Under Xueji’s dazzling, relentless barrage, Cain’s rage had reached its boiling point.
The pale pupils vanished, leaving only boundless darkness in Cain’s eyes.
“I’ll chop off your hands and feet, and keep you as my blood cattle!”
Only madness remained on Cain’s twisted face. Around him, within the bloody mist, agonized human faces continually surfaced.
This pervasive bloody mist was the result of Cain sacrificing his deceived human followers.
“Why didn’t you save me!”
“I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die!”
“Come join us.”
“Lord Cain, why…?”
For a moment, countless agonized groans and pleas overwhelmed everything. Blood-red hands sprouted endlessly from the ground, grasping at the living as if begging for help.
Over a dozen coalition soldiers were accidentally grabbed. They hurriedly attacked with their abilities, but the vengeful spirits emerging from the crimson earth beneath them were endless. Some of those caught had already been dragged down.
Once a person was pulled down by a crimson wraith, it would immediately bite into them. With each piece of flesh devoured, the wraith grew more and more to resemble the unfortunate soul it was consuming.
A look of grave concern settled on Aria’s face as she forcefully suppressed the fear in her heart. The twisted scene was nauseating, yet she had to remain composed. Anyone else here could panic, but she could not.
Having expended twenty years of life force earlier to unleash the Judgement Greatsword, she now had little strength left to fight. To stay alert, she bit her lip until it bled, her once pristine golden hair now disheveled.
“All members of the Sacred Tribunal, do not panic! Use the sacred artifacts to disperse these wraiths!”
“Yes!” The nuns scattered throughout the ranks steeled themselves, raising their mithril-forged weapons and holding the front line.
As the Pope, Aria absolutely would not allow Cain to continue enslaving the souls of these lost people.
“Everyone, help out!” Recovering from the initial chaos, the Awakened and the nuns fought together, carving out a patch of safe ground amidst the sea of wraiths, protecting Ling Xiaoxiao as she regulated her breathing and gathered energy.
But in the sparse spiritual energy, they were at the end of their rope.
Seeing the situation below, Xueji divided her focus. While continuing to bombard Cain with magic, she also summoned the Black Bone Knight Order.
Black magic circles surrounded the group. Knights clad in heavy armor emerged one after another, charging towards the crimson wraiths. Their massive, jet-black greatswords swept through the wraiths like scythes through grass, forcefully pushing the tide of crimson souls back fifty meters.
“Summoning magic? And black magic at that?” Aria watched Xueji’s agile, darting figure with disbelief. There wasn’t a trace of evil aura about her, so how could she use black magic?
A shadow fell over the group. Aria and the others looked up.
A massive black dragon, unnoticed until now, hovered above them. Dragonfire boiled in its maw as it roared, bathing the earth in flames.
The dragon’s breath ignited the Black Bone Knights, and their aura surged once more.
A squadron of knights riding skeletal warhorses emerged from the summoning circles. Brandishing their lances, they charged towards the tide-like mass of crimson wraiths. Passing through the lingering dragon’s breath, both the skeletal steeds and the knights were enchanted by the flames. The burning skeletal horses looked utterly savage.
This sight stunned everyone. Even Aria forgot about the black magic, her heart stirred, feeling an inexplicable surge of excitement.
“What an incredibly cool spell!” Some in the crowd gaped, utterly dumbfounded.
The battle line advanced another fifty meters. At this distance, the knights and wraiths were locked in a fierce stalemate.
High in the sky, Cain opened his mouth. The bloody mist surged towards it, forming a vortex.
Before he could take more than a few gulps, Xueji launched another Holy Flame Judgement. A cross-shaped spear composed of holy flame plunged directly into Cain’s mouth.
BOOM! The explosion left his face blackened, his once-long hair now a frizzy mess. All traces of his former elegance were gone.
“You… you… DIE!”
Cain couldn’t even form complete sentences; rage had completely overtaken his mind.
Seeing Xueji’s gaze fixed on him, he pulled out his trump card: a twisted inverted cross.
The moment she saw it, Xueji was reminded of the sensation she felt when facing the Abyss before.
Dizziness and nausea assaulted her. Xueji quickly averted her eyes and put distance between them.
‘Cain made a deal with those things.’ Xueji clutched her head. The intense, continuous spellcasting made it difficult for her to withstand these distorted sensations now.
Finally seizing an opportunity, Cain soared higher. The bloody mist converged into a river, flowing backwards against the sky towards him—a horrifying sight.
With a flash of magical light, Xueji returned to Ling Xiaoxiao’s side. The group felt both curiosity and fear towards this white-haired girl who had turned the tide. Under such mixed feelings, they unanimously fell silent.
“How is she doing?” Xueji let out a long breath; the recent battle had taken its toll on her.
Just as Aria was about to speak, Ling Xiaoxiao spoke first.
“I’m fine, Xiaoji.” She opened her eyes. The usual aloofness was gone, replaced only by a gentle, shimmering tenderness.
Seeing her like this, Aria closed her half-open mouth completely.
“It’s a pity. I couldn’t stop him.” Xueji looked up at the churning bloody mist in the sky ahead, feeling regretful. If only she had been a bit more careful.
“Nonsense. You can’t be expected to do everything, right?” Ling Xiaoxiao stood up. “I’m really glad you came for me. Truly, very glad.”
Disregarding the onlookers, Ling Xiaoxiao pulled Xueji into an embrace, quietly inhaling the faint, unique scent that belonged to Xueji alone.
“Hey, we’re in the middle of a battle. Pay some attention, will you?” Feeling the surrounding gazes, a blush spread across Xueji’s cheeks.
“Don’t rush. Just a moment more.” Ling Xiaoxiao leaned in to whisper.
This time, Ling Xiaoxiao didn’t linger or act coy. She let go of Xueji without a trace of reluctance.
The反常的 unusual behavior felt strange to Xueji, who immediately pressed her. “What are you planning to do?” She sensed a vast, oppressive force subtly gathering in the sky.
“Just reclaiming something I lost, that’s all.” Ling Xiaoxiao spoke lightly, as if it were a simple matter.
To the others, Ling Xiaoxiao explained she was invoking a heavenly tribulation to recover the cultivation realm she had sealed away after severing a part of herself years ago.
But only she knew the truth. As the lightning tribulation gathered, she had intentionally gathered everyone around her precisely to use its power to drag Cain down with her in mutual destruction. Given the sparse spiritual energy, recovering her former realm was already a pipe dream.
‘It’s just as well. I’m tired anyway.’
The phantom of the Chongming Divine Bird manifested around Ling Xiaoxiao. Her entire form transformed into a fiery bird, soaring towards the high sky where the bloody mist converged.
Above, a colossal lightning tribulation had been coiling for some time, intertwining across the firmament like the gnarled roots of an ancient tree.
To destroy an abomination on the verge of apotheosis, there was no better tool than heavenly tribulation lightning.
The moment the aura of the tribulation appeared, Xueji and Aria both looked back. They understood Ling Xiaoxiao’s intention.
“Sister Ling…”
“That fool!” Xueji transformed into a blue meteor, shooting towards Ling Xiaoxiao.
Under Xueji’s dazzling, relentless barrage, Cain’s rage had reached its boiling point.
The pale pupils vanished, leaving only boundless darkness in Cain’s eyes.
“I’ll chop off your hands and feet, and keep you as my blood cattle!”
Only madness remained on Cain’s twisted face. Around him, within the bloody mist, agonized human faces continually surfaced.
This pervasive bloody mist was the result of Cain sacrificing his deceived human followers.
“Why didn’t you save me!”
“I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die!”
“Come join us.”
“Lord Cain, why…?”
For a moment, countless agonized groans and pleas overwhelmed everything. Blood-red hands sprouted endlessly from the ground, grasping at the living as if begging for help.
Over a dozen coalition soldiers were accidentally grabbed. They hurriedly attacked with their abilities, but the vengeful spirits emerging from the crimson earth beneath them were endless. Some of those caught had already been dragged down.
Once a person was pulled down by a crimson wraith, it would immediately bite into them. With each piece of flesh devoured, the wraith grew more and more to resemble the unfortunate soul it was consuming.
A look of grave concern settled on Aria’s face as she forcefully suppressed the fear in her heart. The twisted scene was nauseating, yet she had to remain composed. Anyone else here could panic, but she could not.
Having expended twenty years of life force earlier to unleash the Judgement Greatsword, she now had little strength left to fight. To stay alert, she bit her lip until it bled, her once pristine golden hair now disheveled.
“All members of the Sacred Tribunal, do not panic! Use the sacred artifacts to disperse these wraiths!”
“Yes!” The nuns scattered throughout the ranks steeled themselves, raising their mithril-forged weapons and holding the front line.
As the Pope, Aria absolutely would not allow Cain to continue enslaving the souls of these lost people.
“Everyone, help out!” Recovering from the initial chaos, the Awakened and the nuns fought together, carving out a patch of safe ground amidst the sea of wraiths, protecting Ling Xiaoxiao as she regulated her breathing and gathered energy.
But in the sparse spiritual energy, they were at the end of their rope.
Seeing the situation below, Xueji divided her focus. While continuing to bombard Cain with magic, she also summoned the Black Bone Knight Order.
Black magic circles surrounded the group. Knights clad in heavy armor emerged one after another, charging towards the crimson wraiths. Their massive, jet-black greatswords swept through the wraiths like scythes through grass, forcefully pushing the tide of crimson souls back fifty meters.
“Summoning magic? And black magic at that?” Aria watched Xueji’s agile, darting figure with disbelief. There wasn’t a trace of evil aura about her, so how could she use black magic?
A shadow fell over the group. Aria and the others looked up.
A massive black dragon, unnoticed until now, hovered above them. Dragonfire boiled in its maw as it roared, bathing the earth in flames.
The dragon’s breath ignited the Black Bone Knights, and their aura surged once more.
A squadron of knights riding skeletal warhorses emerged from the summoning circles. Brandishing their lances, they charged towards the tide-like mass of crimson wraiths. Passing through the lingering dragon’s breath, both the skeletal steeds and the knights were enchanted by the flames. The burning skeletal horses looked utterly savage.
This sight stunned everyone. Even Aria forgot about the black magic, her heart stirred, feeling an inexplicable surge of excitement.
“What an incredibly cool spell!” Some in the crowd gaped, utterly dumbfounded.
The battle line advanced another fifty meters. At this distance, the knights and wraiths were locked in a fierce stalemate.
High in the sky, Cain opened his mouth. The bloody mist surged towards it, forming a vortex.
Before he could take more than a few gulps, Xueji launched another Holy Flame Judgement. A cross-shaped spear composed of holy flame plunged directly into Cain’s mouth.
BOOM! The explosion left his face blackened, his once-long hair now a frizzy mess. All traces of his former elegance were gone.
“You… you… DIE!”
Cain couldn’t even form complete sentences; rage had completely overtaken his mind.
Seeing Xueji’s gaze fixed on him, he pulled out his trump card: a twisted inverted cross.
The moment she saw it, Xueji was reminded of the sensation she felt when facing the Abyss before.
Dizziness and nausea assaulted her. Xueji quickly averted her eyes and put distance between them.
‘Cain made a deal with those things.’ Xueji clutched her head. The intense, continuous spellcasting made it difficult for her to withstand these distorted sensations now.
Finally seizing an opportunity, Cain soared higher. The bloody mist converged into a river, flowing backwards against the sky towards him—a horrifying sight.
With a flash of magical light, Xueji returned to Ling Xiaoxiao’s side. The group felt both curiosity and fear towards this white-haired girl who had turned the tide. Under such mixed feelings, they unanimously fell silent.
“How is she doing?” Xueji let out a long breath; the recent battle had taken its toll on her.
Just as Aria was about to speak, Ling Xiaoxiao spoke first.
“I’m fine, Xiaoji.” She opened her eyes. The usual aloofness was gone, replaced only by a gentle, shimmering tenderness.
Seeing her like this, Aria closed her half-open mouth completely.
“It’s a pity. I couldn’t stop him.” Xueji looked up at the churning bloody mist in the sky ahead, feeling regretful. If only she had been a bit more careful.
“Nonsense. You can’t be expected to do everything, right?” Ling Xiaoxiao stood up. “I’m really glad you came for me. Truly, very glad.”
Disregarding the onlookers, Ling Xiaoxiao pulled Xueji into an embrace, quietly inhaling the faint, unique scent that belonged to Xueji alone.
“Hey, we’re in the middle of a battle. Pay some attention, will you?” Feeling the surrounding gazes, a blush spread across Xueji’s cheeks.
“Don’t rush. Just a moment more.” Ling Xiaoxiao leaned in to whisper.
This time, Ling Xiaoxiao didn’t linger or act coy. She let go of Xueji without a trace of reluctance.
The abnormal unusual behavior felt strange to Xueji, who immediately pressed her. “What are you planning to do?” She sensed a vast, oppressive force subtly gathering in the sky.
“Just reclaiming something I lost, that’s all.” Ling Xiaoxiao spoke lightly, as if it were a simple matter.
To the others, Ling Xiaoxiao explained she was invoking a heavenly tribulation to recover the cultivation realm she had sealed away after severing a part of herself years ago.
But only she knew the truth. As the lightning tribulation gathered, she had intentionally gathered everyone around her precisely to use its power to drag Cain down with her in mutual destruction. Given the sparse spiritual energy, recovering her former realm was already a pipe dream.
‘It’s just as well. I’m tired anyway.’
The phantom of the Chongming Divine Bird manifested around Ling Xiaoxiao. Her entire form transformed into a fiery bird, soaring towards the high sky where the bloody mist converged.
Above, a colossal lightning tribulation had been coiling for some time, intertwining across the firmament like the gnarled roots of an ancient tree.
To destroy an abomination on the verge of apotheosis, there was no better tool than heavenly tribulation lightning.
The moment the aura of the tribulation appeared, Xueji and Aria both looked back. They understood Ling Xiaoxiao’s intention.
“Sister Ling…”
“That fool!” Xueji transformed into a blue meteor, shooting towards Ling Xiaoxiao.