Volume Four: Withering in the World of Men, Chapter 362: Angel Hunting Ground (5)

"I thought you really had some skills, so I went into serious mode, but I didn't expect you to be so vulnerable when you really got serious."

Tian Lu snapped his fingers, and a blinding flash of light appeared in the sky of thunderclouds. The horde of Blood Beast that had been flying around wildly just moments before turned to ashes and vanished.

"Ugh... Gah..."

I endured excruciating pain, struggling desperately to break free from the thorns' hold, but the more I struggled, the deeper the thorns sank in.

"Stop resisting in vain. The Pseudo- Ascetic Thorns Bind is a simplified version of the Super Divine Spell. No one can break free. It will bind you forever, gradually invading your body and eventually merging with your heart. Every heartbeat will cause excruciating pain."

"Uh... uh... forever?"

"You will repent to God in eternal torment—of course, I will not give you that chance, for you are about to return to hell! Answer my call, God of Heavenly Punishment, the embodiment of the Supreme God who rules over punishment!"

Rumble rumble rumble rumble!!!!!

A fist, crackling with divine lightning, was raised high to the sky. With her movement, a cracking sound echoed in the night sky above us, like shattered glass, revealing a golden fissure. Within the fissure churned something golden, and from its depths emanated an extremely terrifying pressure, as if something was peering into the mortal realm through the crack—

"Thunder, grant me authority!"

A rushing sound emanated from the golden crack, and a small golden waterfall cascaded down from it. Upon closer inspection, the golden liquid was actually completely liquefied golden lightning paste! The golden lightning paste stopped about thirty meters above Tian Lu's head and began to flow gently horizontally, forming a huge golden circle that resembled both a crown and a scepter bent into a ring.

The Super Divine Spell No. 6 is ready to be unleashed!

Even as my consciousness was being tormented by the excruciating pain caused by the thorns, I sensed just how terrifying this move would be.

Do your best and leave the rest to fate.

Faced with such a formidable opponent, I did everything I could.

Now, all I can do is pray that all the arrangements I made before will work.

If my calculations are correct, we should be almost there, right?

Lacking practical combat experience, Tianlu is prone to neglecting one aspect for another when facing the enemy with full force—this is currently Tianlu's biggest weakness, and it must be used as a breakthrough point.

Perhaps it's because of this that she hasn't noticed the one approaching yet?

But she's almost at her limit; if she gets any closer, she'll definitely notice.

I'm definitely going to take that powerful attack; there's no way I can dodge it. Since that's the case, I might as well go all in and completely capture her attention.

"Gulp... cough... hahahaha..."

"What are you laughing at?"

The Super Divine Spell No. 6 was actually ready long ago. The reason why Tianlu did not make a move immediately was because she wanted to see how this tainted figure of the Church would cry out and beg for a chance to atone for his sins. Unexpectedly, this guy laughed instead.

"It's nothing, I just thought of something interesting... I'll tell you, I actually have a small part of Kasser Saintess's memories."

The pink-haired girl—no, a young woman would be a better description than a girl—spoke through her blood-stained face with a mocking tone.

That will only worsen your sins!

"Don't you want to hear... about your old grudges from over two hundred years ago, and that... old story of A. Kasser?"

"...!?"

Although the sinner's words were fragmented due to his injuries, they were so captivating that even the Heavenly Law couldn't help but waver.

"Do you think... more than two hundred years ago... the Heavenly Law Goddess, who was contemporaneous with Ai Kasser... ultimately committed suicide...?"

"... That senior was already seriously injured in the fierce battle, and the indelible stain of Ai Kasser caused her to be under intense self-blame for a long time. In order not to let her failure tarnish the reputation of the Holy See, and also to punish herself for her failure, she resolutely chose to end her own life!"

"Pfft! This is... your official explanation? Just as I thought... the Vatican and all that, they have absolutely no idea about lovers committing suicide together..."

"What did you say?"

Suicide pact?

"Yes, this is... a super explosive... historical truth! That righteous and awe-inspiring senior you mentioned... actually... had an affair with Ai Kasser."

"--!?"

"Hahaha... Look at that shit-eating face of yours... Don't believe me? Believe it or not, it's up to you... You probably wanted to test whether 'teasing the Sword of God would anger that old bastard, the Supreme God'... Blood Fiend —ah, that's Ai Kasser... She really pulled off something big..."

"You, give it to me..."

"That Blood Fiend is a real scumbag... casually toying with women's feelings... but what can you Goddess do when you haven't even received basic sex education? Blood Fiend and the Heavenly Law at the time... when they first met... she just used a little trick... sweet words, seductive beauty, and enticing her to experience new pleasures... and your innocent, idiotic senior fell for it..."

"Shut up..."

"It's absolutely hilarious... Because of his lack of relevant knowledge... your idiot senior can't even distinguish between sexual desire and lust... He was completely manipulated by Blood Fiend, pfft pfft pfft... He didn't even know what happened after being defiled... Just thinking about it makes me laugh, hahahahahahahahaha!"

"You bastard!!!"

The Thorns of Light tightened instantly, and the pink-haired sinner's expression immediately turned ferocious. She opened her mouth wide and let out a silent scream, her body writhing like a maggot—but the corners of her mouth remained upturned.

"Gah... Cough... Haa... Hehe... Are you angry? Did you think I was insulting her? What I said... was all true... As the Sword of God, she didn't even know she had already broken her vows... Hiss... So you can probably guess what happened next, right? Blood Fiend openly rebelled... The shocked, idiotic Goddess finally realized... that everything in the past was a lie... yet she couldn't let go of those feelings... In the end, she was forced to engage in a death battle with Blood Fiend. It's so hilarious, hahahahahaha!"

"You bastard... you bastard!!!"

"In the end... she couldn't defeat him... she couldn't keep him... she broke the rules but could only keep it to herself... coupled with her love and hatred for Blood Fiend... everything exhausted her... and then Blood Fiend's complete disappearance was the last straw that broke the camel's back! Sigh... and so, the idiotic Goddess, half out of despair and half out of a desire to die for love... just like that, simply committed suicide--"

Crackling sound.

Tianlu felt as if something in her mind had snapped.

I can no longer feel anything around me.

All that remained were the sinner's repulsive face and mocking words.

Nothing matters anymore.

Only one thought filled my mind.

Kill her!!!!

"Super Divine Spell No. 6 - Wrath of the God of Heavenly Punishment!!!!"

It's here, it's finally here.

But wait, don't do it now. Wait until she's exhausted after using her attacks before taking advantage of her weakness—that's what I told someone.

The golden lightning condensed into the purest drop, dripping towards me from the crown-like lightning ring.

It exploded less than half a meter away from me, transforming into a golden lightning snake that pounced on me.

The air was filled with the rumble of thunder, and the eyes were filled with dazzling golden light.

If you take this trick, you'll really die.

I don't want to die.

If she dies, who will make Xiao's sacrifice meaningful?

How ironic.

Having pondered this, I spoke to another being.

"Hey, are you listening?"

"Since you call me 'Husband,' then you must have quite a few feelings for me?"

"So don't tell me you're going to stand by and do nothing; that would be tantamount to murdering your husband!"

"Call me a cowardly liar if you want, I never said I would 'absolutely' refuse your help. This isn't something I can stop with the little bit of Killing Intent I can control."

"Understood? Then forgive my spinelessness this once, my dear Rakshasa-chan-- "

At that moment, the Divine Might Heavenly Punishment illuminated the surrounding area for thousands of miles.

A thin golden bolt of lightning carrying a small figure descended from the sky, clearly incongruous with the overwhelming divine light.

But as divine punishment, this is enough.

The real explosion only begins the moment of impact.

Sadington City.

It covers an area of over 10,000 square kilometers, equivalent to the size of Tianjin on Earth.

However, this data is about to be rewritten.

Tonight, a miracle will be performed here.

Lightning burst forth in all directions from the point of impact, and the torrent of light engulfed almost the entire city, equivalent to the size of Tianjin, or four Moscows, or nine Los Angeleses.

Buildings were reduced to ashes, roads were turned into black debris, and collapsed buildings turned into rubble before they even hit the ground. Tens of thousands of square kilometers of urban area were razed to the ground.

Unstoppable, inescapable, with nowhere to run. If there was any luck at all—it was the civilians in the underground shelter. "The Wrath of the God of Heavenly Punishment" has the characteristic of "spreading outwards in all directions along the 'plane' where the explosion occurred, centered on the point of impact." The torrent of lightning spread outwards rather than underground, which is why the people in the underground shelter were able to escape unscathed, and the lives of the vast majority of the inhabitants of Sadington City were saved.

This was certainly not out of pity from the Heavenly Law; she hadn't considered any of these things when she made her move. The reason she chose the Super Divine Spell No. 6 was simply because it was the first one that came to her mind. If it had been the third technique, "Cross Boundary Monument Great Burial," or the eighth technique, "The Myriad Wheel Heavenly Light World-Piercing Holy Spear," the common people would have had absolutely no chance of survival.

The trial is over.

The sinner is dead.

The Vatican's stain has been erased.

Praise be to the Most High God.

However, Tianlu felt little joy.

Using the Super Divine Spell is extremely strenuous; even Tianlu is feeling quite fatigued.

The vast divine power of the Heavenly Laws ensures that she is never easily troubled by fatigue, but precisely because of this, her tolerance for "fatigue" is even lower than that of ordinary people.

Before she unleashed her divine wrath, the sinner's words, spoken with a twisted expression of pain and amusement, clung to her heart like a leech. She kept telling herself that the sinner's words were lies, seductive lies, a strategy to disrupt her mind, but she could not bring herself to accept them calmly.

However, Tianlu was unaware that thousands of kilometers away, a girl hiding in a closet was also troubled.

"This is terrifying, this is the power of the Heavenly Laws..."

"..."

"So, A Ye, may we begin?"

"..."

"Hey, A Ye... are you alright?"

"..."

"A Ye... answer me quickly..."

"..."

"Please... answer me!"

"..."

"Miss Xiao was like that back then, please, don't do it too—"

"... cough cough..."

"!? Ye! Are you still alive? You're still alive, right? Then you--"

"Gurgle... cough cough cough... don't mind me... let's begin!"

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Midterm exams have started... one this afternoon, one this evening, one tomorrow morning, one tomorrow evening, one next Tuesday, two next Saturday... Go to hell! Wish me luck!