Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 684 The Ultimate Holy War! (6k4)

In Finlake's hand, the tip of the golden scepter surged with intense spiritual energy, and in the next instant, that energy coalesced into a beam of light, shooting directly towards Franya—

boom! ! ! ! ! ! !
Crash! Crash! Crash!

Right in front of Franya, a golden mirror appeared in the air that was originally overflowing with golden light. The golden mirror shattered the moment it hit the beam of light fired by Finlake, but Finlake's attack was also nullified!
Everything happened too fast, and even Luo Xiu didn't have time to react before Finlayk suddenly activated a Level IV authority called [Radiance] – an authority that could penetrate all heterogeneous substances. His first target was Franya, who was maintaining the domain of "Unforgivable Holy Manifestation"!
But this time, a relic equipped by Franya came into play—the Mirror of Saint Elena. She was one of the few female popes in the history of the Holy Court, and the holy mirror she left behind could block all external malice, such as blocking the "piercing" authority that Finlak had blasted at Franya this time!
However, the [Saint Elena's Mirror] could only withstand such an attack once in the short term, and it had already shattered. But on the opposite side of Franya, the back of "Fenlake's" hand once again shone with the light of a holy seal. The holy seal light, as bright and dazzling as the previous level IV authority, shone, and another level IV authority appeared!
As the First Cardinal of the Holy See, Finlayc has always been recognized as the most powerful cardinal.

He wields a considerable amount of high-level authority. As far as Luo Xiu knows, he possesses at least a dozen Level IV authority and five Level V authority. Furthermore, the Level I, II, and III authority below these are countless. It can be said that, since Pope Lorend, Finlake is the saint who holds the most "authorities".

——Buzz!!!

Just as a bright light shone on the back of Finlake's hand and the tip of his scepter pointed at Franya, Luo Xiu's scepter also pointed at Finlake.

This time he saw it clearly!
Just before Finlake unleashed a new power, Luo Xiu activated his own power first!

—"Radiant Seal"!
Authority that can invalidate authority!

On the back of Luo Xiu's hand, two overlapping, radiant golden rings appeared. Behind him, two larger and brighter rings also appeared. Just as Finlake's authority was about to be released, the rings flew toward Finlake and locked tightly to his scepter!

Wow!
A sound like flowing water came from the air, and what manifested in Finlake was the dissipation of his spirituality—the Level IV authority that he had been prepared to release was completely destroyed by the effect of the "Radiant Seal"!
"..."

Finlake's expression remained unchanged; he simply gazed indifferently at Franya high above, then mechanically turned his head to look at Luo Xiu—

The expression on his face was as blank as a dead man's, and his eyes were empty. Although he was staring at Luo Xiu, Luo Xiu always felt that Finlake could not actually see anything.

It was still a walking corpse—Fenlake, controlled by Accipileus, was no longer the original cardinal.

Now, Luo Xiu is able to confirm that Finlake, who has just been "reborn" from that black cocoon, is a creature that acts almost entirely on instinct!

Previously, all his actions came from hints or instructions given to him by Accipylus, but now, he is simply acting on instinct, attacking all the spiritually surging "threats" around him!
He initially attacked Franya because Franya's "Unforgivable Holy Manifestation" domain was about to turn towards him as its target; but now he will attack himself because his "Radiant Holy Seal" authority is also aimed at him!
—Boom! Boom boom boom boom boom boom!!!

Just as Finlake turned his gaze to Luo Xiu, he waved his scepter in the air, and dozens of holy spells surged down from the sky like a golden rain!

The light that bloomed on the ground became a crater; that bloomed in the sky became a vacuum—"Divine Pardon Holy Cardinal" Finlake Saint Leron, without a doubt, if viewed from the perspective of a saint, was a true monster, a monster standing at the pinnacle of the [Radiant] Cardinal lineage!

—BOOM! ...
A violent explosion resounded amidst the dozens of holy spells and several wielding powers that Finlake unleashed towards Luo Xiu.

Luo Xiu dodged Finlake's attacks, counterattacking Finlake while observing Finlake's movements.

This moment was the battlefield between him and Finlake—

Franya was still trying to anchor Finlake, but there was an extremely thick barrier around Finlake's body. It was also an authority, and a level V authority at that—the [Oath of the Holy King]. It was a supreme protective authority that prevented Finlake from being truly chosen by the "Unforgivable Holy Manifestation"!

Beyond the battlefield where Luo Xiu and Finlake were locked in fierce combat, another battlefield was taking place—the angels summoned by Luo Xiu were engaged in a fierce battle with two "primordial demons," "Helrac the Giant Whale of the Underworld" and "the Evil Angel" Amontor.

—Boom! Boom boom!

Intense explosions echoed across the battlefield, and the clergy of the Church of Agus were also fighting hard against the abyssal beasts and demons that had invaded the church.

At this moment, the battlefield within the Church of Agus has become increasingly chaotic.

Luo Xiu, however, remained focused on his battle with Finlake, observing and waiting for the perfect opportunity.

The current Finlake gives the impression of a boss from a past RPG game, the one whose aggro is drawn by the last player to attack.

……

But then Finlake suddenly stopped all his attacks.

Suddenly, a surge of spiritual energy, several times stronger than before, emanated from his body. Then, he pointed the scepter at the person opposite him, at Luo Xiu!
In an instant, the surging, intense spiritual energy locked onto Luo Xiu. Although Finlake had not yet used any holy magic or authority, the intense stinging sensation emanating from his skin made Luo Xiu realize that the opportunity he had been waiting for had arrived—

Luo Xiu was now certain that what he was about to face was a Level V authority, which was about to imbue him with all its power!

Behind Luo Xiu, facing the direction of Finlake, his ten holy wings simultaneously unfolded and opened fully, shimmering with the brightest and most dazzling light, as he flew towards Finlake.

He could feel that the closer he got to Finlake, the heavier the tearing, the chaotic, and the oppressive feeling became, as if it could tear him apart at any moment.

But Luo Xiu was still rapidly approaching Finlake's direction. In his eyes, he saw the dazzling light on the tip of Finlake's scepter surging even more, its spirituality already accumulating to its fullest, ready to erupt at any moment!
And in that brief moment, as the light shifted from brilliant gold to dark gold, and then from dark gold to deep red,

Luo Xiu's hand was already gripping Finlake's throat tightly—he had arrived in front of Finlake, and his chest was already pressed against the tip of Finlake's scepter!

In Finlake's empty, dark eyes, reflected in the face before him—reflected on Luo Xiu's face—a joyful, unrestrained smile appeared simultaneously.

But Finlake couldn't understand the smile on Luo Xiu's face—he was simply gathering power towards the greatest "threat" in front of him, and was about to unleash his strongest attack on it!
……

"—Quisanx!"

Just as the spiritual energy surging within Finlake's crimson scepter was about to burst forth towards Luo Xiu like a dam breaking, Luo Xiu looked up at the sky, shouted at the giant dragon that had been overlooking the battlefield, and simultaneously raised his right hand—

First something fell from Quesanx's dragon claws, and Luo Xiu caught it.
And then—

"Roar!!!"

Quesanx unleashed a deafening roar that shook the heavens!
--boom!!!!!!!

Crimson blood fell from the sky!

That was Quesanx's long-accumulated [Destructive Surge], centered on Roshu and simultaneously Finlake, spewing out a crimson flame from His gaping maw, enough to burn an entire city!
--boom!!!!!!!

The dragon flames engulfed everything. Although Quesanx deliberately restrained them, concentrating the terrifying flames within a hundred meters of Luo Xiu and Finlake, half of the church had already vanished, leaving only a hellish sea of ​​fire!
But this is not the end—

--boom!!!!!!!

Once again—right in the center of Quesanx's [Surge of Destruction] explosion, a pale glow suddenly burst forth, unleashing a torrent of blazing dragonfire that surged upwards like a volcanic eruption!
Quesanx's [Surge of Destruction] did not kill either Luo Xiu or Finlake at the center of the blazing dragonfire. Finlake's Class V authority, which was targeting Luo Xiu, still erupted in the blazing surge!

—【Radiance】Level V Authority, 【Divine Sin and Holy Collapse】!
That is the most sacred, most powerful, and most terrifying authority held by Finlake—the First Cardinal of the Holy Court, the Holy Cardinal of Divine Pardon, Finlake Saint-Lerran!

The pale light surged, turning everything tangible in its path to dust and everything intangible to nothingness.
Even the [Surge of Destruction] unleashed by Quesanx, with its intensely fiery spiritual energy, was completely swallowed into nothingness by the surge of pale light!

In an instant, it seemed as if the world was nothing but white noise.

however--

boom! ! ! ! !
That was yet another violent roar that erupted from the center of that surging light!
The sound, carrying a piercing, tearing sensation, though this time the explosion wasn't as violent or deafening as the previous two, emanated so clearly from the pale, surging holy light.
Then, one, ten, hundreds and thousands of deep red blood spikes pierced out from the pale, surging light!

The pale glow was quickly shaken and dissipated, finally revealing the two entangled figures within—

Luo Xiu and Finlake, their bodies still stand there!

However, their bodies were covered with conspicuous scars. Both Luo Xiu and Finlake were riddled with holes and covered in wounds.

However, they remained in the same position as before the terrifying destructive dragon flames descended and the pale glow erupted!
The blood spikes that ultimately "dispelled" the pale glow erupted one after another from Luo Xiu's left hand, which was gripping Finlake, and spread towards Finlake's body! That was—[Blood Sea Admirers]!
Simultaneously enduring the immense damage from Quesanx's "Surge of Destruction" and Finlayk's "Divine Sin Collapse," Luo Xiu's damage tolerance had already exceeded the limit of this legendary feat. Then, he transformed half of his injuries into "Primal Wounds" and returned them all to Finlayk!

The blood spikes that spread from Luo Xiu's left palm and erupted on Finlake's body pierced Finlake from the inside out time and time again, making him look like a blood-stained hedgehog!
"—Ugh!!"

Right in front of Luo Xiu—Fenlake, who was so close and had suffered the full damage from both "Surge of Destruction" and "Divine Sin and Holy Collapse" just like him—pain appeared on his face as he took the final hit from the counterattack of [Blood Sea Admirer]. A mouthful of thick blood gushed from his already shattered lungs and was spat out of his mouth!
All his defenses had already been shattered in the previous terrifying explosion. Now, his primordial spirituality was also shaken, and no authority could protect him anymore. He had taken a heavy blow that went straight to his very core!

"It was me... who won..."

Once again, that joyful, unrestrained smile reappeared on Luo Xiu's face—

Although his injuries were quite severe, and even four of the ten sacred wings that had spread out behind him were broken off due to the attack, under the "Sacred Wing Incarnation" state blessed by the "Pilgrimage to Heaven"—he was invincible, truly "invincible"!

Below the level of "demigod", there is no power that can force Luo Xiu to release the "Holy Wing Avatar" state. In this state, Luo Xiu is immune to any form of death. This is his confidence - the confidence to face Finlake directly, to bear Finlake's authority with himself, and to force Finlake to "perish together" with him!

According to the panel monitoring Luo Xiu maintained, although all the shields he had cast on himself shattered in an instant, and his health plummeted like a falling building,

But it never fell below six figures. At its lowest point, it only reached the number "1042642", which was on the verge of "dying"!

In fact, Finlayk's vast majority of attributes, such as "Divinity" and the two main attributes of "Mana" and "Spell Attack," are superior to his own. However, there is only one attribute in which Finlayk is far inferior to his own—

His "health points" attribute far surpassed his!
Luo Xiu couldn't stop thinking about these things. At this moment, he could still move and raise his arm, but the person opposite him—"Fenlake Saint Leron"—was truly on the verge of death!

But that's still not enough—

Having learned from the previous incident where Luo Xiu had also brought the "Primordial Demon" Accipiles to a near-death state, with black blood gushing from Accipiles' body to envelop him and prevent him from suffering the same fate, Luo Xiu remained completely vigilant towards the now "near-death" Finlake.

At the same time, Luo Xiu slowly raised his right arm, his right hand gripping a black, broken sword tightly—the very sword he had taken from Quesanx's dragon claws just before the terrifying explosion.

—The broken sword of the [Divine Spine Black Sword]!

In fact, the reason why Luo Xiu chose to take full damage from Quesanx and Finlayk's terrifying bombardment head-on was not only to ensure that Finlayk suffered the same level of trauma, but also to inflict the full "primal trauma" of the [Blood Sea's Followers],
The most fundamental, and also the most hidden, purpose is to make his own health drop below 30% for the first time while he is wielding the [Divine Spine Black Sword], thereby gaining one chance to unleash the [Void Rift Slash] with the [Divine Spine Black Sword]!

Before he could finish thinking, Luo Xiu's right hand had already pressed down, and the [Divine Spine Black Sword] had also slashed down!
This time, from the blade blazing with inky black flames, a dark light burst forth, cleansing and incinerating everything. That light enveloped Finlake's form, accompanied by a tearing, slicing sound. Then, from the black light, it struck Finlake's center, and pale flames rose like threads—

--boom!!!!!!!

A terrifying, deafening roar erupted once again!
This time, right in front of Luo Xiu, Finlake completely and alone bore all the trauma!

He was already on the verge of death, and after taking the final blow of the "Void Rift Slash", Finlayk's health plummeted even further, until the last bit of health was barely visible!

But Finlake did not die—just as Luo Xiu had predicted, Finlake's health bar was finally locked at the number "1". He was immune to death. Whether it was his special ability or something else, Finlake was exempted from death!
"I...cough..."

In a fleeting moment of confusion, a glimmer of clarity returned to Finlake's dark pupils.

For a fleeting moment, a look of sorrow, regret, and pain seemed to surge across Finlake's face, but it lasted only a moment—

Soon, those complex, emotional expressions vanished, and Finlake's expression returned to indifference. Despite the deep gash on his body from the "Void Rift Slash" gushing blood, he seemed oblivious, staring blankly at Luo Xiu. Then, his body began to tremble violently.

Once again—black blood gushed from Finlake's body, from those horrifying, riddled wounds!

That was the black tide itself—thick as mud, foul as rotting flesh—flowing out from Finlake's body, from his hundreds and thousands of wounds. The black blood was about to envelop and protect Finlake again, just like last time, allowing Finlake to heal from such severe injuries!

--really!
This was still the expected scenario—or rather, it was something that Luo Xiu had anticipated since the first time he severely injured Finlake and the "Black Cocoon" appeared; the second time he severely injured Accipiles and the "Black Cocoon" appeared again; and this time, the black blood surged for the third time and was about to form a new black cocoon!
"—Franya!"

At the same time, Luo Xiu called out the name of the saintess who was still maintaining the "Unforgivable Holy Manifestation" domain high in the sky!
At this moment, the IV-level authority [Unforgivable Holy Manifestation], with its seven rings, had its central axis directly above Finlake's head. And when Luo Xiuzhen truly broke through any of Finlake's defenses and rendered him helpless, the central axis of that holy ring suddenly pierced through Finlake from head to toe!
—Buzz!!!!

The resonant, overlapping humming sound emanated from the seven-fold overturned sacred rings that had reopened and begun to rotate again, the moment the central axis of the sacred rings successfully anchored "Fenlake"!

Finlake has been re-anchored, his spirit has been locked and suppressed at a certain low point—and the black blood flowing from Finlake's body has also stopped flowing there!

As for the other side—not far from Finlake, another "black cocoon," which was originally meant to contain and protect the "Primal Demon" Accipiles, also cracked open from top to bottom as Finlake was "dying" and being contained by the new black cocoon!

The pitch-black cocoon shattered, revealing the "primordial demon" within—

Luo Xiu saw Accipiles again, and he also saw the severed half of His body. At this moment, only new flesh had grown on the surface, and His body had not yet been restored to its complete state!
……

On Accipile's body, the severed wound still gleamed with blood, and tiny pieces of flesh were writhing in waves, like blood-stained larvae—and on Accipile's face was an expression of bewilderment and fear.

He turned his head somewhat hesitantly and saw Finlake—Finlake, whose injuries were so severe that he was "on the verge of death." If Accipiles had not been spiritually connected with him, even Accipiles would not have been able to recognize who the person, covered in blood and with a bloody face, was.

Finlake... he was "severely injured" too early!
Achilles cannot simultaneously "protect" himself and Finlay; at least one of them must confront the two saints, Rosh and Franya.

Akpiles originally believed that he had almost exhausted most of Luo Xiu and Franya's spiritual energy and power, and that Finlake would be able to hold them off until he fully recovered his strength.
But He was clearly wrong—everything He saw warned Him that He was not facing the enemies He had imagined. The two "Sevenfold Destiny" Saints—Luo Xiu and Franya—were not ordinary "Sevenfold Destiny" Saints as He had expected!
When Accipiles thought of these things, he could no longer suppress the resentful and ferocious expression on his face. Beneath that originally "holy" face, the evil essence finally surfaced, making his expression even more distorted. In his eyes, there was no darkness that could be hidden or resolved!

"Fenlai—"

—Buzz!!!!

Accipiles' voice was not fully produced.

The next moment, He, along with the space around Him, was rapidly "frozen" by the stagnant force—

In His final vision, He saw only the young cardinal before Him, equally covered in blood, raising his right hand slightly towards Him. On the back of his right hand, a deep red light shone, a light that was not the authority of the [Radiance] Holy Seal!

That authority—the authority of "ancient heritage"—temporarily sealed off, stagnated, and froze Achilles and everything around him in an instant.

As Accipiles' vision blurred, he saw behind Rosh, those blood-stained yet radiant holy wings, lifting him upwards—

"May all the gods bestow upon me my body."

"May all blasphemers hate me."

"..."

Accipiles heard such a sacred and solemn prayer coming from the mouth of Rosius.

Akpiles could sense an unprecedentedly rich and surging spiritual energy emanating from Luo Xiu, a spiritual energy that had broken through the threshold of the "Seven Fates" and was already on the verge of—infinitely approaching the status of "demigod"!

Accipile, in his final moments, caught the scent of the supposedly dead Pope of Lorient—

He also sensed an aura that filled Him with dread from the very depths of His being.

An authority—the divine authority that should belong to Pope Laurent.

It was rising slowly from before Accipiles, from the scepter of Rothius—

……

(End of this chapter)