https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-509-The-Heavens-May-Not-Have-Two-Suns-But-There-Are-Two-Lorens/12584710/
Chapter 508: Loren's Inaugural Battle
Chapter 508: Loren's Inaugural Battle
In the Knox Mountains, south of the Nantina domain, the light gradually faded beyond the horizon, replaced by the rising red moon, veiled in a layer of pale gray haze, as night fell.
The blood moon hung eerily in the sky, casting an otherworldly glow upon the mountain range below, making the valley entrance seem all the more foreboding—a gateway to an unknown world.
Each peak towered nearly a kilometer high, almost touching the clouds, obscuring the stars and plunging the valley into an even deeper darkness.
Two figures ventured into the mountains, unseen by anyone.
A graceful silhouette led the way, looking as if she had just stepped out of a ball, her dress hinting at a night of dancing.
A tall, dark figure followed, his outline resembling a statue carved from the darkness itself, his cloak and hood billowing in the wind.
"Thank you for stealing the key to the royal capital for us, Intruder." She said with a smile.
Soon after, she covered her red lips and apologized, "My apologies, it seems more appropriate to address you as the Wilted Saint now."
"Call me whatever you like." The tall figure replied nonchalantly, continuing to stride forward with ghostly steps, each one whispering like the footsteps of death itself.
The air was damp, filled with the scent of soil and decaying leaves.
Among the plants, one could occasionally spot unique beasts prowling silently, their shadows flickering in and out of sight, their low growls a constant reminder of their presence, yet they dared not venture close to the two figures.
"We have received the Wilted Bishop's token of sincerity, and from now on, we will cooperate with the Wilted Branch behind the scenes." Countess Sabina said, her true form revealed, a crisp, light laugh escaping her lips.
Her ability, 'Blood Disguise', allowed her to perfectly impersonate anyone she touched, maintaining the disguise until she chose to drop it.
Within the Krexi Empire, she could masquerade as anyone she desired, making her the perfect spy to infiltrate enemy camps.
With her mission accomplished, her top priority now was to ensure her own safety and make a swift exit.
However, venturing into the Knox Mountains was as good as having escaped successfully. The deep interiors of the mountains, especially during the midnight hours, were places that ordinary people dared not tread.
The dim lighting, complex terrain, and hidden ancient relic traps made this a perilous region filled with hidden dangers.
"Don't forget to give me three different Blood Moon Souls." He reminded her suddenly.
"Of course, we will help you break through to the seventh rank. Rest assured." Countess Sabina turned her head, gently placing her hand on his shoulder, her voice soft and reassuring.
Only bloodlines of the seventh rank and above could refine the Blood Moon Souls, which were not only useful for creating followers but also served as excellent breakthrough materials for the seventh rank.
"To be honest, it's a bit of a shame to just leave like this. I was really looking forward to seeing the looks on your friends' faces when they found out that the betrayer was you." Countess Sabina said, tilting her head back and letting out a carefree, silver bell-like laugh.
"Indeed." The male figure beside her replied, a malicious smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
They gradually disappeared into the dark depths of the mountains.
...
Meanwhile, in the main city of the Nantina domain, a small-scale turmoil had begun.
The protective barrier of the city-state, the translucent, invisible crystal light at the horizon, which was usually a source of comfort and protection for the border residents, had suddenly been shut down for unknown reasons.
Restarting it after such an abrupt shutdown would take some time, and during this interval, the city would be extremely vulnerable.
This sudden change immediately triggered a full-scale alert in the city-state. Alarms blared through the once peaceful streets, echoing like an ominous portent etched into the walls, filling the hearts of the residents with dread.
From the Temple of the Goddess of Fate in Nantina, usually solemn and reverent priests and priestesses emerged in groups. Their faces were grave as they hurried through the city, holding sacred staffs and ancient scriptures, offering protection and guidance to the residents.
"You really have a talent for jinxing things, Stina." Loren felt his head throbbing as he looked at the short-haired girl, an undercover priestess.
It had been years since the last time something like this had happened, and she just had to ask about it on the train, bringing along a team of investigating priests and priestesses, only to encounter this situation.
Sensing the disturbance in the barrier, Loren had immediately rushed to the city-state's control center and the Count's mansion.
However, he found no issues at the mansion, and the culprit had vanished without a trace.
According to the records of the magic monitoring devices, someone had stealthily transformed into the Count, infiltrated the mansion, and stolen the key.
Putting aside the stolen key from the royal capital for now, there was no time to investigate what had already happened. The priority now was to prepare for the true aftermath!
Reconstructing the massive city-state barrier would take nearly half an hour.
Nantina had three energy stations, located in the northwest, east, and south districts of the main city.
If one energy station was damaged, the restart efficiency would be reduced by a third. If all three were destroyed, it would take an extended period to repair them before the city-state barrier could be rebuilt.
As the barrier was shut down, the city-state energy station in the northwest had also been synchronously sabotaged.
The enemy's plan was clearly well-organized and premeditated.
The next targets would undoubtedly be the energy stations in the east and south.
Thus, Loren immediately dispatched the power of the Temple of the Goddess of Fate to assist in guarding the safest eastern station, leaving behind a temporary eighth-rank barrier. He then personally rushed to the most dangerous energy station in the south with the team of investigating priests and priestesses.
"Teacher, look on the bright side. Although we only have two-thirds of the efficiency now, as long as we guard the remaining two energy stations, we can restart the barrier in forty-five minutes. With you here, there's no way Nantina will fall, no matter what schemes the enemies have in store." The undercover priestess replied.
"Will you just be quiet, sis." The guardian knight and the healing priest quickly covered her mouth.
Loren sighed, rubbing his forehead, the cold, lonely wind only adding to his unease.
Looking up, the starry sky, usually filled with twinkling stars, was now obscured by the dark clouds.
Behind the four, the light from the watchtower illuminated the pitch-black ground, and the officers of the Nantina military were fully armed, their armor glinting coldly in the night as they gripped their weapons, ready to face any potential threat.
These experienced warriors quickly split into several small teams, with some responsible for patrolling critical areas of the city-state and others tracking possible leads that could have led to the shutdown of the protective barrier.
A sense of urgency and tension hung heavily in the air over the entire southern region of the city-state, with busy figures in every corner.
Further away, in the residential areas, the streets were engulfed in darkness, with some buildings keeping their doors and windows tightly shut, cautiously peering outside, while others followed the guidance of the city defense forces and priests to evacuate to safer areas.
"What are you thinking about, Loren?"
The white-robed healing priestess observed Loren's expression and asked.
"Ivanoth, the Cardinal of Destruction, and Famer, the Cardinal of Decay, didn't show up... Even though they knew that the mysterious bishop passing through here might lead me to discover their plan, they still decided to launch this surprise attack tonight..."
Loren muttered to himself, his voice filled with confusion.
Something felt off.
If their goal was a full-scale attack on South Nantina, then Famer, the Cardinal of Decay, and Ivanoth himself wouldn't be so far away from the region. The signal from the Church of Rebirth seemed to be telling Loren, "Whether you come to defend or not, the Cardinals currently have no intention of attacking."
So, did they really need to completely destroy the main energy stations?
Could it be that they wanted to lure the city's defense forces to the south and east to guard the energy stations?
And their true target was actually... to complete a certain project within this half-hour window while the barrier was down?
Suddenly, Loren sensed a violent magical power fluctuation coming from the northwestern part of the city-state.
He followed the direction of the fluctuation and saw Famer's magic, but it was weaker than his own!
It must be a terrifying alchemic beast created by Famer. These beasts didn't require magical support or a summoner at the Eighth Rank; they were magical artifacts, not magic cards!
There was also a Seventh-Rank magical power source, likely Salomon, the Holy Son of Destruction.
Fortunately, there was also an unknown Eighth-Rank presence fighting against them.
"Loren, what is it?"
The guardian knight was on full alert.
"No, I have to go deal with Salomon and the alchemic beast in the northwest of the city-state!"
Although Loren didn't know why there was a mysterious Eighth-Rank presence helping them in the northwest of Nantina, it might be the very reason why the Church of Rebirth was willing to go to such lengths to destroy it.
The southern energy station wasn't important; even if it took more than an hour to restart the barrier, it didn't matter. The crucial thing was to prevent the Church of Rebirth from wreaking havoc and achieving their true goal in the northwest during this half-hour window.
The cold wind blew through the area where the four of them stood near the watchtower.
Just as Loren was about to leave, he suddenly seemed to realize something, and he forcefully pushed the three priests behind him away by a hundred meters!
In the next moment, before the three priests could react in mid-air, they saw a figure appear beside Loren.
It was a muscular man with a sinister expression. His eyebrows were furrowed, and a challenging smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He wore a simple gray shirt with camouflage pants, giving him a practical and rugged look.
His right hand shot forward with explosive force and intent to kill, connecting squarely with Loren's cheek.
As a deafening blast rang out across South Border, dust flew, and Loren was sent flying.
The violent force caused the entire building where Loren stood to collapse like a tidal wave, the collision creating a sound even louder than thunder, shaking all of South Nantina!
"Loren!"
In mid-air, a startled cry rang out.
They had never seen Loren being caught off guard like this before!
Of course, part of the reason was that Loren, who had initially reacted, was hit because he wanted to protect them.
However...
The burly man stood in the same spot.
His scarlet eyes instantly locked onto the three priests.
They felt their skulls go numb.
Under this man's power, there was no doubt that they would be reduced to bloody mist in less than a second.
Then, just as they thought that terrifying figure would flash before them.
The next frame their eyes could capture was the mysterious man being heavily struck by a gust of wind like a heavy sword.
In the hurricane that rose from the distant ruins, divine runes filled the air, and Loren stood up, the wind around him seemed to have turned into pure electric light, constantly triggering electric cocoon blasts. He raised his finger, pointing towards the sky and the earth, and returned the blow to the mysterious man with a single punch.
Loren's profile was outlined by the sharp contrast of black and white, his breath ragged, and his face covered in blood that flowed down his cheeks.
"Run as far as you can!"
Loren shouted without turning back, using his thin back to shield the city defense forces and the residential area from the formidable enemy.
After receiving Loren's order, the three priests didn't hesitate to disappear from the scene.
Although they evacuated with all their might, their eyes couldn't help but follow the intense battle between Loren and the mysterious enemy.
Such a fight, which could leave a great priest like Loren in such a dire state, was not one they could afford to be involved in. Staying here would only hold Loren back, so they needed to evacuate the surrounding residents as quickly as possible. Otherwise, they would have to protect the residents and fight the enemy simultaneously, putting Loren at a significant disadvantage!
The mysterious man facing Loren had his jaw clenched, his facial muscles twisted, and he stood in a long passageway created by his own footsteps, the area around his boots covered in shattered stone slabs.
His posture was straight, like an unmovable mountain. The blow to his face from Loren had caused the skin on half of his face to break, exposing his teeth, gums, and jawbone.
However, the wounds began to heal at a visible rate, soon returning to their original state as if Loren hadn't inflicted any damage at all.
"Who are you?"
Loren noticed the regeneration, his pupils narrowing slightly.
He had never encountered such a mysterious and formidable enemy in all these years.
The terrifying part was not the regeneration, but the fact that after doing so, his magical power remained largely untouched, his aura undiminished.
This could only remind Loren of the so-called ancient beings, the "Blood Clan."
However, regardless, as long as the city's defensive barrier remained intact, neither the Blood Clan nor the Demon Clan could launch such a frontal assault from outside the country!
"Hehe."
The Eighth Progenitor, Marquess Somerset, showed no intention of answering Loren's question, his face now fully healed from its shattered state.
His gaze remained as hot as molten lava, a hint of madness playing at the corners of his mouth. Each breath he took seemed to be in anticipation of the next moment's pleasure.
He had come to the Knox Mountains from the Krexi Empire, waiting to deal with the unknown Cardinal Bishop and prevent any mischief.
Unexpectedly, today, a High Priest of the Temple of the Goddess of Fate also happened to arrive in the Nantina domain.
But it didn't matter who he fought; it would be the same.
His arm lunged forward, his scarlet eyes flashing with light, and the force of his fist seemed like lightning in the night, determined to take Loren's life with this strike!
Without giving Loren a moment to catch his breath, Marquess Somerset's massive figure appeared before him once more.
At this moment, with his intent to kill unveiled, his skin was enveloped in a faint red glow, like burning blood, fierce and intense.
However, this time, Loren was quicker to react, and Marquess Somerset's fist met an invisible iron wall, causing the square magical crest on the emerald ground to unleash a surge of deep green updrafts. Metallic buzzing and gusts of wind rose in circles once more.
Though Loren had just barely dodged a near-fatal blow, the numerous damage reduction spells and protective artifacts he possessed ensured that the injury he sustained was not fatal.
"Don't even think about getting past me."
Within the protective barrier, Loren wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Pure, emerald-green magic, like blades, carved out wounds on the dimly lit ground of the city gate, sealing off all the space between him and Marquess Somerset.
Hearing this, Marquess Somerset's fist remained pressed against the barrier, unmoved, uncaring of the torn flesh and exposed bones. His smile grew even more frenzied as he tried to push forward.
"There's no need to get past you. A battle with a strong opponent like you is what I desire."
He shifted his fist downward, slamming it heavily onto the ground, causing the entire South Nantina district to shake as if in an earthquake.
Wide cracks formed in the stone slab streets, swallowing the ground as they spread, step by step. The intricate carvings and glass on the buildings behind Loren shattered under the impact of their clash, the fragments scattering in the wind.
Many residents were shaken so hard that blood flowed from their ears, and they cried out in pain.
"!"
As if sensing something, a rare glint of anger flashed in Loren's eyes. Without hesitation, he cast a wide-area healing spell to cover the South district, causing holy light to descend from the night sky like feathers, gradually easing the residents' pain.
"Since you wish to fight me, don't involve those innocent residents!"
Veins popped out on Loren's hand as he exerted all his strength to hold off Somerset.
"Of course," Somerset replied with a smile. "I only enjoy winning, or rather, crushing my opponents."
As Loren's magical output was divided, the barrier clearly showed signs of weakness, beginning to crack under Somerset's relentless fists. Finally, Somerset's fist broke through, accompanied by a tearing sound, and amidst the ruins and flying debris, a fatal shattering boom erupted.
"You're quite impressive. If you didn't care about the lives of the people in this city-state, and fought me with all you've got, you might have won. But now, I'm certain you're not my match."
Marquess Somerset shook his bloodied and deformed fist, his flesh and skin beginning to regenerate. He stared intently, a satisfied smile on his face.
He was in no hurry to continue the fight; at times like these, attacking the mind could be even more effective and interesting than physical assaults.
The foolish human High Priest before him was strong, and he might even grow stronger in the future, perhaps one day becoming powerful enough to rival a Blood Clan Duke. But he had the inherent human weakness of wanting to protect those weaker than himself.
This was why, during the millennium of the Blood Moon's prosperity, he had killed not hundreds, but dozens of human Eighth-Rank geniuses.
"You haven't forgotten about the Cardinal Bishop in the Nantina domain, have you? Even if you survive this encounter with me today, when he sees you in your weakened state, do you think he'll kindly offer to heal you?"
Marquess Somerset asked, his voice filled with pity.
He was waiting for the Church of Rebirth to successfully assassinate Hyberian, and today, their chances of success were slim to none.
"Let's begin. Don't bother trying to communicate with me anymore; I won't understand you."
Loren stood up shakily from the rubble, his face still bleeding.
He felt that the situation on the other side might be even worse.
Farmer's alchemical beasts were not something anyone could stop. If that Eighth-Rank ally was also occupied with protecting something, they might be in an even more difficult situation.
Although no Cardinal Bishop had appeared in the Nantina domain yet, an unprecedented Blood Clan monster had arrived, and Loren could no longer afford to worry about the Northwest district. All he could do was hope that they could hold out until the barrier was restored.
If they couldn't stop this Eighth-Rank Blood Clan member, the entire city-state would be doomed.
"Do you think you can stop a calamity?"
Marquess Somerset clenched his fist, his bones creaking. His gaze seemed to mock Loren, suggesting that it was foolish and arrogant to try to protect an entire city-state as an Eighth-Rank.
He believed that Loren had likely guessed his Blood Clan identity, and in a battle of attrition, the outcome was clear.
"Once I've seen it, I have to stop it."
Loren tossed aside his bloodied High Priest robe, revealing the black shirt underneath.
His eyes, like the coldest winter lake, pierced through the sharpness of the wind blades as he stared at his opponent.
In the South Nantina domain, under the blood moon, the howling wind signaled the beginning of a battle reminiscent of ancient times.
(End of Chapter)
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