Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 625 Suppression and Bombardment!

Franya flew towards another battlefield—a battlefield truly belonging to the "demigod" level, the sky where Pope Lawrence, the "Divine Crown Celestial," and Ailivia, the "Matriarch of Delusion," were battling.

In fact, the demigod of the "Void," the "Matriarch of Delusion," Arivia, had already appeared for some time. The location where she fought Pope Lorend was not far from where Emperor Augustusville and the Dark Lord were fighting.

The battlefield where "demigods" fought fiercely was surrounded by an area that was absolutely impossible to approach—a force field that could no longer accommodate any alien spiritual beings.

Luo Xiu had no doubt that if a slightly lower-level superhuman approached, they would be torn to pieces in an instant.

Frania flew towards Pope Lorend; she was indeed eager to support this final holy war.

But she clearly couldn't get close to that battlefield either. Amidst the clouds of sorrow stirred up by Arivia, she seemed forever unable to enter that chaotic realm, as if she were infinitely distant from Pope Lawrence and from Matriarch Arivia.

Since she couldn't directly support the Pope, Franya quickly realized what she could do—

At this moment, four of the "Pillars of Darkness" that were hovering above the battlefield could be seen from the sky. Among them, he saw one of the "Lost Pillars of Darkness," who was locked in fierce combat with the Holy Court's "Second Cardinal," Azle Saint-Lerran, and flew towards him.

As the "Celestial Crown," Franya possesses powerful support abilities that allow her to fully utilize her abilities in any battlefield.

Once Franya found her target, Luo Xiu stopped paying attention to her. His gaze was fixed on the distant, turbulent clash of fiery crimson and pitch-black chaos, where the final battle between Emperor Augustusville and the Dark Grand Duke had reached its climax.

—BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!
Whether on the battlefield or in the heavens, wherever the two supreme demigods clashed fiercely, rolling flames and spatial chaos remained, impossible to heal for a long time.

Deep cracks have been etched into the sky, and the earth is piled high with ruins. Emperor Augustusville is suppressing the Grand Duke with his absolute power, but the Grand Duke is retaliating with devastating strikes. Both of the [Supreme] demigods are injured, and now it is only a matter of whose spiritual energy will be exhausted first and who will be unable to hold on.

That was the battlefield of the "demigods".

Luo Xiu watched this scene from afar—his intuition was the same as before: even though Emperor Augustusville was injured, he was gradually gaining the upper hand in the fierce battle with the Dark Duke.

This is a positive development—the moment the Dark Grand Duke "fell" will be the true end of the final battle of this "war of judgment"!

"..."

Luo Xiu thought to himself.

He then flew downwards towards the area below the battlefield.

His mission remains unchanged: now that there are no formidable enemies like "Chaos Crown" Mastert, he will expand his gains as much as possible and reap the rewards of "Judgment Day of Dark Omens"!
And Luo Xiu was looking down at him.

Franya's [Unforgivable Holy Manifestation] triple holy manifestation suppressed the target, the "Skull Seat Incarnation" Batel, who was firmly anchored at the center of the seven-fold overturned ring, and the holy ring suppressing him became increasingly swollen.

……

Batel's spirituality also declined further; at this point, even blinking required a great deal of effort from him!
"Ah...you...ah!!"

Batel struggled, trying to open his mouth as if he wanted to say something.

But he couldn't do it. The three Imperial Seventh-Level Protectors—"Sage of Compassion" Hardy, "Spear of Heavenly Law" Asleil, and "Sage of the Blue Sea" Aurelian—were already surrounding Bartel.

The triple seal from [Radiance], [Supreme], and [Wisdom]—sacred arts, edicts, and runes—completely sealed and imprisoned even the last vestige of Batel's spirituality.

This left him, like the "Blood Crown Venerable" Borgula, powerless to resist, like a lamb already bound and waiting to be slaughtered.

But Battelle clearly did not want to see himself meet such an end—

He struggled to lift his head and look at the sky above, in the direction where the "Saintess" Franya had already gone. Suddenly, more than a dozen cracks burst forth from his body, spewing out black flames.

The black flames emitted a terrifying aura, as if some long-suppressed will was breaking free from Batel's body—even though Batel was still suppressed within the confinement of the [Unforgivable Holy Manifestation], that will was unaffected by it, merely struggling to break free from the cage called "Batel"!

It was as if the will could regain its freedom simply by breaking free from Batel's physical body.

……

Luo Xiu watched as what was happening to the "Skull Incarnation" Batel.

He knew what Bartel was trying to do—as one of the strongest black pillars, on par with the "Crimson Crown" Mastert, Bartel possessed the power to unleash the former demigod, the power to unleash "Burning Skull."

However, unleashing His power comes at a considerable price—"Burning Skull" is thirsty and consumed by the flames of revenge. Every time Batel unleashes His power, he puts himself in danger of being devoured by the will of "Burning Skull".

This body is not yet able to fully withstand the power and will of "Skull Burning," which is actually the Black Grand Duke's expectation of him—but clearly, Batel is still unable to meet such expectations.

Batel devoured the remains of "Burning Skull" and was able to draw upon some of its power, but only a portion.

If Batel wanted to fully unleash "Skull Burning," it would be tantamount to letting "Skull Burning" use his body as fuel, allowing it to fully display its power—

The will of "Skull Burning" was not something that Batel could summon or dismiss at will. But Batel also knew that from the moment he saw "Crowning Crown" Mastert retreat, he had no choice but to unleash this most dangerous power.

That might free Batel from the "Unforgivable Holy Manifestation," but the price would be heavy. The best outcome would be that Batel would be severely injured, while the worst outcome wouldn't even be death, but rather that "Skull Burning" would completely assimilate Batel in the raging flames, turning him into an immortal monster.

Therefore, every time Batel liberates the "Burning Skull," he is walking on the edge of a dangerous precipice.

But he couldn't care less about all that anymore—

“Uh ...

"The incarnation of the skull," Batel, unleashed a heart-wrenching scream.

The dozen or so cracks that had appeared on his body had now spread to dozens, even hundreds. The black flames surging from within his body were also expanding, spewing out an aura of destructive power, and the temperature around him began to rise rapidly.

--boom!!!!!!!

As the "Skull Incarnation" Batel attempted to unleash his power, Luo Xiu unleashed over a dozen holy spells upon him, spells already completed with prayers. These spells also included "authority" released towards Batel—including the [Severance Seal] and the [Punishment Seal].
—And most importantly, the [Radiance] Tier III Authority, the [Purified Holy Mark]!
Wow!!!
The sound of explosions and spiritual energy surged forth in a cacophony. Right there on Batel's body...
The edges of the cracks from which black flames were continuously gushing forth were now marked with golden patterns resembling chains.

At their intersecting nodes, golden spikes pierced out from the inside out, temporarily locking down all of Batel's movements and suppressing the blazing black flames of the "Burning Skull" will that was "stripped" from his body!

This is the same as when dealing with the "Devouring Dragon"—the "Stigmata of Purification" can indeed suppress any struggles of Bartel again, thus buying time for the other seventh-level Saints of the surrounding Empire.

Whether it was "The Compassionate Saint" Hardy, "The Spear of Heavenly Law" Asrell, or "The Sage of the Blue Sea" Aurelian, all had noticed the abnormality in Bartel. A sense of danger surged within them simultaneously. Almost at the same time, they each unleashed their "authority" upon Bartel, the "Incarnation of the Skull Seat"—

The power of "Holy Light," "Decree," and "Runes," enhanced by the authority of [Radiance], [Supreme], and [Wisdom], rapidly constructed a completely isolated barrier. Strange, surging light descended from the sky, suppressing Bartel and his burgeoning "Skull Burning" will entirely beneath the barrier!
"Uh...ah!!!"

Through the barrier, everyone heard Batel's muffled and ferocious roar.

The release of the "Burning Skull" will was firmly suppressed by several powers acting simultaneously. Even though the individual strength of all the seventh-level Saints present might not be as strong as Batel's, Batel's resistance was difficult to sustain under the combined suppression of the four seventh-level Saints.

But the deepest "Burning Skull" will was not extinguished; the pitch-black flames still writhed deep within the cracks. Tiny tongues of fire spewed from the fissures in Batel's body, vibrating the barrier from the inside out, causing tiny cracks to appear within it.

Such methods of "suppression" are not sustainable.

Everyone knew this, but before Luo Xiu could do anything more to Batel, he saw a familiar figure return to the edge of the battlefield, and heard a familiar prayer in his ears—

"Let everything I possess be given to this sword."

"I will give up my body, I will give up my heart."

—That is the "Sword of the Holy One," Monigne!

She rescued "Radiant Sacred Pivot" Evra from the battlefield and has now returned.

When she returned to this battlefield, she saw the "Skull Capsule Incarnation" Barthol attempting to liberate some kind of high-level taboo. Monigne then invoked her spirituality, offering a prayer for the highest authority she possessed—

—The prayer of the [Radiant] Level V Authority, the [Pillar of Divine Retribution]!

She, burning with the flames of the sun, gripped the divinely forged holy sword tightly in both hands and raised it high.

The flames and light emanating from her grew ever more intense with her prayers—

"I will burn to the purest degree, I will shine as brightly as crystal."

"Let everything I am become a furnace, let everything I am become a blazing sun!"

"—May divine wrath be hurled upon them!"

"..."

—Buzz!!!!

An unprecedentedly surging hum erupted in the air, and then a dazzling, intense radiance poured down from the high heavens, surging like an overturning wave of light, tearing open a divine rift radiating intense light from the sky.

A pillar of heaven—the enormous pillar of light that once sealed the "Devouring Dragon," surrounded by sacred inscriptions and hundreds of swirling sacred halos—slowly and irresistibly descended from the sky!

In an instant.

Even the deepest surge of black flames within the "Skull Incarnation" Batel had dissipated. He sensed that the will of "Skull Burning" seemed to be retreating; within that high pillar of sealed light, Batel could no longer even feel his own existence.

--boom!!!!!!!

Until the bottom of the Pillar of Divine Retribution completely merged with the earth, it erupted with an unprecedentedly deafening roar.

The "Skull Incarnation" Batel, along with the black flames that were about to surge but had not yet surged, carrying the will of "Skull Burning", were all sealed inside!

……

The threat posed by "Skull Incarnation" Batel has been completely eliminated.

At this moment, Batel was completely frozen in the instant before he was "sealed". His expression was one of pain and ferocity, and the black flames surging from his body were frozen in a twisted shape as they were about to expand.

This is a truly thorough "seal" and "suppression".

Luo Xiu knew that for a special seventh-level saint like "Skull Incarnation" Batel, who had once received the power of a "demigod," taking him back was more meaningful than killing him.

Several seventh-level Saints of the Empire have joined forces to complete this task.

Luo Xiu no longer focused his attention on Batel, but instead gazed at the edge of the golden pillar that had descended from the sky and now stood like a pillar supporting the earth, the scepter pointing towards the spot in his eyes.

That was the location of "The Compassionate Saint" Hadi, beside him stood the previously "dying" black pillar, "The Blood-Crowned Venerable" Borgula.

Similar to their treatment of "Skull Incarnation" Bartel, the Empire's Seventh-Level Saints originally intended to "reclaim" him. However, the seal on him had now failed, and Bogula was granted a brief period of freedom of movement.

Perhaps it was because the surrounding spirituality was surging in an abnormally chaotic manner that caused Bogula to have a "last gasp"; perhaps it was because the attention of the seven saints of the empire was drawn to Batel, and they temporarily neglected to suppress Bogula, that crimson blood was already writhing at Hardy's feet.

"Blood Crowned Venerable" Bogula seems to have briefly emerged from his coma and regained his consciousness, which had been clouded by "Envoy of Peace" Valentina. Upon waking, he saw the back of "Compassionate Saint" Hadi.

He wanted to ambush Hardy and seize his flesh and blood in the blink of an eye when no one was watching. If he succeeded, he could quickly recover his strength.

But just before Polgara actually made his move—

--boom!!!!!!!

A blazing surge of light crashed down from the sky, and Luo Xiu appeared in front of Bogula like a high wall. With his demonic sword and scepter, he unleashed the fully charged "Ancient Dragon's Ferocious Breath" and "Ancient Dragon's Devouring Slash" at Bogula at a position extremely close to him!
Polgara, already in a "near-death" state, could not withstand such a terrifying bombardment that came in an instant.

His body disintegrated in such intense burning, his life gradually turning into swirling ashes and bursting sparks.

He didn't even utter a final cry of agony before his spirit was completely consumed by the flames.

You have defeated "Blood Crowned Venerable" Polgara (lv.88)

A related prompt appeared in Luo Xiu's panel.

—In the quest "Judgment Day of the Dark Omen," obtaining all three "Divine Birth" quality feats requires defeating three "Dark Pillars," and this requirement has now been met!
……

(End of this chapter)