Stonewood Fortress was the second city in Bardi's Perpetual Moon Commandery. It was also the final line of defense for Bardi's capital, Perpetual Moon City. If Stonewood Fortress fell as well, it would be the same as declaring that the entire Perpetual Moon Commandery had fallen.
However, in the recent "Holy War", Bardi had lost this important barrier.
Now that Bardi's famous and prosperous prefecture had fallen, it meant that nearly two million people had fallen into enemy hands. Bardi had also lost control of an equivalent amount of resources and land.
Bardi's eastern frontlines had been defeated far too quickly, to the point that the civilians in the rear hadn't been prepared at all. Most of the civilians, including Duke Evermoon, hadn't been able to evacuate in time and became prisoners of the Holy War. The Holy Church had also obtained an unprecedented victory and glory because of this.
Unlike the Bardi Empire's newly acquired barren lands, this prefecture had a large population and was rich in food, herbs, and handicrafts. It had been an important territory for the Bardi Empire since more than three hundred years ago. Not only did the Bardi Empire's loss deal a blow to the Bardi royal family's reputation and prestige, it even had a negative impact on the Bardi Empire's national power.
After the sudden arrival of reinforcements, when the evil dragons hidden among the heretics and cultists were defeated by the giants and angels, Cardinal Stephen, who was already prepared to commit suicide, felt as if he was being assisted by God. No, to be more precise, he was the Son of Fortune favored by the God of Holy Light.
To be honest, even the higher-ups of the Holy Church didn't think that they would be able to win this battle. The veteran general Gordon, who was ranked # 7 on the Holy Church's Famous General Rankings, refused to continue participating in this battle. That was why the Holy Church sent over the former Bardi Diocese Bishop Stephen, who had received a lot of criticism from the Holy Church due to the "stealing of credit" incident. The main reason was that there were no more Bishop level members of the Holy Church who were willing to be the leader of the Holy Church.
"Since you're already destined to take the blame and step down, then it's the same to take one more blame."
Reality had already proven that a leader who appeared out of nowhere might not necessarily be there to steal the credit. He could also be there to take the blame. However, if he was lucky, then the blame might become the credit.
No one expected that the legendary cloud giants would suddenly appear on the battlefield at this critical juncture when both sides seemed to be pessimistic about the Templar Expeditionary Army's chances. They even found the evil dragons hidden in the enemy's camp and attacked them together with their allies.
Then, the "allies" that arrived together with the Cloud Giants explained everything.
"Angel! It was a holy angel! We are still blessed by the Lord! "
Humanity's worship of angels had been repeatedly reinforced through countless religious stories. These creatures of Order, which had long since left this plane, appeared, and they represented an irresistible God's prophecy.
Even in that long Night of the Undead, when faced with the world's doubts as to why the Holy Church's allied armies had failed and why the Gods didn't save us, they still managed to explain it as the Gods' test for the world. Such a concept wasn't formed over decades or centuries. As the perfect creatures that were described in the oral records, the angels attracted the entire world's attention. Just because they joined the new Holy Church's allied armies, countless Holy Church members traveled thousands of kilometers to join them every day.
Even though these angels were in an extremely strange state, with their entire bodies covered in unique golden armor and even their faces hidden behind helmets, their explanation of "we're still unable to adapt to this filthy world" was accepted by the church members. After all, the white wings that kept glowing in white and gold couldn't be faked.
No, it should be said that when they saw the existence of the powerful Light of Holiness and Order, looking at these angels wielding blazing longswords to slay demons and vanquish demons, the bishops and most of the priests had already sunk into a mysterious religious fanaticism.
Halent's defeat wasn't unjust. This was an angel army consisting of five hundred angels. An adult angel was only slightly weaker than a dragon, and a fully-armored angel warrior's power level couldn't possibly be lower than the Gold rank.
The entire Holy Church's allied armies were no longer discussing the unfinished battle, nor were they considering how to deploy troops. They were all filled with joy at the impending victory in the Holy War. They believed that under the guidance of the holy sword of light, all the filthy heretics would be purified by the Holy Light, while all the heretics who deserved to die would be burned at the stake.
This fanaticism didn't only spread among the Holy Church's allied armies. Even ordinary soldiers and Holy Church members were filled with joy as they stared at the divine light. They wanted nothing more than to rush onto the battlefield and kill to their heart's content.
"… Something's wrong here."
Only an extremely small number of Holy Church members were still able to maintain their calm. One of the best among them was the 'Miracle Hand' Estrada, who had just arrived on the battlefield. Estrada had originally refused to participate in the battle, but Pope Roland had given him a strict order to arrive on the battlefield within a certain time limit. Estrada had originally come to save the day, but he hadn't expected such a situation.
Although Estrada had never seen an angel before, he had already come into contact with the half-angel Aivla and Roland, so he had a good understanding of the pure creatures of Order known as angels. However, although these five hundred angels were brimming with pure Holy Light, they didn't feel like warm suns. They felt like icy blades, completely different from Aivla and Roland's Holy Light.
"Although Aivla's Holy Light is pure, it has a fiery fury to it. Her power is especially effective against the undead. Roland's Holy Light is so pure that it can be used as a lamp. It's unprecedented, but actually, it doesn't have much offensive power. It's just like the harmless sunlight. And when we met again in the Northlands, the Holy Light's purity seems to have increased yet again. However, that sun-like warmth hasn't changed at all. That Holy Light won't reject any lifeform from sharing it with it. "
Powerful individuals all had their own unique energy characteristics. The energy that leaked out would also have their own emotions and characteristics. Perhaps Holy Light itself wouldn't be any different, but it would be different once it touched the human heart and soul. No one's energy waves would be exactly the same as everyone else's. And it just so happened that these five hundred angels before him didn't even have the same energy characteristics. Their overflowing Holy Light even lacked the most basic emotions of living beings. It was as if they were nothing more than emotionless tools.
If it had been anyone else, they would probably have been shocked by the angels' astonishing Holy Light capacity. Every single angel's energy level was above that of a Legend. However, the strongest Holy Knight had already reached the pinnacle of Holy Light. He could even use the Holy Light's energy waves to sense the acolytes' talents and morals. This was why he had been especially fond of Aivla, Roland, and the others. However, when he saw these legendary angels that had descended to the mortal plane, he found it rather difficult to accept.
"… In battle, the pupils of an angel's eyes will only instinctively change. Holy Light doesn't have a shred of passion. Even in desperate situations, there won't be a single ripple of emotion. None of the angels have any emotion at all. Are these the gentle and kind angels of legend? This is practically, practically … "
Estrada didn't show it on his face, but he was hesitating and considering things in his heart. He had come into contact with Law and Roland in the Northlands. Although the higher-ups of the Holy Church were increasingly on guard against him, he now had new understandings and thoughts. At the very least, his view of Holy Light was now more neutral and rational.
And when he looked at those ice-cold armor and holy white wings, the strongest Holy Knight's battlefield senses told him the truth. These angels didn't seem like ordinary creatures.
"… These angels are like mass-produced, emotionless killing machines. They don't even blink in desperate situations. It's not because they feel the honor of sacrificing themselves. It's a coldness that makes the most of them. When they see their companions die, it's just like how they see a weapon damaged. "
Estrada didn't say any blasphemous words. However, he wasn't the only one who felt this way. Unlike the religious believers who had fallen into a mysterious frenzy, most Holy Knights were usually busy with their own work and missions. They were unable to live in comfortable churches all year round like priests and bishops. Traveling around the world to eradicate evil was part of their daily lives. Even the Holy Churches had to come into contact with ordinary people in towns and cities. The more secular Holy Knights had some doubts after coming into contact with the angels and seeing how the angels performed on the battlefield.
What happened next caused these doubts to widen into cracks.
"Cleansing? Slaughtering entire cities? Entire prefectures? Those angels requested this? What kind of joke is this? These are two million people! That's two million lives! "
While the mega empire Bardi was stuck in a stalemate, the quasi-mega empire Ottoman Empire seemed to have a chance to turn things around. Of course, the prerequisite was that they were able to survive this huge wave.
In the past three months, the Queen of the Storms, who had suffered losses in certain aspects, discovered that she wasn't targeted by Ayer at all. Everything that happened previously was just a misunderstanding. She felt that the faith of the Seafolk had wavered due to the defeat in the war, so she didn't hesitate to personally take action.
Wave after wave caused the coastal cities of Bardi to suffer greatly. Although the Sea Tribe warriors who had come ashore along with the wave were unable to settle down there, the meat and wealth they had plundered was more than enough to feed these Sea Tribe warriors who had just joined the battle. After all, the Sea Tribe warriors' appetites weren't as large as the Sea Tribe's in Rain City. The Sea Tribe leaders' achievements in this battle gave them the right to move to Rain City.
Some of the unlucky coastal cities managed to survive the crisis, while others had their city walls breached by the seawater. The sleeping residents were massacred. Perhaps they should thank the Queen of Storms for her "benevolence". At the very least, she didn't send out her iconic sea monsters to massacre ordinary people.
But on another level, the sea monsters were already busy at Rain City's frontlines. Lady Storm had already sent out all the sea monsters she had under her control. Perhaps this was the key.
If the coastal residents who were slaughtered were livestock in a slaughterhouse, then Rain City's frontlines would be a meat grinder.
When the Sea Tribe and Lady Storm began their counterattack, new Sea Tribe members and sea monsters would appear in the rising seawater. They would follow the waves and advance. The mountainous whales were actually used as one-time-use siege hammers. Their shattered bodies would often be mixed with the shattered stones of the city gates. However, there would be no survivors in the rooms where the gates were pried open.
In less than two short days, all the small strongholds outside the large fortresses were completely destroyed. The waves and giant fish transformed the trenches on the battlefield into puddles and quagmires.
When the Ottoman elite battleships and powerful individuals tried to turn the situation around, they discovered to their astonishment that a large number of Storm Priests were constantly summoning waves, but at the same time, a blue-skinned woman was commanding them to summon giant waves to wash away the entire battlefield.
"… She's actually using her incarnation to participate in a battle between mortals and using her divine power to slaughter mortals? Just how shameless is this Goddess? "
Even though the Holy War had already begun, and the True Gods were no longer forbidden from directly interfering with mortals on a large scale, this was the first time that a True God had directly interfered in a battle between mortals. From a certain standpoint, this was no different from an adult competing with a child or an animal. It was likely that the other True Gods would laugh at him. And right now, Lady Storm was completely shameless.
However, the result of a True God's shamelessness was quite direct. With her help, the Storm Priests had the Rain City's torrential downpour extend over. Endless Sea Tribe warriors arrived, and the Ottoman defenders on the frontlines fell into a bitter battle.
But suddenly, the warriors who were rolling around in the quagmire received a piece of visible good news.
"… The sky is clear?"
While the humans were pleasantly surprised and the Sea Tribe was in disbelief, the never-ending dark clouds suddenly began to disperse. Sunlight peeked through the clouds and illuminated the blue-skinned woman's face. This noble Goddess was filled with astonishment, disbelief, and even fear.
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