Chapter 704: Release

While Yu Sheng and the others entered the depths of the Crucible and the Hidden Monastery priest group was still hiding in the secret bunker, orbital bombardment from the Unified Fleet continued to fall on the planet, and fierce fighting was still raging across the surface of the Holy Land.

Massive landing pods descended from the sky with overwhelming momentum, roaring as they crashed into the ruins. Abyss Divers in heavy power armor dropped from orbit and began to suppress the palaces and temples that still showed signal reactions.

Along with the landing pods, troop shuttlecraft carrying elite marine units and various types of atmospheric bombers specifically designed for planetary suppression also entered the atmosphere.

On a plain somewhere in the northern hemisphere of the Holy Land, smoke filled the air, flames rose, and a howling wind wrapped in the rain with the smell of blood swept across the open land.

A marine unit landed at the junction of the plains and mountains. The tactical shuttles deployed shields after landing, acting as temporary bunkers. The squad commander looked out at the battlefield from the cover of the force field and saw more support units descending from orbit to the surface.

Three heavy landing pods had just landed nearby, and the roar of heavy fire came from the smoke. Then another iron-black giant cube passed through the thick clouds—it began to decelerate in midair, the retro thrusters fired briefly, and then the cube disassembled in midair. Countless tactical walkers and collaborative combat robots rained down near the landing pods, beginning to assist the Abyss Divers in advancing toward the mountains.

Further away in the sky, huge flashes could occasionally be seen sweeping across the sky, illuminating the clouds as if to ignite the sky. That was the planetary suppression force in low Earth orbit firing, ceaselessly trying to destroy any cultist ship that might rise from the planet's surface on its launch pad, while also covering more landing troops as they crossed the atmosphere.

At the end of the horizon, deep in the plains, the sea of fire and lightning storms triggered by energy annihilation were still raging. A huge ring-shaped wreck could be seen tilting and collapsing on the plain. Near the wreckage were large building structures that had fallen from the sky, the ground around them reflecting the red flames. There was also a large amount of blue fox fire, shuttling through the smoke as if alive.

That was the already destroyed Gate of Eden.

"What a damn thing..." the landing force commander muttered. The tactical analysis module on his power armor reported staggering energy readings, and the waveform graphs jumping on his helmet display reminded him of the terrifying power still surging within that collapsed ruin. "You just tear something like that apart?"

"This is Advance Squad 23," came the voice of a nearby allied unit over the communicator. "Our mission is to assist you in destroying the anti-air cannon in the north of this area. We have arrived on the surface and are about to approach the assembly point."

"Advance Squad 22 received," the commander immediately responded. "Assembly point safe. Proceed with the plan."

The communication ended, and the squad commander let out a breath. But at that moment, a buzzing sound suddenly came from his power armor helmet, and a red light flashed on the visual indicator at the edge of his field of view.

Alarm bells screamed in his heart. He instantly turned his head to look in the direction indicated by the red light and raised his rifle.

A tall, elegant figure stood in the smoke, and more than a dozen heavy brass-colored armors stood beside her.

A chill went from his head to his feet. The moment he recognized that figure, the squad commander knew something was very wrong—without time to think, he had already instinctively pulled the trigger.

A stream of particle blobs splashed toward the tall, elegant killing machine, but the human's reaction to open fire simply couldn't keep up with the artificial angel's speed. She moved through the barrage as lightly as if strolling in the rain. In the blink of an eye, the blade was already at the throat of the power armor.

The charge of the other brass knights was only a step slower than the artificial angel.

But the expected death did not come.

With every muscle and nerve taut, his heartbeat like drums, the squad commander broke out in a cold sweat as he watched the beautiful-shelled killing machine in front of him simply stop.

She remained in the posture of stabbing with the blade, and the force-field greatswords of the surrounding brass knights were also raised high in the air. But the entire squad had simply stopped, as if a pause button had been pressed out of nowhere.

For a moment, none of them dared to move.

...

Blood seeped into the crystal, and a trace of crimson stained the holy light. The wind-chime-like psychic echoes lingered in the hall, as if some discordant sounds had momentarily mixed in, but in an instant, all noise merged back into that gentle resonance.

Luna looked up and saw light spreading from behind Yu Sheng, like a splash of sunset, crossing all the illusions and reflecting on the wilderness of the soul.

She blinked gently, and when she opened her eyes again, she was standing before that solemn cathedral.

The crystal giant tree's canopy hung over the cathedral, its branches spreading endlessly, like a crystalline firmament.

The cathedral stood beneath the giant tree, its black walls and spires as solemn as death.

Many figures gathered under the crystal tree, and more were arriving from the mist near the cathedral. Some had just arrived in the Soul Wilderness but would soon be guided to this assembly ground.

The knights also reported that some wandering souls lingered by the great bonfires on the wilderness.

Those were knights and angels whose service had exceeded two centuries—their personalities and memories had been completely worn away during the service. To linger by the great bonfire was their remaining instinct, a yearning for warmth and light.

Luna stood on a temporarily generated platform before the cathedral. She took a deep breath, but her expression remained tense.

She was nervous—very, very nervous.

By nature, she was lively and outgoing. In the Soul Wilderness, she could chatter with Yu Sheng for hours without stopping, and when she caught Elin wandering around, she could also jabber and make noise all night.

But she wasn't a big shot. She had never thought she could be a big shot.

Since leaving the village, she had never spoken in front of so many people, let alone guided anything, led anyone.

This seemed harder than she had imagined.

But everyone was waiting for her to speak.

These minds, suddenly awakened from the cognitive shroud, urgently needed to know what had happened.

A gleam of light suddenly emerged from the edge of her vision.

Luna was startled and turned her head to see a blurry shadow floating beside her.

This " Living Saint " raised a hand, offering a translucent candy phantom.

Luna was stunned for a moment.

The other party still didn't speak, but Luna felt she could directly "hear" her meaning.

—If you're nervous, eat a candy. You won't be nervous after eating.

A long, long time ago, when a naive country girl had just boarded the Church's carriage, the brother who handed her candy had said that.

After the long service, that was the only thing she still remembered that was related to "people."

Luna blinked. As a spirit entity herself, she reached out and took that candy formed from an illusion.

After a moment, she took a light breath.

"Everyone, listen to me," she said, turning to face the figures gathered before the cathedral. "I am the same as you..."

...

Deep in one of the underground bunkers in the polar ring zone of the Holy Land, a tense atmosphere was spreading through the air.

Bombing from low Earth orbit continued. News of cities and factories falling came unceasingly. Reinforcements were late in arriving. The defense forces left to resist the heretics on the surface were dwindling.

But at this critical moment, the communication from the bunker in the central sanctuary area suddenly went silent.

Without the orders from the Holy Seat, order was crumbling.

"No news from the central sanctuary area yet?"

A high-ranking sage responsible for commanding the ring zone diocese sat in a high-backed chair, his face grim as he questioned a junior priest who had just been summoned.

A distant roar penetrated the strata. Some surface facility seemed to have just exploded. The underground bunker shook with the vibrations. The lights on the ceiling flickered, and fine debris fell to the floor.

"N-no, not yet," the junior priest replied, his head lowered, his voice laced with humility and tension. "It might be interference created by the heretics' orbital suppression force in the atmosphere..."

"What about the physical communication network?"

"The polar continental shelf was ruptured by fortress torpedoes. All underground and submarine communication cables have been cut..."

The high-ranking priest couldn't help but curse.

Unease churned within him.

He instinctively glanced at the tall figure standing diagonally behind him, and at the brass knights guarding the various entrances and exits of the hall.

These loyal battle machines gave him some peace of mind.

But the next second, unease surged again in his heart like a clinging shadow.

What exactly had happened in the central sanctuary area? Could it really just be communication disruption due to interference?

Before the communication was cut off, other underground bunkers had received a brief signal from the central sanctuary area. During a call that lasted less than a second, there seemed to be faint screams and explosions.

Had the heretics broken through the bunker there?

Many had thought of this possibility, but dared not dwell on it.

How could the place where the Holy Seat resided fall?

There were defense forces there. There were artificial angels and knights responsible for guarding the church's property. And the angels and knights there were definitely stronger, newer models, and greater in number.

How could that place fall—how could it fall so quickly?

The high-ranking priest turned around uneasily again.

The artificial angel was still standing silently behind him.

But suddenly, she tilted her head.

Those inorganic mechanical eyes moved slightly, their gaze landing on the priest.

A flicker of confusion passed through the high-ranking priest's heart—why did she move all of a sudden?

In that instant, he thought he saw a hint of lively intelligence on the face of this mindless killing machine.

Then he had no further chance to confirm whether that was an illusion.

A chill flashed across his neck. His vision quickly tilted. His thoughts slowed. Darkness gradually closed in. The powerful psychic power instinctively gathered had not yet taken shape when it quickly dissipated into the air with the collapse of his mind.

The last thing the high-ranking priest saw at the edge of his vision was the brass knight guarding the hall door suddenly turning, the sword with a decomposition field in his hand sweeping like lightning, cutting a believer who was screaming to run out and report the news in half with a single blow.