I, The Dragon Overlord

Chapter 292: Only the Devil Can Recognize Christ

On the border between Kenya and Somalia, a procession of tens of thousands of people was marching along a beaten path. The leader at the head of the procession had a calm expression. His eyes bore an intrinsically benevolent intent as he simultaneously walked and sermoned.

“Lord, the Pope had arrived.”

“Lord, what do we do next?”

“……”

There was a sudden commotion on the path ahead. It was the Pope and his own College of Cardinals as well as the devotees they had met at the Kenyan airport who arrived. They had caught up with Christ on vehicles provided by the embassies of major countries.

The Pope and the Cardinals, who had changed into coarse linen, stood not far from the huge procession, but they hesitated to come over.

“Lord, is that Christ or the Antichrist?”

A cardinal stood beside Francis I and asked carefully. He tried to do it quietly as if he was afraid of being heard by Christ and by others.

The so-called Antichrist, as recorded in the Book of John, denies that Jesus is the Son of God. That was a necessary condition.

So in fact, Louie’s act of playing as Christ was written in the bible and contradicted Christian dogma.

The Bible was extremely comprehensive and anticipated many kinds of situations so that no one could easily exploit it. It had even prepared responses for the individuals who would eventually claim to be the Son of God. In its own terms, all who claimed to be the Son of God other than Jesus were blaspheming heretics. And following its messages to the letter, Louie was just that.

However, the situation now was slightly different.

Whether it was the Pope or any devout believers who took the Bible as the holy word, they were simply mortals. Therefore, when confronted with the miracles he had shown, they had no choice but to hesitate. Even if they subconsciously denied that calling him Christ was un-Christian, they were careful in case it was only an error in the Bible.

This was why Louie proved himself to be Christ by doing the same as what Christ once did. He did things in a way that did not go against the teaching of the Bible, just slightly modified.

This was also consistent with how the system worked in San Soliel, where the God of Justice must perform justice. If the God of Justice was not upholding justice, then that was the day the God would collapse.

“I also don’t know, but I believe that the Lord will tell me the answer. My heart is telling me that it should be Christ.”

Pope Francis I also whispered back. The other Cardinals remained silent when they heard the words.

Of course, their hearts also recognized him as Christ. This was because it would be in their best interest to do so. Anyone living in human society had to live by the rules of human society. Their Catholic family was large and needed money. They needed political means to keep the Church running. If it only depended on the consciousness of the faithful, the Catholic Church would have gone bankrupt and closed down. Faith could cleanse the spirit, but it could never feed people!

“We will follow and see,” so said the Pope.

The other cardinals agreed. If Christ’s actions were really consistent with the Scriptures, they would recognize him as Christ. Even if he was false, God would forgive them, for they were only deceived.

Since the appearance of the Torch Dragon, the concept of the supernatural and God was was recentered in daily life. It also caused a huge debate on the truth and falsity of God. In case there were demons pretending to be God and they believed in it, then they would suffer God’s punishment.

Other than Louie, no other person on Earth knew that everything supernatural was done by a single being. All other supernatural beings were just Louie pretending to be them. From the perspectives of Earthlings, since there was a god in this world, there were bound to be demons. If one believed in a God, they had no choice but to question the authenticity of the god that they believe in, and whether they would be punished by the real God for believing in a false God.

Louie had also long been prepared for this. This was why he went back to capture a demon. In order to make the world believe that he was the real Christ, he did not need the recognition of the Earthlings, but a demon.

If a demon calls you Christ, then you are Christ. Human opinions didn’t matter.

The voice of the Vatican congregation was small, but how could Louie not hear it? He secretly sighed at how humans were always suspicious, but then again his act was not completely in line with Jesus from the Bible, so he understood.

He recalled the power of the paladin, Roselia, and the holiness of the Goddess of Morning, and said in a warm voice, “If you believe me then listen to me. If you do not believe me, I do not blame you.”

The Pope and cardinals were inwardly shocked. They did not think that their mutterings were heard by Christ. They looked up with a start and met the gentle eyes of Christ. At that moment, shame and remorse filled their hearts. They shamed themselves for thinking such irrelevant thoughts about the Lord. They, too, hastened to walk slowly into the line of disciples under the guidance of that divine light.

And long before the Pope and the others joined the line, there were devotees who took one step and knelt down, leaving tears of joy before joining the line. Christ smiled faintly and continued to march forward and preach.

With Christ’s words, the Pope and Cardinals were surprised to find that their old bodies seemed to be flooded with infinite strength. Even while walking on foot, they did not feel tired.

“My, my legs!”

A devotee in a wheelchair stood up in astonishment. The people saw that his originally muscular atrophied legs were filled with a strong vitality and stood on the earth again.

“Lord, thank you for your mercy.”

This believer was so excited that he fell to his knees and deeply kissed Christ’s footprints with tears streaming down his face.

“My eyes, my eyes can see.”

“I can breathe well. I can breathe well. I was told by my doctor that my lung cancer is terminal.”

Many devotees wept.

Those who were blind found themselves gradually seeing color. Those who had malignant diseases found themselves healed. These were things that modern medicine could not yet accomplish. This was a miracle that only Christ could show.

In an instant, these devotees wept as their faith became more firm. The believers who had joined the group were smiling. They rejoiced over these people. For Christ had said, “You are brothers and sisters. You should rejoice for the joy of your siblings.”

Compared to the excited believers, the reporters who had been following the procession were even more stirred up. As the miracle took place, they first thought of their family members with incurable diseases. They hastily took out their cellphones to make phone calls, urgently asking their families to hurry over.

For those rich and powerful who were watching from their homes, they were also shaken. They couldn’t wait to rush over in their private jets and become disciples of Christ and give a big donation to the church to promote the development of Christianity.

“Blessed is he who believes in me…”

Christ was still reciting the Scriptures. Those who heard his words were enlightened. These people were the first batch of people who were able to receive blessings. Because they believed that he was Christ, they were blessed.

In an instant, many of those who were believers but doubted everything felt regret.

But Louie, who was playing the role of Christ, now had a hard time saying that he expected that he would have countless believers and disciples joining him in his sermon. To begin with, this was why he chose a relatively remote place like Kenya, but he had underestimated the fervor of the believers. He did not expect that in just a few days, a group of fewer than 3,000 people would swell by more than ten times.

He knew that the satellites in the sky were tracking his every move, and he knew that there were many reporters around him who stood far away without following the line.

With those news anchors coming here and streaming the procession live, the people gathered there and followed him had almost reached 100,000 in size.

Having so many people following him, Louie also felt a bit of pressure. On the entire road, he released a divine aura. When he saw poor people on the way, he lent them a helping hand and displayed miracles.

However, this consumed divine power. At this rate, he would not be able to eat.

‘I originally planned to take a longer route, but it seems like I have to stop in Somalia. If I continue advancing, my divine power would be cleanly exhausted. If that happens, my plans would be ruined and it would be easy to have my flaws be revealed.

Louie kept his calm and soft look while muttering in his heart.

Louie did not care if his divine power was wasted here. This was an investment. He had to pay enough divine power to show miracles and wait until people believed that he was Christ. That way, once the faith crossed the Crystal Wall System, he could gain a huge amount of faith and use them.

The Gods of San Soliel might have had more experience than Louie, but they were Gods who could not change their alignment.

‘In order to provide a good reason for Christ’s descent and for my divine kingdom, I have to start the next plan.’

With this in mind, Louie looked sideways towards the United Kingdom.

At the same time, he activated the second identity that he had long-prepared – Celtic Mythology.