Chapter 865: Eye of the Holy Spirit

Senar is at the peak of the Iron Rank, and he has a god-descended bloodline.

His weapons and armor come from the church's treasured stores. The set belonged to the previous Eye of the Holy Spirit.

It is among the finest equipment available to a Godsworn Bishop of the church, and it greatly strengthens its wearer.

Even with all that, he is no match for a Glory Rank opponent.

A full major rank separates them. Equipment and bloodline cannot bridge that gap.

Senar can keep this calamity-creature leader locked in an even fight only because the creature itself is in poor condition.

Since being encircled, the seahorse-headed commander has fought more than ten battles.

Luke, marshal of the Western Federation, has been stationed here and has fought it more than once.

The commander fights with both magic and martial skill. Leading several breakout attempts has drained a great deal of its mana.

Finally, it used up the last of its mana concealing tonight's breakout.

Its repeated clashes with Marshal Luke have also left it wounded. In this condition, those wounds have not healed.

Against such a severely weakened Glory Rank opponent, Senar can hold his own.

Winning, however, is another matter.

By midnight, all the subterranean elites in the breakout force have been dealt with.

Most of the survivors were defeated in single combat and taken alive.

One of the captives is an Iron Rank subterranean creature.

It is the highest-ranked live specimen captured since the fighting began.

Its value is obvious. In the past, it would have been made into a preserved trophy.

Now it needs to be sent to Peace Haven's Biological Research Department for analysis.

The human casualty count is complete too. There are deaths, of course. This is a battlefield, not a place to expect a casualty-free victory.

Apart from those unlucky enough to run into Iron Rank enemies or get caught in the Seahorse King's attacks, very few human elites have died.

In most cases, when fighters were wounded or began losing ground, nearby comrades relieved them.

They had come prepared and were fighting on familiar ground. Most of the wounded received treatment in time.

More than fifty have died in total.

Even if some of the badly wounded fail to recover, the final death toll will not exceed seventy.

They had surprise on their side, and the enemy was in dreadful condition. Even so, they were outnumbered four to one.

Destroying an enemy force at such a low cost is the greatest victory for the human professionals since the war began.

Still, the battlefield is vast and it is night. Some subterranean elites have slipped out of the encirclement.

Few of those can hope to survive. The Third Combat Battalion of the Lord Iron Guards is still waiting beyond the main encirclement.

The other participants have also deployed forces around the perimeter.

Any creature that gets through that net is lucky to be alive.

There will be too few survivors left to pose any real threat.

Once the campaign is completely over, dedicated search and tracking teams will comb the area again.

Several parts of Pabos's top-quality armor are torn and broken. He winces at the damage.

He can tend it with fighting spirit afterward and let it slowly repair itself, but two heavy blows in such a short time mean a long wait before it fully recovers.

Everyone watches the fierce duel from a distance.

Senar remains at a slight disadvantage, but he keeps his opponent occupied and prevents it from escaping.

After dealing with the decoy breakout force in the north, Marshal Luke hurries here alone, ahead of the others. He is worried about the situation.

He does not intervene directly. This is an opportunity for Senar.

The longer he holds out in this life-and-death fight against a Glory Rank opponent, the more it will help his breakthrough.

Luke can take over whenever Senar can no longer hold out.

Luke holds a high post now. But a few years after the Calamity War ends, once the Abandoned Continent is more stable, he will be transferred back to the Abundant Continent.

The empire will then make him a marquess.

His title will be hereditary in perpetuity, and he will receive a fief.

Even so, his standing in the empire will remain below Senar's.

Even setting aside Senar's role as the link between the church and the empire, a Glory Rank professional with a god-descended bloodline would qualify for at least the title of a prince with real authority in the empire.

Whether in politics, future influence, or advancement as a professional, Senar's potential far exceeds Luke's.

A favor granted now can bring a greater return later.

So Luke keeps his aura locked onto the Seahorse King, helping Senar hold out longer.

The creature has to keep some attention on Luke.

Whenever Senar is in danger, Luke makes as if to attack.

The Seahorse King has to abandon its next killing strike.

That gives Senar the time he needs to make the most of this rare chance to test himself.

With Luke keeping the enemy in check, the duel lasts until dawn.

By then, Senar's fighting spirit is spent. His armor is ruined, and blood covers his body.

The Seahorse King is in a wretched state too, but it can still fight.

Senar leans on his longsword, gasping for breath. Luke is about to step forward when Senar raises a hand to stop him.

"I can still strike once more!"

He drops to one knee, holds his sword point-down, and bows his head against the hilt.

As he chants softly, pure white radiance spreads from his body.

The Seahorse King senses disaster and at once tries to rush forward to stop him.

It barely moves a meter before freezing in place.

White light gathers in the air and forms an eye.

Pressure bears down on every soul. The onlookers slowly sink to their knees.

Only Pabos stays upright, braced on his sword and trembling slightly.

The eye shines with a gentle light. To Pabos, though, it is cold and merciless.

Just as he is about to buckle, the Bloodstained Black Phoenix emblem on his cloak lights up.

Another white glow envelops his entire body.

A beam of light shoots from the eye and slams into the Seahorse King.

The shock wave hurls even the distant spectators through the air.

Then the eye seems to notice Pabos, still holding out.

To Pabos's surprise, it slowly turns toward him.

Just as it starts gathering energy, it suddenly dissolves into the air.

In that final glance, Pabos catches an emotion in the eye: curiosity.

Senar has passed out from exhaustion. Without him, the eye cannot remain.

Overwhelmed by the eye's pressure, the others failed to notice what had just happened.

Once the shock wave passes, everyone turns back to the battlefield at once.

Luke draws his longsword and is instantly at the unconscious Senar's side, ready to stop the Seahorse King from finishing him off.

But the blow has knocked the Seahorse King down as well. It struggles for a while before it gets back up.

While it struggles, Luke has Senar carried away and walks toward the Seahorse King.

On the world's highest plane, in the Lord of the Holy Spirit's divine kingdom, the majestic god sits on his throne and frowns faintly.

"Strange!"