Deep purple "Violet Guardian Armor," an all-black battle skirt, a small yet ornate holy shield of dense black, a silver-white longsword whose light was restrained and patterns understated — a sharply chiseled face, resolute and composed silver-purple eyes. In this moment, Natasha looked nothing like her usual cheerful and warm self. Instead, she radiated imposing authority, exuding an overwhelming sense of pressure.
"To run into her here of all places? Where are the Golden Knights and Sky Knights of the Vorlite Principality she's supposed to be leading?" After suppressing his surprise, Lucian thought with a mix of joy and worry. Under normal circumstances, the Southern Church wouldn't mix and reassign the knights conscripted from each nation — the nobles swore loyalty only to their own lords, and at most, high-ranking clergy would coordinate and arrange deployments. Since Natasha had entered this otherworldly space, she must have come as the leader of the Sky Knights and Golden Knights dispatched by the Vorlite Principality. How could she be without the protection of powerful fighters? How could she have broken away from her group on her own?
No — she did have powerful protection. Lucian soon spotted a figure behind Natasha that nearly blended into the darkness: Camille, the "Deep Blue Tide," wearing a black court gown.
"Ramiro didn't treat Francis as an ally, which means he's likely someone from the Northern Church. Why would Natasha cooperate with him? And that gloomy, brutal man appears to be the nineteenth-ranked Night Watch member, the eighth-level Sky Knight 'Purifying Flame' Daniel. The white-robed elder is clearly a high-ranking clergyman, and they wouldn't cooperate with Francis either."
Lucian thought in puzzlement. Natasha's own elder brother had died in the war against the "Northern heretics," indirectly causing her mother's early death. She would never willingly join forces with anyone from the Northern Church — regardless of who else she partnered with.
Among the Night Watch, many people did indeed conceal their bloodlines, origins, and real names. But those who held rankings were, for the most part, fairly well-known — their codenames and identities were tracked by major organizations. So after Ramiro's suicide-style attack, Lucian had been able to look up the attacker's identity from the materials collected in the Soul Library. Whether Ramiro was his real name was irrelevant. The moment he recognized the gloomy man from before standing together with the clergyman and Natasha, Lucian deduced from his bearing and manner that he was "Purifying Flame."
"Two Southern noble Sky Knights, a high-ranking Night Watch member, a high-ranking Southern Church clergyman, and a suspected Northern Church 'Executioner' who is also a Sky Knight — what a bizarre combination. Hiss… perhaps Sophia was the one pulling strings to forge this temporary alliance?" Lucian thought of Sophia, who still hadn't made an appearance. Her father, Rudolf II, was suspicious; she herself was obviously no devout believer; and with her exalted status, she was perfectly suited to play the role of a political broker.
The battlefield fell into a brief, tense stillness. Francis and the others seemed uncertain about Anantastes's strange nature and didn't dare act rashly. The one-eyed Anantastes swept his gaze around the circle with a mocking smile before speaking.
"Just the lot of you? Come at me, all of you!"
A war hammer the size of a human head swung upward, and the surroundings transformed into a bloody, slaughterous warzone. Behind Anantastes, warrior after warrior materialized — some mounted, some on foot. Their expressions were fanatical, their fighting spirit blazing, their auras terrifying. In the span of a single second, Anantastes seemed to have gained an entire order of knights composed of at least Great Knights.
Every strong fighter he killed, every priest and blood-divine hero among his subordinates who fell in battle — their souls would enter his semi-phantom domain of war and continue fighting alongside him in an endless campaign, until even their souls utterly dissipated.
A semi-phantom will-domain spanning several hundred meters was precisely what separated Golden Knights from Sky Knights, and the War Lord Anantastes was clearly a false god who had developed along the knightly path.
"Kill!" Anantastes raised his arm and roared.
"Kill!" Behind him, an unknown number of knights' battle cries followed suit, merging into one. The sound was deafening, their fighting spirit surging straight to the heavens, forcing the high-ranking clergyman to involuntarily retreat a step in midair.
I am the God of War. I am the Lord of Ten Thousand Armies!
With a powerful push of his feet, Anantastes led his thousands of soldiers and cavalry in a charge straight toward Natasha. As a blood-divine hero who had risen through combat, he could clearly sense that among the surrounding enemies, she was the weakest.
Banners unfurled, the din was deafening. Rank upon rank of lances stood like a forest. Divine Arts blazed in various colors. And ahead, the terrifying war hammer seemed to compress the very air, shortening the distance in an instant. Whether it was Francis, Daniel, the clergyman, or Camille, all of them felt their willpower momentarily shaken, their strikes half a beat too slow.
But an excited expression appeared on Natasha's face. Instead of dodging the brunt of the attack, she planted her feet, arched her body, raised the black shield high, and charged headlong into the war hammer.
Clang! Where the black shield and the war hammer collided, tiny yet terrifying black fissures seemed to materialize. The surrounding space froze solid. From the point of impact, violent ripples surged outward like mad, spreading in every direction. The forest of lances and the brilliantly colored Divine Arts struck against this frozen "space" and could advance no further.
Natasha's face was taut, her teeth clenched tight. Like a reef battered by howling gales and towering waves, she stood solitary yet utterly resolute, turning aside everything the storm could throw at her.
"This woman — doesn't she know how to dodge?! She's only seventh-level and she's daring to fight a ninth-level Golden Knight head-on! Just because she has a ninth-level 'Shield of Truth' replica doesn't mean she can act this recklessly!" Hiding among the waterweeds, Lucian cursed inwardly, wishing he could drag Natasha back.
Although she had advanced to the seventh level a year ago, the gap between her and Anantastes was still enormous. It wasn't as if there weren't eighth-level Sky Knights nearby to help block. Look at Sophia — she'd received Rudolf II's tutelage, and at a time like this she wouldn't even show her face. No matter who won or lost, her own life would never be at risk.
A book of intense holy aura materialized before the white-robed elder. Its pages flipped rapidly, sacred light blazing as a towering pillar of brilliant radiance descended from the heavens, striking Anantastes directly.
A layer of light resembling iron rust and dried blood shimmered across Anantastes's body, blocking the Solar Burst. But the warrior souls charging alongside him let out silent screams, and within the radius of the blast, they all dissipated into nothing.
He wanted to swing his hammer at the old man, but Natasha ahead was not about to let the opportunity slip. Her silver-purple eyes were cold and merciless as her right hand slashed out with the longsword. A phantom rift appeared before her — one that seemed to belong to a plane beyond this world — as if it could sever anything.
Anantastes's gaze sharpened. He forced himself to change direction, barely avoiding the strike. Then his war hammer rained down on Natasha in a furious tempest, and within the war domain surrounding him, soul warriors coalesced once more.
At that moment, the sky above transformed. The heavy darkness gave way to a vast cerulean ocean. Tidal waves of seawater cascaded downward, crashing savagely into Anantastes.