NOVPUBThe entire Floral City Pariel was still shrouded in chaos and fear as it neared five o’clock in the morning.
The few remaining streetlights swayed in the wild wind, like dying candles and could go out at any moment.
Panic-stricken crowds filled the shelters and the temple.
"Mommy, will a hero come to save us?"
A mother and daughter hid under a narrow porch, the little girl clutching her teddy bear tightly, tears carving streaks down her delicate face.
"Someone will."
Her mother held her tight, her eyes hollow as she comforted in a trembling voice.
The moment she heard that Loren’s appearance was a misunderstanding, hope burst like a bubble.
At this moment, most citizens in the temple were in a state of deep dejection.
At the other end of the temple, paladins were struggling to carry their injured comrade to a safe place.
Their faces were covered in sweat and dust, and each step they took was incredibly difficult.
"What’s the situation over at the North Shore?"
The injured priest moaned nonstop as blood flowed from a wound on his forehead.
"It’s not clear, now even the frontline reporters are giving conflicting accounts, but it seems it’s indeed not the Great Priest who has come."
Though they wanted to offer their companions some reassuring words, the reality was harsh.
If Loren truly had descended, it wouldn’t be Perlman chasing after Loren, but a storm sweeping through the entire Floral City Pariel.
Just then, another blinding flash of lightning streaked across the night sky, illuminating the entire city-state.
"It’s an Eighth-order battle, a newly confirmed unidentified Eighth-order has begun to confront Perlman!"
The Demon Race female reporter gasped in shock, her voice trembling.
Rain spattered against the camera lens, blurring the image.
And in the region, the camera could not clearly capture—a place too distant to see—above the endless darkness, the rainstorm, and the ruins, it was as if the gates of hell had opened.
Though the screen was barely visible, everyone could feel the power breaking through the camera.
Not just in the temple, but in every corner of the Floral City Pariel, where the remaining signals were strong. Numerous figures sat upright, their eyes fixated on the screens.
Some silently prayed to the gods for protection, while others gripped the hands of those beside them, seeking some comfort that way.
Meanwhile, a buzz of discussion arose among those in the Church who were still watching the unstable images.
In the Poseen Demon World channel broadcast, atop a distant skyscraper, two blurred figures seemed to have begun to clash!
This scene was captured by reporters kilometers away.
Facing the stormy wind and rain, the Demon Race reporter made another effort to set up her equipment.
But due to the great distance, coupled with the interference of the dark, stormy night, and continuous lightning and thunder, the image was alternately clear and fuzzy, resembling an unstable dream.
In the camera’s view, one could only vaguely see two figures constantly moving on the rooftop, emitting black and grey mists, invisible impacts that created shockwaves, throwing the pair even kilometers away off balance.
Every time the two figures collided, the image would shake violently, followed by a burst of piercing static noise.
"Who is it...?"
"Another Stone Slab holder?"
"What kind of Stone Slab is that? Why haven’t I seen it in any book?"
"No, wait, I think I’ve seen this Divine Era script in a class on Magical Lineage at the Holy Education Society. Is that the Seal- Stone Slab?!"
In the temple, a priest stared at the crystal screen, suddenly letting out an exclamation.
The sudden change in her demeanor made the other citizens tense for a moment.
With a complex expression, the priest seemed to know the answer but hesitated to speak of some ominous and taboo words.
"The ’Original Stone Tablet- Sealed’, according to our intelligence, its current holder is Cardinal Bishop Askesan of the Rebirth Church from the Northern Continent..."
Bishop Askesan of Annihilation, a symbol of fear, despair, and torment.
As one of the highest-ranking Cardinal Bishops of the Rebirth Church, each sealing skill and curse he controlled had sowed seeds of death across the world.
His terrifying prowess was, for the people of the Northern Continent, no less a threat than Perlman, who at the moment nearly seemed ready to slaughter the entire city.
It is said that Askesan’s sealing skills silently yet more fatally than any offensive magic could turn a thriving metropolis into a silent Purgatory within hours. Neither the strong nor the weak could escape his banishment; the Cardinal Bishop had no sympathy, no humanity in his eyes, only a pathological obsession with death and annihilation.
The Bishop of Annihilation was feared by the beings of the Northern Continent, and even his infamy had reached the South Continent.
"But wasn’t Askesan rumored to have died?"
"Maybe the intelligence was fake? He’s actually still alive?"
Asked the confused and alarmed crowd.
There had been rumors from the Northern Continent of uncertain truth, mentioning a great battle among the bishops of the Rebirth Church.
A clash of bishops for succession in the Rebirth Church might have happened not long ago.
Now, with the situation in Floral City Pariel turned utterly chaotic—first Loren, now mysterious figures appearing one after another—truth and fiction were indistinguishable.
But regardless, they could only hope that the strong figure who had appeared would be able to stop Perlman.
"Why, first Loren, and now Askesan?"
Sitting on the long bench, the Platinum Level Card Maker Bruden pushed his glasses up and muttered to himself with a frown.
He too was protected in the temple as soon as Poseen Kingdom got the news.
As a Platinum Level Card Maker from the Arolan Kingdom, he had access to much more information about the South Continent’s situation than the ordinary citizens and priests.
