"Careful!"
Liliana drew the Craftsman's Demon Sword, moving to jump in and cover him.
But someone moved even faster.
"Fwoosh~"
From within the crowd, a tan-skinned, single-ponytail female knight shot forward, planting herself in front of Lin Xiu like a spearhead!
"Huh?"
In a daze, Liliana caught sight of the weapon in that knight's hand. Damn it—her sword was exactly the same as Liliana's!
And when it came to someone who wielded the same weapon as Liliana, there was only one person it could be…
Saint Raphael!
That's right. The one who acted first was Saint Raphael.
The instant she drew the Craftsman's Demon Sword, the golden crest on her abdomen erupted with overwhelming divine radiance.
[For victory—hurry to my side. O wondrous steed, swift as the wind. Let the illustrious lord who outruns all things race forth!]
"BOOM~!"
Golden sunfire clung to the silver demon sword, forging it into a sword of the sun!
"SSSS—!"
When the steel arrowhead met the sunfire blade, it didn't melt away completely at once, but it still dissolved in the sudden burst that flared at the moment of contact.
It was only a Authority temporarily transplanted into her by Lin Xiu. It wouldn't last long.
But at this moment, Saint Raphael truly possessed the power to contend with a Heretic God.
The power of four apex Heretic God avatars was enough to push Saint Raphael's strength into the Super Demon King tier!
…
When Saint Raphael stepped in, the crowd exploded into an uproar.
"She blocked it! Saint Raphael actually blocked a god's Authority!"
"As expected of Saint Raphael! As expected of Europe's weakest holy knight!"
"Wait! Did you notice? Lady Saint Raphael didn't use the spirit speech she used before, and… this special aura is…"
"An Authority aura?!"
"Authority? Then… did Lady Saint Raphael become a godslayer?"
"No way! How could two godslayers appear out of nowhere?!"
As they argued louder and louder, Saint Raphael glanced sideways and explained calmly, "Don't overthink it. The reason I can temporarily use a god's Authority is because I borrowed Lin Xiu-kun's power."
The moment she said it, silence fell like a curtain.
Everyone was thinking about the same sobering question—
If Lin Xiu could grant Saint Raphael an Authority… could he grant an Authority to someone else, too?
"Hiss—" The thought alone made them feel even more urgency to have their families send people over immediately.
…
"Hahahaha~!"
Seeing Saint Raphael intervene, Perseus froze—then burst into hearty laughter.
"It's that man's Authority, huh? Then you're really unlucky!"
Perseus shot Lin Xiu—still strolling over—a look that grew increasingly hostile.
Before, he'd thought the boy had simply gotten lost in the taste of a goddess, too intoxicated to care.
Now it was obvious.
The boy had done it on purpose!
Purposely getting intimate with a goddess right in front of him, forcing his own knight to fight Perseus, all to humiliate him.
In that case, he would make that god who looked down on him pay the price!
[O radiance of the East—my forefathers—grant me your strength!]
[Create a miracle beneath your name. Come—answer now the oath of the serpent-slaying warrior!]
[Embodiment of "Victory," who serves the shining sun—cast down your blade! Bow your head and submit! O eastern sun—grant me power! Become the iron hammer that shatters Verethragna!]
The blazing sun behind Perseus erupted with unprecedented brilliance. In sheer dazzling intensity and splendor, the solar disk behind him clearly surpassed the sunfire sword in Saint Raphael's hands!
"Vmm—!"
With that flare of radiance, the sunfire sword burning in Saint Raphael's grasp snuffed out at terrifying speed.
No… it wasn't just that.
Saint Raphael realized she could barely even use her divinity anymore!
"This is… divine suppression?" No matter how she forced it, the divinity and Authority within her felt locked down, unable to manifest even a fraction of their power.
"That's right. Divine suppression."
Behind her, Lin Xiu spoke at last.
He finally released Athena—who still looked a little unwilling to let go—and turned toward the blond god with the blazing sun at his back.
But after only a single glance, Lin Xiu's gaze returned to Saint Raphael.
"This god carries dual divinity: 'Hero Perseus' and 'Sun God Mithra.' And Mithra is the mythic lord whom Verethragna serves. That's why your Authority was temporarily sealed."
"So that's how it is." Saint Raphael frowned. Did that mean her and Lin Xiu's plan was about to fail? Would Lin Xiu have to step in personally?
The next instant, Lin Xiu seemed to see right through her thoughts. He smiled.
"Don't worry. To defeat Lucifer, you only need a tiny bit of help."
As he spoke, he flicked his sleeve lightly. A holy lance woven of gold and silver shot out from his cuff and slammed into the ground before Saint Raphael.
This spear was called the "Holy Lance that Pierces the World." In terms of rank, in today's godslayer world, perhaps only the Last King's "Savior's Godblade" could be mentioned in the same breath.
"Saint Raphael, use the weapon I grant you. Bring me victory." Lin Xiu's voice was calm.
"Hm?"
Lin Xiu's response made the demon knights exchange looks and shake their heads.
Everyone knew only godslayers could slay gods.
Yet Lin Xiu had merely handed Saint Raphael his weapon—without lifting a finger himself.
Was Lin Xiu simply arrogant?
Or did he truly have confidence that Saint Raphael, wielding his weapon, could kill a god?
If it was the former, fine. Godslayers being arrogant was normal.
But if it was the latter…
Then it could only mean Lin Xiu's strength had already pulled at least half a tier ahead of other godslayers!
At that point, Lin Xiu would be recognized as an existence that stood above godslayers themselves!
(If you want to read an insanely satisfying novel, head to Feilu!)
Was the new king, Lin Xiu, trying to show off his power and climb to the very peak of the world?
Everyone couldn't help thinking it.
…
But the truth was simpler.
Lin Xiu was letting Saint Raphael fight because he wanted to run an experiment.
"Shk—"
With a posture of utmost reverence, Saint Raphael lifted the holy lance from the ground.
Almost the instant she did, her divinity resumed flowing—while the Craftsman's Demon Sword once again flared with roaring sunfire.
[This is… a Longinus Lance of an alien world and alien order?!]
Lin Xiu had told her in advance he would grant her a divine weapon to purge a god, and she'd made plenty of guesses about what he might hand her.
But the moment she truly held the "Holy Lance that Pierces the World," she couldn't help the excitement that surged through her.
Because from beginning to end, she and Lin Xiu had never shared any connection.
Her name was Saint Raphael.
She'd used David's spirit speech for so long.
And today, she had the right to wield one of the most supreme divine weapons of the Holy Scripture pantheon.
It was… hard not to feel moved.
"What is that weapon?" Perseus sensed his suppression over Saint Raphael fail, his brow instantly knotting.
Damn—he couldn't even make sense of it.
But there was no time to care whether he understood it or not.
While he was still stunned, Saint Raphael had already transformed the Craftsman's Demon Sword, reshaping it into a silver longbow like a triple-fan of blades.
After taking hold of the "Holy Lance that Pierces the World," torrents of information flooded her mind, plunging her directly into a state like "heavenly resonance."
It was her first time using it.
Yet she immediately understood every method of using the lance!
[O mountains of Gileboia, I pray for sweet dew-rain to fall upon you! Offer the sacrifice the thirsty beasts desire!]
[Abandon the self—become the shield of the hero beyond! Shield of Thor, anointed with fat and oil—offer yourself here!]
[Unless it drinks the enemy's blood, Jonathan's Bow will never retreat! Unless it gnaws the warrior's flesh, Thor's Sword will never return to its sheath! Until this body is defeated!]
"Vmm—"
As Saint Raphael spoke the spirit speech, the "Holy Lance that Pierces the World" in her hands transformed into four blue-and-gold arrows, hovering across the silver longbow.
Normally, when using the "Song of the Bow," the arrows manifested by spirit speech were blue.
But now, her arrows were forged from the holy lance itself—nothing like the old magic arrows she once used.
The moment she loosed this shot, Perseus's defeat would already be inevitable.
Perseus seemed to sense something terribly wrong. From that silver lance, he felt an immense threat.
And so, the battle instinct of the hero-god made him react on sheer reflex.
[O maiden beside the demon! Enter beneath my gate! Just as you imitate the beautiful Andromeda!]
Perseus spoke a spirit speech that held compulsory control over women.
In myth, beautiful women had always been the spoils of heroes.
In the original tale, Perseus had used this very spirit speech to control Liliana, forcing her to attack Kusanagi Godou.
In Perseus's mind, even if it couldn't fully control Saint Raphael—who held a divine weapon—it would at least shake her mental focus, granting him a favorable edge in combat.
Under normal circumstances, even if Saint Raphael held the "Savior's Godblade," she would still be affected to some extent.
But what Saint Raphael held was the "Holy Lance that Pierces the World"—transcendent beyond the world, a concept-class weapon, and a holy lance created by a system.
How could a mind-control Authority possibly affect it?
"No. It's not working."
When Perseus saw his Authority fail to influence Saint Raphael at all, he finally panicked. He hurriedly drew his bow and set his blade.
[Now! By the blessing of the solar disk—drive this enemy away!]
"BOOM~!"
A metal arrow shot from Perseus's hand, whipping up a violent gale across the calm earth.
"ROAR~!"
Almost at the same time, a surge of golden draconic qi burst from underground—crushing the stormwind and sweeping the arrow up into the sky!
"Damn it!" Perseus hadn't expected that trick!
As the draconic qi flung his shot away, Saint Raphael finally finished charging her attack.
[O Jonathan's Bow, weapon of the hero—swift as an eagle, strong as a lion…]
[Run—and crush your enemy!]
"Fwooshfwooshfwooshfwoosh~!"
Four blue-and-gold divine arrows flew from the silver bow, striking straight toward Perseus's four "fortresses"!
(End of Chapter)
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