Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 781 - : The Great Chaos

Chapter 781 -781: The Great Chaos

Just seconds ago, the outside of the church was enveloped only in white fog, but in the next moment, an overwhelming tide of lost souls had taken over nearly every corner of the vision.

The Miracle Elements and Divine Arts power that the church itself carried dissipated instantly during the first wave of attacks, repelling the undead closest to the church’s structure. Thereafter, all the High Ring Sorcerers and above left the church to fight outside. The bells at the top of the side tower resounded with a ding-ding-ding, and golden ripples of Spiritual Light from Divine Arts continuously spread outwards from the church, neutralizing the invasion of Whisper Elements that came with the tide of the undead.

The Outlander had never seen a real war in his hometown, and despite experiencing so many significant events in this world, he had never been in a real war. It was not until this moment that he witnessed a major battle involving hundreds of Transcendents. Even though he wielded “Night Watchman,” and had the assistance of the Witch’s Necklace and Divine Afterglow, he still didn’t believe he could play a significant role here.

Together with Iluna and the other Inner Ring Sorcerers, he held back the undead who could break through the outer defenses at the church’s entrance. As the Divine Arts power blossomed around him, Shard received various enhancement effects from others.

With increased strength, agility, mental acuity, and even soul resistance, he spared no effort in using “Sunlight Ray” in coordination with the “Night Watchman” to attack.

The power of the sun and Shard’s vigorous performance earned the Church’s Ring Sorcerers further trust in him. The high consumption of “Sunlight Ray” meant that Shard couldn’t always be on the front line, so when he temporarily retreated to the bonfire to rest, a nun in charge of logistical work actually gave him three flasks of Holy Water, which were even the high-purity Holy Water No. 2 Essence.

This was a precious resource that one couldn’t buy even if they wanted to; only the Church of Nature, which produced Holy Water itself, could afford such generosity.

It was clear that even without Shard, with Iluna at the door using the power of “Balance” to suppress the strength of the undead, the church could hold its ground. But with Shard, the “Swordmaster,” first there were cleansing sweeps of the enemy with “Sunlight Ray” that acted as a Light Cannon, followed by long-range Arcane Technique attacks from the Church Ring Sorcerers, and finally, they would temporarily rush out the entrance for close-quarters combat to clear the enemies that still remained.

This standard combat process greatly relieved the pressure on the defense, and even when tricky enemies breached the outer Defensive Ritual and the attacks of the High Ring Sorcerers to climb the stairs in front of the church, Shard could rely on the “Night Watchman,” which held powerful lethality against Evil Spirits, to hold the enemies off for a while.

It was as if the number of the undead was infinite, constantly rushing from all directions toward the church as soon as the ritual officially began. The undead in the front were crushed, and those in the back stepped on their yet-to-dissipate spiritual bodies to charge again.

Not only from the ground, but the sky also saw the arrival of Bone Dragons and Wraith Spirits with the ability to fly, while huge Ghoul Worms tried to emerge from underneath the earth, only to be immediately suppressed by the power of the church itself.

On the ceiling of the Main Chapel, where there used to be a lush World Tree mural, a pale gold triple ring had now appeared. As the ritual progressed, the pale gold was metamorphosing into a bright gold, and once the triple ring had fully transformed, it would signify the success of the ritual.

In the first hour of battle, Shard looked up at the ceiling every time he briefly rested, but soon after he had no time to spare a thought for the patterns above.

This was not the most desperate battle he had ever experienced, but it indeed was the most mentally draining. Enemies filled every corner of his eye, and as soon as he pierced one with his longsword, another would immediately appear.

Joey Barton did not show up throughout, until nine twenty in the evening of the real world, when Shard returned to the bonfire to sit and try to quickly recover his combat state, a thunderous explosion suddenly resounded from outside the church.

“What’s happened?”

He quickly scrambled up, uncorked the Holy Water Flask No. 2 beside him, and took a hearty gulp. Looking up at the ceiling, two-thirds of the triple ring had turned bright gold.

“A big one is coming!”

The response came from the doorway, followed by two consecutive explosions from the sky.

Footsteps approached from deeper within the chapel, and the Thorn Nun, who had not yet appeared, came out. After exchanging a few words with the old nun by the fire, who was in charge of logistics, she also left the chapel and flew up into the sky.

This time, Shard clearly saw a golden lightning bolt tear through the clouds, followed by the fall of a massive creature in the distant fog. But then, a savage beast-like roar came from directly above the chapel, and the groan made the building itself tremble.

“The Wind of Nature blows, and the dandelion blossoms open!”

A hoarse male voice chanted the Sublimation Incantation, and from within the chapel, Shard could only see countless green dandelion silhouettes falling from the sky.

The effect of the Sublimation Incantation briefly disengaged the High Ring Sorcerer and the beast above the chapel from the battlefield. But immediately after, rumbling sounds came from outside the door. Shard hurried to the entrance, sword in hand, and together with others who manifested the Ring of Fate behind him, they saw a well-organized army of headless undead, mounted on skeleton horses, charging rapidly through the fog towards the chapel.

“Sage-Level Relic, the Headless Horsemen Guild? How could they appear at Midshire Fort?”

Iluna was greatly surprised, but then, as the desolate sound of a horn rose from the heights of the chapel, a pale golden light seeped outward from the exterior walls of the Nature Chapel. In those golden glimmers, transparent spirits with solemn and dignified faces walked out from the walls, including some that Shard had seen last time he entered the chapel—spirits that guarded it.

“They are the past Guardians of the Interstice Chapel!”

The Undead Circle Sorcerers of the Church of Nature revealed themselves and charged forward, dispersing the Headless Horsemen Guild before it could reach the chapel. The appearance of these willing protectors also allowed the Miracle Element inside the chapel to spread farther outside, illuminating a much larger area.

“Three-quarters of the ritual is complete! The real world has sent that Relic!”

Someone shouted next to the bonfire, and then a brass case was brought up to the second floor of the chapel. Immediately after, green seeds were thrown from the second-floor window onto the plaza in front of the chapel, and with the dazzling flash of green lights, grass of a greenish-gray hue grew in the monochrome Interstice, wildly extending outward. In just a few minutes, the grounds around the Nature Chapel were covered with wild grass.

“The Angel-Level (Level 1) Relic housed by the Nature Chapel, the Seed of Resentment of the Plant Protector, would uncontrollably grow plants until it drained all the nutrients from the land, even at the risk of destroying most of the Old Continent. The Church of Nature uses this artifact very cautiously.”

The emergence of the plant’s power pushed back the front line of the undead tide, giving the living a chance to breathe. However, they didn’t celebrate too early, for with a great scythe sweeping through the fog, the wild grass was turned to ashes in an instant.

The scythe even swung toward the entrance of the chapel, and two Inner Ring Sorcerers who were too slow to retreat back inside were struck by the withering black light and almost immediately lost their lives. They were just a few of the several sacrificial victims since the battle had begun.

“He’s finally arrived!”

The dense tide of the undead parted to each side, and a small, deformed figure came forward. Behind him, a tall, cloaked shadow loomed, scythe in hand, ready for the next attack.

The whistle sounded from above, alerting everyone to Joey Barton’s arrival.

There was no need for a tentative attack, Mr. Barton in a child-sized black coat leisurely ascended to the heights, the black sphere in his hand rapidly expanding before exploding:

“I grant you—Death of Destiny!”

The black light swept across, yet this time Shard did not have the illusion of time being paused. Because from an even higher place, the Diadem of Thorns was hurled down, catching Barton and forcibly containing the spreading black light, then perishing along with The Chosen One’s Talent ability.

“This is the final battle! Maze Lock—Interstice of Life and Death!”

An even denser fog surged forth, the compressed mist covering above the chapel; Joey Barton’s figure vanished along with nearly two-thirds of the High Ring Sorcerers into the Maze Lock.

“Something’s not right, how could he possibly be willing to face so many sorcerers at once? No, that’s not the real body, it’s a doppelganger!”

There was no need for Shard to remind them, the others also realized something was amiss. All outer High Ring Sorcerers urgently came back to assist, but at the same time, a massive black scythe swept out from the depths of the fog.

And this time, the scythe was blocked:

“Balance!”

The dark gold scales behind Iluna firmly stopped the scythe.

The scythe retracted, and another Joey Barton emerged from the fog. This time he charged towards the chapel with the undead around him and got entangled with the Church’s High Ring Sorcerers.

“Another one!”

The black scythe kept attacking, the third and fourth Joey Barton stepped out of the fog. He seemed to have the ability to enhance the power of Evil Spirits, as the undead around him clearly grew stronger.

“Beyas, don’t leave the entrance of the chapel!”

After instructing Iluna, Mr. Lando of the Peace Church had no choice but to leave the chapel and join the battle outside. Merging a part of the “Interstice of Life and Death,” Joey Barton was still no match for the Church, but he managed to entangle most of them. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

Everyone knew what he wanted to do, so Iluna readied herself at the door of the chapel.

“Here it comes!”

Shard shouted a warning; before his voice fell, a hefty black beam of light shot out from the white mist toward the entrance of the chapel like a Light Cannon. Although unsure of what it was, Shard met it head-on, thrusting forward with his sword:

“Sunlight~Ray!”

A warm yellow Light Cannon fired from the tip of his sword, clashing with the black beam. The enormous force caused Shard to stumble backward, his cloak rustling in the wind pressure. But he was promptly supported by the others behind him, as his Spirit was rapidly depleted.

Four black beams flew past him from left, right, above, and below, but Shard was fully occupied with the dark pillar of light and couldn’t intercept them.

“Four Joey Bartons! Isn’t The Chosen One being a bit unreasonable?”

An exclamation came from behind, and the subsequent Spiritual Light burst was so intense that even Shard, with his back turned, found it blinding.

The battle erupted inside the chapel; in a mere few seconds, Shard couldn’t even clearly recount how many times bursts of Spiritual Light had erupted behind him. Until at last, two successive Sublimation Incantations seemed to have halted the battle, only to be followed by Iluna’s voice:

“It’s a stand-in, his power broke the Defensive Ritual, he’s turned invisible and entered the chapel!”

This sentence was undoubtedly meant for Shard, after which Iluna’s footsteps receded.

“Damn!”

Shard rarely cursed, but as Joey Barton penetrated deeper into the chapel, the black Light Cannon arrayed against him weakened, finally vanishing completely in the Sunlight Ray.

Turning to look behind, the chapel’s Main Chapel was in shambles: silver lines and talismans scattered everywhere, almost all the pews smashed to bits. But fortunately, the ritual remained intact; the three circles on the ceiling were still slowly metamorphosing into a bright gold.

The ritual had reached this point, and as long as it itself was not destroyed, the three passageways were completely safe. Even if Joey Barton entered one, he could never come out again. Yet he charged deeper into the chapel as if oblivious to this fact.

Joey Barton did not attack the Old Clerics, but the sorcerers guarding the place—several had turned into statues, half were unconscious, and the few who remained awake didn’t have the strength to stand:

“They’re heading towards the deepest parts!”

Someone reminded, ignoring his yet-to-recover stamina and Spirit, Shard picked up a fishing rod and an oil lamp beside the bonfire and gave chase.