Chapter 407

"Spit! Spit spit… spit!"

Blood-tinged saliva sprayed from his mouth; the armless warrior, too exhausted to remove his armor, collapsed backward and fell heavily to the ground.

Thud.

"Ha, ha…"

His right arm stump was crudely bound with scraps of cloth, barely stanching the blood flow, yet droplets still seeped from the grotesque wound.

After catching his breath, the warrior turned his head to look around; only when he saw others resting just as he was did he finally let his tense heart ease.

"Phew… we've driven off another wave of enemies!"

"We held the line!"

Thinking of this, Radley broke into a genuine smile.

This place was the Dawn Valley Fortress.

An unremarkable fortress town a hundred li from the Shengcheng of Radiance, its permanent population never exceeding a thousand—barely a large town.

If the Shengcheng of Radiance was the Sun God's earthly kingdom, the place closest to Him,

then this was the reality of the Sun's faithful, the place closest to Solantis.

Most residents here were believers who longed for Solantis but, for various reasons, could not yet go there or settle within it.

Such small fortress towns were not uncommon nearby; again and again, believers who returned empty-handed settled here.

The faithful yearned for Solantis, unwilling to abandon their precious chance, always seeking an opportunity to enter.

But when the Nieyu Sect sparked war, these "satellite towns" became the front-line outposts in the clash between the two sects.

Yes, though the Nieyu Sect claimed to have launched a "total holy war" against the Sun Sect, it did not choose direct confrontation.

Let me reiterate—Nieyu is Miss Xie Shen; He is mad, not stupid.

The Nieyu Sect did not commit the Bai Chi act of launching a full-scale assault on the Shengcheng of Radiance; instead, it chose to harass and assassinate at fortress towns surrounding Solantis.

You want to counterattack?

Fine.

Let's see how you respond!

Once nearly all fortress towns faced problems, the Sun Sect quickly fell into a state of frantic scrambling.

This was Miss Xie Shen's open strategy.

No matter how many Sun Sect believers there were, they could not match the countless creations Miss Xie Shen had forged over eons in Shengshen Kingdom.

Those varied, mass-produced serpent creations might not consistently defeat opponents in strength, but in numbers, they had never lost.

Come on!

Let's hurt each other!

Miss Xie Shen only wanted to vent some frustration, to make a token show of face; He never expected the Sun Sect's reaction to be so fierce.

…

"Cough… hss!"

As the adrenaline surge from battle faded, Radley felt searing pain radiating from his arm.

He raised his left hand, struggling to remove his helmet engraved with the sunwheel emblem, revealing messy brown hair matted to his forehead with blood, and eyes bloodshot with exhaustion.

The emblem on the worn helmet confirmed Radley's identity—he was a devout warrior of the Sun Sect.

Just moments ago, with his refined swordsmanship and mid-tier warrior strength, he sacrificed only one arm to successfully eliminate a high-tier Venomous Blood Serpent.

To other powerhouses, this might mean nothing.

But for Radley, it was nothing short of a miracle.

Though his appearance was gruesome, his arm ached terribly, his body was weary… his heart was filled with unbridled joy.

This was a rare feat!

Beside Radley, in the Dawn Valley Fortress, there were many warriors as battered as he.

Priests rushed back and forth, frantically treating the wounded, snatching them from Death's grasp.

Though Death in this world was rather passive, always accepting fate, not all priests possessed the power to cast resurrection divine arts—casualties still existed.

They had just endured a brutal battle and barely managed to drive back the evil god's minions, gaining a moment of respite.

But no one fully relaxed; no one knew when the creatures would return.

"This is the… eighth time, right? How many of these disgusting things are left?"

The berserker, now bandaged, muttered, poking the grotesque serpent head beside his foot with his broken blade: "These bastards were already disgusting—now they've grown wings and become even more repulsive!"

The berserker's words struck a chord; many nodded in agreement.

"Exactly!"

"Flying all of them is too much."

"This is outright cheating!"

This was the collective sentiment of everyone in the fortress.

In raw strength, they feared none of the evil god's creations; their overall power even surpassed them!

Yet they fought so desperately for one reason alone—the ability to fly.

Not everyone possessed anti-air capabilities, nor could everyone fight effectively in midair.

They lacked aerial forces.

But every one of Miss Xie Shen's minions bore a pair of fleshy, membrane-covered wings, capable of launching attacks at will.

This advantage tipped the balance, forcing them to fight with immense difficulty, paying a far higher cost than necessary.

A squire bandaging a burn beneath his arm armor suddenly looked up at the blood-red sky, whispering: "If only the silver-winged celestial steeds mentioned in the Holy Scripture would appear…"

"Celestial steeds?"

The veteran who was sharpening his sword snorted with laughter and teased, "Do you know how many Pegasus there are in the Lord's divine kingdom?"

"Besides, we don't have any legendary-tier Holy Knights here! No one has the qualifications to summon them."

Pegasus are indeed very powerful, but they are celestial creatures that cannot be summoned so easily.

"If you ask me, without Pegasus, being able to summon Thunder Giant Eagles wouldn't be bad either."

Another veteran wiped the claw marks on his breastplate and sighed, "My grandfather once said he saw them tear through storms—"

"Then wait for them to be infected into corrupted wings by Miss Xie Shen's flesh-and-blood puppets?" The cold-faced priest suddenly cut in, pouring the remaining holy water in her hand all over the wound.

Hiss—

The festering flesh sizzled on contact with the holy water, and the veteran gritted his teeth and sucked in a cold breath: "Hiss! Hey hey hey! Easy, my dear sister, easy! Are you trying to kill me?"

The priest's expression didn't change as she said flatly, "Don't worry, you'll be fine, all of you will be fine."

"Don't fantasize about some helper suddenly descending—you all know that's unrealistic."

As the priest's realistic yet dull words fell, a burning silence spread among the crowd.

"……"

Radley also fell silent, looking up at the sky, and noticed that the sun-wheel insignia on the protective barrier around the fortress was fading, faintly emitting a strained hum.

In the blood-colored clouds further out, twisted serpentine shadows loomed in groups.

The next round of battle would likely come soon.

He hesitated, then burst out laughing: "Sister, don't be so rigid, we're just chatting a bit, hahaha! Hiss, ow ow ow…"

The priest shook her head at his words, stepped forward to treat his wound, and said flatly, "Radley, the way you look now doesn't match the tough guy you brag about being."

"Tch! So what if I'm a tough guy? Even a tough guy can't afford to lose a hand!"

Radley forced a grin through gritted teeth and said quietly, "Sister of the Church, please."

The priest's expression remained stern, but her voice softened considerably as she said gently, "Don't worry, you'll be fine."

And once the first person broke the silence, the rest joined in the conversation, clamoring one after another.

"Exactly exactly! It's not like we don't know the situation now, so what's wrong with letting us talk?"

"Anyway, there's nothing to do right now, and it's not like we're praying to our Lord, so let us chat!"

The cold-faced priest pressed her lips together, a flash of helplessness in her eyes, but ultimately chose silence, going along with everyone's wishes.

She didn't truly disapprove of their chatting—she just didn't want them to let their guard down and slacken their fighting spirit.

But now it seemed… whether they slackened or not probably wouldn't make much difference to the outcome of the battle.

Perhaps, this would be their Doomsday.

Maybe the next round, maybe the round after.

But no one fled, no one feared.

They had come for their faith, willing to fight for the majesty of the divine, and would not regret it even in death!

"Perhaps we should discuss what monster is the true overlord of the skies."

"Good good good, that's a fine question!"

"That's the one!"

These warriors, lacking aerial power, made the best of a bad situation and began debating who was the strongest force in the sky.

"I think it's the griffin, right? Their talons can tear through mountain rock, they can be ridden, and there are quite a few of them! If we had a full formation of griffin riders, we could definitely wipe out these monsters easily!"

"No no no, griffins are still a bit lacking, aren't they? In terms of individual strength they're no match for Pegasus, not even those winged feathered serpents, they just have more numbers, but even with numbers, they're still no match for the others!"

"If you ask me, it has to be the Thunder Giant Eagle! My grandfather once said he saw them tear through storms—"

The crowd argued endlessly, none willing to back down.

They weren't really fighting—just using the topic as a chance to vent their emotions, as long as their voices were loud enough.

Were they fearless warriors?

In the eyes of the world, they were.

They feared no death, choosing to stand on the front lines against evil.

But in the hearts of these brave ones, was there truly not a shred of fear?

There was, just a little.

Only a very, very small number of people could face death calmly—the vast majority could not.

If so, why were those who died for their beliefs never few in number?

Fear doesn't mean one must flee.

Even when afraid, they still bravely faced death, choosing where their lives would end.

Some say true courage is facing fear even after recognizing it.

These warriors here might not stand out in terms of strength, but every one of them was qualified to be called a brave one.

"You bunch of Bai Chi! Talking nonsense!"

After arguing for a while, Radley was so angered by the others' twisted logic that he clenched his teeth, turned, and spoke to the young man in the corner of the fortress:

"Hey, Fa'ao! Say something too! That bunch of Bai Chi actually said griffins can interbreed with giant eagles! How stupid!"

This high-ranking Holy Knight, outstanding in strength but taciturn, had not been here long and had not yet fully integrated into the fortress's group.

Fa'ao had been looking down, polishing his longsword. Hearing this, he raised his head, thought for a moment, and said, "Perhaps… dragons?"

The Holy Knight's words jolted the dreamers awake, and the crowd, who had been arguing endlessly, came to their senses and nodded repeatedly.

"Dragons? Oh! Right right right! And dragons—how could we forget those big lizards!"

Dragons, a race that once ruled the world.

Even though their past glory was gone, they still stood at the very top tier of the entire world.

"If only we had dragons right now, those damned minions of Miss Xie Shen would have been wiped out long ago!"

"If a Long Qishi were to come, how could those bastards occupy the sky!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, as I said before, Dragon Knights are rarer than Gryphon Knights — how could one possibly appear so easily… huh!?"

While they were discussing, suddenly, without any warning, something unexpected happened.

A savage blood-red color suddenly appeared in the distant sky, and the blood-colored canopy above the fortress suddenly burst into flames!

Not the pale gold of Holy Flame, but a blood-like scarlet!

"That is…"

As everyone was wondering, the next moment, a deafening dragon roar tore through the clouds.

Roar!!!

Immediately after, the piercing wails of that terrifying flock of flying serpents came.

Their savage scales melted in the high temperature, burned to ash, and fell from the sky like dumplings.

"What is that situation!?"

Gulp.

Radley swallowed hard, grabbed the sun amulet hanging on his chest — there was no unusual movement.

Has the Sun's Holy Flame descended?

Heavenly fire?

No, I don't feel my Lord's authority…

The next moment, they finally saw the true form of the scarlet shadow — a colossal dragon over a hundred meters in length!

Its sky-covering wings stirred up a hurricane, and every savage scale flowed with scarlet patterns.

When that scarlet dragon dove, countless flying serpents turned to ash in the dragon breath it spewed.

"Good, good, good!!!"

"Reinforcements! It must be the Church's reinforcements that have arrived!"

"Purify all those damned monsters!"

Seeing the scene before them, the crowd erupted into tremendous cheers!

After holding out for so long, they had finally found hope.

"That is…"

And among the joyful crowd, only Faor's expression seemed a little strange.

He rubbed his eyes, stared blankly at the scarlet shadow in the distant sky, and an image of a white-haired figure could not help but浮现 in his mind.

"…Could it be you?"

"Lord Herbert?"

"Have you also come to defend justice?"

His expression changed, and his reverence for Herbert grew even deeper.

As expected of Lord Herbert!

Truly a model of the Holy Knight!

……

……

"Charge! Charge! Charge!"

At this moment, the lord in Faor's heart was excitedly piloting the giant dragon Feiji, charging back and forth against the enemy forces.

"Valentina, second battalion commander! Fire at the enemy!"

Valentina: Roar!!!

Miss Hungry Dragon didn't know what a second battalion commander was, but she was having a great time!

Battle!

Thrilling!!!

And behind Herbert, who was having the time of his life, a succubus and a demoness dressed as nuns exchanged a helpless glance.

They quietly communicated:

"Um, he… has he always been like this?"

"You're asking me — how would I know!"

……

And at the very moment Valentina struck brutally, Solantis also reacted.

They sensed that unfamiliar epic-level fluctuation, and one question kept repeating in their minds.

"Is that… our ally?"

"Although it's attacking the minions of Sinful Desire, look at how brutal it looks — it doesn't really seem like one!!?"

(End of chapter)