Global Fog Survival

Chapter 136: Distinguishing Friend From Foe

*Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack…*

The Lord-level mutant in the form of a statue stiffly twisted its neck, slowly turning its head as if trying to attack Colin, who stood on its back. But… The moment it saw Colin, a terrifying psychic shock erupted instantly, causing the stone head of the aberration to explode.

“Who told you to look at me?”

Colin’s gaze was cold. With his significantly enhanced attributes, his psychic abilities had also been greatly boosted, enough to deal substantial and “unignorable” damage to these Lord-level aberrations.

【You realize that most of the damage inflicted on it can be transferred to the stone slab beneath your feet. Perhaps leading it into deep water would be a good strategy…】

【However, given your current state, this method seems unnecessary…】

【Just crush it!】

“Too violent. Is that really the best approach?”

Though Colin said this, his body moved honestly as he lifted his foot and stomped down. Like a mountain crashing down, an overwhelming force pressed down on the mutant statue, embedding it deep into the ground.

The figure beneath could not withstand such a heavy blow, crushed down with its own stone slab, pressing it further into the ground.

The temporary “gifted” army was left in deep shock by this sight.

Without paying them any attention, Colin still sensed movement under the stone slab, like worms squirming.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

With another violent stomp, no cracks appeared on the stone slab, but blood continuously seeped out from underneath…

“The ‘hint’ suggested throwing it into deep water to reduce the stone slab’s effectiveness with water pressure, then attacking the main body to deal real damage… Well, tossing it into the sea at a depth of several thousand meters would probably crush it.” Colin lifted his foot again.

Under this brutal and savage stomping, the Lord-level mutant known as the “Blasphemous Statue” grew weaker and weaker, until finally, it was stomped to death.

“This turtle shell is really tough. Another rare treasure…” Glancing at the stone slab beneath his feet, Colin didn’t immediately claim his spoils. Instead, he shifted his gaze towards Kimino not far away, and the large remnants of the “Living Olive Trees”…

Squinting his eyes, Colin resumed the thoughts that had been interrupted earlier. After a brief but quick analysis, he vaguely understood why Kimino had appeared. It could be seen as a “gift,” a gift from the indigenous people of this world.

Colin was certain that all the “Living Olive Trees” on this battlefield were controlled by Kimino. It had nothing to do with the will of the trees themselves. They were inherently simple guardians, lacking the mind to offer help in such a dire situation. They must have been influenced.

Given that all the “Living Olive Trees” shared a similar emotion, it was easy to conclude…

They were under Kimino’s control.

“This means that Kimino still retained some rationality at that time. It seems he didn’t want us to fail in our battle. But what benefit does helping us bring him?” Colin pondered.

He wasn’t being overly suspicious but knew that simple “goodwill” wouldn’t be enough for Kimino to maintain his sanity…

Most people can be moved, but as a “lord,” Colin could not, nor was he allowed to be easily swayed. He had to understand the reasons behind such events, or he risked falling into another trap that could lead to more deaths…

It was already a miracle for Kimino to maintain rationality after becoming a mutant.

In this world’s past age of suffering, strong emotions and obsessions could bring about miracles. So what kind of belief had produced this miracle in Kimino?

Simple goodwill?

No, that wasn’t enough.

Colin understood that while “goodwill” might be enough to trigger a miracle, it had nothing to do with someone like Kimino…

Thinking in another direction, aside from the influence of “Engracia,” there was someone else who could have affected Kimino…

【Perhaps you can find out why they didn’t want you to fail by looking into what the priest attempted to do in his later years…】

Indeed… Colin had a sense of realization, continuing his thoughts.

“The priest was rejected by the entire Church of Suffering in his later years, but he was still followed and revered by the common people…”

“Looking at it simply, it was a struggle for power. But he hadn’t read enough history to understand how important the ‘gentry’ or noble class was during that time. He didn’t know how to form alliances. Ordinary people have no power and probably didn’t even realize they were being exploited…”

“No one in any history book ever shouted, ‘The heavens are dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise,’ or questioned whether nobles and emperors had divine bloodlines.”

“Ordinary people lack the awareness to revolt. They might even betray him in the end. Otherwise, it’s hard to explain how he was fine one moment and suddenly surrounded and attacked…”

“But now, this isn’t just about betrayal. What he wanted to do was likely more than just turning against his family. He probably also betrayed the entire upper class—the ‘nobility,’ ‘church,’ and ‘royalty’ — who appeared to get along on the surface but were secretly fighting viciously. Tch, these factions actually united against him…”

Colin recalled the “Fallen Nobles.” There were almost no “Church of Suffering” symbols there, and those that existed had been destroyed in rage, showing how bad the relationship was.

“This also means the priest’s actions made him an enemy of the old upper class. No one who followed him came from noble birth, but his reputation was too big to kill him, so they just exiled him…”

“Does this mean our existence somehow fulfills the priest’s dying wish?”

“But what exactly is it?”

Colin pondered but couldn’t find a clear answer. However, one thing was certain.

All those who tread the extreme path of “suffering” to trigger miracles are destined to become enemies of Colin and humanity…

From this perspective, the priest and his followers were in the same situation as Colin and his group.

They were enemies of the church. They might not be friends, but the current situation suggested their goals aligned. That is, to oppose the Church of Suffering.

Out of nowhere, a thought crossed Colin’s mind as he looked at the massive olive tree remnants: “Does he believe the Church of Suffering still survives and needs someone to overthrow it? Whatever… That’s not really important.”

After roughly understanding why Kimino appeared, Colin didn’t waste any more energy pondering it.

At this moment, there were still four lord-level aberrations yet to be dealt with. After waiting for about a minute and stabilizing the conditions of the most critical patients, Colin reached out to the “sun” in the sky. Grabbing the sun in his hand, his figure transformed into a streak of light and vanished from the scene.