Chapter 330: The Light Points from a Dissipating Angel are Energy, Right?
Pfft—
It sounded like a balloon bursting.
The vortex of white bubbles dissipated into fine points of light.
Finally, the enormous angel revealed itself completely. Three pairs of pristine, pure-feathered, holy white wings slowly unfurled.
The intense pressure stirred the air, creating faint ripples all around. Even the high temperature of the Red Lava Zone was suppressed by this power, turning cool!
This angel's external appearance was not much different from the previous two Throne Angels, but the wheel held between its palms had grown larger.
It was composed of a large wheel encompassing a smaller one, a total of four silver-colored bronze gears. Faintly, multiple eyes flickered in and out of existence on the wheels!
The four wheels moved and turned in different directions, rising as if they were living things. It was as if the entire angel was an empty shell, and its true body was the strange, spinning gear in its hands!
1 Tenth-Tier Judgment Throne Angel (Lv 70)
A chill ran up his spine.
Tang Zheng's body tensed instinctively. He stared intently at the Level 70 Judgment Throne Angel. His intuition told him that this angel was extremely dangerous.
It was an obvious threat that could not be ignored!
It was as if an alarm bell had suddenly rung in his mind. A creature's natural wariness of danger made him want to keep his distance from this Level 70 Judgment Throne Angel.
This was the first time he had ever felt such a sense of danger!
Tang Zheng stood his ground, calmly observing what was in front of him.
A single glance!
A full 239 angels hovered in mid-air, like a true angel legion. Countless points of holy light connected, freely unleashing a sacred radiance.
It stained the entire Red Lava Zone a snowy white!
Even as the summoner, Tang Zheng felt an indescribable pressure facing this host of angels.
"I feel like if I get surrounded, my life will be in real danger." A slight smile tugged at the corner of Tang Zheng's mouth.
"Hmm... As expected, I can't control them directly."
After a brief moment of thought.
*Thunder Dragon!*
Tang Zheng suddenly raised his arm and began to chant.
Blue lightning flashed, transforming into a crooked, dragon-shaped bolt that struck the low-tier angels at the very front.
BOOM!!
In an instant, dozens of Level 10 angels were destroyed. The subsequent shockwave from the explosion cleared out another portion of the low-tier angels.
As he cast the magic, Tang Zheng kept a close watch on the few Throne Angels, especially the Level 70 one. There was a gap of more than twenty levels between him and it!
Whoosh—
The few Throne Angels merely fluttered their wings, making no other movements.
Tang Zheng's gaze relaxed. "When neutral monsters are attacked, they should normally retaliate, but as the caster, I'm not affected by this."
"For high-level Players, they are indeed suitable to be used as sacrificial pawns."
This thought flashed through Tang Zheng's mind. He glanced at his stat panel and found that he hadn't gained any experience points from eliminating those angels, which was a bit of a pity.
However, it was within his expectations.
Normally, angels from Angel Summoning didn't grant experience points either.
"The highest-level creatures I've encountered before were probably the ancient fire dragon and the sun anglerfish, both of which were only between Level 47 and 49."
After some simple experiments, a thought couldn't help but pop into Tang Zheng's mind:
"By controlling this angel legion, I should be able to easily destroy any country, right? Er, the Slane Theocracy probably wouldn't work, and neither would the Council State where the Platinum Dragon Lord resides."
There was nothing much to observe about the ordinary angels.
Tang Zheng's gaze remained fixed on the few Throne Angels.
"Level 50, Level 60, and Level 70 are all Throne Angels. According to the level ranges of Tier Magic, they correspond to eighth, ninth, and tenth-tier magic."
Tang Zheng wanted to complain about the modelers of YGGDRASIL. "This modeling... aside from the different wheels in their hands, there's not much of a difference."
In Western angel lore, there are a total of nine ranks of angels. Above Level 80 are the Cherubim, which fall into the domain of Super-tier Magic. Above Level 90 are the Seraphim, which should require special skills to summon. Tier Magic, however, is structured differently, which inevitably leaves some angelic ranks without a direct correspondence.
And in legend, the Throne Angels are described as God's throne, or part of a divine chariot, which is why they are depicted as wheels burning with flames and covered in countless eyes.
"Alright, I guess... you can't really call that lazy."
Tang Zheng looked at the somewhat bizarre yet holy "Wheel within a Wheel" in the Level 70 angel's hands.
Through his magical connection, he had already figured out the abilities of these angels.
The Level 70 Judgment Throne Angel's passive ability was Invisible Eye, which could detect and discover all invisible units.
Its special ability was Glorious Spirit Body, which was similar to a taunt skill and had a damage reduction effect.
The skill that made Tang Zheng's eyes light up the most was Judgment Lock.
In the game's background, summoned creatures like angels and demons were established as residents from another world. High-level angels and demons could use abilities similar to the eighth-tier magic Dimensional Lock.
This was a power that could nullify transfer-type magic within a certain range.
Under this lock, Teleportation and High-Tier Teleportation would be unable to leave the sealed area.
Recalling the way Kelart had communicated with this group of neutral angels...
As the caster, Tang Zheng still had to put in some effort to get these few Throne Angels to use their skills separately.
In the end, he obtained three spells.
Sixth-Tier - Greater Healing: Restores 80 HP, cures diseases and debuffs.
Seventh-Tier - Solar Burst: An area-of-effect attack magic that deals increased damage to evil creatures, the undead, and beings with low justice values.
Eighth-Tier - Judgment Lock: Nullifies transfer-type magic within a certain range.
[Skill Points: 67→64]
The basic experiments were complete.
After about an hour, all the angels suddenly trembled slightly, their bodies decomposing into a vast number of white light points and beginning to dissipate.
The scene of more than 200 angels dissipating simultaneously was like the twinkling stars in the sky!
"This scene is much more dazzling than fireworks."
Tang Zheng looked up slightly, gazing at the countless dancing, brilliant white light points, and sighed in admiration.
"Next, it's time to investigate the Alliance Leader."
What a pity!
He was the only one to witness such a beautiful scene.
Besides, probably no one else would spend a large amount of magic power and experience points just to watch a scene of angels dissipating.
Wait—
Tang Zheng's heart skipped a beat. Looking at the star-like points of light filling the sky, a special thought suddenly flooded his mind.
"So many white light points... they're the product of the angels' decomposition. Theoretically, they should be holy-attribute energy, right?" Tang Zheng muttered to himself.
Negative energy is a source of power for the undead!
So holy energy should also be a source of power for living beings, right?
Tang Zheng's heart couldn't help but thump again.
—Meanwhile.
Sacred Kingdom, Royal Capital.
Hebonsc.
Within a palace deep inside the vast, grayish-white court.
"Are the losses this heavy?" a sorrowful voice asked.
It was the voice of the Holy Princess, Calca.
Her delicate yet heroic, beautiful face was tinged with pallor and unconcealable pain.
The Holy Knight Order and the Cleric Corps were the Sacred Kingdom's strongest elites, yet now, not even half of them had survived.
"They went in with the resolve to die, Your Highness Calca."
A trace of exhaustion was visible on Kelart's brow. Her false smile and hidden cunning vanished at this moment as she comforted Holy Princess Calca.
Although she knew Raise Dead magic, the paladins and clerics, aside from a small number who were turned into undead, had mostly died under the Alliance Leader's Pale Fire attack, their corpses severely damaged.
They were beyond the requirements for resurrection magic.
"Their merits will be forever recorded in the history of the Holy Knight Order and the Cleric Corps."
Kelart's gentle, comforting tone disappeared, her voice becoming calm. "Their families and children will receive double the compensation and preferential treatment as before."
As these words were spoken, it made Kelart seem extremely cold, as if she no longer cared about the deceased members of the knight and cleric corps.
In reality, this was how a person in a high position should act!
It was right to grieve the deaths of subordinates, as it was a loss to the country's power, but to be immersed in this "grief" to the point where it affects one's emotions and judgment is a mistake.
"Sigh."
"I have already arranged for people to monitor the movements in the south. Not long ago, I had to deal with many southern nobles over the matter of trading grain with the hills."
Holy Princess Calca sighed softly, her long, bright golden hair falling on either side of her face. She looked at the travel-worn Kelart before her.
"Now that the Holy Knight Order and Cleric Corps have suffered such heavy losses, those nobles will inevitably make some moves."
"Kelart, for you to rush back alone, did something happen?"
Being too kind was indeed a flaw for a "king," but Holy Princess Calca did not lack a king's intuition and talent.
Currently, the remnants of the Holy Knight Order and Cleric Corps, along with Remedios, were still in Kalinxia.
"That bunch of damn fools."
Kelart grew angry just thinking about the southern nobles trading grain with the demi-humans of the hills.
"The Abelion Hills are currently suffering from an extremely severe drought, worse than what our previous information suggested. Water and grain are desperately scarce. If not for the grain supplied by the southern nobles..."
"...after experiencing this undead calamity, coupled with the lack of food and water, that group of demi-humans would have been all but extinct, with only a few stragglers left."
"I originally intended to use the National Treasure to wipe out that group of demi-humans..."
Kelart looked troubled. She respectfully took out the Crown of the Holy King from her robes and carefully placed it in front of Holy Princess Calca.
After witnessing the power of this National Treasure-class magic item, Kelart was terrified of losing it or letting it suffer even the slightest damage.
Now that she had returned it to Her Highness, she felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
"I gave you this National Treasure item to deal with the undead."
Hearing Kelart's mutterings, Holy Princess Calca's expression turned stern, and she grew a little angry. "You acted on your own authority again."
"If I could have used this opportunity to eliminate the demi-humans..."
"...the safety of the country and its people that Your Highness seeks would be guaranteed forever, and the enormous military expenditure on the fortress castles would disappear."
Kelart lowered her head and replied in a calm voice:
"Unfortunately, I failed to obtain the specific location of the demi-human settlements."
"Although I anticipated this outcome from the beginning, which is why I prioritized eliminating the demi-humans' elite forces..."
"Did something unexpected happen?" Holy Princess Calca was indeed angry, but she also understood that Kelart was doing it for the sake of the Sacred Kingdom.
Kelart reported the entire process in detail, as some matters required a decision from Her Highness.
Holy Princess Calca was calm at first, but she became more and more astonished, her kingly composure vanishing completely in that moment.
She felt as if she were listening to a tale from the Heroic Sagas.
—Slane Theocracy.
Divine Capital, Great Holy Temple.
The Cardinal Conference was the Theocracy's smallest, most private, high-level meeting, typically held only once every six months or so.
The last time it was convened was only about a week ago.
The six Cardinals had once again gathered in this sacred, clean, dust-free temple conference room.
This meeting was naturally about the events that had transpired in the hills. The dispatched Sunlight Scripture unit had not yet returned.
The six Cardinals already held the most detailed information on the hill region, a credit, naturally, to Stargazer Far-Sight.
The air was utterly silent.
Anyone who saw a "Soul Eater," a type of legendary undead, being slain with a single sword strike would find it incredible.
It would be a problem if they weren't shocked!
Even for a member of the Black Scripture, dealing with a Soul Eater one-on-one was no easy task.
Let alone an "instakill"!
This term was one of the strange words that originated from the gods of the past, words that were difficult to decipher or understand.
Although the specific meaning of some was incomprehensible, others could be translated.
"What is the deal with this adventurer squad, Free Will?"
"Do we not have any more specific information?" Ian, the Cardinal of Light, was the first to break the silence.
"According to information from the Adventurer's Guild, this squad hasn't been registered for long."
Benise, the Cardinal of Fire, still wore her Benevolent Mother's smile on her round cheeks as she spoke softly:
"The leader's name is 'Tang.' He has a great reputation in the Kingdom and the Empire and is known as the 'Genius Alchemist'."
"A bounty has also been issued by the Empire's Emperor, specifically related to the demi-human Warrior King, Gagaran, from this incident."
"He seems to be a rather high-profile adventurer. His more detailed identity has not yet been investigated, but this style of conduct suggests he isn't the type of person we imagined."
Sinedine, the Cardinal of Water, pressed his earth-toned hands on the tabletop, a wise look in his withered eyes. "The problem right now isn't this leader, but the girl named Enri!"
"No matter how you look at it, she is somewhat abnormal!"
"That's right."
Voices of agreement rose one after another.
"There's no specific information about this girl named Enri at the Adventurer's Guild. She needs to be investigated."
Benise, the Cardinal of Fire, put away the smile on her face.
"If you count the time, it's been 200 years."
"Are you suggesting?"
"Perhaps it's that time again."
"Preya? An NPC?"
The atmosphere in the great hall became somewhat solemn and tense.
"In any case, we need to investigate this immediately. And we need to make contact as soon as possible regarding that Leader Tang's special method of fusing angels!"
"I have a premonition that this ability will have a huge impact on the Theocracy!"
"Then—dispatch the Water Destruction Scripture to the Re-Estize Kingdom to investigate the girl, Enri."
"Dispatch the Wind Flower Scripture to the Sacred Kingdom to invite the Free Will squad."
"Before Free Will arrives in the Theocracy, we must find out the specific details about that girl, Enri."
"Seconded!"
"Seconded!"
"...!"
(end of chapter)