Aboard the lead warship, a young man with a sword at his waist and a bow on his back sprinted to the prow. He had golden hair, rugged, handsome features, and eyes as azure as a cloudless sky, crowned with a woven laurel wreath. Gaze resolute, the laurel-crowned youth stared fixedly at the brass-colored rampart.
He unslung his longbow, nocked a golden arrow, and drew the string back slowly, the muscles of his right arm bulging like solid granite.
Golden light gathered at the arrowhead, growing brighter and brighter.
Whoosh!
A ray of golden light streaked forth, striking the brass barrier.
There was no explosion as one might imagine, nor any exaggerated shockwave; the brass barrier simply melted away in the sudden burst of golden radiance.
The arrow continued onward with unabated momentum, piercing clean through Menia's chest.
Clutching her bleeding chest, the goddess staggered backward.
The blond youth lowered his longbow, drew his straight sword, and called out in a ringing voice, "I am the Left Priest of the God of Light, ordered by the High Priest to subjugate Paphos Island!"
With that, he leapt high into the air, unleashing a leaping slash toward Goddess Menia a hundred meters away. Blinding golden light erupted from his plain longsword.
Goddess Menia raised her shield high to meet the strike.
The collision of sword and shield was like a terrifying explosion, rattling the buildings around the castle and causing cracks to burst across the walls.
The two plunged into a fierce close-quarters struggle.
Rumble!
Amid deafening roars of churning water, a colossal wave hundreds of meters high surged from behind the reef cliff, roaring toward the castle. At the crest of the wave stood Goddess Cynthia, her short hair deep blue, her figure voluptuous, a steel trident gripped in hand.
Commanding the massive wave, she brought it crashing down directly over the castle, poised to smash into the dozen or so warships grounded outside the walls.
At that moment, the old man in the golden robe raised his golden staff and chanted loudly:
"Disaster has arrived; place your faith in the Light. Calming the sea's wrath, expelling calamity..."
The sacred, solemn chant echoed over the castle, dispersing the fears of the God of Light's followers and restoring peace, confidence, and resolve to their minds and bodies.
The colossal wave on the verge of crashing down immediately receded, flowing back the way it had come as if time were reversing.
The disaster was quelled!
After the towering wave retreated, melodious, ethereal music drifted from the fleet.
A lovely, pure maiden lowered her head to play a massive harp.
Dressed in a one-piece robe, her body was veiled in a faint golden luminescence, as holy and pure as a goddess.
A clamor of birdsong arose from the distant forest, and flocks of sheep and wild beasts surged out, attacking the Goddess of Beauty's followers in the villages and towns.
The followers of the God of Light surged with high morale. Brandishing scimitars and drawing bows, they began slaughtering the followers of the Goddess of Beauty.
"Huh?" Overlooking the scene from midair, Zhang Yuanqing could not help letting out a sound of surprise.
So far, he had seen these followers of the God of Light display abilities such as "dispelling calamity," "divine power of the sun," "beast-taming," "healing," "navigation," and "mechanical contraptions."
Their close-quarters combat was formidable as well.
The God of Light's abilities were far too comprehensive—they had a hand in everything, and knew a bit of everything.
How could such an impressive class not exist in the First District?
However, now was not the time to ponder why the God of Light class was missing. From the blond youth's words, he had caught the term "High Priest."
In other words, the final boss of Paphos Island was the God of Light's High Priest.
There was good reason for him to think so.
First, demigod-level powerhouses would not appear inside this dungeon. The followers of the God of Light before him, especially those three elite monsters, were certainly powerful, but not enough to overwhelm Paphos Island's Spawns of the God.
An S-rank dungeon should not be this easy, so there had to be a major boss who had yet to take the field.
"I can't just sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight anymore. I need to take out these three Dominator-level enemies first, then unite the forces of Paphos Island to deal with the High Priest. That way we still have a fighting chance. Once the High Priest descends, the Spawns of the God will be dead for sure."
Zhang Yuanqing calculated quietly in his mind.
Atop the towering clock tower, Cupid drew his small bow, nocked a miniature golden arrow, and aimed at the Left Priest of the God of Light, who was locked in combat with Goddess Menia.
Golden light whistled through the air. Bypassing all defense, evasion, and resistance, it accurately pierced the Left Priest's chest.
It then traced a wide arc and struck a female slave.
That female slave was currently being pursued, screaming as she fled.
Thump-thump, thump-thump! The blond youth's heart pounded wildly. An overwhelming, irresistible affection welled up inside him for that woman, and he instinctively wanted to rush to her aid.
"My faith in the God of Light surpasses all things—including love!" He forced himself to avert his eyes, no longer looking in her direction, and concentrated on the battle.
"The Left Priest of the God of Light clearly has a higher status than Cupid, yet he was still affected by the golden arrow, falling hopelessly in love with a female slave... I guessed right. Cupid's bow and arrows are rule-based items." Zhang Yuanqing had seen it clearly: the blond youth had tried to defend against the golden arrow, but it had completely ignored physical defenses.
Such a property was characteristic of rule-based items.
Holding her steel trident, Siren Cynthia descended from above, striking downward at the blond youth.
The latter leaped backward. Amid scattering fragments of shattered stone, he bit down on his longsword, drew his wooden bow, and loosed an arrow at Cynthia.
Menia stepped forward with her shield to block the arrow, but was sent tumbling away in the booming blast.
The Siren and the Knight, both skilled in melee combat, joined forces against the blond youth. Their clash caused spires and domed structures to collapse one after another.
With healing support at his back, the blond youth fought one against two without falling into a disadvantage.
At that moment, silvery laughter rose above the din of the battlefield, crisp and melodious, sweeter than the song of a lark.
The followers locked in fierce combat could not help looking toward the source of the sound.
Standing atop the high clock tower was an exquisite goddess with cascading platinum hair, impeccably refined features, an aura both pure and alluring, and skin as fair as snow.
Her charm was fully unleashed in her smile.
Whether they were followers of the God of Light or followers of the Goddess of Beauty, every man became utterly captivated by the goddess's charm, staring up in dazed fascination.
Battle, victory, and faith were rendered utterly insignificant in this moment.
Sectia took the wooden bow from Cupid's hands, drew the string, and loosed an arrow. A dark shadow flashed, and a follower of the God of Light collapsed dead.
With calm composure, she drew and loosed arrow after arrow, picking off the God of Light's followers one by one.
Yet even in their final moments, the men struck down were completely intoxicated by her allure, offering neither resistance nor snapping back to their senses.
Seeing this, the blond youth immediately broke free from the two goddesses' pincer attack and drew his bow toward Sectia on the clock tower.
His faith in the God of Light was rock-solid, granting him total immunity to all feminine charms.
However, Cynthia and Menia gave him no opportunity to loose his shot, instantly launching a fierce assault.
Taking advantage of the intense melee, Zhang Yuanqing retrieved the Purple Thunder Cannon and glided silently toward the old man holding the golden staff.
Having altered his appearance, he landed silently on the deck. Raising the thick, long barrel, he aimed at the old man and pulled the trigger.
Crackle!
Purple electric arcs crackled and collapsed inward toward the muzzle. Two seconds later, a purple ball of lightning roared outward.
Sensing danger, the old man with the golden staff immediately turned and held up his staff horizontally to block.
Boom!
The purple thunder detonated, snapping his golden staff and both his arms while carbonizing the flesh of his chest.
The raging shockwave threw the old man over a dozen meters away. He crashed to the deck, thoroughly charred, motionless.
Zhang Yuanqing turned and glided toward the woman playing the harp. The Purple Thunder Hammer and Purple-Gold Shield flew out on their own, dissolving into a purplish-gold liquid that coated his body to form a suit of armor.
He threw his head back and unleashed a piercing shriek.
Mental Strike!
The mind of the maiden enveloped in golden light was violently jarred. Her pupils glazed over, and veins bulged along her forehead.
Like a walking suit of mecha, Zhang Yuanqing charged ferociously, driving his right fist toward the maiden.
Yet the moment his fist was about to make contact, the maiden seemed to teleport backward over a dozen zhang.
No—it was not the maiden who had retreated. It was Zhang Yuanqing who had been thrown back over a dozen zhang, bizarrely returned to the very spot where he had ambushed the old man.
The maiden playing the harp snapped back to her senses and swiftly stroked the strings with her pale hands.
Zhang Yuanqing felt a sharp pang in his brain. His consciousness swayed with the notes, temporarily robbing him of the ability to think calmly.
Yet within a single instant, he suppressed the influence of the harp.
As a dual-class Illusionist and Night Wanderer, any spell targeting his soul was nothing more than a paper tiger.
She had just been stunned by Mental Strike and lost consciousness; there was no way she could have activated a skill. It must be an effect of that item... After pondering for a few seconds, Zhang Yuanqing charged at the maiden once more.
Then let's see whose status is higher.
He threw his head back and shrieked again, unleashing Mental Strike to plunge the maiden into the agony of a torn soul.
Next, he used Nothingness on the rule of "object movement." Without needing to sprint, he appeared directly in front of the maiden.
Since the opponent's item could force an enemy back over a dozen meters, he would see whether the Illusion God's Heart held higher status, or if the item in the maiden's hand was stronger.
The answer was self-evident.
Splat!
His purplish-gold right fist smashed into the maiden's head, instantly producing a scene like an exploding watermelon as flesh, brain matter, and bone fragments sprayed in every direction.
Zhang Yuanqing could also have unleashed the Sunrise and Blazing Sun God of War combination skill to suppress the opponent's item just the same, but doing so would have stripped the purplish-gold armor from his body.
For the Item Heavenly Venerable, using the Day Wanderer combo skill was like killing a thousand enemies while taking eighty thousand in self-inflicted damage—something he preferred to avoid unless absolutely necessary.
The abrupt turn of events caught both sides completely off guard.
Two formidable followers of the God of Light had been slain by a bizarre figure who had appeared out of nowhere, all in under three minutes.
The ordinary followers, blinded by bloodlust, failed to notice the commotion and shift on the ship. But the Spawns of the God turned their gazes toward him one after another.
The blond youth's face changed drastically.
Menia, Sectia, and the others were filled with a mixture of shock, delight, and confusion—delighted by the deaths of the two God of Light followers, yet bewildered as to who this mysterious newcomer was and why he was aiding Paphos Island.
Could he be reinforcements summoned by Mother?
Chapter 942