Chapter 576

Chapter 198: The Land of the Great Dragon – Part Five

The killing aura swept out from behind, with dark red skies filled with dense clouds and rumbling thunder.

The priest in his late thirties had bloodshot eyes, brimming with malevolence. He galloped past me on a beast, holding a spear, followed by more priests riding rhinos. They were enveloped in golden light as they charged toward the distance. Some unwrapped bandages from their arms, others held injured shoulders, spitting bloody saliva. The iron hooves of the rhinos stirred up the grassland, and the wind howled across everyone’s faces.

“Kill the heretics!”

A long cry echoed from the front of the formation, followed by the warriors’ united roar from the rear: “Kill the heretics—!!!”

The fierce momentum made the rhinos below them neigh wildly, tossing their bodies restlessly. However, only about fifty people, mostly injured, rushed out as a “cavalry.” As the charging rhinos flew past me and the old bishop on either side, blood splattered onto the nearby grass.

They were mostly priests from the Faith Order, who usually played roles in battles by performing miracles like the Sinful Barrier, Sacred Spear, or Nephilim’s White Wings to clear the path for the heavy cavalry or knights at the forefront. Or they would set up protective barriers to defend against enemy long-range harassment, ensuring the army’s swift impact on the enemy formation, achieving victory with minimal casualties in the shortest time possible.

They would never be the first to charge. Perhaps they had no such experience, let alone wielding swords. The situation where a priest would lift a spear and face the enemy with flesh and blood might have been happening for the first time today.

No, perhaps it was the third time, as they had already charged twice before.

They had hurt many people because of this, perhaps even more deaths.

And the enemies they faced were not any organized force, unlike the situation with the Silent Fortress or Arretain City. These were just a group of savage, frenzied rabble, each seemingly a desperado. In reality, when the fighting started, these undisciplined, brute-force-driven wild teams could rely on the power of Sinful Fire to defeat the Third Knight Order, which lacked food. But against the coordinated efforts of the Faith Order and the First Knight Order, the elite forces of the Church, their defeat was like a mountain collapse, almost completely one-sided.

This time, the Faith Order did not have enough knights to assist in battle, and their enemies were not some ragtag bunch but a single person.

An old man, yet possessed a combat prowess that rivaled any Papal Knight.

Thus, there was no strategy to speak of.

It was like a group of rabbits screaming and charging at a lion—a battle they had never faced before, losing their meticulous formations and the command of heroic units. They were not entirely fearless, but driven by their unshakable faith, they could only let out the most ferocious shouts, charging toward the distant powerful enemy with a determination to die, dragging him away to buy time for Miss Silverjia.

One hundred people.

The priests riding beasts ahead had already rushed out of sight by over twenty meters. The heavily wounded priests and knights behind finally reached my side, totaling about a hundred people.

But these hundred people, their shouts seemed like thousands, even tens of thousands, with an overwhelming spirit akin to thunder, making me feel as if I were back outside Arretain City, when the warriors’ eyes were bloodshot, and the battlefield was like a surging tide.

The final moment.

“Ah ah ah ah—!!!”

Their utmost effort made the blood boil instantly.

“Child, let’s go!”

As the warriors running behind also charged forward, the old bishop beside me finally moved. Agilely, the war beast raised its front legs and lunged forward. I quickly tightened my grip on the beast’s belly and followed, the hooves pounding faster and faster, catching up to the end of the formation in a breath, maintaining a steady pace forward.

…Hundred Meters.

At the front of the formation, the retreating backs of the priests riding beasts were about five hundred meters away from the storm.

“Great Sin Goddess, the power of judgment… ” The old bishop next to me made a prayer posture on the beast, whispering softly, “May this world be free from pain, sin, and the disturbance of demons… In the name of Onanastasia, grant the world-savior an unshakeable Sin Barrier.”

Buzz—

The divine light of the miracle instantly shone, thousands of golden rays flowing from the old bishop, converging overhead into a river and swiftly rushing toward the front of the formation. A semi-transparent, faint Sin Barrier floated in the air, blocking the path of the priests riding beasts. The bishop held his hand horizontally at chest level, the golden glow still radiating, as the thirty-meter-wide Sin Barrier emitted a loud hum, pushing forward with the advancing warriors!

Four hundred meters…

In the next moment, sword light suddenly flashed.

It was like a massive web of intersecting light, countless thin fiery lines slicing through the grass and mud, cutting from the direction of the storm, swift as lightning. Before anyone could react, they crashed into the Sin Barrier with a series of “clang clang clang” sounds, like密集的鞭炮一样在前方炸响，瞬间尘土飞扬，遮蔽了视线！

“呃啊啊啊啊——

The angry shout came from the elderly man beside me. I turned my head on the beast’s back and saw that in the resplendent halo, the old bishop pushed forward with one hand, exerting all his strength to maintain the sin barrier. Blood flowed from his nose. Suddenly, his face fell as he covered his chest and coughed violently. The golden light enveloped around him quickly dissipated.

“Old Bishop!”

I shouted in alarm, not knowing what had happened to him. But in the next moment, a loud noise came from the front, as if something was breaking apart with a “clatter.” I turned my head back in shock, only to see dust flying everywhere with light rays bursting forth. Countless fragments of the sin barrier exploded like shrapnel, and crimson sword light slashed through the ranks ahead, accompanied by screams, neighs, blood, and severed limbs, instantly staining everything.

The momentum of the warriors’ charge faltered.

But in the next instant, they erupted with even more terrifying shouts and ferocity.

“Aaaaahhhhh!!!”

Those few sword lights that had broken through the sin barrier slashed through the cultivators riding beasts. At that moment, at least twenty people fell down. Viscous blood and entrails splattered onto the grass, obscured by the rising dust. Even so, it was still shocking. However, the remaining people did not fear; after a brief pause and dispersal, they charged forward even faster, emerging from the dust and launching a counterattack towards the distance!

Three hundred meters.

Golden rays bloomed one by one at the front. Dozens of holy spears streaked across the sky, howling toward the distant storm. The cultivators roared like thunder, and the knights behind—about twenty in total—quickened their pace. They took off the sharp shields on their backs, ran past the cultivators without mounts, and formed a line at the forefront, holding up their shields to continue charging.

Buzz—

The rhinoceros beneath me breathed heavily. I lowered my body, my heart burning with anger. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the old bishop clutching his chest praying again, and the divine light surrounding him suddenly flared up. In the shrill buzzing sound, a thin light shield enveloped everyone.

Two hundred meters.

Clang clang clang clang clang—

The sword net came slashing again amidst the tremendous clanging sounds.

“Darn it…”

The scarlet fireline moved extremely fast. Without the sin barrier blocking it, it seemed to happen in an instant. Even I couldn’t react in time. Dozens of intense sword beams whizzed through the dispersed cultivators riding beasts. Rhinos and human figures fell once more in the sudden burst of bloodlight. The speed of the fireline didn’t decrease at all, carrying a dragon-like roar, slashing towards the knights holding shields in the middle ranks!

Clang clang clang clang clang—

This time, the impact was so close that the terrifying rumble instantly filled my ears, making my head blank. In a daze, I saw many figures flying forward. Their light shields shattered entirely, and the shields they dropped in mid-air split in two. Then came their bodies, blood raining down like raindrops above.

“Hold steady—”

“Keep charging! Don’t retreat!!!”

“F*ck you, mother—!!!”

“Aaaaahhh!!!”

Roars, curses, and heart-wrenching screams filled the air. The chaotic scene spread before me. The knights directly hit by the sword energy were almost dead. Their body parts fell from above, and those struck by severe injuries struggled but could not rise again. The surviving cultivators shouted loudly, stepping over the blood to continue moving forward.

“Infidels!!!”

Specks of blood splattered on my face, and the anger in my chest seemed to explode. I nearly ignored everything, blue light flashing in my eyes, frost mist condensing in my palm, ready to leap from the beast’s back and charge towards the old man I could faintly see in the distance.

“Don’t be impulsive! Sylviega!”

At the critical moment, the old bishop’s voice rang out beside me: “That heretic moves incredibly fast. If you get entangled with him, you won’t be able to break free for a short while—”

“But I don’t want to hide behind them! I don’t want to watch them die!”

“Do you want their determination to go to waste?!”

“I want to kill that old man!”

“You would be playing right into their hands! Those sacrificed warriors would have died in vain! Do you think I want to watch them die? But this is the determination of the Church’s warriors! They are heroes of the Church, heroes of everyone! They died protecting the people! Miss Sylviega, do you see this? Do you understand?!”

“Aaaaahhh—”

I started screaming, venting the pent-up anger in my heart.

Can’t hold it anymore! Can’t hold it anymore! Can’t hold it anymore!!!

However, the blue light in my eyes and the cold air in my palm gradually faded.

I just held Captain Gray’s right hand tighter, gripping the scythe handle more firmly.

One hundred meters.

I bit my lip, riding the giant beast, stepping over fallen corpses, looking up. My gaze swept past the running figures ahead, seeing even more corpses lying on the grassland far away, arms cut off, legs amputated, heads severed, blood flowing like rivers. These were the brave warriors who had been left here during the previous charges by the sword energy.

Further back, the chaotic storm raged, purple lightning constantly roaring. A hunched figure held two swords, standing like a mountain before the storm, his sharp gaze like an eagle’s piercing through the cultivators riding beasts that were starting to encircle him, through the countless figures blocking my path, straight at me.

End of Translation.