Since ancient times, most cults have grown from the most direct form of benevolence: healing the sick.
Whether it was "holy water," "incense ashes," or other remedies, as long as they worked, they could create fanatically devoted followers.
Luoshu remembered watching a Christian evangelism program where a zealot claimed to have been blind until a "miracle from the Lord" restored his sight.
At the time, he thought anyone who believed that was mentally blind, not physically.
Now, here he was, using the exact same trick—and damn, it worked surprisingly well.
As Luoshu took the initiative, day by day, his followers multiplied.
Starting from nearby towns, his influence spread outward.
The "holy water," capable of curing all ailments, boosted his reputation exponentially.
In this world where scientific knowledge had been lost, people inevitably fell ill. With no medicine, the "holy water" became their only hope.
Aside from a few stubborn holdouts, most adopted a "better safe than sorry" attitude, becoming shallow believers.
Once their numbers reached a critical mass, Luoshu began touring sermons, using his Cult Leader ability to deepen their faith.
In just half a month, his sphere of influence expanded from one ruined city to an entire region.
If not for the lack of transportation and fuel, severely limiting mobility, he could have taken over the entire province.
But blind expansion was meaningless—if it outstripped his ability to manage, it would collapse.
Now, he faced a new question:
He had over 10,000 believers, and his personal Hume level had risen to new heights.
But how could he translate this into real power—enough to stand against the Southern Coalition Army?
Otherwise, no matter how many followers he had, they'd just be a disorganized mob, annihilated by Southern Coalition guns.
Learning from the Masters
Luoshu turned to the great cult leaders of history for inspiration.
Zuo Ci and Yu Ji? Failures. Not worth considering.
Before them, the most successful was Zhang Jiao, the Great Virtuous Teacher, who launched the Yellow Turban Rebellion—directly contributing to the fall of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
But that was the age of cold steel. In the era of firearms, numbers alone wouldn't cut it.
Among Luoshu's 10,000 followers, fewer than 2,000 had guns. A human-wave assault against the Southern Coalition would be suicide.
What about modern cult leaders?
Outside the anomalous world, most ended badly—either banned as cults or wiped out as terrorists.
So the only useful references were the anomalous world's own cultists.
Two stood out:
"The God"
Prester John
"The God" operated on a high-level strategy, influencing the entire Foundation as The Administrator while commanding a network of powerful subordinates.
Luoshu wasn't strong enough to replicate that.
So he turned to Prester John's model.
Coincidentally, his current environment was similar—a whole world to build power.
But how had Prester John done it?
Activating the enhanced memory from W-Class Mnestic Aid, Luoshu reviewed SCP-3221's documentation.
Soon, he had his answer.
During past Window Events, Prester John's mystical armies had repeatedly clashed directly with the Foundation.
Though he never successfully invaded Earth, the Foundation couldn't destroy his forces either.
Now, in this post-apocalyptic world, the Southern Coalition was far weaker than the Foundation's armed forces.
Luoshu had a real shot.
Prester John's First Advantage: Nullifying Firearms
Prester John's forces could disable the Foundation's guns.
Luoshu had something similar—the Degradation Aura from SCP-166 (The Succubus).
The problem? His version was weaker, with a smaller range.
But if he infiltrated the Southern Coalition's ranks disguised as one of them, he could cripple their weapons.
When he first gained the ability, the aura's range was only 15 meters—covering less than 1,000 square meters.
Even if Coalition soldiers stood shoulder-to-shoulder, that area wouldn't hold more than a few thousand.
And in modern warfare, no one bunches up like that.
So his best bet was to sneak into their camp at night.
After careful consideration, he deemed it feasible—if he planned meticulously, he could disable their guns before they even knew what hit them.
Without firearms, the Southern Coalition would be toothless.
On equal footing, Luoshu's fanatical believers would hold the advantage.
Preparing for the Strike
To ensure success, Luoshu sent scouts south to track the Coalition's movements.
At the same time, he needed to test his Degradation Aura's current limits.
How fast could it disable a gun?
Had its range increased?
His Containment Specialist milestone (Level 2) boosted ability effectiveness by 10%—but was that range, speed, or both?
He ran an experiment:
Two guns—one placed 15 meters away, the other at 16.5 meters (the expected new limit).
When he activated the aura, both guns degraded simultaneously.
The range had expanded!
Not only that—a pistol 20 meters away (carried by an Elder) also degraded!
This was unexpected.
While the increased range was good news, Luoshu hated unexplained power boosts.
He needed to understand the mechanics.
After testing his abilities one by one, he found the culprit.
Turns out, aside from the 10% milestone boost, another factor was amplifying the aura's effects...