Under the overcast sky, within the Church District of northern Tivian, countless Church members were busy inside and out, the Holy War Army picked up their weapons and formed ranks, and the lingering citizens and believers were being advised to leave the Church; the entire Church District was a scene of chaos.
In a corner near the entrance of the Grand Chapel, three Tayi Sect members who had infiltrated Saint Chant Church were gathered together. The Werewolf man named Brand was currently closing his eyes tightly, using his thoughts to link with the dozens of Beastmen sleeping within several carriage compartments outside the Church District, attempting to awaken them.
These Beastmen were prepared by the Wolf Blood Society for this operation. In their original plan, their purpose was to act as the vanguard and cannon fodder to assault Saint Chant Church. After the main defensive forces within Saint Chant Church were drawn away by the Scarlet Extraordinary reaction in the distance, they would awaken and release these Beastmen to launch an attack, creating the initial chaos for the entire Saint Chant Church. After attracting the attention of all remaining defenders, they would then seize the opportunity to act.
In this operation, the Wolf Blood Society intended to ideally not have their own Scarlet members personally participate...
"How is it? Is it ready?"
Seeing that his companion, who was awakening the Beastmen, had been silent for a while, Sand, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but frown and speak. At this moment, Brand opened his eyes, his expression becoming very solemn as he spoke.
"No... I can't awaken my Beast Servants anymore, I don't know why? They haven't been responding to me?"
"What?" Hearing Brand's words, Vaughn, who was nearby, couldn't help but be surprised, and then continued to speak.
"Unable to awaken the Beast Servants... Could it be that something went wrong with the outer arrangements? Should we go out and check now?"
"No, didn't you see that this group of Fanatics has already started driving people away and preparing for war and imposing martial law? Once we go out, their preparations will be complete. At that time, it will be equivalent to a frontal breakthrough and forced assault, which will be even more difficult, even with the assistance of Beast Servants..." At this moment, Brand spoke again with a solemn expression. After hearing his words, Sand, who was nearby, paused slightly, and then continued seriously.
"Then what should we do now?"
"There's no other way, we can only act directly. Before they complete their preparations, we must quickly seize the item!" Brand said, making the decision. Hearing his words, Vaughn and Sand exchanged glances, then looked at Brand together and nodded seriously.
"Then let's begin."
Seeing his companions' agreement, Brand immediately took the lead, leading the other two away from the spot and walking quickly in one direction. Just then, a Church Guard sergeant wearing plate armor, who was overseeing the evacuation, saw the three people acting suspiciously and immediately stepped forward to try and stop them.
"The three of you over there, the Church is now closed. Please follow the guidance and leave here immediately, otherwise... Ugh!"
The sergeant hadn't taken many steps when a cold gaze fell upon him. While he was still caught off guard, Brand was the first to act, stepping forward and striking the sergeant's chest with a punch. Instantly, the sergeant's chest armor shattered, and he was sent flying into the distance by the powerful force, crashing heavily into a Stone pillar before spitting blood and falling unconscious.
"Let's mess this place up a bit first!" After striking down the Church Guard sergeant, Brand spoke to Sand beside him, and the other man also nodded and replied.
"Okay."
Saying that, the clothes Sand was wearing instantly swelled and puffed up, and then countless tiny flies and mosquitoes erupted from his collar and cuffs like a geyser, spreading outwards in a dense buzzing sound, rushing towards the citizens and Church members who had been attracted by the commotion just now.
Facing the swarm of flies and insects rushing towards them, the ordinary citizens and Church Guard soldiers began screaming and running away. Some who were slower were bitten by the insects, and red rashes quickly appeared on their bodies. They knelt down in a sense of powerlessness, feeling nauseous and vomiting.
"Roar!!!"
Facing this scene, Brand and Sand decided to add fuel to the fire. They quickly began to transform. After their bodies swelled and their clothes burst open, they turned into two black-furred Werewolves four to five meters tall. The first thing they did after transforming into Werewolves was to immediately open their mouths wide and let out terrifying howls, inflicting fear and intimidation on everyone in the vicinity, instantly doubling the panic at the scene.
For a time, the entire area near the entrance of the Grand Chapel suddenly became extremely chaotic. Almost everyone there was running around in panic aimlessly. The released swarm of flies and insects was indiscriminately biting all visible creatures, causing them to collapse to the ground and lose strength.
Seeing that the scene of chaos had been created, Brand immediately took the lead and quickly withdrew with Vaughn, not forgetting to grab Sand along the way. Thus, the two Werewolves transformed into two black streaks of light at high speed and rushed towards another direction of Saint Chant Church, leaving behind only a crowd of people running around in panic and a rampant swarm of flies and insects.
...
"Captain Vanya! There's large-scale chaos at the entrance of the Grand Chapel! It seems someone is causing sustained Extraordinary attacks there! We need support!"
In the Archbishop's office in the Church District, Gasparre Priest, who had just finished delivering the instructions, suddenly pushed open the office door and reported urgently to the white-robed Sister standing on the carpet. At this moment, the Sister was standing still by default, gazing at a wall in the room, her expression calm and silent.
"I know, I've already sent a squad of Church Guards along with a team of Holy War Army to handle things there, no need to worry too much," Vanya replied calmly to Gasparre Priest. Hearing her words, Gasparre Priest couldn't help but pause slightly, and then spoke with some surprise.
"A squad of Church Guards and a team of Holy War Army... Is that enough people? The level of chaos over there is not small, it doesn't seem like something caused by one or two low-level Extraordinary cultists!"
"Yes, the disturbance there was indeed not caused by ordinary Extraordinary, but even so, what's left there is just a swarm of flies that can spread disease. Although the commotion is big and the impact is wide, it's just a bait to lure us out. That small number of people is definitely enough.
"Now, the main force of those invaders is in another direction. They are moving west along the north corridor of Musheng Building. Their target should be the Restricted Library. I have already ordered nearby forces to intercept and stop them at close range, and also had more Church Guards and Holy War Army gather at the entrance of the Restricted Library in advance. You should also hurry over there, Gasparre Priest."
Vanya continued to speak indifferently in this silent manner. Hearing her words, Gasparre Priest was slightly stunned at first, then immediately responded as if he had realized something.
"Yes, I'll go now."
After speaking, Gasparre Priest immediately withdrew, leaving Vanya alone in the office, continuing to gaze solitarily at the blank wall in front of her. In her widened eyes, a faint golden halo was appearing around the edge of her pupils.
At this moment, Vanya was not simply facing the wall. Her eyes were currently penetrating countless material barriers, gazing towards Brand and others who were moving at high speed within the Church District in the distance, locking onto their movements.
As the current acting Archbishop of St. Yong Cathedral, Vanya had the authority to link with this temple-level religious ritual site, utilizing its effectiveness to enhance her own abilities.
Under the enhancement provided by the temple-level ritual site, Vanya's "Lamp" vision was greatly strengthened. Not only could she perceive the existence of Extraordinary power, but she also possessed extremely potent long-range perspective effects. Everything within a radius of several kilometers centered around her could not escape her eyes. No barrier could obscure her vision, and all the little tricks of Brand and others could not deceive her eyes.
With the support of such powerful true vision, Vanya could deploy the forces within the Church District without being interfered by false information, arranging the "welcoming party" for Brand and the others.
...
On the other side, along a corridor on the east side of the Church District, between the continuous buildings, the two black streaks of light formed by the Werewolves were speeding forward at high speed, heading towards the target location they had obtained in their preliminary intelligence.
And as they made their way to their destination, Church Guards armed with weapons constantly came to stop them, firing bullets at them. Among them were teams of Holy War Army with more Extraordinary members joining in.
Facing the obstacles from all directions, the Werewolf-transformed Vaughn and Brand endured the damage from the bullets while knocking down and sending flying everyone who dared to block their path, forging ahead towards their destination.
Meanwhile, Sand, who was riding on Brand's back, played a significant role. During their advance, he continuously created dense swarms of flies. These tiny flying insects swarmed towards the Church soldiers sniping the two Werewolves from afar, causing severe rashes all over their bodies with almost undefendable bites. In extreme discomfort, they vomited and collapsed. Wherever these fly swarms passed, people fell down in swaths. Even Apprentices and Extraordinary of the Black Earth Stage could not last more than five seconds under the severe disease spread by these insects. So far, the damage caused by Sand far exceeded that of the two Werewolves.
"Damn it... so many people blocking the way without fear of death!"
After swatting away another Holy War Army soldier who came to block him head-on, Brand couldn't help but mutter. He had lost count of how many times he had swatted away the "heroes" who dared to intercept him head-on. He had to admit, these fearless individuals, along with the snipers on the edges, had clearly slowed them down. He could understand the snipers, but he was a bit unclear where so many fanatical loyal believers came from?
In fact, these blocking "Fanatics" were almost all Dorothy's Corpse Puppets. Utilizing the convenience brought by Vanya, Dorothy had earlier infiltrated her Corpse Puppets into the Tivian Church to play a role at some critical moments.
Finally, after breaking through all the way, Brand and his companions finally arrived at their destination, in front of the Archives Building in the Saint Chant Church District. The Forbidden Library they were looking for was in the basement of the entire building. As long as they crossed this final barrier, they would finally be able to reach their destination.
However, this final barrier was not so easy to cross. When Brand and his companions finally passed through the bloody corridor and turned the last corner, they finally arrived at an open space in front of the Archives Building. And when they saw the main entrance of the Archives Building, the scene in front of the door immediately made their hearts sink.
A position... a complete battle line position had now been set up at the entrance of the building. Thick sandbags were piled up into a low wall. Behind the low wall was a group of Holy War Army soldiers wearing unified uniforms. They were crouching behind the sandbag low wall, extending their rifles forward and pointing them at the enemy. In addition to these dozens of ordinary rifles, there were also seven or eight heavy water-cooled heavy machine guns mounted on the sandbags. On the roof of the building, there were three or four more mounted. The ammunition belts of these heavy machine guns were in place, and the dark muzzles were now aimed at the stunned Werewolves.
Using the time created by the sniping Holy War Army and Dorothy's Corpse Puppets, Vanya, whose judgment was not affected by the misinformation, accurately deployed the armed forces in the Church District and quickly built a defense line here. These Holy War Army soldiers carrying heavy weapons were arranged nearby by Vanya this morning under the pretext of training and equipment inspection, so it was quick to assemble them.
"Fire!"
Following a command from a voice, countless muzzles on the position roared and opened fire. Immediately, the sound of gunfire, countless times denser than firecrackers, erupted on the scene. A torrent of metal sprayed out from the flames of the gun barrels, attacking the still somewhat stunned Werewolves. In just an instant, countless bloody holes were opened on their tall bodies.
For a moment, both Werewolves let out heart-wrenching wails. Under the powerful firepower suppression of a dozen water-cooled heavy machine guns, they couldn't help but seek cover nearby to hide. One hid behind a stone statue, and the other hid behind the nearest wall.
"Roar!!!"
After temporarily hiding behind cover, the two Werewolves immediately let out terrifying fear howls, preparing to use fear to directly drive away the ordinary mortals and low-level Extraordinary on the position.
However, this time their howls did not have much effect. No one on the position was affected by the howl and fled their posts. This was because the Discipline Cultivator who had been deployed in the position earlier had played a role. He used discipline to help a large number of soldiers stabilize their minds and not be affected by fear.
The fear howl was ineffective, and the Light position here began to counterattack. They had clearly anticipated this situation. After the Werewolves hid behind cover, in the back row of the position, several prepared mortar teams fired the shells that had been ready for a long time, lobbing them towards the Werewolves behind the cover. Finally, with a roar of explosion, the cover protecting the Werewolves was shattered, and the Werewolves also howled and fled from the explosion. Flames were burning on their bodies at this time, and charred wounds were visible everywhere.
Having lost their cover, the Werewolves were once again subjected to concentrated firepower. Countless bullets hit their bodies, and countless blood blossoms erupted on them. They were suppressed to the point where they could only be forced to dodge at high speed to find new cover. And at this moment, Sand, who was also suppressed by the gunfire, created another swarm of flies, flying through the hail of bullets towards the Light position. Soon, these fly swarms, which could almost ignore bullets, were about to swarm the position.
And at this moment, two large bursts of intense flames erupted from the position, instantly ravaging a large area of the open space in front, swallowing all the attacking fly swarms in one go, burning them completely. Including Gaspare Priest, the two Chalk Burning Monks deployed in the position made their move, completely neutralizing Sand's insect offensive in one go.
The disease-spreading flies were burned to ashes, but the raging flames on the battlefield also temporarily obstructed the line of sight for shooting. Under the high temperature obstruction, the shooting from the position couldn't help but slightly weaken. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the two Werewolves launched a counterattack again. Brand directly slammed the ground forcefully, sending out a large area of high-speed stone fragments with immense force, shooting towards the position. For a moment, countless ordinary mortal soldiers and low-level Extraordinary were hit or even penetrated by these stones. They fell to the ground one after another in wails, covering their wounds and struggling to roll around.
But this pain was only temporary. In the position, Sister Anlei, who had been prepared earlier, immediately began to use her ability to soothe the pain and heal the wounds of the injured soldiers. The dozen or so wounded soldiers soon felt much less pain. They could feel their wounds healing rapidly, and even the stone fragments that had entered their bodies were being expelled by their bodies themselves.
Currently, there is only one Extraordinary of the Holy Mother's Path on the scene, Sister Anlei. Even she could not simultaneously attend to the injuries of these more than ten wounded and provide such rapid treatment. In fact, there are others assisting Sister Anlei with the treatment, and that is Vanya.
Vanya, who is currently the Acting Archbishop, also utilized the temple ritual of the St. Yong Cathedral to directly extend her ability range to the entire Church District and its surroundings, and there is no longer a limit to the number of simultaneous treatments. Now, not only the soldiers currently fighting on the scene, but even other soldiers and ordinary citizens who were previously severely injured by Sand's flies are now among those being treated by Vanya. Under her hands at this moment, there will be no casualties.
The soldiers on the position were rapidly recovering, being treated, and regrouping, while the two Werewolves were also rapidly recovering from their injuries by consuming their Spirituality. They stared venomously ahead, breathing heavily, with large areas of blood almost staining their entire fur.
And these bloody smells diffused into the air, spreading outwards without restraint, and were then smelled by an extraordinary perception so powerful it almost defied logic.
...
In the distant suburbs north of Tivian, Duval, dressed in a black raincoat, was standing on a small path at this moment, silently looking up at the sky, while lightly sniffing the familiar smell of blood, he murmured.
"It seems... I still have to make a move..."