Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 617 The Compassionate Saint
"Skull Incarnation" Batel, holding the crimson sword high, was about to bring it down heavily towards Franya.

He had already seen it; right in front of the Holy Maiden of the "Holy Court" was another archbishop who appeared to be unconscious—Bartel couldn't make out who it was. But he now had only one goal: to eliminate the threat posed by the Holy Maiden who had advanced to the "Seventh Fate Path," and to slay the dragon.

As the second seat of the "Pillars of Darkness," Bartel was tasked with eliminating all unfavorable factors on the battlefield, such as the actions of Frania and the dragon Quesanx, which had seriously affected the original plans of the Pillars of Darkness.

"..."

Batel's gaze was cold and deep, his facial muscles twitched, and a scarlet aura burst forth around him, propelling his sense of power to even greater heights.

"...Die."

He murmured.

Then, Batel poured immense power into the crimson sword he held in both hands and slashed it heavily down in front of him!
--boom!!!!!!!

This time, the crimson slash wave, hundreds of meters long, completely shattered the few remaining barriers—the crimson light surged over Franya, Archangel Azipher, and Luo Xiu, and was about to engulf them.

however.

A brilliant golden light supported the crimson slashing wave from below, the force field shifting as if it were deflecting—

--boom!!!!!!!

Batel's slashing wave was deflected to one side, with most of its energy redirected to the battlefield. Three seconds later, it blasted a terrifying crater into the ground!

The air still held the lingering heat of flames and the crackling sounds of air being rapidly compressed and then violently expanded. But all Bartel saw was that neither the "Saintess" nor the "six-winged angel" she summoned remained unscathed under the crimson blast he unleashed!

"..."

"The incarnation of the skull," Batel, had a fleeting, dark light in his eyes.

Apart from the saintess and the six-winged angel.

He also saw another figure—

It was the figure of the young "archbishop". He awoke, and the instant he awoke, more than a dozen shimmering golden discs rapidly appeared around him, and the air around him instantly became still.

A sacred spell, [Divine Radiance Return], and another "authority" that Batel had never seen before—Batel stared at the awakened archbishop, and after a moment, his pupils contracted slightly and his mouth opened slightly.

He felt an extremely terrifying spiritual pressure—

It didn't come from the unfathomable dragon, but from the "archbishop"—it was a spiritual pressure at the same level as himself, which meant something else that even Batel found unbelievable.

—That "archbishop" also has "seven destinies"!
In addition to the "Saintess" Franya, a second "Sevenfold Fate" Saint appeared, and he also felt an unusually strong sense of pressure from that young Saint who was the Archbishop... who might already be a Cardinal, which made Bartel feel threatened.

Suddenly, he seemed to recognize something—

According to intelligence, there is only one archbishop who controls the dragon.

However, Bartel's attention was previously focused on the enemies of the "Seven Fates," but he overlooked the fact that among the Imperial Expeditionary Force's "Six Fates," there was a person who was rumored to be a "monster" by the Black Army.

—Rossi Carlos, known as the "Ancient Dragon Bishop," looked at the young archbishop holding a scepter that was pointing at him, and the more he looked, the more he felt that the archbishop resembled him.

These thoughts raced through my mind.

But the next moment, Batel stopped thinking about it—because he saw that the disc that appeared around the young archbishop was rapidly turning scarlet.

The air around him had resumed its flow, and the intense surge of spiritual energy had locked onto him in reverse—Bartel frowned, and his right hand suddenly opened, attempting to condense another scarlet sword.

But his movements were noticeably slower—before Batel could complete the condensation of the second crimson sword, more than a dozen deep red light surges blasted out from the disc, centered on Batel and slamming into him!
—Boom! Boom boom boom boom boom boom!!!

The dense crimson light enveloped Batel, severely hindering his movements.

Batel's action of condensing a new crimson sword was interrupted. He felt a searing pain that pierced his very bones—the power that originated from his own body was absorbed by the disc of [Divine Radiance Return] and returned to him. But Batel never imagined that the power of the return from [Divine Radiance Return] would be so immense!
"—Ugh!"

Even someone as powerful as "Skull Incarnation" Batel was injured in this terrifying crimson surge.

Through the surging crimson, he could already see that the dragon, carrying the "Saintess" Franya and the archbishop of the Seven Fates, had flown even further away.

……

The sacred art [Divine Radiance Return], combined with the authority of "Isol - Chains of Time," still has a remarkable effect even after advancing to "Sevenfold Fate."

As Luo Xiu, who had returned from the sea of ​​spirituality, watched the surging crimson gradually recede into the distance, these thoughts crossed his mind.

The moment he returned, he noticed the threat posed by "Skull Incarnation" Batel. He did not immediately open his eyes or stand up, but remained in the same posture he had taken when entering the "Sea of ​​Spirits," leaning against the dragon's spine, and silently performed a holy incantation.

The preparation for the sacred art of 【Divine Radiance Return】 is completed through silent prayer.

Luo Xiu immediately met the crimson slash wave that Bartel was unleashing, activating [Isol - Lock of Time] to completely lock the surrounding space. The outer edge of the lock partially deflected the impact of Bartel's crimson sword, while the golden disc of [Divine Radiance Return] absorbed the remaining impact force.

That was a crucial step in dealing with the "skull incarnation" Batel.

Luo Xiu didn't expect to severely damage the most powerful black pillar with this move, but it did stop Bartel's actions, allowing Quesanx to create more distance between him—the current distance was safe, and Luo Xiu also had the stamina to adapt to his newfound power and fully mobilize his spirituality.

"call--"

He took a long, deep breath and felt an unprecedented sense of well-being—a surge of power filled his entire body, and a spiritual energy, as powerful as an ocean current, coursed through every inch of his flesh and bone, reshaping him into a more perfect and sacred manifestation.

Compared to when he was in the "Sixfold Fate" stage, the change in his own strength is simply incomparable—

The increase in "attribute value" alone is already twice that before the promotion. If quantified as an increase in strength, it is several times greater. If we were to draw a comparison, he should already possess the strength of at least the middle level of the "Seventh Destiny Path".

Luo Xiu was satisfied with this change. He then turned his head and looked at the "Holy Maiden" who had been protecting him.

He saw that Frania had summoned the archangel Azipher, whom she had contracted, and her face, which had just regained some color, had turned pale again. She was holding a scepter in one hand and supporting the archangel Azipher's arm with the other, breathing heavily.

Luo Xiu vaguely sensed that Franya's eyes had become somewhat flickering.

"How are you?" he asked Franya.

"..."

"……good."

Franya responded faintly.

Her gaze passed by Luo Xiu, landing on the blurred figure of the "Skull Incarnation" Batel in the distance. She didn't look at Luo Xiu again, but instead asked him:

"...success?"

"Mm." Luo Xiu nodded.

He gently raised his left hand and turned his palm upward. A brilliant light swirled in his left palm, eventually condensing into a translucent, gold-like ball of spiritual light. He said:

"—I am now the 'Lord of the Wings of Light'."

"The black pillar that attacked us just now, that should be... Bartel, the 'Skull Incarnation' under the command of the Black Grand Duke? He shouldn't be able to catch up with us for the time being, so we can proceed with the next step..."

"..."

He smiled at Franya as he said this.

When Franya heard Luo Xiu's first words, she felt as if she had been struck by lightning—she couldn't hear anything else Luo Xiu said afterward. A strong shock surged up, pulling her out of her complicated emotions and immersing her in utter astonishment.

You said... 'Lord of the Wings'?

That was the first apostle of the pillar god of [Glory], and also the first pope of the "Holy Court," the holy office that "Saint Leron" became in the sevenfold destiny, an office that only existed in legend.

—This is a holy order whose exact path to advancement has yet to be determined by the Holy Court. As a saintess of the Holy Court, Franya certainly knew what Luo Xiu's advancement to "Lord of the Wings of Light" meant!
“...Yes.” Luo Xiu maintained his smile.

Just as he didn't find it particularly strange, but rather quite ordinary, his left palm clenched again, and the surging golden light dissipated and receded. Luo Xiu said:

"Now, we must return to the battlefield we were on before."

“Your Highness Franya, you can now hold nothing back—and I will hold nothing back either. Our goal is to bring down all those dark pillars that Deacon Hardy and his men have trapped. If we have the strength left, we will go and support His Holiness the Pope.”

"..."

“Okay.” Franya nodded.

She didn't ask any further questions about Luo Xiu's advancement to "Lord of the Lightwing." After a moment's thought, she agreed to his plan. She then cast several auxiliary holy spells on herself and Luo Xiu, ensuring both of them were in peak condition. Then, she felt a powerful thrust—

"--roar!!!!!"

The dragon Quesanx let out a roar that shook the heavens. It suddenly spread its wings that blotted out the sky and soared into the heavens. Then it swooped down at extremely high speed toward the earth and toward the battlefield where different colored lights were intertwined in chaos!
……

Hades, the "Red Deacon," along with two Sky Pillar Knights from the "Supreme" faction and a Great Sage from the "Wisdom" faction, held four Black Pillars and the "Lich King" firmly at bay on the battlefield.

The battle on both sides was a fierce struggle—although the Black Pillars and the Lich King had a numerical advantage, they had indeed lost too much strength due to the previous "Saintess" Franya and Luo Xiu.

This kept the battle relatively evenly matched, with Hardy facing a dark pillar surrounded by eerie shadows—

Valentina, the "Envoy of Peace," frequently unleashed dark and chaotic shadows at Hardy, attempting to bewitch his mind. However, these shadows were always shattered by the gleaming golden warhammer in Hardy's hand, rendering the illusions ineffective against him.

This terrified Valentina; she had never seen a man like Hardy.

The most important power she wields as the "Envoy of Peace" is to drown people in illusions and lull them into a state of bliss, leading them to their unknowing death—but the most important prerequisite is that the mind of the victim can be influenced by Valentina and further manipulated by her.

But Valentina had already discovered that the man before her possessed an unyielding spirit, impossible to manipulate by any means—in fact, several times, Hardy had already been corrupted by Valentina's black mist. Yet he behaved as usual, his spirituality pure and untainted, and swung his hammer at Valentina like a berserker.

Valentina's ethereal body had already been shattered several times by Hardy's warhammer—

She was somewhat numb from the hammer blows. Even if shattering her spirit body wouldn't kill her, it would still cause serious trauma to her true essence. Now, Valentina instinctively felt fear when she saw Hardy. She wanted to escape, but Hardy clung to her tightly, not giving her any chance to escape.

"..."

--boom!!!!!!!

As fear subconsciously surged in Valentina's mind, the "Envoy of Peace," Hades' terrifying figure suddenly appeared before her, and the "divinely forged" warhammer in his hand smashed down without hesitation or mercy!
The heavy impact struck Valentina's chest, creating a massive crater. The energy then began to dissipate along the edge of the crater, and Valentina's spirit body was reduced to swirling embers.

Her new form gradually solidified not far away, and before she could catch her breath, she saw Hardy charging towards her again—

"..."

Valentina's pupils were dilated with fear and weakness, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.

She didn't know—

"Red-Clad Deacon" Hardy—he is one of the most powerful professions in the "Holy Deacon" lineage when advancing to the seventh level of destiny—he is the "Compassionate Saint".

He had almost completely rid himself of human emotions and desires, leaving only the compassion of devoting himself to [Radiance] in his heart. It could be said that he was the most perfect saint—and the saint most restrained by the "Messenger of Peace" present, almost completely unaffected by Valentina.

Valentina could only see Hardy's beast-like, charging body getting closer and closer to her.

She wanted to escape into the sky, so she instinctively looked up at the heavens—

Then she saw it.

The shadow cast by that enormous dragon that blotted out the sky and returned.

……

(End of this chapter)