The Awakening and the War for the Capital

“Gods? It has been a long time since I heard news of the Lord of Radiance.” A flicker of suspicion crossed the Empress’s eyes.

“Let’s talk as we go. We don’t have much time to waste.” A pair of golden wings of light unfurled behind Ceres. With a gentle tremor, she soared into the sky.

Watching the golden-haired girl depart, the Empress’s legs bent slightly before she transformed into a streak of black light, chasing after her. “What do you intend to do? This is Aiya’s body.”

“I know, but we can’t afford to worry about such things right now.” Ceres coughed a few times softly. “Her body truly is frail.”

The most crucial task now was to rendezvous with Sophia. Ceres had already sensed her old friend’s presence. And there was another familiar scent—that fellow… who dared to appear before her again. Did that scoundrel truly believe Ceres would be as kind as Lotia?

Impossible. Ceres, after all, had always been a rather petty girl.

“Where are you going?” The Empress pursued Ceres, her questions incessant. She was contemplating whether she should forcibly intercept the girl to protect Aiya’s physique.

“To find teammates. A clone of the God of Wisdom is here; that mirrored space is her masterpiece.”

“Indeed, it’s the work of a God.” The Empress could not recall any mortal capable of wielding such potent spatial magic.

The process of finding Sophia proved remarkably smooth, especially since this embodiment of Wisdom made no effort to conceal her presence. The verdant glow almost blinded Ceres as they approached.

“Ceres, I thought you were still asleep.” Leaning against a wall, the green-haired girl offered a wan smile. When she spotted the silver phantom in the sky, she knew Ceres had awakened. Only that staff could enable the current Lotia to unleash a domain of such magnitude.

“How many Blood Sacrifice Arrays are left? Lotia can’t hold on much longer.” Ceres gripped Sophia’s shoulder, her red eyes filled with anxiety.

Gods… were they truly like this? The Empress, watching these two deities who seemed just like ordinary girls, felt her common sense on the verge of collapse. Moreover, why did this Goddess, who called herself Ceres, refer to Ziyao as Lotia? Questions, nothing but questions.

“Seven sub-arrays and one main array. Four of the sub-arrays have already been destroyed by Youlan and me, but three remain. The main array is the most crucial; only by destroying it can this blood sacrifice be completely dismantled. Youlan has already rushed over, but she alone isn’t enough.”

Sophia swiftly provided Ceres with the information. She, too, did not wish to see the city ruined by the hands of their fellow Gods’ wrath.

“Here are the locations of the main array and the remaining sub-arrays.” A circular disc appeared in Sophia’s palm. She handed it to Ceres, patting her shoulder with force. “If it truly comes to it, remember to bring Youlan out with you. She and you…”

“Consider this my debt to her,” Ceres replied.

Ceres accepted the disc, then turned to the Empress. “Please send all high-ranking professionals in the city to these three locations. The two of us will go to the main array.”

Though Ceres had intended to go alone, the Empress clearly would not permit it. The Empress nodded, likewise aware of the urgency. Thus, mere minutes later, all the city’s high-ranking professionals sprang into action. They surged towards the nearest Blood Sacrifice Arrays, vowing to utterly crush this conspiracy.

“Brothers, this is the Gods’ blessing! Let’s go, seize those attackers!”

The moment Ziyao’s magic unfolded, the tide of battle in the city had already completely turned. A man in black swung his blade at a youth charging towards him, only to discover in horror that his sword passed through the boy’s body as if he were striking air. But the youth clung to him tenaciously, and the assailant, now immobile, was immediately apprehended by the accompanying city guards.

“Long live my Lord!” The cultist attempted to self-destruct, but found the battle qi within him as stagnant as dead water. He bit into the poison hidden in his mouth, yet it had no effect, as if he had merely eaten a piece of candy.

Such scenes unfolded across the Imperial Capital. Once the men in black lost their advantage in strength, even a few ordinary citizens could pin them to the ground. Or rather, ordinary people proved to be the cultists’ biggest problem.

These men in black possessed immense strength; their attacks were far beyond what ordinary people could withstand. Normally, every strike they delivered would be a lethal blow. However, the magic now shrouding the Imperial Capital—the Blessing of the Flowing Lord—denied the advent of death. When a lethal attack landed, the spell would activate, nullifying that particular strike.

If you deal a hundred points of damage, but I only have ten health, your attack is nullified due to this magic.

This was the predicament now faced by these men in black. While this magic would not allow anyone to die, it could certainly leave them half-dead. And the attacks from the ordinary residents could slowly chip away at their health bars until only a sliver remained. The cultists, meanwhile, were utterly incapable of counterattacking effectively because every swing of their blades was registered as “lethal” and thus nullified.

Large numbers of cultists were pushed down by residents, beaten severely by a flurry of fists. At this moment, the battle that would decide the fate of the Imperial Capital had truly begun.

Boom—

A colossal red lotus bloomed in the western district of the Imperial Capital. The Guild Master of the Alchemists’ Guild smoothed his robes, his eyes fixed on the blood-red array emanating an ominous aura. The Empress’s information was correct.

A group of black-clad Abyss cultists lay half-dead around the array. The Guild Master’s command over magic was far beyond what these hastily trained failures could ever hope to match. When he said half-dead, he meant half-dead—such was the power of a seasoned Sage.

This array, however, was proving to be somewhat troublesome. Lotus-like flames entwined around the Guild Master as he floated beside the array, beginning to reverse-engineer its workings.

“Senior, do you need my help?” Just as the old master was concentrating on studying the array, a Martial Saint who had been a little further away arrived.

“Rand, you’ve arrived just in time.” The Guild Master pointed his staff at a node within the array. “Aim here. At the count of three, strike this node with all your might, understood?”

“Understood.” The Martial Saint nodded. He lacked deep knowledge of magic arrays, but the man before him was a world-renowned Grand Sage, so he simply needed to follow the old man’s orders.

“One.” A ball of fierce fire ignited in the Guild Master’s hand.

“Two.” The flame transformed into a long spear. Fire Spear Art—a fire-elemental attack spell similar to Ziyao’s Water Spear Art, inflicting moderate damage but boasting excellent penetration and precision. In this situation, it proved more effective than higher-tier magic.

“Three.”

The fire spear shot forth, piercing through the magic node of the Blood Sacrifice Array. On the other side, the Martial Saint erupted with azure battle qi. Wielding a longsword, he thrust a lightning-fast strike at the array.

The node was instantly shattered. The blood-red light dissipated, the magic stopped flowing, and the Blood Sacrifice Array was destroyed.