"The Seventh Trumpet is about to sound. The earth shall become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ. Glory, majesty, power, and authority all belong to Him. O wind, obey the Lord's holy word and grant destruction! Hammer of judgment, strike down the fallen!"
As the harp strings were plucked, a majestic and grand movement spread outward.
On a distant low hill, a handsome young man with tousled green hair held a harp in his arms and chanted praise as lyrical as song and poetry. The Ether around him gathered above his head, forming a pale-blue, transparent giant hammer that smashed down toward Samael.
Bang!
With Thermopylae at his back, the Ancient Serpent neither dodged nor retreated from the heavy blow. He stepped forward, twisted his body with his waist as the axis, and drew the Ether tide into the flaming Demon Sword in his hand. A fierce flame burst rose up, instantly annihilating the giant hammer in midair, then continued forward like a furious dragon, blasting toward the low hill ahead.
Before it even reached him, the rolling heat already sent an intense burning sensation through the green-haired handsome man's whole body, as if he were being roasted in the fires of hell.
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Send down Your grace, so that darkness may not consume my body. Divine Protection!"
A powerful sense of danger surged into his heart. The green-haired handsome man's expression changed drastically, his earlier laziness turning into cold sweat. He hurriedly plucked the strings and released a high, majestic chant. Layer upon layer of blazing white light covered his body, forming a barrier that reflected the illusion of a kingdom.
Boom!
But when the flaming sword light struck, the seemingly indestructible barrier of divine grace was instantly covered in spiderweb cracks.
The green-haired handsome man nearly lost his soul from fright. His harp playing grew more and more chaotic, his tone quickened, and even his voice began to tremble.
"O God who vindicates me, answer me when I call! In my distress You gave me relief. Have mercy on me now and hear my prayer!"
Finally, the blazing white halo descending from the sky managed to offset the deadly flaming sword light.
However, as the dust and smoke dispersed, a sharp whine tore through the air. The figure that had been at the breach of Thermopylae moments ago had closed to within three steps of the green-haired handsome man in an instant.
So fast!
The green-haired handsome man's pupils contracted sharply. At such a short distance, there was no time to chant another hymn. In desperation, he instinctively reached for the sling at his waist.
Before he received God's grace and became the king of Israel, he had once been a shepherd.
To keep his flock from running away without expending too much strength catching them, he had mastered the art of throwing a sling to restrict an animal's movements.
And it was this very skill that allowed him to defeat strength with technique when the army of Israel faced a foreign enemy and no one dared challenge the giant Goliath, winning the gamble that decided both Israel's future and his own fate.
At this distance, he could surely bind this man's hands and feet and limit his movement.
Lord, bless this moment. Go, five stones that changed my fate and brought me glory! Teach this pretty boy a lesson!
The green-haired handsome man immediately pulled the sling from behind his waist. While rapidly retreating, he swung it forward.
Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss!
With spinning afterimages, the sling whistled out. In the unseen world, the rope and its "prey" formed a faint, fate-like connection.
Once thrown, it would surely hit.
Puff!
However, a sword light swept upward, and the Noble Phantasm blessed by God and sublimated from his own life shattered to pieces in an instant.
This monster is too strong!
In that flash of lightning, the green-haired handsome man, having exhausted all his methods, felt his body go cold and his teeth chatter. He instinctively swung his staff and silently recited a psalm in Hebrew in his heart, making one final struggle.
My heart waits in silence for God alone. My salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my high tower. I shall not be greatly…
Crack!
The shepherd's staff he swung with all his strength snapped in the middle, the cut smooth and burning hot. A fierce burning sensation came from his throat.
The green-haired handsome man looked down in horror. The dark-red Demon Sword was right before him, humming as though it longed for his blood. His heart sank to the bottom.
It's over…
Bang!
But unexpectedly, the Demon Sword that should have sliced open his throat changed from a thrust to a slap midway through. The flat of the blade struck his chest and sent him flying more than a hundred meters away, kicking up dust all along the way until he finally crashed into a pile of broken stones and stopped.
Cough, cough…
I actually survived!
The green-haired handsome man coughed violently as he crawled out of the rubble. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, still somewhat unable to believe it.
Once his mind settled, he looked at the demon-like figure towering in the distance and could not help recalling the whisper that had sounded beside his ear when their bodies crossed paths just now. He fell into thought.
"King David? Thank your good son for this…"
So I survived because of that kid Solomon. That really doesn't make me happy.
King David, whose True Name had been revealed in a single sentence, rubbed his chest, unsure how many ribs had broken. Relief mixed with a trace of gloom on his face.
Just as the king who had led Israel's revival was about to pluck his harp, chant divine words, and heal his injuries, a sudden discordant sound instantly disrupted his chant.
At that moment, a handsome blond man in a white Greek robe walked over from the cliff by the sea, holding a harp in his arms.
"Orpheus? Perfect timing. I'll leave this kid to you. Don't let him interfere!"
Samael swept the flaming Demon Sword in his hand and turned dozens of Immortals closing in around him into charcoal. Then he smiled faintly and gave the order casually.
"As you command, Your Majesty…"
Orpheus smiled and nodded. His voice was magnetic and deeply pleasant to hear. He then stood before King David, not forgetting to turn back and respectfully ask the supreme deity of the Orpheus Cult.
"What would you like to hear?"
"Haha, interesting. Then play something fitting for the occasion. The Gods Enter Valhalla!"
Samael could not help laughing cheerfully as he chose a new song from the list, one he had taught Orpheus on a whim during this journey.
After receiving the divine command, Orpheus bowed respectfully, then lightly plucked his strings. Flutes, aulos, panpipes, lyres, harps, citharas, and other Greek instruments appeared from the Magecraft arrays with the rhythm, surrounding the genius musician as they began to play together.
The grand and sacred melody made heaven and earth feel empty, vast, and majestic, as if a magnificent golden palace were rising from the ground. Amid joyous song, the gods crossed the rainbow bridge, entered Valhalla, took their seats, and looked down upon all mortal things bowing at their feet, enjoying the praise and hymns of the world below.
By comparison, the psalm King David played alone on his harp seemed poor and thin.
And the instant the symphony began, Samael, listening with his eyes closed, curved his lips in delight. Then he suddenly opened his eyes, his cross-shaped star pupils flickering as his brows tightened in a cold sneer.
"Sneaking around? Get out here!"
In an instant, the flaming Demon Sword excitedly reignited with the flames of calamity. As his wrist turned, it swept backward and struck the assassin hiding in Samael's shadow with lightning speed.
Boom!
Caught off guard, a pale-faced, lanky man with blood-colored eyes and a pair of fangs at the corners of his lips was sent flying like a cannonball into the dirt, plowing a deep furrow along the way.
The assassin scrambled up in a sorry state. His clothes were in tatters, his back was a bloody mess, and broken arm bones had pierced through flesh, exposing stark white splinters.
"You still can't fix that bad habit of ambushing people. I could smell the rot on you from miles away, Cain!"
Amid the scornful mockery, blazing firelight arrived almost at the same time.
***
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
[email protected]/PinkSnake (50 Chapters Ahead).
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.
***