Swift and decisive action has its time and place.
Recklessness isn't always wrong, but it's prone to disaster.
The "Quantum Battleship" squad didn't let victory go to their heads and immediately launch their grand "Purification" mission; instead, they chose a more cautious path.
The four girls reappeared behind the door of the small tavern they had visited earlier.
The tavern owner, Lilina's informant codenamed "Old K," was behind the bar, wiping a glass.
When he saw the four push the door open, his hand visibly stiffened as he wiped the glass.
"Ladies... did you... give up?"
Old K's voice was dry; he had already prepared for the worst.
"We haven't given up, but we haven't finished either."
Lin Qingyue expertly rapped her knuckles on the bar, the crisp sound jolting Old K to attention.
"Help me pass a few messages to Miss Lilina."
She spoke rapidly, as if delivering a combat report.
"First, we've wounded the Evil God's main body. She's bleeding."
"Second, the source of Her power is the amplified desires of Her followers. The more followers She has, and the more fanatical they are, the stronger She becomes."
"Third, we're preparing to operate behind enemy lines, sever Her signal relays, and give Her a physical network shutdown."
Old K's eye twitched uncontrollably as he listened.
Destroying the Evil God's Avatar wasn't enough; now they were going to undermine Her entire faith system?
These girls were playing a truly wild game!
"Finally," Lin Qingyue added, her face adorned with a kind and harmless smile.
"Over the next few days, a large wave of 'repentant former followers' might flock to Blackrock Stronghold to surrender. Please ask the Lord City Lord to prepare for their reception and screening."
"They are all high-quality laborers who were deceived. A little cleansing and they'll be usable again, so don't let them go to waste."
Old K's expression went completely numb.
He looked at the vibrant, beautiful young women before him, his eyes filled with nothing but awe for these unknown creatures.
"The intelligence... will be relayed word for word."
He nodded solemnly, his throat feeling as if it had been scraped with sandpaper.
With rear support secured, the guerrilla war against a god had officially begun.
They first swaggered towards Winred, City of Corruption, deliberately adopting a posture of a headstrong frontal assault to firmly attract the gazes of any potential hidden scouts.
Once they entered the pitch-black Black Forest, Xia Lian became the true master.
Her steps were as light as falling leaves, her presence merging with the environment as she led her teammates silently through the dense woods, easily avoiding all conventional routes.
The squad successfully circled around to the rear of Winred City and plunged into the vast countryside, which was heavily infiltrated by the cult's ideology.
An "anti-fraud" operation, codenamed "Purification Storm," thus began.
"800 meters ahead, left front. Temporary camp, smoke from a cooking fire."
A shadowy figure detached from a crevice in the ridge's rocks, Xia Lian's voice hushed to a whisper.
"Ten to fifteen individuals, all Werewolves. Their guard is lax, looks like a logistics team."
"Werewolves?" Lin Xiyue asked curiously, shouldering her massive shield. "What style is their 'Sacred Relic'?"
"Probably a chew toy with extra seasoning," Su Wan retorted with a deadpan expression, her jab hitting its mark.
"Why guess? We'll know once we go open the blind box."
Lin Qingyue's eyes glinted with the light of a hunter spotting its prey.
"Get ready! Xiyue, frontal charge! Su Wan, flashbang for crowd control! Xia Lian, perimeter security! One wave to clear the field!"
The three immediately acknowledged the order.
Lin Xiyue took a deep breath, her massive tower shield, Blackstone's Protection, firmly planted before her. Her aura deepened, and the very ground beneath her feet seemed to merge with her.
A sphere of light, compressed to its absolute limit, ignited at Su Wan's fingertips, its blinding radiance ready to erupt and create widespread visual pollution.
Lin Qingyue began her flawlessly practiced pre-casting sequence, pink Holy Light dancing joyfully at the tip of her staff.
Action!
Lin Qingyue lightly flicked the bottom of Su Wan's light sphere with her fingertip!
The sphere instantly shot forward, exploding violently above the Werewolf camp!
Blinding light instantly engulfed the entire camp, completely banishing the darkness of the night!
All the Werewolves, their eyes searing with pain from the sudden intense light, instinctively let out chaotic howls.
"Charge!"
Lin Xiyue let out a fierce shout, charging into the camp like a speeding tank!
"Holy Shield: Shockwave!"
BOOM!!!
Her massive tower shield slammed into the ground. Amidst the deafening thud, a powerful, fan-shaped shockwave swept across the terrain!
All the Werewolves were instantly sent tumbling, dazed and disoriented, their minds buzzing as they fell into a brief stun.
At that very moment, the spell Lin Qingyue had finished chanting descended.
"Everyone, rise! Enter Sage Mode!"
A massive pink ring of light swept across the entire field.
The dozen or so Werewolves, who had just been baring their fangs with ferocious expressions, froze instantly.
The frenzy and bloodlust in their eyes faded, replaced by an absolute calm, as if they had seen through the illusions of the mortal world.
They stared blankly at the half-eaten "God-given Sacred Bone" in their hands, which emitted a strange, meaty aroma, then looked at each other, their eyes filled with philosophical brilliance.
Who am I?
Where am I?
Why am I risking my life for a bone, serving a god who sounds completely unreliable?
Half an hour later.
The dozen or so burly Werewolves clung to each other, crying like a group of 300-pound children.
They sobbed uncontrollably as they recounted how a bunny-girl traveling merchant had scammed their entire tribe out of its winter provisions using the so-called "Thousand-Year Dragon Marrow Bone."
The "Quantum Battleship" quartet had long since vanished into the distance, leaving only a bewitching piece of advice echoing in the wind.
"If you want revenge, go to Blackrock Stronghold, find City Lord Punk, mention my name, and use the internal referral channel..."
In the following days, the vast region around Winred City began to witness a series of bizarre scenes.
A troop of fanatical Snake-man pilgrims, walking through the desert, suddenly stopped in their tracks.
They stared at each other, looking at the garish scale paintings on their bodies, and fell into a long silence of self-doubt.
"Were we... scammed?"
"That 'God-Blood Potion' the Fox-man sold us... thinking back, its taste and texture were very similar to the spiced chili water from my hometown."
Ultimately, cursing the unscrupulous Fox-man, they journeyed together toward Blackrock Stronghold.
A Pig-man missionary, preaching in a village, suddenly faltered at the climax of his sermon.
He slapped himself hard in public, cursing himself for being blinded by greed, having sold his soul for a few cartloads of so-called "Sacred Grain," which were just dried sweet potatoes.
Then, he rallied the scammed believers of the entire village to join him in marching to Blackrock Stronghold to "right the wrongs and recover their losses"!
The "Quantum Battleship" squad operated like the most efficient and precise intelligent weed whacker, rampaging through the Evil God's pasture.
Wherever they passed, not a blade of grass survived—no, not a single "believer" was left.
Xia Lian's exceptional reconnaissance always found the weak points in the enemy's defenses.
Lin Xiyue's unstoppable control ensured every raid initiated perfectly.
Su Wan's calm analysis and support always identified the "contract loopholes" in the enemy's belief system at the first opportunity.
And Lin Qingyue, without a doubt, was the absolute core of this "reverse pyramid scheme" storm.
Her [Purification Art (Modified Ver.)] instantly restored all believers to rationality, filling them with overwhelming rage at being scammed.
For a time, panic and rumors spread like wildfire throughout the Mother of Rebirth's territory.
Patrols and merchant caravans sent out "vanished into thin air" as entire units.
They weren't dead.
They had fled.
They had lined up, crying and shouting, to defect to the enemy!
Send mech legions to encircle and destroy them?
By the time those clumsy iron behemoths rumbled to the scene, Lin Qingyue and her team were long gone.
All that remained were "former believers" who had seen the light, ready to join the side of justice, chanting, "Down with the scammers, give us back our hard-earned money!"
In the void, a certain great will let out a roar of rage and confusion.
Its divine power surged violently, yet it couldn't find a clear outlet for its fury.
A holy crusade that should have crushed mortals had been turned into a spectacular counterattack by a few mortals, becoming the greatest joke of Her divine existence.