Chapter 117: Crushing Defeat
A massive black orb hung silently in the gray sky, while fiery red lightning forked down from the swirling dark clouds with a thunderous roar, echoing like a rock concert gone completely wrong. A torrent of mud cascaded across the land, turning the once-peaceful town into a deathly abyss—a place where even the bravest souls dared not tread.
From the abyss, twisted demons crawled forth like an angry tidal wave, engulfing the last glimmer of gold that fled across the scorched earth, all rushing toward the Church Knights Order, who were putting up a valiant but futile resistance. They smashed through barriers and toppled shield lines, while the screams of countless knights echoed as they were mercilessly devoured by the chaos and turned to ash, scattered amid the dirt.
“Can’t hold them off! Can’t hold them off…”
“We can hold! We have to! Charge!!”
“Yaaaargh—!”
In the military formation, beast-riding knights held their wickedly curved polearms, leaning forward to stab ahead. The clomp of iron hooves resonated like a heavy metal concert, one knight, then two… a cacophony of shouts filled the air. More warriors surged forward, their eyes widened in horror as they saw their Captain of Knights fall. That high-pitched battle cry of “Charge!”—who even knew who shouted it? But in that moment, faced with an army of blackness that seemed like it could swallow the world, no one cared about anything else.
The tide of demons closed in. The front lines of knights were shredded in an instant—vanished like dust. Countless wisps of eerie blue smoke rose up. Among the surviving warriors were those who had faced the abyss before; they understood what that smoke meant, and a wave of immense fear washed over them. But their faces reflected more than just fear; they were filled with a resolute fury, ready to fight to the d*ath.
Without a second thought, they charged.
“HOLY! LANCE—!”
In the rear, the fallen members of the Faith Organization struggled to rise, bl**d spilling from their mouths as they clawed at the dirt, old clerics pushing through pain from earlier suffering at the hands of the Young Bishop. With a mighty shout, they rallied together, yelling, “Those who aren’t dead and can still move! Release! HOLY! LANCE—!!”
The elderly cleric summoned the power of faith, and with a brilliant flash of golden light, exquisitely carved holy lances shot forth, whistling through the air, soaring over the heads of the knights charging into the abyss. Then more lances followed, a veritable rain of spears shot into the oncoming demons, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—chunks of limbs and black mud erupted everywhere.
But against the relentless horde of demons, it felt like throwing pebbles into a raging lake—such feeble attacks barely made a ripple in the dark tide’s unstoppable advance.
A second wave of chaos followed.
The first aggressive knight yanked the reins of his colossal steed, lifting its front hooves and smashing through two demons at once. The abyss mud exploded beneath the impact, “Sizzle sizzle,” the sound of erosion echoed, as the Horned Horse cried out in pain, flipping over. The knight tumbled off, only to stab out with his lance and impale another demon, sending it flying.
“God! Tally! Scales—!!”
He screamed wide-mouthed, only to be overwhelmed by more demons crashing down, torn to bloody pieces. The shockwaves shook the ground, fellow knights and demons collided with cries, “In the name of the divine servants! Slay—!!”
Their battle cry was like a tidal wave, resonating alongside the terrifying sounds of brute force. Knights thrust their lances, pushing forward while their beasts crashed into the ravenous tide, pushing ahead!
“AAAHHHHH—!”
Their voices were hoarse as the golden barrier around them was suddenly clawed at by a flurry of spikes, the brilliant light flickering. But knights didn’t stop; they surged forward, jamming their lance tips into the crowd of demons, until their mounts suffered grievous wounds—legs torn, guts spilled—and only then did these brave warriors finally fall, their light barrier shattered.
Abandoning their broken lances, they drew their swords, battling valiantly as they were encircled by the abyss. They roared skyward, slicing through the twisted demons that blocked their way. Black mud splattered over their faces, blinding them as it rotted their features, turning their golden armor to charred refuse. They let out a muffled howl that barely resembled human pain, yet their swords never wavered, fighting on until they were utterly consumed by the relentless dark wave, their bodies reduced to ash, drifting toward the gray sky.
As the ashen blue smoke spiraled upward, behind it surged even more fearless faces charging toward d*ath.
Yet—
These fearless souls, who could frighten any enemy, in the face of the seemingly infinite, grotesque demons, were like moths to a flame—utterly pointless.
“d*mn it, AAHHHHH—!”
The downed warriors screamed as a massive strongman, half his head ripped away, knelt on the ground, sword dropped. His Horned Horse was brutally torn apart by several demons, and another warrior was still airborne, his body wholly consumed in the splattering abyss mud. The scent of bl**d only just rose in the air before it was whisked away by the wind. Someone, gasping, produced a golden orb hidden in their chest armor—glowing as it pulsed amidst the chaotic demon swarm, and then it erupted!
BOOM—!!
In the heavy thud of the explosion, bl**d and black mud flew everywhere. Such blasts occurred simultaneously throughout the chaotic wave, yet the demons continued their charge, more knights and their steeds fell to the encroaching chaos. Following close behind, warriors wielding purple-glow swords sprang forth, howling a feral roar that didn’t seem like it could belong to the Church’s elite.
“AAAHHHHHHH—!”
They charged in too.
Amidst the carnage, a sticky sea of red spread out, the ripples of flesh torn apart pushed forward wildly by the demons.
At the back of the army, the surviving handful of clerics could barely stand. Bloodied, fierce-eyed, under the old cleric’s rallying cry, they unleashed what was left of their strength for one last dazzling blast.
Zing, zing, zing, zing, zing—!
A rain of holy lances accompanied blazing beams of white light soared over the battlefield, racing in chorus. This time, their target was not the demons closing in.
“Under the radiance of the Divine… be destroyed…”
In the dazzling golden glow, the elderly cleric was already shedding tears, staring through murky eyes at the quietly hovering black orb in the gray sky, like it was watching this slaughter as if it were a mere drama—wrath swirling in his gaze.
Buzz—
In a sudden humming sound of irrefutable divinity, his frail form soared aloft beneath his robe, radiant golden light swirled around him, dancing wildly as the wind blew through his gray hair. White feathers circled down from around him, and countless blazing orbs of light formed above, shining so brightly that it seemed they might breach the heavens.
“DEMON—!”
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—!
The hoarse, mournful cry of the old cleric echoed across the barren land, and with his voice, dozens of astonishing rays shot forth from the glowing sphere, followed by a countless number of holy lances, cutting through the gloom-like shadows of the demons crushing the knights below, racing towards that ominously clouded sky.
