[Vol. 5] Chapter 129: Shocking Turn of Events! The Blood of the Inverted Cross!
The Saintess did not show any obvious emotional reaction, rely nodding thoughtfully.
“And what happened after that? The enemies who clashed with the vanguard army, those demons that suddenly appeared, and this so-called evil ritual—what’s the story behind all that?”
“That was…”
Just as the Arbiter was about to say sothing, a series of urgent and startled shouts suddenly erupted from the surrounding camp!
“Goddess! What… what is that!?”
“Hey, look at the mountain! What’s happening to the St. Bergen Mountains…?”
Attracted by the exclamations, everyone present, including Miss White Fox, almost instinctively turned their gaze in that direction. Imdiately, they fell into a silence, each with a different expression on their faces.
In the distance, atop the peaks known as the ?Wall of Heaven?, thousands of visible ridges stretched across the horizon for miles. Every few mountain tops, a blood-red pillar of light shot into the sky. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of these blood-colored beams pierced the heavens, disappearing into the distant sky beyond the clouds…
Then, a wave of crimson energy erupted, surging violently, painting the sky blood-red!
The blood-like canopy obscured the radiant sun, plunging the world into an instant of crimson hue.
Even the well-trained, elite temple knights were thrown into unavoidable chaos and uncertainty at the sight of what appeared to be an apocalypse. The ?Crystal Bright Beasts? and warhorses roared restlessly, raising their heads to the sky with deep, rumbling howls, as if sensing the imminent crisis.
The atmosphere of unrest spread through the crowd, even Felix and several temple knights by the Saintess’ side were visibly shaken, gazing up at the blood-stained sky, unsure of what to do. Their desperate glances turned toward the golden-haired girl they regarded as their pillar and supre leader.
“The ?Blood of the Inverted Cross?…”
Murmuring, the Bright Light Saintess uttered these words.
Suddenly, as if realizing sothing, she swiftly turned her head and shouted, “Everyone…!”
However, before she could give the command, the camp was abruptly filled with screams of agony!
“Ugh! Aaaaahhh!!!”
“My… my blood!”
“Goddess, please protect us…!”
“Don’t panic! Quickly, use barrier magic to block the aura!”
Blood burst forth.
One by one, ten by ten, hundreds of people, began bleeding from their mouths, noses, and wounds. Their skin was even forcibly torn apart as their blood flowed in reverse, forming crimson streams that shot upward toward the blood-red sky.
The knights, drained of blood, collapsed to the ground, withering rapidly into dry husks. Though so of the stronger, more experienced elites and commanders quickly grasped the nature of this draining power and attempted to use defensive magic powered by faith to shield themselves, it was in vain…
“Why… why can’t we use magic?!”
“Damn… Could this power also have an anti-magic effect?”
“Goddess! Almighty Goddess Aurora! Why, why are you abandoning your followers at this mont!?”
“Sta—sta—stay caaaalm!!!!!”
Amidst the widespread cries of despair at this life-or-death mont, Yuna could no longer hold back her power. She raised her hand, and a golden staff instantly appeared in her grasp.
An overwhelming surge of energy beyond the peak level erupted from her, and with a shout infused with both authority and calmness, it spread quickly. In an instant, a magnificent golden barrier ford, enveloping the entire vanguard army camp of ten thousand troops.
It seed that only this extraordinary Bright Light Saintess could still use faith-based magic under these circumstances.
Or perhaps… the power she wielded was fundantally different from everyone else’s.
“Oh my, she beat to it…”
Miss White Fox, who had witnessed everything, slowly lowered her hand, which had almost been raised under her shrine maiden robes.
She glanced at Felix and the other temple knights, who had not been able to resist the draining force and had lost a significant amount of blood. They were only saved when Yuna intervened. Violet said nothing more, but instead turned to look at the Saintess beside her.
“It doesn’t look good. If this large-scale magic really extends as far as it seems, the situation behind us…”
“Yes…”
Under the blood-red sky, with the magic Yuna called the ?Blood of the Inverted Cross? covering them, it was obvious that those affected weren’t limited to just this vanguard camp.
The camp was closest to the St. Bergen Mountains, the epicenter of the magic’s activation, and so it was the first to be struck. But those behind them—at the central camp a few kiloters away, and even further back at the rear guard and the supply troops—were likely suffering the sa fate.
The calamity had likely already begun to spread.
And the more serious issue was…
The two young won, who could resist the effects of the magic, simultaneously turned their gazes beyond the camp.
Under the blood-red sky, in the St. Bergen Mountains and across the vast plains, countless blood-red lines identical to those that appeared in the camp began to rise into the sky. They converged with the blood-colored pillars that dotted the ?Wall of Heaven?, shooting up into the heavens.
There was no need to check—the temple knights that Yuna had sent for further investigation were surely already dead.
Moreover, the St. Bergen Plains were not so desolate wilderness. Within a hundred-thousand-kiloter radius, the population of civilians was in the millions, if not tens of millions.
And faced with this terrifying magic, which not even elite temple knights could resist and were reduced to dried corpses drained of blood…
Who could protect them?
“Cough… Saintess… what should we do? This horrifying power…”
Felix and the others, struggling to stand up, looked to Yuna for guidance. With faith-based magic sealed by this mysterious force, even the most powerful clerics were now like swordsn without their blades. It would be a miracle if they could even use half their strength.
Now, the only one they could rely on was the Bright Light Saintess, Yuna Sumrfield, who was single-handedly protecting the camp and its ten thousand knights.
They no longer had the ti to ponder minor details, such as why the Saintess alone seed unaffected by the magic’s suppression.
“……”
Without imdiately responding to those around her, Yuna silently shifted her gaze away from the countless bloodlines still rising from afar, rging into the blood-red sky.
She glanced over the remaining knights, who were slowly standing up and attempting to regroup. She brushed away the fleeting look of confusion and sorrow from her face, regaining her composure.
She exchanged another glance with the white fox beside her before speaking.
“We must first confirm the situation of the rear guard, but…”
But under the current circumstances, the mont the knights left the protection of the barrier around the vanguard camp, they would likely be drained of their blood and reduced to lifeless skeletons.
Even the ergency communication magic used by the Expeditionary Army, which was a form of faith-based magic, would likely be ineffective now that all faith-based magic had essentially been sealed. They wouldn’t be able to establish contact with the rear troops through that ans.
The more convenient and widespread sothing was, the more chaos and negative impact its sudden absence would cause.
It was the sa when the gods disappeared a thousand years ago…
And now was no exception.
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