Chapter 457: Action in the Shadows

In the military district garrisoned by the Yin Disi forces, a heavy veil of shadow silently enveloped the area, making the darkness and shadows suddenly thick and profound, causing those within the range to involuntarily surface various degenerate thoughts.

The degenerate thoughts that just emerged were quickly separated, turning into droplets of black, viscous liquid that fell, instantly merging with the surrounding shadows to form uncontrolled bizarre creatures.

As soon as they appeared, they launched a frenzied attack on the people nearby.

A bright, blazing fire spear suddenly fell from midair, piercing a three- to four‑meter‑tall monster formed from a mass of degenerate thoughts.

Boom!

The massive explosion roared across the entire district, and crimson flames quickly spread, scorching the surrounding mutated, degenerate creatures one by one.

The slain monsters did not vanish outright; they collapsed into pools of deep blackness that swiftly merged with the surrounding shadows, making the corrupt, filthy power temporarily even more concentrated.

The surrounding shadows and darkness writhed, surging like floodwater, and soon formed three massive serpentine heads, their bodies sheathed in black, icy scales, with only their eyes glowing two clusters of deep red light, as if embodying endless malice.

The aura of a degenerate, filthy realm instantly spread, leaving the Yin Disi troops, already infiltrated by various corrupt thoughts, utterly unable to muster any will to resist.

The surrounding crimson flames instantly condensed and reformed, shaping a figure with flowing red hair; his cold gaze fixed on the three serpents ahead, he rasped his throat, exhaled through his nostrils, and let out a chilly snort:

"Hmph!"

The strange power spread along the sound, and the Yin Disi soldiers nearby seemed to have their courage ignited, the ever‑present degenerate thoughts in their minds instantly suppressed.

The whole army's aura instantly became tight and continuous, as if they merged into a single entity, with invisible flames coursing among them, stirring courage and linking their wills.

In the next instant, the shadows beneath them came to life, surging like floodwater, ensnaring every nearby soldier tightly.

The shadows split from them seemed always to be part of them; as the shadows animated, their spirits lost cohesion, and the army's seamless, intense, soaring aura uncontrollably slipped away.

In midair, specks of starlight flew out of the void and quickly coalesced into a large, deep‑blue gate adorned with mysterious patterns; the other side appeared dim and shadowy, deep and hollow, its details indistinct.

Clad in a mysteriously dark robe, the "Mystic Saint" Buti Si stepped out of the gate; his deep eyes reflected a continuously turning book, and he whispered low:

"I arrive, I witness, I record."

The speed at which the book turned in his eyes accelerated, and starlight continuously fell around him, quickly coalescing into a dark, ancient horn, imbued with a weighty, powerful resonance.

This is the mysterious reproduction he recorded from Leike Dun, the "Miraculous Horn", also the Horn of Destruction.

He gently brought the horn to his lips, then blew forcefully; the hollow, low hum instantly echoed around, and as the sound waves overlapped, everything nearby collapsed and shattered, even the very space cracked with black fissures.

Fireballs materialized from all directions, hurling toward Buti Si in midair; they converged and formed a massive, blazing white fireball.

The huge fireball whooshed past Buti Si, scorching the loose, wavy brown hair on his forehead to a dry, yellowed hue, and the exposed skin turned a reddened, withered shade.

The massive fireball plunged straight into the sky, vanishing, while layered dark clouds rapidly rose and coalesced overhead.

Boom— Boom— Boom—!

Silver‑white bolts of lightning streaked down, splashing onto the ground as patches of silvery arcs that carried a strong paralyzing effect.

Under the gaze of six deep‑red eyes, the flame‑encircled figure clenched his right fist and hammered his own chest; a bright dawn instantly spread around, rapidly solidifying into a heavy wall that blocked the silvery arcs falling from the sky.

The three massive serpentine heads, covered in black, icy scales, rose and fell rhythmically, emitting a resonant hiss; as they moved, the surrounding wind stirred.

The violent wind collided with the air, producing an explosive roar; a terrifying, visible hurricane spiraled and twisted, the airflow spun in rapid circles, and an uncontrolled tornado suddenly erupted, lifting everyone and everything on the ground into the air.

The army, which had been holding a tranquil formation, instantly fell into chaos; the heavy wall of bright dawn was torn apart by the tornado, and the Yin Disi soldiers swept into the air resembled helpless leaves blown away, ready to be shredded at any moment.

In midair, Buti Si abandoned the act of continuing to blow the Horn of Destruction; his figure flickered repeatedly within the howling tornado, evading attacks from the Iron‑Blooded Knight of the Yin Disi army while seeking an opening.

"Exile!" Amid the barrage of fireballs and flaming spears, Buti Si finally seized the chance to employ his Fengfan ability.

As an illusory gate materialized, the Iron‑Blooded Knight, unable to control his form within the tornado, was dragged by several solid‑like shadows into the temporal vortex beyond the gate.

With the central Iron‑Blooded Knight expelled, the army's once unified momentum instantly vanished.

Buti Si's figure flickered rapidly within the tornado, leaving multiple after‑images, each unleashing a completely different magical ability.

For a moment, frost, flame, and thunder intertwined within the raging wind.

Although the Yin Disi army included many extraordinary individuals, under the coordinated assault of two demigods they could mount no effective resistance.

The headquarters of the Steam Church's mission in Xibairang stands outside the Axis Cathedral in Luo Si City on the southern bank of the Pas River Valley.

Leo Mast stood at the cathedral's gate with a gentle expression; deep wrinkles marked his forehead, corners of his eyes, and mouth, yet his hair was jet‑black and glossy, without a single silver strand, his eyes deep and revealing no obvious emotion.

Behind him, the ascetic monk Snowman in an extremely plain white robe followed silently, his hands before him still cradling a painting shrouded in black cloth.

Though he seemed utterly unremarkable, he exuded an intensely dangerous, impossible‑to‑ignore aura.

Inside the Axis Cathedral, an elderly man in a light‑brown robe embroidered with gears and bearings slowly emerged.

His head of short, silvery‑white hair was meticulously groomed; his features were gentle, his face slender, skin plump and luminous, with no beard around his lips, giving the impression of a well‑kept noble rather than a church bishop.

He is Cardiel Muerste, senior deacon of the God of Steam and Machinery Church overseeing Southern Continent affairs and also the Archbishop of the Axis Cathedral.

Cardiel calmly surveyed Leo Mast and Snowman blocking the cathedral's entrance and said in an even, composed tone:

"The New Faith? You've been very active among the lower‑class populace lately. What are you planning? To expel the Yin Disi forces and establish a new regime in the Pas River Valley?"

Leo Mast curled the corner of his lip slightly, speaking as if greeting an old friend not seen for ages:

"I am the head of New Faith affairs in Xibairang, the 'Black Saint' Leo Mast."

"I have no particular issue with the Steam Church and don't mind you continuing your mission here, but our allies hold a certain hostility toward you, so I ask you to leave the Pas River Valley area."

"'Black Saint'? So you truly are members of the Aurora Society!"

Standing at the cathedral's doorway, Cardiel murmured softly, his gaze drifting toward the Yin Disi garrison's camp; the storm and flames there had been raging for some time, indicating the Yin Disi forces were at a disadvantage.

He quickly withdrew his gaze, turning to the quiet Snowman standing behind Leo Mast, looking at the shrouded painting he held.

He forced a detached smile onto his face and said in a cold voice:

"This is the Axis Cathedral; under my lord's gaze, you intend to coerce us to abandon this place by relying on a saint and a unique seal?"

"This is indeed a Steam Church, but its gaze cannot reach here. You may block me, yet this seal could eradicate the life of the entire Axis Cathedral within this time."

Leo Mast narrated in a calm voice, without a hint of emotion.

Cardiel's gaze grew solemn; he slightly lifted his head, twisted a gold‑cased pocket‑watch‑like object hanging around his neck, revealing a single lens set in a golden rim.

He placed the monocle over his right eye with the measured, unhurried motions of an elderly professor suffering presbyopia.

The surrounding scene abruptly shifted in his view; the previously bright crimson moonlight was now obscured by a thick, invisible veil of shadow.

This shadow veil cut off the starry sky, blocked the astral realm, divided the spirit realm, and, in both literal and occult senses, severed Pas River Valley's connection to reality.

Kadir's eyes showed surprise and doubt, full of disbelief mixed with some frightened doubt, as he exclaimed:

"True Creator! How could He possibly descend to this level of power!"

"Do you Aurora Society intend to sacrifice the entire Pas River Valley?"

Liao Masite calmly gazed at the somewhat flustered Kadir, smiling lightly as he spoke:

"My Lord is merciful, He equally loves every life."

"Do not use your narrow-minded eyes and thoughts to speculate about the great Lord; this is disrespectful."

"If it weren't for worrying that the battle breaking out between us would affect the surrounding innocent lives, before you even had time to react, the shadows would have already engulfed this axis church."

(End of chapter)