Chapter 711

Chapter 96: Rebirth Part Five

“Everyone! Start moving—”

The shout echoed from the west side of the small town, with a thunderous sound that spread rapidly.

“Go!”

Aresta then urged the beast fiercely, and before the halo above his head could reach its peak, he spurred the giant creature forward, leading the priests behind him out onto the dirt path. He shouted angrily at the man still standing ahead, “Move aside! I’m in a hurry and have no time to waste on you—”

“Coincidentally, so am I.”

Zzzt.

Lightning flashed in the middle of the road. When the beast’s front hooves were only four or five meters away from Carlos, the man turned into a streak of lightning again, leaping nearly ten meters high, carrying the chaotic lightning bolts towards the center of the town.

Aresta felt something was wrong.

“Stop him! Stop him—!”

He waved his hand and shouted from atop the beast. The hooves of the horned horse kicked up dust as they charged forward. Two of the priests behind him reacted quickly, their bodies suddenly glowing with golden light. The divine light streaked across the sky, chasing after Carlos.

However, the man was too fast. By the time the two golden streaks reached the sky, the blue lightning was already fifty meters away, and the distance continued to widen. In just a few seconds, they lost sight of him.

“Damn…”

Aresta cursed under his breath and then ordered those behind him, “Send a signal! Inform the front line that there’s an enemy approaching and prepare for battle!”

“My Lord Bishop, this…”

“Do it!”

“…Yes.”

…

At the center of the town.

The black sphere floating in the gray sky was writhing, as if many scattered forces inside were pushing against the thick black fog surrounding it. Bumps on the surface of the fog kept rising and falling. The sphere trembled suddenly, and the heartbeat sound inside grew louder. A cold wind blew toward all directions in the west, blowing the knights gathered outside the ruins into disarray, almost unable to stand.

“Hold steady!”

“Captain, the wind is too cold—”

“The orders from the Bishop are here! Have the Fifth and Eighth squads not arrived yet!?”

“They’re here! They’re here!”

“Faith Corps—!”

The armored knights dismounted from their beasts outside the ruins, struggling against the cold wind as they moved forward. Gradually, they walked on the loose yellow soil churned up by the previous explosion. The captain of the knights looked up and shouted far into the distance. What he saw was the knights gathering from various paths around the ruins, gradually forming a semicircular formation below the sphere.

In the distance behind them, a second Mafa light slowly rose from the ruins.

“It’s the signal to move…”

The knight captain murmured, then shouted again, “Faith Corps—”

“I heard it!”

Several priests dressed in robes quickly dismounted and walked over beside the captain, braving the cold wind and standing beside him. One of them pressed down his round hat and said, “From the Faith Corps, Larrys Alfred. My people are in position, Brother Knight.”

“Are we the starting point for the ‘Chain of Gods’ elevation here?”

Without any pleasantries, the captain asked directly upon seeing the newcomers. The priest named Larrys nodded in response, “That’s correct.”

“Then let your people respond to the signal.” The man patted his shoulder.

“It goes without saying, Brother Knight.”

The priest waved his hand and signaled to someone nearby. Soon, another Mafa light rose abruptly from the center of the town, sparse golden light spreading over the wasteland. The knights and priests stood bathed in the light, their faces solemn, looking up at the hundred-meter-high sky, watching intently for any movement of the black sun.

“May the gods protect us…”

He clasped his hands in front of his chest and whispered a prayer to the divine.

“Are you nervous?”

Brother Lariex smiled and asked, not realizing that the smile on his face now looked so stiff.

“Cough, it’s nothing, just a habit…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. You don’t have to force yourself. I think even Bishop Alersta would feel nervous right now.”

“Haha.”

The captain of the knights laughed as well. “The priests of the Faith Order often put on an act, it’s rare to see someone as honest as you.”

“So that’s why I’m not very popular.” Lariex shrugged his shoulders.

The brief conversation slightly relaxed both of them. At this moment, the Mafa light they emitted began to shimmer and hum above the gray sky, emitting dazzling brightness.

Soon after, one beam of holy light after another rose from the outskirts of the desolate land around the town center.

“Third squad in position.”

“Fifth squad in position.”

“Eighth squad in position…”

As more and more knights and priests arrived, the over hundred-strong First Knight Order formed almost a cordon, maintaining a distance of a hundred meters from the sphere and surrounding it tightly.

The light of miracles continued to shine, quickly turning the sky into a golden hue. The bright golden stream gradually surrounded the sphere, getting closer and closer to the range shrouded by the black mist.

“What exactly is that thing? Is it the Abyss, or the Hellfire, or something else… I can’t quite figure it out. Tsk, we actually have to use the ‘God-Chain’ to deal with this…”

Brother Lariex murmured as he gazed at the distant scene.

He then turned around and stood with the other priests chanting behind him. His eyelids gently closed, assuming a praying posture. The golden light flowing through his body merged with the surrounding aura. That light, accompanied by a “buzz—” sound, suddenly shot up into the sky from the ground in front of him.

Rumble…

Immediately afterward, the earth beneath their feet began to tremble slightly.

At this moment, the captain of the knights standing behind the priests seemed to sense something and abruptly turned his head.

Whoosh—

A sharp wind swept across the sky, and a faintly reddish holy light suddenly rose from the direction of Bishop Alersta in the western part of the town.

The knight captain was momentarily stunned.

Then, his eyes suddenly widened: “Enemy attack…”

“There’s an enemy!”

Clang—

The shout rang out the instant it echoed from the desolate land. The sword, gleaming with cold light, instantly drew from its scabbard at his waist.

The sound of the blade sliding against the scabbard resonated as the knights guarding the miracle of the Faith Order immediately entered a state of high alert at the captain’s cry. The warriors swiftly drew their swords and held them before their eyes, their sharp gazes searching the surroundings, guarding against any unknown enemies that might appear at any moment.

Zap—

In the next moment, lightning suddenly streaked through the air from the ruins nearby!

Who…

“Hold it! Hold it!”

The captain’s pupils constricted, and his reaction was extremely swift. The instant the lightning arc shot up, he had already predicted its trajectory in his mind. Taking several quick steps, he placed his body in front of the electrical current, his body’s glow swirling, forming a semitransparent shield.

“Aah—”

The man shouted loudly, his face stern under his helmet. The sword in his hand suddenly slashed forward, a purple flash appearing, and a crescent-shaped light blade “whooshed” out, flying straight toward the lightning. However, it missed.

The lightning was too fast.

In a blink, the electric arc had already swept from twenty meters away to right in front of him. Upon touching the ground, it suddenly bent to one side, avoiding the light blade while weaving through the crowd several times. “Zap—” It nearly brushed past the knight captain’s ear.

“Mmm…”

Immediately after, he heard a muffled groan from behind him.