Chapter 468 - 415: Breaking the Formation and Slaying Enemies

Chapter 468: Chapter 415: Breaking the Formation and Slaying Enemies

Inside a subterranean storage room within the Fire Worship Cathedral, the light of the Teleportation Array faded, revealing the four members of the Soloma Team.

One of them was calm, while the other three looked astonished.

"What’s going on?" Amanda scanned their dark surroundings. "Why were we teleported here? Where are the other teams?!"

Peter looked just as shocked, with no idea what was happening.

Moon Key frowned and turned to their captain, Adam. He noticed that Adam didn’t seem surprised they had been separated from the other teams; it was clear he had anticipated this outcome.

Amanda noticed this as well. "Adam," she asked hesitantly, "what in the world is...?"

"We were teleported inside the cathedral," Adam said. "That’s because the mission the King gave us is different from the other teams’."

"What do you mean?" Peter asked immediately.

"The entire operation’s objective is to assassinate the leadership of the Fire Thief Sect. Our mission... is to capture the Pope alive."

"Capture him alive?!"

"But..."

The other three were stunned. They never imagined the Soloma Team had a separate mission. Worse still, besides their captain, Adam, none of them had been informed.

"Actions like this will destroy trust," said Moon Key.

Amanda chimed in, "He’s right, Adam! When the other teams realize we’re not with them, they’ll think we’ve betrayed them...!"

Adam’s gaze shifted. "Perhaps. But we’re only acting separately. We haven’t betrayed them."

Hearing this, Peter lowered his head, hiding his unnatural expression.

"We teleported directly into the cathedral, giving us a head start," Adam said. "We need to use this advantage to complete our mission. Let’s move, now."

As he spoke, he raised his palm. He activated his Manipulation Force Field, and the storage room door was instantly crushed into a cloud of splinters.

Moon Key and Peter hurried to follow. Amanda watched Adam’s receding back, her expression complex.

’Adam, the man I knew would never have done this... Did you agree to the King’s demand because of our child?’

Just as the Soloma Team began to move from inside the cathedral, the other teams, who had teleported to the main gate, had already walked into a trap set by the Fire Thief Sect.

"Damn it, Soloma! Why?!"

An Ascender from the Sithia Team cursed loudly, his eyes filled with confusion.

He wasn’t the only one. Right now, everyone was more confused than angry.

The Fire Thief Sect had just bombed Soloma, causing over a thousand casualties. Yet now, the Soloma Team was conspiring with them to plot against the other teams. Where was the logic in that? What could they possibly gain?

But this was no time to ponder such questions. It wasn’t even the time to think about revenge.

There was only one thing to focus on now: escaping the trap!

A few of the top Ascenders reacted the fastest. Guan Tong reached the edge of the Array in an instant, but an invisible barrier blocked his attempt to pass through.

Bai Xuewu instantly summoned her Snow White Traceless Mecha and charged, only to be stopped by the same barrier.

The others all tried using their Ability Items, with the same result.

Seeing this, the young Bishop Baike laughed. "Don’t waste your energy. This Array was prepared especially for you. Did you really think you could escape so easily?"

As soon as he finished speaking, chains began to emerge from the dark brown Array. Two Ascenders from smaller nations were caught by the chains and let out piercing screams.

The chains seemed to be coated with a virulent poison that rapidly corroded skin on contact. On one of the captive Ascenders, the flesh on their arm melted away, exposing the bone within seconds.

SHING!

Bai Xuewu swung her Power Sword, severing the chains. But new, more numerous chains generated endlessly from the base of the Array. No matter how they defended themselves or how many they destroyed, the chains just kept coming, seemingly without end.

Baike watched them struggle in their prison, a cat-and-mouse look of amusement on his face. "Unless you break the Array, those chains will never stop. And as for breaking the Array... Heh heh."

"This Array has gathered an incredible amount of Psychic Power!" Under Guan Tong’s protection, Chen Na stood with her eyes shut tight, her Perception Realm activated. She could sense the distribution and magnitude of all Psychic Power in the area.

"It’s those Cultists! I can sense their Psychic Power being continuously channeled into the Array!"

Hearing Chen Na’s words, everyone instantly understood.

So that was why so many Cultists had poured out of the cathedral—they were providing the Psychic Power to maintain the Array.

Seeing the Array’s secret exposed by a little girl, Bishop Heath snorted. "So what if you know? This Array is powered by the combined Psychic Power of hundreds of our faithful. How could a dozen or so of you possibly break it?"

"Damn it!"

Bai Xuewu tried attacking the Array’s barrier, but just as Heath said, her Psychic Power, while formidable, was nothing compared to the collective power of hundreds.

If this dragged on, they would all be exhausted and killed inside the Array.

"Na," Guan Tong asked calmly in a low voice, "can you sense the total amount of Psychic Power being channeled into the Array?"

"Yes!" Chen Na said earnestly. "It’s about fifty thousand."

"Fifty thousand, is it? Alright, I’ll break the Array."

With that, Guan Tong entrusted Chen Na to the protection of Silver Fox and Shangyuan Zi.

Yang Ran, who was busy incinerating chains with his flames, cried out anxiously, "Captain, didn’t you hear that one-eyed bastard? This Array is powered by the Psychic Power of hundreds of Cultists!"

Fifty thousand points of Psychic Power sustaining the Array was indeed a terrifying amount. For ninety-nine percent of Ascenders, it would be a death trap with no escape.

But Guan Tong was not among that ninety-nine percent.

He said nothing more, simply injecting a massive amount of his stored Psychic Power from his Terminal Panel into the [Wordless Book] he carried.

Before leaving Sisiya, he had commissioned Black Star to purchase large quantities of Flowing Psychic Power for him every day. Later, his reward for helping the Strategy Research Room identify Parasites was also a payment of Flowing Psychic Power. Combined with what he had converted and stored himself, he had accumulated a total of 150,000 to 160,000 units of reserve Psychic Power over the past month.

If he were alone, he could have used Body Shifting to escape. But with others trapped in the Array, he decided to break it by force.

To ensure success, he mobilized seventy thousand units of his reserve Psychic Power. After it was converted through the [Wordless Book], a basketball-sized, spherical Small Space condensed in the palm of his right hand.

The moment it took form, almost everyone present felt an immense, oppressive pressure.

"What is that?!" Heath’s pupils contracted. He sensed something was terribly wrong.

The smile vanished from Baike’s face, replaced by a deep frown.

Chen Na stared at Guan Tong in utter shock. Her [Perception Realm] could clearly sense the terrifying amount of Psychic Power contained within the "black orb" in Guan Tong’s right hand. It completely surpassed the power of the Array formed by hundreds of Cultists!

"Quick! We have to reinforce it!"

Heath roared, and he and Baike joined the others in channeling their Psychic Power into the Array, trying to stop Guan Tong from shattering it.

But they were a step too late. In truth, even if they had acted sooner, it would have been futile.

Their combined Psychic Power could never hope to cover the twenty-thousand-point deficit.

Guan Tong thrust the Small Space against the Array’s barrier. The moment it made contact, a void was devoured into existence, and the entire Array collapsed instantly!

How is that possible?!

The Cultists of the Fire Thief Sect were all dumbfounded, staring at Guan Tong in disbelief.

Even the two Bishops, Heath and Baike, were stunned. They couldn’t imagine how a single person could shatter a death-trap Array powered by hundreds of Ascenders.

"Nice one!"

"Kill these bastards!"

With Guan Tong shattering the Array, the strike team’s morale soared. They fell upon the Fire Thief Sect members like a pack of hungry wolves, venting all their fury over Soloma’s betrayal upon their enemies.

Bai Xuewu led the charge, piloting her Mecha into the enemy ranks. In the blink of an eye, she cut down twenty or thirty Cultists.

Yang Ran used his blazing fire to ignite scores of Cultists, while Silver Fox used their speed advantage to carry out a series of assassinations. Shangyuan Zi did not join the fray, remaining by Chen Na’s side to protect her.

As for Guan Tong, his targets weren’t the grunts, but the two Bishops: Heath and Baike.

Since Baike was already engaged with Bai Xuewu, Guan Tong set his sights on Heath.

Chen Na wasn’t idle, either. With the Array broken, she could finally broaden her senses.

As she did, she immediately pinpointed the locations of several important figures!

"It’s the Soloma Team!" Chen Na exclaimed softly. "I sense them! They’re inside the cathedral!"

Shangyuan Zi overheard her. "So their destination was inside the cathedral. Does that mean they really are colluding with the Fire Thief Sect?"

The others heard Chen Na’s shout, including the two Bishops, Heath and Baike.

Guan Tong noticed that they, too, looked surprised. He was puzzled. ’It seems they didn’t know the Soloma Team would be teleporting inside the cathedral?’

’What could be the reason for this...?’

Guan Tong didn’t dwell on it. He just shouted, "Everyone, finish off these Cultists quickly!"

"Right!"

Guan Tong was originally just the captain of the North Star Team, but his feat of shattering the Array had won him the deep admiration of the other Ascenders. They had tacitly accepted him as their leader, and now they all roared in response.

"Hmph. Finish us quickly? I’ll finish you first, you heretic!"

Bishop Heath charged forward, having chosen Guan Tong as his opponent.

He raised a hand and ripped off the black cloth covering his left eye. A four-legged, winged Celestial Dog crawled out of the socket. After hitting the ground, its body rapidly expanded to more than ten times its original size.

Guan Tong’s title ability activated, and he instantly saw through the creature’s nature.

[Crow Tengu]: A carrion beast that resides in an eye socket, possessing great strength and the ability to fly.

"Tear him apart!"

At Heath’s command, the Crow Tengu let out a bizarre shriek, flapped its wings, and lunged at Guan Tong.

Not wanting to waste time, Guan Tong charged forward as his Shadow Armor enveloped him. He pressed his left hand on the Crow Tengu’s head, and his Nanomite Swarm instantly disintegrated it. The headless Celestial Dog fell dead to the ground.

Heath’s eye twitched. He never expected his undefeated Summoned Beast to be destroyed by Guan Tong in a single blow. ’What is that black gauntlet?’

Just as he was about to make a move, he felt a tremor run through his body. The item he carried to defend against Psychic Power attacks had shattered, meaning he was under attack.

He looked down and saw that black shadows had already crept halfway up his body.

"Shad—"

Heath’s head flew from his neck. Silver Fox, who had appeared behind him, exchanged a glance with Guan Tong. The two had just executed a coordinated attack.

Guan Tong had drawn the enemy’s attention, allowing Silver Fox to use their incredible speed to strike from behind, killing Heath before he had a chance to use any more items.

With Bishop Heath dead, the remaining Baike couldn’t possibly hold out alone.

He was already struggling against Bai Xuewu, constantly on the defensive. Meanwhile, the Priests and the Apostle Group had suffered a backlash when the Array broke, greatly reducing their combat effectiveness. The other Ascenders of the strike team were slaughtering them.

When Baike saw Heath beheaded, he knew that to remain was to die. His body flickered and vanished without a trace.

"He disappeared?"

"His ability is invisibility," said Guan Tong, who had long since figured it out via his title ability. "But he can’t attack while invisible. It’s only good for escaping."

Once the remaining Cultists had been cleaned up, Guan Tong stopped the others from entering the cathedral.

He retrieved his Silver Hunter from his ring and selected missile #6.

"We don’t need to go inside," he said. "I’m going to blow up the entire cathedral."