Jensen was in disbelief.
Why was Sunan's displayed power so much stronger than their investigations and estimates?
The difference was on an entirely different level!
Even with so many experts dispatched and the assistance of sacred objects, they suffered heavy casualties in just one encounter.
Such power was utterly terrifying!
What was going on?
"Ah!"
While Jensen was still in shock and uncertainty, a slightly weaker legendary knight couldn't hold on, and the starlight enveloping him vanished in an instant. The next second, he exploded into a mist of blood.
Seeing this, Jensen's heart tightened. He dared not delay any longer. Gritting his teeth, he pressed his hand against the book.
Buzz!
The starry sky suddenly trembled.
The surrounding stars hummed and vibrated, seemingly pulled by an invisible force, shooting toward Sunan like meteors and engulfing him in an instant!
Boom!
The roar of star collisions echoed through the void.
The colossal sound seemed to shake the entire space to its core.
The starry sky visibly dimmed, and further away, it became a blur.
Jensen panted heavily, his eyes fixed on Sunan's direction.
This attack had nearly drained the Star Book's energy, leaving just enough to barely maintain the starry domain without dissipating.
This was his final trump card.
If this couldn't deal with Sunan, he truly had no options left.
The silver spikes around the area had vanished without a trace.
Everyone finally had a moment to catch their breath, their eyes riveted on the distant intertwining flames and starlight.
"Did it get him?"
"He must be dead, right? Even a second-circle legendary knight couldn't withstand that!"
"If not dead, at least severely injured!"
The flames and starlight slowly dissipated.
Jensen and the others instinctively swallowed, their eyes widened, yet the scene before them was bone-chilling, leaving them cold as ice.
Sunan stood there leisurely, not a scratch on him. Even his clothes were intact, not a single corner missing.
Unscathed!
"Impossible!"
Jensen's eyes were filled with shock and disbelief.
The Star Book's full-powered attack couldn't even harm Sunan!
The faces of the other two turned ghostly pale, their expressions filled with despair.
Facing such a terrifying opponent, they had no chance of victory.
Sunan glanced at the dimmed Extreme Protection Ring on his right hand, slightly surprised.
He had to admit, that previous attack was indeed formidable.
The Extreme Protection Ring's thousand points of defense couldn't withstand it; only the Magic Rune Core's defense absorbed the excess damage.
In terms of defense value, Sunan estimated the attack's power to be at least between 1,200 and 1,400.
Some weaker level-three wizard apprentices might be severely injured even if they could withstand it.
Redheart was likely severely injured by this move back then.
Retracting his gaze, Sunan looked up at Jensen and the others.
Facing Sunan's indifferent gaze, Jensen and the others instinctively took a step back, their faces pale.
By now, they understood the church had severely underestimated Sunan's strength.
In just two or three years, Sunan's power had grown astonishingly, far exceeding the past.
Even Archbishop Oveich might not be able to defeat Sunan.
But they had no way to relay this information back to the church.
Under their terrified and hopeless gazes, a storm of silver light assaulted them once more, filling their entire field of vision.
In the hall.
The nobles watched as Sunan and Jensen suddenly vanished, exchanging puzzled glances.
"Can Chief Priest Jensen and the others defeat Sunan?"
The current lord of Ya'an City, Viscount Bodeman, wiped his sweat, unable to help but ask in worry.
If they couldn't defeat Sunan, the other nobles could escape, but his territory was here. If he didn't run, he'd die, and if he ran, he'd lose everything.
"Don't worry."
Seeing everyone's anxious expressions, Count Nolay reassured them.
"Chief Priest Jensen came prepared this time and will surely defeat Sunan!"
"Count Nolay is right."
"Sunan is just one person, surely no match for Chief Priest Jensen and the others!"
"Judging by Chief Priest Jensen's confident demeanor earlier, there shouldn't be any problem."
As if to quell their unease, everyone echoed Count Nolay's words.
But despite their words, none had any intention of staying in the hall. They immediately wanted to leave and gather the army to surround the place.
However, just as they stepped out of the hall, they heard a cacophony of shouts and clashes.
"What happened?" Count Nolay frowned and demanded.
A guard immediately stepped forward to report: "Count, there are two monsters in the courtyard."
"What monsters?" Count Nolay looked confused.
Wasn't Sunan entangled with the Spark Church? How were there monsters?
Could it be more stone golems?
But Count Nolay soon found out.
With a loud crash, a nearby wall collapsed, and amidst the dust, a giant lizard covered in black and red scales, with sparks flickering between its teeth, and a jet-black giant spider with razor-sharp forelimbs burst through.
Both monsters were drenched in blood, as if they'd been through a bloodbath, leaving one to wonder how many guards they'd killed on their way in.
"What are those monsters?"
"They're coming!"
"Stop them!"
The nobles' guards, gathered not far from the council chamber, rushed over at the commotion. Seeing the giant lizard and spider, they were startled but still charged under their lords' orders.
These guards were almost all formal knights.
However, once engaged, they realized their prideful strength meant nothing against these two monsters.
The giant lizard easily snapped a knight in half with a single bite, then whipped its tail, sending three knights flying with a loud crack.
While still in mid-air, the sound of bones shattering echoed, their bodies twisting grotesquely, lifeless.
The jet-black spider was even more ferocious, effortlessly slicing a knight in half with a flick of its forelimb, as smoothly as cutting through tofu.
Conversely, their weapons left nothing but sparks on the monsters, not even a scratch.
In less than half a minute, the guards suffered heavy casualties, retreating in defeat.
The nobles turned pale, helpless.
They never imagined the heavily guarded lord's mansion would be breached by two monsters, their knights unable to stop them.
They wanted to call for reinforcements, but with the enemy so close, it was too late to summon troops from the camp.
Moreover, the camp was under attack, and whether reinforcements could arrive in time was uncertain.
"What do we do, Count?"
Everyone turned to Count Nolay.
A veteran of many battles, Count Nolay remained composed, drawing his knight's sword with a deep breath.
"We break through. Once we reach the camp, we'll be safe!"
Viscount Bodeman hesitated: "Shouldn't we wait for Chief Priest Jensen and the others?"
Several nobles instinctively nodded.
If possible, they preferred not to risk a breakout. The two monsters looked formidable.
Their guards could hold out a while, maybe until Chief Priest Jensen killed Sunan. Then, with their help, the monsters would be easily dealt with.
Count Nolay frowned, about to speak when a chilling voice from behind made his spine tingle.
"Too bad, no need to wait."
Everyone turned, shocked, to see Sunan back in the hall.
The Spark Church members were nowhere to be seen.
Seeing Sunan's indifferent expression, their faces turned ashen, hearts gripped by fear.
"W-Where is Chief Priest Jensen and the others?"
Viscount Bodeman stammered, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
Sunan glanced at him mockingly, ignoring the obvious question.
In fact, he didn't need to answer.
Seeing Sunan there and the Spark Church members missing, the nobles guessed the outcome, their faces filled with horror.
The next moment, Sunan raised a finger.
In an instant, lightning surged forth, engulfing the nobles.
Most were knight-level, the strongest being Count Nolay, an intermediate grand knight.
Dealing with such 'minions,' Sunan didn't even bother casting spells, directly manipulating energy particles to form tangible elements, annihilating them on the spot.
After the lightning subsided, charred bodies lay strewn across the hall.
Only Count Nolay's body remained intact, his aged face frozen in disbelief and despair.
A count, slain so brazenly in his domain's heart, would leave anyone feeling indignant.
With the nobles dead, the remaining guards quickly lost their will to fight.
Most fled in panic, while the few loyal enough to seek revenge for their lords were bisected by the Twin-Blade Spider before they could reach Sunan.
Sunan didn't linger, strolling leisurely outside.
Along the way, soldiers rushing to protect their lords were effortlessly dealt with by the Shadow Dragon and Twin-Blade Spider.
A second-circle legendary-level pet and puppet easily overwhelmed these non-knight soldiers.
Even knight-level officers couldn't stop them.
Sunan plowed through, first visiting the Spark Church's branch in Ya'an City before recovering the golems at the city gate and camp, then leaving at his leisure.
The tens of thousands of troops stationed in Ya'an City couldn't even halt his steps, helplessly watching him leave, leaving chaos in his wake.
Soman Province, High Cliff City.
Key stood atop a hill, gazing at the distant castle outline, his eyes glinting.
High Cliff City's unique geography placed it on a mountainside, backed by a steep, 500-600 meter cliff, its smooth face unclimbable even for knights.
Dense forests flanked the castle on both sides, with only a front path accessible to people.
A fortress easy to defend, hard to attack.
If possible, Key didn't want to tackle this tough nut.
But High Cliff City blocked the path to advancing into Soman Province. Without taking it, if the war intensified and High Cliff's troops attacked from behind, cutting off supplies, the consequences would be dire.
Moreover, Soman Province's terrain was mostly hilly. Once High Cliff City was captured, the Blackrock Cavalry's strategic depth would expand significantly, allowing them to isolate and conquer Soman Province's towns.
Capturing High Cliff City would be half the battle won.
That's why he personally led the army here.
This battle was of utmost importance.
"My lord."
Breden approached, handing him a scroll.
"This is the battle report from the rear."
Key opened it, his face lighting up with joy.
"As expected of Sunan, he never disappoints."
Seeing Breden's curious expression, Key smiled, tossing the report over.
"See for yourself."
Breden read it, his face breaking into a delighted grin.
"Count Nolay, Viscount Surik, Viscount Dubi... Viscount Bodeman, a total of twenty-three nobles killed."
"Chief Priest Jensen of the Spark Church also killed, Ya'an City's church branch in ruins."
"The Lake Blue Province vanguard army heavily damaged, estimated casualties over 2,000!"
"Amazing!"
Even the usually composed Breden couldn't hide his excitement at the report.
With such a heavy blow, the vanguard army in Ya'an City, having lost its commanders, wouldn't recover easily or attack Jinmai City anytime soon.
Until new commanders and reinforcements arrived in Ya'an City, Jinmai City was safe from Lake Blue Province's threats.
Whether Lake Blue Province could quickly dispatch new commanders and reinforcements, Breden doubted.
After all, Sunan had said Ya'an City was just the first stop, with many more 'surprises' for Lake Blue Province and the Spark Church.
"With Sunan, Lake Blue Province isn't a concern for now. Stali in Jinmai City can handle it."
"We can't lag behind Sunan. We need to take High Cliff City quickly."
Key, filled with determination, turned to Breden and asked:
"Is the puppet army in position?"
"They're at the designated location!" Breden nodded firmly.
"Good, order the attack!"
"Yes, my lord!"
Soon, a resonant horn sounded.
On the plain below the hill, the Shimmer army, poised for action, began moving, gradually accelerating toward High Cliff City, culminating in a charge.
With towering stone golems leading the way, the imposing army surged toward High Cliff City like a tidal wave.
On the stone-built city walls, the commanders watched the approaching army, especially the colossal stone giants at the front, their faces turning pale.
"Is this Shimmer Territory's Golem Army?"
"Can our soldiers fight these monsters?"
"I heard these golems have knight-level combat power."
Seeing the enemy approach, their morale plummeting, High Cliff City Lord, Viscount Wilkin, interrupted his subordinates' chatter loudly.
"What's there to panic about!"
"This terrain is narrow and steep. The enemy can't deploy their full force, and we have plenty of troops. If we work together, they can't take High Cliff City!"
"I've called for reinforcements from the count. Hold for three days, and they'll arrive, then we'll be safe!"
Viscount Wilkin's rallying successfully restored the defenders' morale.
But then, chaos erupted in the rear.
A soldier rushed over, panic-stricken.
"M-My lord, it's bad, the enemy's army climbed the cliff behind us!"
Viscount Wilkin's face changed drastically. He grabbed the soldier's collar, his face livid, shouting: "Impossible! That cliff is unclimbable even for knights. What army could scale it?"
"Spiders, big spiders!" the soldier stammered, "There are many of them. We can't stop them at the gate, and they're already in the city, heading this way!"
Viscount Wilkin released the soldier, rushing to the city wall to look. Sure enough, he saw dust clouds and figures moving in the distance, huge black spiders rampaging through the crowd, approaching rapidly.
Seeing this, Viscount Wilkin's vision darkened, staggering, almost falling.
His aide quickly supported him, panicking: "My lord, are you okay?"
Viscount Wilkin couldn't respond, his face pale, one thought echoing in his mind.
It's over!
Completely over!
Meanwhile, the heavy footsteps of the stone golems reached the city walls.
The towering stone golems, like charging tanks, crashed into the walls heavily!
Boom!
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