Ch.83Sacred War (4)

“What is that!? Teleportation!? I’ve heard about moving through the ground, but never about such movement technique…!!”

Archbishop Pelosi’s scream-like outcry. Everyone had seen lightning wrapped around legs to dash across the ground countless times.

Everyone present knew this fact from battles against the Silpin Kingdom’s subjugation forces and at the Edril Barrier Battle of the Rausel Empire.

But they had never heard about being able to move like that in mid-air…!!

“Damn it! Knights of God—Plok and Beitram, stay here and guard the Saintess until she completes the restoration! Iris, Bell, Jackal, Floss, Bios—follow me to minimize the damage to our brothers and sisters!”

“Holy Spell Corps, move to the center and use binding magic to minimize Wrath’s movements! Choir, begin singing! Sing hymns praising El Rapim!”

Aquis led the Knights of God toward Wrath who had moved to the rear, while Archbishop Pelosi, having regained his composure, moved the Holy Spell Corps to the center.

“Aaaah—— Aaah—— Aaaah——!!”

And the sound of hymns echoed throughout.

As the 200-member choir protected in the center began singing hymns praising El Rapim on the battlefield, protective barriers formed around those who could hear the hymns.

The Knights of God rushed toward Wrath who had fallen to the rear while listening to the hymns.

Bell and Iris, who still had El Rio’s blessing from the Saintess, took the lead and arrived at the frontline in the blink of an eye, flashing with light.

“Only minutes since arriving here, and such devastation…!!”

“Bell! Hurry and stop that beast! I’ll support you as much as possible!”

What Bell and Iris, the first to arrive at the rear, witnessed was countless ankles and feet scattered about.

* * *

Turning back time to 2 minutes before the Knights of God arrived, when Khan had just fallen to the rear.

BOOM—!!

CRASH—!!

“KYAAAK—!!”

Khan, who had fallen to the rear, first shattered the defensive formation that had been blocking lightning from the sky and moved downward.

Having just come from an intense battle, Khan’s body was burning with holy fire that only cult members could use, with a long gash on his arm and wounds on his legs and face, giving him a gruesome appearance.

The ground shook and cracked from the tremendous weight of Khan falling after breaking through the barrier.

Everyone who had been setting up long staffs with lotus flowers in the rear fell, and the installations collapsed due to cracks forming nearby.

“It’s Wrath! Clergy to the back, holy knights hold him as long as possible! Retreated clergy provide cover for the holy knights…!”

BOOM——!!

Khan first targeted their commander.

The earth’s energy flowing through his legs moved along the ground, becoming a spear that pierced the commander’s heart and head.

“No—! Ugh! I’ll take command after Captain Dakir…!”

CRUSH!

Whenever someone raised their voice even slightly, Khan would send stone spears from the ground or hurl rocks to instantly kill them by piercing their heads or hearts.

After this happened several times within a minute, they stopped speaking and began communicating through hand signals or holy magic.

CRUNCH—!!

Khan, who had been targeting only commanders, now created stone chains from the ground with axes matching his size at the ends.

Two such weapons.

Gripping twin axes connected by iron chains, Khan grabbed the middle of the chain and swung.

WHOOSH——!!!

The air screamed as it tore, sweeping through the clergy who thought they had kept a safe distance, the holy knights protecting them, and even the installations being set up behind them.

“AAAAGH——!!”

“KYAAA—!!”

The axes, with blades thicker than a person’s height, didn’t just cut people in half—they completely pulverized them, leaving no proper flesh behind.

The only parts that remained somewhat intact were feet. Since the axes swept low across the ground, most feet remained relatively intact as they flew through the air, only to be torn apart by debris from the installations.

“Ugh—! Use holy magic to restrain him as much as possible…!!”

BOOM!

And Khan didn’t forget to swing his chain and bring his axe down on the head of the commander who had spoken aloud in surprise.

Khan’s chains and axes danced like living snakes, completely devastating those in the rear.

With each swing of the axes, dozens to hundreds of people disappeared leaving only their feet behind, and the lotus staffs the clergy had been setting up were smashed.

And the lives of those killed by Khan’s axes and chains were all used to heal his wounds.

Khan had suffered various injuries from his recent fierce battle with Bell, Beitram, Plok, and from the arrows of Iris and someone wielding an unnamed hammer. The Holy Spell Corps’ seven consecutive Holy Blasts had burned his wounds.

But those injuries were now healing thanks to the hundreds of dying clergy and holy knights.

Life Drain continued to heal his wounds and replenish his energy with each kill.

Ah…

Then Khan heard it—the sound of a choir. That sound created a protective barrier for the survivors in the rear.

“El Rapim’s hymn! Take heart, everyone! Our brothers and sisters are now…”

WHOOSH—

CRACK!!

Khan swung his axe at the person who was shouting joyfully at the sudden sound, but the protective barrier created by El Rapim’s hymn—strengthened by the power of the sanctuary and the army of light—cracked severely but withstood Khan’s strike.

“Our brothers and sisters are coming! Hold on just a little longer!”

CRACK—!!

But lightning flowing through the chain broke through the barrier, and the axe, now unhindered, flew toward the commander.

SWISH——!!

CLANG—!! BOOM—!!

The commander raised his shield to block, but all that could be heard was the sound of stone grinding. The axe collided with the commander’s shield, which shattered completely from the impact, but the commander managed to survive.

“Survivors fall back! Clergy prepare our support and holy knights prepare the anti-Wrath weapons!”

“Yes!”

After dozens of commanders had died and the command structure had collapsed, with people being swept away by Khan’s axes in confusion, they finally formed ranks under Iris’s command. Meanwhile, Bell rushed forward and began confronting Khan.

Khan with massive axes in both hands, and Bell with what could be called a longsword.

Normally, Bell’s entire body would have been shattered by a single swing of Khan’s axe, but with various buffs and the Saintess’s power, Bell managed to withstand Khan’s strikes despite his body creaking.

He demonstrated his decades of swordsmanship experience against Khan, but… martial arts were created for the weak to defeat the strong.

It didn’t work against Khan, who was naturally strong and armed with various traits, and Khan’s axe techniques—absorbed from masters of weapon arts—were no less skilled than Bell’s swordsmanship.

Bell’s swordsmanship was helplessly broken by a single swing of Khan’s axe, and when Khan kicked, Bell had to dodge with his entire body. Not to mention the swinging tail, stone spears erupting from the ground, and lightning falling from the sky.

Eventually, as Khan’s axe strikes continued, Bell’s arm shattered. Clergy from afar cast healing magic on him, but they too had their upper bodies completely obliterated by stone spears rising from the ground.

Bell used his quick feet and El Rio’s blessing that still remained to buy time by avoiding Khan’s attacks as much as possible until he could recover.

BOOM—!!

And then, more participants joined the battle. Jackal, Floss, and Bios finally entered the fight against Khan.

Floss with a war hammer, Jackal with a flail, and Bios, seemingly a holy spell caster, holding a book.

“Iris! Leave the command to me and join the front line against Wrath!”

“Yes, I’ll leave this to you.”

Four Knights of God joined the front line, and when Aquis took command, the archer Iris naturally came to face Khan as well.

While Aquis took over command from Iris and was setting up the few intact anti-Wrath weapons they had brought this time.

The five Knights of God demonstrated their renowned power.

Floss and Jackal distracted Khan’s attention, Bell inflicted wounds on Khan’s body using his speed, and Bios, realizing Khan had resistance to magic, used binding spells instead of attack spells to restrain him.

And Iris didn’t miss the opportunity created by this restraint. A single arrow shot while dodging falling lightning.

She wanted to fire El Zeria’s strike like before, but that was a technique that required standing still and concentrating—something she couldn’t use while running around—so she used a different technique.

“Holy Arrow, Silent!”

SWISH—!!

A single arrow of light. But its power wasn’t as mighty as El Zeria’s arrow. The arrow flew quietly like an ordinary one toward Khan.

Hmm!?

The arrow flew toward his eyes, and though he dodged it thanks to the beast instinct forcibly controlling his body, Jackal and Floss seized the opportunity to attack Khan’s lower body.

BOOM—!!

GRRRR—!!

Floss’s war hammer struck Khan’s leg, making it lift momentarily, and Jackal’s flail struck Khan’s hooves in the air, trying to knock him down.

And as they intended, Khan fell to the ground. Bell’s blade aimed for his neck from above.

But Khan’s body, thought to have fallen, was sucked into the ground and completely disappeared.

THUD—!!

Bell’s blade pierced the earth. When he pulled it out, there was a bit of red blood on the tip.

“Damn it! Wrath has disappeared somewhere! Everyone be careful…”

BOOM—!!

The area where Khan emerged was where Bios had been standing. Though Bios transformed into light to move, Khan sent stone spears in all directions like blooming flowers to kill him wherever he might go.

CRASH—!!

“ARGH—!”

Bios in his light form avoided Khan’s hands but couldn’t avoid the stone flowers blooming from the earth. His barrier couldn’t withstand the stone spears and shattered, and Bios died as his entire body was torn apart before he could dodge again.

“Bios!”

Jackal called his name, but he who had already died with his body torn apart couldn’t answer. Khan, in the center of the stone flowers that covered even his lower body, sensed something stimulating and moved through the ground once more.

“Damn it! He disappeared again! Watch the ground!”

As the four Knights of God each raised Divine Shields in the air and lifted off the ground, not knowing when and where Khan might appear…

Aaaagh…

Screams echoed from afar once more.

The Knights of God turned their gaze and moved immediately without a word. It was where Aquis was busy setting up weapons to capture Khan.