Chapter 732

Chapter 117: Crushed to Death

A massive black sphere floated silently in the gray sky. Red lightning slashed down from the rolling dark clouds, creating an ear-splitting roar of thunder. Mudflows like waterfalls continued to spread across the land, turning the once peaceful town’s land into a deathly abyss no one dared to step into.

Within the abyss, twisted demons kept crawling out, like a raging tide. They swallowed the last bit of fleeing golden light on the scorched earth and all charged towards the knights of the Church who were making their final stand. They broke through barriers, overturned shield lines, and amidst the cries of agony, countless knights were swallowed by the merciless chaos and turned into ashes that scattered in the dust.

“We can’t hold them back… we can’t…”

“We can! We’re still here! Charge!!!”

“Yaahhhhhhhhh—”

In the army formation, the knights riding beasts held their hook spears, leaning forward to stab the spearheads directly at the enemy. The sound of iron hooves thundered as one rider, then two… the cries echoed endlessly. More people had already rushed forward. They saw their knight leader fall there, and that resounding shout of “Charge!” came from somewhere, but in this moment of determined death, no one cared about anything else except for the seemingly devouring black army in front.

The demon black tide pressed forward, the frontline defense of the knights was completely torn apart in an instant, turning to ash. Countless wisps of blue smoke rose up, and among the surviving warriors, not everyone had faced the abyss before; they understood what those wisps of smoke meant, causing immense fear. However, more often than not, what showed on their faces was not just fear but also the determination to fight to the death with sorrow and anger.

They charged forward without hesitation.

“Holy! Spear—!”

At the rear of the formation, those faithful monks who had fallen in battle struggled to their feet despite vomiting blood. The elderly priest, disregarding his earlier fall from the beast’s back due to the young bishop’s attack and the pain in his chest, raised his arms and shouted hoarsely, “Those who are still alive, who can move! Release! Holy! Spear—!!”

The elder led the charge by activating his faith, and golden light burst forth around him. A beautifully carved holy spear, accompanied by wind howling, flew over the heads of the knights charging towards the abyss, followed by more holy spears. Dozens of spear rains shot into the advancing demons, exploding with loud booms and lifting large chunks of severed limbs and black mud.

But such an assault was like throwing a few pebbles into a vast lake against the relentless wave of demons pressing forward. It only caused a brief ripple, unable to shake the ferocity of the black tide.

The second charge came swiftly.

The most formidable knight pulled hard on the reins, causing the giant beast beneath him to lift its front hooves. Leading the charge, he trampled over two demons, and the mud beneath the iron hooves exploded. “Sssss” sounds of erosion followed, smoke rising as the horned horse cried out in pain and fell, the knight rolling off and stabbing another demon that lunged at him, impaling it on the spear and flinging it away.

“Grace! Divine Balance—!!”

He roared loudly, then was crushed into the dirt by more demons, torn into bloody pieces. Blue light rose, and the ground shook with the sound of hooves. More comrades clashed with the demons, all shouting:

“In the name of the servant of God! Strike—!!!”

Their voices echoed like a tidal wave, mixed with the rumbling sound of reckless collisions. The knights thrust their spears, exerted their strength, and urged their beasts into the pitch-black tide, pushing forward!

“Ahhh—”

They screamed until their voices were hoarse. The golden light shields surrounding them were instantly scratched by several claws, and the dazzling light began to flicker.

The relentless flames did not make the knights halt their charge; instead, they surged forward even more fiercely, pressing through the horde of demons with their spear tips. It wasn’t until the hooves of their rhinos were torn off, their entrails spilled, and blood sprayed everywhere that these valiant warriors began to fall one by one. The light shield shattered explosively.

They discarded their broken lances and drew their swords from their waists. Amidst the tightening black abyss, they roared to the heavens, hacking down the twisted demons before them. The black muck splashed onto their faces, eating away at their eyes, rotting their features. Their golden armor and flesh decayed into charred remains. The knights let out inhuman screams of agony, yet they never ceased their sword strikes until they were ultimately engulfed by the endless tide of evil, their bodies turning to ashes that drifted into the gray sky.

As the pale smoke rose, more faces charged forward behind them, ready to meet certain death.

However—

These fearless souls, whom any enemy would fear, seemed no different from moths drawn to a flame before the twisted demons that appeared to be endless and could not even feel fear.

“Damn it! Ahhhhh!”

A fallen warrior screamed, a burly man fell to his knees with half his head torn off. His sword was lost, and his rhino was brutally dismembered by several demons’ claws. A person who had been flung into the air was swallowed whole by the muck as soon as their body splattered, the scent of blood rising only to be carried away by the wind. Someone gasped for breath, pulling out a golden sphere hidden beneath their chest armor. The sphere lit up amidst the crowd of demons and then exploded with a deafening boom.

Boom—!!!

Amid the dull sound, blood and black muck flew everywhere. Such explosions echoed across the demon’s tide simultaneously, yet the advance of the demons continued. More knights and rhinos fell under the chaotic erosion. Following closely after them, warriors wielding purple light swords formed ranks and charged forward. As the black wave crushed the knights’ assault, they gritted their teeth and let out a savage roar unlike anything the Church’s elite could produce.

“Aaaahhh!!!”

They threw themselves into the fray.

On the front lines, sticky red blood spread out, and the ripples of flesh and blood were pushed forward again by the frenzied demons.

At the end of the formation, the few dozen remaining fighters staggered. Blood-stained teeth and ferocious eyes revealed the last desperate burst of light they could muster under the old priest’s rallying cry.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—

Arrows of holy light, accompanied by two intense beams of white light, shot through the sky above the battlefield, forming a dazzling streak that streaked away. This time, their target was no longer the increasingly close demons.

“Under the divine radiance… perish…”

In the brilliant golden stream on the ground, the elderly priest wept bitterly, his hazy eyes fixed on the dark sphere floating quietly in the gray sky, watching the battle as if it were a show. Hatred surged in his gaze.

Hum—

Amid the sudden hum of the miracle, his emaciated figure wrapped in robes lifted off the ground. More radiant golden streams spiraled from the fluttering hem of his robe. Wind rustled, stirring his white hair into a flurry. White feathers drifted gently from the old man’s side, and countless bright light spheres condensed above his head, their brilliance almost splitting the sky.

“Demons!”

Whizz whizz whizz whizz whizz!!!!

The old priest’s hoarse and sorrowful cry echoed over the wasteland. Along with his voice, dozens of astonishing beams flew out from the glowing spheres, following the countless holy arrows, passing through the dilated eyes of the knights trampled by the demons, and with unparalleled spirit, struck the dark shadow beneath the clouds.