Chapter 76: Chapter 76: The Broken Spell
On the shores of West Virginia Lake, the battle between the church and the cultists raged on, yet figures like the Forgotten Two, the three-star bloodline wizard Rachel Komnenos, and even the archbishop of the Achaea Diocese, along with half of the divine knights, were no longer by the lakeside. Despite this, the cultists, wizards, and the church's army continued their fierce fight.
The hostages, ordinary citizens caught in the crossfire, suffered the most, targeted by both sides, resulting in countless casualties and a ground littered with bodies.
The surviving civilians cried out for help amidst the chaos of war. At this point, those completely brainwashed by the Storm Church were beyond saving, and the civilians too fearful to anger the wizards had little chance of survival.
What remained were those determined to live at any cost. The wizards had no need for calm civilians, as they could simply extract their life force. In contrast, the church's army required the civilians to maintain their faith in the Storm God, denying the existence of supernatural forces.
As a result, the church's forces were gradually losing ground. These frenzied individuals became even more desperate when faced with dire straits.
"We are the guardians of the divine; we cannot be defeated by evil! The Storm God will protect us!"
"It's all the fault of those fleeing civilians. Get back here and recite your prayers! Even in death, you'll ascend to the Lord's kingdom. Why flee when death is not to be feared? Anyone daring to escape..."
A church knight clad in full armor, wearing a cloak embroidered with the sacred symbol of the Storm God, appeared behind a fleeing woman.
Terrified, the woman clutched her child and pleaded, "Sir, I'm a volunteer from the Simon Territory. Please don't kill me. You promised us..."
In the next moment, the knight's sword cleaved her in two.
"Stand back in place and continue singing your hymns. Disobedience will be met with death."
"Brave sacrifices will lead you to the Lord's kingdom! Do not fear death!"
Despair washed over the civilians from various territories. Helpless, they returned to the lakeshore, standing beside the corpses of their peers, singing hymns with weak and unbelieving voices.
Who would save them? Would they perish here today?
These thoughts raced through their minds, doubting if the Storm God's kingdom truly existed yet desperately needing it to be real.
The scene drew laughter from two one-star bloodline wizards slaughtering knights and church soldiers. They beckoned to the civilians, absorbing their life force and even that of their allies.
Surrounding them, ordinary people writhed on the ground in agony. The wizards then summoned the powerful Wind of Apathy to attack their foes.
One wizard remarked, "The church's hypocrisy is laughable. They preach righteousness, but who knows what they're truly after."
His companion, grinning wickedly, added, "Today, everyone but us will die here. No one can save them. This is survival of the fittest, humanity's ultimate fate."
"Ha ha ha... No one can escape death here."
He drained the life force of an elderly man from the Frank Territory, who collapsed lifelessly.
"Knights, you too shall perish! Rebel against the knights' tyranny, embrace a world of equality!"
As the wizard swung his scythe toward a church knight, he suddenly turned, alarmed by a tremor in the ground, as if something massive was approaching.
Then he saw it—a majestic, sacred angel statue, Soldier One, advancing across the flat terrain.
The sculptor, mistaking it for a religious commission from Sunan, crafted the angel statue Soldier One to perfection.
He also saw ten gargoyles circling above the angel statue's head.
In an instant, the gargoyles descended upon the church knights, soldiers, and cultists, launching an attack.
The sudden third-party assault left both the church and cultists stunned.
Neither the knights nor the wizards understood why a group of gargoyles was attacking them.
The knights were particularly baffled.
"What sorcery is this? How can stone move? How are we supposed to slay them? Must we kill stones?"
"Is that angel statue sent by the Storm God to aid us?"
"These statues are attacking us... They're enemies."
"Damn, swords and blades do little against these gargoyles. They're not flesh; cutting them yields no significant effect."
The wizards, though more knowledgeable, fared no better.
"These are... a wizard's constructs. How is this possible? Who can create such grand constructs in this era? How are there so many?"
"Could it be that native wizard? Did Lady Rachel leave us here mainly to deal with him?"
"What nonsense! A construct army of this scale, and you claim it's the work of a wizard without proper magical lineage? Are you mad, or am I? Wait, why can't my Wind of Apathy hit those gargoyles in the sky?"
Sunan's voice resonated behind him, "The reason is simple: I've analyzed your Wind of Apathy. While it's impossible to use without a wizard's bloodline, my stone guardians possess restructuring abilities and employ related wind magic. A slight adjustment during battle—"
"For example, enhancing their sensitivity to the Wind of Apathy allows them to change direction the moment they sense it within a five-meter radius."
The one-star bloodline wizard broke into a cold sweat, quickly turning to face Sunan, who stood in plain clothes. "When did you get here? Why can't I sense your magic? Are you the wizard lord?"
"And... how did you break our bloodline spell so easily?"
Sunan glanced at him, then addressed the gathered civilians, "All civilians from the Peter Territory, come forward and leave this battlefield immediately. Don't worry about your safety; I'll protect you. As for the others, run if you can, but I won't protect you."
"I owe you no protection."
Allowing them to flee was merely humanitarian.
The civilians, once in despair, now had hope, especially those from the Peter Territory.
Throughout the battle, Sunan was the only one who promised to protect them.
All others demanded their sacrifice, but only Sunan offered protection.
Many survivors from the Peter Territory wept with joy, expressing gratitude to Sunan.
The retreating bloodline wizard grew furious. "Who dares flee? I'll kill you on the spot."
He brandished his scythe, summoning the Wind of Apathy, then looked at Sunan.
He was puzzled.
Sunan hadn't dodged or evaded; he stood still, calmly raising his left hand.
"Ha ha ha... Success! Once hit by the Wind of Apathy, anything can be cut. Fool, you dared to block it. This is the gift of the King of the Empty Eyes—"
The next moment, the wizard's eyes widened, mouth agape, drooling like a confused child.
"How... how is this possible?"
"How can you catch the Wind of Apathy barehanded? Dodging, I could understand, but catching it?"
As the Wind of Apathy touched Sunan's raised left hand, it shattered as if sliced by his hand.
But it was an illusion. Sunan glanced at the white birch sap stabilizing potion in his palm, then used it to contain the Wind of Apathy. "Surprised? Can't comprehend?"
"Stopping thought because of an unknown phenomenon? You're too weak. As I said, I've delved deeply into the Wind of Apathy. It's just a lot of repetitive calculations, but that's nothing to me."
"By suppressing its power with magic at the moment of attack and using a stabilizing potion to contain it, it's achievable."
Sunan tossed the potion forward, releasing the absorbed Wind of Apathy.
The wind carved a trench in the soft lakeside earth, halting the knights, soldiers, and wizards pursuing the fleeing civilians.
The bloodline wizard facing Sunan was utterly bewildered.
He couldn't understand how Sunan had caught his prized spell barehanded.
Couldn't fathom Sunan releasing a spell that belonged to him.
Couldn't grasp Sunan's claim of modifying the gargoyles to evade their spells.
Spellcasting was supposed to be about targeting the enemy and unleashing power!
Why was his vaunted spell so powerless against Sunan?
Sunan calmly observed them. For a first-rank wizard apprentice, opposing a few one-star wizards and knights was like an adult handling children.
It seemed the three factions had entered the wizard's ruins, so it was time for him to accelerate his plan
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