Silas emerged from the shadows, looking at the several Aurora Order members on the stage.
"Endless, like cockroaches."
Although the high-level Beyonders of the Aurora Order's Beckland headquarters had been completely wiped out, dealing with the countless followers beneath them was even more troublesome.
They weren't necessarily Beyonders, but their faith in the True Creator was equally fanatical.
The first step of revenge was to uproot the Aurora Order's forces in Beckland from top to bottom, leaving no one behind.
"Blasphemy!"
The black-robed man wasn't frightened by Silas's sudden appearance.
On the contrary, his anger stemmed from the disrespect in Silas's words. "The Lord will return!"
"Not happening. I've made sure of that."
Silas said coolly, waving his hand.
The shadow beneath the man moved accordingly, as if it had gained a life of its own, rapidly climbing up his body.
"He'll meet the same fate as you worthless trash, which is to say, killed by me."
"Whoosh!"
The shadow covered his body, thick and heavy.
His struggles seemed insignificant, merely limbs protruding and flailing against the outside of the "bag."
The other believers on stage suffered the same treatment, until flesh and shadow completely merged, dissolving into pools of pitch-black liquid on the stage.
What the hell is this?
In the crowd below, Old Kohler was dumbfounded, his legs shaking uncontrollably.
First, so many people were inexplicably entranced, then that terrifying black-robed man was easily killed by this strange guy in a red robe before he could even finish a sentence.
This is too bizarre. Where have I ended up? Is this still Beckland?
At that moment, he noticed that after the red-robed man had finished cleaning up the stage, he turned his gaze below.
His heart immediately jumped.
"So many people."
Silas thought to himself, making eye contact with the crowd below.
These people had originally been immersed in fanaticism, but were awakened by his sudden appearance and killing, appearing anxious and uneasy.
Good, none have completely fallen and twisted, only slightly affected.
He swept through the crowd with his extremely high spirituality, confirming there were no dangerous elements left behind.
"Everyone look at me!"
Silas shouted loudly, his voice carrying undeniable authority.
Everyone, including Old Kohler, involuntarily obeyed the command, raising their heads to meet a pair of eyes glowing with golden light.
"Forget what happened tonight. Never recall it again."
Silas used his Spectator pathway abilities, hypnotizing everyone present and modifying their memories.
The expressions on people's faces quickly became blank. The ability had taken effect.
Silas thought for another moment.
"Among you, is there anyone who's hit rock bottom, with no way to survive? Raise your right hand so I can see."
He asked.
Behind the crowd, some people raised their hands, probably accounting for about one-sixth of the group, around a dozen people.
"Good. These people stay. Everyone else can go."
Silas said.
The crowd quietly obeyed.
Long after Old Kohler and the others left the room, they suddenly regained clarity, but couldn't recall what had just happened.
As for those who remained in the room, they also felt as if waking from a dream, having lost many memories.
Inside the room, the dozen or so people looked at each other.
"Alright, don't be afraid. Your lives are already miserable anyway, with no way left to survive."
Silas looked at those who remained. Rather than comforting them, he spoke concisely.
"I'm giving you a chance. Come with me, and I can give you a way to live, with food and shelter.
Of course, if you're unwilling, you can leave. I won't force you."
The crowd stirred slightly.
"Esteemed sir, may I ask what you want us to do?"
An older-looking man among them mustered the courage to ask.
"In return, you must accept my Lord's gospel and become His believers."
Silas said.
To play the role of "Shepherd," he was preparing to build his own flock, gathering some believers.
Unlike the Aurora Order, he wasn't pulling people in indiscriminately without purpose, nor did he plan to use them as cannon fodder.
Once the role-playing was complete, he would let them leave, at most giving them some compensation.
As he expected, these people with no way out quickly accepted his conditions and followed him away from there, heading to the Remann Gang's headquarters.
"Another batch of people. Arrange their food and lodging."
He said to Charles, who immediately showed a bitter face but couldn't bring himself to refuse.
Similar situations had occurred several times already. Silas would bring people over, then demand that Charles provide food and lodging.
He had no psychological burden doing this, because Charles's money and territory were also seized from others.
"Mr. Anderson, if more people come, I really won't be able to arrange things."
Charles complained.
"Don't you have 'connections' with several apartment building owners? Have them lower their prices."
Silas said casually.
"That won't work anymore. That street isn't under our control currently."
Charles said helplessly. "The Zimang Gang has come back. They have a new boss, and they've been fiercely competing with us for territory recently."
"I see."
Silas glanced at him.
He naturally heard the implication in the other's words. This was a request for him to act, to clear out the Zimang Gang.
Honestly, the reason was indeed sufficient. Without that street's territory, his flock would truly have nowhere to settle.
"Alright then, let me see what's going on."
Silas said.
He seemed to recall that the Zimang Gang had backing from other forces.
Now that they'd suddenly grown strong, could it mean that force was active again?
***
Beckland, Queens District.
"We're very dissatisfied with your friend's breach of contract."
Audrey's psychology instructor, Islant, also a representative of the Psychology Alchemists, said this to her.
"I'm very sorry."
Audrey could only apologize.
"That person encountered some urgent matter that day and really couldn't make it to the appointed location on time."
Originally, as an intermediary, she had scheduled an expert from the Psychology Alchemists to treat Silas for his mental issues.
However, Silas was attacked by Mr. A on the way there. By the time the battle ended, everything was already too late, and he was in no mood for treatment.
Of course, he didn't tell Audrey these details, only saying he encountered some circumstances that prevented him from making it.
As compensation, they didn't need to return the advance payment.
Mr. Anderson had urgent business that day, then joined the Tarot Club within a week. Did something happen on that day?
Audrey wondered with some speculation.
At the end of the day, she was quite welcoming of Silas joining the Tarot Club.
Because, after all, he was a Sequence 5, and one of the strongest batch of Sequence 5s, a Shepherd!
Having such an unfathomable Beyonder join their organization gave her a strong sense of security.
Although Mr. Fool was more powerful, one couldn't trouble a deity with everything, right?
۞۞۞۞
~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones