Battle at the Church

Beside the tall, thin man sat a strange, hunched figure. If he straightened up, he would surely stand over seven feet tall. He had pointed, Elf-like ears, but none of an Elf's beauty or grace. His eyes were vicious, his face savage, and his mouth full of sharp teeth. He was, without a doubt, a ferocious man-eating Troll.

Asido could not judge the Troll's Transcendent level, but if he had a seat here, he had to be at least at the peak of Apprentice Rank, if not Formal Rank.

As Asido's gaze swept on, he saw giants, werewolves, corpse eaters, shadow assassins, demon knights... Powerful Transcendents had gathered one after another. How much had the Nature Church paid to assemble this force? And that did not even include the Formal Rank Tree Spirit Parasites created through the [Tree Spirit Possession] ritual.

Asido's expression grew darker. He had held on to a sliver of hope that Barkley's personal relationship with Hillsova might let them settle matters for the time being. But now that seemed almost impossible. With the Nature Church putting on such a show of force, how could a few words make them lower their banners and drums? Neither he nor Barkley carried that much weight.

Barkley was still trying to persuade them when Asido stopped him. "Old friend, forget it. There's no room to turn things around now. Let's go. While we still have time, we should evacuate as many nearby residents as we can!"

Asido sighed and said no more. He merely gave Hillsova one last nod.

Then, without warning, a crimson beam fell from the sky and struck the dome of the Moon Goddess Church. With a boom, it punched straight through the roof and landed in the hall. As the crimson light drew inward, a human