God-Tier Defense of the Orchard

In Barn's squad, Gideon remained at the forefront, his body wreathed in the heavy, yellow-brown armor of the Earth Pulse. With a massive bear paw strike carrying the force of a Thousand Jun, he swatted the leading Sanctuary powerhouse away. The sound of shattering bones was clearly audible; the Sanctuary fighter instantly collapsed, severely wounded and stripped of all combat capability.

The ones charging at the very front were the strongest among the invading Sanctuary powerhouses, but those following behind were increasingly feeble.

Blair's vertical pupils flickered with a faint light, and gray soul-freezing rays shot out one after another. Each time one struck a Sanctuary fighter, the target would instantly stiffen, their soul frozen, leaving them as lambs for the slaughter. Julia, meanwhile, held her Divine Artifact longbow, the string vibrating incessantly. Purple-gold thunder arrows tore through the air, never missing their mark; each strike precisely crippled a Sanctuary fighter or outright killed the weaker ones.

This defensive battle, however, made it somewhat difficult for Barn and Declan to display their full prowess.

After fusing water elements with his Water Body Technique, Barn's speed became even more agile. His form shifted between flowing water and solid matter, trailing behind Gideon. Relying on his extreme speed, he intercepted those Sanctuary fighters who attempted to bypass Gideon to sneak into the orchard and snatch the fruit. Declan split into two clones, burrowing underground to launch surprise attacks from the earth, dragging the leading Sanctuary fighters down to be killed instantly. His stealth, combined with his shadow clone technique, made his attacks impossible to guard against.

Meanwhile, the defenses of the other two squads were no less impressive.

The squad from the fallen royal city family possessed high individual talent and seamless coordination; by joining forces, they could hold off the siege of over a dozen attackers. The full-strength squad, though composed of diverse members, consisted of hardened veterans who had survived the edge of life and death, and they were equally capable of holding their ground.

Over fifty invading Sanctuary powerhouses were, for the moment, held firmly outside the orchard by eighteen people, unable to advance even an inch.

Who could have imagined that these Sanctuary powerhouses, who stood high above the rest in the Yulan Continent and were revered by thousands, would now be locked in a brutal slaughter over ten frail, stunted trees? All for the sake of protecting a hundred sour, unpalatable fruits—this absurd scene was playing out in reality on the desperate land of Gobada.

Countless starving Sanctuary fighters stared at the orchard in the distance, their eyes filled with greed and madness.

It was not that they were unaware these fruits were sour and hard to swallow, nor that they didn't know a single fruit could, at best, be traded for a hundred years of food or a slim chance to survive as a servant beside a god-level being. Yet, this meager sliver of hope was enough to make them gamble their lives.

But in Barn's eyes, this group of invading Sanctuary fighters was simply too weak.

The strongest among them were only at the level of the second tier of Sanctuary, not even reaching the peak of the Sanctuary realm. The rest were even more pathetic, mostly dying prisoners who relied on their spiritual energy to absorb the meager elemental power of Gobada just to barely maintain their combat strength.

Just then, a Sanctuary archer hiding behind the crowd saw that a frontal breakthrough was difficult. He quietly drew his longbow, and an arrow wreathed in Dark Magic Power, shielded by the chaos, shot silently toward Barn's back. He had noticed Barn's extreme speed and realized he was the key to the defense, hoping to take advantage of the situation to eliminate this major threat.

The water-type magic power around Barn shifted slightly, triggering his Water Body Technique instantly. His form turned into a stream of water, easily evading the arrow. He did not stop, however; his eyes turned cold, and with a flash, he appeared directly in front of the Sanctuary archer.

The opponent clearly hadn't expected Barn to be this fast. His face was filled with shock, and before he could even draw his bow again, he felt the Mist Hidden Spear in Barn's hand give a light poke.

The Sanctuary fighter didn't even have time to let out a wail before he fell straight to the ground.

Barn turned and plunged back into the battle.

--

The battle remained intense, but the scales of victory were already beginning to tilt toward the defenders. For Sanctuary powerhouses, a mere two-fold difference in numbers was not enough to bridge the gap in raw strength.

Just then, a roar erupted from the distant battlefield of the gods: "If I can't have it, I'll destroy it!"

Hearing this command, which rippled with divine power, the Sanctuary fighters who were still struggling to break through the line suddenly paused their assault. They then retreated in unison, abandoning the attempt to breach the line and instead using their respective long-range skills to launch an attack toward the orchard.

"Jasper! What are you doing!"

A furious, desperate roar echoed across the sky. It was the owner of this orchard, Haywood, the earth-type middle god who had refined a godhead.

An incredibly arrogant voice, carrying the violence of a raging fire, echoed back: "Haywood, I've been tired of fighting you for so many years! Before I leave, I'll leave you a 'big gift'!"

The two were, in fact, old rivals.

This middle god from the Azure Fire Royal City, Jasper, had also become a god by refining a godhead, but the godhead he refined contained slightly more profound mysteries, making him a cut above Haywood.

However, the gap between them was not large; as long as two or three lower gods assisted from the sidelines, Haywood could calmly repel his opponent.

For many years, every few decades, the two would stage a battle of offense and defense.

Sometimes Haywood succeeded in defending, and sometimes he would "voluntarily yield" a portion of the fruit to save the other's face—a tacit, unspoken rule on the borders of Gobada.

But no one expected that this time, Jasper would completely tear off the mask and be willing to pay any price to destroy the entire orchard!

"Everyone hold the line! Do not let the magic touch the fruit trees!" Haywood's voice carried a desperate command as he swung his giant hammer fiercely at his opponent. "After this is over, I will give every squad a Divine Artifact!"

--

There are always brave men under heavy rewards.

The defending Sanctuary fighters, who had been barely holding on, suddenly saw their eyes ignite, their momentum surging significantly—the temptation of a Divine Artifact was quite strong, even for those at the limit of the Sanctuary realm.

Barn's eyes narrowed as he looked up.

Arrows filled the sky like a rainstorm. Clearly, the opponent had been prepared; every Sanctuary warrior was equipped with arrows, while the Holy Magus and magical beasts had already begun to focus on condensing their magic power, the elemental fluctuations in the air becoming increasingly violent.

"Holy Magus, prepare defensive magic and hold the orchard at all costs! Everyone else, follow me and charge to intercept all the arrows!" The captain of another squad roared first, leaping toward the torrent of arrows. Several Sanctuary fighters followed closely behind, using their own bodies and weapons to build the first line of defense.

Barn did not hesitate either. With a flash, he fully fused his water elements with his Water Body Technique, turning into a pale blue streak of light and appearing instantly before a Sanctuary Holy Magus who was closing his eyes to brew a spell.

He thrust his Cold Reflection Spear without hesitation. The tip of the spear, carrying sharp water-type magic power, pierced straight through the opponent's chest amidst his shocked gaze.

But Barn never expected that this Holy Magus was a dual practitioner of magic and martial arts. With his last ounce of strength before dying, he gripped the shaft of the Cold Reflection Spear tightly, the magic power at his fingertips eroding wildly, attempting to shackle Barn's movements.

Seeing this, five surrounding Sanctuary warriors immediately closed in, their blades hacking and fists striking in a dense, overwhelming barrage of attacks. Barn had no choice but to activate his Divine Artifact Chainmail, taking the brunt of the assault head-on. A wave of numbness surged through his arm, and he then exerted force to rip his spear from the corpse.

But because of this brief delay, he was already tightly surrounded by the five Sanctuary fighters. Their coordination was seamless, their defense airtight, and even with his superior speed, he found it difficult to break through the blockade instantly.

"Barn, hold on!"

Julia's voice reached him. Her longbow fired in rapid succession, and three thunder arrows tore through the air, precisely striking the shoulder of one of the Sanctuary fighters surrounding Barn and knocking him to the ground. However, there were many defensive-type Sanctuary fighters in the enemy squad who stepped forward, raising layers of shields, and all subsequent long-range attacks were blocked one by one.

Barn felt anxious. He was confident he could break through the blockade, but in the distance, the enemy Sanctuary fighters' magic was already beginning to descend.