Praise the Light (VII)

Just how miraculous are these Mute Ascetics?

Ryan was curious, and the missionary Sven helped him look into it.

Thirteen bald heads radiated a snow-white Holy Radiance, their heads connected to a faint power of faith. The moment they appeared on the battlefield, they were praying.

They finally spoke.

A long string of words, which eventually came together to form a single sentence.

"Glory to My Lord."

The moment the shout was uttered, the Mute Ascetics changed. Their expressions became solemn, or rather, frozen on their faces, carrying an extreme obsession and madness.

In the sky, meteor-like Holy Radiance fell like transparent bubbles, crashing around the Mute Ascetics. As they shattered, a cold white mist spread around them, like frost covering the earth's vegetation at the time when the Eternal Night dissipated and Dawn arrived.

The Mute Ascetics witnessed the battle of the Black Swan in the darkness, and thus they could not speak easily, for it was the unspeakable sin of the Dawn Believers in spreading their faith. But they were the purest Ascetic Monk of the Dawn, having witnessed the first Dawn fall from the darkness, and their power was like frost covering the earth.

This is a legendary story, and it forms a bond with the Black Swan.

This also proves the similarity between the two sides, namely, the struggle and the objective, without any unnecessary twists and turns.

The Dawn Holy Radiance descended, bestowing a blessing upon the Mute Ascetics.

This blessing is called "Magic-Ban".

Snow-white chains bound them to their bodies, rendering any magic ineffective; instead, they became a source of even greater energy for them.

Besides these, what else do Mute Ascetics possess?

They themselves are not Legendary, and their hand-to-hand combat skills certainly cannot be compared to Daryl's.

Fortunately, they still have a name.

Holy Word Believers.

"The Lord will grant me the power of angels!"

The thirteen Mute Ascetics completed their transformation in the snow-white Holy Radiance. Silver-white armor covered their entire bodies, including their face shields, without even revealing the holes for their eyes.

Behind them were a pair of silver-white metallic wings, or perhaps they were metallic wings, anyway, they had that texture, and they exuded a sharp and cold power.

"My lord has granted me the strength to defeat the enemy before me!"

The Mute Ascetics roared, blood flowing from their seven orifices and seeping through the gaps in their armor.

The Mute Ascetics, who had been silenced for many years, were on the verge of collapse after uttering these two Holy Word.

I don't know if they'll be able to shout out a third line, but for now it seems like they've done enough.

Thirteen streaks of snow-white light shot towards Daryl from thirteen directions. The Legendary Knight stood on the ground, and the Giant Mammoth formed from his blood and qi let out a deafening roar. The soldiers on both sides of the battlefield were stunned and dizzy. He threw a punch at the Mute Ascetics was the first to approach him.

An incredibly terrifying power erupted in the void, causing air currents to collapse and even light to distort briefly. Daryl was on high alert, but the anticipated confrontation did not occur. The Mute Ascetics was sent flying, his armor riddled with cracks.

The Giant Mammoth's power was not to be underestimated. With just one punch, the Mute Ascetics struggled for several seconds but could not stand up. He lay on the ground, spitting out blood.

"That's all there is to it."

Daryl's confidence soared, and he turned around, swinging his arm like an elephant's trunk. In an instant, the earth shook, and all the Mute Ascetics who tried to approach and attack were slapped away by the invisible energy.

Daryl raised one foot and stomped it down on the ground, causing a great tremor. Countless cone-shaped spikes shot out from the ground, spreading rapidly forward in a fan shape centered on him.

Pfft!

The sharp spikes, like knight's longswords, pierced through the bodies of those Mute Ascetics in an instant. Their armor could not withstand the rage of the Giant Mammoth, and this was only the beginning.

Mammoth were born at the very beginning of the ancient world, in those years when glaciers were like oceans. Their strength carries the weight of ancient times.

As a result, the air grew cold, and the world, inexplicably frosted, seemed out of place. On the white battlefield, Daryl moved with incredible speed, charging forward with tremendous force, heading straight for the Mute Ascetics whose bodies were pierced through.

The glacier descended, but the Mute Ascetics the severe cold, were not silenced because they were blessed with Magic-Ban. However, the physical strength of the Knight Darryl truly struck them, and one by one, the Mute Ascetics were twisted and crushed.

"It seems... not that powerful."

The nobles were all observing; the nobles of the Andara Kingdom were naturally delighted, while the nobles of the Sera Kingdom inevitably frowned.

Sven stood at a distance, looking thoughtfully at the Mute Ascetics. Didn't they cry out even when they were being beaten so badly?

He raised his head, looked at the sky, and gradually understood the source of the power of these Mute Ascetics.

It's not about them, but about the bubbles that fall like shooting stars from the sky.

The Mute Ascetics are clergy, and everything they do is subject to the great Lord of Dawn, therefore...

The Dawn is their greatest source of strength.

In the sky, thousands of translucent bubble meteors fell, always centered on the Mute Ascetics. They crashed to the ground, emitting Holy Radiance that resembled frost and mist. As more and more frost-like Holy Radiance covered the ground, forming a white mist of dry ice, the battlefield began to change.

Daryl frowned. He stepped on the ground, lifted his foot, and Dispel the Holy Radiance surrounding his feet. When he landed back on the ground, he felt the connection between himself and the earth weaken.

His expression changed as he looked at the Mute Ascetics.

"Did you sever my connection with the earth?"

His Legendary blessing granted him the power of Giant Mammoth, making him even more powerful when standing on the ground.

He has been weakened.

The Mute Ascetics stood up, swords in hand, and quickly closed in again. The most terrifying thing about the Dawn Holy Radiance is that it can heal you no matter how serious your injuries are.

Of course, this comes at a price, such as a sharp decline in vitality.

In other words, their life force is transformed into health bars. As long as the health bars are not empty, even the most severe injuries will not affect their ability to fight.

During the rush, the Mute Ascetics's injuries continued to heal, and the moment he touched him again, he was completely recovered. Daryl kept throwing punches, but found that he could no longer knock out a Mute Ascetics with a single punch as before.

He is getting weaker and weaker, and he will die as long as the rate at which the Mute Ascetics's health bar disappears is slower than the rate at which he weakens.

With this in mind, Daryl dared not hesitate. He could not Dispel the domain set up by the Dawn, and all he could do was prepare for battle.

Drawing his Legendary longsword, Daryl unleashed a furious onslaught on the Mute Ascetics.

At first, the terrifying power of the Legendary longsword was enough to shatter the metal wings of the Mute Ascetics. Gradually, however, the weapon in his hand lost its initial sharpness.

"It can even weaken inanimate objects?"

Daryl was shocked and couldn't comprehend such power. He dared not linger and attacked frantically until, at a certain moment, the longsword he swung suddenly transformed into a weapon that forced his opponent to give way, and then he fled into the distance.

He cannot fight here.

He wasn't fast, but he was still faster than a non -Legendary clergyman like the Mute Ascetics. However, the moment he appeared at the edge of the white mist beneath his feet, he flickered and returned to the center of the battlefield.

I can't live without it.

This is a blessing bestowed by the Dawn, not a curse. He cannot even resist it; he can only remain in this 'arena' formed by the Dawn Holy Radiance until the Mute Ascetics dies.

"How so..."

He has lost his initial strength; if this continues, he will most likely die before the Mute Ascetics.

Because of that Holy Word.

The Dawn granted them the strength to defeat Daryl.

Dawn kept her word.

"These motherless Ascetic Monk are as disgusting as ever, just like slimes from the Abyss."

In the sky, a figure appeared out of nowhere. The Mages's robes fluttered in the wind. The noble and Legendary Mage, Ivy, appeared above the battlefield, watching the battle below with great interest.

The moment he appeared, the life force within a radius of several thousand meters on this battlefield found its master. At the feet of the Mute Ascetics and Daryl, countless wild grasses grew wildly, instantly covering the white mist formed by the Holy Radiance.

Beneath the earth, seeds sprouted and grew, twisting and mutating into grotesque and terrifying shapes, possessing a terrifying destructive power as they attacked the Mute Ascetics.

In the blink of an eye, the thirteen Mute Ascetics were immobilized, and the plants were frantically devouring their life force, or health bars.

Faced with the appearance of the true master, the Mute Ascetics finally uttered the third Holy Word word.

"My the Lord will grant me a glorious end!"

In an instant, the health bars of the thirteen Mute Ascetics were depleted, but they did not die. Instead, their bodies radiated a dense and terrifying light, as dazzling and white as the Sun in the sky.

What was the glorious end of the Mute Ascetics?

There is only one answer: kill the enemies of Dawn in the ultimate catharsis of battle, and then calmly welcome the guidance of Kingdom of Heaven.

Divine Art that allows one to live and die together.

In an instant, all the surrounding plants vanished, shattered in the light. The light of Dawn would illuminate all darkness, and the magic created by the Legendary Mage before them was darkness itself.

They are unaffected by magic; the Magic-Ban blessing upon them makes them fearless. Strictly speaking, they only have one drop of health left, but this drop is one that no supernatural means can remove.

Daryl was suppressed and unable to help, while the thirteen Mute Ascetics frantically rushed towards Aven in the sky.

All they needed to do was attack, an extreme attack, using every means possible to kill that physically weak Mages, whose weakest point was his body.

"One of the Empire's Ten Legendary Mages"Legendary.

Daryl's eyes widened. He was curious. Ryan had previously told him not to reveal himself too early, mentioning this Legendary Mage who had come to the Andara Kingdom with the Imperial delegation and was one of the Empire's Ten Great Priests.

His strength stemmed from the fact that no one knew just how terrifying he was.

As a Legendary, Daryl is now entitled to feel it.

He sensed that the whole world was changing, becoming... incredibly vibrant.

They are cheering, they are boiling, they are screaming, but—what are they?

Aven looked at the Mute Ascetics trying to approach him and couldn't help but shake his head and smile.

"After all these years, you still haven't improved. I suffered greatly at your hands back then. If I still can't evolve, wouldn't I have wasted these past hundred years?"

He once tried to kill the Mute Ascetics with countless seeds, but unexpectedly, those seeds failed to reduce the Mute Ascetics's health bar, resulting in a lot of trouble.

In the sky, there was nothing but Mute Ascetics radiating Holy Radiance. But in the blink of an eye, a giant hand appeared in the void less than a hundred meters in front of the Mute Ascetics and between them and the Legendary Mage Aven.

The Mage's Hand? No, magic cannot affect Mute Ascetics.

This hand did it because it wasn't just simple magic.

It is the clouds in the sky, the wind in the void, the water contained in the air, the colliding gazes of both sides, the breath, the heat emanating from the body, and even the Dawn Holy Radiance emanating from the Mute Ascetics.

It was all of nothingness, and then... it came to life, it became some kind of spiritual life.

He grabbed the Mute Ascetics and crushed him.

The bursting blood mist did not dissipate in mid-air; it came back to life. Everything in the sky came alive, transforming into living beings. They densely filled the void, their numbers countless, as their bodies overlapped one another.

Aven, Legendary Mage known as "Ivy," is a Life Mage.

"What do you have to offer me to get close to me?"

Aven smiled and said without speaking, but then the sound of murmured magic chanting came from the void. It was the countless Void Lifeform forms that stood between him and the Mute Ascetics, chanting in place of the Mages.

As the magical chanting continued, a portion of the Dawn Holy Radiance emanating from the twelve Mute Ascetics twisted and turned into evil demons, biting at the remaining intact Holy Radiance. They actually tore a huge gash from the light of these 'little the Sun ' in one bite.

The Mute Ascetics could hardly move an inch, because there were already "others" standing where they could advance and take a step. Moreover, as the Holy Radiance on their bodies was bitten off by another part of the Holy Radiance that had come back to life, their power became impure.

A new hand grew from the five fingers of Mute Ascetics. Fingers began to grow on the new hand, and then the new hand turned around and grasped the Mute Ascetics's original hand. The terrifying force crushed the bones of his hand to pieces.

On the neck of another Mute Ascetics, flesh and blood came to life, forming a beast-like mouth that bit and swallowed the Mute Ascetics's throat.

There were also Ascetic Monk whose legs grew limbs, which took weapons and stabbed at their masters' abdomens. Their internal organs rolled out, but in mid-air, they were also evolved into unique life forms that tore at their own bodies.

Even Mute Ascetics with only one drop of health left in their health bar would die instantly from such a minor injury.

The remaining nine Mute Ascetics, to varying degrees, exhibited signs of their life force evolving in a strange direction beyond their control. This horrifying scene even terrified the nobles in the distance, causing their minds to be corrupted.

One by one, the Mute Ascetics died. They couldn't do it; against Mages, Mute Ascetics are not invincible.

"Host..."

With great difficulty, the remaining Mute Ascetics were still struggling severed their own limbs, their mouths still praying. It was the fourth Holy Word word; they had given up everything to perform the fourth Holy Word prayer.

"Lord, you will give me the Stairway to Heaven."

A snow-white road Dispel all life. All the methods Aven had created were repelled outside this snow-white stairway to Kingdom of Heaven. The moment they stepped onto the road, all the strange phenomena on the Mute Ascetics disappeared. They recovered and quickly attacked Aven.

Because at the end of this stairway to Kingdom of Heaven lies the Legendary Mage.

The Church of Dawn dispatched several Mute Ascetics from speaking, and they were quite fast. However, just as they were about to get close, a figure blocked their way.

Daryl unleashed a punch, turning several Mute Ascetics into a bloody mist that scattered from the sky, seeping into the soil beneath their feet like rain.

His speed was even faster than that of the Mute Ascetics; after all, he was Legendary.

After doing all this, Daryl turned around and looked at Ivy, who was standing close by, with utter shock. He was trembling all over, not from fear, but from the instinctive resistance of his Legendary physique.

Against himself...

In that instant, Daryl, who had been pinned to the ground, felt that his body no longer belonged to him. His limbs had their own thoughts, his blood sprouted tentacles, his bones tried to crawl, his eyes rolled, and his hair seemed to scream for life.

Then, he was brought here by his own body and threw that punch.

Everything seemed so surreal, as if it had never happened, but Daryl felt an unimaginable fear creeping into his heart.

Looking at Aven in front of him, he didn't know what to say. Even though his body had recovered, he still couldn't help but tremble instinctively.

"The trouble is gone, isn't it, Knight?"

Aven said with a smile, then suddenly turned his head, his eyes turning gloomy.

"What happened?"

Daryl asked instinctively.

"Nyx Columbus, that member of the Imperial House bloodline is dead."

(End of this chapter)