With a single slash, scorching sword aura compressed the wind and waves, directly cleaving toward the hovering Pope of Light Hebrew.

Although Heaven’s Tremor, Solar Judgment had already pierced through the gathering clouds overhead, making its subsequent casting appear smaller to the naked eye, the sheer power of Lyra’s slash could still faintly judge through the elemental vision, where millions of elemental particles were being pushed away at light speed, revealing its immense strength.

Having transcended the rank of Magnus and successfully ascended to Arcanist mage, Lyra’s power increase was far from marginal, it was like transforming a mere lake into a vast, boundless river.

Feeling the threat from the sword aura, Hebrew lightly pressed the Holy Scripture. Layer upon layer of illusory light bricks floated before him, collectively forming a three-dimensional defensive wall.

Lyra’s sword aura crashed into it. The completed Holy Wall merely trembled slightly before shattering into luminous spears that radiated outward, attacking the enemy at a speed even surpassing Lyra’s original slash.

The Faithless he had intended to eliminate had, just like Monica had testified during the final match of the Magical Exchange Competition, achieved a breakthrough mid-battle, ascending from a Peak tier magus to an early Arcanist mage.

A twenty-two-year-old early tier Arcanist mage, while sounding incredible, was still, to Hebrew, who had already reached the peak of peak tier Arcanist mage, nothing more than evolving from an ant that could be crushed without special attention into a newborn infant.

The gap in power between an early tier Arcanist mage and the peak of peak tier Arcanist mage wasn’t any smaller than the one Lyra had just crossed. This kind of overwhelming dominance couldn’t be compensated for by equipment, elemental affinity, or magical experience.

If Lyra could advance just one more minor stage to reach middle tier Arcanist mage, he might actually begin to take her seriously. But right now? She was merely a flick of his finger away from annihilation.

The blazing light spears, seemingly equipped with spirit-tracking circles, relentlessly pursued Lyra no matter how much she flapped her light wings to evade. They forced her to block with the Sword of Light, meeting magic with magic.

Watching the pink-haired girl flutter through the air like a butterfly, Hebrew stood calmly in place, confident this variable wouldn’t change the overall outcome. Lyra’s defeat was merely a matter of time.

The only thing worth mentioning... was that instant just now...

The slash Lyra unleashed during her breakthrough had actually split Heaven’s Tremor, Solar Judgment in two, even damaging the spell’s external barrier.

His gaze lifted. Above, the spatial fissure was rapidly being stitched shut under the high-speed operation of the holy artifact, just as the Lord had revealed to him in a vision. When assisted by holy artifacts, Heaven’s Tremor, Solar Judgment far surpasses what a single caster could achieve.

But just now... that slash’s power... cutting the Solar Judgment in half was one thing, but how could it have damaged the barrier?

Especially during the brief moment the sword aura collided with the barrier, Hebrew felt the holy artifact in his hand resonated faintly with the incoming force.

Was this the power hidden within the Sword of Light?

Having dispelled the irritating light spears around her, Lyra, now fully aware of how formidable the Pope of Light was, gripped her sword with both hands. A surge of magical energy rippled across her silvery-white armor as she actively drew nearby light elemental particles to strengthen her defenses.

Inside the arbitration barrier of Heaven’s Tremor, Solar Judgment, only light elements received massive amplification from the sun above. This not only enhances the abilities of the Church’s knights but also benefits Lyra, whose mastery over light elemental manipulation was fully maximized.

Still fresh in her Arcanist mage ascension, she couldn’t yet skillfully draw elements from the void to her will. Thus, the glowing particles floating around her were her best available weapon.

Seeing Lyra gathering sword energy, the translucent holy blade growing increasingly radiant, eventually forming a colossal, ethereal sword shadow stretching across the sky, Hebrew gently raised his hand.

Instantly, the light particles surrounding Lyra transformed into chains, linking and coiling tightly around the knight’s arm guards, producing faint metallic sounds with every movement.

Peak tier Magnus-level light-element magic: Severing Chains of Sin.

The concept of magical casting rank was merely a minimum threshold. Just as Charlotte could turn an ordinary air cannon into a screen-clearing attack, even when casting lower-tier spells, a peak tier Arcanist mage-level Pope of Light like Hebrew would produce effects far surpassing those of mages within that rank.

Her right arm was completely bound by light-metal chains, the other end connected to a thread of sunlight. Under the influence of Severing Chains of Sin, even Lyra’s sword-swinging motions became sluggish. The ethereal light chains coiled around her calves as well, tightening around her ankles like shackles.

The holy sword flew from her grip, severing the chains as an extension of her body. Lyra’s six wings behind her rapidly lifted, carrying her out of the chains’ reach.

The next instant, the still-forming light chains morphed into straight hooks with pointed tips, racing up her sturdy leg armor, aiming at her shoulders like venomous snakes before plunging in with terrifying force.

Completely unfamiliar with Severing Chains of Sin, a secret technique exclusive to the Pope of Light, and never expecting it to be so swift and agile in Hebrew’s hands, Lyra could only instinctively sever the one approaching her right side. The other found a gap in her pure-white armor, driving its hook directly into a hazardous spot.

In an instant, crimson blood soaked Lyra’s undergarments. As the light spear pierced inward, fracturing her shoulder bone, she reached up, grabbed the chain, and with one forceful pull, yanked it out.

The illusory metal instantly dissolves into light sand, vanishing into the air. The bleeding wound, constantly oozing blood, was temporarily sealed under the reinforcement of her mental power, halting the hemorrhage.

This was Lyra’s first injury in the entire battle, caused by light elemental particles, something she herself usually wielded.

Indeed... no matter how high her light-element affinity was, she couldn’t possibly defeat a Pope of Light whose mental power quality and casting experience far surpassed hers, especially by two ranks...

Looking up at Hebrew, whose presence loomed in the air like an immovable mountain, Lyra seized this brief moment of respite to quickly consider her next move.

Currently, the number of Arcanist mages on both sides is equal. But in terms of quality, Kingdom of Velys’s overall strength far exceeds the Empire’s, primarily due to the Pope of Light Hebrew.

The only figure in the Valeria Empire who could match him is Anthony, Dean of Elizabeth Academy of Magic. Lyra, still unripe in strength, could barely exchange blows with him only thanks to the Sword of Light and her resistance to light elements. Yet this fragile balance could shatter at any moment.

No one had expected the Pope of Light to appear on the frontlines during such a period of internal turmoil within the Church. This gave the Kingdom of Velys, as the aggressor actively deploying Arcanist mages, a natural advantage.

As he pondered, Hebrew’s blue eyes continued to fix on Lyra. His golden hair is naturally down his back, his expression is still calm and solemn, as if filled with compassion for the world.

A tide of radiant light, like rolling waves, surged toward Lyra. Each carried the force to split mountains. The pink-haired girl immediately raised her holy sword in front of her chest, but the overwhelming energy crashing into the blade was too intense, her mental power couldn’t absorb all the light elemental particles in time.

Her wrists ached from the impact, her throat tasted faintly sweet, and her internal organs felt like they were being displaced by the relentless blows. Lyra used every technique she knew to dissipate the force, even causing her Light Holy Armor to clang sharply against the transparent barrier.

In those fantasy novels centered on knights, wasn’t there always a brief "invincibility phase" right after a breakthrough?

Why was she, right after her ascension, getting beaten this badly?

Breathing slightly ragged, Lyra watched as Hebrew placed his finger on the Holy Scripture, seemingly preparing to silently chant the incantation for his next spell, one meant to obliterate her. Realizing that passive defense would only lead to defeat, Lyra once again gathered her strength and swung her sword.

A sharp sword aura howled through the air. Although not as powerful as the desperate slash she’d delivered at the brink of death, amplified by overflowing mental energy, it was still no trivial attack.

But... her aim seemed slightly off...

The Pope of Light remained high in the sky, backlit by the sun, making no attempt to evade or block Lyra’s strike. The sharp sword aura grazed past the man’s cheek, stirring a faint breeze, before slamming into the spatial barrier.

Sensing the feedback from her mental power, Lyra gained a vague understanding, yet a trace of regret flickered across her delicate face, regret for missing such a rare offensive opportunity.

Having witnessed her exceptional resistance to light elements under the protection of the holy sword, Hebrew pondered quietly, a faint doubt forming in his mind: Was this resistance innate to Lyra herself, or was it solely granted by the Sword of Light?

"..."

After a brief pause, the Pope of Light chose to continue drawing elemental energy, preparing for his next assault.

The Lord was an omniscient, omnipotent being, His judgment was accurate and unquestionable. As a believer, one needed only to trust and offer everything to Him.

The priority is now eliminating Lyra Beckett.

Fighting light with light, any other non-light-element Arcanist mage would have already fallen beneath Severing Chains of Sin. Since Lyra had innate high resistance to light, he would simply switch to another elemental magic.

Early tier Arcanist mage-level fire-element spell: Eternal Burning Celestial Radiance.

Blazing flames erupted from the high heavens, lashing towards Lyra.

Meanwhile, outside White Maple Town, a silver-haired young lady dressed in an elegant black evening gown with a black hair ribbon, accompanied by her head maid and two Arcanist mages, approaching the spatial barrier.

"Miss, please be cautious."

Elise spoke softly, her long sword already hanging at her waist, ready to be drawn at any moment.

Hearing Elise’s words, Astrid gave a slight nod. Standing at the edge of the arbitration barrier of Heaven’s Tremor, Solar Judgment, she carefully sensed the internal structure of the magical circle.

Although Astrid was still only a peak tier Magnus, making the analysis of a peak tier Arcanist mage-level spell seem overly ambitious, she was, in truth, a scholar who had read extensively from the Royal Library and the Academy’s archives.

Combined with her experience in cross-translating ancient magical incantations with modern common language, and her joint research with Charlotte on magical devices, her actual magical prowess far exceeded the invisible threshold of her mental power.

"You all remain on alert. Report any developments to me immediately."

"Yes, Your Highness, the Regent."

With gloved hands clad in thin black silk, she pressed against the spatial barrier. The fluctuations of elemental particles inside were completely imperceptible, like an invisible black box.

Astrid straightened her legs, the slender heels of her shoes lightly tapping the frozen soil. Her normally cool, serene crimson eyes were now fully closed, gently covered by fine lashes.

In her elemental vision, boundless light elemental particles formed this unique barrier. Observing from the outside, she could only see residual images from several minutes ago, the beginning of the battle in White Maple Town.

As for whether the inside can observe the outside, that remains undetermined.

A thin layer of frost formed on the surface of her gloves. Astrid leaned closer, using active ice elemental particles to determine the activity and arrangement state of the light elements.

An unusual spell... light elements, typically ethereal, being used for tangible cutting and defense...

Yet in its specific manifestation, it differs from Holy Radiant City. It was a new type of magic even Monica had never revealed.

Astrid had never fully trusted Monica, but that didn’t mean her trust in the other woman was low. Under most circumstances, she concentrated on believing the intelligence Monica provided.

If even the Saintess of Light didn’t have access to this spell, was it because her espionage had been exposed, or had someone higher up interfered?

A flicker of concern crossed her mind as Astrid continued analyzing Heaven’s Tremor, Solar Judgment, her thoughts sinking deeper.

This elemental arrangement and magical output method differed slightly from the modern magical system, yet wasn’t purely ancient magic either.

It feels as if it stood between the two, giving Astrid an intense sense of familiarity.

"..."

Wasn’t this exactly what she had done before, helping Charlotte ascend to middle tier Arcanist mage, translating several notoriously difficult ancient wind spells into modern equivalents, resulting in improved versions?

Based on current intelligence, only three people in the world could have achieved this, though perhaps not all of them were fully human.

The Regent Astrid, the Pioneer Brennild, and Gemini, the founder of modern human magic, also known as Aurilline, mentioned in the Emperor’s Scepter.

It could just be Brennild’s doing.

Attempting reverse analysis to find the ancient incantation version of this spell, and based on that, seeking a way to break it, Astrid issued her next command.

"Pinpoint the exact location of the spatial fluctuation from earlier."

Since the detonation of the spatial device had transmitted its signal outward, it proved the method was effective.

"Yes, Your Highness, the Regent."

Focusing her mind, her mental power applied to the surface of the Judgment Barrier. The arrangement of elemental particles resembled intricate CPU circuits, awaiting Astrid’s connection.