Infernal Artist

Liu Ping raised his knife and fork and took a deep breath.

first.

You are currently protected and will not be hurt, killed, or eaten.

——Because I have to "manifest" myself tomorrow.

This seems to be a very important thing, even to monsters.

Secondly.

This piece of meat is God’s.

It exudes incomparable, indescribable, and incredible holy power—I don’t feel any ominousness, disaster, or harm from it. . .

at last.

Using the "Special Effects Artist" plus the power of "deception", you should be able to deceive the surrounding monsters.

so--

The only decision he has to make is whether to really eat this piece of God's flesh and blood.

What happens if you eat the flesh and blood of God?

strangeness.

Liu Ping suddenly stopped his knife, looked at his parents, and asked in a strange tone:

"Do you feel like this scene happened somewhere?"

Both father and mother were stunned.

"My child, we have never taken you to a restaurant like this before. Maybe you have wanted to have such a big meal for a long time - eat it quickly." The mother said with some emotion.

"Yes, this time it's not a dream. This is real steak. Eat it quickly." My father also said warmly.

Liu Ping nodded.

It's really strange, I seem to have seen this scene before.

When exactly is it?

His knife fell down and gently cut into the golden flesh.

All of a sudden.

A line of small burning characters jumped out and appeared in front of Liu Ping:

“The present moment has been foreseen by the All-Knowing and Almighty Lord, and He has returned to you the memories of past times in accordance with His agreement with you.”

An idea burst out from the depths of Liu Ping's mind, and gradually unfolded at a speed that exceeded time, turning into a scene from the past era.

…

Under the dim sky.

The city is in ruins.

The earth is dry, locusts are all over the sky, the sounds of weapons clashing can be heard from time to time in the winding streets, and screams can be heard high and low.

The times have come to an end.

A young man was lying in the center of the dilapidated city, huddled in the corner of the fountain where there were no more drops of water.

The killings and wailing around him had nothing to do with him.

Because he was already covered in cuts and bruises, and his whole body exuded a foul smell. It seemed that he had contracted the plague and would die soon.

No one dares to touch the plague.

Even when those wild dogs tried to get closer, their noses twitched and they immediately turned around and ran away.

The boy just huddled in the corner of the dry pool, from dusk to night.

suddenly.

A voice sounded:

"Kid, I need your help with something."

The young man reluctantly turned his head to look.

He saw an old man in a white robe squatting in front of him, looking at him with a sad expression.

"I... am almost dead, how can I help you." The young man said weakly.

The old man shrugged and said: "The stench is well mixed, it's a bit like the smell of a decaying corpse; the place you lie down is also well chosen, avoiding direct sunlight and blocking other people's sight, so that no one can see your left shoulder. There are still several liters of residual clean water in the underground pipes."

The young man stared at the old man again.

"I ate a piece of bread in the morning and snatched a chicken caught by a wild dog at noon. I haven't found dinner yet, right?" said the old man.

"Huh? You are an interesting person. You seem to know everything about me."

The young man stopped pretending, got up from the ground, leaned against the wall and spoke slowly.

The old man laughed and whispered: "There is no need to take out the bricks. The dagger you hide behind the bricks cannot hurt me."

The movement of the boy's hand stopped.

"You are so powerful, why do you still come to me?" the young man asked.

There was a trace of sadness in the old man's eyes, and he sighed: "Because I know too much, I am always unhappy."

"Then you should know less." The young man spread his hands and said.

"This is my ability." The old man said.

"It makes you unhappy, what else do you want it to do?" the young man said.

The old man was silent for a moment and said, "I have something to entrust you with."

"The world is in chaos. I haven't cheated for a long time - I think you look like a big shot. Why would you need the help of a street gangster like me?" said the young man.

"I am a man of magic and have won the trust of many people. They pray to me all the time and crave my protection and grazing." The old man said.

"What does this have to do with me?" the boy asked.

"I have encountered a difficult problem. Before I entrust it to you, I need to test your professional ability. If you can pass it-"

The old man touched it from his robe and held a handful of colorful gems in front of the young man's eyes.

"This is a lot of money, but I heard that warlocks are rare. You are probably my colleague, and you want to join me to do something big." The young man licked the corner of his mouth and said.

The old man stretched out his other hand and gently emitted a soft light in the air.

The wounds on the young man's body healed instantly.

"Okay...I now believe you are a warlock." The young man said.

"Do you accept my test?" the old man asked.

"Test? Is there any test before commissioning?" the young man asked.

"This test is also a troublesome thing for me. I want to see if you can handle it well." The old man said.

"...Let me see what's going on first," the young man said.

It's also strange that during the time they were talking, the nearby killings, locust plagues, and wild beasts all stayed away from this area.

The old man waved his hand, and a scene of light and shadow suddenly appeared in front of him.

In the light and shadow, some humans wearing gorgeous armor were seen standing on the towering city wall.

——But the city wall is completely useless.

The enemy comes from heaven.

Countless monsters were shrouded in the gray mist, with only a pair of crimson eyes revealed, flying down from the depths of the sky, surrounding humans.

A monster with a particularly huge stature and exuding infinite power descended and crashed onto the city wall.

It bent down its huge body and quietly looked at the human warriors who were not even the size of a finger in front of it.

The young man took a quick look and said, "Humanity is going to lose?"

"Yes, they prayed to me silently in their hearts." The old man said.

"what did they say?"

"They said - 'Dear Lord, I'm in trouble.'"

"Is this calling you?"

"Yes."

"Then just help them."

"But I can't take action at this time. Once I do, the enemy will immediately see through my methods, and then I will be completely finished." The old man said.

"I understand, it turns out that you can't let the enemy see through it. So what is your test?" the young man asked.

In the light and shadow, those humans gradually stopped praying.

Because nothing happened.

The old man remained silent and did not respond to their calls.

I saw the expressions of these human beings becoming crazy, as if they were affected by something, roaring loudly: "Lord, I am here to guard the Holy Kingdom for you. We have encountered the most troublesome things, and we may even die here, and you Are you going to leave it alone?"

The young man looked at the old man.

The old man shrugged and said, "This is the test - I can't take action, but I have to respond and let everything happen as it is."

The young man asked: "What does it mean to happen truthfully——"

"These are things that will definitely happen. I should let it continue to happen without any deviation. Only in this way will there be a glimmer of hope in the future." The old man said.

"They seem to be troublesome enough, so what's your trouble?" the young man asked impatiently.

"I love these mortals deeply, and I don't want them to lose their faith because of my silence, and I don't want them to fall when death comes," the old man said.

"You want everything to happen, and you want them to be loyal to their faith in the last moments of their lives and not go astray?" the young man asked.

"Yes, in this case, maybe I can save their souls in the future." The old man said.

"This is easy, you just have to lie to them." The young man spread his hands and said.

"I never lie to people." The old man said solemnly.

The young man said: "So——"

The old man said: "So this is your test. You must not lie to them, and you must make them loyal to their faith."

The young man thought for a moment and then said, "Can I use your tone to communicate with them?"

"Okay." The old man said.

"Then let's start from the beginning." The young man said.

"Okay." The old man said.

All the pictures were reversed and the scene from the beginning reappeared.

On the sacred city wall, human warriors looked up to the sky.

Countless monsters flew down.

A particularly huge monster was shrouded in gray mist and crashed onto the city wall, overlooking the human warriors below.

"Listen," the old man said.

The young man suddenly heard the voices of the human warriors:

"Dear Lord, we are in big trouble."

The young man nodded and pursed his lips.

After a while.

The human warriors were surrounded by gray mist. They seemed to be affected by their sanity, and they all roared angrily:

"Lord, I am here to guard the Holy Kingdom for you. We have encountered the most troublesome things and may even be sacrificed for it. Are you going to just ignore it?"

The old man looked at the young man.

The young man coughed and said to the human warriors in the picture:

"No, you're not in trouble."

"At this moment, everything is no trouble - what you are guarding is where I am. You just need to pick up your weapons and attack the enemy without hesitation."

"attack!"

"attack!"

"I give you fearless courage!"

He spoke one sentence after another, and then the old man's voice appeared in the screen, speaking the same lines, which sounded full of sacredness and inviolability.

The human warriors were shocked.

The belief that I have persisted in for countless years finally worked at this critical moment.

Inspired by these words, they burst out with courage again, holding weapons in hand and rushing towards the monster with all their strength.

Almost instantly.

The monster was covered with human warriors.

They wielded their weapons with all their might, slashing, stabbing, and strangling the monsters!

"Stop!" the old man shouted.

The screen suddenly stopped.

"They will die." The old man stared at the young man and said.

"Yes, they did not betray their faith until their death, and you did not take action. Your goal was achieved." The young man said calmly.

"I said, when you talk to them on my behalf, you cannot lie to them. Once you cheat, all cause and effect will not be established." The old man said again.

"I'm not lying."

"No?"

"If you don't believe me, just keep asking them to move." The young man said.

The old man thought for a moment and waved his hand.

The screen moved again.

The young man looked at the human warriors and whispered: "Okay, everyone, now you are really in trouble."

The words fell.

The monster let out a roar full of frustration.

——I didn’t let these guys fall!

It took a deep breath, and endless gray power emerged from its body, strangling all humans.

The old man's eyes suddenly lit up.

He waved his hand and the screen disappeared immediately.

"The perfect ending. Everything went as planned. The holy souls remained pious until the moment of death. They came back to me, and I knew that everything was going to be destroyed, but in the end there was still a glimmer of hope."

“—and your words prove that the Lord never acts in deceit.”

The old man said.

He looked at the young man again and said in a solemn and majestic tone:

"Good, you're a real liar."

"Many times, we need bravery, piety, dedication and sacrifice, but in dark times of complete hopelessness, perhaps deception is the best way to deal with it. It allows us to preserve some strength and wait for the dawn."

"——You have won my commission."