Chapter 197: First raid.

Chapter 197: First raid.

Emeri and I hid behind a rock as we observed our target. The church in question was built on a small island that sat in the bay, surrounded by a formation of shark rocks that jutted out of the water and broke the waves before they hit the shore. At first glance, nobody would have believe that the small, dilapidated building could ever house one of Helios statues.

To be fair, the church had only ever used them to ratify their own teachings, not even bothering to use the carvings as holy symbols. Until the first statue was defaced, the clergy had thought them to be mundane creations at best. Now, however, they were starting to catch on that something was up.New novel chapters are published on

As a result of our previous raids, the church had decided to guard the remaining two targets, as evidenced by the platoon of guards that patrolled the small island and the surrounding bay.

Our plan this time was more complicated than any we had needed to implement previously. Dalius forces had been split in half so that we could secure both locations within a short amount of time. Summarised, we were set to take this coastal church first, after which we would take a teleportation gate to the capital underground, where the next and final statue was being guarded.

The guards that were patrolling the bay had already stealthily been taken out and replaced by Dalius men in disguise. Only the guards down below were left. Our goal was to take the church as quickly as possible, initiate the vision and evacuate before reinforcements arrived.

Right at the end of the vision, Dalius would charge the other location and have it under his control right as we were supposed to get there, allowing us to initiate the final vision. All in all, the timing of both raids would be crucial. A moment too early and reinforcements would arrive at the second location before we could finish the vision. A moment too late and we would be delayed, therefore damned to the same fate.

By splitting our forces, we had also significantly weakened our offence. To make matters worse, our only tier 5 was in the capital, leaving us with a few tier 4 classers to take point. Luckily, it seemed that the church had lowered its guard enough. With some luck, the only tier 5 we would have to deal with would be the golem that would come to life, no doubt. This time, we had come with some precautions, however.

I was distracted from my musings when one of Dalius lieutenants made a circular motion with his hand in the air, signalling the start of the raid. Instantly, a portal opened up on the island and on the cliffs, allowing our men to stream through. Emeri and I went for another route, flying in from the back of the island while staying hidden behind the rocks surrounding the island.

I carried Emeri on my back as I did so, finding the feeling of carrying someone while flying odd. I tried to make my consecutive dashes as quiet and smooth as possible, but I had a feeling she was having a bumpy ride back there.

Eventually, though, we reached the back end of the church, which was devoid of guards. All of them had rushed to the courtyard in the front, where a huge battle had broken out, from the sounds of it.

Looking at the death-defying glint in the eyes of the man that stood in my way, I knew that I would need it if I wanted to finish this quickly.

I dashed forward, making use of my newest movement skill to close the distance and used a breaking swipe as I soared. The skill connected with a deafening clang, meeting the readied rapier with force. The old man attempted to parry my strike as he had done to my chains, but found himself disappointed as my blow proved too heavy to push back. Instead, he had to take a few steps back himself. He retook his stance, lifting his rapier to the sky, before bringing it down and pointing it right at me. He charged forward and made a rapid series of jabs as a skill activated on his end. The rapier darted back and forth as I let it stab into my chest repeatedly, leaving two dozen wounds.

His eyes went wide, not having expected his attack to connect. His hope rekindled, he sought to finish me off with another skill, but paused as he realised what was going on.

Using one hand to grasp his wrist and keep it firmly in place, I used the other to lift my sword. In a futile attempt to free himself the old paladin tried to wrench his arm free, even pulling out a dagger to cut it off. Too late.

My sword came down, dissecting the man in half by burying the blade between his neck and shoulder, before pushing it through until I had severed the top half of his body from the bottom.

He released an unbelieving, pained gasp as he toppled backwards, not understanding why I would go so far Until his quickly dimming eyes saw me pull out the rapier from my chest and throw it to the ground. My wounds closed within seconds, replacing the shadow-like holes that stopped me from bleeding with actual flesh and muscle. A clever combination of [Adaptive physiology] and [Dark manifestation] made things so easy sometimes.

Monster the old man whispered as he breathed his last. I cringed, not liking the moniker.

By now, Emeri had finished the rest of the guards, leaving us with the perfect opportunity to start the vision.

I placed my hand on Emeris shoulder and crouched down next to her, nodding to give her the go-ahead.

A moment later, everything went black.