Chapter 132

Big trouble must be handled with a bang. The Church Country mobilized almost every means at its disposal this time.

Not only did the Church gather the great warriors appointed by the gods, but they even recruited someone from the plains because that alone wasn’t enough.

If they didn’t, there was a risk that the forces they had painstakingly gathered would be deployed piecemeal and picked off one by one.

They wanted to push through with overwhelming force in one go, but the fact that they gathered like this also meant that the situation was ripe for a clean sweep.

Just as the Emperor had initially thought.

If they didn’t reveal themselves, how could they sweep them away?

*Kiiing!*

Even the same iron, when handled by a village blacksmith, becomes an ordinary iron sword. But when a master’s breath touches it, a legendary sword is born.

With just one touch from a swordsman without a master, this iron sword radiated the aura of a divine blade, unmatched in the world. The blade turned blue, and magical power was drawn to it like madness.

Feeling his hands grow hot, Xerox clenched his teeth and spread the magical power in all directions. He relayed the power drawn by the sword, scattering it in the form of a magical field.

Just as they had practiced hundreds of times, the knights of the Celestial Dawn Knight Order absorbed the magical power from the field using their joint techniques. For this one battle, they had trained for hours each day.

“Damn it, we need to kill them quickly! There’s no time for this!”

The expressions of the Holy Knights changed instantly. Without a second thought, they grabbed their weapons and charged. But it was already too late. Several knights joined forces to hold back the Holy Knights. The biggest difference between a Master and a non-Master—the limit of magical power—had been temporarily erased.

The situation quickly descended into chaos. In the midst of the melee, where no one could predict what would happen next, the grandest hall of the Imperial Palace, the Hall of Heaven and Earth, crumbled with a deafening crash.

The hall, as vast and grand as its name suggested, was reduced to ruins in an instant.

Even the collapsing ceiling couldn’t withstand the clash of magical and divine power, splitting apart to reveal the blue sky. The Hall of Heaven and Earth had returned to being just heaven and earth. Truly, nothing remained here but the sky and the ground.

“Stop! Stop right now!”

As both allies and enemies fell, and blood soaked the earth, a voice echoed with light. The Holy Knight of the Nemian Church, Vulcan, was struck down by Master Xerox’s sword in the next moment.

As the light split, a voice groaned. The sword left by Master Heron had cleaved even the divine without mercy.

*Flash!*

Master Xerox’s Harmony Technique had no form or shape. It was the embodiment of countless forces flowing together. The flow of power itself was his technique, and the resonance of magical power created the Harmony Technique.

That power swept over the halo like a gentle wave, erasing it completely. The sword left by Heron assisted him, drawing in magical power from all directions. Like everything being swallowed into the deepest abyss, it greedily devoured all the surrounding magical power centered on itself.

If it ended there, it would just be a good sword. But since it was in Xerox’s hands, it could do more. The magical power gathered in the sword, under the control of Xerox—who was more adept at manipulating magical flow than anyone—formed a massive magical field.

That field now flowed to all members of the Celestial Dawn Knight Order, completely solving their magical power issues.

“Damn it!!”

Arkhma, the Holy Knight of the Hilrae Church with an ogre’s arm grafted onto him, swung his massive arm to swat away the pesky Pyramids clinging to him. But with magical power overflowing, the two knights of the Celestial Dawn Order hit by his attack were enveloped in thick protective energy.

“Hahaha, not a chance!”

“Let’s all die together!”

So, even after taking such a massive hit, they quickly got up and charged at the Holy Knights. Individually, they might not be a match for the Holy Knights, but these were experts at the pinnacle of their craft. Together, they could buy time even against a true Master.

But these individuals, having practiced for emergencies, received the magical power Xerox sent through the field, effectively removing their magical limitations.

The biggest barrier separating Masters from non-Masters—the issue of magical depletion—had been naturally resolved.

The result was worth the large amount of magical crystals used in training. The money spent had truly paid off in this emergency.

The Celestial Dawn Knight Order, unleashing techniques that would normally be considered ultimate moves without worrying about magical power, was ferocious. But that was all.

If this had been everything, the Holy Knights might have preserved their strength and led the battle to victory. If not for Master Xerox, who entered the fray with an expressionless face, cutting them down one by one.

*Swoosh!*

Even among Masters, Xerox was at the top. With the sword left by Heron in hand, no Holy Knight could stand against him.

As one Holy Knight of the Nemian Church fell, bleeding, the ground suddenly erupted, and a clay statue of a goddess emerged. One of the Three Divine Gods, the Goddess Nemi, glared at him and shouted.

“Can’t you hear me telling you to stop?! Do you even know what you’re doing right now?! These are people who shouldn’t die like this!”

“Stop, you say?”

“Can’t you even see a goddess?!”

Xerox coldly surveyed his surroundings. The reputation of the Holy Knights wasn’t unfounded.

Though the Celestial Dawn Knight Order had killed some of them, the Holy Knights had also killed members of the Order. Regardless of allegiance, the surroundings were littered with corpses.

Seeing the people who were like family, who had been alive and talking just moments ago, now dead, he muttered calmly.

“A swordsman serves only himself. If I were to follow such words now, I wouldn’t have started this in the first place. Kill them all!”

“You madman!”

The Goddess Nemi, horrified, even cursed. Unlike Modrig, the Three Divine Gods without physical forms couldn’t directly intervene in this reality.

In fact, even manifesting an avatar like this was a considerable burden.

Damn it. There was no reasoning with him. This time, the Goddess of Healing, Hilrae, whispered. It was a voice even her followers rarely heard.

“You, nameless Master. Let’s stop here. If you stop now, not only will I withdraw the Holy Knights, but I will also absolve you and the Empire of any guilt. If you wish, we can even make a covenant.”

Even if it were a contract stamped with a seal, he wouldn’t believe it. Don’t make me laugh. The sword he held now was on its last use.

It didn’t grant infinite power without limits. Like such items should, it had a time limit.

He knew that time was almost up, and there was no time to negotiate terms.

Just as the Three Divine Gods were desperate enough to abandon their mystique and intervene directly, he too was desperate. So, he didn’t give the Death God a chance to speak.

With a swing of his sword, the clay statue of the goddess shattered, and her voice was scattered in the storm of magical power.

“Such insolence…!”

The Goddess Elysia once again sent down her halo. She looked in horror at the Holy Knights dying everywhere.

Though she had already ordered the Holy Knights to retreat, the Celestial Dawn Knight Order charged madly, tearing apart those who tried to flee. They too knew that this was their last chance to use that sword.

If the Holy Knights regrouped and attacked again, it would be over, but the Celestial Dawn Knight Order wouldn’t get another chance to unleash such power. So, with the resolve to not let a single one escape, their eyes turned red.

Of course, the Holy Knights’ eyes also turned red. They had no intention of returning to such a place if they survived. But whenever they tried to speak, swords and spears flew at them, leaving no room for answers!

“Name your conditions! Any conditions! No, we can even take them all as prisoners!”

Like some slaughter weapon, Xerox swung his sword without pause. He gritted his teeth, suppressing the groans threatening to escape.

The magical power flowing from the sword he held was overwhelming. If he used it alone, he might have managed, but by applying it in the form of a magical field and sharing it with his comrades, the burden fell entirely on him.

His magical circuits were overheating, burning as if they would ignite. Like flames flowing through his veins, searing pain assaulted him relentlessly.

Pain is the body’s scream. Enduring it unconditionally isn’t the answer. It’s the clearest sign that the body is breaking.

Forcing himself to endure, the blind swordsman swung his sword. Blood splattered on his face, and his body was already soaked in blood. He even begrudged the magical power used to flick away droplets of blood, pouring every last bit into his attacks. In any case, he was nearing his limit.

“To disregard the gods’ favor so blatantly. You’re truly out of your mind.”

“Just you wait! Divine punishment will come!”

“Do you want to become a public enemy of the continent? Do you want to be excommunicated and have nowhere to belong?”

But as his body broke down, his mind became sharper in inverse proportion. His concentration grew even stronger, and his thoughts raced faster.

If he were to succumb to a few whispered words after coming this far, he wouldn’t have started in the first place.

The fact that the three goddesses were making such a racket was clear evidence that they couldn’t do anything to him right now. So, there was no reason to fear.

A real fight isn’t about threatening the opponent with words but about swinging a sword to cut off their head.

A kind person is scarier when angered. This usually gentle person, with fire in his eyes, left no one alive. The last Holy Knight died. He fought for the goddess and died calling her name.

Not a single member of the Celestial Dawn Knight Order was unscathed. Dead, dying, or severely wounded. Charging like mad dogs, disregarding their lives, it was perhaps an inevitable result.

“Captain.”

Natalia supported the staggering Xerox. As a Master, she was the only one with a bit of energy left, avoiding the fate of rolling on the ground like the other knights.

“Are you okay?”

“My magical circuits are overloaded. I’ll need some rest for a while.”

As if it had fulfilled its duty, the sword shattered and disappeared on its own. The three goddesses, stunned, even forgot to curse Xerox. They just stared blankly at the devastation on the ground.

The Death God appeared, but the sword that should have been swung at him first collided with the Celestial Dawn Knight Order and shattered. Of course, the Order also suffered losses too great to still be called a knight order.

Nearly 80% of the members were dead, and the survivors were severely weakened. Most importantly, their pillar and the strongest swordsman of the Celestial Dawn Knight Order, Xerox, was gravely injured.

It would take a long time for him to recover his strength, and it was doubtful if he could ever return to his former peak. Xerox’s hand trembled uncontrollably.

“Ha, haha. You damn bastard!”

The Goddess of Light, Elysia, was furious. Her anger was undoubtedly directed at Master Xerox, but some of it was also for her own followers.

What kind of fool is the Pope who serves me? Why didn’t he know that such a person was hiding in the Imperial Palace? Because of this, the Holy Knights, who had taken years of effort to create, were annihilated.

If they had known this would happen, the Three Divine Gods would never have agreed to this, throne or not. Even if they succeeded in changing the throne’s owner, this could hardly be called a victory.

Even if they insisted it was a victory, it was a victory filled with wounds—wounds that cut to the bone.

In a situation where the Death God is expanding his domain, such a victory is meaningless. A few more victories like this, and the Church Country would collapse entirely.

Elysia almost cursed Xerox to death but barely held back. Xerox was at his weakest now, and perhaps divine power could kill him instantly.

Her heart urged her to do it, but the goddess didn’t lose her reason. Intervening in reality with that much power would come at a tremendous cost.

It wasn’t just a matter of taking a wound but losing an arm. And even then, there was no guarantee of success. Masters are just that kind of people.

Moreover, they had a common enemy. Even if he had dealt them a devastating blow today, tomorrow he might stand with them against the Death God.

No, he definitely would. The Three Divine Gods regained their reason and became calm again.

“You will regret today’s events.”

“For the three most noble goddesses to give such a warning to a lowly human like me, I’m at a loss.”

“It’s not a warning. You will truly regret it.”

“Now is not the time to discuss this. When you hear the news from the south, we’ll talk again.”

It would be easier if they were angry. But as the goddesses spoke and withdrew, Xerox grew tense. He couldn’t fathom their intentions.

But in truth, the three goddesses were truly desperate. They regretted allowing such a thing to happen.

You can’t scoop up spilled water, but you must stop more from spilling. The Church Country must not exhaust its strength like this now.