Chapter 662: Violent Priest

Two days later.

East of Albert Bay lies the Grey Valley, wedged between the Western Coast mountain range and the Nevarda Mountains. The valley stretches a thousand li, yet its widest point is less than a hundred li. This narrow, flat valley runs parallel to the coastline, its soil fertile and its rainfall abundant; during the Third Epoch it was the dwarves' largest grain‑producing region.

The Grey Valley is like a hundred‑times‑magnified Albert Bay, surrounded by mountains, with its only exit leading directly to Albert Bay.

The once‑bountiful valley has long been occupied by monsters.

More than fifty years ago, the three city lords of Albert Bay reached a consensus: the next strategic goal was to clear the demon nests in Grey Valley, rebuild it as a granary, make Albert Bay self‑sufficient, and thus break its dependence on the Old Continent for food.

However, Grey Valley is too vast to erect walls on the surrounding mountains as Albert Bay did; instead, fortresses can only be built at key mountain passes to block the main routes and prevent large‑scale monster incursions.

Even a dozen fortresses are far from enough; monsters still pour over the mountains, flood the valley with destruction, construct demon nests that channel malevolent energy, turning the land into Abyss wasteland.

Albert Bay's Transcendent Legion regularly sweeps monsters and demon nests, purifying land tainted by malevolent energy.

But monsters, like weeds, cannot be eradicated; before long they rise again.

The Transcendent Legion under the three lords grew exhausted, so Albert Bay issued a mission inviting the Soul Hunt Squad, the Mercenary Corps, and other Transcendents to take part in monster eradication, offering generous rewards and allowing them to keep any loot from the slain monsters.

These low‑risk, high‑reward eradication missions proved very popular.

Decades of relentless effort and countless completed eradication missions have reclaimed most of Grey Valley; ordinary monsters no longer dare to venture in seeking death.

In the southern part of the valley, a low hill's void rippled, and after a few seconds three silhouettes emerged.

Leading them was a young Wizard wielding a silver staff, clad in a black magical robe, expression indifferent—Reslin.

On his left and right stood Asina and Yizite.

"It should be around here," Yizite said, looking around.

The air reeked of sharp sulfur, and the sky was thick with dark clouds, obscuring the sun.

The ground around the hill looked as if soaked in bloodwater, turning black and deep; a nearby stream ran murky, emitting a foul, sewage‑like stench.

The once‑vibrant vegetation had mutated to eerie green, vivid red, or jet black, colors exaggerated and obviously malformed. Beasts, insects, and fish seemed absent; in fact, they had become more terrifying after infection, lurking in the shadows.

Strands of black wind, origin unknown, carried inexplicable mutterings that pierced the ears; listening closely yielded nothing, stirring irritation and oppression.

Anyone with weak Willpower here would, within three days, be driven mad by the omnipresent mutterings, then infiltrated by invisible negative energy, descending into a mind‑lost monster.

It is like a nightmare world—the Abyss wasteland polluted by malevolent energy.

The three on the hill had already become accustomed.

For the past two days they had been searching Grey Valley for the legendary priest; Yizite had gathered information that the target had taken an eradication mission, with the location in the valley's south.

Even with mission markers, finding a person in the vast valley is not easy.

That fellow acted alone, taking five or six eradication missions simultaneously, yet ignored the directions of the mission sites, moving erratically. Reslin teleported dozens of times, following fresh battle traces, searched for two days, and finally pinpointed the priest's approximate location.

Reslin scanned the hill, paused, and said calmly, "Found him."

"Where?"

Asina and Yizite did not see anything.

"Look over there," Reslin pointed in a direction.

About half a li from the hill's base, the uneven ground was dotted with a few soil mounds mixed with weeds, unremarkable.

Yizite's lavender pupils narrowed slightly.

"A demon‑infested bear goblin nest!" Having adventured on the New Continent for years, he instantly recognized that the soil mounds concealed tunnels dug by bear goblins, though they were farther away and he hadn't spotted them immediately.

Based on his experience, he whispered, "It should be a medium‑sized bear goblin tribe, at least five hundred individuals; the demon nest was likely built recently, no more than three months old, so the malevolent energy contamination isn't severe yet."

Reslin nodded; his All‑Seeing Eye could directly perceive energy.

The demon nest was obvious to him: a stream of malevolent energy like eerie green smoke surged skyward, spreading in all directions, enveloping roughly thirty li of sky and land.

The spot where the energy spewed was the demon nest—a cavern deep underground.

Not far from the cavern entrance, the All‑Seeing Eye saw through a figure's invisibility; Reslin observed and confirmed that this person was the priest he sought.

Before he could point out the priest's location, combat erupted suddenly.

Light flashed.

A heavy spiked hammer materialized out of thin air; its square head had a massive nail on each of five faces, the sixth face attached to the handle, grotesquely terrifying.

The hammer, one and a half meters long, was grasped by a tall, muscular man clad in heavy mail, a white battle robe draped over him, cinched by a broad metal belt; at his waist hung an ancient brown‑leather codex by iron chains, and the robe bore the sacred emblem of the Earth Mother—a life‑tree sprouting from the ground—embroidered on both front and back.

At that moment, the nearly two‑meter‑tall priest radiated layers of holy light; his bald head glowed brighter, like a high‑wattage bulb.

In a single breath, the priest layered himself with over a dozen levels of Divine Technique.

He raised the spiked hammer and slammed it into the ground with full force.

Boom!

The ground sank, triggering an immediate chain reaction.

A vast area of ground before the priest collapsed; cracks spread outward from his feet, expanding to hundreds of square meters within seconds, countless soil and rock falling and exposing the cavern below, from which terrified screams echoed—no one knew how many bear goblins were crushed outright.

Reslin, watching from the hill, gained a boon; the energy in his soul reservoir rose.

His All‑Seeing Eye saw the wavering malevolent smoke, and the priest's hammer shattered more than half of the underground demon nest.

"Roar..."

Angry roars echoed from below, and a horde of bear goblins surged from the surrounding soil mounds.

Their name includes "goblin," and they are indeed close kin to the weak, diminutive green‑skinned goblins, yet aside from prolific breeding and low intelligence, they share almost no other similarities.

Bear goblins stand upright like bears, at least 1.8 m tall, their faces bearing goblin features, bodies immensely muscular, covered in brown fur. Their limbs are as dexterous as humans', they wear crude leather armor, wield wolf‑tooth wooden clubs and spears, and roar as they charge the priest.

These are demon‑infested bear goblins, their fur jet‑black, eyes blood‑shot, twisted faces like evil spirits crawling out of hell.

Any creature corrupted by malevolent energy sees its intellect diminish while its power surges.

Demon‑infested bear goblins are no exception.

The first wave of bear goblins that surged before the priest, over two meters tall and as solid as a wall, entered a berserk state, brandishing wolf‑tooth clubs and stone hammers, surrounding the priest from all sides and smashing with their weapons.

Bang!

The priest raised his left hand upward, his palm emitting a pure light like an exploding fireball; massive holy energy burst forth, striking the bear goblins' malevolent bodies with fierce force.

In an instant, golden flames ignited on the bear goblin's body.

This holy fire not only burns fur, flesh and blood, but also penetrates the soul, causing them to scream in agony as if plunged into a pot of oil.

Some bear goblins suppress the pain and force themselves to keep charging.

However, a massive spiked hammer meets them; the priest's hammer smashes into their heads, a burst of light erupts, the ugly skull explodes like a watermelon, brain matter sprays everywhere, and the bodies are ripped apart.

Bang bang bang…

The priest swings the spiked hammer, each strike killing a demonized bear goblin.

His strength is terrifying; the spiked hammer he wields weighs several thousand pounds, and even the highest‑rank demonized bear goblins cannot block a single blow.

In just a few seconds, a circle of bear goblin corpses lies at the priest's feet.

The demonized bear goblins, fierce and unafraid of death, immediately send more of their kin, trampling over their own dead, to surge forward and surround the priest tightly, hurling a chaotic barrage of weapons. Some bear goblins even throw spears from a distance, regardless of whether they might hit their own tribe.

In the blink of an eye, the priest is engulfed by bear goblins.

Bang!

Another Holy Nova erupts, pushing the bear goblins back while the priest in the middle remains unscathed. Seizing the moment while the bear goblins howl in pain from the holy fire, he calmly raises his spiked hammer and, like calling roll call, smashes them one after another.

His speed is not slow, but two fists cannot match four hands, let alone hundreds of demonized bear goblins.

Soon, the priest is again swamped by bear goblins.

Holy Nova!

After using Divine Technique to blast the enemies this time, the priest sustains minor wounds on his neck and face; a Healing Technique descends, instantly mending the injuries.

He then continues swinging his hammer to slay foes.

The three onlookers atop the hill wear varied expressions, all a bit surprised.

The priest's fighting style is extremely simple: he offers no tactics, merely bestows upon himself dozens of layers of Divine Technique, causing his strength, defense and regeneration to surge, relying on his unparalleled physique to stand still and hammer enemies one after another, like a humanoid meat grinder.

If he didn't wield Divine Technique, who would dare believe he's a priest rather than a berserker?

With Divine Technique, the priest's strength reaches Legendary.

Each of his hammer blows is terrifyingly lethal; the spiked hammer is also imbued with Divine Technique, delivering a holy strike on impact. His melee skill is superb, yet he seems to lack a wide‑area, high‑efficiency killing method, so he can only fight this way.

Nevertheless, these demonized bear goblins cannot pose much threat to the priest.

When bear goblin attacks hit him, the vast majority feel like a mere itch, causing little effect; occasional wounds heal in an instant.

After several rounds of combat, a quarter of the bear goblins are dead.

A legendary bear goblin bursts out of the collapsed cave; it is the tribe's chieftain, two and a half meters tall, wielding a wolf‑tooth club as thick as a tree trunk, charging straight at the besieged priest.

Roar!

Three seconds later, the bear goblin chieftain's head is blown apart by the priest's hammer.

It is no different from an ordinary bear goblin before the formidable priest; the priest doesn't even glance at it.

If it were a normal bear goblin tribe, the chieftain's death would cause them to scatter and flee immediately.

But demonized bear goblins do not.

They have no concept of fear; the priest's frenzied assault only intensifies their onslaught, encircling him, with only one thought in their minds: to kill this human.

The battle continues, showing no sign of ending anytime soon.

On the hill, Asina shakes her head and sighs, "So he deliberately uses this method against the bear goblin tribe."

"Exactly."

Yizite's expression also clears, "But this is probably his most frequently used combat style."

If other legendary strongmen faced a siege of hundreds of demonized bear goblins, even killing a portion would drain massive stamina, eventually being ground down to death by the overwhelming numbers.

Smashing bear goblins hammer by hammer saves a great deal of stamina.

Moreover, the priest's Divine Technique gives him virtually inexhaustible stamina, making him unfazed by enemy attrition, which is his advantage.

The number of bear goblins dwindles gradually, and the encircling ring shrinks.

The priest's body is stained red, but only with enemy blood; he remains as pristine as ever, eyes bright and resolute, with hardly any decline in strength or stamina.

His hammer‑wielding speed remains both swift and precise.

Yizite watches in awe.

He is a Demonic Hunter, using speed and agility combined with spells to kill, with rather mediocre defense, rarely engaging enemies in direct melee; his style is the opposite of the priest's, and having never experienced such a thrilling battle, he can't help but feel a bit envious.

For years he has covertly observed Albert Bay's legendary strongmen, scouting teammates to hunt the Baro Flame Demon, and chose this priest, having heard rumors of his combat style.

But after seeing him with his own eyes, he was still astonished.

"How many Divine Techniques does he have on him!" Yizite exclaims, tongue‑tied.

The dark elf merely gasps in amazement, not truly seeking an answer, then unexpectedly hears Reslin reply, "Twelve in total."

"So many!" Yizite's eyes widen in disbelief.

With his eyesight he can only discern four or five Divine Techniques, yet Reslin sees twelve; how does he manage that?

Reslin smiles faintly, offering no further explanation.

His Soul Eye has long seen clearly: this violent priest, akin to a berserker, is at level seventeen, Legendary High-rank, mastering numerous auxiliary Divine Techniques, and is extremely powerful.

One can infer his combat style from the Divine Techniques he wields.

Melee‑focused, Divine Technique‑assisted.

The priest's own physique is outstanding: ten‑level Strength, ten‑level Toughness, four‑level Swiftness, and the supreme Element Earth Pulse, plus numerous melee Elements suited to the spiked hammer—heavy strike, power burst, battle frenzy, rage control, Earth Shaking Strike, Armor Penetration blunt strike, and so on.

Before entering combat, he bestowed upon himself Blessings of Strength, Toughness, Earth, Concentration, Life, Ultra‑effective Mind Shield, Holy Infusion, Holy Armor, Divine Power, Divine Grace Technique, Heaven's Feather, and Freedom Technique!

A full twelve Divine Techniques— even a frail, dying patient could rise and wreak havoc.

At his peak, even Asina facing him head‑on cannot be certain of victory.

Massing an entire bear goblin tribe is even easier.

Moments later, a river of blood runs beneath the hill, dark‑red gore soaking a vast stretch of ground. Not a single one of the over five hundred bear goblins escapes; their corpses pile up like a mountain.

The strong priest stood among the corpses, his body covered in blood and flesh, as if he had just crawled out of a blood pool.

He breathed lightly, raised his hand and released a cleansing technique upon himself.

Divine Technique light washed over the priest's whole body like a stream, quickly cleansing the filth, revealing a spotless battle robe, renewed. He turned his head toward the hill, his gaze sweeping over Reslin and the three, finally resting on Yizite, his brows slightly furrowed.

Yizite let out a soft sigh, "We should go over."

Reslin waved his staff, opening an Any Door and leading the way inside.

The three appeared before the priest, Yizite gave an elegant salute: "Your Excellency Dao En Suo Si, we've been looking for you for two days."

(End of Chapter)