Chapter 128: A Scene of Unfathomable Overlap (Part 1)

Chapter 128: A Scene of Unfathomable Overlap (Part 1)



The one who opened the church gate was a member of the Wilderness Brotherhood, one of the heavily-armed mercenaries. His eyes widened as he stared at the Black Flame Adept, who was now split in half. His expression froze in shock!

Having heard the roar that didn't sound human from outside the church, his boss had sent him to check on the situation.

And this was the unbelievable scene he witnessed!

"Wh-Who are you?" he stammered, finally reacting and looking towards the center where Rain stood, still in his pose of delivering the downward sword strike.

As the church gate opened, sunlight flooded into the hall, warming the hearts of the trembling townspeople inside. A glimmer of hope seemed to sprout within them.

The trapped townspeople turned their heads, gazing at the open gate.

Although partially blocked by the heavily-armed mercenary, they could vaguely make out the scene in the square outside the church.

They saw several Night Watchmen, a Marshal, a knight in battered plate armor wielding a greatsword, and a black-robed figure lying in a pool of blood!

"Here they come! The Sheriff is here to save us!"

"Great! We're finally saved!"

The crowd began to stir with excitement.

At that moment, Thick Eyebrows felt an overwhelming joy. He immediately assumed the knight with the greatsword was Sheriff Hamilton.

But then he glanced at the two black-robed figures on the platform, and his joy was tinged with worry.

After all, the enemy's strength far surpassed that of the town's defense forces.

Sheriff Hamilton's chest plate had cracked from fighting a single black-robed figure, and here, there were two of them.

Thick Eyebrows mistakenly believed that Rain's cracked plate armor was a result of his recent battle.

Rain's mother, Emma, on the other hand, was in complete shock.

As a mother, she instantly recognized the 'Greatsword Knight' as her son, Rain.

She was all too familiar with this set of knight's plate armor, as Rain had been wearing it constantly over the past few days.

Seeing Rain's battered chest plate, Emma felt both worried and delighted. She was concerned about her son's safety but also thrilled that he had come to rescue her.

"May the Goddess bless us! I hope Rain can defeat these thugs!"

The two cavalrymen from the Crowley family, following Jennie's instructions, had collected the mangled body of Knight Andrews and closely followed Rain.

However, having not witnessed Rain's battle firsthand, they weren't entirely convinced of the young man's strength.

But when they saw Rain dispatch a black-robed figure, who was clearly more powerful than a full-fledged knight, with a single strike, they exchanged glances, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

After all, they were both only Level 2 Knight Attendants.

Jennie's carriage arrived at the edge of the church square, just in time to see Rain in his downward sword strike pose.

Jennie gazed at Rain standing in the center of the square, bathed in sunlight that made his youthful and robust figure glow with a faint golden light, exuding an aura of having vanquished his foes. He seemed to resonate with the statue of the Gale and Sea Goddess atop the church.

Jennie couldn't help but narrow her eyes, captivated by the sight, causing her legs to intertwine even tighter.

Naturally, Jennie compared the young and handsome Rain to her family's knight, Richards, who was nearly fifty and had inappropriate intentions towards her and her mother.

She found the comparison utterly one-sided.

"It seems I've placed my bet on the right person!" Jennie thought to herself.

However, upon noticing the dazed expressions of her two cavalrymen, Jennie furrowed her brows slightly.

She lifted the curtain of the carriage and spoke to them with a hint of annoyance, "What are you two staring at? Why aren't you helping Lord Rain collect the loot?"

"Loot?"

"Yes, loot."

The two cavalrymen initially looked perplexed but quickly understood. They dismounted and approached Rain.

"Lord Rain, we'll take care of your loot for now," they said with a bow, each grabbing half of the black-robed figure's corpse and returning to their horses.

Their actions left the Night Watchmen, and even the Wilderness Brotherhood mercenary at the gate, momentarily stunned.

"What kind of move is this?"

"Lord Rain even has a dedicated corpse disposal, or rather, loot retrieval team?"

"What kind of confidence is this?"

In that moment, Matteo and the Night Watchmen felt a surge of confidence.

Despite the enemy's formidable strength, the advantage was theirs!

However, the two cavalrymen, with a corpse hanging on each side of their horses, turned to Jennie with a dilemma, "Miss Jennie, we can't fit it all!"

Jennie shook her head at the two cavalrymen, who seemed like dazed geese, and said, "Can't you get a cargo carriage?"

Rain, meanwhile, peered through the open gate, taking in the entire scene inside the hall.

(End of Part 1)

And he realized that his roar must have alerted the enemies inside the church!

Although they had disturbed the hornet's nest, there was an advantage to this; they could now get a head start on the situation inside the church.

The eerie ceremony and the wisps of dark aura made Rayn feel a sense of foreboding. Additionally, he noticed that the tightly packed residents of the town inside the church hall wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer.

Rayn could clearly see that the town residents near the prayer altar had all collapsed on the ground, their fate uncertain.

As the tendrils of dark aura, like living creatures, continued to spread throughout the hall, more and more town residents began to fall to the ground.

After carefully counting the number of enemies in the hall, Rayn was startled.

"Two Black Flame Adepts and seven or eight Knight Cadets?"

This force was incredibly powerful. He hadn't expected the Black Flame Church to send so many experts at once.

However, he suddenly remembered the strange feeling he had when his Bear Sword Technique had advanced to lv6.

It seemed that after reaching lv6, he had entered a new realm. To use a metaphor, it was as if he had been practicing the sword techniques at a basic level, but now, he had seemingly reached a level of mastery, and the techniques came naturally to him.

"In that case, it seems like we can still give them a fight."

As Rayn assessed the strength of his opponents, they were also observing the situation in the church square.

Especially the black-robed figure conducting the ceremony, upon seeing Otis lying in a pool of blood, his heart began to race, and his entire body trembled. Even the massive black aura, like a giant octopus with countless tentacles, became slightly unstable.

"What the hell just happened?" Mitri shouted inwardly.

"Mitri, focus on the ceremony. Leave the outside matters to me!" said the black-robed figure with his hands in his sleeves, slowly walking out from the corner and addressing the Black Flame Adept conducting the ceremony.

"Yes, Lord Apostle!" Mitri replied respectfully.

As Mitri watched the black-robed figure, referred to as Lord Apostle, slowly approach the church door, he felt a sense of relief.

"Hehe! No matter how you managed it, encountering a Lord Apostle means we can only pray for our misfortune!"

"Soon, you'll experience the terror of the Lord Apostle!"

Mitri couldn't help but smirk, anticipating the show.

At this moment, Rayn charged towards the church hall entrance, followed by several marshals, while the night watchmen aimed their bows and arrows at the door.

The seven fully armed burly men inside the hall quickly rushed over to reinforce, forming two rows and blocking the church hall entrance.

Rayn glanced at them, and his enhanced perception, further improved after advancing to 'Apprentice Wizard', told him that among these men, only two had reached the level of Full Knights, while the rest were merely Knight Cadets.

As Rayn was in a hurry to rescue the hostages, he quickly devised a strategy for a swift and decisive battle. Just as the burly men drew out their intricate crossbows, aiming at Rayn.

Suddenly, a roar echoed.

Following that, a silver sword glow rose from the church entrance.

As the sword light swept across, the eight burly men were instantly taken down.

But it didn't end there. With a step forward, Rayn's greatsword slashed across the armpit of a plate-armored burly man, sending his still-armored arm flying into the air.

Immediately after, Rayn executed a downward slash, cutting the man diagonally from his shoulder at a forty-five-degree angle, splitting him in half.

At this moment, the other three burly men snapped out of their shock from Rayn's previous roar, but the scene before them had already left them horrified.

In less than two seconds, five of their brothers had been killed.

How could they possibly fight back?

As the sword light flashed again, Rayn unleashed a furious slash, instantly killing the last remaining Knight Cadet-level bandit.

Now, the only ones still standing were the two Full Knight-level men, both heavily injured.

Just as Rayn was about to finish them off, suddenly, a rapid black wave appeared before his eyes.

His Danger Sense at lv3 went into overdrive, and instinctively, Rayn raised his greatsword to defend himself.

"Clang!"

In an instant, he felt a scorching black air current, carrying immense power, slam into him and send him flying into the air.

Having blocked the opponent's attack, Rayn, still in mid-air, realized that the immense force hadn't caused him any harm.

Instead, the scorching black air current was strangely unsettling.

Rayn felt a stinging sensation on his exposed skin and, upon closer inspection, discovered that wisps of black flame were coiling around his body like bone-eating ulcers.

At this moment, these flames were trying to break through his skin and attack his body. Even with his supernatural ability, Iron Skin lv2, he found it incredibly difficult to resist.

"Bang!"

Rayn fell heavily to the ground.

At the same time, he heard screams coming from nearby.

It turned out that the previous attack had not only knocked him down but also several marshals who had followed him into the church. They hadn't had time to react, so they had more deep wounds than Rayn.

Moreover, these marshals were ordinary people, and once the black flames enveloped them, they couldn't withstand it. They screamed as they turned into human-shaped black fireballs and quickly burned to ashes.

At this point, even Rain couldn't come to the rescue.

It wasn't that he didn't want to, but he was helpless!

Rain narrowed his eyes, and only then did he see clearly that the attacker was the Black Flame Adept who had been standing in the corner of the church hall with his hands in his sleeves.

At this moment, he held an extremely rare giant scythe, with a long handle nearly a meter long, and a narrow, curved blade also about a meter long.

The attack he had just unleashed was similar to Rain's roar, a wide-area attack.

With the Black Flame Adept as the center, a shockwave accompanied by black flames erupted outwards, and the giant scythe's 360-degree attack was also unleashed.

Anyone within the range of his attack would be struck.

Rain had not encountered such a move from the previous Black Flame Adepts.

It seemed that the opponent's level was likely higher than those he had encountered before.

Perhaps, this Adept was the leader of this Black Flame Church operation!

"Clatter!"

Rain's knight helm, already damaged, shattered under the impact of the powerful black flames, revealing his young and handsome face!

Even the giant scythe Adept was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting Rain to be so young.

The townspeople in the church hall, having seen the Greatsword Knight being knocked away, enveloped in black flames, and then heavily falling to the ground, felt their hearts lurch.

But when they saw the Greatsword Knight stand up again, seemingly unharmed, they were filled with excitement.

However, when they saw the true face of the 'Greatsword Knight' after his helm shattered, many of them were left dumbfounded.

Especially George, who couldn't help but raise his hand and point at Rain in disbelief, saying, "Isn't that Rain?"

"Did my buddy become a knight?"

Another squire looked and looked and immediately shook his head, "Rain? Are you crazy, George! It just looks like him!"

The attacker was cunning, ensuring no mishaps by intentionally shooting the horse instead of the rider.

"Whoosh!"

Another arrow flew from the forest, targeting the messenger who had just been knocked into the air.

"Pfft!"

The arrow pierced the messenger's body, and with a painful cry, he fell to the ground, struggling to get up.

But as he looked up, he saw two mercenaries emerge from the forest, their faces filled with malicious intent.

"Thinking of sending a message? Haha!"

"Just go back to the Goddess' embrace!"

Flashgold Town, north side.

On the road to the Habsburg Manor, a similar scene unfolded!

The night watch messenger was ambushed, preventing the delivery of a distress signal.

Flashgold Town.

Church Square.

"Quite an impressive supernatural ability, some kind of enhanced defense?" The Black Flame Adept spoke slowly, his voice carrying an air of elegance, as if he were a noble.

However, Rain didn't answer his question. Instead, he seized the opportunity to turn to Matteo, "Matteo, you and your men go from both sides and rescue the hostages first!"

Matteo understood Rain's intention and immediately led a dozen night watchmen to break the windows on both sides of the church, attacking the Black Flame Adept who was conducting the ritual from multiple angles.

Although their arrows were easily blocked by the Black Flame Adept's protective black flame, it created an opportunity for the rescue.

The Adept, unable to move, became a sitting target.

This allowed the evacuation of the civilians.

Aside from those already unconscious due to the black aura, most of the civilians began escaping through the windows.

The Black Flame Adept conducting the ritual grew increasingly agitated.

At this moment, he couldn't afford to give up, as the blood sacrifice ritual was almost complete. Even though some had escaped, it would only affect the quality of the sacrifice, and he could still report back. But if he abandoned the ritual now, it would be a complete failure.

This situation was unacceptable.

"Almost there!"

"Once I'm free, you bastards will pay for this!"

"However, with the Apostle's strength, it's surprising that he's been held back by them. That's truly unexpected!"

Through the shattered church window, Matteo immediately spotted Rain's mother, Emma, which startled him.

"No way! Rain is fighting a formidable opponent. Although we can't help him, we must ensure his mother doesn't get hurt!" Matteo's first thought upon seeing Emma.

The next second, Matteo found an opportunity to rush into the hall, protecting Emma as they quickly escaped.

At this moment, the black-robed man known as the Apostle was clearly angered by Rain's disregard.

He kicked off the ground, swiftly closing in on Rain.

Rain instantly activated 'Break Limit', boosting his strength, constitution, and agility by 35%. With a leaping slash, he attacked the black-robed man.

The Apostle swiftly blocked the attack with his giant scythe.

"Clang!"

The powerful clash of metal rang out.

The Apostle's strength was immense, as he directly countered Rain's leaping slash while in a running start.

Rain frowned, abandoning the idea of using his ultimate move.

After all, if he unleashed his full power and the opponent still stood, the 'Aftereffects' would leave him vulnerable. He'd be like meat on a chopping block, doomed.

So, he had to find the opponent's weakness before unleashing his ultimate move to finish him off.

"Ding ding dang!"

Level 6 Bear Sword Technique greatly aided Rain.

Although the Apostle's strength and agility surpassed Rain's, it wasn't by a large margin. The Apostle's agility was slightly superior, and his strength was two levels higher.

Rain, relying on the smooth Bear Sword Technique, skillfully parried, countered, and attacked, making each move count.

The Black Flame Adept, noticing the chaos and the fleeing civilians, seemed to grow agitated.

Despite his superior strength and speed, he couldn't take down Rain.

He raised his giant scythe, seemingly about to unleash a 360-degree black flame shockwave, similar to the one used earlier.

Previously, Rain hadn't paid attention while killing the quasi-knights.

But this time, Rain, fully focused, quickly noticed the slight pause in the Apostle's move transitions, an opportunity!

"Whoosh!"

Rain's sword slashed through the black robe, cutting into the Apostle's abdomen.

But suddenly, an extremely powerful resistance was felt in Rain's hands, as if he were slicing through ten layers of oil-soaked thick cowhide with his Radiant Blade!

The Apostle's face, hidden under the hood, revealed a smile. Then, he swung his giant scythe at Rain, while a 360-degree black flame whirlwind engulfed the surroundings!

"Clang!" Rain was knocked back several meters but quickly rolled to minimize the impact.

However, he was once again enveloped in strands of black flame, enduring the pain of being scorched.

If not for 'Iron Skin Level 2', these attacks would have taken most of his life! Indeed, layered armor prolonged his survival.

As Rain's sword tore through the black robe, the Apostle's body, previously hidden, was now exposed.

It was a ghastly, wrinkled, pale skin, a peculiar sight!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end