Chapter 169
She hesitated not for a moment, turning on her heel and sprinting toward Dedun Manor at full speed. But just then, her foot caught on a simple stone, sending her crashing face-first to the ground.
Boom—!
A bolt of lightning, nearly two or three meters wide, struck down from the sky, exploding right in front of Lucy!
The lightning was just over a meter away from Lucy's head; it was the fall that saved her from a fatal blow.
Electricity surged through the rain-soaked ground, the contact voltage forcing the current into Lucy's body, causing her heart to nearly stop in an instant, and even her nerves suffered damage.
If she hadn’t fallen, she would have run straight into the heart of the lightning strike.
Boom—!
Without pause, a second bolt of lightning shot toward the direction where Opode was located. Almost the moment the spiritual alarm sounded, black armor enveloped Opode, and a honeycomb of illusory plates coalesced above his head.
A white light engulfed him.
At that moment, Shaer sprang into action. Shadows erupted from beneath her, darting off in four different directions.
Buzz—!
A violent buzzing filled Shaer’s mind, and she felt a tingling sensation rising from the ground, as if her hair wanted to stand on end in the rain.
She quickly chose a shadow that was farthest from the others. Shaer’s form began to fade, but the transition was too slow; it was too late. A flash of white light completely enveloped her.
A hundred meters away, Shaer’s figure gradually solidified, and she looked down at her hands in confusion.
Why wasn’t she attacked?
Turning back to where she had been standing, she found that Tara, who had been beside her, had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only some untouched extraordinary traits and items, not even a bone remained.
In that fleeting moment of decision, Tara had realized that Shaer couldn’t escape this lightning strike. Without hesitation, she had used the ability of "Bitter Ascetic" to shift the attack away from herself…
The disaster was far from over.
The calamity that had been building up surged forth violently and terrifyingly as the three of them gathered together.
The storm clouds above illuminated the entire sky as if it were day, and the thunderous roars made the earth tremble.
Shaer didn’t hesitate; she turned and ran, but just a few steps in, she collided with something soft.
It was a shadow, the same one that had been swirling in the air moments ago.
Shaer whipped around to look into the distance.
The three of them felt trapped in a beast cage, in this space that was anything but spacious, as the calamity raged around them…
As if a victor had to be determined.
**Chapter 111: "Light of the City" Shaer.**
The rumbling thunder echoed in the distance, shaking the entire city of Boleun as if it were the end of days.
“Miss! You can’t go over there!”
“Let go of me!”
Four kilometers away from the thunder, Nia held onto Aivina tightly, dragging her backward.
The roaring thunder ahead made the ground tremble; this was no noise that two third-tier extraordinary beings could create. Even Nia couldn’t claim she could withstand many waves of lightning strikes. She absolutely couldn’t let Miss Aivina take such risks.
Meanwhile, atop the bell tower in the Clock Tower District of Boleun City, a figure clad in luxurious white robes stood beside the giant bell, gazing at the apocalyptic scene in the distance. The expression beneath her mask revealed a rare hint of panic.
She couldn’t imagine the horrific casualties that would result if such lightning struck within Boleun City.
A white shadow appeared behind Hux, and after a moment of distortion, Yulis’s figure emerged.
“Bishop, what’s happening?” Yulis asked urgently.
She could sense the spiritual alarm ringing in her mind, and in her darkened vision, she could clearly see the massive gray-white figure in the distance, but this was clearly not the kind of disturbance the Holy Ascendancy could create.
“I don’t know…”
Hux slowly raised a hand to support her head, her breathing becoming rapid. “Quick, have the brothers and sisters evacuate the believers in the Clock Tower District, get them as far away from that area as possible!”
“Yes!”
Yulis’s figure vanished again.
Compared to “Glorious Bishop” Hux, Yulis’s sensitivity to the suffering of the crowd was far less acute. For now, she could still move within the Clock Tower District… for the time being.
Not long after Yulis disappeared, another white shadow appeared behind Hux, racing toward the storm, and soon, Hux’s figure also vanished from sight.
Whether for the sake of the goddess’s faithful or to prevent other innocent lives from suffering, she had to see what was happening over there—the storm was far too close to the Clock Tower District.
“If I don’t go, no one in the entire Clock Tower District, or even the whole city of Boleun, will be able to handle this.”
“Goddess, protect us…”
As Hux flickered away, she silently prayed to the goddess.
From her dream, Lichi was startled awake; Amy hurriedly moved the flowers and plants in the garden indoors, braving the downpour; and Adele paused her experiment, removing her silver raven mask to look out the window.
Now, as they gazed at the scene above, they all shared a common worry for one person.
Boom—!
At that moment, Shaer had no thoughts left to consider anyone else.
The furious lightning continued to flicker around her, and the frequency was increasing.
Under the tremendous thunder, Shaer’s hearing suffered severe damage; the once deafening roars of thunder faded to a mere buzz in her ears.
Fortunately, after Tara had blocked the first lightning strike with her life, Shaer had begun to discern some patterns in the lightning.
Before a strike fell, the ground would transmit a strong sense of paralysis, and after her hearing was compromised, that sensation became even clearer.
By dispersing the shadows throughout this enclosed space and allowing for a lead time to switch shadows, Shaer had dodged dozens of violent strikes.
In contrast, the other two faced only a few bolts, a far cry from Shaer’s ordeal.
The “Destined One” Lucy narrowly evaded several bolts of lightning, each time just a hair’s breadth from death, every step a heart-stopping gamble, yet she managed to escape unscathed.
As for “Crown Guardian” Opode, he was more direct. His entire body was shrouded in black armor, surrounded by lightning, the iron framework nearly glowing red, with cracks beginning to form in some places.
Yet he simply held the tower shield above his head, bracing himself against nearly all the lightning strikes, though his body was completely paralyzed, unable to move an inch.
This can’t go on… If this continues, my spirit and essence will be exhausted to the point of extreme fatigue…
Having already used the Death Reversal once, Shaer’s mental energy was heavily depleted.
She worried that if she continued to drain her spirit and essence like this, her real self would suffer irreversible mental damage… If it became impossible to hold on, she would have to consider an early escape through self-sacrifice.
At least now, she had gathered some information and remembered those ancient Ansu characters. If she could bring them back to reality for Aivina to translate, then initiate another simulation to send Tara back to the Holy Ascendancy’s monastery for answers, Shaer would be one step closer to the truth.
In the midst of her thoughts, Shaer felt that familiar tingling sensation again.
No… I can’t let this drag on any longer…
In a flash, Shaer’s form dissipated, and alongside her, a shadow stood atop the tower shield.
The next moment, Shaer’s figure stood on top of Opode’s tower shield.
A more intense sense of paralysis surged from her feet, the residual electricity still coursing through Opode.
At that moment, blood began to seep from within Opode’s armor. Though his senses dulled and slowed from the paralysis, he could still feel the sudden increase in weight on the shield and the piercing spiritual alarm ringing in his mind.
“Who… who’s up there?!!”
Opode’s roar echoed through his armor, a strong sense of foreboding gripping his heart.
But his legs were completely paralyzed; having endured several lightning strikes, he was severely injured, unable even to feel his lips as he spoke.
With nearly all his strength, he placed his left hand on his right fist and, with all his might, swung the tower shield to the right, trying to throw off the person standing on it.
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