As the Holy Light Wall's duration grew shorter, Baldwin's already sweat-drenched, grim face began to twist in frustration.
Reluctantly, Baldwin shouted, "Two minutes left! Priests, prepare to restore my mana. If we can't think of anything, once the Holy Light Wall breaks, we'll have to break through! Assassin, get ready to regroup! I'll carve a path straight ahead, leading the charge. You clear the trash behind me! Mage, prepare to accelerate!!"
Frank clenched his fists, about to speak, but Sincere suddenly stood up, calmly asking Doreen, "Have you learned 'Overload Healing'? I need the Time Walker to cast an area-wide acceleration again, the super-large range one."
Everyone turned to look at Sincere, thinking he might have figured out a way to break the situation, and they all spoke up, "You have a plan?"
"You..." Frank's eyes widened, and his spirit jolted. He said, "We don't need Overload Healing; just fill up my mana, I have 'Overload Spellcasting'!"
Overloading, or overdrawing, was a spellcasting method that drained all potential for some time in exchange for upgrading the current spell, enhancing its effect.
Sincere gave Frank an appreciative look, thinking to himself that 1900 was still a good match, but he shook his head, "It might not be enough. I need a larger range. Doreen, can you do it?"
Doreen gritted her teeth, glancing at the Terror Demon army outside the light barrier, and nodded.
If they didn't give their all now, they'd die immediately. There could be no holding back any tricks.
"Now?" she asked.
"Now!" Sincere answered firmly.
Overload Healing could prematurely deplete future healing power, which, to some extent, was equivalent to increasing the target's mental capacity limit. It was incredibly useful in desperate situations.
Doreen nodded resolutely, stood up, and, in front of everyone, slowly removed the tightly fitted black shirt that she had learned to wear so carefully, revealing the body she had been concealing beneath it.
As the shirt fell away, countless sharp, twisted wounds, resembling centipedes, were immediately visible to everyone.
They were dense, covering her neck, chest, and arms. Her once smooth and fair skin was now marred by an endless array of scars.
Camille frowned tightly, and Frank's pupils shrank in shock.
Sincere raised his eyebrows in surprise, recognizing her identity.
She was actually a follower of DECAY.
"Blood-swapping priest?" Baldwin blurted out in astonishment.
DECAY was the second God of the Downfall Path, the pinnacle of Downfall, and the universe's ultimate tomb.
Its Oracular Deed was to accelerate decay, and so its followers often resorted to self-harm to fulfill this command.
The divine power of DECAY worked like this: the faster a follower decayed, the more divine power they received in return.
This was why they were called blood-swapping priests, as they could trade their own lives to restore the lives of their teammates.
The more they injured themselves, the faster their teammates would recover.
Of course, severe injury could lead to death. The will of DECAY was like that, so finding a balance between suicide and saving others was a topic of constant discussion among blood-swapping priests.
Doreen didn't waste any time. She furrowed her brows, gritted her teeth, and pulled a serrated knife from her waist, without hesitation slashing a wound across her abdomen.
Next, she moved to her ribs.
Then, along the twisted and jagged path of her collarbone, she made a third gruesome cut.
Once the three offerings were complete, she whispered a prayer, "All beings shall decay, everything will rot."
A thick, decaying light poured from her wounds, spreading outward and quickly coalescing into a stream that poured into Frank's body.
Frank felt his body suddenly fill with power, his mental energy completely restored. He felt so good he even wanted to shout with exhilaration.
As he felt the overwhelming strength coursing through him, his confidence returned, though still with some limits.
He looked at Sincere seriously and asked, word by word, "I can 'overload' and accelerate the area around us, but afterward, I'll likely become useless, at least for 12 hours. Sincere, can we last for 12 hours?"
Sincere smiled gently and said, "I don't plan on dying, and I won't."
Baldwin, irritated by their chatter, immediately turned around and yelled, "Enough of the nonsense, let's get to the point! Priest, if you've got a solution, speak up now!"
Sincere nodded, no longer keeping them in suspense, and instructed the group, "The timing is crucial, and I need you to listen carefully. Once the Holy Light Wall ends, I'll need one second to cast. Camille, can you buy me that time?"
Camille tightened her hand that was holding arrows behind her back. She looked up at the Terror Demon army outside the Holy Light Wall and nodded gravely.
"I can swallow Creation Grass Seeds to gain its blessing. This will allow me to release five arrows simultaneously when my reproductive power spikes, but it will only delay them for a second at most." This was the most serious and the longest Camille had spoken.
Sincere had expected she would only be able to do this. He nodded in approval.
Baldwin, looking anxious, shouted again, "You're a priest! What kind of spell are you going to cast?"
"Don't rush," Sincere smiled and shouted loudly, "Harriet, I know you can hear me. Listen to me—immediately after the shield breaks, I need you to come to my side and prepare for Death's Funeral!"
"Death's Funeral??" Everyone froze for a moment.
Doreen, whose breath was weak, widened her eyes. "It's not oppositional... thank goodness..."
"He's a Death Weaver?"
"Do you know he's a follower of DEATH?"
Sincere ignored their confusion and continued, "I know you have a lot of questions, but don't worry about them. You don't need to concern yourself with the realm of death. You only need to harvest when the time is right. Harriet, this moment is crucial for our survival. I'm not joking."
Baldwin grew even more anxious: "What if he…"
"He won't," Sincere interrupted. "Followers of DEATH don't die easily, because their God needs someone to carry out its blessings."
Sincere chuckled to ease the mood, but it didn't help much.
Seeing that no one was in the mood for jokes, Sincere pursed his lips and continued, "Frank, the most critical step—immediately after I cast my spell, you need to release the area's acceleration, targeting the largest possible ruin outside the shielded area."
Frank's expression changed, and he exclaimed in shock, "What? The entire ruin?"
Sincere nodded firmly. "Yes, the entire ruin!"
"Your ladder score... 1500 points?"
Sincere was taken aback, then smiled and nodded. "1501."
Frank obviously didn't believe it. How could someone with 1500 points have such composure and attitude in a life-or-death situation?
He had seen 2000-point experts piss themselves on the edge of death.
"I have to remind you," Frank said, "Time's potential will balance the speed. If the range is this large, we'll be extremely sluggish where we are—possibly unable to move at all! Are you sure? This is a suicide, Sincere!"
Frank suspected that Sincere had hidden his score, but deep down, he was just as uneasy. If it were up to him, he wouldn't have dared to take such a risk.
After all, Time Walkers had always held the highest priority because they could slow down enemies while speeding themselves up, creating a temporal advantage that allowed them to react accordingly.
But if the effect were reversed…
Wouldn't that mean they were completely at the mercy of their opponents?
"I'm sure. You wouldn't want to accelerate yourself!"
"Fine! But how are you planning to do this?" Frank asked seriously, deeply questioning Sincere's plan. "As part of the plan, we need to know how you're planning to lead us to survive."
Sincere grinned, "Me? I'm planning to give them children."
"..."