Chapter 322

Year 3018 of the Age of Faith, January 1st.

On this day, the Age of Faith entered a new year.

At the start of this year, the world was calm, with no world-shaking events occurring.

Although new legends had ascended, small nations had fallen in war, and conspiracies had been born…

These individuals or events might have been the protagonists in their own lives, experiencing events they deemed "earth-shattering."

But to the entire world, they were merely insignificant trifles.

Justice remained as before, evil persisted, and the world was still the same world.

No evil god had gone mad and sacrificed a city in blood, no emissary of a true god had launched a large-scale purge of evil, and no deity had initiated a divine war…

The gods were each occupied with their own affairs.

Some wandered the mortal realm (idly strolling), drifting everywhere, savoring their long lives.

Some ambitious ones left divine signs across lands to recruit followers, attempting to expand their influence among mortals.

Even some lustful gods used avatars to unite with mortals, leaving behind thin-blooded divine descendants…

Whether for mortals, for gods, or for the world itself, this was an ordinary day.

But no one had anticipated that change would appear at the day's end.

In the deep night of this day, the sun—an entity meant to vanish beneath the night—abnormally appeared in the heavens.

He appeared without warning!

Fierce sunlight dispelled the darkness in a violent manner, instantly blotting out the crimson glow of the blood moon.

Countless dark creatures rejoicing beneath the blood moon Suffered Heavy at that moment; countless undead beings were directly purified and transcended upon facing the sun's radiance.

The entire world was shrouded in light.

Though this utterly abnormal phenomenon lasted only a moment, vanishing ten seconds later, many sleeping mortals never noticed it.

But those who happened to be awake, upon witnessing it, were all struck with awe.

Sunlight bathing all things seemed only to bring warmth to the world.

Yet in some eyes, the blazing sphere hanging high in the sky resembled an utterly cold eye.

That was the Sun God's pupil!

He was watching the world.

He swept across heaven and earth with the most tyrannical manner, as if searching for something.

Though he eventually withdrew, no one knew what this meant…

What was that being searching for?

And furthermore, did he ultimately find what he sought—or not?

If he found it, that would be fine; it would be an expected outcome.

But what if… he didn't find it?

What being could escape the Sun God's pursuit?

That night, the entire world trembled violently.

Many large supernatural organizations hastily activated emergency defense protocols, powering up their external defensive arrays.

Some legends and beings beyond legends were also stirred, abandoning their laziness and raising their vigilance.

No, not only mortals were shaken.

Some eyes from above the heavens turned toward it; they, too, shaken, cautiously peered at the blazing sun, seeking some cause.

Albertas, what madness has he taken into his head now?

Some evil gods and true gods who had once suffered under the sun's wrath felt their hearts tighten, sensing something foul.

That arrogant, wild fool—would he be planning another grand scheme again?

The gods were still somewhat alarmed by the sun's anomaly.

Each one sprang into action: those chasing their stray cats home, those flaunting their divine presence hastily concealing it, those indulging in affairs hastily pulling up their pants and vanishing…

In short, caution was always the right choice until the true situation was probed.

Regardless of the Sun God's true purpose, or what exactly happened that night… after this day, the world's balance had clearly shifted.

The world's overall tension had risen significantly.

Moreover, the gods turned more of their attention toward the mortal realm, seeking the source that had provoked the Sun God's abnormal reaction.

They were also curious: who had stirred the Sun God to such a response?

…

…

Maragas.

Everyone's attention remained tightly fixed on the two figures at the center of the ritual.

The evil god's avatar and the War Angel.

The situation on the field shifted in an instant; no one knew what would happen next second.

The angel, who had just held the upper hand, was now seized by the evil god's avatar, its serpent tail piercing through him with brutal force.

That serpent tail, harder than legendary weapons, speared into the angel's side and erupted from his back.

Hss!

In that instant, countless gasps erupted from all directions.

All who had placed their hopes on Herbert clenched their fists.

But no matter how desperately they wished for a miracle, the outcome seemed already sealed.

Severely wounded by the evil god's avatar, entangled by the serpent tail… unless a god descended in person, they could not imagine any way to reverse the situation.

At this moment, even the holy flames on Herbert's body had dimmed.

It seemed Malagas was about to be completely shrouded in Miss Xie Shen's shadow.

"Herbert!"

A panicked cry rang out, and a blood-red figure darted out from the shadows,

"Elisha! Don't go!" Swanny's shout followed right after, but she couldn't make her stop.

The vampire Young Lady, braving the dim sunlight, charged recklessly toward the center of the battle.

She was going to save Herbert.

If she didn't save him now, he really would die!

If he died, who would keep her company?

Who would come again... tsk!

Elisha pressed her lips together, completely forgetting her fear of Miss Xie Shen, and turned into a streak of blood mist as she rushed toward Herbert.

"Herbert! Hold on a little longer... eh!?"

But just as she was about to charge into the battle and face Miss Xie Shen head-on... Herbert moved.

The Herbert who should have suffered a grievous wound suddenly opened his eyes wide and flashed an unusually brilliant smile at the Lust before him.

"Haha!"

There was no pain in his expression, no glee of a scheme succeeding—only the purest joy.

"He" seemed very happy.

As if he had encountered something wonderful, or had finally received a promise he had long been looking forward to.

"He" stared intently at the Lust and said softly in a strangely tender and affectionate tone:

"Are you ready yet?"

!!!

This bizarre scene made the Lust freeze, and the pursuit it had prepared was forcibly held back.

Ready for what?

What is he saying?

Wait, this feeling... could it be?

Is He also about to descend?

Is Abertas also about to descend???

But hasn't He gone many years without actively answering the prayers of His believers?

Could it be that He never fell into slumber!!?

Was this silence of several hundred years all just a trick to deceive outsiders?

What was He doing this for? What exactly is He plotting?

No, wait!

In that case... haven't I fallen right into His trap!!?

"Not good!"

At this moment, the Lust finally sensed something was wrong, along with a strong sense of crisis.

Not good!!!

He could care for nothing else, and at the cost of this avatar being scrapped, he channeled all of his divine power with full force.

The God of Lust would never sit and wait for death!

He is a fallen evil god; even if the opponent is the Sun God, He will still take a vicious bite out of Him!

Meanwhile, Elisha tumbled down from her blood-mist form, staring dumbly at the scene before her, and couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief in her heart.

Phew!

Thank goodness, thank goodness, he's really fine.

This guy, he was pretending and deceiving people again.

Really now, couldn't he have told me in advance?

Making me worry so much...

"Elisha!"

At this moment, Swanny's urgent voice reached Elisha's ears: "Come back!!!"

"Eh?" Elisha was stunned for a moment, blinking blankly.

Why?

Doesn't he have the confidence to handle it?

"Come back? Why would I... ah!"

Sizzle sizzle sizzle!

At this moment, after her whole body began to burn, Elisha finally understood why Swanny had tried to persuade her.

Others might not need to dodge, but she absolutely had to!

It wasn't that they looked down on her strength, but because she was a vampire.

A vampire most afraid of sunlight.

However, at this critical juncture, everyone's attention was fixed on Herbert and the others.

No one cared about Elisha's wailing, no one listened closely to the details within it.

So, no one noticed a very intriguing point.

That miserable wail, after being listened to for a while, somehow faintly took on a special, unusual feeling.

It was like, savoring it?

"Aaaahhh! Hss! Haa! Aah—Ahh~"

The vampire scrambled back into the shadows, hissing as he smothered the flames on his body, puzzled in his heart.

"This feeling… how is it so similar to the first time I drank Holy Blood?"

It hurt, yes—but after the pain, this mix of ache and itch… somehow felt good?

Even as Elisabeth was on the verge of awakening a new fetish, the battlefield of the divine still raged on.

The sunlight emanating from the angel grew even stronger.

No.

The sun… has truly descended!

At this moment, not only Maragas City, but the entire region lit up.

Distant city-states stared in bewilderment at the suddenly bright horizon.

What happened?

In higher layers, the cultivators chasing Cyril's trail could not help but halt, staring at the light below.

Light?

Could this thing truly belong in a place of darkness?

Deeper still, where the cultivators could not reach, Cyril had been fighting alone against a horde of shadow bats.

His feet were piled high with the corpses of shadow bats, but his wounds grew heavier—he was nearing the brink of exhaustion.

Just as Cyril was about to pay the price for his recklessness and arrogance, an accident occurred.

He saw light.

The blinding radiance scattered the shadow bats, causing them to shriek and fall like rain, crashing heavily to the ground.

"Ha… ha…"

Cyril, barely escaped, squinted, gazing dazedly toward the source of the light, wondering if he was dreaming.

"Light?"

"What… exactly happened there?"

Cyril did not know that the question in his mind was precisely the one the God of Sinful Desire wished to ask.

What the hell… happened?!!

The God of Sinful Desire's attacks had all failed.

The tip of His serpent tail, mere moments from touching Herbert, was reduced to ash by the golden holy flames encircling him.

Moreover, those holy flames were rapidly spreading up the serpent tail!

In His eyes, Herbert's originally pale gray eyes had become utterly transparent, turning into brilliant gold—like flames that never ceased burning.

Solar Eyes.

He has truly descended!

Herbert unfurled his four wings, now bloodless and pure white, and sighed: "This… is how a Solar War Angel should look."

In his hand, the flame-wrought Holy Spear vanished, replaced by a golden longsword.

The sword's form was identical to the Sun God's divine artifact, 【Destruction Holy Flame】!

Herbert smiled faintly, his four wings fluttering gently—his dazzling figure vanished instantly.

"Such speed!?"

From a corner of the city, inside a lavishly adorned carriage, a cry of shock rang out—but the speaker quickly retracted it.

"No, no—it's teleportation!"

This ability, with no trace of magical fluctuation, was instantaneous movement on the level of cosmic law!

Herbert reappeared—he stood behind the God of Sinful Desire.

Yet the God of Sinful Desire showed no panic; instead, He turned, sneering at the vessel of divine descent.

"You actually charged in! So you can't hold on much longer, can you?"

He was gambling.

The Sun God's power was more brutal than His—He was betting Herbert couldn't last long!

If He could just survive the first assault, no more than a minute, Albertas would depart on his own.

In truth, the God of Sinful Desire's reasoning was not wrong.

But the problem was—he overestimated how long he could endure.

"You… give me… cough!!?"

Hss. Hss. Hss.

As Jin Guang flashed in an instant, the God's avatar screamed in agony.

He had been instantly severed—both hands cut off, the serpent tail hacked clean—reduced to a torso!

Worse, the severed tail was sliced into dozens of pieces, its flesh and blood never given time to regenerate before being incinerated by surging holy flames.

All flesh burned, purified by the purest, most violent holy light!

Even more maddening to the God of Sinful Desire was the method used against him.

The man before him did not simply strike once to sever His avatar—he chose to slice away slowly.

One blade, then another. One cut, then another.

Hss! Hss! Hss!

He could only watch helplessly as His avatar was slowly carved off, piece by piece, then burned.

"Albertas!!!"

He glared furiously at Herbert, staring at the being that had descended into this body, and roared with his last remaining head: "I absolutely will not—"

Clang.

His vicious words never finished; his skull was split in two by Herbert's sword, and it quickly ignited midair.

"Eh? What did you say? Sorry, I didn't hear you~"

Herbert blinked, smiling apologetically at the burning eyeball of the God of Depraved Desire, until the very last piece of His flesh here completely turned to flying ash.

And all of this, from the moment Herbert showed his smile to the very end, took only ten seconds in total!

Ten seconds later, the power of the blazing sun dissipated, and Miss Xie Shen's avatar turned to ash.

Clearly, the power Herbert had borrowed had not significantly increased again, yet the result achieved was entirely different.

Within his soul, Herbert witnessed all of this shocking spectacle with his own eyes.

"……"

And what truly stunned Herbert into speechlessness was not the control over epic-level power, but his shock at something else entirely.

Nie Nasha… She actually "borrowed" the Sun God's power???

Huh?

In his bewilderment, Herbert heard Nie Nasha's smug, light laugh within his soul.

【"Hehe~ You saw it all, right?"】

Miss Xie Shen, who had finally had the chance to vent to her heart's content through a physical body, stretched her lazy muscles vigorously and hummed casually:

【"What is blasphemy? Corrupting mortal souls? Driving legendary figures mad? Heh, what kind of blasphemy is that called?"】

【"Those are nothing but tricks to tease children!"】

To her own ally, the one person in this world who trusted Her the most, She boasted proudly as if seeking credit:

【"In this world, only the desecration of gods can be called blasphemy."】

【"Only stealing the power of a god! That counts as true blasphemy!"】

(End of this chapter)