Chapter 7: The Day of Judgment Arrives
Under the vast sky, the Radiant Holy Island appeared very tranquil. In the distant horizon, a large group of phantoms flew over at extreme speed.
"Stop." Linley's voice resounded in the minds of all the experts. Immediately, all the experts halted several miles away from the Radiant Holy Island. The three enormous dragons—the Tyrantosaurus, the Thunder Dragon, and the Golden Dragon—slowly swam through the air.
At the forefront, Linley, Tullely, and Desri gazed down at the island below.
"This is the Holy Island, no mistake." Tullely nodded.
Linley and the others also sensed the immense aura of light, just like the city of Fenlai back then.
"Let Delia and me give them a welcoming gift first." The hatred that had been suppressed for so long filled Linley's heart with murderous intent.
"A welcoming gift?" Tullely, Desri, and the other experts all looked at Linley and Delia.
Delia and Linley exchanged a glance. They had already discussed how to attack the Holy Island late last night. Delia began to silently chant a magic incantation, and Linley followed suit.
"Wind-type forbidden spell?" The experts watched with anticipation.
Delia's eyes suddenly brightened. Her jade-like hands pointed toward the distant Radiant Holy Island.
"Boom~~"
A massive storm, dozens of miles wide, materialized out of thin air.
Within the range of sight, countless gales either swirled like tornadoes or howled like sharp blades. The sea was completely churned up!
Waves were lifted hundreds of meters high, accompanied by a rumbling sound. The hundreds-of-meters-high waves crashed forward like an army charging without hesitation, rushing toward the Radiant Holy Island.
When they struck the Holy Island, the waves slammed down like collapsing mountains.
"Bang!" Under the impact of the hundreds-of-meters-high waves, stone houses were directly smashed to pieces. Countless boulders and trees were blown apart by the terrifying storm. A large number of members of the Radiant Church were blown into pulp.
In truth, it was countless wind blades piercing through them.
This was...
The Wind-type Forbidden Spell—Annihilating Storm!!!
Where the Annihilating Storm passed, not a single blade of grass remained.
This was not an ordinary storm of nature, but an 'Annihilating Storm' formed by countless wind blades of varying sizes. Even boulders and large trees would be sliced into powder by the countless wind blades.
A milky-white light spread outward in all directions, centered on the tip of the nine-story Radiant Temple tower. A visible white barrier continuously expanded. Wherever this white barrier covered, the power of the Annihilating Storm was dispelled and blocked.
"What's going on? Who's attacking?" The leader of the Fanatical Believer Legion, 'Leiming', grabbed a white-robed priest and growled.
"I don't know. I don't know." The drenched white-robed priest seemed terrified by the power of the Annihilating Storm. He had just witnessed others in the distance being pierced by countless wind blades and turned into pulp and debris.
Just then—
"Rumble~~~" The entire Holy Island began to shake.
After the Annihilating Storm, only one-tenth of the personnel on the Holy Island survived. Most of the survivors were experts of the seventh or eighth rank. Yet even these experts were filled with terror when facing a forbidden spell.
"What's happening to the ground?" Many church members, soaked from the waves, could barely stand.
"Crack!" "Bang!"
The constantly shaking and trembling ground rippled outward like waves. In this tremor, the earth split open. Huge fissures appeared, and many experts screamed as they fell into these chasms. But this wasn't the most terrifying part—
The most terrifying was the sky, where countless boulders glowing with earthy yellow light rained down madly.
"Bang!" Struck by these boulders, many church members were crushed into meat paste.
"Lord!" Some desperate church members looked up and cried out, hoping for the Lord's salvation.
Then... they were flattened by even larger boulders. The glaring blood stained the ground, only to be washed away by the surging water from the underground fissures. Half-crushed bodies floated in the currents.
"Bastard!" Leiming punched upward, shattering the boulder above him.
But he couldn't save anyone else!
"Who is using the Earth-type Forbidden Spell 'Heaven and Earth Collapse'?" Leiming roared in his heart.
Earth-type Forbidden Spell—Heaven and Earth Collapse!
Nearly two-thirds of the Holy Island had sunk, leaving only the one-third area centered around the Radiant Temple. Even this remaining area was covered with large cracks.
Moreover, the protective barrier of the Radiant Temple shrank again.
They feared the enemy would cast another forbidden spell. Yes, their fears were justified.
This was just an appetizer. The few survivors' faces changed color as the seawater on the Holy Island instantly froze. The cracked land was covered with a layer of ice, and frost blanketed everything.
"Bang!"
Any area of the Holy Island not protected by the Radiant Temple's barrier was frozen solid and shattered. Countless boulders and soil turned into powder, then flowed into the ocean. The freezing and shattering of rocks and soil were secondary.
What mattered was that, as the protective barrier shrank, many exposed church members were frozen stiff and then turned into fragments.
Water-type Forbidden Spell—Absolute Zero!
"Your Holiness, what should we do? What should we do?" A newly promoted Red Cardinal asked anxiously beside Heiting.
Heiting stood at the window of the ninth floor of the Radiant Temple, watching everything unfold.
"Our church's most fearsome enemy..." Heiting's face darkened. "Has arrived."
"Don't worry about the other areas anymore. Protect the temple first."
Suddenly, Heiting's expression changed.
"What!" Heiting was shocked by what he saw through the window.
Now, after the 'Absolute Zero' attack, only twenty percent of the original Holy Island remained. The Radiant Temple's protective barrier now only covered a few miles around the temple.
A white light, like sunlight, swept over the remaining small island. The broken island brightened under this holy radiance. But then... everything touched by this white light turned to dust, including the church members!
Light-type Forbidden Spell—Purifying Worldly Light!
After the assault of four forbidden spells, the once-beautiful Radiant Holy Island was reduced to just the few miles around the Radiant Temple.
...
"Your two couples working together are truly terrifying." In midair, Tullely exclaimed in admiration.
"So satisfying." Bebe's eyes sparkled with excitement.
After Delia and Linley had cast two forbidden spells, Besselin and Desri also unleashed two more. Earth, Wind, Water, Light... four types of forbidden spells struck in succession. Even if the Radiant Church wanted to protect the Holy Island, it was impossible.
But Linley's gaze was like a blade, fixed on the distant Radiant Temple.
"That was just a welcoming gift. Let's go. The real battle begins now."
Linley led the way, flying toward the Radiant Temple. Twenty-five experts flew together.
The church's high-ranking members gathered on the ninth floor of the Radiant Temple. Through the huge transparent windows, they clearly saw the twenty-five experts flying toward them. Their hearts trembled. Heiting, at the forefront, remained silent.
"That's Linley. Linley and his group have come."
"And Desri! That traitor who left the church dares to return. What do we do?"
...
Panic spread!
"Hmph." A cold snort sounded, and the high-ranking members in the ninth floor fell silent. The Radiant Pope 'Heiting', who usually wore a warm smile even when angry, no longer hid his emotions.
"Leiming, Luoye." Heiting's deep voice echoed through the Radiant Temple, even reaching outside.
Two phantoms appeared directly on the ninth floor—the Fanatical Believer Legion Commander 'Leiming' and the Ascetic Spiritual Leader 'Lord Luoye'.
"Leiming, this time, it's up to you." Heiting looked at Leiming.
"The Great Hexagram Battle Formation is our church's strongest attack." The gaunt Luoye also looked at Leiming. "We cannot fail this time."
Leiming's face, carved like rock, was cold: "Rest assured. Fifteen Saint-level Four-Winged Angels, ten Saint-level Fanatical Believers, six Saint-level Ascetics, and four Saint-level Special Executors. Plus me, a total of thirty-six... forming this 'Great Hexagram Battle Formation', Linley and his group will surely die."
Heiting nodded slightly.
With Leiming included, they barely gathered thirty-six Saint-level experts, most of whom were only at the initial or mid Saint-level.
"The church's entire strength, and its future, are staked on this." Heiting's heart felt heavy. Almost all of the church's Saint-level power was on the line.
******
The protective barrier of the Radiant Temple shrank sharply, eventually only covering a hundred meters around the temple.
Dozens of figures flew out of the temple, led by Heiting and Lord Luoye. Both wore white robes. Heiting held a staff, and his bald head gleamed in the sunlight.
"Heiting, you dare to come out!" Woton shouted coldly.
"Why wouldn't I dare?" Heiting's face was cold, like a lofty god. He glanced at Linley. "Linley, do you know what you are doing today? This is the greatest blasphemy against the Lord of Light. You seek to destroy the Lord of Light's legacy in the mortal world—this is endless sin."
"Heiting, are you deceiving your followers?"
Linley sneered. "The Lord of Light, as a Sovereign, his glory shines across countless planes. What does he care if one or two planes have problems? Besides, this is a material plane, too small to accommodate a being as great as a Sovereign!"
"Linley, stop wasting words with him. Just kill him." Tullely spoke up.
Even in the Necropolis of the Gods, Linley had never been as agitated as he was now.
"Heiting, back when I left Hess City, I swore to uproot your Radiant Church. And today..." Linley looked at Heiting coldly. "Is the day your church falls."
Heiting looked at Linley, hatred burning in his heart: "Back then, when I learned about his mother, I shouldn't have tried to make him a 'Divine Chosen'. I should have killed him early." At the same time, Heiting sent a soul transmission to Leiming: "Leiming, make your move."
The Saint-level experts behind Heiting began to move rapidly. These thirty-six Saint-level experts were clearly about to form the 'Great Hexagram Battle Formation'.
"Ah!" A sudden scream rang out.
A Saint-level expert from the church had his head shattered and fell from midair.
"What are you trying to do, huh?" Bebe waved his little claws and grinned at Heiting.
But Heiting found Bebe's grin utterly detestable: "Bastard." Even with his composure, Heiting couldn't help but curse under his breath. The Great Hexagram Formation was missing one member. Heiting glanced at Lord Luoye beside him and sent a soul transmission: "Luoye, you go—" But as he transmitted, Heiting noticed a look of shock in Luoye's eyes.
Heiting turned sharply.
A violet sword light was already upon him. Where the violet sword light passed, space itself cracked.
"Linley!" Heiting was shocked to see Linley's icy eyes.