Boom!
A longsword wreathed in purifying light slashed downward, but cut only through empty air.
"Hmm?
Wariness settled onto Rafinia's face as she regarded the uninvited guest who had suddenly appeared.
"Saintess of the God of Slaughter —
A native girl wearing a priest's robe materialized before Rafinia, the Legendary-tier holy radiance emanating from her body unmistakably brilliant.
Beside her, a Devil Hunter with a dark aura and thick chains wound around his hands had already seized what had been Aniya's arm — clearly the one who had just rescued her from Rafinia's grasp.
"You're... people from the
Aniya instantly grasped the identity of her rescuers, and a glimmer of hope surfaced on her face.
"One who uses the evil power of devils..."
Rafinia's gaze locked onto the Devil Hunter beside Barbara — the man had numerous small braids, his skin a yellowish-dark tone, carrying the strong features of the native peoples.
More critically, an unfathomable aura radiated from him, almost making Rafinia feel as though she were staring straight into Hell!
"A Legend! A Legendary-tier Devil Hunter!"
In that instant, Rafinia understood the newcomer's identity — only a powerhouse of this caliber could make her feel genuinely apprehensive.
Legend!
This was the critical threshold of qualitative transformation, and for Devil Hunters, it mattered even more!
Because a Devil Hunter who could ascend to Legendary tier had necessarily sealed a Legendary-tier devil!
That meant the opponent possessed both their own Legendary-level power and the quasi-magical abilities of a Legendary devil — almost as soon as they broke through, they were comparable to a high-tier Legend with centuries of accumulated power!
Originally, Lei Lin's subordinates had no Devil Hunters of this caliber, but after conquering three layers of Hell, it had become a rather simple matter.
Just picking a batch from those rebellious devils was more than enough to fuel the ascensions of large numbers of Devil Hunters — what actually troubled the Church was that there were too few Devil Hunters on the verge of a breakthrough, and even fewer who possessed the potential to reach Legendary tier.
Standing in Rafinia's path was precisely this caliber of powerhouse! And behind them stood a Legendary Priest as well.
"Church of the Giant Serpent… do you intend to aid evil and stand against justice?"
Rafinia's face was grave, a layer of silver-gray divine light manifesting over her armor. At the same time, she discreetly flashed several hand signals to the Paladin behind her.
"Don't bother trying to contact New Silvermoon City… Did you think we wouldn't make preparations?"
Barbara's Common Tongue was impeccable — for a Priest, near-native fluency in the continental language was practically a prerequisite skill.
"This space has been thoroughly disrupted by us. Not only will distress signals fail, even the Lines of Faith connecting you to your deity will be delayed…"
As if to corroborate Barbara's words, the Paladin's expression changed after only a moment. He leaned in and whispered a few sentences to Rafinia, causing the Legendary Paladin's face to go completely dark.
— **Hellfire**!
— **Shackling Claw**!
Dark silhouettes emerged in sparse clusters from the surrounding forest, terrifying devil-form arcane arts erupting directly from their bodies.
The scorching flames of Hell itself were something even Celestial steeds refused to touch. The Paladins, who had originally formed an encirclement, were gradually forced back into a corner.
"So many high-tier class holders!"
Rafinia's expression was grim, yet the vast barrier of light she had raised temporarily held back the onslaught of the numerous Devil Hunters.
In truth, Rafinia understood perfectly well that she had managed to hold out this long only because the enemy was not trying to push things to the limit. Otherwise, if that Legendary Devil Hunter simply stepped in, she would not have lasted more than a few moments.
"Do you want to declare war on our Church?!"
Rafinia demanded in a raised voice.
"Heh heh… what a terrifying accusation…" Barbara sneered, not a trace of fear on her face.
"Rafinia… I remember you!"
Barbara suddenly studied Rafinia's features: "A Knight who once served my Lord — and in the Northern Lands, no less. Though my Lord's divine self has long since severed all ties with that former mortal vessel, you did once serve my Lord… For that sake alone, I am willing to let you leave today…"
" hm?! " Barbara's words left Rafinia utterly astonished, especially when the other party actually cleared a path for them.
"Damn it… are you humiliating us?" A young Paladin with golden hair flushed crimson, his neck seeming to swell several sizes larger as he gripped his sword hilt, looking as though he was about to charge straight in.
"Wait!"
Rafinia immediately backhanded the young, impulsive man into unconsciousness, signaling a nearby older Paladin to catch him.
"This time it was my strategic error. There's no need to suffer any more pointless casualties… I brought you all out of the city, and I will bring you all back!"
Rafinia drew a deep breath: "We're leaving!"
Even the most fanatical Paladins had to learn compromise — it was the price that had to be paid for the God of Justice,
"Farewell!" Barbara curtsied with a radiant smile. The Devil Hunter beside her gave a cold snort.
"Why didn't we just keep them here?"
Watching the Paladins' retreating figures, a sharp glint flashed through Agnia's eyes as she leaned halfway against the Devil Hunter beside her and asked.
"With our strength, we could have devoured them, but we would certainly have paid a heavy price in casualties…"
The Devil Hunter completely ignored Agnia's flirtatious advances, leaving her expression frozen in place. Growing even more awkward, it was actually Barbara who quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
"Agnia, you're being far too impertinent!"
A stern voice rang out, causing Agnia to turn her head in surprise.
Then she saw a white-haired middle-aged man slowly emerge from the darkness, bowing to Barbara and that legendary Devil Hunter: "My lords, please forgive my daughter's ignorance…"
"Father… what are you doing here?"
Agnia asked blankly. The man was none other than her father — the master of the Nien Trade Company, the head of the Bane family: Felix.
"What else would I be here for, if not to clean up this mess? Apologize to my lords immediately!"
Felix shot his daughter a venomous glare. Two legendary powerhouses! And behind them, a true divine church!
He understood all too well how terrifying such power was. More importantly, if they offended the Church of the Great Serpent as well, then the Bane family would truly have nowhere left to go — not just in the entire Northern Lands, but in the whole Material World.
"The Bane family and the Nien Trade Association have already sworn full allegiance to the Church of the Great Serpent. From now on, they are our patrons..."
Felix reminded
"Sorry! My lords... I... I..." A blush crept across Anya's cheeks.
"Let it be! Young people make mistakes — even our Lord would forgive such things..."
Barbara waved her hand with a smile. "Besides... the fact that I chose not to keep him wasn't primarily because of how I came to know our Lord... He is, after all, a legendary powerhouse, and one who draws considerable attention from the God of Justice. Even though we've disrupted the local space, once a real battle breaks out, the odds of Silvermoon City and the Church of the God of Justice discovering us are still quite high... A large group of high-tier legendary powerhouses has already gathered over there, including
"So we must leave here as soon as possible!"
The Devil Hunter commander, who had kept a cold expression the entire time, spoke up as well.
"Of course! We'll follow your orders in everything!" Felix wore an obsequious smile on his face, nodding and bowing in a fawning manner. It made Anya seethe inwardly, though she also felt a measure of relief.
At the very least, this heavy burden had been taken on by the Church of the Great Serpent, and it was no longer her concern.
"What are you all standing around for? Get the goods packed up — we're leaving right now!"
Felix bellowed at the servants who were still dazed.
Only then did the servants snap out of their stupor, the looks they cast at their masters still tinged with disbelief.
Everything that had happened today was simply too much for their nerves to handle.
First there had been the paladin's judgment, and just when they thought all was lost, Felix had actually returned with a group of even more powerful people and driven the paladin away?
The old Nien Trade Association had only been a mid-tier trade group!
In that instant, their adoration for their masters grew without limit.
With reverence and gratitude driving them, the servants moved with impressive speed, quickly gathering up the scattered cargo. Felix stepped forward personally to collect the blood essence — refined from flesh, blood, and souls — and handed it over to the Devil Hunters.
"This blood essence is very pure, and its properties are incompatible with spatial artifacts. If you store it in any kind of dimensional storage tool, it will rapidly lose its effectiveness. It has to be kept in blood-veined wood... Otherwise, we wouldn't have been struggling with this for so long..."
Felix sighed as he explained.
"Mm! Let's go!" Once the items were in hand, Barbara turned and walked off without hesitation, with Felix and Anya, father and daughter, hurrying closely behind her.
As for the other caravans, they would follow their original routes and make their way toward the next town.
After all, they no longer carried any contraband on them, so they had nothing to fear from the inspections ahead.
From the perspective of Felix and the other senior members, this was one final chance to put those people to good use — even if it only drew a fraction of the enemy's attention away, it was worth it.
As for what fate awaited those people afterward, that was no longer within the bounds of their concern.
……
At that moment, within the divine realm of the Warlock on the third layer of
The aura of majesty radiating from her was far heavier than before — she had clearly already digested the former deity portfolio of the **Sea Hag**, and it had brought her considerable benefits.