Chapter 12: Sudden Change
Black as ink, dark clouds obscured the moon, plunging the world into darkness. Suddenly—nine blinding white beams of light shot rapidly toward the Sheli Duchy. Midway, five of the white beams diverged toward five small cities of the Sheli Duchy, while the other four continued toward the duchy’s prefectural city.
Drawing closer, one would discover—
These white beams were, in fact, angels radiating a soft, holy light. Each of these angels possessed four wings. Having transformed into their angelic state from the very beginning, it was clear that the mortal bodies they had descended into could fully withstand their power.
According to the angelic hierarchy—
Two-winged angels were lower-level Saint domains, four-winged angels were mid-level Saint domains, and six-winged angels were top-level Saint domains. As for eight-winged angels… they were at the level of lower gods. The legendary twelve-winged angels possessed terrifying upper-god-level strength.
Unfortunately, on the Yulan Continent plane, it was impossible to find a mortal body capable of bearing the descent of a twelve-winged angel.
“What a pity…” Usono, following behind four of the angels, shook his head inwardly as he looked at them. “The Lord of Light created these humanoid weapons called angels, but they have no potential for breakthrough. No matter how much time passes, their strength will not increase by even a shred.”
At Usono’s level, he was well aware of what angels truly were.
Angels, in reality, were not living beings. They were humanoid weapons created by the Sovereign of Light in the ‘Divine Light Plane’. Of course, Usono did not know the specifics of how they were created. But he understood that angels could not break through; whatever number of wings they were created with, they would remain forever. For instance, within the Radiant Church, there were angels who had lived for thousands of years, yet their strength was exactly the same as it had been millennia ago.
Though angels were powerful, they had no room for improvement.
This made Usono look down on angels somewhat; he merely regarded them as tools. In this operation, he had dispatched only angels. Apart from himself, there was not a single human Saint-domain expert. In Usono’s eyes, human Saint-domain experts, with their infinite potential for growth, were far more precious than angels.
…
In one of the small cities of the Sheli Duchy, a four-winged angel flew to hover above the city. The soft, holy light emanating from the angel’s entire body suddenly intensified, shining like a sun in the night sky, illuminating the entire small city.
The residents of the small city, drawn out by the brightness, all came running out.
“Ah, an angel!”
“It’s an angel.”
The residents of the small city were stunned. Having long been under the teachings of the Radiant Church, most of these residents were believers of the Lord of Light. At this moment, many felt a sense—the Lord had sent His servants to save them.
Countless residents knelt down.
“Those who believe in the Lord shall receive His protection. Those who defy the Lord shall ultimately be destroyed.” The voice of the four-winged angel resounded throughout the entire small city. Even among the nearly four thousand troops stationed there, more than half knelt down. Among them were also people from cities like Blacksoil City, who stood there in bewilderment.
An angel?
The legendary angel?
“Kill these heretics!” Suddenly, someone drew a longsword and stabbed a military officer to death. Many officers in the army had come from foreign cities like Mote Prefectural City. They did not believe in the Lord of Light. In recent days, they had even destroyed churches.
And today…
A large number of surrounding soldiers, and even the common people, surged forward, killing all the outsiders.
Without the four-winged angel even making a single move, this small city was reclaimed.
“Faithful of the Lord, the Lord will surely grant you His protection.” The four-winged angel declared in a clear voice.
The entire city’s populace knelt on the ground, extremely devout. A smile appeared on the four-winged angel’s face. He easily detected that a dozen or so people practiced light magic. The four-winged angel descended and approached the strongest among them: “What is your name?”
The silver-haired elder, excited and respectful, said, “Respected, great Angel, my name is Felton. I was the priest of the Light Church in this small city. I was fortunate enough to survive.”
The four-winged angel nodded and said, “From today onward, Felton shall be the lord of this city.” The angel’s voice echoed through heaven and earth, resounding throughout the entire small city.
“Felton!”
The residents of the small city cheered excitedly. Amid their cheers, the four-winged angel rose into the air. Surrounded by dazzling holy light, the four-winged angel left the small city and flew toward the prefectural city.
…
The other four small cities were the same. The appearance of the angels drove the faithful of the Radiant Church into a frenzy. They vied to kill the heretics and installed the strongest practitioners of light magic or light battle qi as city lords.
Meanwhile, in the prefectural city of the Sheli Duchy.
When the other five four-winged angels arrived there, fires blazed everywhere in the prefectural city. Because many troops from places like Mote Prefectural City and Blacksoil City were stationed here, the conflict was extremely fierce.
“Lord Inquisitor.” The five angels flew to Usono’s side.
Usono stood in midair, looking down at the three battles below. Three four-winged angels were fighting three Undying Warriors.
“Undying Warriors?” one of the angels exclaimed in surprise. Usono nodded calmly. When Usono had arrived at the prefectural city with four angels, the awe-inspiring presence of the angels had caused countless people in the city to begin killing Linley’s forces.
Even soldiers in the army had defected.
The battle was extremely unfavorable for Linley’s side.
“Get lost!” The terrifying three-meter-tall body, with arms as thick as a human torso and bulging muscles, made him look like a humanoid war machine. A layer of white armor, resembling rock, clung tightly to his muscles, leaving only his face exposed. His skin was a horrifying dark green.
Saint-domain Undying Warrior!
Three four-winged angels fought three Saint-domain Undying Warriors.
“Second Brother, they’re too fast.” Gates’s angry voice rang out. These three were Gates, Black Shark, and Anke. They were only level-nine warriors. Even after their Undying Warrior transformation, they barely reached the Saint domain. Perhaps relying on the Undying Warrior’s advantages in ‘defense’ and ‘strength,’ they could hold their own against mid-level Saint-domain four-winged angels.
But the angels were too agile.
A four-winged angel nimbly dodged to the side and delivered a vicious kick to Gates. The kick, which could easily shatter a boulder, struck Gates’s white armor, only causing his body to tremble slightly.
Gates suddenly saw more angels flying in from the sky and immediately shouted, “Second Brother, Third Brother, let’s go! More angels are coming!”
They couldn’t even handle three angels, and now there were six more angels and a human Saint-domain expert in the sky. How could they fight?
“Let’s go! The Radiant Church is really going all out this time.” Anke growled in anger.
The three of them stomped the ground, causing the earth to tremble and crack open. Like three humanoid meteors, they madly fled northward. However, the flight speed of Saint-domain Undying Warriors was the slowest among the four ultimate warriors.
Angels, on the other hand, excelled in speed.
With a flap of their wings, four four-winged angels immediately appeared in front of Gates and the others, while the other five four-winged angels were behind them.
“Fifth Brother, what do we do?” Black Shark looked at Gates.
Gates usually had the most ideas among the five brothers, but now, looking at the four hovering angels in front and the five behind, he felt like crying. Heaven! The gap in strength was too great.
One-on-one, they could barely hold their own.
Now it was nine against three. How could they fight?
“What do we do?” A mad gleam appeared in Gates’s eyes. “Damn it, let’s fight! If I take one down, I don’t lose. If I take two, I come out ahead.” Gates growled, charging madly at the angels. Although the four-winged angels had decent defense, they didn’t dare to withstand the impact of this humanoid monster.
From afar, Usono said calmly, “Angel battle formation.”
Instantly—
Three four-winged angels quickly flew away, while the other six formed an angel battle formation, directly trapping Gates, Black Shark, and Anke. One above, one below, and four surrounding them. The sudden formation of this cage left Gates, Black Shark, and Anke dumbfounded.
“Break through!” Gates slammed into the wall formed by white light.
“Boom!”
A terrifying, scorching force seeped into Gates’s white armor. The immense power sent Gates rebounding backward.
“Fifth Brother, are you alright?” Anke immediately supported him.
“I’m fine.” Blood trickled from the corner of Gates’s mouth. “That power is strong, probably close to the peak of the Saint domain. Lucky this Undying Armor has strong defense, or I’d be dead.”
Usono flew over at this moment, looking down at Gates, Anke, and Black Shark with indifference: “Saint-domain Undying Warriors… from the Amanda family?”
Gates and the others completely ignored Usono.
“I’ll give you three a chance. If you surrender to our Church, I won’t kill you,” Usono said coldly.
Gates, Anke, and Black Shark exchanged glances.
“Damn it, come and kill us if you can!” Gates glared at Usono. “I’m not afraid of you.”
Usono’s face turned cold.
“You think I’m bluffing?” Gates raised his head. “Don’t brag here. Haven’t you received the warning from Lord Hise?” Back then, the King of Assassins, ‘Hise,’ had already declared that if anyone dared to target the five brothers, he would storm the Radiant Church’s Holy Island.
Usono snorted coldly.
He had only been bluffing Gates and the others. He truly didn’t dare to kill them. After all… he couldn’t defy Hise’s words. This King of Assassins, who had been a Saint domain for over five thousand years, had long possessed terrifying strength.
Especially in recent years, he had even reached the Divine domain.
A divine-level expert!
Even with ten times the courage, Usono wouldn’t dare to provoke him. Provoking him… might bring the Radiant Church to the brink of destruction.
“Dispel the angel battle formation,” Usono ordered calmly.
“Huh?” Gates and the others exchanged confused glances. Was Usono actually going to let them go? As the six four-winged angels dispelled the battle formation, Usono’s figure suddenly transformed into a black streak of light. Before Gates and the others could dodge—
“Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!”
Three leg shadows viciously struck Gates, Anke, and Black Shark. The three humanoid monsters plummeted like falling meteors, crashing violently into the ground.
“Boom!” The street cracked open, and the ground trembled violently. At the bottom of three massive craters lay Gates and the others. The white armor on their bodies had shattered, and blood seeped from the corners of their mouths.
They could no longer move. Usono had perfectly controlled his strength, leaving them severely injured but not dead.
Usono flipped his hand and produced three chains mixed with black jade, tossing them to the nearby angels: “Tie them all up. You two stay here to guard them. The rest of you… come with me to Mote Prefectural City.” After speaking, Usono didn’t even glance at Gates and the others as he flew northward, followed by the other seven four-winged angels.
The Sheli Duchy’s prefectural city and Mote Prefectural City were several hundred miles apart.
Gates and the others had been attacked so suddenly that they couldn’t warn their brothers… Without any preparation, Mote Prefectural City was also assaulted by Usono and the seven four-winged angels. This time, Usono moved quickly!
Just as Barker and Bune transformed into Undying Warriors, Usono delivered a kick to each of them.
“Boom!” “Boom!”
The two Undying Warriors were sent crashing through courtyard walls, shattering the ground and sinking into deep pits.
“And one Saint-domain magical beast.” Usono’s spiritual energy quickly detected the black-striped cloud leopard, ‘Blackie,’ who was fleeing at top speed. Seeing that Barker and Bune had been defeated in an instant, Blackie knew… that even he would need some time to defeat the combined forces of Barker and Bune.
This mysterious human Saint-domain expert was far too powerful.
Without even fighting, Blackie immediately began to flee.
“Master, Master, come back quickly!” Blackie screamed in his heart.