Darkness Against Darkness

On the Azeron Continent, the war between the Church of Darkness and the Tianluo Empire continues, with the flames of conflict already spreading across half of the empire's territory.

The Dark Pope Philip, having learned from the Church of Light's leadership being wiped out in one fell swoop by Lynn, has divided the high-ranking members of the Church of Darkness into several batches to prevent a similar tragedy from befalling them.

At any given time, only one batch of Saint Domain experts is out commanding the war, while the remaining Saint Domain experts remain stationed at the Church of Darkness headquarters, Dark Moon Cliff.

Inside a spacious castle.

Philip, dressed in a profound black robe, is followed by the Chief Inquisitor of the Church of Darkness. Before them stand rows of shackled slaves.

Most of these slaves were captured during the Church of Darkness's war against the Tianluo Empire; the majority are prisoners of war, while a small portion are cultivators abducted by the Church. Almost all of them are warriors with battle qi cultivation at the seventh or eighth rank or higher, and each possesses impressive physical strength, reaching at least the level of a sixth-rank warrior.

A few who have had fortuitous encounters even possess physical strength at the seventh or eighth rank.

"Ugh—" A slave clad in armor has a face covered in blood and filth, filled with fury.

Upon seeing Philip, the armored slave's eyes widen like copper bells. His gaze, heavy with pressure, fixes on Philip, clearly recognizing his identity as the Dark Pope.

However, because his mouth is gagged, the man can only emit "ugh-ugh" sounds.

Slap!

The Chief Inquisitor of the Church of Darkness following behind Philip notices the man's gaze, and his battle qi transforms into a whip, lashing out fiercely at the slave.

"Ungrateful wretch, to be chosen by us..."

"You lowly people should feel proud to serve as vessels for the descent of angels!"

Philip's expression remains calm.

"How many were sent in this batch?" Philip turns his head to ask the Chief Inquisitor.

"Over four hundred, though the quality is quite low. The number of angels that can successfully descend will not be high. However, among these slaves, there is one with a special bloodline whose physical strength has reached the ninth rank; he should be able to support the perfect descent of a Four-Winged Angel."

"Oh!" Philip's eyes light up.

In the angel race, strength is determined by one's wings.

The weakest two-winged angels are at the early Saint Domain stage.

A perfectly descended Four-Winged Angel is even stronger than many ordinary Saint Domain experts.

"Not bad. In these special times, the more combat power the Church has, the better."

"Times are different now. Because of that Martial Saint Lynn who appeared out of nowhere, the Church of Light has declined rapidly and cannot hold back the Zhongyuan Empire. The Church is under immense pressure now; the Zhongyuan Empire is eyeing us greedily nearby, while the Roland Empire watches from the shadows in the distance..."

"Especially these days, as more and more territory of the Tianluo Empire falls, the resistance the Church encounters is growing stronger and stronger."

"We need more combat power, the more the better!"

The Chief Inquisitor of the Church of Darkness speaks in a calm tone. "Very well. In that case, I will have the knights continue to expand their search range for more warriors with strong physiques to serve as vessels for the angel descents."

"You handle it as you see fit." Philip nods in satisfaction, then his expression shifts, as if he has thought of something.

"By the way, what were the results of the investigation I asked you to conduct regarding that Demon Lord from the Southern Continent?"

The Chief Inquisitor of the Church of Darkness shakes his head. "Nothing. I only found out that this person emerged from the Southern Wilderness, cultivates the Death Law, and is addicted to slaughter. He wipes out entire families, seemingly on a whim, with no reason at all."

"This person was able to force several Saint Domain experts to flee the Southern Continent and even choose to defect to us; his strength is not weak. He is at least at the peak of the Saint Domain. The Southern Continent is not far from the battlefield between us and the Tianluo Empire; he might be a variable." Philip strokes his chin in thought.

"At this critical juncture, we cannot allow a single accident to occur. Before the decisive battle with the Tianluo Empire, I will not allow any third-party Saint Domain experts in this region." A hint of killing intent flashes in Philip's eyes.

However, Philip is unaware at this moment that the Rahula he is discussing has already crossed the Southern Continent and is flying rapidly toward Dark Moon Cliff.

In the cloudless sky, suddenly, a vast expanse of darkness presses in from the distant horizon.

Within the darkness, countless pitch-black ghostly shadows shriek. In the center, Rahula, dressed in a profound black robe, walks through the void with his hands behind his back, exuding immense dominance.

"I have arrived." Rahula stops and sweeps his indifferent gaze over the distant mountain range.

"Did you think you would be safe hiding in the headquarters of the Church of Darkness?"

A mocking curve tugs at the corner of Rahula's mouth. In the void behind him, a large black banner appears and gradually solidifies.

Boom~~

The Ten Thousand Soul Banner rotates, and terrifying darkness descends from the sky, covering dozens of miles and enveloping the entire Dark Moon Cliff.

Within the line of sight, the sun is blotted out. In the darkness, countless illusory figures flicker, weaving through the buildings and emitting the screams of humans and animals.

"Who is attacking?" The Chief Inquisitor of the Church of Darkness grabs a knight and roars.

"I don't know! The sky outside suddenly went dark!" The grabbed knight seems terrified by Rahula's power; he had just witnessed many knights being swept into the darkness, torn to pieces by a group of shadows, and even having their souls stripped away.

After Rahula's strike, less than ten percent of the people on Dark Moon Cliff remain alive. The survivors are almost all warriors of the seventh or eighth rank or higher, but now, facing the eerie darkness, they are equally filled with terror.

Among them, an old man with a white beard, floating in the darkness, looks at the soul-devouring gloom before him, the terror in his eyes nearly overflowing.

"Darkness turmoil... the Demon Lord, Rahula has come!"

The white-bearded old man was originally a Saint Domain expert from the Southern Continent who chose to defect to the Church of Darkness to escape Rahula. He never expected that Rahula would actually come knocking on their door.

"If I had known, I shouldn't have been greedy for the prosperity of the continent; I should have fled to the South Sea to cultivate in seclusion."

"Is it really that terrifying?" A nearby Saint Domain expert of the Church of Darkness, who has a good relationship with the old man, cannot help but ask.

The white-bearded old man looks at him calmly and shakes his head. "You don't understand. Rahula has come; another faction is about to be destroyed."

"Hmph!" A cold snort rang out.

"Anyone else who spreads heresy and disrupts the morale of the army shall be executed!"

Dark Pope Philip glared at the white-bearded Saint Domain expert, then stepped into the air, his gaze piercing like lightning as he looked toward Rahula high above.

"Rahula! You have quite the nerve, daring to come to my Church of Darkness to run wild."

Philip's expression was as dark as ink.

"Could it be that killing a few Saint Domain experts in the Southern Continent has given you such misplaced confidence? Today, I will make you understand one truth..."

"Even among Saint Domain experts, there is a gap!"

After saying this, Philip swung his palm, launching an attack into the boundless darkness.

"Whatever this Dark Turmoil is, I shall shatter it with a single palm!" Philip's eyes were like blades.

Rumble~~

The palm print collided with the darkness, emitting a thunderous roar.

But very quickly, the palm print Philip had unleashed was swallowed by the darkness.

Rahula watched this scene indifferently, a trace of mockery appearing at the corner of his eyes.

"You aren't even at the limit of the Saint Domain, yet you dare to attempt to break through my Ten Thousand Soul Banner."

"Do you really think the millions of fellow daoists inside my Ten Thousand Soul Banner are just for show?"