213: Chapter 213 Heresy

Marcus snatched the telescope and looked toward the distant valley.

When he saw that those Eastern soldiers were actually still flying a flag embroidered with a ferocious black Dragon at the entrance of the valley, his blue eyes were instantly filled with raging fury.

"Blasphemers! A bunch of filthy blasphemers!" Marcus growled through gritted teeth.

"They dare to plant that evil totem on the land illuminated by the radiance of our god of light!"

Unable to tolerate this sacrilege any longer, he immediately reported the matter in the most urgent manner to his direct superior—the commander of the "Glory Knight Order" responsible for guarding this border region, the great Temple Knight, Your Excellency Augustus.

Augustus was a young talent who, at only thirty years old, had already been promoted to a seventh-rank Temple Knight thanks to his illustrious military achievements and his near-fanatical devotion to the god of light.

He came from an ancient noble family of the Western Empire and had received the most orthodox knightly education from a young age, which had instilled in him a deep-seated, extreme arrogance regarding his own lineage and faith.

In his view, apart from the Westerners who believed in the god of light, all other races in this world were inferior existences that needed to be purified.

Especially those yellow-skinned monkeys living in the wild lands of the East; they did not even qualify to be slaves and were only fit to be reduced to ashes in the flames of divine punishment.

When he received the report from Centurion Marcus and learned that those Eastern barbarians had actually dared to step, with no regard for their own lives, onto the sacred territory he guarded, his handsome face was instantly covered in a cold Killing Intent like frost.

Without even requesting instructions from his superiors—the commander-in-chief of the border legion—he immediately gathered the five hundred most elite Temple Knights under his command, along with one thousand auxiliary infantry, and aggressively advanced toward that small "outpost mine."

He would use the blood of these Eastern barbarians to wash away the shame this land had suffered!

He would make these arrogant heretics personally experience, amidst endless repentance and wailing, just how miserable the consequences of defying the will of the gods were!

When Augustus led his troop, which resembled a torrent of steel, onto the hillside outside the mine, Ma Qianli, who was in charge of guarding the area, received the alert immediately.

He climbed the watchtower, raised the superior long-range telescope produced by the Wu Dynasty, and looked toward the enemy's formation.

He saw that on the hillside, a huge flag embroidered with a golden cross and a sharp sword was flapping violently in the biting mountain wind.

Beneath the flag stood five hundred knights, clad in full-body heavy armor polished to a mirror-like shine, holding greatswords taller than a man and tower shields, and mounted on majestic warhorses also covered in thick horse armor, standing quietly in a neat and murderous formation.

The sunlight shone upon their silver-white armor, reflecting a blinding light that one dared not look at directly; a cold and fanatical, terrifying Killing Intent, even from several miles away, still rushed toward them, causing people to feel a wave of palpitations.

Behind these knights were one thousand heavily armored infantrymen, also well-equipped and holding spears and square shields.

"Damn it, these red-haired barbarians have quite the formation!" Ma Qianli lowered the telescope and spat disdainfully.

Although he felt a hint of surprise in his heart at the enemy's superior equipment, his explosive temper did not allow him to lose even an inch in Aura to the opponent.

Soon, Augustus sent a messenger, also clad in heavy armor, who rode a warhorse to the front of the mine's trench.

With a condescending and arrogant posture, the messenger chattered on and on in a foreign tongue that Ma Qianli could not understand at all, addressing the camp.

An interpreter accompanying the army who had specifically studied the Western language hurriedly ran to Ma Qianli's side and whispered the translation: "General, that barbarian says they are from the 'Glory Knight Order' of the Western Empire.

He says we have violated their sacred territory and blasphemed their god.

He demands that we immediately get out of the mountain pass, demolish all the buildings here, and that you personally go out, kneel before their commander, kiss his boots, and beg for his forgiveness.

Otherwise... otherwise they will use Holy Light to completely purify this place..."

Before the interpreter had even finished speaking, Ma Qianli's dark face had already turned the color of pig's liver!

"Fuck his grandmother!"

A heaven-shaking roar erupted from Ma Qianli's mouth, and he suddenly snatched a powerful bow that had already been strung from the hands of his personal guard beside him!

"Translate this back for me!"

As Ma Qianli pulled back the bowstring, aiming the cold-gleaming arrow from afar at the messenger who was still chattering incessantly, he roared at the interpreter beside him, "Tell that son-of-a-bitch red-haired barbarian!

This is the land of my Great Wu Dynasty!

Tell him to get out with his men immediately!

Otherwise, I will blow his dog head off with an arrow right now!"

The interpreter trembled all over, frightened by Ma Qianli's monstrous rage, but he still bit the bullet and loudly translated Ma Qianli's original words back, using equally insulting Western language.

The messenger was stunned at first, and then his arrogant face was replaced by endless humiliation and anger!

Just as he was about to retort, a sharp arrow that had long been ready to be fired came whistling through the air, tearing through it like a viper striking from its hole, shooting straight toward his face!

The messenger was greatly alarmed; he had never expected that these Eastern barbarians would actually dare to strike first!

He hurriedly raised the shield in his hand, attempting to block it.

However, what kind of person was Ma Qianli?

Although his temper was explosive, his martial arts were the real deal, and he had long since reached the Peak realm of a seventh-rank Grandmaster!

How could this arrow of his be so easily blocked?

Only a dull "thud" sound was heard!

The refined steel arrow, infused with Ma Qianli's powerful Internal Energy, pierced through the refined steel shield in the messenger's hand and his heavy helmet as easily as if it were piercing a thin sheet of paper, finally exiting through the back of his head and bringing out a spray of hot, red-and-white brains!

The messenger could not even emit a scream before he fell headlong from his warhorse, turning into a cold corpse.

This arrow was like a crystal-clear signal, completely igniting the fuse of this conflict!

On the hillside, Augustus, who had witnessed with his own eyes the messenger he sent being so humiliatingly shot dead by the enemy, saw his handsome face instantly twist with extreme anger!

"Heretics! You damned, unforgivable heretics!"

A roar filled with frenzy and Killing Intent erupted from his mouth, resounding throughout the entire valley!

"Glory Knight Order! Charge with me!

Use the holy swords in your hands to purify this land defiled by heretics before us!

For our Lord!

For the Light!"

Augustus held high the magnificent longsword in his hand, which was inlaid with a huge red gemstone, and began to chant a solemn prayer praising the god of light.

As he chanted, beams of golden light, visible to the naked eye and filled with a sacred and majestic Aura, began to descend from the sky, bathing him and all the Temple Knights!

The ordinary refined steel heavy armor on their bodies, after being blessed by this golden "Holy Light," actually manifested a faint layer of energy halo on the surface that resembled golden flames!

The longswords in their hands burned with raging golden Holy Light, as if they were ignited torches!

"Kill—!!!"

Augustus took the lead, and his warhorse, also shrouded in Holy Light, let out a loud neigh, launching a desperate charge toward the Wu Dynasty's army formation like an arrow leaving the bowstring!

Behind him, the five hundred Temple Knights, who looked like Heavenly Gods descending to earth, also let out a heaven-shaking roar simultaneously, transforming into an unstoppable torrent of steel capable of destroying everything in its path, charging fiercely toward the seemingly fragile trenches and caltrops!

"All troops! Engage the enemy!"

Seeing this, Ma Qianli felt not a shred of fear in his eyes; instead, an even more blazing Battle Intent burned within him!

He drew the saber from his waist, pointed at the enemy charging like a landslide or tsunami, and roared, "Brothers of the Panshi Army!

Let these red-haired barbarians witness the mettle of our Great Wu Dynasty soldiers!

Give it to them hard!"

"Divine Might Cannons! Fire!"

Following his order, the dozen or so Divine Might Cannons, which had been standing by, instantly emitted a deafening roar!

A dozen red-hot solid iron cannonballs, trailing long black smoke like roaring meteors, smashed fiercely toward the charging Knight Order!

However, the scene that followed left all the Wu Dynasty soldiers feeling shocked to their cores!

They saw that as the whistling cannonballs were about to strike the Temple Knights, the faint golden halo on their bodies suddenly flared with light, forming translucent golden shields visible to the naked eye!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The iron cannonballs, which could easily shatter city walls, after striking those golden shields, seemed to hit an incredibly tough piece of oxhide; they only caused the shields to shake violently a few times before being easily deflected away!

Only a few unlucky knights, whose shields had been hit repeatedly until their energy was exhausted, were blasted into fragments of flesh and blood along with their horses!

"Archers! Volley fire!"

Seeing this, Ma Qianli's heart sank, but he did not panic and immediately issued the second order.

Thousands of arrows that had been prepared rose into the air like a dark cloud covering the sky, tracing a perfect parabola in the air, and rained down upon the Knight Order that had already charged to close range!

However, the result was still despairing!

After the dense rain of arrows landed on the Temple Knights, apart from creating a series of "clanging" sounds like rain hitting banana leaves, it failed to even break through the defense of the enchanted heavy armor on their bodies!

Just as the Wu Dynasty army was momentarily stunned by the failure of these two rounds of attacks, Augustus had already taken the lead and charged to the front of the trench.

The warhorse beneath him suddenly reared up, and with a resounding neigh, it erupted with an incredible, terrifying power, easily leaping over the deep trench that was fully two zhang wide!

"Die! Heretic!"

Augustus's voice, filled with fanatical Killing Intent, exploded in the ear of a Wu Dynasty Centurion!

The longsword in his hand, burning with golden Holy Light, carried a sacred Aura that seemed capable of purifying all the sins in the world as he slashed down at the Centurion's head!

That Centurion was also a battle-hardened Fifth-Rank Martial Artist; he roared and raised his steel shield and saber, attempting to block!

However, in the face of Augustus's terrifying power as a Seventh-Rank Temple Knight and his indestructible Holy Light longsword, all his resistance seemed so pale and weak!

There was only a "shhh" sound, like a hot knife cutting through butter!

The Centurion's shield and saber, along with the thick steel armor on his body and his strong physique, were cleanly split into two from head to toe by that golden sword light without any resistance!

Scalding blood and internal organs mixed together, spraying everywhere!

This bloody and shocking scene instantly sent a chill deep into the Soul of the surrounding Wu Dynasty soldiers!

Immediately afterward, those five hundred Temple Knights, like steel demons rushing out of Hell, leaped over the trench one after another. Like a red-hot knife cutting through butter, they easily tore through the seemingly solid defensive line of the Panshi Army and charged into the formation!

A tragic slaughter of blood and fire began!

Although the Wu Dynasty soldiers were brave and unafraid of death, when their ordinary swords and blades struck the indestructible enchanted heavy armor on the Temple Knights, aside from splashing a series of dazzling sparks, they were completely unable to cause any effective damage!

In contrast, the Temple Knights' longswords, burning with golden Holy Light, were like the scythes of the Grim Reaper; with every swing, they could easily slice through the steel armor that the Wu Dynasty soldiers were so proud of, taking away living lives one by one!

In just one encounter, a single charge, the Wu Dynasty army paid a heavy price with over a hundred casualties! The entire formation showed signs of collapse!

"Hold! Everyone, hold the line for me! Retreaters will be executed!"

At this critical moment, a roar like a thunderclap exploded from the rear of the formation!

The highest-ranking general responsible for guarding this place, Ma Qianli, had eyes already filled with bloodshot veins, burning with monstrous rage! He suddenly threw away the useless saber in his hand and grabbed a heavy Tiger-Head Gold-Inlaid Spear from the weapon rack beside him, which was eighteen feet long and forged entirely from ten-thousand-year black iron!

"A bunch of ignorant red-haired barbarians! Do you really think I'm a pushover?!"

Ma Qianli roared, and his terrifying Aura, having already reached the Eighth-Rank Martial Saint realm, erupted fully without reservation at this moment!

A visible black Protective Aura, filled with an overbearing and destructive Aura, shot into the sky from his body like boiling smoke!

Under the reinforcement of this Protective Aura, his already burly body expanded another circle, and the muscles all over his body bulged high like coiled Dragons, filled with explosive power!

Holding the heavy spear, he stomped his legs hard against the ground!

"Boom!" With a loud bang!

The ground beneath his feet cracked instantly, as if struck by a meteorite, forming a huge spiderweb-like crater!

He himself, like a black cannonball fired from the chamber, carried a fierce momentum of indomitable determination. He arrived first despite starting later, instantly crossing dozens of zhang and slamming fiercely into the ranks of the invincible Temple Knights!

"Die for me!"

The Tiger-Head Gold-Inlaid Spear in Ma Qianli's hand, under the reinforcement of his terrifying strength and indestructible Protective Aura, had already turned into a black lightning bolt capable of tearing everything apart!

He didn't even use any exquisite Move; it was just a simple sweep of the army!

"Bang!" A dull, terrifying loud noise that made one's teeth ache!

A Temple Knight who was waving his Holy Light longsword and wantonly slaughtering Wu Dynasty soldiers couldn't even react before he was solidly struck in the waist by that black lightning!

The enchanted heavy armor on his body, capable of withstanding cannon fire, and the sacred Holy Light shield were as fragile as paper in the face of this pure, extreme, and unreasonable terrifying power!

That Temple Knight, along with the warhorse beneath him, was smashed into two pieces at the waist by this single spear strike!

Flesh and blood and shattered armor scattered in all directions like fireworks!

The power of a single spear strike had reached such a level!

Ma Qianli's powerful strike was like an adrenaline shot to the already tottering Wu Dynasty formation!

All the soldiers of the Panshi Army, after seeing their own general's heroic performance like a Heavenly God descending, felt their suppressed bloodthirst instantly reignited!

"General is mighty!" "Kill all these sons of bitches!"

On the other side, Augustus, who was enjoying the pleasure of slaughter in the formation, immediately noticed Ma Qianli, this existence like a demon god.

When he saw that the Temple Knight he was so proud of was smashed into meat paste by the opponent like swatting a fly, his blue eyes were instantly replaced by endless shock and anger!

"Damned heretic! How dare you harm the most loyal warrior of my Lord! Accept the judgment of the Holy Light!"

Augustus roared, turned his horse's head, and wielding his longsword burning with raging holy flames, charged fiercely toward Ma Qianli!

Ma Qianli was not alarmed but delighted, and a ferocious smile appeared on his dark face.

"Well done! Today, I will first twist off the head of you bird-brained knight to use as a chamber pot!"

Two peerless powerhouses, both standing at the Peak of their respective power systems, thus launched a fierce confrontation, tit for tat, on this chaotic battlefield filled with blood and fire!

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The black spear containing the indestructible Protective Aura and the golden longsword burning with sacred purifying flames collided fiercely in mid-air again and again!

Every collision erupted with a deafening, thunder-like roar!

It would trigger a visible, terrifying energy shockwave interwoven with black and gold, spreading wildly in all directions!

The surrounding soldiers, whether from the Wu Dynasty or Western, as long as they were slightly affected by this energy shockwave, would immediately have broken bones and tendons, spraying blood from their mouths as they flew backward!

After fighting head-on for dozens of Moves, the two were evenly matched, and neither could do anything to the other!

Augustus became more and more alarmed as he fought. He could not believe that this seemingly coarse Eastern barbarian general could actually rely on pure Physical Body strength to clash with him in his "Holy Light Descent" state to such an extent!

Ma Qianli was also secretly suffering. The golden flames attached to the opponent's longsword seemed to possess a strange, eerie purifying power. Every time they collided, a wisp of cold energy would try to invade his body, melting his Protective Aura and making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

He knew he couldn't drag this out any longer! Although his Protective Aura was vigorous, it was ultimately limited, while the opponent seemed able to continuously draw that golden energy from the Void Realm in some way!

Must end the battle quickly!

Thinking of this, a flash of ruthless determination crossed Ma Qianli's eyes!

He deliberately exposed a weakness. During another head-on clash, Augustus's Holy Light longsword slashed a wound on his shoulder that was deep enough to see the bone!

"Hahaha! Die! Heretic!"

Seeing this, Augustus thought the opponent was exhausted and couldn't help but be overjoyed!

He seized this once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity, urged his warhorse, merged his body and sword, turned into a brilliant golden stream of light, and stabbed fiercely toward Ma Qianli's wide-open chest!

He seemed to have already seen the scene where his sword would completely purify this stubborn heretic into fly ash!

However, just as his indestructible Holy Light longsword was about to pierce Ma Qianli's heart, a cruel smile of triumph appeared on Ma Qianli's face!

"This is what I've been waiting for!"

He suddenly clamped the horse's belly, and the warhorse beneath him seemed to understand human nature and, in sync with his mind, suddenly darted forward by half a body length!

At the same time, the Tiger-Head Gold-Inlaid Spear in his hand turned back fiercely from under his ribs like a poisonous Dragon emerging from its cave, at an incredible angle that completely defied physical logic!

This was exactly his trump card technique—the Returning Horse Spear!

"Puchi!" A dull, teeth-aching sound of a sharp blade entering flesh!

Augustus's blue eyes instantly widened! He slowly lowered his head, looking in disbelief at his own indestructible chest, which was shrouded in Holy Light.

There, a hideous, bowl-sized blood hole was gushing out hot blood mixed with shattered internal organs.

And that black spear, filled with a destructive Aura, had already pierced through from his back!

"How... how... is this possible..."

Augustus spat out the last words of his life, filled with unwillingness and confusion.

The sacred golden Holy Light on his body faded rapidly like a receding tide, and the luster in his eyes also quickly dimmed.

In the end, his tall body fell powerlessly from the warhorse, kicking up a cloud of dust.