Whether they had deliberately lowered their guard or truly been deceived by false intelligence, Lucian directly activated "Bale's Transformation Spell." His muscles swelled slightly, a thin layer of moonlight flowed across his body, complementing the faint silver-white glow laced with dark gray on his left hand.
Before their disappearance, they had been nothing more than Night Watch members at the bishop and Great Knight level. No matter what, they couldn't withstand the descent of a high-ranking angel — that vast power would directly tear apart their bodies and souls. So the angel they were drawing upon to enhance their strength must belong to the mid-tier, as evidenced by the number and sanctity of the angelic wings on their backs. In that case, their current strength was at most high-tier, and even with the enhancement from what they called the "Heavenly Kingdom on Earth" barrier, they definitely couldn't reach the ninth level.
Turning into a thin wash of moonlight, Lucian lunged at the two of them as if split into countless afterimages, so fast they couldn't tell which one was real.
Minsk's wings lit up with points of light, crimson scales materialized across his body, and his eyes took on a golden hue. The pressure of an apex creature radiated from him like a physical force. He opened his mouth, revealing sharp teeth wreathed in wisps of green smoke, and a massive column of red fire engulfed all the illusory images before him. The scorching heat of the Red Dragon's breath made the surrounding Sacred Light shimmer and distort.
Around Juliana, silver-white longswords suddenly materialized, each bearing a holy eye, impossibly sharp. They orbited around her, forming a protective barrier, and anything that tried to pass through them would be ground to shreds.
This was "Blade Barrier," the most effective sixth-level Divine Art defense against knight attacks. The phantom-like beams of moonlight were sliced to pieces by the swords.
At the same time, Juliana's angelic wings spread open as if beyond her control, and a pillar of sacred light wreathed in flames descended from the sky, striking straight at one of the afterimages.
Juliana's eyes went wide as she watched Lucian, still mid-lunge, raise his left hand to catch the Solar Flare — a blast thicker than his own body. What was truly unbelievable was that the vast, holy pillar of light silently shattered into fragments of light that scattered and dissipated, absorbed into the "Heavenly Kingdom on Earth."
What on earth was wrong with his left hand?
Barely had this shock registered in Juliana's mind when she saw Lucian's left hand clench into a fist and slam into the Blade Barrier.
The silver-white swords spun and cut, but the moment they touched Lucian's left hand, they disintegrated on their own.
That left hand showed no hesitation, passing through the Blade Barrier as if piercing a sheet of paper. With a thunderous crack, it struck Juliana's cheek before she could deploy any other Divine Art.
Crack, crack, crack — amid the crisp sounds of shattering bone, Juliana's right cheek caved in deeply, white and red spraying outward. Every defense and enhancement she had previously placed on herself utterly failed in that moment.
A ball of pure light shot out from within Juliana, attempting to flee, but was directly extinguished by another punch from the left hand.
Juliana collapsed backward. Frozen in her widened eyes were bewilderment and terror, mingled with an irreconcilable strand of hatred.
At this moment, the "Night-Watching Red Dragon" Minsk had finally closed in behind Lucian. Seeing Juliana's miserable fate, his heart clenched. Hatred and fear surged simultaneously, and he couldn't decide whether to press on or use the Heavenly Kingdom on Earth to flee.
In that brief moment of hesitation, he chose to retreat. Once the great Angel King and Cardinal Saer de succeeded this time, wouldn't there be plenty of opportunities for revenge? Only by staying alive could he slowly torment the Professor's wife, students, friends, and loved ones — rather than throw his life away by coming here to die!
Just as he turned, he suddenly found a slender, powerful hand reaching toward him. He opened his mouth and unleashed the Red Dragon's breath once more.
The flames, hot to a terrifying degree, scorched everything in their path, yet under the pressure of Lucian's left hand, they were extinguished like an ordinary candle flame.
The left hand appeared slow but reached Minsk's neck with astonishing speed. That layer of tough, searing crimson scales seemed to encounter the thing they feared most and receded on their own.
Lucian's left hand applied force without pause. With a sickening crack, Minsk's neck was snapped.
In his fading consciousness, Minsk was filled with anguish and fury: "His left hand does more than just nullify curses!"
After destroying the ball of light within Minsk as well, Lucian searched their belongings for anything that might control the "Heavenly Kingdom on Earth," but unfortunately their bodies were completely empty.
"With the angel's descent and the Heavenly Kingdom on Earth's enhancement, two Night Watch members of the fourth or fifth level were actually able to erupt with seventh or eighth level strength — truly terrifying. However, this 'Heavenly Kingdom on Earth' appears to be connected to Runtat's Divine Art barrier. If I can seize control of the nexus in Nexer Palace that governs the city's barrier, I should be able to significantly weaken its influence." Lucian made this judgment based on his own sensations and the situation just now.
Nexer Palace had two Divine Art cores. The first was the inner defense, protecting the Queen from being instantly killed or scouted by legendary powerhouses — this one was under Natasha's control. The second was the outer defense, which controlled the Divine Art barrier for the entire city. If the Radiant Cathedral's Divine Art core had already been destroyed, then this was now the only nexus capable of influencing the barrier. But whether it was held by "Nightwalker" Winston or someone else remained unknown. His goal was to assist Natasha, Lord Morris, and the others in seizing it through the authority of the crown combined with his own strength.
As he approached Nexer Palace, Lucian suddenly stopped, his face filled with gravity and concern, as if waiting for something. Since he ceased casting magic, his body gradually withdrew from the "Heavenly Kingdom on Earth" and returned to normal Runtat.
…………
Brianna Kingdom, capital city Salival, Bolistan Cathedral.
It was noon, and only two worshippers had come to pray. The cardinal delivering the sermon seemed somewhat perfunctory. Suddenly, he saw a noble gentleman in his fifties wearing a white wig rise abruptly, seize a black walking stick, and stride toward the rear of the cathedral.
"You cannot—" The cardinal reached out to stop him, only to stare in horror as the five fingers of his hand twisted in unnatural directions, his organs, muscles, blood vessels, and brain each developing in different directions, while the surrounding space was warped by a terrifying black magnetic field.
Without a sound, he was divided into countless pieces, tiny arcs of electricity flickering ceaselessly across the remnants of flesh.
With a single stride, Brooke crossed the courtyard. The environment around him shifted rapidly as the projection of his "Electromagnetic Kingdom" — where intense magnetic fields resonated with electric currents — materialized and completely enveloped Bifel's residence.
Bifel blurted out in shock: "Brooke?"