Chapter 477 - The highest-end hunters often appear as prey

One by one, the somewhat bewildered Darama soldiers appeared within the ranks. Regardless of whether they originally wore armor or had mounts, they were now fully armored, with the same equipment as the Red Falcon Knights—blood-red plate armor, two-handed greatswords, and heavy knightly spears, all of quality +1 magic equipment.Whether or not they originally possessed the ability to wield these weapons, they now did, having at least reached a transcendent level.

Beneath them now was a majestic red warhorse.

Similarly, no matter whether they originally knew how to ride or fight on horseback, they did now, also at a transcendent level.

This was the reward they received as Heroic Spirit warriors for heeding the call to war by the Goddess of Strategy—this was their deity aiding them through divine power, shaping it for them.

This divine power was readily available.

It came from the ceaseless prayers of Darama’s hundred thousand soldiers and civilians.

The prayers here did not cease because of the ongoing war; instead, they grew even more devout and fervent.

Many originally passive Darama citizens, with a change of heart, became direct followers of the Lady Strategy, and some became zealous adherents, joining the ranks of her devout believers.

Since her divine enthronement, the Goddess of Strategy had never been so affluent.

As the God of Strategy, she naturally harbored the principle of measured reward and punishment.

Divine power was not accumulated but was provided by the divine nature converted from the power of faith supplied by more believers.

Making prudent use of it, consolidating more devout believers, and converting more followers is the wisest.

Summoning them to fight alongside oneself also constitutes one of the means. Follow current novels on ɴovel(ꜰ)ɪre.nᴇt

Just look at the changes in expression on the faces of those Darama soldiers who have heeded the call.

At the moment of their appearance, most of them displayed bewilderment and confusion.

Before this, no one had explained the situation to them in detail; they merely offered devout prayers and then answered the summoning voice that belonged to the Lady Strategy ringing in their ears.

But after seeing the towering figure in front of them, all unrelated emotions faded away, leaving only a strong desire for battle and excitement. What greater honor was there than to fight for one’s god, to protect one’s own city?

An imposing figure appeared on the other side of the Goddess of Strategy, not atop a warhorse, but riding a wild boar with towering razor-sharp tusks, who said in a clear and ringing voice, "Nola is willing to fight for the lady."

The number of cavalrymen behind the Red Knight reached five rows, a hundred each, and it was then that the summoning ceased.

The Goddess of Strategy didn’t deliver a pre-battle speech but merely swung her longsword forcefully, loudly proclaiming, "Follow me in the charge."

Then she took the lead and charged forth.

Without any hesitation, the five hundred cavalrymen, in uniform strides, followed the Red Knight in the charge.

In the battlefield, the most heart-stirring, blood-boiling spectacle is when cavalry lower their lances and valiantly charge towards an enemy that seems insurmountable in numbers.

The thunderous sound of the horse hooves, like hammer strikes on the earth, imprinted a rhythmic roar into everyone’s hearts.

Previously, the Goddess of Strategy demonstrated individual valor, but now she was showcasing collective strength.

Under her command, these five hundred knights became one cohesive unit, morphing their formation fluidly, converging and dispersing, dividing and uniting, exerting their force to the utmost.

Even the odd creatures corrupted by the forces of decay were one by one overturned and cut down beneath them.

Even Undead Creatures weren’t truly immortal, let alone a group of corrupted puppets.

Just as Lady Strategy led her Knights Templar to charge back and forth, rampantly slaughtering,

Caroline, who believed that her strategy had succeeded, also began her full counterattack.

The corruption divinity surged from the deep roots of the deities, ferociously pouncing towards the Dragon Oak Mother Tree.

Wherever it passed, it was as if withering all in its wake.

This was the essence of corruption, a law force above all creatures and many other powers.

Even the immensely massive Dragon Oak Mother Tree could not resist the erosion from such power.

Even with the combination of the Dragon Oak Dream Realm and the Half-Moon Colt, the purification speed was not one-tenth the rate of the corruptive erosion.

The Dragon Oak Giant Claw was turning black at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Even if the Dragon Oak Mother Tree were larger, it could not withstand such a speed of erosion.

Once the Dragon Oak Mother Tree is corrupted, it will be a fatal disaster for both the material plane and the Fairy Wilderness.

Dragon claws, dragon wrists, dragon arms...

As the madness of the corruption divinity’s erosive advance continued, Caroline gained a clearer understanding of the Dragon Oak Mother Tree’s uniqueness and strength.

It was a being that rivaled the World Tree of the elves.

These fools had not fully mastered its power, using less than one percent of it; otherwise, they would have already crushed the Divine Roots into dust, even with its counteracting powers, for in the face of absolute strength, such things would become a joke.

If she could corrupt and decay it, the Half-Moon Colt would be insignificant.

Because she would possess a power that transcends the mundane, and with the opportunity to replace the God of Corruption and Degeneration, why bother with the laborious resurrection of that fool?

The mere possibilities displayed were enough to get this favored Pet Servant of Moando uncontrollably excited.

While Moando was alive, he indeed had absolute dominion over his pet servants.

But when he died, this dominance greatly weakened, especially over those higher Pet Servants.

The emergence of such rebellious thoughts in Caroline was, truly, more ordinary than not among the cultists.

They were a group of evil, self-serving people who, for their own benefit, could abandon everything, including their own True Gods.

Especially when the possibility of replacement arose.

"Now, take action!"

Several figures appeared deep within the Divine Roots, where Lady Strategy had last lingered.

It was not a teleportation spell, but Gaven’s limited maneuvering of troops.

Under such circumstances, the Chosen Ability granted by the Goddess of Strategy proved even more useful and precise than a teleportation spell.

As allies, wherever she stepped foot could be a ground for Gaven’s strategic deployments.

If they don’t manage to draw out the corruption divinity thoroughly from the Divine Roots, not to mention Gaven and his troops, even the Red Knights would not dare to employ their beheading tactic so lightly again.

Darnell was the first to move, hurling his Sunrise Warhammer directly, aiming for the Dragon Tooth Altar.

Amid the thunderous blast at the Dragon Tooth Altar, a blinding light erupted instantaneously.

Even though they were well-prepared, everyone could vividly feel the scorching brightness of the light.

Ah...

Ao...

Hou...

Various agonized, strange, and terrifying screams echoed in everyone’s ears.

Despite not being undead creatures, the Corruption Creatures were undeniably creatures of darkness, with negative energy being an important part of their bodies.

When faced with an attack from divine power, although they didn’t suffer as completely as the undead did, they still took a heavy toll of eighty percent.

Not only did a large number of Corruption Creatures dissolve on the spot, but the corrupted substance within the Divine Root also vaporized in great quantity.

The stench within the Divine Root was already bad enough, and now it became even more unbearable, stinging the eyes.

The moment the Solar Flare Burst exploded.

Gaven had already launched a charge towards the Dragon Tooth Altar, flanked and protected by Darnell, August, and Veranika.

They had only one goal, to safely deliver Gaven to the side of the great Pet Servant of Moando, in order to maximize the power of his Death Roar.

Having witnessed the power of the Death Roar themselves, Darnell and August naturally had no objections to this strategy.

The only one with doubts was Veranika.

After all, Gaven’s Professional Level was evident, and using Professional Level to measure one’s strength was a deeply entrenched concept in Felen.

Even True Gods were not entirely immune to this—Godhood Level was another professional system, transcendent, one possessed only by deities.

But as a warrior’s instinct, she suppressed such doubts in her heart. After all, the other party was a potential Chosen of the Lady Strategy, surely having his unique strengths that she just hadn’t discovered yet.

The thirty-meter distance was covered in an instant.

The wounded Corruption Creatures were no match for the three Transcendent Holy Knights, especially Darnell who had retrieved his Sunrise Warhammer, striking one with each blow, clear and decisive.

"Do you really think I’m that easy to bully?" Caroline let out an angry roar.

For a True God Incarnation to come at her alone was understandable.

But for a few Transcendent Holy Knights to dare to approach her was outrageous.

What enraged her most, and what she found inconceivable, was that among them was a Professional who wasn’t even Transcendent.

What did they take her for?

A weak and fragile creature?

The Divine Root writhed madly, and a vast number of Corruption Creatures emerged from it.

At the same time, as it writhed, the position of the Dragon Fang Altar also began to shift rapidly.

The Divine Root was a living thing, everything here could move, naturally including the altar that served as the control center.

The most troublesome thing was the mass of corrupt vines emerging from all directions, wildly swinging, trying to entangle everything around them.

The same situation that the Goddess of Strategy once faced was happening again—the walls of the Divine Root began to wriggle and close in, intent on completely engulfing them.

Collective Radiance!

A gentle light emerged from everyone simultaneously, the effect of this spell being the same as Radiance, providing all with a +4 Charisma Enhancement.

A sixth-circle spell.

Veranika’s handiwork.

The Holy Strategist is a dedicated cleric of the Goddess of Strategy, and besides some Special Abilities, they can also employ the standard spells of a Priest, with their Professional Level being equivalent to that of a Priest, and the effects of the spells likewise.

Gaven’s Half-Moon Colt let out a long whinny, kicked into a furious gallop, its hooves igniting in fierce black flames; wherever it trod, the Corruption vines would burn and wither.

The Corruption Forest Traverse was not only useful against natural plants but worked even better against these.

However, now that they were inside the Divine Root, the connection between the Half-Moon Colt and the Dragon Oak Mother Tree was severed, and the corruption strength it could contain was very limited.

So they could only absorb and release intermittently, with occasional bursts of Corruption Shock.

Half-Moon Colt alternated between snow white and pitch black.

"Got you now!"

Gaven and Caroline both had the smile of a hunter who caught their prey on their faces.

Caroline had such a smile because Gaven and Half-Moon Colt had charged too quickly, already detached from the other three Transcendent Clerics; at least they were unable to provide help.

Although the Half-Moon Colt had become less important due to the Dragon Oak Mother Tree, it was still a living Moando seed. Having it in hand was like having a seed that could create more Moando seeds.

Even if she were not to use it to resurrect Moando, using it to create more of her own Pet Servants was also a fine choice.

As for their strengths, she simply did not see them as a threat.

The Half-Moon Colt’s ability to draw on corruption was only effective against common creatures and brainless entities, nowhere near enough against a great Pet Servant like her.

Those who could become great Pet Servants of Moando did not rely purely on the bit of strength bestowed by Moando.

Gaven had such a smile, of course, because he was now close enough to the great Pet Servant of Moando, close to the point where the other party had absolutely no room to dodge, especially when most of their body was clamped by the Dragon Tooth Altar, immobilized.

The top hunters often appear as the prey.

That’s exactly what Gaven’s situation was.

Caroline’s disdain for him was his best weapon.

Undead Vengeance Domain!

Designated Nemesis!

All the preliminary preparations were completed in one go.

By the time Caroline noticed something was amiss, Gaven had already pulled the trigger aiming at her head.

The Death Roar let out its Death Roar.