CA – Chapter 122

Chapter 122

The Red-robed Witch's Dark Domain obstructed their vision. Both the Holy See and the Elves were forced to stop their attacks on the strange beast and instead focus on breaking this troublesome Dark Domain.

However, they couldn't find the Black Witch's true body for the time being. So, after one Dark Domain was broken, a new one would quickly appear, making it incredibly annoying.

Without the cover of light magic and longbows, Faye and the dark elves all suffered injuries of varying severity from the strange beast's counterattacks. Moreover, a Gorefiend was watching them menacingly from the side.

After the Gorefiend appeared, its target was very clear. It didn't go near the strange beast at all, only chasing and attacking the Red-robed Archbishops who were casting light magic from safe positions. This forced Reese, Audrey, and Vogt to abandon their nearly completed spells several times and retreat to other locations under the protection of the Holy Knights.

Reese gripped her staff, her expression cold. The ground beneath her feet was shaking violently from the heavy blows of the Gorefiend and the strange beast. Chunks of earth fell from above as if the place was about to collapse at any moment.

She suddenly stopped, raised her eyes to discern the direction in the white mist, and pointed behind them, saying faintly, "This way."

The Holy Knights and the bishop protecting her were stunned for a moment, but they didn't dare to object and had no choice but to head in the direction Reese indicated.

The further they walked, the fainter the roars became, until they eventually walked right out of the Dark Domain's range. The temple exit was not far away. The Holy Knights and the bishop looked at each other, but no one dared to speak.

Reese stopped in a position where she could safely escape even if the temple collapsed the very next second. She nodded in satisfaction, gestured for the bishop to stand behind her, then raised her staff and began to chant a spell.

A thick white fog obscured their view, and they could no longer see the positions of the Gorefiend and the strange beast. Their light magic could only attack the Red-robed Witch's Dark Domain. The white fog was torn apart by a golden light, revealing a ghastly white bone bridge that stretched out of sight. Following the direction of the bridge, she saw the statue of the Earth Mother looming in the mist. Before she could get a clear look, the fog thickened again.

That statue hadn't been there when they entered the temple. Reese stroked her staff, lost in thought as she gazed in the direction of the bone bridge. A bishop came up behind her and asked, "Archbishop Reese, aren't we going to help Head Inquisitor Audrey and Archbishop Vogt?"

What the bishop really wanted to ask was, Is it really okay for us to just run away like this?

Reese returned from her thoughts. Seeing the worried and uneasy expressions on everyone's faces, she curled her lip and said nonchalantly, "Haven't you noticed the signs of the temple collapsing?"

"We're scouting a path ahead and covering their retreat before the collapse. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"This..."

"Hm?"

"No, nothing."

On second thought, Archbishop Reese's words weren't wrong. If the temple collapsed, they would have to retreat. The Godhead was important, but not so important that they should trade the lives of two Red-robed Archbishops and a Head Inquisitor for it, especially since they might not even get the Godhead in the end.

Archbishop Reese was just being prudent. The bishops exchanged glances and all silently returned to their positions, raising their staves to join Reese in attacking the Red-robed Witch's Dark Domain.

With Reese and the others attacking the Dark Domain from the outside, the pressure on those inside the temple lessened slightly. Moreover, the domain being broken several times allowed them to discover the suspicious Earth Mother statue and the bone bridge extending toward it.

Tang Qiu, who was resisting the combined attacks of the Gorefiend and the strange beast, also noticed the statue. She took a direct hit from the Gorefiend to lure it near the strange beast. Compared to the Gorefiend and the beast, Tang Qiu's figure was truly minuscule.

She was more agile and faster than both of them, weaving between the Gorefiend and the strange beast. Several times, she made the Gorefiend's fists land on the strange beast. After being struck a few times, the beast grew enraged. It gave up on the uncatchable Tang Qiu and turned to face the Gorefiend, which was of a similar size.

The Gorefiend's target was Tang Qiu and the others, so it completely ignored the strange beast's attacks. But the beast's fury was not so easily extinguished. It swiped a claw and knocked the Gorefiend over.

With a loud crash, the Gorefiend's massive body fell to the ground.

While the strange beast and the Gorefiend were facing off, Tang Qiu quietly retreated. She entered the palace, about to take out a few bottles of Holy Water of Light to soothe her aching arm. The blow she had taken from the Gorefiend had left half her body feeling numb.

A bottle of Holy Water of Light, already uncorked, was brought to her lips. Tang Qiu froze for a moment, then looked up to see it was Lucille.

"I'm fine." Tang Qiu took the Holy Water of Light and drank it down. Seeing Lucille's cold expression and the worry in her eyes, she spoke softly to reassure her.

Lucille didn't speak. Instead, she lifted a lock of Tang Qiu's hair that hung in front of her. There were red bloodstains on the white strands. She brushed the blood away, then brought the hair to her nose and sniffed. Her expression eased slightly when she realized it wasn't Tang Qiu's blood.

The Gorefiend didn't respond to the strange beast's attacks, merely dodging while continuing to advance toward them. It was impossible to hope they would kill each other. Tang Qiu looked up, gazing at the massive bodies of the beast and the Gorefiend, her eyes flickering as she pondered something.

Lucille followed Tang Qiu's gaze and said faintly, "The temple is still sinking. It's not too late to retreat now."

If they couldn't deal with the strange beast and the Gorefiend, they would be trapped here, unable to investigate the temple. If they dragged this out, it would be difficult for them to leave once the temple sank to a certain depth.

The Godhead wasn't a necessity for them. Lucille felt there was no need to take such a risk.

After a calm analysis, Tang Qiu's thoughts aligned with Lucille's. But the memory of the tall statue and the faint outline of the bone bridge that had appeared in the center of the temple when the mist cleared left her feeling uneasy. She called Erin over and asked in a low voice, "What use does a Godhead have for the Black Witches?"

The Godhead of the Earth Mother wasn't the Godhead of the Dark God. Black Witches could only sense dark elements, so a Godhead should be of little use to them.

But from their actions, it seemed they were determined to obtain the Godhead.

Erin was also puzzled. She stroked Little Fur Ball's head and thought hard. "Could it be for Witchcraft?" she said uncertainly. She paused, and something flashed through her mind. Her eyes widened in an instant as she exclaimed, "A Dark Formation!"

Formations often require energy-storing gems to be activated, and a Godhead could be considered a type of gem.

But just how powerful would a Dark Formation have to be to require something like a Godhead? Erin's heart pounded. The answer was so horrifying that her face flushed red. "...We can't let them get the Godhead."

Tang Qiu hadn't thought as deeply as Erin, but given the Black Witches' recent and frequent troublemaking across the continent—not to mention the several dark arrays they had set up by slaughtering entire cities of people, which were still 'missing'—she was also unwilling to let the Black Witches obtain the Godhead.

If the Black Witches were to rule this continent, they would definitely not create a comfortable living environment.

Erin had lived in the Witch City for over a decade, so she knew just how cruel and cold-hearted the Black Witches were. After escaping the Witch City, she could have stayed far away from them. But it was precisely because she didn't want the Black Witches to destroy this continent that she resolutely left her hiding place, determined to thwart their schemes.

Now that she had guessed what the Black Witches might want the Godhead for, Erin was even more determined not to let them get their hands on it so easily.

"We have to stop them," Erin said with righteous indignation.

Lucille glanced at her and said faintly, "Can you stop the Gorefiend and the strange beast outside?"

Mere passion was useless if you couldn't do anything. Lucille did not approve of Tang Qiu taking such a risk.

Surprisingly, Erin wasn't stumped by Lucille's question. She looked hesitantly at the Gorefiend, which was dodging the strange beast's attacks while closing in on them. Knowing there wasn't much time to hesitate, she said vaguely, "...I think I probably can."

Tang Qiu, who was using a healing spell on her wounds, turned her head to look at Erin, raised an eyebrow, and said with amusement, "Are you sure?"

Erin sighed. She gently placed Little Fur Ball, which she had been holding ever since the Gorefiend appeared, on the ground. Seeing it lying there drowsily, her expression turned a little awkward. "Actually, I'm not very sure."

She poked Little Fur Ball with her finger. Little Fur Ball just turned over and continued to sleep.

Lucille looked down and saw Erin trying to wake Little Fur Ball. She frowned and asked, "Does it have some kind of hidden ability?"

She had noticed long ago that whenever Erin was in danger, she would subconsciously rely on Little Fur Ball.

However, Lucille had also observed Little Fur Ball and hadn't seen anything unusual about it.

Seeing that Little Fur Ball wouldn't wake up, Erin steeled herself, picked it up, and threw it at the Gorefiend that was already approaching the palace. With a whoosh, Little Fur Ball vanished into the thick fog.

Erin: "..."

Lucille: "..."

Tang Qiu blinked, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "What are you doing?"

Erin waited nervously for a moment, but there was no reaction from the white fog. Her shoulders slumped, and she turned to Tang Qiu with a mournful look. "It can get bigger. I saw it once... as big as that strange beast."

At the time, they were on their way to meet Tang Qiu. There were many Vampires in the Gosse Empire, and Erin had the misfortune of running into some who were out hunting. At the critical moment before she was captured, Little Fur Ball suddenly grew enormous and crushed the Vampires into a pulp with one paw.

Although Little Fur Ball later returned to its original size and had done nothing but eat and sleep ever since, never growing large again no matter how Erin tried, it was as if what she had seen that day was just a hallucination.

But Erin knew she hadn't been mistaken.

Little Fur Ball was already small, and now with the thick white fog, Erin couldn't find where she had thrown it. She grew anxious, lifting her wide cloak, nearly running out to search for it herself.

Tang Qiu reached out and pulled Erin back into the palace. "Don't worry," she said softly, "I'll go find it."

She had just finished speaking and hadn't even stepped out of the palace when the ground beneath her feet suddenly shook. The white fog was dispersed by a whirlwind. In the center of the whirlwind, surrounded by black mist, a gray beast loomed.

The gray beast was even taller than the Gorefiend. It looked somewhat like a lion, but was far more majestic and imposing. A mane of stiff fur protected its vulnerable neck. Black mist swirled at the tips of its gray fur, and the space around it was slightly distorted.

The beast stared with its gray eyes, lowered its body slightly, and let out a furious, low roar at the Gorefiend and the other strange beast in the temple. The Gorefiend and the beast froze in place, then reluctantly lowered their heads, showing submission to the gray beast.

Erin looked at the gray beast, her eyes lighting up. She pointed at it and shouted happily, "That's it!"

Tang Qiu silently pulled back the foot she had been about to step forward with. She glanced at "Little Fur Ball," then back at Erin, her expression complex.

Only someone as carefree as Erin would raise such a dangerous dark creature like a small pet.

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