At the southern edge of Jiuli City, the old chieftain stood at the wall's edge. Gazing down at the two cardinals in red standing before the Church's army, along with eight bishops in purple and two legion commanders, he laughed heartily.
"Two Saints, ten Star Diamonds, all mobilized to this isolated city in the desert, led personally by the head of the Curia. The Church truly holds our Jiuli clan in high regard."
Saint Louis Soladacin, dressed in a crimson robe, stood at the forefront of the black-armored legion. Hearing the old chieftain's voice, he looked up at the figure on the wall and gave a polite bow.
"We must be cautious when dealing with the last of the Dragon Rider clans."
The old chieftain nodded, but his expression suddenly shifted. His tone turned sharp as he roared, "But you have not been cautious enough! Today, I will make you pay with your lives for the destruction of the Jiuli clan!"
With those words, the old chieftain leaped into the air, his robes billowing in the wind. The power of a Saint at the peak of his cultivation suppressed the battlefield, locking onto the two cardinals opposite him. The battle had officially begun.
Under the command of the two legion commanders, the Church's 200,000-strong army surged toward Jiuli City, their momentum overwhelming. Enchanted boulders inscribed with siege-breaking runes were catapulted high into the sky, crashing down on Jiuli's walls with unstoppable force.
The walls of Jiuli City lit up with a golden shield, the city's protective barrier. As the boulders struck, the shield rippled with shockwaves, vibrating under the relentless barrage. On the walls, powerful bows and giant crossbows unleashed a continuous rain of fire, occasionally mixed with long-range knight skills. Using the advantage of their elevated position, the defenders managed to momentarily hold back the Church's ferocious assault.
Yet the black-armored soldiers seemed endless. For every one that fell, more stepped forward. The Judgement Army was the Church's elite force, recruited under strict criteria. While their moral character might be lacking, every soldier was a devout follower of the Church, unhesitant to lay down their life for their cause.
Among the attackers were not only the black-armored Judgement soldiers but also the red-and-white-clad Paladins of the Light, shadowy Dark Templars cloaked in gray, and priests of the Church in their clerical robes. Powerful long-range skills precisely targeted the Jiuli defenders on the walls, creating significant trouble for those trying to protect the city.
As the enchanted boulders continued to rain down, the city's protective barrier, once unyielding, began to flicker, on the verge of shattering. Under the Church's relentless and reckless assault, even with the advantage of terrain, the Jiuli clan's casualties were beginning to mount. Now, only those of Gold rank and above were barely holding the line.
The bodies of Judgement soldiers piled up layer by layer at the base of the wall, forming a slope of corpses against the city's defenses. The death toll had already reached tens of thousands.
Another boulder struck the golden shield, which flickered before finally going dark. The two legion commanders of the Judgement Army's eyes lit up, and they reacted immediately. Under their command, the Church's Platinum-ranked warriors began a collective charge, braving the storm of arrows and knight skills raining down on them, using the mountain of black-armored corpses to scale the walls of Jiuli.
As the city teetered on the brink of falling, the old chieftain let out a soft sigh and waved his hand toward the distant horizon. Sixteen figures emerged from the yellow sands outside the city.
These sixteen moved through the air with the power of the heavens and the earth. Their appearance was like candles being lit in the dark, shining brightly—they were all Star Diamond-ranked warriors. Leading them were none other than Li Ao's parents, Li Zhuo and his wife.
This group of warriors was like sixteen sharp blades, slicing into the Church's ranks, immediately disrupting the siege. Li Zhuo, at the forefront, was a match in power for the cardinals, having already reached the Saint rank. Among the Church's forces, some seasoned veterans gasped in shock.
"Dragon Rider Guard!"
The Dragon Rider Guard—a name that had vanished from the Western Continent for a thousand years—was akin to the Church's prophets or the Templars of the Holy Sanctuary, a special unit unique to the Dragon Rider clan. In the past, the thousand-strong Dragon Rider Guard had been an unstoppable force, their prestige unmatched. But now, all that remained was the last defiant stand of the Jiuli clan.
The sixteen warriors tore through the black-armored ranks, moving through the army as if they were walking through a barren wasteland. The Gold and Platinum ranks, usually revered by many, became mere spectators in this battle.
The eight bishops in purple and the two legion commanders had no choice but to face this deadly force head-on. Four of them engaged Li Zhuo, the Saint, while the other six led the Judgement Army's Platinum-ranked warriors to confront the remaining warriors.
As the two cardinals prepared to assist, the old chieftain had already arrived. Lightning crackled in his hands as he struck at the two cardinals with a force that shook the battlefield.
Feeling the overwhelming power of the old chieftain's attack, Soladacin's expression grew grave. The only other person he had ever felt such pressure from was the Pope himself.
"Together!" Soladacin didn't hesitate to call for assistance, and his companion joined him in facing the old chieftain's unmatched power. The three Saints collided with a thunderous force.
Soladacin's face paled as he suffered an internal injury, silently thanking himself for not underestimating the old chieftain. But the old chieftain pressed his advantage, laughing wildly as he continued his ferocious assault, showing no signs of weakening even while fighting two opponents at once.
On the city walls, the thunderous sound of war drums echoed as the horn of battle was blown. The people of Jiuli began to sing their battle song, their spirited voices reverberating across the battlefield, stirring the blood of all who heard.
One by one, the warriors of the Jiuli clan leaped down from the walls, charging fearlessly into the seemingly endless black-armored army of the Church, which stretched like a dark cloud across the land. With the city's protective barrier shattered, there was no longer any point in defending the walls. Now, they sought only to take as many enemies with them as they could before falling.
Blinding flashes of skill, the clash of blades, and the sparks from swords ignited the fury and madness within each heart, heralding the start of the most brutal close-quarters combat. The black tide of the Judgement Army was scattered, and the battlefield in front of the city split into countless smaller skirmishes.
Roars of fury drowned out the cries of pain. Those who fought without fear of death would not cease their sword swings until they could swing no more. The battle pushed beyond the city walls, stretching hundreds of meters across the land. The battlefield, like a massive meat grinder, finally revealed the end of the seemingly endless tide of black armor.
Yet, after a time, the cries of battle began to fade. Compared to the Church's 200,000-strong Judgement Army, the numbers of the Jiuli clan were far too few.
Seeing the irreversible decline of his forces, the old chieftain glanced at the two cardinals who, even combined, could barely hold him at bay. His eyes flashed with a crimson light. The blood within him boiled, and a blood-red rose blossomed at the center of his brow, its seven petals eerily beautiful.
As blood-red lines spread across his body, the old chieftain's aura surged to new heights. In a flash, he appeared before the two cardinals, his eyes blazing with lightning, his hair and beard standing on end.
The secret technique of the Jiuli clan—Thunder Prison!
A powerful electric field enveloped the two cardinals, paralyzing them momentarily.
The secret technique of the Jiuli clan—Void Severance!
An invisible wave distorted the space around them, cutting off the connection between this part of the world and the external flow of energy. At the Star Diamond level, one could draw power from the world's energy, and at the Saint level, one could achieve unity with heaven and earth, making death difficult to come by. The Void Severance was designed to counter this.
In an instant, the old chieftain severed the link between this battlefield and the outside world.
As the two cardinals recovered from their paralysis, the old chieftain's lips curled into a grim smile. He unleashed the powerful attack he had been preparing.
"Heaven's Wrath!"
His voice boomed with authority as the space around them began to collapse inward. In the clear sky above, thunder cracked, and blinding white lightning descended from the heavens.
All the lightning converged above the old chieftain, forming a radiant sphere of light, brighter than the sun, which he then hurled forward.
A deafening explosion echoed across the desert, originating from the old chieftain and spreading in all directions, drowning out the sounds of battle. A chain of lightning, stretching from the old chieftain, struck the two cardinals and the black-armored Church soldiers behind them.
The earth split open, clouds shattered, and a powerful vortex of wind swept across the battlefield, hurling people hundreds of meters away. In its place was a deep trench, several meters wide and tens of meters deep.
The air crackled with lingering arcs of electricity, drifting in all directions.
Above the battlefield, the figures of the old chieftain and the two cardinals stood frozen in place. Under the watchful eyes of all, the three of them plummeted to the ground like birds that had lost their ability to fly.
A gust of wind blew, and their bodies turned to ash, scattering into the vastness of the heavens and the earth.