Chapter 168: Death Descends

"What happened?!" Someone from the crowd gasped in terror.

All of the people were disturbed by the sudden shockwave and alarms. Many of them had no idea that the king was a monster, so they were caught even more off guard.

They tried to escape outside, as the palace was in complete chaos. A large number of troops from the King's Guard surrounded the palace. Then, thirty robed priests jumped out of the shadows to intercept them.

The hold of the King's Guard was located in the north of the city. Peter and Hans had planned to use these thirty priests and three thousand assorted knights to secure the base of the King's Guard there and destroy the thousand high-class ghouls.

According to the plane, the city Defense Force would be in charge of maintaining order and eliminating low-class ghouls, while the priests and the knights would be responsible for the King's Guard. Peter would personally face off against Adonis. Yet, nothing went as planned.

The three thousand knights did not arrive on time, as the King's Guard had made a sudden attack to disturb the palace, which forced the priests out of hiding. High-class ghouls, armed with bloodline powers, recklessly rushed forward. The thirty priests faced them with their steel longswords.

A blade gouged one of the ghoul's chest, yet the ghoul continued to bite down. The priest used his other hand to press down the ghoul's head. Just then, a white light flashed and the ghoul's head splintered into pieces.

As all the other priests attacked at once, the strong holy light swept across the scene and numerous ghouls were torn into pieces. An ordinary army would have lost their morale, yet the ghouls charged forward.

These high-class ghouls had powers beyond imagination. Each of them had multiple bloodline talents and moved in formation at lightning speed. If any of the old veterans, who witnessed Li Weisi's insurrection, had been there, they would instantly have recognized this tremendous power and eerily neat formation characteristic that the Owl Knights were displaying.

But the church of today was different from the church of the past. The thirty priests within Mara Kingdom all had divine seeds and were equivalent to level one wizards. All of the official wizards of the tower barely numbered one hundred.

But, in terms of combat ability, wizards had more techniques than priests, even without considering the geniuses like Adonis and Edward. Yet, in terms of cultivation speed and numbers, the wizards could never compare.

As the ghoul army continued upward, the priests were pushed back. The ghouls ignored the white light. Armored bodies fell constantly, but they continued charging, like moths drawn to a flame.

After being hit, they would crawl back up immediately, especially since they would only die if their brains were destroyed. They were also relentless in their attacks, moving at speeds that the priests were not prepared to counter.

These low-level priests could only use Judgement Ray, but after repeatedly using the skill over a large area of space, fatigue began to show and they retreated into the castle. After many high-class ghouls were killed, a few Death Knights, dressed in pitch black armor, appeared.

These knights were even stronger and had augmented speed and power. Their movements left afterimages, as they were specialized ghouls that Adonis had modified to incorporate the cells of Mortuus Magna. This made them superior to the rest of their kind.

The priests did not even have a chance to use Judgement Ray before the enemies were upon them, dragging along black shadows as their swords pierced through the chest of one of the priests.

"This is witchcraft!"

"Quick! Dodge!"

The priests immediately took countermeasures as they protected their cursed brethren and defended against the enemies' barrage. But, it was useless.

The dark spot on the chest of cursed priest expanded, his entire body blackening like charcoal. The Death Knight had cast Burning Hex. From the mind power level, it could be sensed that the Death Knights were continuously emitting a black mist, casting curse witchcraft on their surroundings.

The six Death Knights, leading thousands of high-class ghouls, surrounded them. The original situation had transformed dramatically.

Although the other side did not have many special-class ghouls, their power was unparalleled and difficult to defend against. They also had a wealth of combat experience and an augmented physique.

These factors, combined with the thousands of ghouls streaming in from behind them, caused the priests great difficulty in holding their position. After all, the other side could suppress them with numbers alone, so it was like a cat playing with a mouse.

"My God! What is happening?!"

"Why are the King's Guard and priests killing each other!?"

"Those are not the King's Guard! They are monsters, all of them!"

The nobles within the palace had escaped outside to witness this scene. All of the entrances and exits to the castle were blocked by the Death Knights. Over a dozen nobles were killed on the spot, the gory scene shocking everyone.

After the citizens fled outside, they turned around and ran right back inside, as a large number of Death Knights had followed them. These armored monsters all revealed themselves as they took over the palace. The remaining nobles were trapped inside like caged birds.

Within the city, the three thousand ghouls of the former army of the church had begun a full-on massacre. The hastily deployed City Guard troops were meeting them in battle. Meanwhile, the ghouls within the sewers took this chance to emerge and attack the civilians.

The sound of slaughter, screaming, and fear permeated all of Babus. Blazing infernos raged and many people died at the hands of the Death Knights and the swarms of low-class ghouls.

The stampede of the escaping crowd's darkness and smoke enveloped Babus. Then, death descended.

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The ordinary knights within the palace and the priests continued their battle. Several nobles also picked up swords. As Hans was attempting to hold off the ghouls, he wondered to himself where the plan went wrong.

The enemy was supposed to be cornered by my own men. How did all of this happen?

But, Peter understood what had happened immediately. The crux of the issue lay in the three thousand knights.

Why were they late? Where were they? Why did the alarm sound?

"What have you done, Adonis?!" Peter's white hair stood up tall, wild like a lion's mane, and his gaze blazed in fury.

Behind them, several of Adonis' attendants and a few enraged generals were entangled in battle. Adonis and Peter had a lot of space, since the rest avoided them because of their duel.

Adonis extended his arms and could not help but roar with laughter. "Still haven't thought it through yet. Your army is mine! HAHAHA!"

Peter finally understood, as he clutched his great red robe and threw it on the floor. He stomped on the stone steps and looked towards Adonis. Although he did not say a single word, his aura of fury heated the air around him.

Adonis also abandoned his playful attitude and took a more serious demeanor, while standing on his throne. Adonis' crimson eyes glittered green as he prepared to fight against Peter, who was enshrouded in holy light.

As Adonis powered up, the red strands of his aura started dancing around him. The two of them stood about a dozen meters apart, the air between them growing stagnant from the pressure.

Both of them clenched their jaws in concentration, while they circled around, dodging the other's attack. Even the battles of the priests and the Death Knights in the background eased up, as if they knew that this was the battle that would decide the fate of the entire Mara Kingdom.

"In the name of God, I will judge your sins!"

"What a pity that wizards don't believe in god!"

BOOOOOOOOM!!!