Azure Scepter

Page 139

Lady Bloodthorn, the woman in white robes, Saint Seir, the plague—everything is clearly interconnected. But what is Saint Seir, the only mortal to have successfully ascended to godhood in the prime material plane in nearly a thousand years, thinking?

With this thought in mind, he couldn't help but look up at the figure in front of him again.

At this moment, Saint Seil's figure remained as imposing and stable as a statue. He stood with his hands behind his back, seemingly knowing everything. His not-so-tall figure, enhanced by his aura, seemed to transform into a towering mountain. The firelight cast his enormous shadow onto everyone, as well as onto the statue of Saint Seil at the top of the tower.

The image of the saint exudes a sacred compassion, but beneath it, the angels' faces are somber and uncertain.

The legendary monk couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive.

Is Saint-Sel bluffing, or does he actually have a plan?

I'm just a mercenary who gets paid to do things. Is it really necessary for me to get involved in these power struggles between gods?

Or maybe we should just run...

Just as he hesitated, suddenly, the heavy, adamantine doors at the top of the tower were pushed open—a priest, carrying a long robe, ran up, panting.

"My lord, we've found out! That monster came from the catacombs, and she's the corpse in the crystal coffin at the end of the catacombs—we failed to break the seal on the Lord!"

“Hmm.” Saint Seir responded calmly, turning his head. His voice was calm and firm, and his entire being exuded a strange charm that commanded respect and composure. “Are there any survivors in the tomb?”

The priest paused for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes, the two originally planned sinner sacrifices did not die—we have them under control."

Saint-Sel nodded slightly, then calmly asked, "Have you found Edith?"

"The spy said she was last seen at the Lighthouse Theatre, and after murdering Pope Vercingetorie, she disappeared."

“The Pope? Vercingetorius?” Saint-Sel clenched his fist slightly, his face showing deep thought. “And then, he was killed by Edith?”

The priest nodded.

“We just received the news that the papal election was held suddenly a few hours ago, and the direct impact of Vercingetori’s election was the oracle that the French royal court suddenly received—the papal scepter was also in Vercingetori’s hands.”

"Heh, interesting." Saint Seil chuckled indifferently, then turned back to look at the ground.

The legendary monk had exceptional perception; upon hearing their conversation, his pupils suddenly contracted.

—The Pope's Scepter of the Church of Radiance is a genuine divine artifact. Every pope who wields the scepter can be considered the Church of Radiance's scapegoat in the mortal world. They are capable of fighting even against invading demon lords.

But now, the new pope of the Radiant Church has died so quietly.

Just as he was pondering, a sharp sonic boom and the muffled sound of a building collapsing rang out like a series of firecrackers. The next moment, an Asmo soldier covered in blood staggered up.

"My lord, it's terrible! That white-robed monster is almost at the foot of the tower, it's about to come up!"

Amidst the anxious gazes of the crowd, Saint Seir remained unhurried. He glanced at the statue beside him and then revealed an inappropriate and strange smile.

The legendary monk felt that the smile looked familiar. After a moment of recollection, he realized that it was the kind of manic smile that gamblers often wore when they were about to bet all their chips, a smile that seemed to indicate they had fallen into an abyss.

"This day has finally come," Saint-Ser said softly, somewhat excitedly.

"Bang!" The adamantine gate suddenly shattered, and a gale surged like a sharp blade. Amidst the swirling dust, a figure slowly emerged from the blood-red dust.

Blood dripped onto the ground as Losevie dragged her longsword and slowly emerged from the ruins of the gate.

At this moment, the scene outside the door was a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood. The groans of the dead and the slowly dripping viscous blood blood created a terrifying scene that resembled a nightmare. And Lorraine was the messenger of the nightmare, punching through the boundary between reality and nightmare.

The moment Loseweye appeared, the flames burned even more fiercely, but the edges of the flames were silently tinged with a cold, dark, mold-like blue.

Lothaway raised her head, her calm gaze slowly sweeping over the surroundings. For a moment, none of the powerful beings present dared to move, and several Asmo soldiers serving as attendants even unconsciously took a few steps back.

"Clap clap clap." Crisp applause broke the oppressive silence.

Saint-Sel clapped his hands and slowly emerged from the shadows.

"It's been a long time, Your Majesty. Your power and wisdom are indeed as great as ever."

A hint of astonishment and bewilderment flashed across Lothaway's calm gaze. A moment later, she frowned sharply, and the bewilderment in her eyes instantly transformed into a chilling killing intent.

Saint-Sel smiled, spread his hands, and bent over slightly.

"Look at your plan, how effective it is—no matter how ingenious the conspiracy, how meticulous the calculation, in the face of precise violence, it will all turn into dust like a beautiful but impractical work of art. This time, you have won."

The legendary monks were stunned.

Saint-Sel's plan is to surrender?!

The gods have surrendered?!

Lothaway slowly placed her five fingers on the hilt of the sword and walked forward.

Saint-Sel did not retreat.

"Actually, I have always apologized to you, but you were all gone at the time—Your Majesty, do you know why I betrayed you back then?"

Loseweye stopped in her tracks, then said in a deep voice, "You're stalling for time."

Her voice was hoarse, like the low moan of a mummified corpse in a tomb. Her incoherent speech added an extra layer of inhumanity to her already terrifying and oppressive presence.

"You are breaking through the limits of your avatar's power, thus attracting the destructive bond of the Azure Law, attempting to perish together with me. You have at most five minutes left, and you will succeed."

Saint Seir's smile slowly faded, and he narrowed his eyes slightly, quickly scanning his surroundings.

"Oh? Then why aren't you making a move yet, instead of continuing to waste time talking to me? Is it because you can't bear to do it, or is it that—your time as an incarnation has come to an end?"

"..."

Lothaway seemed to have gone offline, remaining silent.

After a moment, she slowly raised her head and said, word by word, "Killing you is enough."

Saint-Sel's expression suddenly changed, and the next moment, he deliberately reached out and slammed his hand into the ground.

A sudden storm of divine power erupted, and the entire Star Tower was instantly blasted into countless pieces of rubble!

The next instant, He activated "True Time Freeze".

P.S.: I'm still not satisfied with how I wrote it QWQ

Chapter 269 Spellstorm (Part 1)

Five seconds before true time freeze begins —

The dazzling golden flash of divine power was as fleeting as a midsummer night's fire. In the next instant, soft golden light, like a hazy veil, silently tilted down and enveloped the entire Star Tower.

However, the next moment, a striking and intricate crack suddenly appeared from the golden halo, and then rapidly expanded in a spider web pattern. The massive Star Tower, like an oak tree suddenly chopped by a giant axe, groaned under the unbearable weight.

The earth is shaking!

"Saint Seil deliberately demolished the tower?!" Trier was quite surprised as he looked at the cracks spreading across the tower.

According to his original analysis and plan, theoretically, if Saint Seir wanted to make full use of his numerical advantage, he should have kept the terrain intact as much as possible; while if Losevie wanted to create a tactical advantage, she would have chosen to destroy the Tower of Stars—but now, Saint Seir has taken the initiative to use his divine power to demolish the Tower of Stars!

To everyone's astonishment, the cracks on the Star Tower continued to expand, the dark cracks like tentacles relentlessly seizing the battlements, bricks, windows, and reliefs. For a moment, Trier seemed to hear a "crack" like a silver bottle breaking.

The next instant, the "click" sound turned into a distant and muffled roar, like a heavy hammer striking in the cochlea. Blood vessels throbbed, and a strong sense of imbalance and dizziness surged into Trier's vestibule.

—The Tower of Stars originally reached straight into the clouds, but at this moment, the entire tower suddenly collapsed and shattered from top to bottom along the crack, as if the sky had been torn apart.

"Boom!" At that moment, all the stained glass on the Star Tower shattered suddenly, all the pure white bricks turned into gravel, the heavy beams turned into broken, heavy, sharp wooden spikes, and the magnificent load-bearing components turned into indistinguishable debris.

Amidst screams, tens of thousands of building fragments mixed with wildly writhing human bodies rained down from the sky. Golden flags, ochre tapestries, pure white pebbles, sparkling crystals, and emerald green exotic plants all fell like raindrops, only to be ignited by golden divine power and peeled off the tower like golden dust.

At this moment, the Tower of Stars seemed to transform into an extremely magnificent and spectacular golden firework. The wonder of civilization, built by people over thousands of years with countless resources, was completely burned by divine power at this moment!

The sky is falling.

At this moment, divine power, like golden flames, adhered to the falling building debris. The golden flames illuminated the sky and the ground, and the flowing waves of flames transformed into straight golden lines that intertwined, as if forming a giant net that would devour everything.

The Asmo army at the foot of Trier was scattering and fleeing in all directions. Faced with this scene that seemed to be collapsing the sky, they could only run away in disarray like ants being doused with boiling water.

—It's time to take advantage of the chaos and move forward; the current confusion will provide maximum cover for stealth.

Trier mentally commanded the Death Knights to advance, then patted Edith on the back, signaling the latter to follow.

Edith said softly, "The flames lick the treasures of civilization."

Trier's lips twitched slightly—Edith actually had the mindset to recite lines from "The Succubus and the Bishop" now; she really had a good attitude.

However, the next moment, Trier suddenly heard a crisp and clear "click" sound, which reminded him of the effect of the pocket watch being pressed down.

Amidst the boundless golden flames, a silver-gray dot, seemingly devoid of all color, suddenly appeared in the sky. Within half a breath, the silver-gray dot rapidly expanded, sweeping everything away like a storm.

Trier's pupils suddenly contracted.

It's real time standing still!

At this moment, the raging fire that swept everything away like a flood, the countless pieces of building debris, and the people struggling on those debris all fell into stillness. Every flickering flame and speck of dust came to an abrupt halt, like a frozen black and white photograph.

Trier squinted slightly, leaned against the railing, and looked towards the horizon.

The moon and the night had lost their color, as had the flames, but in this seemingly colorless silver-gray, two tiny figures emitted a faint golden light.

One of them stood with his hands behind his back, head held high, on a patch of frozen architectural debris, surrounded by a large group of statue-like figures; while another lay prone like a wild beast, seemingly struggling to maintain his balance.

“Trier, this time freeze seems a little different?” Edith’s voice came from the side.

Trier didn't turn around. He said in a deep voice, "This is a true time stop driven by divine power. The time stop of a 9th-ring spell accelerates itself, but this time stop truly pauses time in an area."

He paused for a moment, then said, "So, they can cause destruction and attack others while time is frozen."

At that moment, the countless pieces of rubble seemed to freeze in mid-air like a meteorite belt, with the spaces between them resembling an endless black void. From Trier's perspective, the numerous building fragments and gaps appeared to form a black and white chessboard.

Saint-Sel closed his eyes, his hands behind his back tapping a rhythm as if listening to some melody. The next moment, he suddenly swung his five fingers down like a conductor.

"clang--"

A short, deep sound suddenly rang out in the void, like the bow of a violin plucking the strings. Then, the short sound transformed into a bright and hurried prelude to spring.

Saint Seir opened his eyes and looked at Lothaway at the end of the rubble. He slowly grinned, no longer hiding his smile: "Battles are always inseparable from music. Listen to this music, now that's more interesting, isn't it?"

Without saying a word, Lothaway pulled her longsword from the broken pieces of the stairs beneath her feet and then leaped towards the fragments of the holy icon in front of her.

“He doesn’t know how to appreciate beauty.” Saint Seir shook his head slowly, then stretched out his hand and gently pressed down as if placing a piece in a game of chess.

In the next instant, golden light flashed, and the troll barbarian, legendary monk, and god-chosen priest standing near the fountain fragments all regained their color!

—He bestowed His favor upon these four, thus freeing them from the effects of time standing still.

The legendary monk and the troll barbarian hesitated for a moment, exchanged a glance, and then immediately turned and ran; while the chosen priest immediately began to chant divine spells, and the knight roared as he leaped toward the fragment of the holy image where Losevie was.

At that moment, Loseweye also jumped towards him.

A flash of blood appeared and disappeared in an instant, the cold light of the blade piercing through her body. Before the knight even landed, Lorraine's figure had already crossed paths with him.

Blood splattered everywhere, and the bright and cheerful spring prelude suddenly changed, with a series of enthusiastic drumbeats and intense cello strings transforming the melody into a joyful interlude.

"The dance isn't over yet, no one is allowed to leave, let's have some fun," Saint-Saëns said softly.

As Lorse fell lightly to the ground with the drop of blood, before she could even get up, the troll barbarian who had been fleeing suddenly stopped. Its eyes were red, and the veins on its face bulged like branches. It slowly turned its head, roared, and kicked the fountain beneath its feet, leaping towards Lorse like a meteorite.

However, Lorraine didn't even look at it; instead, she slowly extended her palm towards a group of people dressed as mages on the next fragment.

Kill the mage first.

Live or die!

"Clap!"

Losevie abruptly clenched her hands, and in an instant, all the mages began to melt like wax. Their skin began to wrinkle, and their muscles turned into a mud-like substance. In less than half a breath, all that remained on the ground were robes and clumps of solidified blood-red grease within them.

The next instant, the troll barbarian's slash arrived as expected.

With a crackling sound in the air, Losevie gently extended her left foot, and like a dancer dancing barefoot on the cold ice, she slightly turned and spun around. The next moment, the barbarian's slash missed its mark by a hair's breadth.

Lorse continued her dance, the blade gliding across the troll's neck.

"boom!"

The troll's ugly head flew into the air, splattering thick, putrid blood everywhere. But in the next instant, the blood turned into a chilling, fiery flame, which immediately adhered to the troll's wounds like oil. In less than half a second, the troll barbarian, whom even Lady Bloodthorn couldn't kill, was reduced to ashes.

At this moment, the chanting of the chosen pastor also came to an end—he was guiding positive energy.

Targeted spells could never hit the elusive Lorse, but non-targeted spells could.

P.S.: I'm resuming daily updates starting today! I'm aiming for perfect attendance this month!

Chapter 270 Spellstorm (Part Two)

Targeted divine spells could not hit the elusive Lorsevie, but non-targeted guidance of positive energy could.

As the melodious chanting drew to a close, a burst of dry, warm golden light suddenly appeared and enveloped the entire fragment of the building with the fountain.

Lothaway paused slightly, and a layer of golden holy flame suddenly rose from the edge of her blood-stained white cloak. The flame spread along the knotted threads and instantly turned into a bright fire.

At the same time as the flames burst open, a sudden ripple appeared in the shadow behind Lorraine—the legendary monk abruptly stepped out of the shadow, rushing out like a phantom, then with four fingers clenched and his thumb hooked, he delivered a swift and ruthless shock punch aimed at the back of Lorraine's head.