Chapter 271 Chapter270-Siege
Inside the Soulstone Temple, a grand battle was on the verge of erupting.
John stood at the forefront of everyone, his hands folded behind his back, willingly letting the oppression of Soul-Devouring Devil Ghana envelop him.
He had to stand firm because the other members of the squad were of too low a level to face Ghana's divine might.
John did not take the initiative to strike first, instead giving the opportunity to initiate the battle to the other members of the squad.
He wanted to see what kind of potential these native NPC powerhouses would unleash when engaging in team combat.
The encounters with Abyssal Malevolence and Soul-Devouring Serpent before were just warm-ups.
The hastily assembled Devil Elite Hunting Team was facing their true test now.
"Fight freely according to the results of your previous training; I will cover for you..." John's calm voice resonated in everyone's ears.
"Do not regard this entity's identity; even a Devil should not disdain human dignity freely... While a deity is inviolable, I am here to shoulder it for you. You all just need to fight without reservation!"
The team members nodded one after another, quickly forming a battle formation.
Not a single person thought John was avoiding the fight, for having cultivated to their level, they were qualified to touch upon the secrets of deity.
They had all more or less come into contact with a deity, at least within the churches of the deities they worshipped.
Thus, they clearly understood how weighty John's statement about the deity being "inviolable" was.
In essence, if John did not eliminate the impact of this statement at the ORDER level, the team members would be directly struck in their spirits by the ORDER the moment they looked up at Ghana.
In severe cases, they might even be completely obliterated by the ORDER.
The majesty of a deity was inviolable, only demigods could face it head-on.
This was the most widely circulated statement among the powerhouses in the Godslayer world.
It was also the main reason why Duke Dinan had insisted on inviting John to join the Devil Elite Hunting Team at that time.
Although Duke Dinan didn't know John's specific level at that time, the moment he learned that John had once repelled Desire Devil Mammon head-on, he was convinced that John was definitely a Demigod Level powerhouse.
Because only a Demigod Level powerhouse could potentially engage a Devil in direct combat.
This Devil Elite Hunting Team had to be led by a powerhouse of Demigod Level to be qualified to hunt the descending Devils.
On the battlefield, Ghana hovered in mid-air, a dense swarm of grotesque heads surrounding it, snarling with sinister smiles.
Black light began to ignite within the opened white pupils of the hovering entity, giving rise to an atmosphere of extreme malevolence that intensified by the moment.
"Defense!" roared the deputy leader Dragonfang, his voice distorted from the sheer force of his shout.
Without a moment's hesitation, Berserker Balga charged to the forefront, raising a massive shield in his hands.
He slammed it forcefully into the ground, pouring all the energy from within him into the shield.
With a resonating "hum," a streak of red light emanated from the shield, rapidly expanding until it transformed into a gigantic barrier towering dozens of meters high, steadfastly protecting all teammates behind it.
Almost in the blink of an eye as the shield formed, the heads in the sky completed their energy accumulation.
A barrage of dark rays, dense with darkness, shot out from the pupils of the heads, raining down towards everyone below, as if a storm of black radiant rain had started.
The dark rays bombarded the gigantic shield heavily.
Balga's face turned pale as he stomped down hard, resisting the immense force transmitted from the shield with his shoulders.
The force was so tremendous that the enchanted stone slab beneath him was pulverized into dust.
Flames raged on the shield, tongues of fire rolling and swirling, incinerating the incoming black rays into dark smoke.
"I can't hold on much longer, counterattack now!" Balga cried out in desperation.
At Balga's outcry, the squad members swiftly launched their individual assaults.
Alcys swung his magic sword, releasing a searing sword aura that targeted Ghana's body directly.
Dragonfang transformed into a nimble shadow, darting through the battlefield like lightning, exploiting the enemy's blind spots to unleash a series of lethal strikes.
Hills raised his holy wand, from which a golden light erupted, healing Balga's injuries and bolstering the team's defenses.
Elven archer Yunis maneuvered skillfully through the battlefield, continuously firing searing arrows with great expertise.
Meanwhile, the Grand Archmage Saphir gritted his teeth, lifting his wand high, and summoned dragons of flame that roared towards the sky, charging at the Soul-Devouring Devil Ghana.
For a time, the battlefield was a maelstrom of swirling energies, a dazzling array of colors flashing amidst the tumultuous chaos, beauty paired with imminent danger.
John hovered on the periphery of the battlefield, nodding in satisfaction as he witnessed the team members launching their counterattacks.
They had the courage to raise their weapons against the Devil, defending human dignity with fierce resistance.
This bravery brought immense comfort to John.
Balga, with eyes widened, stood unyielding under Ghana's relentless assault, his formidable frame becoming a fortress against the demonic onslaught, his musculature like rolling hills ready to burst forth with power.
Despite the attacks from the squad, Ghana continued to grin menacingly, its laughter filled with malevolence.
Its body emitted an increasingly terrifying dark energy, capable of apocalyptic destruction, a dark divine power unique to the Soul-Devouring Devil. n).0velbIn
This divine force surged, healing its prior wounds and amplifying its terrifying prowess.
Suddenly, Ghana extended a palm, a burst of black light erupted forth, rushing towards the squad.
Alcys, Dragonfang, Hills, and the others dodged synchronously, but the black light pursued them relentlessly, moving at a speed that made evasion impossible.
At the critical juncture, Balga maneuvered his shield horizontally, forcefully shielding the team from harm.
The black ray struck the shield with a thunderous, deep resonance.
Balga's mouth spilled blood as he expended all his energy, barely managing to withstand Ghana's attack.
"This thing is even stronger than we anticipated!" Dragonfang exclaimed in shock.
Balga resisted Ghana's successive waves of attack with all his might, yet as time wore on, he felt his strength waning steadily.
His shield was on the verge of breaking, unable to withstand Ghana's energetic assault any longer.
At that moment, Hills initiated a sacred prayer, a brilliant luminescence forming a divine barrier that enveloped the team members, providing them with a momentary sanctuary.
Leveraging the restraining power of the Holy Light against the Devil, the group finally managed to secure a fleeting moment to catch their breaths.
They seized this ephemeral opportunity, each unleashing their ultimate techniques.
Alcys swung the Magic Sword in her hands, releasing sharp auras that slashed through the air.
Although the sword aura was extraordinarily sharp, upon contact with the Soul-Devouring Devil, it resembled flames burning on water, rapidly dispersing without a trace, unable to inflict even the slightest harm on Ghana.
Dragonfang maneuvered agilely across the battlefield, his figure intermittently disappearing and reappearing, launching lethal assassination attacks.
He targeted Ghana's joints and vital areas with his sharp dagger.
However, the skin of the Soul-Devouring Devil was as hard as iron, and any contact resulted in a powerful magical rebound, nullifying the efforts.
Dragonfang palpably felt the futility of his attacks against the Devil.
Striding forward, Hills held the holy wand high, invoking the force of the Holy Light.
He released healing and fortifying spells, offering his teammates necessary shelter and boosting effects.
Yet, these sacred energies were almost instantly consumed upon encountering Ghana's dark aura, unable to produce any effect whatsoever.
Balga stood resolutely at the forefront, enduring the tremendous forces alone.
Despite his exhaustion, he protected his teammates with unwavering determination.
His massive shield flickered with mysterious runes, emanating a potent shield power.
Nevertheless, facing the Soul-Devouring Devil's assault, the shield gradually crumbled until, in the end, it shrank back to its original size with a crisp shattering sound.
Balga's body was sent flying, a violent expulsion of blood following as he crashed.
His stalwart defense had been overwhelmed, a testimony to the devastating power wielded by the Soul-Devouring Devil, leaving everyone to witness the harsh reality of their adversary's strength.
Yunis swiftly drew her longbow to its fullest extent, readying an arrow infused with elven power to release.
The arrow radiated a fierce flame as it soared, transforming into a rain of fire directed at Ghana.
However, these flames stood no chance against the Devil's protective energy field, being rapidly absorbed and extinguished, reducing to a wisp of feeble smoke and a violent expulsion of blood as she was repelled with force.
Without missing a beat, Yunis drew her longbow again, this time preparing an arrow channeled with magic energy to fire.
As before, the arrow bore a fierce flame and turned into a rain of fire rushing towards Ghana.
Yet, the flames could not penetrate the Devil's dark divine power, being absorbed swiftly and snuffed out, dissipating into thin wisps of smoke.
Witnessing the team's attacks proving fruitless, Saphir grew frantic, chanting with increased urgency as wild magic energy condensed upon his scepter.
He unleashed blistering fireballs and explosive flames of fury, hoping to inflict some damage on Ghana.
However, these dazzling flames disappeared without a trace upon contacting Ghana's body, seemingly swallowed by an endless darkness.
But Saphir remained undeterred, accelerating his chanting pace.
With a sweeping gesture, he summoned a chain of flames roaring towards its target, coiling around Ghana's arm.
Ghana displayed a smirk of disdain, and with a casual wave, the dark divine power instantaneously shattered the fiery chains.
Yet Saphir swung his magus scepter once more, forming a fireball that congealed in an instant, hurtling towards Ghana with even greater ferocity.