Chapter 765

Chapter 765

I Told You Back Then. (3)

Another High Priest appeared beside Grondal. Dark energy flickered in his hand.

Just as the priest was about to swing his hand toward Grondal.

Paaah!

A massive Fire Spirit spewed flames as it blocked his path.

The raging blaze swallowed the priest, and he drew all his strength to resist.

Before anyone realized it, Ereneth appeared, summoning spirits with a cool smile.

“You’re going to fight me.”

Soon Lionel also ran up with his shield raised, standing by her side with a tense expression.

Rahmod furrowed his brow deeply.

The High Priests he had called were forces he had kept in reserve in case something disrupted the fight against Grondal.

Yet to think the Julien Mercenary Corps had prepared the same countermeasure.

‘That bastard… He really seems to have a lot of combat experience.’

He had sensed it before, but that Astion was not simply a powerful mage.

He felt as if he had experienced countless battlefields.

As new figures appeared, the battle briefly entered a lull.

Rahmod took a step back and spoke.

“So, you’ve prepared in your own way. But… do you really think you can endure with that skill?”

The newly reinforced High Priests of the Salvation Church were Transcendents. In contrast, Julien, Ereneth, and Lionel had yet to reach the realm of Transcendence.

No matter how skilled they were, there were limits they could not surpass. The difference in power was unmistakable.

Ghislain surely knew this.

In truth, even holding out would only be possible if Kyle arrived. But Kyle still hadn’t made it here.

Even so, Ghislain had something he trusted in.

“From now on, things will be a little different.”

Deneb, who had been in the very rear, dropped to her knees.

She closed her eyes and slowly joined her hands in prayer.

“…Grant breath to those who are dying, strength to those who fall, and your light to those who fight.”

Paaaaah!

A faint light rose from Deneb’s body.

Soon the light spread like a wave, wrapping around everyone in their group.

Though Deneb had bestowed her blessing, the light was truly feeble. To someone else, it might have looked like paltry Divine Power.

But Ghislain was not worried.

Deneb’s Divine Power was nothing short of a natural enemy to the Salvation Church.

Sure enough, Rahmod and Tagmah’s faces stiffened.

‘That… is dangerous.’

Divine Power that could extinguish their darkness in an instant. Such power now rested upon the bodies of those fighting.

The two of them realized this battle had become much more difficult than they’d expected.

Kuung!

Grondal struck his halberd into the ground and burst into loud laughter.

“Kuhahah! You bastards’ faces are truly a sight to see! Are you starting to get scared now?”

At his mocking laughter, Rahmod spoke in a cold voice.

“…Use your full strength and kill them.”

Kwaaaang!

The newly reinforced priests charged toward Julien, Ereneth, and Lionel.

At the same time, Rahmod abandoned Ghislain and lunged straight for Deneb.

He intended to kill Deneb first so that her Divine Power could no longer interfere with them.

But Ghislain appeared before him in an instant and swung his sword.

Kaaang!

Chiiiiik!

Thick smoke burst from Rahmod’s hand as it blocked Ghislain’s sword. It looked as though his flesh was burning.

“Ghk…”

At last, Rahmod’s eyes quivered violently.

He knew Divine Power clashed with the Salvation Church’s energy, but this was too extreme.

He had surpassed the realm of Transcendence, yet this feeble Divine Power was wounding him!

Rahmod gritted his teeth and struck Ghislain with all his might.

Kwaaaang!

Ghislain blocked with his sword but was pushed back, sliding across the ground. His insides churned painfully, but unlike before, he didn’t fly away helplessly.

There was only one reason for that.

Deneb’s Divine Power.

That gentle blessing was dulling Rahmod’s overwhelming energy.

Rahmod was still so strong that Ghislain suffered damage, but the important thing was that he could endure it.

Ghislain wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and laughed.

“How is it? I told you things were going to change.”

“……”

Rahmod looked around.

Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaaaaang!

Tagmah was steadily being pushed back by Grondal, who was now wreathed in Divine Power.

The momentum of the Dwarf King, already formidable, now felt like a roaring mountain range.

It was no different elsewhere.

The members of the Julien Mercenary Corps were holding their ground against the Transcendent priests.

They were still at a disadvantage, but it was critical that they were not being overwhelmed and were able to pin down their enemies.

Rahmod felt a sudden surge of exhaustion.

‘…Was this also a mistake?’

He had prioritized this place because dealing with the Dwarves seemed more important. He had left the Julien Mercenary Corps to the forces he’d gathered over time.

He had believed it would be enough if they merely kept them occupied. Once the Dwarf side was settled, he thought he could come and kill them whenever he pleased.

But that was a misjudgment.

‘I should have used all my strength to kill these people first.’

Rahmod glared at Deneb, who continued her prayer.

‘As long as that woman is here, we can’t win easily.’

She had to be killed, no matter what.

If this situation continued, the tide of battle would inevitably shift. And at the center of that shift was a mere lowly priestess who appeared to have no strength at all.

Tagmah seemed to realize this too, as he kept trying to target Deneb, only to be blocked by Grondal each time.

If Grondal managed to overpower Tagmah, the battle lines would collapse beyond repair.

Crack.

Rahmod ground his teeth.

Once again, he gathered all his power into his body and charged straight for Deneb.

But Ghislain also put every ounce of his strength into blocking him.

Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!

Rahmod still held the advantage in sheer power over Ghislain.

No matter how skilled Ghislain was, as long as he had to protect Deneb, he couldn’t help but allow a few strikes through.

‘I can do this!’

But it was bearable. Ghislain deflected every lethal blow and received everything else he could endure.

Chiiiiiiik!

Each time sword and hand clashed, Rahmod’s energy collided with the Divine Power and burst into flame.

That searing pain gave him a deeper weariness than any mere wound.

Rahmod realized he was steadily breaking down. His strength was depleting faster and faster.

Munaref and another High Priest also targeted Deneb. They too understood that Deneb’s Divine Power was the true threat.

Kwaaaang!

Munaref shoved Julien back with a mighty force.

Thanks to the Divine Power, Julien had barely been holding on, but he now tumbled across the floor.

“You worthless wretch, how dare you…”

Munaref wanted to smash Julien’s head in right there. But at this moment, the important target wasn’t the man before him.

Whip!

He immediately turned and charged toward Deneb.

Julien scrambled up and chased after him, but catching up to Munaref, a Transcendent, was impossible.

Instead, Ghislain, who had been fighting beside Deneb, parried Rahmod’s blow and swiftly moved to block Munaref’s path.

Kwaaaang!

“Ghhk!”

Munaref’s face twisted in pain as he staggered back. As time passed, the invading force of the Divine Power only grew stronger.

Gathering his energy, he barely managed to drive the Divine Power out, but it was becoming harder and harder to keep fighting.

At that moment, Julien caught up and engaged Munaref again.

Another High Priest who had been battling Ereneth and Lionel also targeted Deneb.

He slipped swiftly between them and in the blink of an eye reached Deneb’s front.

But Grondal appeared out of nowhere, his halberd swinging into the man’s body.

Kwaaaang!

“Keghk!”

One strike.

With a single blow, the priest was sent hurtling far away, rolling across the ground.

As Ghislain and Grondal occupied the priests, Rahmod and Tagmah once again aimed for Deneb.

Kwaaaang!

“Guh!”

Ghislain hastily stepped in front of Rahmod, coughing up blood as his stance collapsed. Rahmod thought that this time he would finally break through.

But even as his posture crumbled, Ghislain swung his sword in a precise arc.

Kagagak!

Chiiik!

“Graaah!”

Rahmod let out a pained groan and stumbled back.

A long line had been carved across his neck, black smoke billowing violently from the wound.

Kuuuuung!

Grondal, struck squarely by Tagmah’s attack, spewed blood.

But he stood tall, enduring it, and immediately swung his halberd.

Kwaaaang!

“Ghhk!”

Tagmah staggered backward, reeling.

Scorch marks burned across his body, as though he had been seared by flames.

Seeing that, Grondal bared his bloodied teeth and laughed.

“Kuhahahaha! What’s wrong? Are you finally growing weak? Looks like you bastards aren’t so special after all! Yes! Even if you land a blow, your bodies are burning up from the Divine Power, it must be driving you mad!”

“……”

Rahmod and Tagmah couldn’t even muster a reply.

With every strike, their strength was draining faster, and the pain kept intensifying.

Each time they clashed with that pathetically feeble Divine Power, their energy was consumed in vain.

It was only because they possessed such overwhelming power that they could still press the assault this far. If it had been any other priest, they would have been crushed long ago.

In fact, the two priests who had reached the realm of Transcendence were barely grappling with opponents who had not yet crossed that threshold.

Rahmod looked at Deneb with weary eyes.

‘…So far away.’

In the frenzy of battle, the distance between them and that woman had grown once again.

To an ordinary person, it might look like only a few more steps. To him, with his power, he could cross it in the blink of an eye.

And yet… why did it feel so impossibly far?

“…Ha.”

When he left the Sanctuary, he couldn’t have imagined a situation like this.

He had spent so long measuring the enemy’s strength and preparing meticulously.

Indeed, the elves and dwarves were inferior to them in sheer power.

But a single variable had overturned everything.

‘The Julien Mercenary Corps.’

A mere mercenary band was shaking the grand endeavor of their faith.

Now, there weren’t many options left.

They could retreat from here, even at this late hour…

Or, even if it meant their deaths, they could destroy this new threat.

He didn’t need long to decide. For the sake of the Church’s great design, the correct answer was clear.

Rahmod spoke in a low but unwavering voice.

“Prophet, Tagmah.”

“I will hear your will.”

“Do you know what must be done for the sake of the Church?”

“I do. We are the ones who enact the Covenant.”

“This, too, is the will of God.”

“All shall be fulfilled as promised.”

Kwaaaang!

As they unleashed their power, their faces twisted into masks of demonic rage. They had resolved to burn every last shred of their strength here.

Ghislain raised his sword with a wary gaze.

Their aura was unlike anything so far. They would have to risk their lives to stop them now.

Grondal, too, stopped laughing and set his jaw in a savage grimace. He gripped his halberd tightly and steadied his breath.

‘O Goddess…’

Deneb, her face deathly pale, continued her prayer.

The truth was, her Divine Power had already surpassed its limits.

Even so, the blessing did not vanish.

It was as if it refused to disappear for as long as that demonic power still existed.

Julien stood, gasping for breath, blocking Munaref’s advance.

His clothes were torn to rags, his sword slick with blood and nearly slipping from his hand, but his eyes still shone with an unshakable light.

Ereneth and Lionel were just as battered and disheveled, but neither had lost their fighting spirit.

The priests of the Salvation Church, too, looked on with expressions of dread. But they all knew they could not retreat from this place.

Both sides panted heavily, fatigue pushing them to their limits.

Kwaaaang!

Without any signal, the battlefield exploded into violence again.

Deneb’s Divine Power ceaselessly burned and consumed the energy of the Salvation Church’s priests. Drawing on that support, Ghislain’s group clenched their teeth and endured.

The priests ignored the agony of their bodies being scorched by Divine Power, attacking over and over without pause.

Their goal was just one thing.

Once.

If they could break through just once, they could kill that cursed woman wielding Divine Power.

That was why the priests gritted their teeth and never let up their fierce assaults.

Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaaaang!

Their unending attacks gradually wore down those defending.

The only reason they had managed to hold out this long was Deneb’s Divine Power. In terms of raw strength, they were undeniably on the weaker side.

Still, if they could maintain this state, if they could just keep Deneb safe to the end—

Victory would ultimately be theirs.

Because with every attack, the priests of the Salvation Church were losing more and more of their strength.

Everyone else endured with that single hope.

But Ghislain knew the enemy still had one last move left.

‘Those eyes.’

In their gaze, he saw a resolve that would never yield. And whenever he saw that look in the eyes of those Salvation Church fanatics, they always resorted to that move at the end.

Of course, it was a technique that nearly drove even the caster to death. Its destructive power was so great it consumed almost all their strength.

Ghislain measured the strength remaining in those before him.

‘I can withstand it.’

If he and Grondal blocked with everything they had, Deneb would survive.

Then, by the narrowest margin, they would claim victory.

Ghislain calmly evaded and parried Rahmod’s attacks.

He had to remain vigilant. He couldn’t relax for an instant, because he didn’t know when they would unleash their final move.

Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaaaang!

Again and again, the two clashed with brutal force.

Just as he always had, Ghislain slipped into the openings in Rahmod’s guard.

He knew he wouldn’t inflict any real damage until Rahmod was fully exhausted, but every strike like this shaved away at his strength.

Reading Rahmod’s motion, Ghislain thrust his sword toward his abdomen.

And just as he prepared to launch the next attack—

Puuk!

His blade slid through Rahmod’s stomach with shocking ease.

For a split second, Ghislain’s expression hardened.

His instincts screamed at him.

This was not a blow that had succeeded because the enemy had grown weak.

‘It’s a trap.’

He tried to pull back immediately. But Rahmod’s hand moved faster.

Thud!

Rahmod seized Ghislain’s wrist in a crushing grip.