On the Burning Battlefield

Although Angela managed to withstand the onslaught of numerous angels, as the spatial rift widened, the image of Mount Celestia became increasingly clear before everyone's eyes. Realizing the formidable nature of this challenge, the angels had to abandon their plan to overwhelm the enemy with sheer numbers and instead began attempting to bypass Angela's defenses, moving towards the slowly descending Ringwraith City. They dispersed as much as possible, transforming into snow-white clouds that blanketed the sky, spreading out further as the spatial passage expanded.

At the same time, Angela also withdrew her offensive. Although she still demonstrated the ability to be "unbreakable", it must be said that with the appearance of Mount Celestia, the divine power and benevolent aura began to weaken Angela's power. In addition, she was located at the entrance of the space passage, and the energy flow brought about by the expansion of the passage also affected her.

Although the angels were using a strategy of attrition to wear down Angela's strength, she was Angela. Unlike mages who needed meditation or warriors who needed rest and sleep, the primal power within Angela's petite body—life and death—provided her with all the strength she desired. Death was not the end but the beginning; rotting corpses became nourishment for the earth, while vibrant life satisfied its will to survive by plundering other lives. Angela was the ultimate embodiment of this. For the little one, absorbing energy wasn't just a specific form. Just like now, when she reached into the angel's chest and crushed her heart, the angel's life force was completely transferred to the little one, replenishing what she had consumed.

If Angela is a raging fire, then the angels are the tinder—their actions are utterly meaningless except to make the flames burn brighter.

However, as Angela tightened her defenses, some of the angels managed to dodge the little guy's attacks. They adjusted their formation, flapped their wings, and flew towards the Ringwraith City. But even if these angels managed to escape Angela's massacre, it didn't mean they would be able to reach their destination safely.

Huge, storm-swept chains formed a vast, dense net, trapping the angels like birds in a cage.

"This is a dead end."

Catherine floated in the sky, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on the white legion before her.

"I personally suggest you change your approach."

Unfortunately, even those angels who changed direction were unable to achieve their goal.

"My fellow countrymen who have been misled by evil gods."

Gabriel, wielding the spear of light, led the angels to stand in front of his brethren.

"I am Archangel Gabriel. I urge you to heed my advice and withdraw from this war. What you are doing is not an act of kindness and justice, but an act of falling into evil!"

"As things stand, there are no problems for now."

Li Lin withdrew his gaze from the battle situation before him, his expression grave.

"The attached cities have successfully returned to their original positions, Li Lin."

Nia began to report.

"We are fully prepared, and we can begin the ceremony immediately once the Great Book of Law appears."

"I don't know if the Goddess of Theft can successfully complete his mission; I'm not going to put all my hopes on those guys."

Li Lin gazed at the fierce battle raging in the sky, where white and black, blood and iron, magic and divine arts were locked in a life-or-death struggle. The white clouds shifted and changed shape, with specks of white occasionally falling and disappearing into the sky—the corpses of angels, or perhaps things that had once been corpses. The holy light barrier had spread, and the million-strong undead legion had been annihilated in the first contact. On the ruins of the royal city and the plains, those dark figures were no longer visible; only dust marked their existence, but that was all.

"Notify Nisi to be prepared, to be ready at any time to take over the management of the elves from the Elf Queen. If the gods fail, I will isolate the Prime Material Plane immediately. The elves, without the protection of their goddess, will become restless, which is not what I want to see. As for the Dark Elf, they have already tasted the bitterness of losing the protection of their gods, so they shouldn't panic too much."

"What about those Angel Legion, Li Lin?"

Upon hearing Nia's question, Li Lin remained silent for a moment, a rare occurrence.

"It depends on Gabriel Gabriel's fate. If we can bring her back, then I wouldn't mind accepting her. In the worst-case scenario, preserving this little archangel would also be a good option. After all, her power comes from within, not from the gods, so I think she should be able to withstand this level of blow. In any case, the existence of the gods is necessary to restore order. At the very least, we need to preserve some seeds for them."

As the angels fought valiantly against their enemies, the Ringwraith City began to slowly descend, and the earth, Ringwraith City by its protective weight, began to collapse, forming a massive circle. The other vassal cities continued to hover around the Ringwraith City, following their own trajectories and orbits, revolving around it like satellites. Magical light emanated from the central tower of the Ringwraith City, enveloping all the floating cities within its embrace.

Li Lin continued to wait.

Up to now, most of the changes have been under his control. As Li Lin predicted, since the war with the Federation, the God of Justice would no longer consider using an avatar to travel to the Prime Material Plane, and the war in the Astral Plane completely dispelled his idea of confronting Li Lin head-on on the battlefield. Therefore, he resorted to such extreme measures to attack the Prime Material Plane. In any case, Li Lin is just one person; he cannot destroy the Mount Celestia plane. As long as he remains in Mount Celestia, the God of Justice holds absolute initiative, so he is certain that Li Lin will not come to Mount Celestia to cause him trouble.

Thus, due to the limitations of the dimensional plane, this war became a full-blown war of attrition. Neither side could penetrate deep into enemy territory for decapitation strikes. Similarly, due to the suppression of the dimensional plane, neither Li Lin nor the God of Justice would appear on the front lines; they would remain firmly in the rear, observing the battle from the sidelines. And now, the God of Justice's actions were exactly as Li Lin had predicted. He was constantly sending angels from Mount Celestia to fight, but he himself could not intervene. Having anticipated this, Li Lin naturally had corresponding means of defense.

However, there was only one thing that wasn't in his plan.

No matter how Li Lin calculated, the chances of the Goddess of Theft retrieving the Great Book of Law were less than 30%. Although he had provided sufficient cover for the Goddess of Theft with the dimensional bomb, Li Lin himself was unsure of the actual usefulness of that untested, half-finished product. If its power was weak, it would hinder the Goddess of Theft' actions; if its power was too great, it would drag his own people into the mess, making the loss even greater.

This made him very uneasy, but Li Lin couldn't do anything about it. After all, gods weren't something he could control at will, and this kind of instability wasn't fatal to Li Lin. If the Goddess of Theft couldn't complete his mission, then Li Lin would simply close the Prime Material Plane and leave, letting those gods fend for themselves. Anyway, he wasn't a god and didn't need to worry about these pointless issues.

Everything is going according to plan.

There were no abnormalities.

However, failure is not impossible.

With that in mind, Li Lin turned his gaze back to the battlefield.

Today is clearly not a lucky day for those angels.

Although these angels, created by the God of Justice and raised on Mount Celestia, possess considerable power—capable of firing arrows from thousands of meters away, easily piercing the chest of their targets; wielding holy swords capable of dispelling most defenses and vanquishing evil; and further aided by the spreading divine aura that gives them a geographical advantage—logically speaking, anyone encountering such an army would crumble instantly, utterly annihilated.

However, that is only according to common sense.

As the angels entered the Prime Material Plane through the dimensional portal, they faced a deathly whirlwind conjured by Angela. Attacks like the Smite Evil and Holy Light were utterly ineffective against her. Although every angel could see her red light, a symbol of evil and immortality, all the attacks they usually used against such beings were completely useless against the little one. Even if the angels resorted to physical attacks instead of divine magic, they could hardly harm Angela's body. Her broad, jet-black wings blocked almost all attacks, and even those that did hit Angela were ineffective—this was evident from the sight of the little one pulling out the spear that pierced her body, burning with holy flames, while laughing as she tore off the poor angel's wings and inserted them into his anus.

Of course, Angela was an exception; even when faced with a god, the angels couldn't have done better. But even so, they didn't gain any advantage over the others.

While deeply influenced by Angela's teachings in divination, Catherine displayed the prowess of a perfect mage in battle. Drawing upon the power of the Glorious Holy Light, she unleashed several dark and malevolent divine spells, using the Chains of Storms to firmly bind the angels. Knowing she was no match for the angels, Catherine focused all her energy on hindering their advance while concealing herself. This left the angels bewildered, unable to catch Catherine rapidly shifting form or even discern whether she was casting magic or divine spells.

The angels facing Gabriel were arguably the most relaxed among them. Although they couldn't match the archangel's power, both sides were angels and very familiar with each other's attack methods. Therefore, this was the only place on the entire battlefield where the angels hadn't completely lost ground. While those angels who fought devils and demons in Hell possessed rich experience, these angels who lived under the watchful eye of the God of Justice year-round wielded far more power. Thus, the situation reached a stalemate and became a stalemate.

Even the angels who managed to reach the Ringwraith City were unable to contribute anything. The well-prepared mages unleashed deadly spells, obliterating them beyond the magical barrier. The elves' longbows were aimed at the angels' wings, rendering them powerless to do anything. On the ground, the Dark Elf combat squads were already on high alert, ready to tear any enemy who dared to set foot on Ringwraith City's soil to pieces.

However, none of these were important to Li Lin; he only cared about one thing.

Will they be able to obtain the Great Book of Law?