"Commander Rich, we've reached the battlefield!"
"All legions, follow the signals immediately and rescue our comrades!"
"Yes, sir!"
Hexia watched his teammates die before his eyes, one after another, his heart pierced with agony. He looked back at the civilians. "Everyone, I'm sorry. We did everything we could!" With that, he started toward the edge of the barrier.
"Big brother, we're going to become warriors of the Holy Light someday too!" Suddenly, a child shouted to Hexia.
"That's right! So are we!"
The civilians around them watched the children, then turned to Hexia with smiles.
A group of elders stepped forward. "Child, there's no need to apologize. In all my years, only you have ever been willing to risk your lives to protect us. We don't have much time left. If someone has to go out there and feed the rats, let us old fossils do it! You've done more than enough!"
Looking at the old and the young before him, Hexia's anguish vanished in an instant. "Everyone, we Holy Light Clerics aren't all dead yet!"
Just as Hexia steeled his resolve, the ground suddenly trembled. The rats surrounding the barrier grew restless, as though they had encountered their natural enemy.
"Holy Knights, Extended-Range Legion Stomp!"
Countless rats were instantly crushed into a bloody mist. The charging legion of Holy Knights swept everything away around them, as though riding across a blood-red carpet.
"Hahaha! Everyone, we're saved! The main force is here!" Hexia laughed, but the tears in his eyes would not stop flowing.
As more than ten thousand Holy Light Clerics swiftly joined the battlefield, crushing everything in their path, the rats seemed to feel the overwhelming pressure too and retreated like an ebbing tide.
"Hello, comrade! I'm Qi Luo, commander of the Second Army's Fifth Regiment. Thank you for your efforts!" Qi Luo spoke with grief on his face as he looked at the lone Holy Light Cleric left before him.
Holding back his tears, Hexia immediately straightened and pressed one hand to his chest. "Hexia of the Ninth Airship Crew's Seventh Holy Light Cleric Mixed Squad, reporting to the regimental commander!"
"Fifth Regiment, heed my command! Salute every warrior of the valiant Seventh Holy Light Cleric Mixed Squad! May the glory of the Holy Light be with them forever!"
"May the glory of the Holy Light endure forever!"
All the Holy Knights immediately dismounted in unison and removed their helmets. Holding their helmets in one arm, they pressed their other hands to their chests and bowed their heads. Beside them, the Holy Light Wolves also sank onto all fours and lowered their heads in silence.
"Commander Rich, the airborne legion suffered severe losses. Some units lost more than nine out of every ten soldiers!" a Holy Light Cleric beside him reported.
Rich's pupils contracted at the news. That had been a legion of a thousand people! Gone, just like that. These were the heaviest losses the Holy Church had suffered since its founding!
"Investigate! Even if you have to turn over every inch of this land, find out what caused this rat disaster. An ordinary infestation could never have done this!" Rich said, his voice icy.
"Yes, Commander!"
In the Holy Light Grand Hall in Corona City, Li Ming emerged from his analysis of the laws. Sensing the disappearance of a large number of believers, he briefly examined the images they had sent back.
"Ah, you fools. You're always saying the glory belongs to me, but the ones who truly deserve it have always been you!" Li Ming said sadly. "It seems that, as your god, I can't take things easy either. How could I keep you from coming home? Though my Holy Light cannot yet completely reverse the laws of life and death, granting you new life is still within my power."
With that, Li Ming's Sub-body, which had not moved in a long time, began to glow white. He slowly floated away from the center of the Cross and rose toward the temple roof, passing through its thick layers and emerging into the sky above Corona City!
People stopped their work and looked up at the Light Ball that had dyed more than half the sky golden.
"That... that's the Holy Light!"
"Heavens, I've finally witnessed a miracle in my lifetime!"
"Praise the Holy Light!"
"Holy Light, what is this?" Ria set down her pen and gazed at the golden sky outside her window in confusion.
"I'm waiting for you to come home, children!" As the majestic voice faded, a seven-colored radiance shone from the enormous Light Ball.
Looking at the long, rainbow-colored path of light across the sky, the people began to pray.
Hexia stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly at the place where his captain and the others had fallen. His heart felt hollow. Remembering the laughter and horseplay he had once shared with his teammates, he could not help sinking into sorrow.
"Hexia, we're leaving!" Yahiko and his two companions said, unable to bear the sight of Hexia standing there in a daze.
Hexia nodded numbly.
Seeing Hexia looking as though he had lost his soul, Yahiko had no idea how to comfort him. He could only sigh regretfully before heading toward Amegakure with Nagato and Konan.
As silence settled over his surroundings, Hexia could no longer hold back and burst into sobs.
"Captain, Sister Meizi, Dazhuang, Stone... how am I supposed to go home and face your families?"
There were many Holy Light Clerics like Hexia on this brutal battlefield. Having suddenly lost the comrades they trusted most, they could not shake the pain in their hearts.
Suddenly, a brilliant beam of light blossomed across the battlefield. Rainbows of light began to rain from the dark sky. Hexia looked up. "This is..."
At the places where the Holy Light Clerics had fallen, crystalline rays gathered one after another, forming angular crystals like diamonds.
With a series of cracks, countless crystals shattered. Tiny figures the size of a palm suddenly appeared, each with two pairs of transparent wings and glowing motes drifting around their bodies.
"What is this?" Hexia watched it all apprehensively.
Suddenly, nine streaks of light flew toward Hexia, while the other tiny figures flew off in different directions.
"Hexia! Hexia!"
Hexia stared in bewilderment at the nine little figures surrounded by glowing light that had gathered around him. Peering carefully through their radiance, he gaped in astonishment. "C-Captain!"
The nine figures looked like his teammates shrunk many times over. He could faintly make out faces that bore a strong resemblance to their original appearances. It was not that their features had changed; rather, they looked a little like their childhood selves, only cuter.
Hearing what Hexia had called him, the nine Light Spirits exchanged puzzled looks.
"Who's the captain?" a somewhat lively spirit asked, tilting his head.
"I suppose that would be me! I think I've heard someone call me that before!" one Light Spirit said thoughtfully, his little face stern.
"Who are you?" Hexia asked apprehensively.
"Listen well! We're Light Spirits, granted new life by the Father God after dying as great Holy Light Warriors!" the lively spirit declared proudly, planting his tiny hands on his hips.
"That's enough, Stone!" A female Light Spirit pulled the little show-off aside, then suddenly flew up to Hexia's face. "Hexia, why are you crying again? Don't cry, don't cry." She brushed her tiny hands over his tear-streaked cheeks.
"Sister Meizi! This is wonderful, wonderful!" Hexia burst into tears.
"What should I do? He's only crying harder!" Meizi said, looking a little helpless.
"Hmph! A grown man, and all you know how to do is cry. How are you going to lead the squad like that?"
Hearing the captain's voice he had thought he would never hear again, Hexia abruptly stopped crying. "Yes, Captain! I promise I'll lead our squad well!"
"Hmph, now that's more like a warrior!" With that, Oli, now a Light Spirit, haughtily turned his head aside.
Before you continue