Amber City. Once incomparably prosperous, the city had now become a field of ruins. Blazing fires burned everywhere, and faint cries for help drifted from beneath the thunderous collapse of buildings. Unfortunately, no one could save these pitiful ordinary people anymore. Dark shadows lingered amid the fire-ravaged ruins. Pale Skeletons kindled with azure Soul Fire in their eyes, while corpses revived one after another beneath Blasphemy. They picked up weapons, climbed to their feet, and headed toward the only intact place in Amber City.
Temple District.
This was the only place in Amber City that remained relatively whole.
The temples of the Gods emitted a faint glow, and the statues of deities were shrouded in a layer of divine radiance. The Temple Guard stood armored at the front, with the surviving Amber City Guard behind them. Even the once refined and gentle priests had taken off their robes and donned heavy armor. They were not purely Spellcasters and possessed considerable skill in close combat as well.
Priest Fayle, who had once helped Soren, was among them.
He wore silver-white half-plate, held a Knight Shield in one hand, and wielded a three-foot flail.
This weapon was extremely difficult to use, but its destructive power was also first-rate! He had received specialized combat training, but when choosing a weapon, none had felt as natural in his hands as a flail. That was why he had chosen to master this unique and dangerous weapon. The slender priest, clad in silver-white half-plate, holding a Knight Shield and a heavy flail in one hand, made for a striking sight.
But it also showed just how dire the situation had become!
Even non-ordained priests had no choice but to join the battle, because behind them were the few survivors of Amber City. Those survivors huddled and trembled inside the temple halls, awaiting their final fate.
Blasphemy still echoed through the air!
Among the evil Fallen were even more evil Blasphemous Priests. They were using Blasphemy to weaken the temples' Divine Power protection. Eight Dread Knights surrounded the Temple District, their Nightmares breathing streams of sulfurous fire. Countless Undead wandered nearby. These dead, revived by Blasphemy and Raise Undead, would dissipate at dawn the next day.
But they likely would not last that long.
The temples' power grew weaker and weaker. The Dread Knights urged their Nightmares closer. Though the beasts remained restless and uneasy, they still inched toward the temple grounds. These were terrifying beings they could not possibly contend with!
Eight Legendary Tier Dread Knights—Amber City could not stand against them even if it poured out all its strength.
Despair blanketed the ruined city.
Fear.
It was everywhere!
But just as everyone abandoned hope and prepared to meet their final fate, a strange disturbance suddenly arose in the distance.
The priests had already begun comforting the others, telling them that even if death came, their souls would return to the realm of the Gods, where they would enjoy eternal life and peace within God's Realm. The Temple Knights had begun kneeling in prayer, begging for the deities' blessing and swearing to fight until the final moment.
As long as the temples' power had not been desecrated, their souls would not be corrupted.
Suddenly!
An Amber City guard wore an expression of utter disbelief. He pointed ahead with wide eyes and shouted, "Look over there!"
An unremarkable figure appeared in the darkness.
He had a smooth bald head without a single hair. He wore only a worn coarse-cloth garment, with simple leg wraps around his feet, and carried no weapon at all. Yet countless Undead surrounded him. Groups of Undead frantically attacked him, Wraiths stretching their claws toward him while Bone Skeletons swung swords and blades at him.
But he paid them no heed.
When those attacks struck him, they caused not the slightest ripple. They could not even harm a single hair on his body. He merely gazed calmly ahead, and only when he saw the survivors at the temple did a trace of relief appear on his face.
"Thank goodness I made it in time!"
He sighed softly, then suddenly stamped his foot. An invisible wave of force erupted outward.
Hundreds of Skeletons and Wraiths around him were sent flying!
The ground cracked outward in a spiderweb pattern. Amid rumbling collapses, every stone slab within a hundred meters of him shattered into tiny fragments.
"Transcendent... Saint..."
Priest Fayle looked stunned. He glanced ahead, then suddenly shouted, "Form up and defend!"
"Divine Magic enhancements!"
"Hold out until dawn, and we'll be saved!"
Legendary Monk.
That unremarkable figure was actually a Monk who had entered the Legendary Domain—and one of the rarest kind, an Ascetic!
One-Inch Punch!
The unremarkable Monk in the darkness leaped forward, crossing dozens of meters in an instant. He clenched his hand into a fist and punched the Bone Knight directly ahead. The Bone Knight, awakened by Blasphemy, trembled all over. Its Undead Armor showed no change whatsoever, yet every bone in its body shattered inch by inch, turning it directly into a pile of broken bones.
Sun Flame Stance!
Facing the Undead closing in from every direction, the Monk suddenly pressed his palms together. A mass of scorching firelight erupted from his palms. When he struck out with one hand, a dull explosive boom rang through the air. A surging heat wave spread alongside blazing Flame, while the powerful blast scattered sand and stones in all directions and flung the nearby Undead more than ten meters away.
Low-level reanimated Skeletons fell in batches.
The Blasphemous Priests finally noticed the Monk. Three of them stepped forward and began casting Spells. Several streaks of evil light appeared in succession and shot toward the distant Monk.
Moon Shadow Stance!
The Monk's expression did not change in the slightest. He suddenly pressed his palms together, and his skin seemed to turn golden. A silver-white Ki energy field appeared around him, directly withstanding every Spell attack.
Then he leaped, and his figure vanished from where he stood.
Ethereal Body!
Step of the Wind!
In an instant, the Monk appeared before the Blasphemous Priests. He let out a fierce shout and swung his palm down.
Mage Armor.
Stoneskin.
An invisible Energy Field appeared around the Blasphemous Priests, blocking the Monk's attack at once. At the same time, their bodies turned the color of stone, wrapping them completely within it. The nearby Blasphemous Priests rapidly cast Spells, placing another Energy Deflection Field over themselves.
Diamond Palm!
The Monk withdrew his hand. When he struck again, his palm turned completely golden. With a crisp crack, the Energy Protection Field around a Blasphemous Priest instantly shattered. At the same time, his Stoneskin cracked and collapsed in the blink of an eye. With the power of just one strike, a Blasphemous Priest's breastbone caved in completely, and every bone in his body shattered. He fell to the ground like a lump of mud.
"A bunch of foolish Spellcasters."
"Do you really think a layer of stone skin and an Energy Shield can block our attacks?"
From the darkness.
An incomparably burly figure emerged.
With every step he took, the ground trembled. He was a towering, powerfully built man around two and a half meters tall. His arms alone were as thick as other people's waists. He carried a heavy battle-axe in one hand, likely weighing over six hundred pounds, so thick and heavy that it resembled a door panel. He casually carried the axe as he walked into the Undead encirclement.
"Leave this to me."
The tremendously burly man spoke, then suddenly pounded his chest. His already imposing body began to expand. Terrifying muscles and bulging veins surfaced, and amid a series of crackling explosions, the bones throughout his body lengthened segment by segment. He transformed into a colossal being over three meters tall.
Rage.
But it was not over yet. With a savage growl, he slammed his fist into the ground. His already exaggerated body began to swell once more!
Epic Rage.
The ground split under that terrifying strength. The massive figure had become a Giant over five meters tall. The once ill-proportioned battle-axe now fit perfectly in his hand. Terrifying muscles brimming with endless strength covered his entire body, while worm-like veins protruded from his incomparably tough skin. He looked like an ancient killing machine!
"SBD!!!"
A wild roar that shook heaven and earth erupted.
Centered on that terrifying figure, every Bone Skeleton within fifty meters shattered into piles of bones. The nearby Blasphemous Priests let out miserable screams. Blood seeped from their eardrums, eye sockets, and nostrils, and they lay weakly on the ground like madmen, wearing idiotic grins.
War Howl!
The Giant, over five meters tall, rested the heavy battle-axe on his shoulder. He glanced at the Blasphemous Priests who had become idiots and mocked, "What a bunch of fragile Spellcasters!"
Earth-Shattering Strike!
The colossal Giant stamped his foot. A crack split open across the ground, and then the place where the Blasphemous Priests stood collapsed with a thunderous crash. Rubble completely buried those fragile Spellcasters.
Thud, thud, thud!
Heavy hoofbeats rang out across the ruins.
Only when he saw the Dread Knight before him did this Barbarian of the Legendary Domain reveal a trace of solemnity. He slowly lowered his heavy battle-axe, licked his lips, and said, "At last, an opponent worth fighting has appeared!"
Undead Rage!
A blood-red aura spread across his skin. The Barbarian roared and swung his enormous battle-axe straight at the Dread Knight before him.
Clang!
A heavy Vorpal Sword steadily blocked the battle-axe. The Nightmare let out a pained whinny, its hooves sinking deeply into the ground.
The Dread Knight slowly dismounted. Its blood-red pupils fixed on the Barbarian before it. It tore away its tattered, bloodstained cloak, and its hand clad in Black Scaled Vambraces shifted from a one-handed grip to a two-handed grip. The heavy Vorpal Sword was held horizontally before its chest.
The true battle.
Had only just begun!
;Strength +10, Constitution +10, immune to all mind-affecting Control Spells, immune to Maze, immune to Imprisonment, unlimited stamina for the duration.) :Through long-term training, a Monk gradually tempered his body to perfection. His body had become a supernatural existence. Any physical attack without supernatural properties could not harm a Monk. Monks were immune to all attacks from ordinary weapons; only +1 Supernatural Weapons or higher enchanted weapons could injure them.)
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