https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-852-Loren-s-Heaven-s-Retribution-Part-1-/12937148/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-852-Loren-s-Heaven-s-Retribution-Part-3-/12937153/
Chapter 852: Loren's Heaven's Retribution (Part 2)
Chapter 852: Loren's Heaven's Retribution (Part 2)
I was with Violet, and we witnessed the blood clan's siege. I can testify that they weren't lying."
Julius clutched his chest, his face contorted with anger, as he spoke to them with seething resentment.
At this moment, he no longer had to hide his hatred for Hestinos, who was about to burn everything to the ground.
"Julius, even if you say that..."
Jasper's voice hesitated slightly. She was surprised by Julius' attitude, but she wasn't going to change her decision based on his words alone.
Ryan and Bianca, standing across from Julius, shared the same expression.
Then, their faces were filled with astonishment.
Julius knelt before Ryan and Bianca, bowing his head and pleading with them to believe him.
"These aren't the most important things. I want to earn your trust."
Julius, unconcerned about his dignity, knelt before Ryan and Bianca and said,
"I swear on all the trust we've built working together. If I'm lying, I'll accept any punishment."
"This..."
Bianca looked at Julius, then at Ryan, unsure of what to do.
Julius, usually the most arrogant of the Archons, was now willing to set aside his pride and kneel before them to clear Violet's name and expose Hestinos' crimes.
Ryan and Bianca's eyes softened with emotion.
The betrayer wouldn't stab them in the back because he always considered them companions, or perhaps he had never changed.
But this was treason, and there was no excuse or way back.
"Julius, you..."
Ryan clenched his magic sword, filled with anger, surprise, bitterness, and confusion, and even a hint of wavering.
Based on his understanding of Julius, he was more inclined to believe him than Hestinos.
But it wasn't easy to risk everything and betray one's faith.
Especially for the Twelve Archons, who bore the mission of protecting the Kreitni Empire.
At that moment, a slender figure emerged from the school building and ran towards them.
She waved her arms wildly, shouting to get the Archons' attention, disregarding the deputy principal's announcement to the entire Saint Kreith Monastery. She ran to the ground closest to the battle, with another figure following her, trying to pull her back, afraid she'd get hurt.
Even the three demons and Archons outside the barrier looked over at the commotion.
The next second, Ryan's eyes widened.
It was his sister, Ursula.
Behind her was Ursula's friend, Elsa, trying to take Ursula back.
"Ursula? Get back!"
Ryan blocked the three powerful demons and the barrier, shouting at Ursula behind the barrier.
"Brother, help Professor Landry and the others. They're the ones who can save the Empire. That White Robed Pope, he's the one who stopped you from taking me away when you were controlled by the blood clan that day!"
Ursula continued to shout.
"Ryan, the barrier is safe, and we can hold it. Don't worry about Ursula being taken hostage."
Bianca immediately understood Ryan's concern and spoke to him.
At this point, they couldn't afford to be constrained by threats.
"..."
After a long silence, Ryan sheathed his magic sword, bent down, and grabbed Julius' arm, pulling him up.
"Then I'll trust you one more time."
Ryan said to Julius.
Recalling the day he met his sister during the Moon Festival, if he had taken his sister away, her life would have been at the mercy of the blood clan. If Professor Landry was on the blood clan's side, there was no need to stop Ryan from taking his sister.
Considering it as repaying a debt to Professor Landry, Ryan decided to trust him.
"Meow? Ryan? What are you doing?"
Bianca was so surprised that her tail stood up, more surprised by Ryan's sudden change than Julius'.
"Ryan, think it through. This is treason. If you do this, you'll become our enemy."
Jasper's cold warning came through the communication channel.
"This is my only chance to make amends. I've already hurt Ursula once. If I don't believe her now, what chance do I have to make it up to her..."
Ryan spoke without hesitation.
"Anyway, I believe Ursula is absolutely right. Since I was controlled by the third progenitor, Lashar, Ursula has been trying to bring me back. Now that I'm awake, I swear I'll only believe her for the rest of my life!"
Ryan was determined to unconditionally trust Ursula if he couldn't discern the truth.
Within the confines of the Saint Kreith Monastery's Barrier,
"Brother, are you an idiot...?"
Ursula, who had been heartbroken for a long time due to her brother's coldness, now felt a twinge of embarrassment as she heard Ryan's blatant declaration of treason. She hid behind Elsa.
The military god's communication channel fell silent, leaving only a buzzing noise.
"You two, both of you!"
Bianca anxiously tugged at her sleeve, unsure of what to do. These two were her best friends, and now they had both turned traitor.
"Are you both going to betray us? Think about the consequences!"
Fifth Army God Lujayed hurriedly tried to persuade them.
At this point, it was no longer a matter of right or wrong, as he couldn't discern who was genuine and who was not. However, this choice would determine the fate of his comrades.
He didn't want to face his military god companions in a life-or-death situation again.
"I believe in Julius."
A calm voice spoke up.
All the military gods were shocked.
It was the voice of the Second Army God, Obsidian Seat Salone.
"Salone, why?"
Jasper's voice was filled with uncertainty.
Ryan's reason for betraying them left her speechless, but it was unexpectedly reasonable. Salone had always been the most rational among the military gods, and it made no sense for him to side with Julius or Hestinos without solid evidence.
"Julius's feelings for Violet are genuine. I've seen it with my own eyes. He would never joke about Violet's life."
Salone stated his judgment in the communication channel.
"Thank you, Salone."
Julius expressed his gratitude to Salone.
"Salone, you're such a pure-love war god."
Bianca buried her head in her hands.
"It's over, meow! I can't do anything. I'll believe in you all too! I'd rather die than live with my tail between my legs!"
After some internal struggle, Bianca shouted with gritted teeth, "I'll follow you and monitor everything you do. I'll witness who the real traitor is!"
She decided to trust her friends. Her instincts also told her that Julius wasn't a bad person, and the White Robed Pope's Silver Moon Reform Society hadn't harmed civilians. Their words seemed genuine, and based on what Julius said, this group seemed more like Violet's companions. Following her instincts, she was more inclined to trust this side.
The fourth military god, Jasper, fell silent on the communication channel.
She hadn't expected Julius' honest confession to immediately sway three military gods to his side.
"Everyone, I'm Professor Landry. I've obtained the communication device of the Third Army God, Gatte, who has been captured by my comrades. I'd like to say a few words to you all."
Lance's voice echoed through the military gods' channel.
Julius understood the situation as soon as he heard it.
Lance and Sigrid had joined forces, and Sigrid had knocked out Gatte, taking him into custody. Lance had also obtained Gatte's mechanical device.
With their advantage outside the main battlefield, Lance now had room for negotiation.
"What do you want to say?"
Jasper asked.
Currently, the 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 1st, 11th, and 12th military gods maintained their positions, while the 3rd was captured, and the 2nd, 9th, and 10th had turned traitor.
If they wanted to fight, they no longer had the means to do so.
"Regardless of your intentions, let's all work together to reinforce the barrier, shall we?"
Lance proposed to the 4th military god, Jasper, "There's no need for further fighting. The most important thing is to protect the residents."
His voice carried a plea as he spoke to the military gods.
"Simon, do you believe them?"
Jasper asked the 11th military god, Simon, who was maintaining the barrier.
She was a mechanical engineer who specialized in mana-driven battalions and was a magic user herself. However, if they continued fighting, even if she wanted to reinforce the barrier, it would be challenging to do so.
If the other side agreed to a ceasefire and helped reinforce the barrier, it would be the ideal outcome for both sides.
"Whether you believe them or not, please help me reinforce the barrier. I'm begging you!"
The 11th military god, Simon, was at his limit.
He felt a glimmer of hope.
With so many 8th-rankers helping to reinforce the barrier, the Saint Asteria Barrier would become unprecedentedly strong. Unless a 9th-ranker directly broke through the barrier with a head-on attack, it could withstand any shockwave or diffusion!
...
On the other side of the Southern Continent, in the distant Herton Kingdom, at the Jera Memorial Square of Iceteria Academy, the outdoor giant screen was unusually agitated at this time.
Compared to the lively and expectant atmosphere when the White Robed Pope appeared earlier that day, the mood was now heavy and oppressive, even with many students gathering once again on the steps to watch the giant screen.
The Evil Seed Spear descended from the horizon.
Hestinos created three massive Blade Aura circles on the battlefield, rotating slowly like clockwork.
Loren had to dodge the slashing lines while avoiding the strikes.
The Blade Aura circles resembled a countdown to Loren's life, and he didn't know if they would shrink or expand next. As long as they moved, Loren's danger would surely increase.
Under this onslaught, Loren seemed on the verge of collapse.
His mental power was like a small boat swaying in the midst of raging waves, at risk of being swallowed by the giant waves at any moment.
Defeat loomed just ahead, and the shadow of death hung over Loren's head.
The hearts of all the students at the edge of the square pounded fiercely, fearing the impending defeat.
"Both sides are actually working together..."
Suddenly, a student noticed the barrier being reinforced, and all the divided battlefield screens unified to show the Saint Asteria Barrier, two kilometers away from the main battlefield.
All the powerful fighters who had temporarily ceased fighting gathered at the second layer of the barrier, within a two-kilometer radius of the Saint Asteria Barrier.
When the 8th-rankers from both sides began to resonate their mana on the crystal barrier, the Saint Astral Crystal Canopy Barrier suddenly emitted an unusual rainbow light, starting to converge and resonate. Instantly, all shocks were sealed within.
With nearly ten 8th-rank magic users resonating and reinforcing the Saint Asteria Barrier, the two-kilometer range became impenetrable.
"These people are the true bloodthirsty spectators."
The White Robed Pope's companions had all stopped fighting and were standing on the south side with the traitorous military gods, while the other military gods were either reinforcing the barrier or 'closely' observing the main battlefield from two kilometers away.
"They indeed have the ability to watch from that distance, and in the current situation, whether they like it or not, they have to get closer to the battlefield and be at the forefront."
"Regardless, for everyone, protecting Brillada seems like the best option, and it's the most righteous choice for a benevolent person."
"This was the only reassurance they could get amidst Loren's battle."
Even if the situation in Loren was dire, the external forces wouldn't add further pressure to the main battlefield.
"At this point, it's hard to tell who's right and who's wrong, as history is written by the victors."
Regarding the live broadcast of the battle in Blood Moon City, as citizens of the kingdom, they would unconditionally believe that the White-Robed Pope and Loren were both on the side of justice. However, they also knew that the Kreith Empire had a different perspective.
Today's true victory or defeat could only be decided by the battle within the barrier, where the Ninth-tier powerhouses clashed.
The winner would be deemed just, while the loser would be buried in history.
Inside the Saint Asteria Barrier, the intense battle between Loren and Hestinos continued.
Loren gathered the power of the wind and unleashed a deadly heavy punch.
If the punch landed, it would trigger a storm and deal multiple instances of damage.
Loren harnessed the wind's power to dash for a short distance, dealing damage and inflicting stiffness on Hestinos during the dash. Within a certain time frame, he could recast the spell and dash again.
This was Loren's most crucial softening spell, allowing him to forcibly interrupt the casting of any current spell and immediately unleash a gale dash.
However, all of this was blocked by Hestinos' integrated sword aura circle.
Hestinos had the upper hand in both attack and defense.
Loren's body was covered in wounds from Hestinos' slashes, and he wisely abandoned this offensive.
"Alright, I'll give you a good fight."
After releasing a planar slash, Hestinos teleported into the danger zone and unleashed a large-scale attack in the field.
Loren's intuition told him that he must quickly move behind Hestinos after the planar slash's judgment, or he would definitely be hit head-on.
"The law of causality proceeds."
The formed sword aura circle that Hestinos released at Loren's position began to shrink, as if detaching from spacetime. No matter which direction Loren chose to dodge, it would be the wrong decision. In a panic, Loren expended a tremendous amount of mana to teleport hundreds of meters away, and the sword aura circle exploded as it shrank.
Before Loren could fully perceive the space again, another formed sword aura circle enveloped him.
This time, Loren still wanted to avoid it.
"The law of causality reverses."
Hestinos locked onto Loren and released a circular attack, this time with an expanding sword aura.
The circular attack swept across the entire battlefield like a giant wave, carrying infinite destructive power.
Loren was completely covered by the mist and the booming sound of the explosion.
Hestinos didn't stop there. He thrust his sword into the ground, causing an explosion that destroyed most of the safe area, leaving only a small portion intact.
Loren was either going to be hit or forced to dodge the sword aura explosion.
Amidst the gust, Loren struggled to see through the blood that was blurring his vision. In the next frame, he saw Hestinos had already launched a surprise attack right in front of him.
Hestinos swung his sword three times in succession. The first two swings released linear slashes, while the third released a planar slash that only left Hestinos' surroundings safe.
Loren had to dodge the linear slashes without getting too far from Hestinos, or he would be hit by the planar slash on the third strike.
However, Loren accurately judged all of this, and his blood-soaked body flashed behind Hestinos, while the wounds on his body began to heal rapidly.
All of this was guided by his Wind God's blessing, telling him how to dodge.
"Your healing spell is really useful."
Hestinos clapped his sword handle and glanced back at Loren.
Without any warning, he summoned a clone and released a horizontal slash. The main body and the most powerful clone jumped to the upper or lower position to launch their attacks.
The light of the slashes was like lightning piercing the darkness.
At this distance, considering the previous combat experience, Loren's better option was to continue close-range dodging or directly block with a spell.
But Loren's eyes widened in surprise.
He had intended to release a spell barrier, but an unknown force interrupted his casting, and he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.
"The collapse of the law of causality."
Hestinos silently mouthed the words, unleashing his most powerful sword technique, accompanied by his counter spell. Countless swords rained down from the sky.
In a panic, Loren weaved through the falling swords, jumping to avoid the circles created when the swords landed.
Each sword that struck the ground shook the Saint Asteria Canopy Barrier.
Hestinos transformed into a gale, chasing after Loren. Whenever he touched a sword on the ground, he would release a circular slash.
Wherever the gale passed, dust flew, tiles were uprooted, mana was shattered, and the entire first layer of the barrier crumbled under the sword wind.
Hestinos summoned numerous dark golden sword aura circles, pursuing Loren's direction. The impact of the explosions was like a dark golden sea of fire, shaking the entire battlefield. Loren was submerged in the aftermath of the explosions.
At Jera Memorial Square, the dim light from the outdoor giant screen reflected on the students' faces, some bright, some dark, causing them to swallow nervously.
Just imagining themselves in that battlefield, where death was always a possibility, sent chills down the spines of many students, making their hair stand on end.
However, if Loren lost, it would soon be their turn.
Brillada, outside the Saint Asteria Barrier.
Lance and the others had gathered on this side of the crystal barrier, their expressions grave.
They watched the battle within the crystal barrier, and their faces grew increasingly somber.
During the previous battle, Loren's recovery ability had gradually improved, and he had even found opportunities to counterattack Hestinos. But it was only until just now that Hestinos truly dealt a fatal blow to Loren—
[The Collapse of Causality]
[Type: Active Spell]
[Attribute: Counter/Regeneration]
[Class: 7]
[Effect: Interferes with the target's spellcasting, causing their mana to flow in reverse, interrupting the spell and dealing damage. Restores a large amount of health to the caster. Cooldown: 60 seconds. Successful interference does not trigger the cooldown for the caster.]
Hestinos' spell had been deciphered by Prana's Eye of Truth and shared with the others.
The previous Hestinos had wanted Loren to misjudge his attributes, so he hadn't used counter magic.
Only when he caught Loren in a desperate situation did he fully utilize the counter spell, pushing Loren mercilessly towards the depths of the abyss.
To everyone's relief, Loren reacted in time on the battlefield. He didn't use a shield spell but instead generated a maximum-output tornado to suppress Hestinos.
After casting, he first sucked Hestinos into the center of the tornado, changing the center of Hestinos' sword aura circle explosion. Then, he unleashed a storm, dealing damage to Hestinos and to some extent, countering Hestinos' sword aura explosion.
"Loren's fighting style appears conservative, but he occasionally employs a reckless strategy that hurts both parties."
Julius had already drawn this conclusion from the reports of the three Army Gods' joint effort to suppress Loren.
At that time, Loren was in a dire situation, locked down by Gayate and about to be struck by Philip's ultimate attack. Surprisingly, Loren chose a self-destructive approach, severely injuring himself while also inflicting heavy damage on Philip.
This was also the reason why Gayate eventually feared Loren.
"Loren has an incredibly strong self-healing ability," Mikaya explained to Julius. "As long as he has sufficient mana, he can afford to engage in a war of attrition, and even if the battle drags on, it will still be to his advantage."
Mikaya was also skilled in self-healing, so she could employ a similar strategy.
However, unlike Loren, he would only engage in such a strategy if he could gain an advantage in blood or mana; otherwise, he wouldn't take such a risk.
For Loren, even if he were to lose blood and mana simultaneously, prolonging the battle could still have tactical value.
"But Loren clearly gained nothing from this exchange, and if he continues like this, defeat is inevitable."
Salong, the Second Army God, held his sword and gazed at the battlefield from a distance.
Witnessing such powerful individuals in combat caused his hand to tremble slightly, and despite knowing that joining the battle would mean certain death, he still yearned to test his skills personally.
Only by doing so could he become stronger.
Salong was actually more aware of Hestinos' strength, as he had engaged in the most battles against him among the Army Gods.
Even so, he had never witnessed Hestinos' true trump card or, rather, had never managed to push him to that point.
In the center of the battlefield, Loren, still gasping for breath, slowly began to recover.
Hestinos' injuries had already healed.
"Sever the fundamental wound," Salong spoke the name of Hestinos' passive spell.
Whenever Hestinos' attacks landed on Loren, deep wounds would appear on his body, gushing with blood.
These wounds not only caused Loren immense pain but also continuously healed Hestinos.
Loren had to quickly treat these wounds; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to withstand the continuous damage.
Facing Hestinos' endless clones, Loren summoned a hurricane that swept away all enemies on the ground, rapidly spinning and shattering them.
Just as he gained a slight advantage, his spell was immediately countered.
The powerful individuals outside the Saint Asteris Barrier realized that compared to Hestinos' integrated offense and defense, the greatest threat to Loren was undoubtedly Hestinos' counter-magic.
"My counter-magic requires me to reverse-engineer the principles of the spells," Sinora explained, her eyes closed as she analyzed the principles of the spells through her magical perception without even looking at the battlefield.
This was why Sinora was known as the Demon Race's 'Bully' in their era.
"Is Hestinos any different from him, meow?"
The Twelfth Army God, Bianca, asked anxiously, addressing the demon who had just fought her.
She knew that this demon was an enemy mage with attributes similar to Hestinos.
Although Bianca was Hestinos' companion, she couldn't comprehend his all-out state.
"Hestinos is different," Sinora shook her head. "He forcefully dismantles spells from the surface, so the first encounter with his counter-magic might be devastating. But as you gradually adapt to his counters, you'll be able to avoid his interference."
Sinora's counter-magic was more pure and reliant on innate talent, not something that could be learned. However, it wasn't necessarily more effective than Hestinos' more aggressive counter-magic.
"Then, logically, the longer the fight goes on, the stronger Loren will become," Talia and Ifatiya, who were listening to Sinora's explanation, felt relieved upon hearing her conclusion.
Both princesses had been bullied by Sinora in the past.
"But be cautious of his first-encounter kill," Lance muttered to himself.
His companions understood his words well.
"Lao Ge just gave you a like," Sigrid said, standing next to Lance in agreement.
"Why don't we all go together? We have the advantage now, and even if we hold back those Army Gods, we can still spare some people to deal with Hestinos," Antanas suggested, watching the battle and clenching his fists.
Despite her fear of getting closer to the battlefield, even from two kilometers away outside the barrier, she was terrified.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
