383: Holy Light Shield

The news of the City Lord's flight spread through the city like a plague.

"The City Lord has run away! The Duke fled with the gold and jewelry!"

"Even the City Lord has abandoned us, what are we still defending?"

"Run! We can't win, they're all monsters."

The fragile defensive line of the City Guard collapsed in an instant.

Soldiers threw down their longswords and shields, fleeing in all directions like headless flies. The few remaining Transcendent warriors were quickly submerged by the tidal wave of Blood Puppets, unable to even let out a scream.

Just then, a pillar of golden light suddenly lit up the sky from the direction of the Holy See. Archbishop Reinhardt arrived in this hellscape via an emergency teleportation array, leading two squads of the Judgment Department's knights.

When he received the emergency plea for help from Veloria, he was handling the aftermath of "Goddess Day."

Seeing the horrifying images transmitted through the crystal ball, he immediately gathered his most elite knights and activated the highest-priority teleportation array to rush over.

The moment the light pillar dissipated, the thick smell of blood was almost suffocating. Reinhardt looked up; the entire city was burning, and black smoke obscured the sky.

On the streets, dense crowds of Blood Puppets were surging frantically toward the cathedral; the scene was a total nightmare.

"Lord Archbishop!"

A Judgment Knight, his armor stained with blood and his shoulder guard torn, ran over quickly.

"The City Guard has completely collapsed. The City Lord... Duke Faulkner fled through the west gate with his treasure. To clear a path, his private soldiers pushed the fleeing civilians into the monster swarms."

Reinhardt gripped his staff and said in a low voice, "That greedy coward. Before I left, I specifically sent a message for Faulkner to gather the civilians and hold the city gates. To think he would abandon the entire city for that gold and silver."

He knew all too well the consequences of the City Lord's flight.

With morale shattered and civilians losing their last ray of hope, the situation would become irrecoverable.

"First squad, follow me to the cathedral to reinforce the Holy Light Barrier," Reinhardt ordered swiftly. "Second squad, go and round up the scattered City Guard and Security Teams. Tell them the Holy See's reinforcements are on the way. Anyone who dares to desert will be severely punished according to Church law."

"By your command!"

The two squads of knights split up, their golden sword light carving a path of survival through the blood-stained streets.

Reinhardt sighed inwardly as he charged: If Faulkner had taken those reports of anomalies seriously from the start, and if he hadn't deserted, Veloria would never have collapsed so quickly.

The scene in front of the cathedral was even more tragic.

The Holy Light Barrier flickered erratically. Dozens of mid-level priests, their faces pale and lips parched, were desperately pouring mana into the barrier.

Seeing the arrival of Archbishop Reinhardt, the congregation flocked toward him as if seeing a savior.

"Lord Archbishop, the barrier is about to fail."

"Tens of thousands are squeezed inside. The elderly and children are at their limit. Please, think of something!"

Reinhardt looked into the barrier, where the square was packed with terrified civilians.

An old woman held her dead granddaughter, her withered palm gently patting the child's back as she murmured, "Be good, don't be afraid. The Goddess will protect us..."

Several starving children wept in a corner; their mothers could only hold them tightly, tears falling silently.

Reinhardt raised his staff high, and a continuous stream of golden holy light poured out, infusing the crumbling barrier: "Everyone, hold on! The Holy See's reinforcements will arrive within two hours. As long as we hold this place, we can save more people."

But the Archbishop knew in his heart that without the cooperation of the City Guard, relying solely on these two squads of Judgment Knights and exhausted priests to hold this fallen city left them with slim hope.

In the chaos, Reinhardt noticed an unusual detail.

Several priests who should have been on duty in the Holy Water Preparation Room were nowhere to be found. When he inquired, the other priests' gazes were shifty.

"Where is Priest Richard?" Reinhardt asked.

A young priest lowered his head, his voice weak: "Sen... Senior said he was unwell and is in the lounge."

Reinhardt frowned.

Richard was one of his most trusted high-level priests, responsible for the final purification of the holy water.

Claiming illness and being absent at such a critical moment was highly unusual.

He instructed the knights to reinforce the defensive line and strode toward the Holy Water Preparation Room.

The moment he pushed open the door, a faint scent of rot drifted into his nostrils.

Reinhardt's eyes sharpened—this was the characteristic scent of a source of contamination.

The preparation room was a mess, with several crystal bottles smashed on the floor, and the remaining holy water mixed with an eerie dark-red substance.

Reinhardt knelt down, used a finger to dab a bit, and brought it to his nose. Besides the characteristic fragrance of holy water, there was an extremely faint scent of blood.

"So that's how it is..." Reinhardt murmured to himself; everything made sense now.

The outbreak of Blood Puppets was so rapid and its scope so wide; it must have been spread through the daily distribution of holy water.

Only an insider could have done this.

Richard, or other corrupted priests, had mixed contaminants into the holy water.

He stood up, his face ashen.

Traitors had appeared within the Church, which meant the situation was even worse than it appeared on the surface.

Just then, a scream suddenly came from the back of the cathedral.

Reinhardt turned and rushed over, and the scene before him made his heart sink.

Three priests, their eyes red and blood vessels bulging under their skin, were frantically attacking the surrounding civilians.

They had been completely corrupted.

"Quickly, purify them," Reinhardt ordered.

The Judgment Knights immediately stepped forward. Golden sword light flashed, and the three corrupted priests fell in pools of blood. But panic had already spread through the crowd.

"Even the priests have turned into monsters."

"We're finished. The Church and the Archbishop can't save us either."

Reinhardt took a deep breath and climbed to a high point, his voice echoing throughout the square: "Everyone, the conspiracy of the Old God's Followers has been exposed!"

"Traitors appeared among us and poisoned the holy water, leading to this disaster. But I promise you, the Holy See will never abandon a single person."

His gaze swept over the crowd, finally landing on several priests with abnormal expressions: "All unpolluted priests, come to the front row immediately to assist in maintaining the barrier. Anyone who refuses will be regarded as an accomplice of the followers."

This tactic worked.

Several corrupted priests who were originally hiding in the crowd were forced to reveal themselves. As the Tier 5 Holy Light swept over them, their abnormal states had nowhere to hide, and they were quickly subdued by the Judgment Knights.

However, the crisis was far from over.

The Holy Light Barrier flickered violently again. Outside, countless Blood Puppets seemed to be guided by something, crashing against the barrier even more frantically.

On the top floor of the Nightingale Club in the south of the city, Laroche and the others looked down indifferently at all of this.

"Reinhardt is sharper than we anticipated." Isabella swirled the wine glass in her hand, the crimson liquid inside rippling slightly.

"To have discovered the problem with the holy water so quickly."

"Unfortunately, it's already too late," Sebastian chuckled. "The entire city has fallen. Even if he knows the truth, he is powerless to change the outcome."