Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 607 The Dark-Haired Grand Duke (5k3)

[Defeat "Lord of Destruction" Baltat (lv.78) to gain 102428 base experience points]

【…】

Watching Daveld and his priests launch their second offensive against the surging black army, Luo Xiu did not immediately join in. Instead, he remained in place, observing until he entered a state of "disengagement."

The moment he was out of the battle, he opened his mailbox and claimed the kill reward from Baltat.

[“Burning Soul” activated...]

[“Corrupted Soul” activated…]

[“Extreme Evil Soul” activated…]

[“Soul of Destruction” activated, granting 100% bonus experience]

[“Divine Punishment” activated, granting 64 free attribute points]

[Rewards settled: 307284 experience points received!]

【…】

"Lord of Destruction" Baltat is a Cataclysmic-level boss.

[Rewards for defeating the Cataclysmic level boss are being generated...]

【…】

[Kill reward generated]

[Gain the feat "Forge Apostle (Epic)" and 20 free attribute points!]
[The Apostle of the Forge (Epic): Cast my soul into the forge. The Lord forged me, the Lord gave me new life!]

Your "Strength" attribute has increased by 32 points, and your "Resistance" attribute has increased by 32 points.

[Your damage taken is reduced by 10%, and your "Fire" damage resistance is increased by 30%. When you are continuously attacked with "Fire" attribute damage, the damage you deal will gradually increase, up to a maximum of an additional 50%.]

【…】

"……good."

Looking at the kill rewards displayed on the panel, Luo Xiu confirmed the results of this settlement.

The fact that the reward for a kill like "Lord of Destruction" Baltat, which is at the pinnacle of the "Sixfold Fate" level, is an "Epic" quality feat indicates that one has indeed approached the limit at the Sixfold Fate level.

Realizing this, Luo Xiu also prepared to immediately calculate the reward every time he killed an enemy of "Sixfold Fate" or higher. This would allow him to improve his strength in real time and get closer to accumulating enough experience points to level up to lv.80.

He opened the [Spiritual Fountain] panel again to collect some experience, then closed all the panels before looking in the direction of Daveld.

at this time.

"Sky Ring Paladin" Daveld led his "Sky Ring" Templar Order, moving through the dark army formation as if it were empty.

A series of dazzling sword lights appeared, and the army led by "Lord of Destruction" Baltat suffered countless casualties in an instant.

Many of the Dark Legion members had completely lost their will to fight. The Dark Legion, which had come into contact with the Templar Knights and clergy, was on the verge of total collapse.

The first round of matches went quite smoothly.

Luo Xiu thought to himself as he gazed at Daveld.

He then proceeded to offer several holy prayers, as well as three rounds of "summoning" prayers—

"Roar!!!!!"

First came Fenrir, the "Scorpius" – its enormous form descended upon the battlefield, its gaping maw opening to unleash a deafening roar.

The scorching holy flames surrounding it instantly raised the temperature in the surrounding area by hundreds of degrees. The few Black Army soldiers closest to it were even instantly dried out, while Fenrir charged towards the surrounding Black Fangs and Fangs with "Triple Fate" and "Quadriple Fate".

In a direction opposite to Fenrir, a raging fire appeared in the sky, from which a hoarse sound erupted—it was the "Wings of Scorching World," Mist Night.

Both abyssal beasts were already at the "Cataclysmic Annihilation" level—sacred beasts empowered by Luo Xiu's [Radiance], possessing combat strength comparable to those at the "Fivefold Fate Path." Their arrival was catastrophic for the surrounding Black Army, and the balance of power in this localized battlefield was increasingly tilting in Luo Xiu's favor.

After that.

Behind Luo Xiu, a shimmering light appeared in mid-air—the "Holy Gate of Audience" had emerged from it, and the figure of the "Four-Winged Angel" Tatia slowly descended from it.

Her long skirt shimmered with dazzling starlight, and pure white wings gently enveloped her perfect body. She opened her arms and embraced Luo Xiu's neck from behind—

"Did you have fun, Luo Xiu?"

Tatia breathed softly into Luo Xiu's ear.

Luo Xiu smiled, turned his head slightly, and said to Tatia:

"Go."

"This is a rare and magnificent sight. I know you'll like it, so go do what you love."

He knew that such a chaotic scene was a paradise where "fallen angels" could vent their frustrations and enjoy pleasure.

By summoning Tadia ahead of time, and ensuring her instantaneous teleportation using the "Guardian Seal" when needed, we can allow Tadia to "play" for a while and satisfy her desires.

"Good~"

Tatia smiled gently and released her arms from Luo Xiu's neck.

His wings gradually unfolded completely, and he flew towards the dark army not far away.

Luo Xiu also picked up his scepter and set off, joining the ranks of those who were to deliver their judgment on the retreating Black Army.

……

the other side.

Half an hour later, a loud "BOOM!" erupted from above a battle formation.

A crimson beam of light pierced through a slender figure; "Sky Knight" Stuart, riding a dragon-falcon, held a giant lance pointed at the figure—

Atlon, the "Slayer," one of the "Chief Executioners" of the Six Fates of [Bitter Tea], was pierced by the red light of Stuart's lance just before he was hidden in the air, aiming at Stuart's head, throat, and heart, about to launch a fatal attack!

At this moment, Atlon's face showed an expression of disbelief.

He didn't know how Stuart had discovered him. As a "Slayer" who had risen through the ranks of assassins within the [Bitter Tea], Atlon had extraordinary confidence in his ability to conceal his presence.

But he was still exposed—and was pinned to the air by Stuart's giant lance!

"Uh... Pfft!"

"The Slayer" Atlon roared in agony, his face suddenly turning pale as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

He thought he would fall, and even though he was seriously injured by Stuart's attack, he could completely disappear once he fell back to the ground and hid among the crowd, seeking an opportunity to launch another sneak attack on Stuart.

But he did not achieve the result he desired.

The red light that pierced him seemed to solidify, and under Atlon's increasingly panicked gaze, he saw "The Knight of Heaven" Stuart's giant lance pointed directly at him, issuing a "decree"—

"—[Prevent it from falling]."

"—[Suppress its spirituality]"

"—[causing his blood to gush out]."

"..."

—Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

As if the sound of flowing water emerged, a deep red halo gradually contracted inward above Atlon's head, feet, and torso.

The power of the "edict" was imbued upon it. Atlon was unable to move, and could only watch as the crimson ring of the edict shrank into his body—

puff!puff!puff!
Clumps of blood gushed out, turning Atlon into a blood-soaked figure. His overflowing spirituality deflated rapidly, leaving his body appearing increasingly withered and frail. Meanwhile, "Knight of the Heavens," Stuart, had already assumed a new throwing stance.

The tip of the giant lance in his hand once again burst forth with a spiraling crimson light. The terrifying spiritual energy had quickly accumulated and, in the next moment, with Stuart's immense strength, it pierced through the sky!

"In the name of the highest heaven, through the penetrating power of divine pronouncements—"

--boom!!!!!!!

A tremendous annihilation explosion erupted at the point where the giant lance landed, creating a deafening roar that shook the heavens!
"The Slayer" Atlon, his body was completely enveloped in surging crimson. His already riddled body instantly turned into black ash that accompanied the churning flames.

Until Stuart could no longer sense any remaining spirituality from Atlon the Destroyer.

His right hand was outstretched, and the massive lance, flowing with a deep red light, once again materialized in his palm. The dragon-eagle beneath him roared excitedly, as if celebrating its master's victory once more.

But Stuart didn't feel any particular joy. Only after confirming that he had killed "The Slayer" Atlon did his gaze unconsciously turn towards the direction where the dazzling golden light surged.

That was the front line of the "Church" clergy and Templar Knights. Half an hour earlier, Stuart had received news that "Lord of Destruction" Baltat had been eliminated.

He knew that "The Slayer" Atlon was weaker than "Lord of Destruction" Baltat. Atlon was only a Saint of the "Sixth Path" with average strength. But the time it took him to eliminate him... was half an hour longer than that of "Archbishop" Roxiu!

Even knowing that it might be because of the fierce battle between "Lord of Destruction" Baltat and "Celestial Knight" Daveld, Stuart just couldn't get excited. His gaze immediately turned to the surging black tide in the distance, and he said nothing.

"—'The Slayer' Atlon, the obstacle from him has been removed!"

Beside Stuart—Lord Gawain, one hand on the reins of his warhorse, the other raising his longsword high, shouted loudly to the expeditionary force behind him:

"Forward—charge with me!"

"wipe them out!"

"--rush ahead!!!"

He shouted, loosened the reins of his warhorse, and with a powerful spur of his legs, his armored steed galloped off towards the dark, surging tide in the distance.

"Charge! Charge! Charge!"

Lord Gawain's exhilarating shout was like a stone thrown into a still pond, creating a huge wave. The knights behind him also raised their weapons, and their battle cries surged like waves.

All the conquering knights, royal guard knights, and even the throne knights began to charge towards the Black Army.

Where the iron hooves trampled, dense pits were quickly left behind; the blades shattered armor and severed heads time and time again, and the mangled corpses were soaked in flowing blood, emitting an increasingly strong bloody smell.

The "Songyuan Expeditionary Force," one of the thirteen main expeditionary forces of the Empire with an outstanding record, is gradually approaching their goal of victory.

……

—Boom! Boom!! Boom!!
The floating city of the "Sage's Tower"—the "Sky Tower" personally controlled by Chief Thorin—continues to bombard the dark capital and the surging tide of the dark army below with dense artillery fire.

Patches of azure and crimson bloomed, and with each round of artillery fire, thousands of soldiers in black perished.

But Thorin was not satisfied with this efficiency—because there were too many distractions.

Previously, thousands of black dragons emerged from the high walls of the Dark Capital, launching wave after wave of attacks on the three floating cities. The two "Pillars of Darkness" who controlled them deliberately maintained a certain distance from Chief Thorin, preventing him from effectively counterattacking them.

Although the dense artillery fire from the three floating cities, along with the flying golems densely surrounding them, had already shot down more than two hundred of the constantly harassing black dragons, a considerable number of black dragons were still roaming back and forth in the sky.

During each lull in the cannon fire from the floating city, hundreds of black dragons would soar towards it, their blazing dragonfire lashing out at the sorcerers on the city, killing or injuring dozens of them each time.

The three floating cities are staffed with a total of five thousand alchemists and rune sorcerers. The minimum number of people needed to maintain the basic operation of the floating cities is one thousand. Although it is still relatively far from the point where the floating cities will "crash," several important areas have already ceased operation due to the deaths or serious injuries of the sorcerers.

The floating city of the "Sage's Tower" is well-known throughout the continent of Fanor.

Although it is powerful, resilient, and has absolute control and a sense of oppression on the battlefield, its operating methods and the weaknesses it targets are also quite obvious.

For example, the thousands of "black dragons" released by the Dark Capital—each black dragon possessing at least the strength of "Mad Calamity" and averaging the strength of "Cataclysm"—were black dragons that the Dark Capital had accumulated and captured over several years. They were all thrown into the battlefield of the final battle, and their use to counter the floating city proved effective.

Meanwhile, the two "Pillars of Darkness" who control them—one a dragonborn and the other a beast tamer—are still continuously summoning more and more monsters into the battlefield, interfering with the floating city's and its guarded flying golems' ability to detect enemies.

"..."

Thorin, the "Great Sage Chief," gazed into the distance at the two "black pillars" suspended high in the sky, his brows furrowing slightly.

He truly felt that for intellectual sorcerers like them, the best place was indeed in the tower, not on the battlefield.

The thousands of black dragons that roamed the high heavens, occasionally launching organized air raids, had already killed hundreds of the sorcerers they had carefully trained over the years.

That made Thorin feel like his heart was bleeding.

Although the three floating cities could hold out for a long time, and if this dragged on, they could shoot down all the black dragons and the two "black pillars" of the "Red Lotus" from the sky with losses not exceeding 20%, a 20% loss was still unacceptable to Thorin.

As he thought this, he knew that the advantage in the battle might be fleeting. His hand was already caressing the azure ring on his wrist, from which he took out a brightly colored magic crystal.

With a slight squeeze of his fingers, Thorin crushed it, and from the shattered crystal, a surge of magical power, like a tsunami, erupted—

Buzz!
The core of the floating city "Sky Tower" where he was located—the energy center—began to hum. The energy, which had been nearly half depleted, instantly overflowed, and the overflowing spirituality materialized and surged outward from the floating city, forming a colorful light curtain!

【Rainbow Veil】—A rune-inlaid artifact created by Thorin based on a divine object mastered by the "Sage's Tower." Crushing it can refill the energy of the floating city's core and condense a highly dense shield around it, absorbing all damage while converting some of it into energy to reflect it away!
The first [Rainbow Curtain] quickly formed around the "Sky Tower," and soon, colorful light curtains also formed around the "Starry Sky Tower" and the "Secret Lake Tower."

The moment the Rainbow Veil appeared was the perfect opportunity for almost all the Black Dragons to launch another air raid on the floating city.

The thousands of dragon flames, radiating intense heat, exploded onto the colorful screen—scattered ripples continuously spread across the surface of the light screen, causing its color to gradually change from a vibrant, multicolored hue to a high-energy deep red.

--boom!!!!!

—Boom! Boom!! Boom!!
Just as the black dragons' dragonfire ceased its surge, and thousands of black dragons flapped their massive black wings, turning their heads to pull back and create distance, a blazing, ferocious flame was unleashed from the deep red light screen towards the black dragons!
The cannon fire and light surges, now fully charged and much more powerful, instantly struck the bodies of hundreds of black dragons that were unable to escape in time, piercing deep craters and leaving behind horrifying scorched wounds. Hundreds of black dragons roared in pain and fell from the sky!

The counterattack against these black dragons was quite effective—Chief Thorin watched the scene before him, a slight smile playing on his lips as he took out a second crystal from his bracelet.

With a slight pressure from his fingertips, he embedded himself into the crystal, causing cracks to appear on its surface.

The moment he crushed the crystal, the inscription on the central monument of the floating city flashed with a dazzling blue light once more, and the iridescent light curtain surrounding the entire floating city, which had dimmed in color, shone brightly again—

This time, Chief Thorin plans to overload the Sky Tower with energy and then unleash its power—it's worth it to exchange two Rainbow Crystals for the chance to shoot down all the lurking black dragons.

But as the rainbow curtain flashed with dazzling light, all the black dragons, as if they had received some supreme command in advance, roared and dodged to the left and right.

Thorin was still unaware of what had happened.

And in the next moment.

--boom!!!!!!!

From the direction of the dark capital—directly above a massive obsidian palace in its center—a figure exuding a terrifying aura unleashed a chaotic, dark surge of light towards the "Sky Tower"!

The surge of light exploded onto the iridescent screen, disrupting almost all of its spirituality. The deep black light covered the colorful light, "corroding" the screen piece by piece.

"—!!"

Thorin's pupils contracted slightly.

He had already spotted that figure. Even from a great distance, he could clearly see the burly figure radiating terrifying pressure, meeting the black eyes filled with anger and malice.

Those eyes held no human emotion whatsoever, only indifference to life—to everything.

He stood atop the dark, towering palace, atop a massive tower that resembled a giant sword piercing the roof.

In his right hand he gripped a sword that burst forth with chaos and black light, the source of the previous surge of black light; beneath his left hand he gently stroked a colossal black dragon coiled atop the tower, a dragon far larger than any of the black dragons that roamed the high heavens, which must be their "king".

—"The Dark Duke".

Thorin would never mistake that figure—

The "Black Grand Duke" has appeared!

……

(End of this chapter)