The First Pope - Chapter 147

Chapter 147

For the Vampires, who relied on speed to fight their enemies, any kind of restraint would weaken their combat strength. To draw out more of the Light Crystal's power, Cynthia had Chelsea lay not just one or two arrays, but several interconnected ones. The space available for the Vampires to move was not actually small, but the entire formation was filled with divine light power. Combined with the support of the God Race outside, Talia and Harris could no longer move freely.

The tyrannical divine light power burned and corroded their bodies. Talia glanced down at the back of her hand, which had turned to charcoal at some point. Her calm eyes slowly turned violent. She clenched her fist, and the bones, no longer covered by flesh and skin, made a cracking sound.

A Vampire raised a hand to summon a Blood Domain, attempting to block the assault of the Power of Light, but it only held for a few seconds before shattering in the golden light. As soon as one broke, another Vampire would raise a new one. Red and golden light flashed intermittently. Amidst the shifting light and shadow, Talia slowly raised her eyes, her gaze passing over the Wolf Race and the Elves to land directly on Cynthia at the very back. Though her voice was a low murmur, it was filled with endless killing intent. "Kill her."

Her ease and composure had completely vanished, replaced by a shroud of anger and fear.

If she had known this God Race member would pose such a great threat, she should have snapped her neck the first time she saw Cynthia in Ochester.

The Power of Darkness was utterly suppressed by the Power of Light. Harris watched as the Blood Domains were raised and shattered repeatedly, his brow furrowed tightly. The Tzimisce was a clan that placed great importance on appearance; even in battle, they had to ensure their long hair was smooth and their robes were tidy. But this omnipresent Power of Light had left Harris in a sorry state. Forget his robes-even his current body was being burned and damaged by the light. Although the wounds could heal, to him, they were still flaws.

It wasn't easy for a Tzimisce to find a body that satisfied them. Harris raised a hand to touch a burn on his face, feeling a deep sense of regret as a trace of sorrow colored his features.

"What is the deal with this God Race member?" Harris had been in the Blood Domain for a long time. Although he had heard reports from his subordinates about the God Race, he still found it difficult to reconcile the person before him with the weak race he remembered, the one that had hidden and fled alongside humans.

"It doesn't matter what her deal is. She must die." Talia gave a look to the Vampires behind her. All the Second Generation Vampires, except for her and Harris, vanished from their spots.

This array was sustained by Cynthia. If they wanted to get out, they had to kill this God Race member.

Cynthia stood at the center of the array. Before her were the Wolf Race elders in their original forms, protecting her. Further ahead were the Elf warriors led by Olivia. The Vampires couldn't even get past the first circle of protection before being intercepted by a dense rain of arrows. Olivia had swapped her longbow for a staff. Her clear, ethereal voice remained distinct amidst the chaotic environment. A fierce wind, carrying the divine light power, surged toward the charging Vampires. Aided by the wind, the Power of Light became even more tyrannical. The searing heat that rushed toward them made the Vampires instinctively halt, retreating with unwilling expressions to dodge the golden whirlwind.

Olivia intercepted most of the Vampires, but a few stragglers slipped through the Elves' defensive circle and engaged the Wolf Race in battle.

Cynthia held her staff lightly, her red lips moving as she silently chanted an incantation. Crouched on either side of her were two white wolves whose size and presence were anything but ordinary. They were Helen's personal guards, the most powerful warriors of the Wolf Race.

Compared to the Vampires' disheveled state, Cynthia remained elegant and noble. Her long silver hair moved as if in a breeze, and her golden eyes were even brighter than the Power of Light within the array. She calmly observed the situation, her expression serene and unwavering even as Vampires broke through to the Wolf Race's position.

Her palm began to feel a burning sensation, but Cynthia paid it no mind. She glanced down at her staff and muttered to herself, "The crystal left by the Goddess of Light truly needs to be paired with something else related to the gods."

If this had been a staff made of ordinary materials, it would have given out long ago.

There were some burn marks on the hand hanging at Cynthia's side. A Wolf Race elder leaned over to look, saying in a low voice, "Excellency Cynthia, your hand..."

"It's nothing." Cynthia glanced down and said casually, "It will heal on its own later." She flexed her hand a few times as if she couldn't feel the pain.

Although she had never heard of the God Race having self-healing abilities, strictly speaking, Cynthia was no longer an ordinary member of the God Race. Seeing her nonchalant demeanor, the Wolf Race elder's worries slowly faded. She turned her head to look outside the array and asked quietly, "Are you sure those two Second Generation Vampires outside won't harm Clan Leader Helen?"

Cynthia followed her gaze and said softly, "Don't worry. They probably want to kill me more than they want to kill Helen."

The Wolf Race elder turned her head back to meet Cynthia's eyes. Cynthia winked at her and said with a smile, "So, I must ask all you elders to protect me well."

After all, she'd only just won the fair lady's heart.

Once the Sacrificial Array was activated, all the Power of Light across Thacker Plain grew agitated. The Third Generation Vampires, who had been fighting fiercely with the Elves and the Wolf Race, all stopped. They stared gravely in the direction of the array. The auras of Talia, Harris, and the other elders had all vanished, filling them with a deep sense of unease. Forgetting the werewolves and Elves before them, they all tried to leave the battlefield to investigate.

But Cynthia had already informed the Elf and Wolf Race warriors about the array, so they were prepared. After the array was activated, their attacks on the Vampires grew even more intense. The Light Believers stationed at the rear unleashed the Light Fire they had prepared long ago, and a sea of golden flames directly blocked the Vampires' path.

On Thacker Plain, only Kate and Avira were free among the Vampires. The moment Cynthia activated the array, Kate had leaped from a tree with a grim expression, intending to stop her, but she was a step too late. The barrier formed by the activated array blocked her path.

"Why is she using this array?" Kate stared at the most brilliant point of golden light, her voice filled with shock, doubt, and disbelief. "How does she know the incantation for the Sacrificial Array?"

As the God of Darkness's favorite array, the power of the Sacrificial Array was self-evident. The Lasombra clan had tricked it out of one of the God of Darkness's generals, but since Vampires disliked studying such things, they had handed it over to the Sethite wizards.

Only the God of Darkness knew the true activation incantation for the Sacrificial Array, and only a god could use it. By using a vast number of sacrifices and a godhead, the Sethite wizards could only unleash a third of the array's power.

But the Sacrificial Array before them seemed to have unleashed at least two-thirds of its power. The only reason it wasn't at full strength was that Cynthia's own power was still insufficient.

But two-thirds was more than enough to burn the trapped Lasombra and Tzimisce to ash.

Avira also hadn't expected Cynthia to be hiding such a huge secret. When the Elf Race was attacked, the witches had also used this array to trap Edeli, but they had used a godhead to activate it. She stared silently at Cynthia, who was enveloped in golden light. The Power of Light was too dazzling for her to see Cynthia's expression clearly, but she didn't need to see it to imagine what it was.

Composed, steady-she had never seen Cynthia flustered or at a loss.

Avira's eyes grew deep, and her calm tone carried a chill that could freeze one's spine. "...She can't be allowed to live."

Cynthia had been powerful before, but Avira had never truly taken her to heart. This time, however, she felt a profound sense of dread.

Kate turned to meet Avira's gaze, her scarlet eyes narrowing. A layer of snow-white fur slowly began to cover the hand hanging at her side, her sharp claws appearing and disappearing from view.

The two of them couldn't break this array from the outside. They could only wait... wait for Cynthia to run out of power first. But by then, Talia, Harris, and the others would likely be dead.

Avira stared at the array for a while but couldn't think of a better solution. With a cold expression, she turned, intending to first deal with the supporting God Race members.

The God Race's position wasn't well-hidden. It was easy to pinpoint by tracing the trajectory of the Light Magic spells. Avira and Kate crossed the ice river and entered the forest where the God Race was, but before they could get close, they were stopped by several white wolves.

Helen emerged from behind the white wolves, looking as if she had been waiting for them for a long time. She was facing two Second Generation Vampires who were among the strongest fighters of their race, and she had no elders to guard her, yet Helen didn't seem the least bit nervous. She faced Avira and Kate and said in a warm voice, "Cynthia asked me to wait for you here."

"Cynthia?" Avira's lips curled, but there was no smile in her expression. "What else does she want?"

Her tone was icy, and the Power of Darkness around her flared without restraint, creating a tense atmosphere as if she might strike at any moment. The white wolf to Helen's right couldn't help but take a few steps forward, shielding Helen completely. The wolf's sky-blue eyes were somewhat dim as she stared quietly at Avira's feet, her sharp claws unconsciously extending and retracting, looking extremely nervous.

Helen reached out and stroked the white wolf's head, soothing her. "It's alright, Hanni."

When Avira saw Hanni, she frowned, but she subconsciously reined in her aura a little.

"Cynthia knows that the bonds between your clans run deep, so she specifically asked me to wait here to make a deal with you." Helen stroked the white wolf's neck and said flatly, "During the age of the gods, the Vampires lived in the Blood Domain, while the Sitatul Continent was a place where the gods and various races lived together."

"We have no interest in the Blood Domain. Isn't it time for you to leave this continent for good?"

Avira's gaze flickered. She chuckled lowly. "Are you saying that if we leave, you'll release the Vampires inside the array?"

"That is Cynthia's idea," Helen said with a calm expression. "I would much rather see the Lasombra and Tzimisce clans annihilated."

A thousand years of hatred. When the Wolf Race and the Vampires met, it was a fight to the death. To consider the bigger picture, to endure for the sake of the future... Helen wanted to make herself think that way, but the hatred in her heart always made it impossible.

However, what she could not do, Cynthia could. And Cynthia's considerations were indeed more far-reaching. For the sake of the greater good, a mutually destructive fight with the Vampires was not worth it. Most importantly, the lives of the Lasombra and Tzimisce clans could not erase a millennium of hatred.

They hated the entire Vampire race.

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