Chapter 591

Meng Ying's strength left an indelible impression on him.

"I can't stay here any longer; if I'm discovered, I'm dead."

Just thinking he might be discovered by Meng Ying made the State Tutor restless.

She was merely a human girl, but in his eyes, she was more terrifying than a flood or a ferocious beast.

The State Tutor dared not approach any further; while the concealment spell still held, he quickly flew back.

More than ten hours later, the State Tutor returned to the capital of the Zi Jin Empire and found the Church's Holy Son.

"Holy Son, you mean the force that ambushed our army is the one bearing the flame symbol?"

The Grand Archbishop asked.

The State Tutor nodded and said, "I saw it with my own eyes, without a doubt."

"It's them!"

The Church's Holy Son's face bore a faint anger.

"Did you see any elves?"

The Grand Archbishop asked beside him.

The State Tutor shook his head and said, "I saw no elves."

"So this is a human force—likely a small empire. Strange, how did humans get mixed up with elves?"

The Grand Archbishop murmured in surprise.

The Church's Holy Son said, "So none of the imperial army escaped."

The State Tutor said, "Likely so, Holy Son."

The Church's Holy Son's expression darkened again.

This time, the Zi Jin Empire suffered devastating losses.

Sixty thousand elite imperial troops were either killed or captured.

All three imperial princes eligible to inherit the throne were utterly dead.

The armies personally raised by these three princes were also gone.

Additionally, the armies provided by nobles who supported these three princes were gone too—not a single soldier remained!

Whether dead or captured, they were all combat losses.

Previously, seventy percent of the Zi Jin Empire's nobles had contributed money, men, and resources to arm these three princes' armies for their use.

These nobles would find it extremely difficult to raise another army of equal strength in the short term!

The Zi Jin Empire was indeed powerful.

It was a small empire that had developed for nearly a century.

The Zi Jin Empire had expanded gradually from a small kingdom.

But unlike the Flame Empire, after conquering a kingdom, the Zi Jin Empire could not stabilize quickly.

After conquering a kingdom, the Zi Jin Empire needed at least a decade, even several decades, to stabilize it.

They lacked the Flame Empire's several great weapons.

Their god was nowhere near as generous as the Lord of Flame.

Likewise, in certain ideologies, they were far inferior to the Lord of Flame.

This was the norm on the Continent of Gods.

Even a powerful empire needed at least several years to fully conquer a kingdom.

Taking it was one thing.

Digesting it was another.

The Flame Empire's speed of digestion was unparalleled.

In other words, after the war against the Three Kingdoms, the Zi Jin Empire lost sixty thousand imperial troops, plus over two million troops from the princes and nobles!

Of course, half of those two million troops from the princes and nobles were lost in fierce battles against the Three Kingdoms.

Now, the Zi Jin Empire still had only ten thousand capital garrison troops, fifteen thousand Church troops, and several hundred thousand regional defense forces.

The combat effectiveness of the regional defense forces was questionable.

The only reliable forces were the fifteen thousand Church troops and the ten thousand capital garrison troops.

After this careful calculation, the faces of those present grew grim.

After much hesitation, the State Tutor finally spoke: "Holy Son, in my estimation, they will strike us soon."

The Church's Holy Son said, "Many great nobles have not yet sent troops; they can still muster dozens of thousands. We can distribute the Church's long-stored armor to them and offer high rewards to recruit knights—we can still arm a knightly corps exceeding one hundred thousand."

After speaking, he turned his head and asked the Grand Archbishop: "Are the preparations ready?"

The Grand Archbishop said: "Your Holiness, everything is nearly ready."

The Church's Holy Son's expression eased slightly: "Good. Have the regional defense forces hold their cities and delay them—we'll give them a surprise!"

Around a grand cathedral filled with divine aura, countless most devout believers sang hymns.

From within the cathedral, waves of holy light continuously surged forth.

Each time holy light burst forth, the believers' voices grew even more devout.

The Church's Holy Son and the Grand Archbishop had arrived inside the cathedral, but they did not enter its core area; they waited quietly outside.

Inside the cathedral, one Holy Son after another entered the core area.

Then, these Holy Sons emerged one by one.

The entire process lasted exactly three days.

When these Holy Sons emerged, their presence had changed utterly.

They now bore certain "divine essence."

When facing the Church's First Holy Son—the legendary Holy Son—their attitude was no longer as reverent as before.

They merely nodded slightly, as if they had now become equals!

Clearly, these Holy Sons were no longer the Holy Sons of old!

They had become something else—Holy Spirits!

These Holy Sons had become vessels for the descent of Holy Spirits.

The Church rarely did this unless it was a matter of critical importance.

After becoming a vessel, these Holy Sons would not die and could regain control of their bodies once the Holy Spirit departed, but prolonged occupation by the Holy Spirit brought numerous hazards.

These hazards could very likely hinder the Holy Sons' progress in cultivation.

Yet now, the god of the Purple Gold Empire unhesitatingly chose this method.

In just three days, more than five Holy Spirits emerged from within!

The power of each of these five Holy Spirits after their descent was formidable; two of them possessed legendary-level power!

The other three were at the peak of forbidden spells, just one step away from legendary status.

It was not that their power was insufficient—it was that the quality of the vessels was too poor!

The descent of a Holy Spirit required extremely stringent conditions.

"Holy Son Ziguang, it has been a long time."

Three days later, the last Holy Son stepped out, his expressionless face speaking these words.

The Church's First Holy Son—Holy Son Ziguang—showed a look of delight:

"My lord Xiao En, my god has sent you to descend? This is truly a great surprise!"

The Holy Spirit Xiao En spoke coolly: "Is that so? A greater surprise is yet to come."

"What?"

Holy Son Ziguang blinked in slight shock.

The Holy Spirit Xiao En said: "My god will descend a battle avatar to confront the opponent. Holy Son Ziguang, prepare for my god's descent."