Chapter 259: Red

The guard sprinted over, stopping at a distance, and whispered: "Hey! Hey! I'm here—I'm a guard of Bishop Dai Sen of the Western Diocese of the Church of Light. I'm on our side, I'm here."

As the guard spoke, he crept forward cautiously, maintaining the same wariness he'd shown when entering the stable, wary of being kicked.

This guard was experienced, which was why he was so careful—Holy Angels could be as skittish as horses; getting too close often meant getting kicked.

He was just about to reach the circle formed by the Holy Angels when one on the outer edge sensed his approach and turned its head toward him.

The guard's heart skipped a beat; he forced a smile: "My lord, what are you doing? Need help?"

Though he spoke those words, a dread settled in his gut—the Holy Angel's face was blank, its eyes hollow, like a corpse's.

True, normal Holy Angels always wore deadpan expressions, but at least their eyes held some spark. This one looked truly lifeless.

Upon hearing him, the Holy Angel stepped back two paces, making way. The others turned to look, then stepped aside one by one, clearing a path.

The guard was stunned—normally, these Holy Angels ignored people entirely, or rather, they didn't even register mortals as existing. Unless you were a priest, bishop, or holy knight, they wouldn't even acknowledge you.

But before he could utter his thanks, the space they'd opened revealed what the Holy Angels had been surrounding: a device with two rails, resembling a launcher.

At the other end of the rails sat a spherical magical orb, spinning wildly, its potent magical fluctuations nearly bursting free—yet all masked by the holy energy radiating from a nearby Holy Crystal, whose sacred light was precisely what illuminated the scene.

The guard froze. No matter how hard he thought, he could never have imagined this—dozens of Holy Angels gathered together? That should only happen for events like divine descent!

Yet here they were, gathered around a broken machine, and the holy light wasn't even coming from the machine—it came from the Holy Crystal beside it. Were they just… playing?

But the next moment, he realized: Could this be an assassination attempt on Bishop Dai Sen? Why gather so many Holy Angels if the goal was to kill? A direct strike would be far more efficient.

What he didn't know was that these weren't true Holy Angels—they were merely skeletons wrapped in flesh.

Ang had tried many methods, but none could transform these Holy Remains into the skeletal angels he'd once created.

Either he used his pure holy light to restore them to flesh-wrapped skeletons, or let Little Tian use impure holy light to revive them as true angels.

But true angels were uncontrollable, retaining their original instincts—they'd attack all heretics.

As for flesh-wrapped skeletons, their combat power was only on par with graybone skeletons, and they couldn't emit holy light at all.

Anthony could only use them as ordinary skeletons—to distract enemies and conceal his real strike.

Yes, it was Anthony—only he could devise such unexpected, treacherous tactics.

The guard realized and tried to raise the alarm—but the Magic Egg Cannon fired. A melon-sized magic egg slammed into the guard, shattering him instantly, then hurtled toward the distant convoy.

"Ambush!" the convoy's guard screamed at the top of his lungs.

Anthony's setup was brilliantly deceptive—dozens of Holy Angels gathered in a cluster? Who wouldn't be curious?

But because they were Holy Angels, they couldn't use crude methods to investigate—like a Wizard's Eye—lest they provoke the Holy Angels. Those within the Church of Light understood better than anyone how irrational Holy Angels could be.

Everyone stretched their necks to stare—including Dai Sen—who never expected a ball to suddenly shoot out.

"Arcane Hand!" a mage shouted. A giant arcane hand materialized in midair, reaching for the magic egg—whether to catch and throw it back or fling it aside, it could neutralize this physical attack.

But Valigu would never overlook such a flaw—the magic egg passed straight through the Arcane Hand, impossible to grasp.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Arcane Hand failed. A barrage of spells and divine arts surged forward. After taking twelve rapid strikes, the magic egg exploded midair—its violent shockwave and wild elemental forces swept outward, flinging the front-line knights of the convoy into the air.

Valigu, watching the effect from kilometers away with his Magic Eye, slapped his palm in delight: "Perfect! Old World Tree branches work wonders—decay rate is much higher."

Mages and clerics raised shields to block the shockwave, scanning the surroundings with renewed vigilance.

"Sky is secure."

"Ground is secure."

"Flanks are secure."

"When did that horse get here? So fast! And it's sparking lightning—it's not a horse! It's a unicorn!"

"Alert! Alert! That horse is fast—what the hell is it dragging behind?"

"Titan! It's dragging a Titan! It's using lightning to drag a Titan! Good heavens—can a unicorn and a Thunder Titan even coordinate like this?"

The "hairy-hatted horse" that had been kilometers away had suddenly appeared within a kilometer, trailing sparks and lightning—these bolts stretched behind it.

Five or six three-meter-tall Titans held onto those lightning strands, stepping on them, gliding forward as if on rails.

No one had ever seen a unicorn and a Titan coordinate like this. First, true Titans stood five to eight meters tall—unicorns couldn't drag them. Second, they were unrelated; Titans entering the main plane were always mobbed and killed.

Zi Hai's size was just right, and it had grown accustomed to lightning—only then had it accidentally developed this combo.

Under the lightning's speed, hundreds of meters vanished in an instant. By the time the convoy's guards reacted, the lightning had dragged the Titans to within five hundred meters.

Zi Hai Titans swung their arms, hurling magic eggs.

Three-meter-tall Zi Hai Titans were walking magic egg launchers—eggs shot out like cannonballs, nearly matching the power of the Magic Egg Cannon.

One magic egg had already shaken the convoy to its core; with so many, the convoy dared not let them approach—they opened fire on the eggs immediately.

Seizing the moment, the hairy hat on the unicorn's head moved, leaping to the ground and plopping down—then swelling like an inflated ball.

Seeing the fuzzy, spherical mass, Dai Sen and his men instantly recognized it: "Dimension Beast! It's a Dimension Beast!"

Dai Sen could no longer hold back—what did a Dimension Beast mean? A dimensional portal. It must not be allowed to open.

He stepped forward, thrusting his staff into the ground. His voice rang across the battlefield, clear to every ear: "The God says…"

Before he finished, a louder voice boomed: "God didn't say!"

The half-formed divine spell shattered under the voice. Dai Sen, furious, bit his teeth and roared: "Anthony! Come out!"

Another louder voice immediately denied: "I'm not him. I'm just a passerby annoyed by your midnight yelling. Don't make things up."

Dai Sen slammed his staff again: "The God says—"

"You're full of shit!"

"The God says—"

"You're impotent!"

"The God says—"

"You're bald!"

"You're the bald one!" Dai Sen went mad, tore off his crown, and shone his scalp bare.

Dai Sen had no choice—bishops must always wear their crowns. If he didn't immediately deny the rumor, everyone would start sneaking glances at his head, and all his authority would vanish.

He didn't care about rumors he was impotent—but rumors he was bald? Unacceptable.

With another bishop of equal rank restraining him, Dai Sen was effectively neutralized—unable to cast any divine arts.

With the enemy's strongest force disabled, Ang's side showed no mercy. From the long hairs of the Dimension Beast, a flood of people poured out.

In Dai Sen's convoy, someone summoned an angelic possession—wings unfurled behind them as they rose into the air.

Ang fired a Death Pulse from behind him, engulfing the opponent. The tiny zombie, after unleashing its ultimate attack, was drenched in death aura, tongue lolling out.

A squad of Holy Knights charged forward, shields raised.

Dozens of Titans swung their new weapons and smashed into them, plowing through like a harrow through soil, sending them flying.

The enemy's mages gathered together, led by a Truth Mage, frantically gathering elemental energy.

Suddenly, all elemental energy ceased.

"I-Impossible! Magic Nullification Field! Elemental Dead Zone! Damn it!" The enemy's Truth Mage turned ashen.

A Truth Mage was already formidable—but a Magic Nullification Field was every mage's nightmare.

Without magic, only melee remained. Ang's side, meticulously prepared, surged forward like a flood, smashing everything—until they hit the Wall of Divine Protection.

Several Holy Knights formed a human wall, casting the Divine Protection spell.

No one noticed—the armored figure beside Dai Sen had vanished without a trace.

At the same moment, Dai Sen's chest glowed.

Ang suddenly sensed something, looked up, and murmured: "Red."

As he whispered, scales erupted across his body, rapidly covering him entirely.

PS: This chapter was meant to be posted yesterday, but for some reason, I fell into a strange state—like having my period—everything felt draining. Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to everyone.