Chapter 957
The Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s Mental Contamination
The mages from the Daffodil Duchy had never anticipated that commoners would be transformed into traps. Even during the most brutal war they had experienced, the Rift War that led to Hrasal’s division, the Star Antimony people had never employed such “inhumane” combat methods.
Before, the commoners of various countries were all one family. Their cultures, languages, and lifestyles were fundamentally the same, and there were no profound hatreds back then. It was a “war with no meaning,” a war caused by the unwillingness of each side to yield when Hercules died without an heir. In such circumstances, anyone who resorted to any means to survive would only create trouble for their future rule. Afterwards, upon becoming part of Star Antimony, these noble mage lords would certainly not be allowed near the frontline.
They also lacked war experience. When they saw commoners approaching them with fear on their faces, they didn’t drive them away with vigilance but instead intended to inquire about their situation. As a result, those commoners exploded one after another— Fortunately, among those who landed first were some of the Children of the Moon, and there were even two Blood Lords. The Children of the Moon were not as benevolent as the high-tower mages and made the most malicious assumptions about everything around them. Therefore, when they saw these commoners suddenly approaching, they secretly heightened their vigilance. This was because they did not see the gratitude and excitement of “being saved” on the faces of these commoners, but rather “fear.” It was a fear that was all too familiar to them. Thus, they all gripped their protective spells—The moment the first explosion occurred, they immediately unleashed them!
—High-Tier Protective Barrier!
—Repelling Iron Wall!
Blood was drawn from their bodies, condensing into two hemispherical barriers, one white and one black. Since this was not a “targeted defense,” they were completely shattered by the continuous explosions the moment they appeared… But thanks to their temporary obstruction, the remaining explosive force had little power left when it penetrated the barrier’s protection. Except for the first three who were severely injured and the most friendly, everyone else only sustained superficial wounds without life-threatening danger.
—And those three mages, now bloody and near death, were miraculously restored to health in an instant by three consecutive golden glows! It was Eivass’s “Radiance” spell—As an Illuminator, his Illuminate Spell no longer required continuous casting or close contact. He only needed to cast the simplest blessing spell on these three mages to receive a corresponding free long-range “Radiance.”
The life force of mages is not strong… it’s equivalent to having low health. Just one healing spell could instantly cure them! Realizing who had cast such a powerful healing spell, the mages, who were initially dazed from the attack, immediately calmed down.
“Are you alright!” Eivass rushed over, followed by Saint Joan. Both of them were delivered by the Grand Guardian’s gryphons.
“I’ll do it,” Saint Joan said with a solemn expression, her hands clasped together. A golden halo condensed around her, forming three rings that spread out in succession. This was the Candlemaster Envoy’s divine art, the Ring of Healing! Ordinary priests could only condense one layer through prayer, and a bishop could condense two rings. Ruoan, without even speaking a word, instantly condensed three rings. The three rings spread out in succession, passing through everyone’s bodies. When the first ring passed, most of the mages’ injuries were healed. When the second ring swept by, everyone had recovered. The third ring had no effect at all.
Ultimately, no one died—which made Eivass breathe a sigh of relief.
“I will escort you,” Eivass said seriously. “Protect yourselves! Do not contact any strangers, and use spells to isolate them outside the formation!”
“—Maintain formation, we will proceed to the mage tower at full speed!”
“Then I will provide acceleration for everyone…” Ruoan said, raising her hand. A hourglass symbol faintly appeared above her head, then inverted. Everyone’s movements suddenly doubled—not their speed or strength, but as if the flow of time had accelerated! Eivass recognized it… This should be the Hourglass Deity’s High-Tier Divine Art. The authority of time, which originally required an altar and ritual to invoke, was directly granted to everyone by Saint Joan with a wave of her hand.
Immediately, a strong pulse of life surged, and Eivass felt as if he could sense the pulse of the earth—this was the buff Eivass was familiar with, a blessing that allowed for long journeys or crossing difficult terrain without fatigue.
“We will guard the port here first.” Eivass turned back and said in a low voice to the Grand Guardian. “With the Children of the Moon here… if we encounter an attack ahead, they can hold out for a long time. Then, with Philip’s speed, we can get there instantly.”
“Understood,” the Grand Guardian said in a deep voice. “I will be on standby at all times.”
But at this moment. A human-like look of confusion appeared on Philip’s bird-like face.
“Is there a problem?” Eivass keenly noticed this trace of confusion and immediately asked, “Mr. Philip, please state your thoughts directly.” The demons did not act like the demon legions in his memory. They seemed to have a commander… In such a situation, Eivass believed any opinion would be valuable.
“…No, nothing. It’s not a big deal,” Philip’s steady, middle-aged voice said. “I’m just a little confused… —Why didn’t we come from the Iris Flower side? When we attacked the Star Antimony capital before, didn’t we establish a temporary fortress on the border between Iris Flower and Star Antimony?”
“It should only take about two days to reach the Spirit Tower from there, which should be enough time. Or we could transport the Black Face over first and let it bring the Spirit Tower to us… I mean, is there such a possibility?”
As a favored creature of the Crown Lord, the gryphon held more reverence for the Pillar Gods than ordinary creatures. Pure-blooded gryphons clearly dared not disobey this Child of the Candlemaster, so they expressed their opinions cautiously. Eivass, upon hearing this, was slightly taken aback. He originally wanted to say that they wouldn’t be able to control the Spirit Tower immediately—but then Philip’s idea of “letting the Black Face bring the Spirit Tower over” immediately shut down his thought. Eivass’s mind felt chaotic for a moment, and he felt a trace of doubt.
…Yes, why didn’t I think of that? Or rather, why did I initially want to attack by sea?
Eivass pondered for a long time before finding an answer that surprised him. …Because that’s how it was originally in the storyline. The original resistance against the Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s demon legion was provided by reinforcements brought from the Church by Queen of Flowers Isabel. Although there was an allied army at the time, it was mainly comprised of Star Antimony’s own soldiers—because Star Antimony had not yet split, and the soldiers from Daffodil and Black Hawk who joined now were originally Star Antimony’s land army. Those Star Antimony land armies were originally in Star Antimony and were gradually integrated into the Church’s army! And the initial landing force was only the Paladin Legion, landing under the cover of the “Cruel Preacher,” which was the only ship at the time!
Since the Church disliked interfering in other countries, and their initial troop strength was less than two thousand, their choice to travel by water was very reasonable—the supplies for these two thousand soldiers could be carried by ships. At that time, in the main storyline, the main resistance encountered by the Allied forces after landing was from Count Leipzig, who had defected to the Fallen Heavenly Envoy. Leipzig was then known as the “City of Blood Feasts,” and Count Leipzig was known as the “Banquet Master.” Up to this point, they had hardly encountered any demons, and the resistance came from the corrupt and fallen extraordinary individuals whom Leipzig had bribed with money.
After the players defeated the “Banquet Master,” the next main storyline dungeon was the Spirit Tower—not the “Thousand Year Vow of Hatred Spirit Tower,” but the “Sealed Library Necromantic Academy,” where the BOSS was a young male Necromancer with two plump stitched corpses. Eivass had even forgotten his name because there were no special mechanics. After clearing the Spirit Tower, they would gradually advance their territory and encounter the “Four Heavenly Kings” sent by the Fallen Heavenly Envoy, which were four corrupted Upper Demons of human origin… In the original storyline, it was at this point that the players gradually learned information about the “Ouroboros Ring Ritual.”
—Naturally, in the original timeline, Avalon would not have helped Star Antimony. Because Avalon was already a puppet state of Star Antimony at that time. Not only was it in a state of warlordism, but it also harbored intense hatred towards Star Antimony. The gryphon legion at that time had long been annihilated—and because of this, air superiority was always controlled by the demon legion. The Allied forces had no air force, and their only powerful mobility came from the group teleportation of the mage towers.
But now it was different. The gryphon legions, under Eivass’s command, had already bombed the Star Antimony capital once! For ease of advancement, their military camp was established on the Iris Flower border—meaning, this was already a usable base! Moreover, this wave of allied forces was numerous enough that if the war dragged on, the transportation of logistical supplies would encounter resistance.
“…Damn it, how could I have made such a big mistake!” Eivass jolted awake and was immediately horrified.
—That’s not right? He suddenly turned to look at the Grand Guardian. The Grand Guardian himself was a master of fort construction; others might not know or might have forgotten, but he couldn’t have forgotten! Then why, when Eivass sought his advice, did he say nothing?
“I don’t think it’s a big problem.” The Grand Guardian’s expression was relaxed. He had personally slain more than one succubus, which made him unusually excited—the shame of the past was still etched in his heart, and he harbored an almost hateful animosity towards succubi. His face was full of smiles, and a faint redness flickered in his eyes. “After all, isn’t the result good?”
“—Although the ships sank, weren’t all those who fell into the water, except for the Children of the Moon, still able to be rescued? Not many soldiers were killed by the direct lightning strike, certainly fewer casualties than advancing slowly on land. As for those Children of the Moon…” The Grand Guardian sneered at this point and did not continue.
“I don’t think there’s a problem either.” Saint Joan’s tone was motherly, as if comforting Eivass like a child. “Besides, Miss Night Demon can take care of everyone, can’t she?”
At this moment, the Night Demon had been assigned to the rear by Eivass—she had completely unfolded her domain, disregarding the possibility of being discovered by the Fallen Heavenly Envoy. Within the dark red clouds, she was like a god. She had set the target of her curse to “all demons within the domain,” inflicting a “stupidity curse” on all demons, including herself! This was a curse Eivass had once used on Sherlock to cool down his overheating, unstoppable brain. And the curse cast by a Sixth Tier Night Demon was enough to make the cursed person’s brain temporarily become idiotic!
Under such interference, the demons would be almost impossible to attack immediately upon teleportation. During this brief delay, they would be torn and pierced by the cruel blood rain because they themselves were suffering from the curse! If the cursed were bathed in that blood rain, it would be like being continuously pierced by countless steel needles. Perhaps only demons like Berserk Demons, Labyrinth Demons, and Blade Demons could withstand the damage, while for fragile demons like Winter Demons, Succubi, and Nightmares, the moment of stunned confusion upon appearing could be enough to cost them their lives.
—And for those who were not cursed, this blood rain was merely viscous and foul-smelling rainwater.
The situation had indeed stabilized for now, and it indeed seemed to be a matter of detail. The number of soldiers killed by the demon surprise attack was unexpectedly low, and in the Grand Guardian’s view, this could even be considered a great victory! But Eivass felt an ever-increasing unease. An inexplicable fear gradually calmed him down—what he cared about now was not even the battle damage or the marching route, but “why he arranged things so smoothly.” And until now, no one had reminded Eivass. The only one who realized something was wrong was the gryphon from the Grand Guardian’s household!
Was a gryphon smarter than everyone else?
…Is it because people are too afraid of the Pope? Are they afraid to voice their opinions? That’s probably not the case either—he had a good relationship with the Grand Guardian and respected the elder. The Grand Guardian had no reason to be afraid of him. And the gryphon should be the one afraid of him.
…Moreover, based on Eivass’s impression of the Grand Guardian, he was a silent, gentle, and just person. George detested war but accepted it; he would never be as excited as he was now, nor would he say things like “the battle damage isn’t much.” Even though he hated the Children of the Moon—after all, he was attacked by a succubus and a Child of the Moon at the time… But Eivass believed he wouldn’t do something like deliberately tricking an ally.
…It was as if the hatred in his heart had become fresh and magnified countless times.
It was even more impossible for the former Pope, Saint Joan—this motherly figure should pity every life. Yet now she had become Eivass’s absolute supporter, not negating any of his proposals and even striving to excuse Eivass, who was clearly having problems. But they had only met a few times! Eivass suddenly realized that perhaps it wasn’t just himself—even the mental state of this former Pope had issues!
…And why was the gryphon fine?
“Could it be because…” Eivass murmured in a low voice.
…Because the gryphon is a “Winged One”?
(End of this chapter)
