NOVPUBGaiat picked up the mechanical magic wand once again, watching the sea of fire that the red comet had stirred up.
Loren didn’t have time to keep an eye on Gaiat, feeling a chill rising in his heart.
He looked sharply in the direction where the red light was plummeting, the ground cracked open, forming a chasm hundreds of meters deep, with roiling heat waves sweeping forth.
At the center of the chasm, a violent figure clad in dark red heavy armor.
His black hair flew wildly like flames, his eyes blood-red and his gaze was so piercing that it made one’s heart palpitate, while a scorching aura twisted and deformed the surrounding air.
The earth was subdued by his presence, and the air burned from it.
"Seventh Army God Philip of Blood Jade Marrow from the Cerryti Empire?!"
Loren didn’t have time to be shocked before the figure of Philip swiftly enlarged in his vision.
Philip turned into a crimson afterimage and came at him with a punch.
The punch, carrying tumultuous flames, roared forward with the force to move mountains and landed heavily on the light shield that Loren had hastily conjured around himself.
At the same time, Gaiat gently twirled the mechanical magic wand in his hand and instantly shattered Loren’s light shield into countless fragments, forcing Loren to resort once more to an even more urgent defensive magic to block Philip’s assault.
The right fist of the Seventh Army God Philip of Blood Jade Marrow pushed forward with explosive power and intent to kill.
When the explosion resounded through the canyon, dust scattered and Loren was sent flying with a heavy blow.
The violent force brought the entire valley Loren was in into a tumultuous collapse, the collision faster than the boom of thunder, resonating throughout the entire Valhalla Canyon!
Before Loren could catch his breath, the Third Army God Tangle Agate Gaiat struck again, without warning.
Countless purple-black chains burst from the ground and instantly bound Loren tightly.
Loren struggled desperately, but those evil chains clung to him, sucking away his mana like crazed leeches.
In the blink of an eye, the Seventh Army God Philip struck another punch.
His fist, carrying an immense force, whistled down, the punch seeming as if it bore the high temperature of tens of thousands of degrees, with flames shooting up to the sky.
Loren watched helplessly as Philip’s fist was about to hit, aware that any defensive magic would just be disrupted by Gaiat again.
Loren’s magic power surged crazily once more as he chose to make a last-ditch effort and clash head-on with Philip.
"Die!"
Philip laughed loudly, his fist flashing with a blazing red light as it smashed hard into Loren’s chest.
Just as the fist was about to touch Loren, his entire body shone brightly and a sphere of white-hot light condensed around him.
The sphere exploded with a roar.
The deafening explosion echoed in the canyon.
The blinding white light engulfed Philip’s figure, carrying the compressed magic power of the Eighth Order Limit, it actually managed to stop his punch in its tracks!
Philip, who had just exchanged injuries with Loren, rose from the rubble, standing straight but with his skin severely burned, emitting wisps of smoke.
And on the palm of Philip’s hand, his skin split and blood flowed down his arm.
"Great High Priest Loren is truly valiant, facing both of us without a hint of fear."
Philip said with a smile as he looked at his bloodied fist.
"..."
Loren’s face paled, blood seeping from his mouth, supporting his staggering form.
The last strike was not the appropriate way to fight.
The Seventh Army God, expert in [enhancement] and [fire] Philip of Blood Jade Marrow, could not be confronted head-on like this.
With the Third Army God Gaiat there, Loren had no choice but to trade wound for wound with the mad Philip to fend off his offensive.
Facing two Army Gods, even the battle-hardened Loren felt immense pressure.
He had thought he could handle the Third Army God Gaiat until the moment Philip appeared, when Loren felt the pressure multiply by dozens of times.
The only good news was that Philip was not as strong as Gaiat; the recent clash had already caused significant damage to Philip.
Now, to continue fighting indirectly seemed almost impossible to win. With Gaiat’s control, it would be very difficult to escape. Perhaps the only way was to fight desperately, break through Philip first, then think of how to continue dealing with Gaiat.
Regardless, he should be able to hold out until Juliana made it back to the Arolan Kingdom.
Just as Loren was preparing to start this fight to the death,
a faint scent of sandalwood drifted from nowhere, out of place with the night wind in the canyon.
Loren’s eyes suddenly widened, sweat continuously beading on his forehead as he looked in the direction from which the aura emanated.
A young man in a white robe, embroidered with intricate and gorgeous patterns, stood on the other side of the canyon.
His hair was a light golden blonde, his features open and clear.
But what caused the shiver in one’s heart was his pair of eyes, clear and bright silver, as if they could see through everything.
"I’ve long admired you, Mr. Loren."
The Eleventh Military God, Jade’s Simon Luo, also appeared in mid-air.
With a raise of his hand, he healed all of Philip of Blood Jade Marrow’s wounds, causing the injuries that Loren had desperately inflicted on Philip to vanish, restoring Philip’s martial artist vitality to its peak.
Loren took a deep breath of the cold air, watching the three Military Gods that surrounded him in this gloomy canyon.
He understood their plan.
Even the Eleventh Military God, Simon Luo, skilled in [Heal] and [Wind] Magic, had come.
The three Military Gods who came to this desolate canyon had not sent anyone to track Juliana but stayed on Loren’s side, as if they had calculated to definitely kill him.
From the very beginning.
Their intention was to hunt down the top combat strength of the Kingdom Joint Council alliance!
"We originally only hoped to deal with Juliana, but we didn’t expect that the big fish we would catch in the end would be you, Great High Priest Loren," said Jade’s Simon Luo with a hint of regret and a slight smile on his lips.
"..."
Witnessing this scene, Loren had not anticipated the three Military Gods joining forces.
But the question was.
How could they plan such a perfect concealed route, bypass the Kingdom Association’s scouting and successfully pinpoint Juliana’s location?
The night wind howled in the canyon, the sky overcast, with the Blood Moon hanging high.
The three Military Gods looked at each other from a distance, all gazing down upon Loren.
Loren stood alone, bathed in the dim red moonlight, his face full of sorrow.
Life and death were no longer significant.
What mattered was what he could still do now.
"Sorry, Lanci, it seems there’s no chance to see you again."
Loren could not think of any way to cope with these three foes at once, nor could he go to retrieve Lanci.
From the very inception, the end was foreseen.
Like collapsing, melting icebergs, the waves sighed.
He murmured to himself.
"Does even the Great High Priest Loren feel fear?"
Philip of the Blood Jade Marrow looked at Loren’s solemn expression and couldn’t help but laugh.
Loren was the calmest enemy he had seen at the brink of death, and it was because of this calmness that Philip believed Loren was more aware than anyone of the despair he would face next.
"In truth, who among us does not fear in this world?"
Loren discarded the priest’s black robe, leaving only the black shirt.
His eyes, like the coldest ice lakes in winter, gazed at his three opponents through the storm.
"We know all about the Cerryti Empire’s atrocities. Even if not by me, someone will eventually come to break the endless cycle and bring down retribution."
His eyes seemed to be overtaken by silver light, pushing his magic power to the ultimate.
That was the speech.
In this final moment, he could shed the constraints of being the Great Priest—
And fight as a pure man!!
Blood Moon howled outside the eastern border of the Arolan Kingdom, and a battle reminiscent of the Divine Era was about to reignite.
Like lanterns lighting up the sky, the night alternately turned into day and then quickly dimmed.
