Garcia observed the changes in everyone's expressions but didn't care much. He had experienced far too many such encounters, especially after personally witnessing the corruption of the current Church. This young priest felt even more strongly about the purity of the Black-Robed Holy Temple faction he believed in, which further solidified his determination to become a follower of the Black-Robed Holy Temple.
"One day, the Black-Robed Holy Temple, once bathed in Glory and divine grace, will return in triumph. The Black-Clad Warriors will prove to everyone that our faith and doctrines are truly worthy of the Holy Church. All our current suffering is a test from God. One day, God's glory will shine upon the temple once more, and the Black-Robed Divine Peak of Ten Thousand Streams Peak, sealed for forty-five years, will be reopened!"
Garcia said to himself quietly.
"Let's continue." The young priest looked at the red-robed deacon Pellegrini and said calmly, "I know you came to the God and Demon Palace and Demons not only to hunt down the Necromancer Hasselbaink, but also for a secret mission. Rest assured, I am His Holiness the Pope's assistant. Since I am under orders from His Holiness the Pope in the northern suburbs, I will do my utmost to assist you. In the following advance, you must stay close to me within twenty meters. Don't fall too far behind, lest something unexpected happens and I can't help you in time. Note that you should not be afraid to expend your Holy Power. You must always concentrate your strength and remain vigilant. This is an extremely dangerous place. If you want to survive, you must go all out."
Garcia at this moment was the same as the young, silent figure from before, yet also different.
Pellegrini looked at Garcia with a complicated expression, then finally nodded slightly and said, "Okay, we'll follow closely."
After the series of unexpected and terrifying events that had just transpired, the red-robed deacon was much more polite and gentle when facing the young priest. Although Garcia's lowly birth destined him to never be able to compete for the core of the Church's power, his Half Moon Class Holy Power was absolutely genuine, making him a formidable figure. In this dangerous place, the survivors of the Divine Judgment Squad would have to rely on his strength to survive. Moreover, after experiencing the series of shocks, Pellegrini, who had already sobered up from the intoxication of power, would never adhere to the principle of offending a powerful figure under any circumstances.
Now that the Red-Robed Deacon has changed his attitude, the other members of the Divine Judgment Squad naturally won't say anything more.
However, the priest whom Garcia had risked his Holy Power to snatch back from the clutches of death quickly lost his gratitude after learning that Garcia came from the Black-Robed Holy Temple. He was afraid of getting too close to this young priest, so he kept his distance with his hands on his body to avoid being misunderstood as having any connection with the Black-Robed Holy Temple. This shows how cold-hearted people can be.
Seeing this, Garcia wasn't particularly angry. He felt he was simply upholding the temple's doctrines and fulfilling the duties of a truly holy priest. How could the foolish actions of those whose true understanding was blinded by external things shake his unwavering faith?
"Follow me, and walk lightly."
Garcia identified the direction of the core area of the God and Demon Palace complex and began to explore forward.
In fact, the members of the Church also possessed a safe map of the outer, difficult areas, a safe route discovered by explorers throughout the ages. However, decades had passed since the last opening of the [ Gate of Gods and Demons ], and it was inevitable that the mechanisms and traps within the God and Demon Palace had changed. Therefore, it was also inevitable that this map would contain some inaccuracies. Among the powerful individuals who entered the God and Demon Palace this time, only the route shown on the mysterious map that Sun Fei had obtained by chance was exactly the same.
The group moved slowly, gradually approaching the front.
For them, the priestly robes they wore were not entirely useless; at least the other powerful figures who entered the [ God and Demon Palace ] group dared not set their sights on the people of the Church.
But others won't be so lucky.
In a sense, the God and Demon Palace is a chaotic and disorderly space. Among the powerful individuals who enter it, there are those who are righteous and those who are evil, good and bad. There are also some who appear respectable on the surface but are actually treacherous. Some powerful individuals who are all influential figures in the outside world may easily set their greedy eyes on other powerful individuals when they are discouraged by their fruitless exploration of the ruins. Their storage rings and other spatial containers, their armor, and even their weapons may become the targets of others' covetousness.
Without the constraints of the original external order, evil will fester and be exposed.
Even the strong are human, so murder and robbery are common occurrences in this space.
At times like these, danger doesn't just come from the various magical killing formations, illusions, and traps in the God and Demon Palace, but also from your companions.
Slaughter and death began to permeate this terrifying space.
On another path, Prince Fairenton of Ajax and a group of more than ten people, including the red-robed [ Snow Mountain Hermit ], encountered their greatest threat since entering the Gate of Gods and Demons when they entered the twenty-first difficulty area—two powerful individuals with strength around the Mid-Tier New Moon Class had their eyes on them.
These two men were dressed plainly, in the attire of commoners from Twin Flag City, yet their strength was astonishingly high. A faint mist shimmered around their faces, obscuring their features and making it impossible to identify them. However, their eyes were filled with murderous intent, their gazes shooting out like two divine beams from the mist, fixing on the crowd. Without uttering a word, they unleashed their killing moves, their Dou Qi thundering and resounding, showing no mercy.
"Who are you?" The red-robed man was fighting two opponents, and the situation was not good. His Flame-Element Dou Qi was already at its peak. He roared, "Why are you intercepting us?"
"No reason, I just want to kill you, and then see if you have anything valuable on you, hehe." The sinister, slightly hoarse voice was clearly altered by the other party using their Dou Qi, and the tone was extremely vulgar, indicating that they didn't want to say much to avoid leaving any clues.
However, the strength of these two was indeed astonishing, and their teamwork was flawless. They launched a series of deadly attacks on the [ Snow Mountain Hermit ], constantly trying to steal credit, aiming to eliminate this greatest threat in the shortest possible time. As for others such as Fairenton and Murdoch, they were simply not worth mentioning in the eyes of these two mysterious powerhouses.
"Hmph! Looks like an old acquaintance, otherwise why would he cover his face?" [ Snow Mountain Hermit ] Summon his Dou Weapon, his strength surging. His fiery red Dou Qi protected him like a pillar of flame. Every move he made carried the power to collapse mountains, shaking the ground and surrounding buildings like an earthquake. The strength he displayed far surpassed that when he fought Sun Fei. This should be the true manifestation of his power.
The two mysterious and powerful figures looked at each other in a terrifying manner, and for a moment they were forced to retreat by the [ Snow Mountain Hermit ].
The next moment, the two figures separated. One of them seized the credit for [ Snow Mountain Hermit ], while the other suddenly lunged at Fairenton and the others. With a cold laugh, he pressed down with his giant palm, and the four weakest Nine-Star Class experts instantly exploded into a bloody mist and died a violent death. Murdoch and Doni, who were at the Moon Class, were pale. The former swayed violently, while the latter coughed up blood and staggered back. The difference in their strength was obvious at this moment.
Surprisingly, the performance of Fairenton only had the strength of Eight-Star Class, was quite unexpected. A layer of orange-yellow light appeared on his body, enveloping him completely. The mysterious expert's giant palm collided with this light screen and shattered into pieces.
"What is this?" The mysterious expert was shocked and retreated rapidly, sensing the terrifying power within the light barrier that was difficult to resist.
Feeling the immense power surging through his body, Fairenton felt reassured. He immediately stood beside his senior brothers Murdoch and Doni, his body radiating an orange-yellow light that transformed into a massive mountain range, enveloping the three of them. No matter how the terrifying powerhouse outside bombarded them, he remained unmoved and posed no threat whatsoever.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the [ Snow Mountain Hermit ] wielded a crescent-shaped, handleless Dou Weapon that circled his entire body, sometimes attacking and sometimes defending, a perfect balance of offense and defense. His Flame-Element Dou Qi surged into the sky like a fire erupting from the earth's core, its momentum astonishing. He suppressed another powerful figure, but killing him was not an immediate possibility.
Time passed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, more than an hour had gone by.
"The protective Dou Weapon I gave you wasn't meant for you to use like this." Within the protective barrier, these words suddenly echoed in the anxious Fairenton's mind. The voice was extremely familiar. Before Fairenton react, the voice continued, "Watch closely, witness the true power of [ Sand of Earth's Wrath ]."
As soon as he finished speaking, Fairenton felt a surge of immense power erupt from his body. A tiny, orange-yellow grain of sand shot out from the top of his head. This grain of sand possessed an indescribable, alluring beauty, its surface riddled with countless facets, shimmering with a diamond-like brilliance. It grew larger with the wind, quickly reaching the size of a fist. With a tremor, it whistled out, transforming into an orange-yellow streak of light that instantly pierced through the nearest powerful figure. Then, with its remaining power, it flashed in a semi-circle, piercing through the powerful figure fighting the [ Snow Mountain Hermit ] in the distance in an instant. It then circled back and disappeared into Fairenton's forehead, lurking within his body as if vanished, leaving no trace.
Bang! Bang!
The bodies of the two powerful figures fell to the ground.
Their hearts were mercilessly pierced by the [ Sand of Earth's Wrath ], leaving a fist-sized, transparent hole. Their internal organs had been completely shattered into a pulp, and blood seeped from the window, staining the earth red.
Thanks for your support, Brother You Know You Understand.
Thank you to every brother for your support. Xiaodao haven't been updating as frequently lately, and the plot has reached a relatively low point in its setup phase. However, your clicks and votes have been incredibly generous. I feel ashamed. Once I've finished my work, I will definitely speed up the updates.