surrender can atone for them! Choose!"]

[After the Star Ships landed, Sotuofeiren stood at the bow of the largest vessel, preaching his "doctrine" to the Winged Clan members in the harbor with all the fervor of a holy man.]

[This left the Winged God Army completely dumbfounded.]

["Where did this Winged Ancestor Church come from?"]

["What the hell is a Winged Ancestor?"]

["I get it now, they must be damned heretics!"]

[Coincidentally, that was exactly what Sotuofeiren and his people were thinking at that moment.]

["Descendants of the Winged Ancestor! Look! Those are our kinsmen, bewitched by a false god! We must save them! If they refuse our salvation, then we can only deliver them from this world!"]

[And so, with one side shouting "Death to heretics!" and the other shouting "Lackeys of the false god!", the two forces clashed.]

[You didn't leave. You stayed right there, blatantly tipping the scales.]

[When the Winged God Army wheeled out weapons of mass destruction, you smashed them to pieces with a single palm strike.]

[When experts from the Winged God Army charged into the Winged Army's ranks, trying to capture their banner and kill their commander, you crushed them with one slap.]

[When the Winged God Army formed up a grand battle formation, you shattered it with a single strike.]

[You weren't helping the Winged Army—you were just sabotaging the Winged God Army at every turn.]

[The Third Army commander on the Winged God Church side watched all this with growing fury, practically frothing at the mouth.]

["Chen Dong! How can you say one thing and do another! With you helping them, how can we possibly win!"]

[You said with utmost sincerity,]

["So just surrender. They're the same race as you anyway, and they even represent your ancestors."]

[The Third Army commander heard this and found it quite reasonable.]

[So he ordered the entire army to surrender and stop fighting the Winged Army.]

[He was a man who took advice well.]

[Surrounded by his entourage, Sotuofeiren walked toward the Third Army commander at an extremely slow pace, chin held high, step by step by step by step.]

[Following protocol, he was now supposed to go accept the surrender.]

[But he was walking too slowly. Even you couldn't stand it anymore.]

["Hurry it up!"]

[Sotuofeiren immediately broke into a brisk little trot.]

[Surrender wasn't just a matter of saying the word.]

[The Winged God Church's rule was deeply entrenched, so Sotuofeiren had to employ some extra measures.]

["What is this?"]

[The Third Army commander looked at the wing-shaped brand on his palm and asked in confusion.]

[This mark had been stamped onto his hand by Sotuofeiren using a seal-like magical artifact.]

[At this point, every member of the surrendering Third Winged God Army had been branded with this mark, like pork stamped with quarantine seals before leaving the factory.]

[Sotuofeiren explained it to them.]

["This is called the Mother-Child Soul Locking Seal. Oh, this is the masterpiece of the Myriad Treasures Child Goddess. It was originally prepared for that Archpriest on Fortune Star, to control human slaves. Now it's being used on you instead."]

[The Myriad Treasures Child Goddess originally wouldn't have needed to complete the order for the Fortune Star Archpriest anymore.]

[But after you heard about it, you thought it would be a shame to let it go to waste.]

[So you urged the Myriad Treasures Child Goddess to finish developing it.]

[Once branded with this seal, Sotuofeiren could use the mother seal in his hand to torment the souls of those bearing the child seals at any time, like a tightening headband—not enough to kill, but extremely unpleasant.]

[Once the Third Army commander understood, his face twitched uncontrollably.]

["Wait, dude, are you serious?"]