The beastmen who'd arrived were deliberately making things difficult for the boy, they didn't bother with niceties.
"Why didn't you help? You clearly had the capacity to spare help, didn't you?" A burly beastman walked up to Zhou Yun Sheng's carriage and asked. The beastmen had very upfront characters, they bluntly said whatever was on their minds.
Zhou Yun Sheng lightly glanced at him, his deep blue eyes and facial features were more beautiful than an elf's, causing the beastmen to be slightly stunned.
An elf, who was guarding the carriage, heard the dialogue between the High Priest and the Pope and immediately drew a light arrow from his light enchanted quiver, aimed it at the boy and shouted, "He's the Joshua who attacked Boel!" His voice didn't fade before he launched the arrow.
Boel was the elves and the beastmen's great benefactor, the shout shook all those present, and they immediately took up weapons to attack.
Zhou Yun Sheng sneered, lifted an index finger, and summoned a sharp golden light sword to split all the arrows in half. Without even chanting a spell, he instantly summoned a row of light arrows and launched them, turning all the king level archers into sieves. He didn't attack their vitals, just pierced their limbs, leaving them paralyzed in a pool of blood.
"Herman, you and Boel were rejected by the Father. He took back the light in your body, right? No matter how many lies you use to cover it up, sooner or later, your dark heart will be exposed for the world to see. I, Joshua, disdain to travel with you fools. Goodbye, I hope you'll be able to keep your life." He finished this sentence and picked up his knife to carve statues again.
The warriors and the mages on his team got up from the ground and neatly continued the procession, sneering and laughing mockingly. One third of the forest had been covered by demon fog, it was full of dark beasts and devil plants, even if these people had intact limbs they would struggle to survive, not to mention now.
"Too conceited!" Bowen couldn't help but jump out of the carriage, summoning his huge light sword to attack.
When the sword reached the head of the convoy, a burst of bright golden light suddenly appeared, swallowing the sword until it vanished. The wrath of one of the most powerful light priests in the continent was easily swallowed, and not even a small thump was heard.
When the sounds of hoofs faded away, Bowen finally recovered from his shock. He immediately walked to his companions to see their wounds.
Round wounds were spilling blood, the border of the wounds were burnt coal black, a residual effect of being attacked by pure light power. Bowen cast several healing techniques, but he failed to heal even half the wounds.
"How can he have such a mighty power? This shouldn't be possible." Bowen looked suspiciously at the Pope. A man who was dark inside was unable to gain the favor of the Father and be gifted with such powerful light.
The Pope had long prepared for such a question, he said with some difficulty, "Didn't you see his face? Didn't you notice his unique hair and eye color? He is one of the Father's most beloved kind of children."
Bowen shook his head in denial, "No, the Father would never be so superficial. He wouldn't favor a despicable person just because of their appearance. Herman, don't say these kind of words in the future." He was still doubtful, but he no longer pursued it.
At that moment, the light priests that were following the Pope suddenly opened, "His Holiness the Pope, Lord Bowen, we have decided to follow Priest Joshua and travel the mainland, this means goodbye." One finished speaking and bowed, then they ran to catch up to the convoy in front.
Some of the warriors and mages in the know also immediately left. They'd witnessed the splendor on the day of Priest Joshua's baptism. He'd slowly walked out of the golden holy pool wearing the holy robe of God, surrounded by countless golden lights, as if a god had fallen into the world. If they had to use disrespectful words to describe it, his momentum didn't pale in comparison to the Father.
The Father rained red rose petals from the sky for him, anyone with sense could clearly feel his warm love for the child. One was a powerful priest destined to be with God in heaven, the other was a Pope rejected by the Father and covering it up with lies, the reason they changed allegiance was self-evident.
But they wouldn't tell the truth to these elves and beastmen. Everyone in the continent knew that elves and beastmen were the most stubborn races, once they believed in something, they would never change, unless proven wrong by indisputable facts.
From their words and deeds just now, after jailbreak, Boel was most likely hiding in their land. It was blasphemy to protect someone who had been rejected by the Father, they would pay the price sooner or later, so it was best to stay far away from them.
The Pope stared gloomily at the retreating backs of the group of people, then turned back to see Bowen looking at him with inquiring eyes.
He pretended to wave a weary hand, "Let's leave. They have been bewitched by Joshua."
Bowen removed his eyes and led everyone on the road in silence. Several of the wounded were intimidated by the boy's strength and couldn't get rid of the mountain like oppression for a long time.
Zhou Yun Sheng's chosen guide was human, he was not familiar with the elves' territory, so they wandered around for a long while, and after three or four days, they somehow fell behind Bowen and the others. But he always supported the light circle and eliminated any brave dark beasts and devil plants, so even though they were traveling in circles, the journey was very laidback. He didn't accept the Pope's ex-crew members, but he didn't drive them away either, he just silently gave them asylum.
This certainly wasn't something cold-blooded Zhou Yun Sheng would do, but the decision of Brainless Sheng. He was gentle and kind, sensitive and fragile, the most beautiful words in the world could be used to describe him, his character and Rational Sheng's were the opposite.
He would occasionally come out from the subconscious, rest his head on the window sill and look out at the world with curious eyes, then he would hold the Light God's statue in devout prayer.
At the moment, he was preparing to pray when he saw a thick black mist ahead, covering all the trees and the sky, a faint fluttering sound echoing.
The black fog was slow moving forward, approaching the team spread out in front. Everyone took a closer look, then couldn't help but reveal horrified expressions. Where was this a black fog? It was a mass of many, many demon fog infected butterflies. They could spray venom from their mouths and their wings dropped poisonous powder scales. If you encountered one or two, you could easily deal with them, but when you met such an overwhelming group, you could only wait to be corroded into a pool of blood.
Wherever they flew over, it would become a pit of death, even the mighty dark beasts and devil plants were indiscriminately destroyed.
Everyone immediately turned around to prepare for retreat, but a clear voice came out from the carriage, "Gather around me, do not leave my light circle."
A semi-circular golden barrier shrouded the team, and all the butterflies that hit the barrier dissipated into dust. The team slowly moved forward along the opened up road, everything seemed so quiet and laid back without the rumbling of flapping wings.
Zhou Yun Sheng opened up the carriage curtain and sat next to the guide, holding a statue of the Father in prayer. No matter how terrible a demon they came a cross, no matter how dark the outside world was, because of the existence of his Father, he was fearless. The golden light barrier radiated a more brilliant light because of his devout faith, and it even faintly dispersed the black mist.
But butterflies were phototactic creatures, they wouldn't run away because of the destructiveness of the barrier, instead, they gathered in denser crowds. As soon as a group disappeared in smoke, another set would take their place, over time, Zhou Yun Sheng's team became the focal point of the black mist, greatly reducing the pressure on the other travelers nearby.
Bowen's light circle was only a thin layer between them and the butterflies, so they were blinded under the butterflies' attacks. The power of light in his body was running out, and even his scepter was barely lighting up, his forehead and back was slick with sweat.
It's unknown when it started, but the Elf Forest had recently become increasingly dangerous, and it seemed to be trying to assimilate with the dark forest. He'd gone through many disasters, but this was the first time he felt the fear of death. He knew that before long, his light circle would completely disappear, and everyone would be eaten alive by the butterflies and turn into pools of blood.
He anxiously looked around his surroundings and noticed a sudden flash of bright golden light ahead, he immediately shouted, "There's a light priest in front, let's run!"
The crowd immediately abandoned the carriage and ran towards the light source.
"What, it's you?!" After seeing the people inside the light barrier, Bowen felt extremely surprised.
Zhou Yun Sheng had just finished his prayers, he glanced at them with a mild expression. If he was Rational Sheng, he certainly wouldn't give them a helping hand, but the current him was not interested in seeing pointless death. He didn't speak, he just slightly waved his hand to expand his barrier a few yards, enveloping Bowen's team.
A warm and pure light power flowed in the air, in complete contrast to the darkness outside. Bowen could even sense a trace of devout faith from the air that had not yet dissipated, faint godly sounds echoed in the sky, causing his body to unconsciously relax.
He looked at the boy with a bewildered and uncertain look, he couldn't believe that such a gentle and beautiful teenager, as calming as the dawn, was the same despicable person that Boel and the Pope talked about.
The men who had been seriously injured by the boy were afraid to breathe and speak. The atmosphere inside the light circle was too solemn, as if they were not in the wilderness, but in a small temple, causing everyone to be on their best behaviors.
Zhou Yun Sheng saved them, but he didn't want to talk to them, he took out the statue and slowly carved his Father face, his blue eyes filled with warm love.
Bowen's mood couldn't be describe as surprised, but horrified. Without the use of a scepter's blessing, and without chanting spells, the boy could hold up such a huge and strong light circle, and he didn't even have to focus on holding it. His strength must be far beyond his imagination. And, he'd heard that the boy was only 18 years old, a new adult, where did such a strong power come from?
He thought about it and asked out loud, not expecting an answer, but the boy actually calmly replied, "I soak in the trial pool every day for practice."
As soon as these words were said, Bowen fell silent, after thinking for a moment he glanced at the Pope. The Pope's complexion had changed, then he suddenly shouted, "That's impossible!"
Since 800 years ago, no light priest could enter the trial pool. Those who attempted it were all burned to ashes. According to legend, only people with the purest souls could survive.
Bowen had also tried it, but he was only able to dip in a finger before he had to take it out to escape the severe pain. He'd learned that his heart and soul were not pure, and for a long time afterward, he was very ashamed of that.
If the boy could really soak in the trial pool and remain unscathed, he couldn't be the kind of person the Pope and Boel had described. Maybe he was being deceived!
He tried to give his old friend a little trust, but when his eyes touched the ground, he was once again deeply shaken. Everywhere the boy's light barrier enveloped, where the demon fog had stopped touching, the grass had turned back into a green color, and the flowers were competing to bud and blossom in front of the boy. The demonic butterflies thundered as they rushed over, then they quietly burst into dust, and the highly toxic demon fog contained within them was purified.
So holy, the power to recover the life force of living things is not the power of light, it's divine power!
Thinking of this, Bowen's body completely froze. Perhaps he was looking at a demigod or even a god, and he and his tribe had tried to kill him. Light God above, please tell me it's not true!