Chapter 311: The Angel's Descent (Part 8)
"Of course, my friend."
Unexpectedly, Valac readily agreed.
"However... I only came to this godforsaken place part-time because I was invited by that Evil Spirit. Although the rules here don't restrict me much, to completely destroy them..."
William immediately tossed a bottle of forty-year vintage Holy Water.
The glass bottle traced a parabola in mid-air, falling accurately into Valac's mouth.
Glug... glug...
As the Holy Water flowed and spread within its oral cavity, the demon's eyes gradually began to glaze over.
"Oh... that's the taste, that's the pain."
The facial features on the gate began to twitch.
"More... more..."
William immediately threw a few more bottles.
Holy Water dripped from the corner of its mouth, and those amber pupils began to roll upwards...
Aside, the four people watched this scene with bizarre expressions.
After experiencing Sweepers cooperating with humans and William being acquainted with a demon, their worldviews were refreshed once again.
Is this world still normal?
"Lord... please bestow Your mercy and take this memory from my mind..." Bettis prayed with her hands resting on her chest.
Caroline widened her eyes and pointed at the gate: "Does Hell not have a place like a police station? This guy is clearly a pervert."
Lorcy discreetly shielded her eyes with her hand, her face full of disgust.
Shiloj, on the other hand, observed with great interest, nodding from time to time as if he were learning a lot.
Screech... screech...
At the same time, a sharp friction sound echoed from beneath the gate, and immediately after, the "final gate" completely opened.
Compared to the previous areas, the passage behind this gate was much wider, with a massive mist vortex spanning across the distance.
"You guys... can... pass." Valac was still intoxicated by that pain.
Bettis was the first to step forward, her eyes half-closed, her lips still muttering prayers.
Caroline hid behind Shiloj. Seeing the blonde youth trying to stop and study the gate further, she hurriedly tugged at him.
Lorcy frowned the entire time, clutching her collar tightly and hugging the opposite wall. She even broke into a slight jog as she passed the "face gate."
William, however, leaned close to the gate before leaving, conspiring in low voices with Valac.
Although the others couldn't hear their conversation, they saw William take out another bottle of Holy Water and place it on the ground, to which Valac nodded in satisfaction.
"What were you talking about?" Lorcy frowned. "What about the people trapped by it?"
"Oh, just gathering some intelligence. Those guys from the Wings of Vengeance all went behind the gate not long ago," William answered casually.
"As for the trapped..."
He looked up at the sky as he spoke.
Before long, many black dots indeed appeared above, and immediately after, dozens of iron cages plummeted down.
Because they were tethered by chains at the top, these iron cages did not smash to pieces upon landing.
Clack. Clack.
The locks popped open one by one, and the Holy Clergy Members inside slowly walked out.
"Lord... thank You for saving me."
"Where is this? Have I really been condemned to Hell!"
"..."
After the noisy commotion, the crowd finally realized they had been saved.
Kalvis grabbed his crucifix and was about to charge at the gate but was stopped by Shiloj.
"That Mr. Demon helped us. Let's get down to business first."
The former turned his head in surprise, and the others didn't voice any objections either.
"It seems something happened..." Kalvis thought inwardly.
At the same time, the magma and fissures had already spread to the spot where they were standing earlier.
The group didn't linger any longer, quickly walking towards the mist vortex.
"Hey!" At this time, Valac suddenly called out.
William knew the other party was calling him, so he turned his head.
"Don't die as easily as that guy Jacob did."
William raised an eyebrow.
He didn't know any Jacob, but he understood the underlying concern in those words.
Therefore, William nodded slightly.
From an angle he didn't notice, Bettis, Caroline, and Lorcy were all darting strange glances back and forth between the two of them.
The final buffer zone.
A pale blue stone was tossed into mid-air, and a dazzling blue light burst from its surface. The figures of Olivia, Ruen, and their group were quickly engulfed.
Subsequently, a meteor-like streak of light rapidly ascended from the ground, disappearing into the night sky after just a few seconds.
This was the last batch of trapped survivors to evacuate.
Among the squads participating in the Priest Order selection this time, except for those who unfortunately perished at the hands of the Sweepers, everyone else who reached the buffer zone chose to teleport away.
Although they lost the chance to enter the Holy See, they at least preserved their lives.
As for the Holy Clergy Members who had voluntarily joined the rescue operation, they would receive a separate commendation from the Church after this ordeal.
So now, only the four Holy Clan members and the squad led by William remained here.
The former carried the Church's secret mission and naturally could not leave.
And William's group also had their own respective goals; the merit of the rescue operation alone was far from enough.
Therefore, after a brief rest, the group prepared to head to the area behind the gate.
"According to the mission issued by the Church, as long as the 'Ten Commandments Stele' is found, Lord Jolan can evacuate early," Lorcy said.
"But with such a huge commotion in the Land of the Holy War earlier, he still didn't show up. Could that Excellency have been... by the Evil Spirit..."
Shiloj shook his head: "Although the Evil Spirit behind this is powerful, it's impossible for it to harm Lord Jolan."
"Maybe he went tracking those guys from the Wings of Vengeance," Haggai rubbed his chin.
"Everyone, we will know the answer once we reach the final area," Kalvis said.
No one objected, so they immediately walked into the mist.
During the trek, Kalvis tried to make William's group take the lead, using reasons like "protecting the Holy Clans" and "must obey orders."
But Shiloj refused.
"The Land of the Holy War is extremely dangerous. As Holy Clergy Members of the Church, we should cooperate together. No one should be treated as a sacrifice."
This greatly improved William's impression of this youth from the David clan.
"It seems the Church isn't entirely made up of selfish hypocrites," he thought inwardly.
Not long after, the group passed through the misty zone.
The sky finally brightened, but the thick, overcast clouds stretched endlessly.
This was a vast forested meadow, incredibly expansive all around.
As William stepped onto the muddy ground, a thick putrid stench rushed into his nose, causing him to frown.
Many miscellaneous items were scattered across the nearby ground.
Wooden wagon wheels, iron weapons, half-buried skeletal remains...
This place seemed to be a battlefield.
As they continued forward, some bloodstains also appeared among the grass.
Boom!
Just as they were planning to investigate, a loud crash suddenly came from the sky.
The group immediately looked up, only to see a bright red halo bursting in the high altitude. A few seconds later, a fierce shockwave swept towards them.
Rustle, rustle...
The trees and grass instantly bowed to one side, and William's group all assumed defensive postures.
This kind of shockwave hit three times in total before gradually subsiding.
"The sound seems to be coming from very far away," Bettis narrowed her eyes.
"Power of this magnitude belongs to at least a Holy See Acolyte," Shiloj shaded his eyes with his hand, gazing into the distance.
Lorcy and Kalvis exchanged a glance, both seeing the gravity in each other's eyes.
"The only Acolyte dispatched this time is Lord Jolan. Does this mean..." Lorcy trailed off.
Haggai picked up the thought: "To be able to fight head-on with that Excellency, it seems the enemy's strength is not weak either."
William, however, was observing his surroundings.
"Forest environment. The only visible evacuation direction currently is the mist, which hasn't disappeared after we passed through... Very good." He quickly evaluated the peripheral situation.
Subsequently, under the watchful eyes of the group, he set up five layers of magic arrays near the dense fog.
"What are you doing? Are there enemies around?" Shiloj looked around. "I didn't sense anything."
"Just a precautionary measure, Your Excellency," William replied. "To prevent anyone from destroying this place after we leave, considering this is currently the only evacuation route."
Kalvis sneered: "As a Holy Clergy Member, clinging to life and fearing death is not a virtuous trait."
"Our goal is to safely return with the item, not to display meaningless heroics here," William shot back. "Besides, this is God pitying our situation and giving me a warning. Does Lord Saul have a different opinion on this?"
"You..." Kalvis was momentarily speechless, then forced himself to say, "God's guidance is supreme. Naturally, I have no objections."
Lorcy secretly covered her mouth and chuckled.
Haggai inwardly gave a thumbs up; it was his first time seeing Kalvis eat his words.
Shiloj patted William's shoulder: "A very wise decision. This can indeed prevent many accidents. Thank you for your teaching."
William could only wave his hand: "It's just a minor matter..."
He was well-versed in dealing with arrogant young masters like Kalvis, but Shiloj's sincerity was almost too much for William to handle.
Having witnessed many of the Church's "masterpieces," such purity always gave him an unreal feeling.
After this minor interlude, the group crossed a small hill and then witnessed a shocking scene.
Not far away on the meadow were many figures. With his keen eyesight, William confirmed that one side consisted entirely of Church personnel.
They each wielded holy artifacts, fighting against the enemies.
The latter were decayed corpses, some even complete skeletal remains. They were surrounded by a yellowish-brown halo, charging the Church's formation with weapons in hand.
And behind this army of the dead was a massive barrier radiating an evil aura.
Inside, a pattern was arranged using some sort of materials. From William's angle, it looked like a human with wings.
"A summoning ritual!" Kalvis had a serious expression.
The others realized this as well.
"To think it really is a ritual to summon an angel. This kind of magic array actually exists," Haggai looked on in disbelief.
"Judging by the energy fluctuations, the ritual has already been activated," Lorcy frowned. "But... there doesn't seem to be an existence of that caliber around here."
At this time, Haggai recovered from his shock and shook his head: "Although the accumulation of evil power is already very strong, relying solely on this power is far from enough to summon a true angel."
Bettis's eyes lit up: "Does that mean we still have time to stop it?"
Haggai nodded, then shook his head: "If inferred from the records in the ancient texts, yes. But I cannot confirm if those guys have made other arrangements."
Kalvis said: "Which means, regardless of the situation, we must stop it as soon as possible."
At this time, William raised another crucial question: "Where is Lord Jolan? It's impossible for him not to know this."
Reminded by him, the crowd also looked around.
"Over there," Shiloj pointed to mid-air.
At this moment, the area behind the dark clouds suddenly became unusually bright. Immediately after, a giant orb of light plummeted from above. The powerful shockwave forced both warring factions on the ground to halt.
Jolan spat out a mouthful of bloody water and wiped the grime from the corner of his mouth.
At this moment, the Holy See Archbishop had lost his usual elegant and proper demeanor.
The black robe he wore was tattered, revealing his strong, well-proportioned muscles beneath. Two shocking gashes marred his chest.
Jolan's appearance also exhibited slight changes.
Aside from the many golden runes roaming across the surface of his skin, his eyes had lost their pupils, leaving only a field of pure white light.
And behind him hovered a massive circular halo, radiating both golden and white Holy Light, making this Archbishop look like a deity.
At this time, another slender figure descended from the clouds.
She had a beautiful, cold face, held a long crusader sword in her hand, and her exquisite curves looked extremely alluring.
But her deathly pale skin added a touch of the eerie to that allure.
Sharp, pointed nails, six massive blood-red wings, and a black crucifix mark on her chest...
All of this added an air of mystery to Sariel.
"Your aura is a bit weaker than before. It seems maintaining this form is quite draining," she spoke softly.
"Hmph... spare me the meaningless probing. If you want to test my strength, feel free to come try," Jolan replied in a cold tone.
"Why," Sariel ran a finger across the blood on her blade.
"The Church's rot is deep-rooted. But as far as I know, you are considered part of the reformist faction within. Our goals should align."
"A heretic has the nerve to boast here?" Jolan pointed downwards.
"Is your so-called 'changing the world' murdering so many innocent people?"
"Historical reform is destined by fate. Bloodshed is inevitable. Such scenes have played out more than once over the past few millennia," Sariel said.
"Their corpses will become the foundation of the new world. When the time comes, I will personally build a monument for these dedicated souls."
"Then why don't you become that foundation?" Jolan sneered. "Since you say reform cannot be changed, there will surely be someone to take your place. Why don't you just kill yourself right now? I can even collect your corpse for you."
Sariel frowned, gripping the hilt of her crusader sword tightly.
"I have to admit, you do have some skill in the art of debate," her tone turned icy.
"Hmph, just picked it up from someone else." A face flashed through Jolan's mind. "Besides, winning an absurd argument isn't difficult."
"Arrogant fool." Sariel's figure instantly vanished, reappearing right in front of Jolan.
Gripping her sword with both hands, she slashed upward, instantly carving out a crescent-shaped slash.
Jolan immediately crossed his arms in front of him, a layer of pale golden bone covering the surface of his skin.
Boom!
After another massive crash, Jolan's figure smashed into the clouds at an inconceivable speed, vanishing instantly into them.
A ring-shaped shockwave expanded outward in all directions.
In front of the ritual magic array.
Crack.
A skeleton was shattered by the shockwave, and the evil aura on its surface was dispersed by the impact.
"That's the 347th time," Beelzebub withdrew his hand. "The evil aura was completely annihilated; it seems it can't be recycled."
Then he shook his head: "When it comes to stopping the ritual, Sariel is actually more useful than these Church people."
"Stop complaining. If it weren't for her, we would have been purified by that Archbishop long ago," Abraham pushed up his glasses.
"Let's focus on the present. Those guys are coming again."
As soon as his voice fell, a few people wearing Church robes appeared outside the barrier.
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