As dawn approached, the fleet could already see the outline of Holy Island.
The island was now glowing brightly, the holy light of the Six-pointed Battle Formation illuminating the entire sea surface for hundreds of miles around. The Angel Legion on the island was already arrayed, a vast expanse of white stretching from the sea to the foot of the temple, numbering at least tens of thousands. Two wings, four wings, six wings, layer upon layer, the holy light connecting them, turning half the sky a ghastly white.
The sea breeze grew colder. The Saint Realm experts on the fleet all turned pale. It wasn't that they hadn't killed angels before, but the overwhelming holy light pressure from tens of thousands of angels arrayed together was still suffocating.
Linley knew that this battle was probably the most dangerous battle of his life. But he had no way out. Baruch would never have peace unless the Radiant Church was eliminated; and he himself owed his mother and father an explanation.
For ten years, he had teetered on the brink of death countless times in the Necropolis of the Gods, all for the sake of standing here today, upright and honorable, to collect that blood debt with interest.
Linley stood at the bow of the ship, the sea breeze filling his long robe. He didn't turn around, only saying calmly, "Scared?"
Barker grinned. "Scared? I've wanted to tear this bird island down for ages."
Bebe, perched on the mast, swishing its tail, asked, "Boss, that eight-winged being is Lowgod. Are you really letting Grandpa Doehring go alone?"
Before Linley could answer, Doehring emerged from the cabin, his moon-white robe fluttering in the sea breeze. He looked up at the sky and suddenly laughed, "Little thing, do you think your Grandpa Doehring, a Midgod, was picked up off the street?"
Bebe stuck out her tongue and fell silent.
Linley took a deep breath, and his voice, amplified by the Wind Divine Power, boomed across the entire sea.
" Heidens." His voice wasn't loud, but every word was like thunder, causing ripples to spread across the sea. "The god you summoned hasn't come down yet. Perhaps I should send you down first."
On the Holy Island, Heidens, holding the Original Bible, stepped into the air. Holy light condensed into eight pairs of illusory wings behind him, making him appear both godlike and demonic. His gaze passed over Linley and landed on Doehring behind Linley, and he suddenly smiled.
" Linley," Heidens said, "Do you know that there are vast differences between gods?"
Before the words were finished, the statue deep inside the temple trembled violently.
The stone shell cracked inch by inch, and golden light surged out like a tide. From within the golden light, a figure with eight wings on its back slowly rose, its pure white divine power solidified, causing the sea below to sink down by three-tenths of an inch. The figure merely opened its eyes, and an overwhelming divine might swept across the sea, even causing the masts of the fleet to groan under the weight.
Eight-Winged Divine Angel.
His entire body was like that of white jade, his face expressionless, neither sad nor happy. Eight pure white wings slowly unfurled behind him, each feather shimmering with golden divine patterns. His eyes looked down as if gazing upon a swarm of ants.
On the fleet, some Saint Realm experts were already unable to withstand the divine power, their legs went weak, and they almost knelt down. Even a lower-level Earth Element Lowgod like Barker's expression became solemn.
"Grandpa Doehring," Linley suddenly transmitted, "Are you sure you don't need my help?"
"You deal with Heidens," Doehring's voice was calm and firm. "Leave that bastard to me. Do you trust me, or him?"
Linley didn't ask any more questions. He trusted Doehring more than he trusted himself.
"Kill." Heidens uttered only one word.
As the Eight-Winged Divine Angel spread its wings, the entire sky darkened for a moment. The next instant, endless holy light poured down on the fleet like a celestial river flowing backward. That holy light contained the power to purify everything; any ordinary Saint Realm would be burned to ashes upon touching even a trace of it.
Doehring took a step forward.
He took a step forward, his moon-white robe billowing without wind, his white hair standing on end. Earth-yellow divine power exploded from beneath his feet, spreading along the earth's veins beneath the sea, until the entire sea trembled. Beneath the sea, a muffled roar, like ten thousand horses galloping, was the earth responding to his call.
Five thousand years of understanding of the Earth Element awakened in this moment. Doehring felt that the sea beneath his feet and the land beneath it had become a part of his body.
"You have no right to intimidate my disciple."
The God's Domain, open!
The holy light, as vast as the Milky Way, collided with Doehring's God's Domain, as if it had struck an invisible mountain, and was violently swept back. Hundreds of feet of giant waves erupted on the sea, yet not a single drop splashed onto the fleet. The holy light that was swept back rebounded onto the Angel Legion, and the dozens of Two-Winged Angel the front row were reduced to a sky full of white light before they could even scream.
" Linley, go."
Without turning his head, Doehring soared into the sky and pressed his palm down on the Eight-Winged Divine Angel. The air was compressed by the palm wind, producing a muffled thunderous sound, and the sea beneath his feet was dented into a palm print tens of feet deep by the pressure.
The Eight-Winged Divine Angel also moved. It neither dodged nor evaded; with a flap of its eight wings, pure white divine power condensed into a giant hand, forcefully meeting Doehring's palm strike head-on.
boom!
The palms collided with a deafening roar, and a visible shockwave rippled outwards from the point of impact, causing the sea surface for miles around to cave in. The shockwave swept across the sea, even causing distant fleets to rock violently.
The Eight-Winged Divine Angel grunted, its eight wings flapping backward, sending it flying over a hundred feet before finally regaining its footing. Ultimately, there was a vast chasm separating the Midgod from the Lowgod.
"Is that all you've got?" Doehring sneered. "You dare to cause trouble in Yulan?"
Linley responded and moved.
The Wind Divine Clone separated from the body and rushed up the Holy Island side by side with the main body. The Purple Blood Soft Sword was drawn, and the sword's cry was like a dragon's roar, which lasted for a long time. The sword's cry could hit people's ears and directly hit their souls, causing the Angel Legion on the island to slow down its movements by a fraction.
Angels along the way fell in droves, like harvested wheat. Linley's sword was so fast that only a streak of blue light remained. That was the Dimension power of Wind Element Lowgod; the protective holy light of ordinary angels was as thin as paper before this sword.
He fought his way to the temple, his feet paved with the remains of angels, and holy blood stained the entire beach. Not a single angel could withstand a single blow from his sword.
Heidens, however, remained calm and unhurried. He opened the Original Bible in his hand, and a melancholic chanting voice resounded between heaven and earth. The chanting was ancient and majestic, as if it came from the distant past. With each syllable, the world fell silent.
" The Fate Law!"
In an instant, an invisible force descended from nowhere, binding Linley like chains. This force did not contend with divine power, but it aimed directly at his soul, as if it wanted to erase his existence from this world.
Linley paused.
He felt as if his soul was being gripped by a giant hand, his thoughts became sluggish, and even the Wind Divine Power within his body seemed to be freezing. His sea of soul was also in chaos, and even Deity Level soul could hardly resist it.
In a daze, countless images surged in his mind—his mother's appearance before her death, his father's figure lying in a pool of blood, and the boy crying uncontrollably on the ruins of Hess City. Those memories he least wanted to recall were forcibly unearthed by the Fate Law, crushing his mind again and again.
"No..."
Linley's pupils suddenly dilated, then contracted sharply. A boundless killing intent surged wildly from the depths of his heart, breaking apart the invisible restraints inch by inch.
"You want to annihilate me?" Linley gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing with ferocity, and Wind Divine Power surged wildly into his sword. "Then let's see if your prophecy is faster, or my Dimension faster!"
A flash of sword light appeared.
That sword strike seemed to cleave time itself.