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CH426 - CH430
🕑 Added 2025-05-12 12:50:41 +0000 UTCCH426
In Lynn's mind, the biblical passage about hell surfaced, one part of which was the skinning purgatory used to punish the gravest sinners.
These monstrous beings in front of them were the executioners, their faces bloody with faintly visible orifices—eyes, nostrils, and mouths.
Their bodies contorted, as if their skin had been ripped off, leaving only bloody muscles and bones. They held execution tools, resembling a group of walking corpses, moving strangely towards them.
If ordinary civilians or apprentices witnessed such a terrifying scene, they would likely be horrified. However, Harof and the others showed no reaction.
They understood that these were just cannon fodder used by Lucia to obstruct their progress!
However, facing enemies of this level wouldn't make them halt. "Disintegration Ray!"
Harof took action.
With a single strike, the executioners blocking their path were torn apart by an invisible force, turning into a mass of flesh. Despite being disintegrated into a blurry blood mass, the pieces still attracted each other as if wanting to gather together.
Fortunately, before they could reassemble, the raging, unextinguishable flames engulfed the remnants, aided by the trichlorofluoromethane capable of consuming certain elements, perfect for dealing with regenerating monsters.
But Lynn soon noticed a towering figure emerging from the surging sea of fire.
It was a gigantic monster, unlike the other executioners. Its stature reached the top of the mine, and although its robust form had been eroded into a skeletal structure by the unextinguishable flames, it remained oblivious. It wielded a fiery, meter-long hammer and swung it down towards them like a looming executioner.
"Seal!" Victor murmured. Chains of alchemical runes extended from his domain, binding the giant monster's arms, waist, and neck.
Then Harof unleashed a powerful Disintegration Spell, shattering it into pieces!
"I sense the power of spirits and dark gods in these monsters," Victor solemnly remarked.
The opponent likely imprisoned the souls of those they once killed, giving rise to these monsters. The purgatory projected matched the biblical description, deepening Victor's concerns.
To possess such formidable power with just an avatar raised questions about the opponent's true capabilities.
Snap!
Suddenly, clear footsteps echoed behind them.
The expressions of everyone present changed abruptly.
The once solid rock path underfoot had turned into a muddy swamp. With Lucia's strength, such a glaring flaw shouldn't exist unless... either she had no intention of concealing herself, or she deliberately wanted to impose psychological pressure on them!
Thinking this, the previously clear path distorted, and blood-colored threads emerged from the walls, completely blocking the way forward.
At this moment, Lucia's figure appeared behind them, cutting off their retreat.
Harof and the others immediately abandoned the idea of escaping. Clearly, Lucia had control over the entire mine. Even with their best efforts, escaping seemed nearly impossible. Moreover, they had to capture her, especially after going through the trouble of luring the Church's Saintess out alone.
Aurora raised her hand, surrounded by a glow of lightning. A terrifying magnetic field formed almost instantly, and dozens of metal bullets hovered in mid-air. Driven by electromagnetic force, they shot out, creating deafening sonic booms.
This was the electromagnetic railgun Lynn had invented!
Having learned the relevant theory, Aurora could replicate it. Although due to hasty casting, the railgun's speed wasn't as fast as the original, roughly six times the speed of sound, it was still lethal!
The previously unextinguished flames from the monsters erupted, burning the faces embedded in the tunnel walls. A hot pillar of fire swept towards Lucia!
The railgun fired first. With a thrust at six times the speed of sound, it covered fifty meters in just 0.025 seconds!
However, at the moment the railgun was launched, its speed visibly decayed, as if the elements in the divine projection were spontaneously hindering the bullet's velocity...
Facing the incoming railgun shots, Lucia's expression remained unchanged. Instead, she seemed intrigued by the peculiar unextinguishable flames.
She had heard of this flame before and encountered it more than once, understanding its tenacity and... how to deal with it!
Lucia opened her mouth and exhaled gently.
Crack!
A cold air, seemingly capable of freezing time, spewed from Lucia's mouth, swiftly spreading around. The incoming metal bullets froze in mid-air, and the surging waves of fire were frozen in place, quickly melting and dissipating...
This was the legendary divine spell - Eternal Frostland!
Although she couldn't immobilise all elements in the divine realm like her true self, she could still manage it on a small scale!
After dissolving the unextinguishable flames, the breath of frozen time continued to surge forward, rapidly solidifying everything along the way!
Victor's hand seals changed, and chains of runes emerged from the void, interweaving and connecting to form a solid wall.
However, this defense lasted less than two seconds; the runes on top froze and disintegrated, losing their intended effect.
Fortunately, Lynn's spell was ready!
A powerful laser beam materialised in Lynn's palm, shooting out with unstoppable force, piercing through the Eternal Frostland and Lucia's protection, directly penetrating her forehead!
"Damn it!" Lynn's expression changed as soon as he succeeded. At that moment, he realised something was amiss, for although the freezing field had stopped expanding, the Saintess pierced by the laser beam showed no signs of being affected.
It was apparent that what appeared before them was just an illusion!
In fact, Lucia, who knew the power of laser magic, naturally couldn't be unprepared. The deliberate footsteps and the illusion in front of them were just means to deceive them!
But this time, even Aurora failed to see through it!
Realising this, a fierce warning had already surfaced in Lynn's mind when he mobilised the elements within the domain without hesitation, and a silver shield instantly condensed.
"Starry Radiance!" Lucia's voice almost echoed right in front of him. The continuous battles had made the Saintess realise that Lynn in front of her was the biggest threat and had to be the first to be eliminated!
Fierce star flames immediately exploded, filling the entire space.
The silver shield visibly dented, but under Lucia's full force, it remained resilient! Because it was composed of uranium elements!
As a highly dense element, the hardness of uranium was self-evident. Before reaching critical mass, it was not an easy task to completely destroy it...
And Lynn spread the magical field around him, not even caring about radiation, just to be able to cast the nuclear explosion spell at the most opportune moment.
Now, it was being utilized by him to block the imminent Starry Radiance!
Lucia also did not expect that her full-force attack would be easily blocked by Lynn, a grand wizard. Rune chains appeared in the void, blocking Lucia's pursuit and restricting her movements.
Victor was exerting all his strength, forcibly expanding the domain, cooperating with Aurora's visual obscuring spell, once again binding the opponent!
"This is the real body, Harof!" Victor shouted hoarsely.
"Temporal Blades, strike!"
After Lucia appeared, Harof, who had been preparing for this moment, finally made a move, concentrating all his magic on this legendary spell! Black threads appeared in the boundless void, distorting space, shattering divine realms. Even light was drawn into it, leaving only endless darkness!
With one blow, a large hole was cut in the rock wall behind, and within the blood-red realm, a 'black pillar' pierced through heaven and earth!
As the target of the Spacetime Blade attack, Lucia's shoulder and entire right hand entered the black spatial vortex, erased by the powerful spatial forces!
If not for Victor's reminder to slightly deflect her body before the attack arrived, this incarnation would likely have been severely damaged...
However, everything stopped here. Harof's full-force blow did not completely dispel the projection of the divine realm. The 'black pillar' gradually disappeared after a brief existence, and the blood-red space slowly gathered towards the center.
Terrifying divine magic fluctuations erupted from Lucia's slender body. The rune chains immediately disintegrated, and the half of her body erased by spatial forces rapidly recovered at a visible speed.
Under the intense magical backlash, Victor spat out blood.
Aurora's face was also pale. They had done everything they could!
"Accept destruction!" Lucia floated in mid-air, and her star-like eyes shimmered. The elements of the entire divine realm became unusually active.
Dazzling starlight appeared almost everywhere in this space, impossible to dodge or hide from...
At the moment of the attack, Lucia suddenly turned her head.
A rushing wind echoed behind her.
At the hole pierced through, a massive propeller appeared in front of her! A giant creature with a wingspan of dozens of meters, flying at a speed of three hundred and sixty kilometers per hour, rushed in through the channel cut by the Spacetime Blade!
The front hub fin of the propeller collided with Lucia, carrying her with its weight and high speed toward the depths of the mine!
The large wings passed over Lynn and the others' heads, and the strong wind shook their robes.
"Now is the time, retreat!" Lynn urgently shouted, ignoring explanations, and directly pulled everyone to jump down from the hole where the aircraft came in! Below this mine was a flowing river!
*
In the current mine, the high-speed aircraft directly pressed against Lucia's body, piercing through the already thin rock wall, rushing deeper into the mine.
The one driving the aircraft was only Lynn's magical projection. After receiving the communication from the main body, he used this last resort to quickly send Lydia to a safe place and then returned!
Then, following the channel cut by the Spacetime Blade, he unexpectedly collided most unexpectedly and simply!
Because the aircraft was not within the range of the divine realm throughout, it naturally deceived Lucia's perception. It directly collided when she was casting the spell at full strength!
If it were anyone else, under such a violent impact, they would probably have turned into a lump of mud long ago. However, his opponent was the Saintess of the Holy See, Lucia, in the incarnation of Aila! She had set up protections around her that even the fourth-level laser beams found it hard to penetrate. Although she was carried away by the impact force, she remained unharmed. She grasped the front of the aircraft with both hands, forcibly breaking off the propeller and using it as a weapon against the entire fuselage!
Inside the aircraft, as Lynn existed as a magical projection, he was not afraid. In his hand was a peculiar silver sphere.
Extracted from the Demon Stone, uranium-235, enough to unleash a nuclear explosion twice. To be safe, half of it was stored in the main body's domain, implementing Plan A!
The other half was stored on this aircraft, as insurance and a contingency!
Now, he had taken it out and, facing Lucia's attack, Lynn directly hurled it at her!
"Feel the wrath of the sun!"
Lynn shouted, various names like big fatty, little boy, and other nicknames flashed through his mind, finally naming this magical atomic bomb.
Otherwise... let's call it Little Girl!
At the moment the sound fell, the neutron source inside uranium-235 had started to operate, thousands of neutrons scattered, and a chain reaction instantly formed.
Grand nuclear explosion, initiated!
CH427
From the refining of bronze to the forging of steel, and then the development of gunpowder, human technological prowess continued to advance, 'conquering' the land, sky, and oceans...
However, even with the roaring of cannons, in the face of true natural disasters like earthquakes, meteorites, and volcanic eruptions, they still appeared incredibly insignificant!
It was only in the twentieth century that humanity made a new breakthrough in the microscopic realm, delving into the study of atoms, using the mass-energy equation as a core theory, and developing atomic bombs, granting humanity the power to rival natural disasters for the first time!
Now, this power was truly manifesting before everyone for the first time!
An unimaginably powerful force erupted from the silver-white sphere.
Lucia only felt a deep, soul-penetrating fear before plunging into darkness...
This darkness was not created by the nuclear explosion.
In fact, the radiance it emitted was at its peak, hundreds of times brighter than the sun overhead!
It was precisely because of this that Lucia's eyes were instantly blinded, her eardrums ruptured directly, and she fell into a state of imbalanced senses. Even her usually keen magical perception was rendered useless because all she could perceive now was endless light and heat!
In the core of the explosion, under the temperature of tens of millions of degrees and the pressure of millions of trillions of Pascals, space and time seemed to lose their meaning at this moment. Whether it was Lynn's magical projection or the massive steel aircraft, they were instantly vaporized under such overwhelming power.
Lucia, just a few meters away from the center of the nuclear blast, was no exception. The protective barrier constructed around her body couldn't withstand even 0.001 seconds and disintegrated. Following that was her physical form, protected by magical arts!
First, the exposed limbs – hands, feet, and skin – dissolved, followed by bones, organs, and blood, until her entire body was completely evaporated by the high temperature.
What kind of power was this?
Lucia retained a faint consciousness, unable to comprehend how Lynn, controlling the state-of-the-art aircraft, could unleash such terrifying magic.
Seventh tier? Eighth or ninth tier? Lucia, now in the midst of this, had no time to evaluate the power of this magic. After the destruction of her physical body, her essential soul was exposed to this searing furnace!
For centuries, she felt the threat at the soul level for the first time!
A large number of sturdy and dangerous neutrons wreaked havoc at the microscopic level, accompanied by various terrifying radiation rays.
Although the nuclear explosion itself didn't affect the soul, psychic energy was also a form of energy, and matter and energy were inherently connected.
Since it interfered with matter, it would be influenced by the material world in return!
The soul, now entering the legendary realm, gradually dissipated under the influence of such power after losing the shelter of the flesh.
The agony of this torn-apart soul was beyond imagination, far more painful than being devoured by countless poisonous ants.
It seemed she could only completely abandon this projection and part of her essence...
With a determined heart, Lucia transmitted the most crucial memories back to her core through the entanglement of souls. In the next moment, her soul completely perished in the high temperatures of tens of millions of degrees, and the divine projection covering the outside world collapsed with a thunderous roar!
From the moment of the nuclear explosion to the annihilation of Lucia's soul, it all happened in an instant. After the disappearance of the divine realm, the shockwaves, carrying high temperatures, flames, and radiation, surged in all directions!
The already excavated mountains erupted, countless boulders were engulfed by high temperatures before falling, turning into scalding magma...
"Protect yourselves, don't open your eyes!" Lynn, who had jumped down from the mine in advance, loudly reminded.
Harof and Aurora, upon hearing this, tightly closed their eyes, using the little magic power they had left to set up protections around themselves.
Only the curious Victor slightly opened his eyelids, wanting to take a look. But under the terror of the intense light, his pupils shed monstrous tears before losing vision!
However, before losing sight, Victor clearly saw that the ultra-high-temperature energy wave, transmitted at several times the speed of sound, had caught up!
Fortunately, the divine projection and the excavated mine bought them enough time. Before the shockwave of the nuclear explosion fully arrived, a few of them had already plunged into the depths of the river together!
The next moment, the high-temperature energy wave swept over the river surface, creating towering waves. Tens of thousands of tons of river water evaporated in an instant, corpses of fish and shrimp inside were shattered and exterminated, and numerous floating corpses appeared on the river surface...
Fortunately, for legendary wizards, this level of aftermath was barely resistible!
This was also the reason why Lynn deliberately chose this place as the battlefield!
*
At the same time, several kilometers away in a dense forest, Ragnar was leading the Holy See crusade army at a swift pace.
In order to catch up quickly and support the Holy Maiden, this crusade army had pushed their marching speed to the limit. However, due to night marching and rushing all the way, thousands of imperial soldiers fell behind.
However, Ragnar obviously had no time to care about them. After all, he had a clear view of the battle in the sky before, witnessing Lucia, riding a griffin, shoot down the wizards' airships but getting hit by a laser beam, putting her in a perilous situation.
"Don't worry, Lord Ragnar. The Holy Maiden has received divine inspiration and will surely triumph over those minions of evil, securing the final victory!" The red-robed bishop at his side made a praying gesture, expressing confidence.
Ragnar also suppressed the unease in his heart, soon replaced by the warning rising in his mind.
Through the cover of the trees, a dazzling light shone in the distance.
Was it already morning?
Everyone was puzzled, considering they had set out around 1 am, far from the time the sun would rise.
However, the light continued to grow brighter. In just a second, the entire sky was illuminated in a vivid red color, even brighter than the noon sun!
"Ah, my eyes!"
Screams echoed one after another in the formation. The intense radiation, even from several kilometers away, was still powerful. Soldiers who looked up at the sky felt their pupils burning.
Then, the whole ground violently shook. Amidst an ear-splitting roar, a massive mushroom cloud rose in the sky!
Although obstructed by the forest, they couldn't fully see what had happened in front. Panic inevitably spread in everyone's hearts.
Some even thought this was a sign of the apocalypse!
"Don't panic, everyone!" Ragnar shouted loudly, stabilizing the disoriented minds.
"This must be the power of the Lord!"
"It's the great Goddess of the Moon, the creator of all, punishing the minions of evil!"
Ragnar spoke with increasing firmness.
The bishops, priests, and devout believers immediately believed because, in their perception, only the Lord could wield such terrifying power, making the heavens and earth change color!
They were unwilling to believe that such a powerful force could be the work of demons!
"Praise, great Lord! Your power dims the morning star!" A bishop fanatically exclaimed,
Some enthusiastic priests directly dismounted and knelt on the ground in prayer.
The dazzling light quickly approached them, and the red-robed bishop opened his arms to embrace the imminent divine light!
However, Ragnar sensed something was amiss. In the approaching light, there was an unbearable heat, and most importantly, he didn't sense any divine power.
This couldn't be the Lord's power!
A look of horror appeared on Ragnar's face, but in the next moment, the dazzling firelight and high-energy shockwave had already passed through this dense forest...
Tall trees were instantly torn apart, and the thick earth turned into endless scorched land. The red-robed bishop, who had opened his arms to embrace the divine light, turned into a charred corpse in the moment the firelight swept over him.
Even more unfortunate were the Empire's soldiers. Their unprotected bodies, along with their armor, vaporized, becoming part of nature.
About three kilometers above them, the remaining sixty or so airships were violently shaking in the enormous wind pressure.
"Speed up, speed up, don't stop!" On one of the airships, Philip urged anxiously. At this speed, they might be caught up by the shockwave.
"This is already the maximum speed, Master Wizard!" The pilots, busy manipulating the airship, didn't dare to look back at the light.
Only Philip and those with alchemical goggles could witness the splendor of the nuclear explosion...
According to Master Lynn, these lights were too intense to look at with the naked eye. However, with alchemical goggles that could resist ultraviolet rays to some extent, they could still see. Even though the brightness was reduced by dozens of times, tears still welled up in their eyes.
"Is this Master Lynn's new magic?" Tiek looked at the crumbling mountains, steaming rivers, and the ground turned into glassy scorched earth, his voice trembling. "This is simply..."
Tiek was momentarily at a loss for words, only speaking after a long pause. "It's like the sun falling from the sky!"
Tiek's words expressed the feelings of everyone. They couldn't find any other words to describe it except for the sun falling.
Can magic truly possess such power?
Doubts arose in everyone's hearts.
And this was just the aftermath; the core's power would be even more terrifying.
Perhaps only such formidable power could stand against that false god!
Fortunately, Tiek soon noticed that the speed of the shockwave below was gradually decreasing as the range expanded. It was no longer as fierce as before. With the airships evading in advance at speeds of about a hundred kilometers per hour, they should be able to escape the nuclear blast radius.
*
At the moment of the nuclear explosion, several kilometers away in the City of Fire Oil, the battle had already entered a white-hot stage!
Anthony and the others' attack was very successful. Due to the main force being withdrawn, the City of Fire Oil, lacking defensive forces, couldn't hold out for more than ten minutes and was easily captured. But then, Joshua, leading thousands of Divine Punishment troops rushing to the scene, caught them off guard!
There was an insurmountable gap between legends and grand wizards.
In just three minutes of combat, two of the seven grand wizards besieging Joshua had already fallen!
The remaining five were all wounded.
Anthony suffered the most severe injuries, with a deep wound visible to the bone on his chest.
Joshua, on the other hand, seemed unfazed, with only the right side of his robe burned halfway, and half of his staff broken.
Those participating in the siege, including Arad, were going all out but still couldn't see any possibility of defeating him. Discouragement began to creep into their hearts.
"Don't worry, everyone! In a short while, the councillors will handle that Holy Maiden and return to reinforce!" Anthony rallied their spirits.
Although their plan had some flaws, as long as they could delay this Chief Judge here, Lynn and the others would face much less pressure, making the plan proceed more smoothly!
"Reinforcements?" Joshua sneered and said coldly. "You have no idea what kind of opponents they are facing!"
The bishops and priests of the Holy Church usually considered the Church's Holy Maiden as a mere attendant chosen to serve the gods, an attractive ornament.
But only those at the higher echelons understood the necessity of the Holy Maiden's existence.
Because she was the incarnation of the Lord!
These wizards' so-called 'legends,' even if multiplied several times, would still be crushed directly under the might of the Lord!
"Everything stops here!" Joshua's voice became icy.
It seemed that without mobilizing some divine power, it was impossible to deal with these wizards in a short time!
"This place is the realm of the gods, and all evil will dissipate!" Joshua prayed loudly.
Anthony and the others were serious; they knew the immense power of the divine realm, something they couldn't confront.
However, to everyone's surprise, as Joshua's voice rang out, there was no sign of any divine vision.
Even the wizards present were puzzled, speculating whether the opponent was deliberately intimidating them.
Joshua's face turned extremely ugly. Under the severe backlash of divine magic, he spat out a mouthful of blood. What shocked him even more was that the divine power within him was being drained...
The great Lord had actually interrupted the supply of his energy, causing the premature collapse of the divine realm before it even formed.
"Chain Lightning!" Although Anthony didn't know why the opponent suddenly stopped the attack, he didn't let go of this opportunity. Blue-purple lightning instantly struck Joshua down.
Arad and the others watched in amazement as the Chief Judge of the Holy See, who had been invincible just moments ago, was hit by a second-tier spell. They wore inexplicable expressions, even suspecting if this was some kind of illusory divine art trying to make them drop their guard.
While everyone was perplexed, a tremendous and trembling energy fluctuation came from afar. Anthony abruptly turned his head, and then he saw it—the night sky was now adorned with a rising sun!
CH428
The horrifying nuclear explosion continued for over an hour before gradually subsiding. The entire ten-kilometer diameter area turned into a scorched earth, with the soil melting at high temperatures, gradually cooling, and solidifying into glass-like substances. The dust cloud in the sky lingered for a long time.
With the river water as a barrier, Lynn, along with the councillors, emerged from the rolling river after surviving the nuclear blast.
"It's truly terrifying power!" Harof exclaimed.
They drifted along the direction of the river for seven or eight kilometers, right on the outer edge of the nuclear blast area. Everything in their sight was obliterated, leaving only burning flames, resembling a scene from the apocalypse.
Although Lynn had demonstrated the power of nuclear explosions in their previous encounter, that explosion occurred deep underground, limiting its impact. This time was different—it was detonated on the surface!
A hollowed-out mine couldn't effectively withstand the shockwave of a nuclear blast.
Aurora, in the best condition, immediately expanded her domain, using magic to construct a circular barrier on the outskirts, tightly composed of lead elements, blocking the radiation.
Despite their formidable strength and the ability to create magical barriers for self-preservation, staying in the radiation zone for an extended period would undoubtedly result in severe, incurable injuries.
"What happened to your eyes, Victor?" Aurora turned to Victor, who had kept his eyes closed, frowning as she inquired.
"I had told you not to look at this explosion, Councillor Victor," Lynn sighed helplessly. He could see that Victor's eye injuries were caused by the intense light of the nuclear blast.
The light produced by a nuclear explosion was incredibly intense, accompanied by various high-energy rays, making it extremely dangerous.
Victor smiled bitterly. Lynn's previous warnings were too exaggerated, arousing his curiosity about the nature of this power. Even though they were legendary wizards, they couldn't directly face this power. So, he sneakily took a glance, and in that instant, his eyes were blinded! Fortunately, it wasn't an incurable injury, and with his sensing abilities, lack of vision wouldn't affect his actions. He just needed some time to recover.
"She's probably dead by now, right?" Harof looked into the center of the nuclear blast, where there used to be a mine, now vanished, leaving a massive crater.
"Hopefully! If we can't handle the situation even with this, then we might as well offer our necks for execution!" Lynn said with a grave expression.
The strength of this Saintess far exceeded their expectations. Three legendary councillors, combined with Lynn's use of the magic network, could only flee in defeat.
If Lynn hadn't prepared a contingency plan, they might be the ones lying dead now!
Lynn felt somewhat anxious. After taking protective measures, he flew back to the center of the nuclear blast with Harof and others to confirm that the enemy was thoroughly annihilated. There was no need for a follow-up attack.
Although the battle here had concluded, Lynn was concerned about the sudden disappearance of the Chief Inquisitor/Judge of the Holy Church. The opponent probably saw through their plans to secretly attack the City of Fire Oil and went back to reinforce!
Anthony and the others might find it challenging to deal with such an opponent.
Considering this, despite their injuries, the group rushed back at the fastest speed.
Outside the ten-kilometer nuclear destruction zone, the soldiers of the Empire Army who lagged behind and did not enter the blast range managed to preserve their lives, but their situation was equally miserable.
Some soldiers were burned by flames, others blinded by the light, and lying on the ground in painful moans. Some soldiers went insane, kneeling and praying, begging for divine salvation.
Aurora sighed and decided to end the lives of those soldiers to spare them from agony. In such circumstances, the chances of survival were slim.
More distant soldiers discarded their armor and weapons, fleeing in madness.
Harof extended his hand, wanting to eliminate these Imperial guards here, eradicating every bit of remaining life force. Still, Lynn stopped him.
"Let them go. We can't kill every fleeing person!" Lynn said.
"Moreover, these people have completely lost their morale. All they feel is panic. Let them return to the Empire; it might create even greater chaos," Lynn explained.
The result of the last battle in the capital was blocked by the Holy See, so the entire Empire remained calm, with most civilians unaware that the kingdom had fallen.
However, it would be impossible to conceal it this time. With such significant casualties and so many witnesses returning to the Holy City, the news would undoubtedly spread throughout the Empire.
In the Holy Bible, the Lord is great and invincible, and the messengers following the will of God will surely achieve victory!
The reality was that the expeditionary force had suffered consecutive defeats here, with even the Holy Maiden falling into their hands. Once this news spread, it would undoubtedly strike a severe blow to the divine authority system.
Lynn was more curious about how the Holy See would handle these soldiers spreading panic!
Flying from the center of the nuclear blast to the City of Fire Oil took about twenty minutes. When they saw everything was safe, everyone's tense expressions relaxed.
The wizards stationed in the City of Fire Oil also breathed a sigh of relief.
At the moment of Lynn and the others' return, they understood that the outcome had been decided!
Anthony brought Lynn and the three councilors to the Duke's mansion that had been cleaned up, and he asked, "It looks like things went relatively smoothly on your end?"
At least Lynn, the Star of Magic, and the councillors were intact, unlike their side, which lost two archmages.
"Not exactly smooth!" Lynn shook his head and then explained the course of events.
When they heard that the Church's Saintess was the incarnation of the Aila, the wizards present broke into a cold sweat.
Although they scoffed at the title of "god" and even referred to Aila as a pseudo-god, the opponent's power was undeniable!
Even legendary councillors working together found it challenging to contend with her!
"We are still alive now, partly due to luck and partly thanks to Master Lynn's new magic!" Harof sighed as he spoke.
"New magic? Is it the sun that appeared in the sky just now?" Arad asked curiously.
They all saw the sudden bright light in the sky, accompanied by the rising mushroom cloud. Due to the distance, the transmitted light had been weakened to a level that wouldn't blind people. It was about as bright as the sun at noon, dazzling and piercing.
Accompanying the intense light was the violent shock on the ground, making some people suspect that Master Lynn had pulled the sun from the sky!
CH429
The rumors of a falling star were dismissed by wizards with astronomical knowledge as pure nonsense!
According to the calculations of the divination school, the mass of the sun is hundreds of thousands of times that of the planet beneath our feet. Who could possibly move such a colossal entity?
"Yes, that's the new magic I've researched. I call it the Great Nuclear Blast!" Lynn nodded, feeling no need to hide it any longer.
"As for the Holy Maiden of the Holy See, she has already perished under Master Lynn's new magic. There should be nothing left of her but ashes now!" Aurora added.
Although there were earlier speculations, the wizards present still found it somewhat unbelievable after receiving confirmation.
In their eyes, this Great Nuclear Blast transcended the realm of magic and could only be described as a natural disaster!
It's worth noting that Lynn, who cast this magic, had only recently advanced to the rank of Grand Wizard a few months ago, making him remarkably powerful in the world of magic.
Anthony speculated that Lynn might have regained his former strength, allowing him to unleash this calamitous magic.
Arad and others immediately thought that this new magic was likely related to the previously discovered atomic nucleus theory and new elements.
Lynn didn't delve into the principles of nuclear blast magic, deeming it too dangerous to be disclosed at the moment. Instead, he smoothly shifted the conversation to inquire about progress on the other side.
"Before we captured the City of Fire Oil, everything went exactly as you anticipated. However, afterwards, we encountered Judge Joshua, leading the Divine Punishment Army to reinforce..." Anthony succinctly explained the situation.
Upon hearing that Joshua, under absolute advantage, suddenly lost the ability to resist and was captured by a few Grand Wizards, the councillors exchanged glances, quickly realising the impact brought about by the demise of Saintess Lucia.
This was undeniably good news, proving Harof's speculation was correct, and Aila's incarnation was crucial, influencing even high-ranking members of the Holy See, such as Judge Joshua.
After a moment of contemplation, Aurora suddenly inquired, "Master Arad, tonight, I trouble you to verify whether those captured priests and bishops can still perform divine arts!"
This was undoubtedly the best method to assess the enemy's current state.
*
The restless night quickly passed, but the impact of the nuclear blast magic intensified.
The entire western borderlands of the empire felt a strong shock, and the massive mushroom cloud rising in the night sky could be clearly seen from dozens of kilometers away.
The closest Duke, Popo, immediately dispatched messengers to investigate. However, these scouts returned utterly frightened. After hearing their descriptions, Duke Popo, too, was scared, hastily packing up and fleeing to the Holy City.
With the defeat of the Holy See's punitive force and the news of the death of Saintess Lucia spreading like wildfire among the fleeing imperial soldiers, chaos engulfed the Holy City.
Inside the city, the once eternally blooming flowers, blessed by the power of the gods, began to wither and decay.
The higher-ranked bishops could feel this unrest more acutely.
Soon, tens of thousands of bishops gathered inside the Sky Dome Tower, anxiously awaiting an explanation from His Holiness, the Pope.
And their received command was simple: immediately conduct the selection of a new Holy Maiden and the baptism ceremony!
This order was abrupt because the Holy See had never had a precedent of two Holy Maidens unless the previous one had either ascended to the heavenly realm or met an unfortunate accident.
The baptism ceremony, usually witnessed by tens of thousands of believers, had to proceed quickly now. A new Holy Maiden had to be selected at the fastest possible pace!
Under the operation of the church, a young, beautiful, and talented girl was quickly chosen, entering the Sky Dome Tower/ Tower of Firmament to the admiration of the onlookers.
The fervent prayers soon resounded throughout the tower.
With pure thoughts, aspirations, and devout faith in the Lord, the innocent girl stood in the center of the magical array.
As the divine power poured in, a terrifying pressure surged within the tower.
In an instant, a colossal divine light pierced the sky, enveloping the girl. Her body gradually floated in the air, her gown swaying in the wind, and her eyes, filled with yearning and devotion, began to shine like stars.
"Great, holy, just, and merciful Lord, you are the most radiant star in the heavens, the creator of all things!"
"Praise to our Lord, I implore you to forgive my sins so that I may enter the kingdom of God after death!"
"Please grant me the power to overcome evil..."
Various confessions and prayers continuously echoed in the girl's mind. Her eyes were initially chaotic, but soon these voices became increasingly faint, and the divine light that permeated the heavens and the earth suddenly disappeared.
The suspended body slowly descended from midair!
"Holy Maiden, we bow to you!"
The high-ranking members of the Holy See still present in the Holy City all knelt down, paying their respects.
The girl seemed to have not fully recovered from the previous impact on her consciousness. Her brain was in chaos for about three to five seconds before her eyes gradually cleared. She looked at the people and spoke.
"You did well, Alves. Choosing you as the Pope was indeed the right decision!"
If a few hours later, her consciousness would probably have been corroded by the poison of faith, completely submerged in endless prayers.
The power of belief from tens of millions of people was not easy to endure!
Even with her abilities, she couldn't resist the impact of such a massive consciousness.
"I only followed your will and did what needed to be done," Pope Alves replied respectfully, with no intention of taking credit.
On the side, Randall was puzzled and asked, "Lord, what exactly happened? How did you..."
Initiating the selection of a new Holy Maiden again only had one meaning— the former Holy Maiden had died!
But... how was that possible? Who could kill the Holy Maiden, the incarnation of the Lord?
"Do those wizards really have such powerful abilities?" Randall was horrified.
"No, their power is nothing to be feared," She shook her head. She had clashed with those legendary wizards, and even their peculiar beam magic was not enough to pose a lethal threat to her.
"Only that spell is an exception!" Speaking here, the eyes of the Holy Maiden became sharp and dangerous.
Pope Alves's heart sank, suddenly realising something.
In the evening, Duke Popo, the Earl of the borderlands, arrived at the Holy City after a day and night of rushing and brought a laughable piece of news— those wizards pulled the sun from the sky!
CH430
Within the sacred city, Duke Popo, who spoke nonsense and tried to shake people's hearts, was directly seized by them. The description of the events could only be described as horrifying.
Dazzling light illuminated the entire night sky, turning a territory of tens of kilometers into scorched earth, forming a deadly area. Anyone daring to enter would inexplicably have their bodies decay and die.
Previously, Randall was determined not to believe it. How could a group of wizards hiding overseas for centuries have such great power?
However, at this moment, he had no choice but to believe—they had actually killed the embodiment of the lord!
"My Lord, should we recall the expeditionary force and gather all our strength to eradicate these blasphemers?" Randall suggested.
Even when the kingdom fell before, Randall didn't consider these wizards a threat. But now, it seemed they had enough power to shake the rule of the Holy See and the Empire!
It must be crushed as soon as possible!
"No, a large-scale war is likely to be ineffective!" The Saintess shook her head, vetoing Randall's proposal.
The range of that spell was unimaginable, and its power could only be described as terrifying. Even the mere aftermath was something an ordinary bishop couldn't resist.
Under such power, numbers were meaningless; it would only lead to the sacrifice of all the elite forces of the Holy See!
Randall quickly realised this and his expression became extremely unpleasant.
"My Lord, do you have a way to resist that magic?" Pope Alves suddenly appeared and inquired.
The high-ranking members of the Holy See present all looked at the Saintess beneath their gaze.
The Saintess remained silent for a moment before speaking. "If I personally intervene, naturally, I can."
Randall and others naturally understood that the "I" referred to the true Moon Goddess, Aila, not the current incarnation. With the affirmative answer, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Their greatest fear was that those wizards would come to the holy city and unleash that terrifying magic while they were defenseless.
Pope Alves was even plunged into deep regret; he had actually wavered in the face of the deity's power just now!
"Such powerful magic cannot be easily cast by those wizards who have not set foot in the legendary realm!" Aila asserted decisively.
There must be some kind of restriction!
"Could it be that they found some special treasures in the wizard's domain?" Randall speculated with a wide-open mind.
It was very likely that this power made those wizards go mad, daring to leave that small island and challenge the dignity of the gods!
The Saintess nodded; indeed, that was a possibility.
Due to the extremely critical situation on the battlefield earlier, she had lost some memories in the process of transferring her consciousness back to her true self. So, she only had a vague impression of the battle.
For example, she was finally knocked away by the new-style flying machines of the wizards, and the person casting the spell was a wizard named Lynn, who seemed young.
"Send out all the dark guards to investigate one person's information. I want to know everything about him!" The Saintess coldly ordered.
"Who?" Pope Alves asked solemnly. He understood that this must be the person who cast the powerful spell and killed the incarnation of the deity.
"The Star of Magic mentioned by those wizards—Lynn!"
The Saintess's voice echoed again within the Tower of Firmament. An ancient holy book floated from Randall's waist, automatically flipping to page seventy-three of the Sinners' Chapter. Lynn's name and information quickly appeared before them.
"Within ten days, I want to see results! Also, send someone to search for Judge Joshua’s whereabouts. I believe Joshua should still be alive; he may have been captured by those wizards!"
"Yes, Lord, I will immediately give the orders!" Alves respectfully saluted, quickly extracting important information from it with a sweep of his gaze.
The appearance of the other party was about twenty years old, brown hair. Two and a half years ago, he had appeared in the port town, suspected of secretly plotting to overthrow the Holy See. After being discovered by the local bishop, he directly used magic to destroy half the city, causing thousands of deaths and injuries. Then, he was expelled from Edweil upon arrival!
"My Lord, should we accelerate the collection of faith?" Randall worriedly reminded. "Forgive my offense, but now you need to ascend to the divine throne as soon as possible!"
No one knew exactly how many wizards mastered this magic or if they could use it frequently.
Once they chose to cause large-scale destruction to the entire empire, they would probably be hard-pressed to defend against it!
The deaths of a large number of believers would make their efforts of hundreds of years go in vain...
So, in Randall's view, even if they had to use some unsavoury means to catalyze faith, it was worth it!
As long as they could eliminate the poison of faith and let the deity ascend to the divine throne, those wizards could be easily wiped out with a snap of the fingers!
The Saintess contemplated for a while, considering the pros and cons of catalysing faith. This was undoubtedly a desperate move, but now they couldn't care much. The fall of the kingdom and the consecutive defeats of the Holy See's punitive forces had greatly reduced the number of devout believers...
If they continued like this, the goal of one million devout believers would only get farther and farther away.
"Then, let it be arranged by you, Randall!" The Saintess quickly made a decision.
"I obey your will!" Randall lightly tapped his chest with his right hand and responded solemnly.
"My Lord, what about the news of the fall of the kingdom and the defeat of the punitive forces? Should it continue to be blocked?" Pope Alves asked.
Both of these pieces of news were undoubtedly shocking. Once exposed, they would inevitably cause a stir within the empire, severely damaging the reputation of the church, and even making believers doubt their faith in the deity.
However, the impact of this war was too significant; the death zone spreading ten kilometers could not be concealed.
"No, there is no need to continue the blockade!" The Saintess indifferently said. "Go and tell them that the apocalypse is imminent, and those wizards are the culprits causing the catastrophe!"
Apocalypse?!
The high-ranking members of the Holy See present were all shaken, but soon they realized that this was indeed a 'soothing' method.
The Saintess then looked at the opened holy book and gently passed her fingers over the pages.
The information recorded about Lynn was written months ago by Edweil and was already outdated!
Under the radiance of divine light, new information quickly appeared on the paper!
Name: Lynn
Extremely Dangerous (Messenger of the Apocalypse)
Crimes: Causing the disaster of the apocalypse, annihilating the Holy See's punitive forces, leading to the fall of the kingdom!
Bounty: Seltoden Coins... One billion!
