Chapter 314 - 311: Post-War Reflections on the Light Barrier
Chapter 314: Chapter 311: Post-War Reflections on the Light Barrier
Under the calming influence of the Red Robed Bishop, the leaders of the Guardian Knight Order and the City Guard Commander each snorted coldly, no longer paying attention to the other, and prepared to attend to their own affairs.
However, the Holy Knights and the Red Robed Archbishop fighting the Nine-Headed Snake above the river surface saw that all these people had gathered on the shore’s dock, and immediately shouted angrily, “What are you still doing there? Hurry up and leave the dock, head into the city.”
Hearing this, the people of the Light God Church were somewhat puzzled, not understanding why the Archbishop and the others would say such a thing.
After all, in their minds, the Nine-Headed Snake shouldn’t dare to come ashore, and even if it did, with Doro and the others’ strength, combined with the help of so many people, they could definitely kill this formidable ninth-level Demon Beast.
While they hesitated, the Doro Holy Knight also scolded, “Haven’t you left yet? Do you really think a ninth-level Demon Beast is that easy to deal with, you bunch of fools? Since you’re on shore, why don’t you hurry to leave instead of staying here waiting for the Nine-Headed Snake to raise a giant wave and sweep you all into the water?
The City Guard must also leave with them; your defensive measures might work against ordinary high-level Demon Beasts, but it’s absolutely impossible against a ninth-level Demon Beast.
…
It’s a joke. When have you ever heard of ninth-level Demon Beasts being killed by siege crossbows and catapults?
Hurry up and leave, take everyone on the dock with you, don’t leave a single person behind, all retreat back to the city to secure it, summon all Mages and Priests to raise a Defensive Shield, lest the flood break the city walls.”
Hearing the Doro Holy Knight speak so seriously, the crowd finally came to their senses and hurriedly ran towards the city.
Even the normally delicate Priests could not care about their dignity at this moment. Without carriages, without horses, they simply ran with the soldiers beside them toward the city not far away.
Because they ran too hastily, they inevitably dropped many belongings.
Especially the Siege Crossbows and Catapults that the City Guard had managed to transport out of the city with great difficulty, one more cumbersome than the other. In the end, with no choice left, they could only leave the even more unwieldy Catapults behind and take the more valuable Siege Crossbows.
The dock was in chaos, but at least within half an hour, they managed to have thousands from the Light God Church – Priests, Knights, and the City Guard, along with some people near the dock – all take shelter within the city.
Then, without even taking time to catch their breath, all the Priests and Knights went up on the city walls, and meanwhile, the City Guard Commander instructed the guard to ride fast and invite all Mages in the city to come and help.
However, Holy Knight Doro and the two Red Robed Archbishops couldn’t wait that long. Seeing that everyone on the dock had entered the city, although there were certainly many commoners in the fields on both sides of the city not knowing what was happening still toiling in the fields, they simply did not care about them.
After such a long and fierce battle, all three of them had consumed most of their strength.
Especially Holy Knight Doro.
As the main force in close combat restraining the Nine-Headed Snake, he had consumed even more of his Light Fighting Energy and already felt somewhat exhausted after persisting for so long.
So seeing everyone had entered the city, he finally felt relieved, forcefully attacked and drove back several snakeheads in front of him, quickly withdrew, and together with the two Red Robed Archbishops, flew toward the rear.
Previously, while the three of them had pressured and fought, the Nine-Headed Snake’s several heads and body had suffered some injuries, more or less, with the most severe even blinding one of its eyes.
The Nine-Headed Snake, having suffered such a grievous loss, was unwilling to let them go just like that. As a ninth-level Demon Beast, it was always them preying on other beings; when had they been bullied by the Human Clan?
The enraged Nine-Headed Snake shook its nine huge heads, sending various powerful spells toward Doro and the others.
The Doro Holy Knights swung their Cross Swords to intercept the streams of magic attacks, while the two Red Robed Archbishops were enveloped in powerful Defensive Magic, making resistance seemingly effortless for them.
These were, after all, just casual spells cast by the Nine-Headed Snake, only enough to momentarily bind them. To actually harm them, it would require an even more potent spell.
Therefore, they quickly landed on the city walls.
“Hiss-roar…”
Enraged, the Nine-Headed Snake thrashed its long tail, rapidly swimming toward the shore.
Yet even in its fury, it had no intention of coming ashore, evidently aware of its own weakness.
The snake’s nine enormous heads roared in unison, their external forces of Water Element gathering, the river behind them suddenly ceased to flow downstream and instead concentrated in the area, growing increasingly immense and imposing an alarming presence.
“Not good.”
One of the Red Robed Archbishops’ complexion dramatically changed. “This Nine-Headed Snake is really planning to cast a Forbidden Curse Magic. It intends to breach the city and drown everyone.”
“Quick, quick! All Priests, take your positions along the walls, heed the command, prepare to assist us in deploying the large-scale Defensive Magic ‘Light Barrier’. We must stop the Nine-Headed Snake’s Forbidden Curse Magic. We cannot let it break through the walls.”
During this exchange, the two Red Robed Archbishops began to chant their spells.
This was the eleventh level protective magic ‘Light Barrier’, a type of large-scale Defensive Magic.
Originally, this level of protective magic wouldn’t stand up to a Forbidden Curse of less than twelfth level, but they had two Archbishops, along with thousands of Priests, including dozens akin to Magic Guide Masters in Red Robes. Unless the Nine-Headed Snake unleashed several Forbidden Curses in succession, they were confident they could hold the walls.
Of course, the primary reason they didn’t deploy a Forbidden Curse Magic for defense or counter the Nine-Headed Snake was because their speed of casting a Forbidden Curse was much slower, nowhere near as swift as that of the Nine-Headed Snake, or to say, most Demon Beasts cast spells faster than any of the Human Clan’s Great Magic Guide Masters.
After all, Demon Beasts gained their magic inheritance through their bloodline, their magic essentially being Talent Skills, making the casting process relatively easier.
However, it was much simpler for the two Red Robed Archbishops to deploy the eleventh-level large-scale Defensive Magic in unison, especially with the help of over a thousand Priests.
Thus, before the massive waves beside the Nine-Headed Snake had fully coalesced, the city walls were already radiating brightly, the ‘Light Barrier’ standing firmly in front, staunchly protecting the walls.
Qin Feng stood in a corner of the city wall, also reaching out a hand to draw forth the Light Magic Power from within his body and channel it into the Light Magic before him, maintaining the strength of the ‘Light Barrier’.
Of course, he was somewhat just going through the motions.
He never intended to exert himself, and was merely drawing a bit of power from the Demon Core that was originally part of the Silver Winged Pegasus within himself, just to put on an appearance.
He was indifferent to these people clashing to the death with the Nine-Headed Snake.
Of course, it would be even better if they could deplete the Nine-Headed Snake’s Magic Power.
Qin Feng looked towards the Nine-Headed Snake not far from the dock. At this moment, the vast floodwaters surrounding it were tens of meters high, an incredibly alarming sight that even gave him a start.
“Boom…”
Deafening roars of the waves resounded as the Nine-Headed Snake unleashed the twelfth-level Forbidden Curse Magic, Overwhelming Waves, which surged down instantaneously—one wave violently crashing after another onto the city walls.
The impact was relentless, the sound of the waves striking the Defensive Magic didn’t cease, and with each collision, the Light Barrier shook uncontrollably, leaving all the priests pale-faced.
It was not until this moment that they truly witnessed the might of a ninth-level demon beast and understood the terror it represented.
Yet this was a Water Element Forbidden Curse Magic, its Attack Power not considered strong, as it merely relied on the force of the waves. Against many formidable beings, dodging such an attack wasn’t difficult; they needed only to fly up to escape unless the Nine-Headed Snake cast another powerful Forbidden Curse Magic, capable of threatening those with the ability to fly.
However, they couldn’t leave—if they flew away, it would mean abandoning hundreds of thousands of people within the city. If word spread, it would profoundly tarnish the Light God Church.
Thus, the Red Robed Archbishop could only lead the priests to staunchly hold their ground.
But the waves were unceasing, the flood outside the city walls rising higher and higher. Despite swiftly flowing in all directions, the waves came too fast, one after another without pause. Soon, the water level outside the walls, particularly nearby the docks, had reached the height of the city walls themselves.
Had the two Red Robed Archbishops not continually raised the limit of the Light Barrier, they might have withstood the direct magic assault but still would have been washed away by the ensuing floods.
“This won’t do. Doro, Deputy Army Commander, go out and distract the Nine-Headed Snake, break its rhythm of casting forbidden curses, and allow the floodwater to recede.”
“Alright, I’m on it.”
Doro nodded upon hearing the command.
A brief rest had restored a significant amount of his Fighting Energy, enabling him to momentarily grapple with the Nine-Headed Snake.
He obviously understood the intent of the two Red Robed Archbishops: they wanted him to interrupt the Nine-Headed Snake’s curses to drain the floodwater. Even if the snake cast another Forbidden Curse afterwards, they weren’t afraid, as the Nine-Headed Snake’s Magic Power wasn’t infinite. Each casting of a Forbidden Curse drained substantial Magic Power, and once it was depleted, it would have to retreat or else face a relentless pursuit by the human powerhouses.
“Sssao…”
With the strike of Doro, the Holy Knight, the Nine-Headed Snake was forced to halt its onslaught of Forbidden Curse attacks.
Without kin by its side, it had to contend with the Holy Knight through its own strength alone. As such, its initially accumulated Magic Power visibly weakened, and the previously raging floodwaters calmed down.
This gave the priests on the city walls a much-needed respite. Without powerful successive waves, the previously surging floodwaters scattered in all directions, robbing the Nine-Headed Snake of the chance to approach and unleash another more deadly Forbidden Curse Magic.
Doro was crafty; once he saw the waters had sufficiently retreated, he quickly turned and retreated. When the Nine-Headed Snake attempted to raise devastating waves against the city walls again, he would strike back and disrupt its magic.
After a few rounds, the Nine-Headed Snake, both annoyed and angry, realized it was futile to persist and submerged into the water, disappearing from sight.
“The Nine-Headed Snake ran away?”
“We won!”
In an instant, all the priests and knights erupted into cheers.
To have overcome such a formidable ninth-level demon beast sent a wave of elation crashing through their very cores.
Only those who had witnessed the strength of a ninth-level demon beast firsthand could understand how difficult such a foe was to contend with.
Although they couldn’t truly say they had won, merely forcing the Nine-Headed Snake to retreat was, in itself, a victorious feat for the average priest and knight.
As the people within the city, who had been on tenterhooks, heard that the powerful warriors of the Light God Church had repelled the formidable Nine-Headed Snake, cheers erupted throughout.
Just like the other young priests beside him, Qin Feng’s face beamed with jubilation, though inside, he couldn’t help but sigh silently.
He regretted that Doro, the Holy Knight, and the others were overly cautious, letting the Nine-Headed Snake leave after depleting much of its Magic Power without intercepting it, merely watching it escape.
Nevermind.
Qin Feng shook his head slightly; if there was no opportunity to gain an advantage this time, then he would wait for another chance.
For now, he needed to obediently join the rest and proceed to Holy Mountain to attend the celebration of the election of the Saint Heir.
Hmm, he wondered what Holy Mountain looked like.
But considering the Magic Power in his Silver Winged Pegasus’ Demon Core, he should be among the stronger group of young priests.
He had heard that the Pope of the Light God Church was skilled in the Great Prophecy Technique and possessed eyes that could see through everything—could he see through the Demon Core inside him?
At this thought, Qin Feng’s brow furrowed.
Previous Druid infiltrators into the Light God Church either held low statuses or did not attract the Pope’s attention, so there was no particular scrutiny.
However, at the grand celebration for selecting the Holy Son of Light, the Pope would certainly make a personal appearance. If Qin Feng sought to stay on Holy Mountain and obtain a certain status, he would need to stand out.
Doing so might attract the Pope’s notice, and if the Holy Father saw through the Demon Core within him, it could place Qin Feng in jeopardy.
At this point, Qin Feng began to waver.
Should he remove the Demon Core from his body?
Yes, it was safer to do so, in case of an unexpected incident.
After all, he already possessed the Light Power within him, and even his Dantian contained the Light Holy Flame, so there was no fear of being unable to cast Light Magic.
Not only did the Silver Winged Pegasus’ Demon Core need to be removed, but he also had to refine away the Wood Element Magic that he had originally cultivated.
After all, the power of the Druids was too conspicuous!