Chapter 194 : Chapter 194
Chapter 194. The Divine Remnant Limb Awakens
The two of them soon arrived at Zu’Aman, the Main City of the Barbarian Royal Court.
Zu’Aman’s city gates had been reduced to ruins amid the flames of war. Broken Totem banners still hung from the charred wooden beams, letting out whimpering sounds whenever the wind blew.
William and Lynn bent low, using the collapsed stone walls as cover as they slipped silently into the city.
The air was filled with a heavy stench of blood and the scorching aura of scattered Divinity.
The armies of the Three Great Empires were slaughtering one another in the streets and alleys. The golden torrent of Holy Light crashed into the black mist of shadow, erupting with blinding radiance. Occasionally, the roars of the Dragon-Lion Legion mixed into the chaos, shaking the stone slabs beneath their feet.
But the strangest sight was the Barbarians kneeling on the ground.
They wore tattered beast hides, their foreheads pressed against the bloodstained ground as they repeatedly murmured obscure prayers. Their voices were hoarse, yet stubbornly persistent.
The shockwaves of Holy Light and shadow swept past them, directly sending several Barbarians in the front row flying. The dull cracks of shattering bones could be heard clearly.
Yet the remaining people did not move at all, as though the slaughter and death around them had nothing to do with them.
“May the Ancestral Spirit calm its wrath… May the Ancestral Spirit calm its wrath…”
The prayers were like an invisible net covering the entire Main City.
William raised his head and looked over. At the top of the tower in the center of the Royal Court, the phantom of a giant bear covered in bronze scales was roaring.
That was the incarnation of the Barbarian Ancestral Spirit. Its eyes burned with scarlet flames, and it had clearly lost control completely. Even the Divinity throughout the entire city had become violent along with it.
“They do not care who wins. They only care whether the Ancestral Spirit will abandon them,” Lynn said in a low voice. His fingertips could feel the restless energy in the air. It was the Ancestral Spirit’s rage spreading outward.
“The more fiercely the Three Great Empires fight, the more unstable the Ancestral Spirit’s power becomes. These Barbarians are trying to use faith to beg for its final protection.”
William nodded and pulled Lynn into a burned-down wooden house.
“Do you see the stone steps to the left of the tower?”
“That is the place where the Ancestral Spirit’s scattered Divinity is weakest, and it is also a blind spot that the Three Great Empires cannot take into account for now.”
“We will circle around from the back. Move quickly.”
Using the thick smoke and corpses as cover, the two of them moved through the streets and alleys.
Occasionally, stray arrows brushed past their ears, or the aftershocks of Holy Light swept toward them, but both were dodged with their agile movements.
The soldiers locked in battle had all their attention on their enemies. No one noticed the two figures moving in stealth.
When they passed through an open square, they saw a young Barbarian child kneeling beside his dead mother, still reciting prayers. His small body swayed unsteadily amid the Energy Shockwaves.
William’s eyes stirred slightly, but he merely pulled Lynn past even faster.
At last, they reached the stone steps behind the tower.
This place was piled high with broken stones. A pure yet violent aura of Divinity surged out from the cracks between the stone steps. It was precisely the power scattered by the Ancestral Spirit.
Lynn took a deep breath and began guiding this power into his body according to the secret method.
“Hurry.”
William tightened his grip on his longsword and vigilantly watched the surroundings.
“The Ancestral Spirit cannot hold on much longer. Once it erupts completely, this entire city will become ruins.”
Lynn did not speak. He devoted himself fully to absorbing the Divinity. The Barbarians below the stone steps were still kneeling and worshiping without pause, while the sounds of battle in the distance continued to shake the heavens.
William looked at this absurd yet cruel scene and suddenly felt that the so-called Three Great Empires and the Barbarian Royal Court were nothing more than struggling ants before the Ancestral Spirit that had lost control.
And they were here to seize a power that could change their fate from the chaotic battle among those ants.
The wind swept up ash, scattering it across William’s armor. He raised his head and looked at the giant bear phantom atop the tower, tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword.
Soon.
Once Lynn finished absorbing this Divinity, they would leave.
As for the fate of this city… it had nothing to do with them.
Suddenly, the Ancestral Spirit stopped moving, and the Three Great Empires around it also looked at it in alarm and suspicion.
In the next instant, the Ancestral Spirit’s wail struck everyone’s eardrums like a blunt weapon. The bronze giant bear’s phantom trembled violently.
The scattered points of Divinity suddenly reversed direction, gathering toward its body like a swarm of bees returning to their nest. In midair, they wove together into a golden net of light.
The slaughter among the Three Great Empires came to an abrupt halt. The soldiers froze with their weapons half-raised, watching the constantly shrinking light and shadow in uncertainty.
The Ancestral Spirit had not only failed to collapse in its frenzy, but was instead devouring the scattered Divinity. This went against every known law.
Beneath a wooden house, the green light at Pandora’s fingertips suddenly fell into disorder. She opened her eyes sharply, the outline of the light net reflected in her silver-white pupils. The corners of her mouth curved in disbelief.
“It can actually reverse the loss of Divinity… This beast has hidden itself deeply enough.”
A sharp vine condensed in her palm, ready at any moment to pounce when the Ancestral Spirit weakened.
The Shadow Mages of the Blackgold Empire raised their heads from beneath their black robes. Black mist seeped from the edges of their hoods, and the old man leading them gave a cold snort.
“I originally intended to sit back and reap the benefits. I did not expect this Ancestral Spirit to possess such an ability.”
The mage beside him immediately understood and began drawing an Imprisonment Array, preparing to forcibly seize the gathered Divinity.
The Bishop of the Holy Light Aresos Empire tightened his grip on his Scepter, and the gemstone at the top erupted with dazzling light.
“A heretic dares to blaspheme Divinity.”
The Paladins behind him raised their long spears. Holy Light gathered at the spear tips, making it clear that they intended to seize this power in the name of “purification.”
The commander of the Dragon-Lion Legion from the Radiant Sun Empire narrowed his eyes and whispered to the personal guards beside him.
“Notify the Magic Crystal Cannons to prepare. Aim at the location of the Ancestral Spirit’s phantom. Once they start fighting, we will pick up the spoils.”
Just as the various forces began to stir restlessly, the Ancestral Spirit’s wail suddenly rose in pitch. The bronze giant bear’s phantom looked as though it had been torn open from within by an invisible hand.
RIP—
The instant the light and shadow shattered, a pale hand stretched out from the Ancestral Spirit’s mouth. Its five fingers were slender, and its nails gleamed with a faint green light, as though it had just awakened from a long sleep.
The hand closed gently, and the golden Divinity gathered in the air surged into its palm like a tide. The Ancestral Spirit’s phantom faded at a visible speed, finally turning into a wisp of green smoke that was completely absorbed by that hand.
Pandora’s pupils contracted sharply beneath the wooden house. She took a sudden step back and struck the rock wall behind her.
“This… This is…”
The Blackgold Empire’s mages froze with their hands still drawing the array, and their breathing beneath their black robes became hurried.
The Holy Light Bishop’s Scepter fell to the ground with a clang, and the fanaticism on his face was replaced by terror.
The general of the Radiant Sun Empire even drew his blade directly, his voice trembling.
“That is… the hand of the Divine Remains! No, it is more than the Divine Remains…”
The owner of that hand slowly walked out from the dissipating light and shadow of the Ancestral Spirit. Its figure was blurred, and only a tattered gray robe could be seen. Ancient Runes covered its exposed wrist.
It raised its head and looked toward the various forces in the city. It made no sound, yet everyone felt a chill in their hearts.
It was a kind of indifference that stood above all living beings, as though it were looking at a swarm of noisy insects.
William pulled Lynn behind the stone steps, his heart pounding violently.
He recognized the Runes on that robe. They were exactly the same as the patterns on the remains of the God of Storms, yet they were more complete, more… alive.
“It is not the Ancestral Spirit, nor is it an ordinary Divine Remains.”
Lynn’s voice trembled.
“Is it… an awakened Divine Remnant Limb?”
No one could answer that question.
The gray figure merely stood where it was, and the golden Divinity in its palm gradually merged into its body. The air throughout Zu’Aman seemed to freeze.
The armies of the Three Great Empires subconsciously retreated. Even the most fanatical Paladins tightened their grip on their weapons, yet no one dared to make the first move.
No one had expected that this chaotic battle for Divinity and territory would ultimately draw out such an existence.
The gray figure finally moved. It slowly raised its hand and pointed at the tallest tower in the city.
There was no earth-shaking spell, nor any violent Energy Shockwave. That tower built from massive stones simply turned silently into dust, without even raising a speck of debris.
Dead silence.
Only the sound of the wind blowing through the ruins remained in the city.