194: Chapter 194 Holy War Line

At the northern mountain pass, the wind was like a sharpened iron blade, scraping against people's faces until their skin felt tight.

Lin Mo led four Rank Seven Awakeners at a rapid pace, the gravel beneath their combat boots crunching loudly. The further they went, the heavier the Dragon Qi overflowing from Black Dragon Gorge became. The faint, sweet scent of blood in the air grew stronger, like the hot breath exhaled by some sleeping behemoth, clinging to their nasal passages and refusing to dissipate.

“Three li ahead, the terrain narrows,” said a middle-aged man with an old shoulder injury in a low voice, his tone as steady as a rock.

“That place is called Soul-Severing Slope. An entire reorganized vanguard team was buried there once; later, they couldn't even find all their remains.”

He spoke calmly, but hearing it made one's spine feel a slight chill.

A man with black wristguards grinned, his smile somewhat cold. “If the West Federation dares to send reinforcements through there, they'll have to ask us for permission first.”

Lin Mo nodded without speaking, merely raising his hand to signal the team to slow down.

He didn't rush in blindly. Instead, he stood on a fractured black rock and swept his gaze forward.

The mountain path in the distance had begun to narrow, the cliff walls on both sides like two inverted giant axes, pressing down until it was hard to breathe. Black mist swirled above the gorge entrance, and deep within the mist, a section of a dark gold skeletal shadow was faintly visible, like a giant dragon lying beneath the sky. Even a single glance created the illusion of a chill deep within one's bones.

And just beyond that black mist, several streaks of dazzling Holy Light had already torn across the horizon.

At first, they were just scattered points of light, like meteors before dawn.

But in the blink of an eye, those lights merged into a single line, eventually transforming into an entire band of white and gold light that pressed heavily toward the border.

“They're here,” Lin Mo said softly.

The Rank Seven Awakener with a diagonal scar on his face slowly narrowed his eyes, his tone gaining a hint of killing intent. “It's not a small scouting party; it's a battle line formation.”

“The West Federation is really willing to pay a high price,” another Rank Seven Awakener sneered. “For the dragon god skeleton, they're even willing to throw a Temple Battle Line here.”

Lin Mo didn't look back, his eyes fixed on the approaching streaks of Holy Light.

He could feel that the spiritual energy fluctuations in the air had changed.

They had become sharp, oppressive, like countless fine needles pricking his skin.

They weren't just traveling.

They were blatantly encroaching on the border.

Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe was right; this time, the West Federation truly intended to seize it by force.

“Listen,” Lin Mo finally spoke, his voice not loud, but it instantly drew the attention of the four Rank Seven Awakeners. “I'll strike first to catch them off guard. You don't need to fight them to the death; just remember one thing—”

He looked up, his gaze sharp as a blade.

“Stall.”

“Stall them here. Stall them until they can't even touch the edge of the gorge entrance.”

The middle-aged man with the old shoulder injury glanced at him and suddenly smiled. “Don't worry, kid. We might not be able to boast about other skills, but we're experts at stalling for our lives.”

He spoke calmly, yet with the unique ruthlessness of a veteran soldier.

Lin Mo nodded, and in the next instant, he stepped out.

Boom!

Gravel scattered as he shot forward like an arrow from a bow, heading straight for the mountain path ahead.

In that moment, the aura on his body surged abruptly.

The Awakening of Insects trait activated; his long-dormant blood and Qi exploded like spring thunder, every inch of his Physical Body's muscles and bones emitting a low, powerful vibration. Beneath the skin where his wounds had just healed a few days ago, a faint golden-red glow even emerged, as if fire were flowing through his Bloodline.

“So fast?” One of the Rank Seven Awakeners behind him twitched an eyebrow.

“He's not hiding at all,” the man with the black wristguards grinned. “He's planning to slam right into their faces.”

Almost the second after Lin Mo charged out, the first batch of West Federation reinforcements landed at the end of the mountain path.

Boom—!

White light exploded, and gravel flew into the air.

Over a dozen silver-armored Temple Knights stepped out from the holy radiance, as orderly as a moving steel wall. The leader wore a long gold-trimmed cloak and held a slender holy staff. His gaze was haughty, sweeping over Lin Mo with the disdain one would show an ant.

“A road-blocker?” he said indifferently. “Has the Great Xia border run out of people?”

Lin Mo didn't reply immediately.

The moment the other party finished speaking, he simply raised his right hand and slammed it hard against the ground in front of him.

“Burst.”

Boom—!!!

A crimson Thunder Talisman that had been buried under the gravel detonated. A wave of fire carrying broken rocks surged forward, slamming right into the Temple Knights' vanguard.

The three people at the very front were blown back half a step, their formation instantly falling into disarray.

“Courting death!” The gold-cloaked leader's face darkened. He raised his holy staff, and white divine magic runes instantly spread out in mid-air like a giant wheel of judgment, pressing directly down on Lin Mo.

That aura was extremely sharp, like countless white needles piercing the air.

If an ordinary Rank Seven Awakener took this head-on, they would at least have their bones and tendons shattered.

But Lin Mo had no intention of taking it head-on.

His feet shifted suddenly, his body sliding half a zhang across the ground. Like a darting shadow, he passed right through the edge of the light wheel.

“Too slow.”

He whispered those two words as his figure charged between two Temple Knights.

In the next second, his fists struck like thunder.

Bang! Bang!

Two dull impacts exploded simultaneously.

One knight's chest armor dented on the spot, and he was sent flying, crashing into the cliff wall and causing gravel to fall. The other was flipped by a knee strike from Lin Mo, smashed into the ground along with his sword, dragging out a charred trench.

“A Rank Seven Awakener? No, based on his aura, he's only around Rank Five!”

The gold-cloaked leader's pupils constricted, and a look of seriousness finally appeared on his face.

He clearly hadn't expected this young-looking boy to dare to tear through his vanguard immediately.

And to tear through it so ruthlessly.

“Left wing, press forward! Don't let him break the formation!” he shouted.

But Lin Mo wanted them to panic.

His figure suddenly dipped, his foot crushing another rock as he pounced into the gap created by the explosion. His fist wind swirled, forcing back two Temple Knights who were about to surround him.

The four Rank Seven Awakeners in the rear moved at the same time.

The middle-aged man with the old shoulder injury clapped his palms together. The ground suddenly rose up like an earthen dragon turning over beneath the mountain path, forcefully cutting off the West Federation's right-wing advance.

The man with the black wristguards swung a warhammer, slamming it into the shoulder of a knight who had just leaped into the air, the impact causing a layer of cracks to explode across the man's protective Holy Light.

The man with the diagonal scar was even more direct. He swung his blade, and Saber Qi like a blood-red line streaked across the air, tearing a long opening through the enemy's ranks.

The fourth person didn't speak, merely flicking his hand to throw three black nails. Upon landing, the nails immediately transformed into three gray light barriers, forcing two enemy magic-user saints to retreat.

The entire West Federation reinforcement force, which had been in an orderly formation a second ago, was thrown into total chaos by Lin Mo's assault.

“Damn it!” The gold-cloaked leader's face completely darkened.

He raised his holy staff, clear killing intent surfacing in his eyes for the first time.

“Kill that brat for me!”

White divine radiance surged violently.

At the tip of the holy staff, an extremely unstable divine magic orb was frantically condensing.

Lin Mo caught that point of white light out of the corner of his eye, and his expression turned slightly solemn.

He could tell—

That wasn't a normal attack.

It was a divine magic crushing blow capable of directly wounding a Rank Seven Awakener.

But he didn't retreat.

Instead, he smiled.

“Finally getting serious?”

He slammed a foot down, crushing the ground, and used the counterforce to leap into the air, his body pulling a nearly straight afterimage in mid-air.

“Then let's see—”

“If this little bit of light is enough to take my punch!”

Fist light against Holy Light.

Boom!!!

A dazzling shockwave of intertwined white and red exploded above the mountain path. Gravel was swept into the air, and even the cliff walls on both sides trembled, shedding dust.

The gold-cloaked leader's face turned pale as he was actually forced back half a step by Lin Mo's punch.

The four Rank Seven Awakeners in the rear all twitched their eyelids at the sight.

And in the distance, the black mist at Black Dragon Gorge surged even more violently.

An even deeper, more ancient dragon roar seemed to travel slowly from deep underground, across the mountains and rivers.

It was as if the dragon god skeleton, which had slept for countless years, had been partially awakened by the bloody battle here.

Lin Mo shook his slightly numb wrist and looked up at the grim-faced Temple leader opposite him, his lips curling up bit by bit.

“What's wrong?”

“You just got here and already want to leave?”

The gold-cloaked leader's face completely sank.

He slammed his holy staff onto the ground, and white-gold divine runes spread from the base of the staff like living things, weaving into a small judgment array beneath his feet in an instant. At the center of the array, a light orb slowly rose, its surface pulsing with fine holy runes, emitting a heart-palpitating sense of pressure.

“Lowly Great Xia person,” he stared at Lin Mo, his voice sounding like it was squeezed through his teeth.

“Do you think you can stop a Temple Battle Line with just a bit of brute force?”

Lin Mo shook his numb wrist, his gaze cold.

“Brute force?”

He tilted his chin up and scoffed.

“When you were forced back half a step by me just now, you didn't seem to think so.”

With one sentence, he ground the other's pride into the dirt.

A vein throbbed on the leader's temple as he violently swung his holy staff.

“Judgment Light-wheel, descend!”

Hum—!

The white light wheel in mid-air expanded abruptly like a small sun pressing down, carrying blinding holy radiance and spiritual energy fluctuations sharp to the extreme as it slammed toward Lin Mo's head.

The air was squeezed until it emitted a sharp whistling sound.

The four Rank Seven Awakeners behind him all changed expressions simultaneously.

“Get out of the way!” the middle-aged man with the old shoulder injury shouted, and several earthen walls instantly rose from the ground, attempting to block the strike for Lin Mo.

But Lin Mo didn't retreat at all.

Instead, an even brighter coldness flashed in his eyes.

Avoid it?

He was here today precisely to block people.

If he ran the moment he saw a Late Stage Rank Seven divine magic, then there was no point in talking about stalling for half an hour.

Lin Mo twisted his feet, advancing instead of retreating. He dropped his body low, the Awakening of Insects trait operating at full capacity. The sound of his blood rushing was like spring thunder rolling through his body.

In the next instant, he suddenly raised his hand, fingers splayed and knuckles white, and punched directly into the center of the Judgment Light-wheel!

“Break for me!”

Boom—!!!

The moment his fist hit the Holy Light, the entire mountain path shook violently.

The blinding white light and red-gold fist energy tore at each other frantically. The resulting shockwave was like an invisible wall, blowing away the surrounding gravel and dust.

The rocky ground beneath Lin Mo's feet shattered into a web-like deep pit.

The Judgment Light-wheel that was supposed to crush him was actually forced to a halt in mid-air by his fist, its edges constantly splintering into ear-piercing cracks of white light.

“What?!”

The gold-cloaked leader lost his composure for the first time.

The haughty contempt in his eyes was finally replaced by genuine shock.

A brat who had just fully recovered.

A boy who looked no more than twenty years old.

Had actually taken his Judgment Light-wheel with his bare hands and was holding it back?

How was this possible!

Lin Mo's arm muscles tightened one by one, veins crawling from the back of his hand up to his forearm, yet he remained as still as if he were nailed to the ground.

He could feel the burning sensation in his palm.

That was the divine magic corroding his flesh.

However, the recovery power of the Awakening of Insects trait was also operating frantically. Almost as soon as his skin and flesh were torn, new vitality surged up to replace it.

“Is this all you've got?”

Lin Mo looked up, his eyes holding a smile that was almost provocative.

This completely set the other party off.

The leader's face turned livid, the holy staff in his hand vibrating wildly. White-gold divine runes climbed onto the light wheel in rings, forcefully pressing the power down another thirty percent.

“Kill him!” he roared.

But at that moment, Lin Mo suddenly smiled.

It wasn't a head-on smile, but the kind of smile that comes from having waited for the opponent to reveal their trump card.

“This is exactly what I was waiting for.”

Before he finished speaking, his right foot slammed down.

Boom!

The rock shattered, and he used the counterforce to suddenly dart out diagonally, the pressure on his palm being forcefully shed by half in an instant.

Lin Mo's figure was like a black shadow darting along the ground. He cut across the edge of the Judgment Light-wheel and then backhanded a punch, slamming it into the chest of a Temple Knight beside the leader.

Bang!

The knight's breastplate dented instantly, and he flew backward, knocking over two people behind him. The Holy Light formation was immediately torn even wider.

“Bastard!”

The leader's face was distorted with rage.

He finally realized that he had been led by the nose by this brat from the very beginning.

The boy wasn't trying to fight him to the death.

He was dragging him bit by bit into a chaotic situation.

Dragging him into a melee.

Dragging him into a rhythm that was most uncomfortable for him.

And at this time, the four Rank Seven Awakeners in the rear had completely pressed forward.

“Leave the left to me!” the man with the black wristguards roared, his warhammer sweeping across, directly smashing a Temple Knight who was trying to fill the gap until his holy radiance exploded.

“The right side is in disarray!” The man with the diagonal scar swung his blade, the saber light like blood, forcing two enemies back three steps.

The middle-aged man with the old shoulder injury stepped on the ground, and the rising earthen walls pressed across like city gates, forcefully sealing off the West Federation reinforcements' advance.

The fourth person was even more ruthless, throwing six black nails with both hands. Upon landing, the nails transformed into chains entwined with layers of gray mist, actually forcing the divine magic chanting of three magic-user saints to be interrupted.

In just a few breaths, the West Federation reinforcements' vanguard had become a complete mess.

The Temple Battle Line, which should have been high and mighty, was now being held back at the mountain pass by a boy and four border veterans.

The gold-cloaked leader's expression grew uglier and uglier.

He never expected that the vanguard team he brought not only failed to press forward but was instead beaten into a scattered formation by the opponent's counterattack.

And what made him even more chilled was—

Lin Mo's aura was still rising.

It was as if every collision, every injury, and every recovery made this blade a bit faster, a bit more ruthless, and a bit more difficult to parry.

“This brat...” The leader gritted his teeth, a hint of genuine wariness finally appearing in his eyes.

Lin Mo shook his hand; his palm was slightly red, but the skin beneath was already rapidly repairing itself.

He looked at the face opposite him, which was so dark it seemed ready to drip water, and his smile thinned slightly.

And just then, a muffled sound, low to the extreme, suddenly came from deep within the gorge.

Thump—

It was like some giant object had gently turned over in the darkness.

The black mist on both sides of the mountain path shook, and vaguely, a section of a giant dark gold skeletal shadow slowly emerged from behind the mist.

Lin Mo caught that scene out of the corner of his eye, his breath pausing slightly.

It was starting.

Inside Black Dragon Gorge, the dragon god skeleton were beginning to react.

Lin Mo turned his head to take a look, his eyes flickering.