485 Pulled In (1/2)

The dark purple Violet Guardian, the pure black battle dress, the small and exquisite yet dark and thick holy shield, the silver-white longsword etched with simple patterns, and her chiseled features coupled with resolute deep silver-purple eyes… At that moment, Natasha was totally different from her friendly hospitable self. Instead, she was emanating a foreboding air.

Suppressing his surprise, he wondered with mixed feelings of joy and worry why he and Natasha could run into each other at a place like this, and where were the Violet Duchy gold knights and radiant knights under Natasha's command. Under normal circumstances, the South Church would never let the order of knights to be jumbled up. The nobles were only faithful to their own masters. The senior-rank personnel could make arrangements for them, but they're by no means obligated to abide by them.

Natasha must have entered this alternate dimension as the leader of the Violet Duchy's gold knights and radiant knights, so why was she unprotected? Why did she leave her troops?

No, Lucien quickly corrected himself — there was still someone protecting her. Lucien noticed that behind Natasha was a silhouette that almost melded into her shadows. It was ”Blue Tide” Camil in a black dress.

Ramiro did not see Francis as his ally, which means that he was most likely from the North Church. Why was Natasha collaborating with him? The elder in white robes was definitely a senior-rank priest, and the gloomy man seemed to the night watcher ranking nineteenth, level-eight radiant knight, the ”Fire of Purification” Danniel. They would never side with Francis.

Lucien was puzzled. Natasha's brother had died in the war against the Northern heretics, which in turn caused her mother to pass away early. She would never ally with people of the North Church.

Many night watchers kept their bloodline, history, and real name under wraps. However, those with a high ranking were rather famous, and their code name and real name were known by most large organizations. As a result, Lucien had been able to find the identity of his attacker in the spirit library after Ramiro's self explosion. It mattered little whether Ramiro was his real name. That wealth of information provided by the spirit library also allowed Lucien to deduce from the aura and demeanor of the gloomy man that he was the Fire of Purification.

Two royal knights of the South Church, a senior-rank night watcher, a senior-rank from the South Church, and a radiant knight who seemed to belong to the North Church's Executioners — this combination seemed quite strange to Lucien. Maybe it was Sophia who brought this band of people together to form this temporary alliance? Lucien remembered Sophia who had remained out of sight so far. There was for sure something fishy about her father Rudolf II. She herself was not a devout follower either. Coupled with her nobility, she was a prime candidate to become a strategist.

The battlefield was quiet for a short while. Francis and his lot were scared and confused by the strange behavior of the Lord of War, while Antanas looked at them with a mocking smile. He surveyed the surroundings before taunting. ”Just the lot of you? Come at me together!”

He raised the huge war hammer, and the surroundings were instantly transformed into a gory battlefield. Knights on horseback and on foot swarmed out from behind Him. They looked fanatic, battle-ready, and terrifying. In a mere second, he had assembled a banner of knights of at least grand knight status.

Everyone killed by Antanas and his subordinates who had died in battle would enter His semi-illusory frontier of war and participate in endless crusade until even their souls perish.

The key difference between the gold knights and radiant knights was that of the semi-illusory willpower frontier, which could span for several hundred meters. Antanas was undoubtedly developing his powers in the direction of knights.

”Kill!” Antanas roared.

”Kill!” His cry was echoed by the countless knights behind him. Their cries converged into a deafening cry, their lust for battle was so imposing that even senior-ranks took a step back involuntarily.

I am the Lord of War, I am the Leader of Armies!

Antanas and his men charged towards Natasha. As a divine-blooded who honed his skills on the battlefield, he could easily sense that she was the weakest among the enemy

Flags waving, spears raised, and divine spells flew. Francis, Danniel, the senior-rank priest, and Camil all felt their willpower robbed, causing them to react a split-second slower than usual.

Natasha was instead visibly excited. She did not avoid the brunt of the charge, rather, she jumped directly at the war hammer head-on with her shield raised high.

Bang! A small but horrifying crack appeared at the point where the black shield collided with the war hammer. The space around them seemed to congeal and solidify. With the point of impact as the center, shockwaves radiated relentlessly outward, and divine powers and spears from outside the sphere could not penetrate the solidified space.

Natasha's features were tense. She looked so lonely, yet so determined.

”Doesn't she know to dodge! Daring to fight a level-nine gold knight front-on when she's a mere level seven! Even if she had the replica of the level-nine Shield of Truth, she shouldn't be this reckless!” Lucien cursed silently. A part of him wanted to drag Natasha back from the battlefield.

Although she had risen to level seven last year, the difference in power between her and Antanas was still immense. Further, there were plenty of level eight radiant knights around to protect her! She should really take a lesson from Sophia, who was not even showing herself in a situation like this after receiving Rudolf II's teachings.

A tome of heavy divine aura appeared in front of the white-robed elder. The pages turned rapidly while divine light flashed. A huge column of light connecting sky and earth then struck at Antanas.

A layer of what looked like rust and blood appeared on Antanas' body, shielding him from the Sunstrike. However, the knights who were charging with him were evaporated.

He attempted to strike at the elder, but Natasha would never let an opportunity like this to slip away. Her silver-purple eyes were cold, and she struck with her longsword. An otherworldly crack that looked like it could sever anything appeared in front of the swing.

Antanas's gaze tightened and forcibly changed his direction, evading the strike. Then, he struck a flurry of blows at Natasha with the warhammer. In the surrounding frontier of war, the spirit knights materialized once more.

At the same time, the darkness in the sky turned into the sea, crashing down on Antanas.