In an instant, the gunpowder that had been previously concealed exploded, flipping over a group of people.
The gunpowder, as it happened, had been found by John in the village chief's house.
Initially, it was just firecrackers hanging on the wall, seemingly innocuous.
However, a closer look revealed a significant amount of gunpowder within.
If all of it were gathered and combined, blowing up an altar would be an easy task indeed!
Most importantly, these could also serve as signal flares.
John and Archibald had agreed to use these devices to signal each other.
Once John sent his signal, Archibald's forces were to charge over immediately, bringing all their clones with them.
Archibald, who had been hiding in the mountains, also saw the massive explosion below and his eyes lit up.
"That's the signal from big brother, let's charge!"
He had been restless for a while, and now that an opportunity had presented itself, there was no way he would give it up.
Isabella and Amelia both breathed a sigh of relief; they had been waiting for John's signal from the start.
As soon as they confirmed that the signal had been sent, they didn't hesitate for a moment and led their people down the mountain in a grand procession.
Honestly, the sight of them running down the mountain was truly awe-inspiring and the noise they made was immense.
Even some villagers noticed the commotion behind the mountain.
Several team leaders' eyes widened as they roared to the people around them.
"Didn't I tell you to search the mountain? What exactly did you search for? With so many people up there, how did you miss them?"
And what on earth is that mess?
Why are there so many people who look exactly the same?
What is going on here?
Even including the bride, they were only supposed to be five in total, and with one still here, shouldn't that leave just four?
How come it looks like there are two to three hundred people marching down now?
"They... they surged down from the mountain, they are demons, not human!"
A villager's hand trembled as he pointed in Isabella's direction.
Because they all saw that those who followed looked exactly like the few ahead, these were surely not human beings!
They were the same as the entities they had encountered on the mountain—incarnations of demons!
"We're doomed, with so many demons we're definitely going to die, we'll surely perish here."
"Divine Lord, save us, save your faithful believers."
"Mysterious Lord, I am your most loyal follower, please save us, give us a chance to live, let us see hope."
Witnessing the bloodshed, they felt no fear; instead, they joined the fray with exhilaration.
They all knew that only by killing those present could their strength be restored, allowing them to finally escape from this place.
Moreover, they felt no guilt or sorrow for these deserved victims.
Although the clone army was useful, there was one fatal flaw: the clones subconsciously mimicked the actions of their original, making it impossible to control their more specific behaviors.
They could only predict their movements based on experience and other factors.
However, in the chaos of battle, whenever an original used a skill, the clones would replicate it.
This turned them into a massive harvesting machine.
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"An untrained punch kills the old master."
Soon, all other believers and their leaders at the scene were harvested.
However, the clone army also suffered some losses.
From a contingent of 250 clones for five originals, now less than two hundred remained.
Only a couple of surviving leaders and a massive monster were left.
As time passed, the monster's size had grown to over four meters tall.
Its speed had also increased, and John barely escaped its grasp each time.
However, a silver lining was that John and his companions' powers had been restored to the gold-tier.
This meant that they still stood a chance in battling these monstrous beings.
The green-named priests slowly made their way towards John and his companions.
The sight only enraged the monster further, provoking it into a frenzied roar.
Its massive hands pounded the ground, cracking open several new fissures.
Simultaneously, the monster's body secreted a viscous, green fluid that was utterly repulsive.
"What is this stuff? It's disgusting!"
Archibald exclaimed with distaste, bewildered by everything before him.
The extent of the substance's lethality remained unknown.
A serious expression crossed John's face.
The corrosive nature of the green liquid was tremendous; even he wasn't sure he could escape unscathed.
However, the bride slowly moved closer to the direction of the monster.
When John saw this, his pupils dilated in shock.
What was the bride trying to do?!