Chapter 126: Holy relic, First Saint

On the city wall of Vanguard Valley, deathly silence shrouded everything.

Every defender who could still stand, every resident who could still breathe, cast their gaze toward the gorgeous wooden box floating in mid-air.

And that transparent crystal held in Bishop Marcus's hand, as if it had imprisoned billions of stars.

"First Saint's Tear."

Just hearing this name was enough to make one's soul tremble.

It was not a weapon.

It was more like a warning cast by a god, carrying irresistible majesty and destruction.

Martina's snow-white long hair danced wildly in the energy storm emitted by the crystal.

In her white eyes, the increasingly brilliant light was reflected, and a fear stemming from the instinct of life made her petite body tremble slightly.

Beside her, Lindsay's face was as pale as paper, her lips trembling, but she couldn't say a single word.

The veteran Morris held the shield in his hand tightly; that weather-beaten shield was already covered in hacking marks left by the Temple Knights' longswords.

But he knew that this shield was no different from a piece of paper in the face of the impending attack.

A kind of near-cruel fanaticism appeared on Bishop Marcus's face.

He enjoyed this feeling of controlling other people's life and death, and enjoyed the despair and fear on the faces of these "heretics."

Obscure and ancient spells were constantly chanted from his mouth.

The light of the "First Saint's Tear" also climbed to its peak.

The entire sky seemed to be lit up by this pure Holy Light, dispelling all shadows.

A destructive beam of light, more than ten times thicker than the previous "Holy Light Judgment," slowly condensed at the front of the crystal.

The energy of the beam was so solid that the surrounding space began to distort slightly.

The city wall of Vanguard Valley let out an unbearable groan under this terrifying pressure.

Dense cracks spread across the wall.

"It's over."

Bishop Marcus's voice was like a god's judgment, cold and ruthless.

He prepared to wave his hand and completely release this attack, which was enough to flatten hills.

To completely wipe this city, which dared to resist the Light Temple, along with all the living beings inside, from this world.

Everyone on the city wall closed their eyes.

Some prayed silently to the gods in their hearts, even though they were about to die at the hands of the so-called believers of the gods.

Some held their companions tightly, trying to get a final sliver of comfort from each other's body temperature.

Martina, however, did not close her eyes.

She stubbornly held her head high, her white eyes staring fixedly at the destructive beam of light, unyielding anger burning in her eyes.

Even if she died, she would die standing.

Just at this critical moment, when all hope was lost.

A heavy and urgent sound of horse hooves, like thunder, came from the end of the southern earth without warning.

That sound was very distant at first, like muffled thunder in the sky.

But in just a few breaths, it went from far to near, becoming clearly audible, as if thousands of troops and horses were galloping over.

The earth began to tremble violently.

This sudden change left everyone stunned.

The fanatical smile on Bishop Marcus's face also froze instantly.

He subconsciously turned his head and looked in the direction the sound came from.

He saw a black torrent appearing on the southern horizon.

It was a cavalry.

A heavy cavalry unit completely shrouded in heavy black armor.

The warhorses they rode were also covered in pitch-black horse armor, kicking up dust that filled the sky as they galloped across the wilderness, like a storm sweeping in from hell.

Their numbers were small, only a hundred or so riders.

But the aura of iron and blood emanating from them rose into the sky like substance, and even the Holy Light in the sky dimmed a bit because of it.

Obsidian Legion?

No, that's not right.

Bishop Marcus immediately denied this guess.

He knew the armor style of the Obsidian Legion very well, and it was completely different from the cavalry in front of him.

Moreover, the Obsidian Legion was far away in the Royal Capital and could never appear here.

Where on earth did this cavalry unit pop out from?

Just as the Light Temple's army appeared in a slight chaos because of this sudden change.

That black cavalry unit had already used a speed beyond imagination to slam into the rear formation they thought was solid as a rock.

The knight at the head did not have a particularly burly figure, but the longsword in his hand was burning with incomparably brilliant golden flames.

Those flames, like a miniature sun, were filled with dominance and heat.

"【Great Sun Blazing Slash · Flame Slash】!"

A low, angry roar, accompanied by a golden flame sword aura several feet long, swept out.

The dozen or so caught-off-guard Temple Knights didn't even have time to scream before they were cut in half by this sword aura.

The silver-white armor they were so proud of was like paper in front of these golden flames.

The wounds were scorched black, and the holy silver armor was stained with ugly scorch marks and blood.

The black torrent instantly tore open a huge gap.

"It's Master Roko!"

"Master is back!"

On the city wall, the military and civilians of Vanguard Valley erupted into earth-shaking cheers after a brief shock.

In the abyss of despair, a ray of hope shone in.

Martina's tense body relaxed slightly at this moment, and an indescribable warm current surged into her heart.

This man always appeared at the most critical moment.

Like a divine soldier descending from heaven.

"Roko Raymond!"

Bishop Marcus gritted his teeth and read out this name.

He finally recognized the leading knight and the iconic 【Obsidian Gold】 armor on his body.

How could he be here?

Shouldn't he be in the Northland, besieged by thirty thousand orc troops and unable to take care of himself?

Countless questions surged into Bishop Marcus's mind.

But he had no time to think.

Because Roko had already led the Storm Knights, like a red-hot branding iron, to burn fiercely into the formation of the Light Temple.

"Stop them!"

Deputy Commander Knight Captain Valerius let out a roar.

He gave up the attack on the East Gate at the first opportunity, turned his horse's head, and led the most elite Temple Knights to meet Roko's surprise attack.

However, Roko's target was never these ordinary Temple Knights from the beginning.

His gaze, like a falcon, locked firmly onto Bishop Marcus in mid-air.

And the "First Saint's Tear" that was gathering destructive energy.

"Want to use this thing to destroy my territory?"

"Did you ask me first!"

Roko's voice exploded like rolling thunder.

He clamped his legs on the horse's belly, and he and his mount actually leaped from the ground, jumping several feet high.

The 【Flame Griffin Breathing Method】 in his body was pushed to the limit.

The Flame Griffin Emblem on his chest emitted a scorching temperature.

"【Great Sun Blazing Slash · Flame Slash · Great Accomplishment Realm!】"

A phantom of a Flame Griffin, even more brilliant and solid than before, appeared on his blade.

The phantom roared at the sky, spreading its wings, carrying the terrifying momentum to burn everything, and slammed fiercely into the impending Holy Light destructive beam.

On one side, the dominant and scorching golden flames.

On the other side, the sacred and majestic pure white Holy Light.

Two extreme forces, completely different, collided with a boom under everyone's gaze.

"Boom!"

A deafening loud noise spread across the entire battlefield.

The violent energy shockwave spread crazily in all directions with the collision point as the center.

Countless knights and soldiers were blown away by this shockwave.

The earth was torn apart, and the sky changed color because of it.

The Holy Light, which was enough to destroy everything, was actually blocked by Roko with a single sword strike.

Although the phantom of the Flame Griffin became dim and uncertain under the impact of the Holy Light, ready to dissipate at any time.

But it was blocked in the end.

"Pfft!"

Roko spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air, his body falling heavily back to the ground.

His face became somewhat pale.

Hard-hitting a holy relic was also a huge consumption for him.

Bishop Marcus was not having a good time either.

The power of the "First Saint's Tear" was forcibly interrupted, and the backlash of energy made his whole body shake, his throat sweet, and a trace of blood overflowed.

The look he gave Roko was filled with unbelievable horror.

How could a mere Bronze stage knight block the full-force strike of a holy relic?

This didn't make sense.

This was simply impossible.

"Kill him!"

Knight Captain Valerius had already led the Temple Knights to the front.

Seeing the Bishop suffer a setback, a flash of ferocity crossed his eyes; the knight long spear in his hand turned into a silver lightning bolt, stabbing straight at Roko's heart.

At the same time, Bishop Marcus in mid-air also reacted.

He forcibly suppressed the surging blood in his body and drove the "First Saint's Tear" again.

This time, he didn't condense that kind of heaven-destroying beam of light, but split it into dozens of smaller Holy Light arrows.

Some shot toward Martina and the others on the city wall, continuing to exert pressure.

The others blocked all of Roko's retreat paths, cooperating with Knight Captain Valerius's attack to kill Roko on the spot.

In an instant, Roko fell into a desperate situation of one against two.

One was a Bronze Peak knight known as the "Judgment Spear."

The other was a bishop holding a powerful holy relic with unfathomable strength.

Either one was enough to pose a fatal threat to him.

Now, with the two joining forces, it was almost a certain-death situation.

"Master!"

Hart's eyes were splitting with rage; he wanted to rush over to support, but he was tightly entangled by several Temple Knights.

Although the Storm Knights were well-equipped, the Light Temple's army was also elite and held an absolute numerical advantage.

Although they tore open a gap from the rear, they soon fell into a bitter struggle.

"Fula!"

Roko gave a low shout.

He felt no panic at all; instead, his fighting spirit burned even brighter.

Fula's figure, like a ghost, instantly appeared at Roko's side.

She didn't speak, only responding with action.

The rapier in her hand also burned with golden flames, meeting the incoming Holy Light arrows.

Hart roared and led the remaining Storm Knights to firmly block the other Temple Knights attempting to rush up and besiege them, cutting out a relatively independent battlefield for Roko.

On the city wall, Martina saw that Roko had temporarily stabilized the situation, a hint of determination flashing in her eyes.

"How is Talos?"

She asked without looking back.

"Master Martina, Master Talos... he is too severely injured, the medics are trying their best to save him."

Lindsay replied with a crying voice.

"Pass my order!"

Martina's voice was cold, without a hint of emotion.

"Open the city gate!"

"Everyone who can still pick up a weapon, follow me to charge!"

"Drive these scumbags out of our home!"

"Yes!"

The defenders and residents on the city wall had already seen their morale climb to its peak after seeing Master Roko return.

Now hearing Master Martina's order, they were even more hot-blooded.

Accompanied by a creaking sound, the East Gate, which had been smashed open, was completely opened.

Martina took the lead, leading the remaining defenders and countless residents who had spontaneously picked up weapons, like a bursting flood,

rushing out from inside the city.

Their target was the flank of the Light Temple's army.

Just at this moment, the small beast Tain, who had been lying in the saddlebag on Fula's shoulder and was somewhat dizzy from the intense impact just now, finally woke up.

It felt the huge pressure Roko was facing at this moment.

It also felt the flame power in Roko's body that was of the same origin as its own.

"Hiss!"

Tain let out an angry and sharp roar.

On its small body, the dark red scale patterns suddenly lit up with unprecedented light.

A pure and ancient flame power surged out from its body, crossing the distance of space and resonating strongly with the Flame Griffin Emblem on Roko's chest.

Roko only felt a warm current surging from his chest into his limbs and bones.

The Battle Qi in his body, which had been exhausted from hard-hitting the Holy Light just now, actually recovered by thirty percent in an instant.

Moreover, the power of the 【Great Sun Blazing Slash · Flame Slash】 in his hand seemed to have received some kind of mysterious amplification.

The golden flames became more solid and hotter.

"Ding!"

Roko deflected Valerius's spear with one sword strike, and with a backhand, another sword strike shattered several Holy Light arrows.

With the help of this power brought by Tain, he actually managed to resist the joint attack of the two great enemies with his own strength.

The battlefield fell into a strange stalemate.

However, everyone knew that this stalemate wouldn't last long.

Roko's power was, after all, borrowed from external forces and could not be sustained.

Once Tain's power was exhausted, he would fall into a desperate situation again.

Just at this most tense and scorching moment of the battle.

A loud horn sound suddenly rang out from the west side of the battlefield.

That horn sound was different from the solemnity of the Light Temple, and also different from the wildness of the orcs.

It carried a kind of freshness of the forest and the rhythm of nature.

A troop of about three or four hundred people, wearing green leather armor and holding longbows and hunting knives, killed their way out from the dense forest on the west side like ghosts.

The person at the head was tall and had a firm face; it was the leader of Red Leaf Forest, Zewen Brick.

"Brothers of Vanguard Valley! We are late!"

Zewen's roar spread across the entire battlefield. ===== CHAPTER 127 =====