Chapter 14: The Fall
After the citizens of Sheli County City learned that angels were in the city lord’s mansion, many had been keeping a close watch on the place. Now, as they saw six four-winged angels simultaneously soar into the sky, cheers erupted… These cheers drew the attention of even more citizens.
Six four-winged angels—beings that ordinary people could only look up to in awe.
“What are those three black figures? They dare to fight the angels?” Many citizens also noticed the three dark silhouettes about to clash with the six four-winged angels. In just a brief moment, the people of Sheli County City cheered once more—
Because those three black figures had already been surrounded by the six four-winged angels.
“Their movements are so fluid, and their coordination is truly seamless.” Linley smiled faintly as he looked around. He had just followed Bebe and Hei Lu as they charged forward. Unexpectedly, the six four-winged angels immediately retreated in all directions, and in the blink of an eye, they formed an angel battle formation, enveloping Linley, Bebe, and Hei Lu.
The six four-winged angels stood at six points, and the holy power of the angels formed a cage.
“Roar~~” Bebe clawed at one of the four-winged angels, causing the white holy power cage to tremble violently, but it didn’t collapse.
Linley sighed inwardly. This angel battle formation was indeed formidable. These were merely six Saint-level mid-tier angels, yet when they formed the battle formation, even Bebe’s claws—which could clash head-on with Heidesen’s “Earth Splitter”—couldn’t break through.
“This magical beast is powerful. Be careful,” one of the four-winged angels immediately shouted.
At the same time, a blinding light shot out from this four-winged angel, soaring straight into the sky. When it reached its highest point… the dazzling light exploded, momentarily blinding the eyes of all the citizens in Sheli County City.
After a moment, the citizens rubbed their eyes and strained to look up, continuing to watch this great battle.
“Notifying Usenno?” Linley glanced around at the six angels and said.
“Hmph, Linley, you’re doomed this time,” one of the angels asserted. “Once the Arbiter arrives, you won’t even have a chance to escape.”
“So it really is Usenno.” Linley’s gaze turned cold.
“Do you think you can match the Arbiter?” The six four-winged angels were all haughty. They knew well the terrifying strength of Usenno.
The six four-winged angels wore cold expressions. At the same time, a thick, terrifying holy power began to gather toward one of the four-winged angels. Linley knew that these angels were building up for a single, devastating attack. Linley shook his head and smiled coldly.
“Whoosh!”
Linley’s body flickered, and in an instant, he appeared before one of the four-winged angels. The white holy power on that angel’s body flared up immediately. “How ridiculous,” the four-winged angel said with great confidence. According to intelligence, Linley’s strength was on par with Heidesen’s, not surpassing that magical beast named Bebe.
Even Bebe couldn’t break the angel battle formation—how could Linley?
A trace of mockery flickered in Linley’s eyes. If he weren’t confident, would he and his companions have deliberately entered this angel battle formation?
“Bang!” The Black Heavy Sword struck the holy power barrier.
A terrifying vibrational wave instantly transmitted into the four-winged angel’s body. This rapid vibration shattered the angel’s internal organs into a pulp. Even Heidesen back then would have been severely injured by such a blow.
The once-confident four-winged angel’s face turned deathly pale in an instant. Blood poured from his ears, nose, and mouth, and his eyes dimmed immediately. His entire body, like a lump of mud, fell straight from midair, crashing to the ground like a torn sandbag, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Earth Essence—150 Vibrational Waves!
This was Linley’s current limit!
“Six angels last time, and now another six…” Linley smiled coldly. “The angel battle formation is useless against me. Too bad the six angels who died last time couldn’t tell you that.”
These 150 Vibrational Waves were far more powerful than when he had sparred with Heidesen. Even a defensive powerhouse like Heidesen could probably withstand at most two blows before collapsing.
“How is this possible?” The other five four-winged angels were still in shock. They hadn’t felt any disturbance in the holy power, yet their comrade had already died. At that moment, Bebe and Hei Lu transformed into black lightning—
“Yow~~” A piercing screech echoed across the sky.
“Rip~~” One four-winged angel tried to dodge, but against Bebe’s terrifying speed, enhanced by the “Wind Shadow Technique,” he was utterly helpless. Bebe’s sharp claws tore through his chest and ripped out his heart.
With just three swipes, Bebe sent three four-winged angels tumbling from the sky one after another, staining the ground with blood.
“Bang!” Hei Lu also killed one of the four-winged angels.
“Uh…” Linley’s body moved like the wind, erratic and unpredictable. The Black Heavy Sword swung sometimes fast, sometimes slow… A spatial blade edge appeared on the sword, and it finally struck the head of a terrified four-winged angel trying to flee, cleaving him in two.
Wind Essence—Rhythm of the Wind.
“Using the Black Heavy Sword with the Wind Essence does make it a bit weaker,” Linley said with a faint smile as he looked at the bodies on the ground.
Whether it was the Earth Essence or the Wind Essence, they could be executed with fists or other weapons, but the effects differed. For instance, using the Black Heavy Sword to perform “Rhythm of the Wind” was only about fifty percent as powerful as using the Purple Blood Soft Sword. It was roughly the same as using a palm blade for the same move.
It seemed slow to describe.
In reality, after Linley killed one four-winged angel with the “Earth Essence,” in the blink of an eye, the other five four-winged angels were slain by Bebe, Hei Lu, and Linley. The bodies of the six angels fell to the ground.
“How, how…”
“No, impossible.”
…
Countless citizens of Sheli County City witnessed this scene. In their hearts, the angels were supreme—the “envoys of the Lord”! Yet six four-winged angels had been killed by three black figures in an instant.
Linley hovered in the air, cyan-black energy swirling around his body.
The people of Sheli County City looked up at this demonic god.
“You actually believe in the Lord of Light? What a joke!” Linley’s voice echoed like thunder through the heavens and earth. “The teachings of the Radiant Church are nothing but deception. Don’t place your hopes on gods—rely on yourselves. With enough strength, killing angels is nothing more than a trivial matter.”
Countless citizens of Sheli County City were bewildered.
The Lord’s envoys—six four-winged angels—had been killed just like that. According to the Radiant Church’s teachings, the Lord’s glory was unstoppable. When the Lord sent His envoys, all obstacles would turn to ashes. But today… it was the angels who had turned to ashes.
“Who is this person?” Many in Sheli County City murmured to themselves.
“Remember. My name is… Linley!”
Linley’s voice echoed repeatedly through Sheli County City. Even after Linley, Bebe, and Hei Lu flew into the city lord’s mansion, the citizens remained in shock.
“Linley, it’s Linley…”
There was only one powerful figure named Linley on the Yulan Continent—the sculpture master, magical genius, and Dragonblood Warrior—Linley Baruch!
Since learning that the Radiant Church was determined to clash with him head-on, Linley no longer hid his identity. The influence of a Saint-level peak powerhouse was immense. By publicly revealing his identity, Linley hoped that some kingdoms might dare not resist, or even surrender outright.
…
“Boom!”
Usenno flew at breakneck speed toward Sheli County City. “I didn’t expect Linley to show up in Sheli County City. I thought he had fled.” After severely injuring Barker and Boone and sending them to Sheli County City to be imprisoned with Gates and the others, Usenno had headed to Blacksoil City that night.
But in the Blacksoil City area, Usenno hadn’t found a single Saint-level powerhouse.
“Linley, he ran away!” That was Usenno’s first thought.
He believed that the Blackscale Cloud Leopard had sent a soul message to Linley, and Linley had fled in fear. Usenno was deeply disappointed and could only return to Mot County City. But just as dawn was breaking, he noticed the dazzling light from the direction of Sheli County City.
A signal!
A signal that Linley had appeared!
“Although Linley is strong, six four-winged angels working together in the angel battle formation should at least be able to hold their ground, even if they can’t kill him,” Usenno thought to himself. He had stationed those six four-winged angels there specifically to form the battle formation.
After all, they were six four-winged angels!
To the Radiant Church, they were extremely valuable.
When Landen and the other six had died, the Radiant Church hadn’t cared much. Landen and his group were only Level 9, capable of Saint-level attacks only in desperate situations. Such low-level angels were plentiful in the Radiant Church. But these six four-winged angels were different.
Finding bodies that could allow four-winged angels to fully exert their power was difficult.
The body needed to be at least Level 7 in physical strength to allow a four-winged angel to descend and use its full power. Over the past few thousand years, the Radiant Church had only accumulated a limited number of such bodies.
“I’ve arrived.” Usenno spotted Sheli County City in the distance and flew directly toward the city lord’s mansion.
Usenno’s spiritual power swept through the entire city like a storm, but his expression immediately changed. In an instant, he was hovering above the city lord’s mansion. He clearly saw, on the street in front of the mansion—
Six bodies!
“All six four-winged angels are dead?” Usenno’s heart clenched painfully. Even when “Dilin” of the Magical Beast Mountain Range led Saint-level magical beasts to attack Fenlai City, the Radiant Church hadn’t lost any Saint-level powerhouses. But today, they had lost six four-winged angels at once.
Usenno’s gaze turned icy cold, and the surrounding temperature plummeted sharply. The blood on the six angels’ bodies froze into ice.
“Linley, come out!”
Usenno’s cold voice echoed through the heavens and earth. The citizens of Sheli County City, still reeling from Linley’s earlier shock, were stunned to see another figure in a dark golden robe appear above the city lord’s mansion.
“Challenging Linley?” Many citizens felt their hearts tremble.
They had endured too many shocks today. First, the angels descended, then the angels were killed by Linley and his group, and now another Saint-level powerhouse was challenging Linley… In their entire lives, they had never seen such a continuous, fierce battle.
“Linley, are you hiding in the city lord’s mansion? Do you think I can’t find you?” Usenno’s voice was filled with extreme fury.
In the past, he wanted to kill Linley only because of the threat he posed. But now… Linley had killed six four-winged angels. When had the Radiant Church ever suffered such a loss? If Linley were a Deity-level powerhouse, the Church would have no choice but to swallow their anger. But Linley’s strength was still inferior to Usenno’s!
“Hiding?” A sharp voice rang out from the city lord’s mansion.
“Usenno, you think too highly of yourself.” With steady steps, Linley, wearing a deep cyan robe, walked out of the hall, followed by Bebe and Hei Lu. The five Barker brothers also lined up behind Linley in a row!
Linley looked up at Usenno, who was hovering in the air ahead. Usenno looked down at Linley from above. Their gazes locked, and it seemed as if the very air around them churned and trembled.
Within several hundred meters below Usenno, the temperature had dropped to an extreme low.
Cold, deathly silence.
In this area, it was as if Usenno was the ruler.
“Whoosh!” Suddenly, wind rose in the area. The source was Linley. His deep cyan robe billowed, and his long hair fluttered. A fierce gale howled, sweeping upward toward Usenno, but Usenno stood like a reef against the surging waves, unmoving.
“You killed six of our Church’s four-winged angels. Today, I will kill you and make your soul suffer eternal torment in purgatory’s flames.” Usenno’s voice pierced the ears of the crowd like icy daggers.
Linley looked up at Usenno and grinned. “If you’ve got the skill, come on.”