All of Hao Yun's reactions were completed in the blink of an eye. Master Gu and Dream Jia, both experienced in combat, had also swiftly responded as Hao Yun fell to the ground. They dodged the surprise attack from behind and prepared to strike back at their assailant. However, before Hao Yun and his companions could retaliate, Wang Defa, who had just warned them, stepped forward and punched the assailant away. It turned out to be none other than Dr. Chu, who had always been seen as a gentle and honest figure.
Dr. Chu was a senior member of the Skeleton Special Operations Team. As the team's strategist, he had contributed greatly to defending Lena Tower against the Xibo in numerous battles. Yet who could have foreseen that Dr. Chu, respected by all, a symbol within the Skeleton Special Operations Team, would launch such a treacherous ambush against Hao Yun?
Though surprised by Dr. Chu's betrayal, Hao Yun quickly realized what Eve had meant earlier. Eve harbored intentions to kill him but was bound by the strict laws among the gods prohibiting direct conflict between priests. Thus, orchestrating an attack through a non-priestly assailant against Hao Yun became the ideal choice. So, Eve first diverted Hao Yun's attention with a frontal assault, allowing an otherwise disregarded accomplice like Dr. Chu to attempt to destroy part of Hao Yun's holy body from behind.
However, the plan backfired when Wang Defa, a top-tier scout among them, saw through Dr. Chu's sudden turn and quick step forward. Recognizing Dr. Chu's intent to attack Hao Yun, Wang Defa immediately alerted Hao Yun and swiftly punched Dr. Chu away before he could execute his assault.
It was now clear to everyone that Dr. Chu had been manipulated by the Purification Envoy! But when and why had Dr. Chu been turned? Wang Defa looked at Dr. Chu, whom he had just punched into the midst of the Xibo soldiers, his face filled with shock and incomprehension.
Before Wang Defa could question Dr. Chu's actions, Carl rushed towards Hao Yun, shouting anxiously, "Boss! Boss! Are you okay?! Boss! Wake up, wake up!"
Upon hearing Carl's call, Hao Yun realized that Eva, who had fallen into his arms, had not responded since. As Hao Yun redirected his attention from Dr. Chu back to Eva, he immediately felt a slightly viscous warmth seeping through his hands.
No good! Eva was injured! Hao Yun immediately sensed that something was terribly wrong.
But before Hao Yun could check Eva's condition, Elsa's cold and impatient voice came from the front: "Hmph! What a bunch of useless people! You're just wasting time!"
Seeing Eve and Dr. Chu's failed attempt to kill Hao Yun, Elsa cursed under her breath again, lifting her staff, which had turned into a green light, and hurled a beam surrounded by green electricity towards Hao Yun without hesitation. The immense energy emitted from this attack indicated Elsa's blatant disregard for the taboos of the Divine Realm, aiming to kill Hao Yun outright, especially since he was having difficulty making any effective evasive actions while cradling Eva in his arms. In response to Elsa's attack, Master Gu and Dream Jia hurriedly rushed in front of Hao Yun, preparing to help him withstand the brunt of this lethal blow.
Elsa's attack came with such force that even with Master Gu and Dream Jia's swift reactions, they couldn't intercept the attack before it reached Hao Yun. But what happened next astonished everyone present. Just as Elsa's attack was mere millimeters away from Hao Yun's nose, the green electric beam suddenly exploded as if hitting an invisible wall of air, bursting into a shower of green electric sparks. That wasn't all. Immediately after the powerful beam exploded, all the sparks rebounded towards the Xibo surrounding Hao Yun, instantly maiming the Xibo soldiers, causing death all around.
"What?!" Elsa widened her eyes in disbelief.
As a Purification Envoy, Elsa possessed formidable combat strength. Especially against Hao Yun, an apprentice priest whose powers were severely constrained, Elsa's attack would easily have been fatal. However, despite such a vast difference in their strengths, the situation didn't unfold according to Elsa's intentions. Even more shocking to Elsa was the realization that her recent fatal blow aimed at Hao Yun hadn't landed. What in the world was going on?! How could such an incomprehensible event occur?
As the chaos caused by the sudden explosion subsided, Elsa finally saw what had blocked her attack moments ago—a semi-circular protective shield shimmering with purple-red electric light. This protective shield initially enveloped Hao Yun and Eva's bodies, shielding them. Subsequently, it expanded rapidly, forming a larger protective shield around Hao Yun and his six companions.
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Elsa immediately commanded, "It's a shield! Don't let them establish the shield! Fire! Attack quickly!"
As Elsa spoke, she swung her scepter again, releasing a second beam of green energy towards Hao Yun. The dozen or so Purification Messengers who had followed her to Earth, along with the surviving Xibo soldiers on the scene, immediately launched a series of attacks against Hao Yun and his group. Some of the Purification Messengers even switched to melee weapons, attempting to directly smash the forming shield.
However, no matter what methods they used, they couldn't shake the rapidly forming shield. The Xibo soldiers who tried to rush forward and hack at the shield were pierced by the purple-red electric lights released from it, exploding into scattered pieces on the spot. Although these eerie electric lights couldn't kill the nearby Purification Messengers, the powerful energy within them sent the Messengers flying far away after a brief clash, subjecting them to an agonizing pain akin to being shocked by high-voltage electricity.
In their attempts to destroy the shield, the Purification Messengers suffered several consecutive defeats. It wasn't until Elsie, who had been observing on the sidelines, raised her hand and shouted loudly, "Stop it! Cease fire! If you keep this up, they might not be dead, but you'll collapse our base first!"
Upon hearing their leader's command, the soldiers naturally halted their actions. Thus, the sudden battle came to an abrupt end. The spacious circular hall returned to silence, except for the occasional distant thundering from outside, still adding to the tense atmosphere lingering on the scene.
"This... isn't the shield of the Pantheon. What exactly is this? Where did you get this shield from?" Elsie walked slowly closer to the shield, close enough to inspect it but not enough to provoke its defenses, her curiosity evident. It was then that she noticed Hao Yun's skeletal special operations uniform, quickly being replaced by a shimmering black uniform.
"You're wearing the Spirit Armor of the Dark Spirit Realm? But why does your Spirit Armor look so different?" Elsie recognized Hao Yun's black armor at a glance, yet clearly, her Purification career system detected significant anomalies in its parameters.
However, Hao Yun had no time to deal with Elsie at the moment. Seeing that the shield had been successfully set up and was unusually strong, he quickly turned to Karl and Wang De, who were examining Eva's injuries, and asked, "How is she?"
"We've quickly bandaged her wounds as best as we could. Her bleeding has stopped. From the looks of her injuries, she suffered a penetrating wound to the chest. Although it didn't go through her body, the wound is deep, so her condition isn't optimistic," replied Wang De seriously, pointing to the rolls of paper that had been completely used up. These rolls were actually the so-called reward for the task that Master Gu had given to Hao Yun and his companions earlier. The true purpose of these rolls was efficient hemostatic bandages.
When they approached the observation beacon near the tall building, Hao Yun and his group suddenly felt a faint connection between the Pantheon and themselves. Therefore, they quickly took out everything they could from their personal void storages to prevent these items from molding inside. After taking out all the items they could, Hao Yun handed the rolls of paper to Karl for safekeeping. He also gave the pair of slippers Master Gu had given him separately to Eva and Wang De, so that they could activate the slippers' true attribute—Divine Power Gauntlets—in special circumstances to deal with powerful enemies.
Karl knelt on the ground, holding Eva's right hand, still bloody and damaged from the trap, tightly in one hand, while constantly wiping the sweat from her forehead with the other, repeatedly pleading in a tearful tone, "Boss, hang in there! You'll be fine! Boss, hold on—"
Dao Lao first gestured for Wang De to calm Karl's emotions, then quickly examined Eva's injuries. He immediately took out a bottle of Haha Happy brand purified water and helped Eva swallow two large sips. Then, with a solemn expression, he looked at the shortsword Wang De had picked up from the ground and said, "There's still a bit of divine energy from the Pantheon in the blade of this shortsword, indicating it was blessed with divine power. It seems to be a disposable weapon for Dr. Chu to use in critical moments. Although mortals in the lower realms can't fully unleash its power, it's still extremely powerful after receiving the blessing of divine energy. So, even if its user is a mortal, if a priest is hit in a vulnerable spot without any defenses, that priest would lose half their life. Not to mention if it struck someone like Hao Yun, a demigod priest."
"Phew! Luckily, Hao Yun gave those slippers to Eva and Wang De earlier. This allowed Eva to intercept this potentially fatal attack when Dr. Chu attempted to ambush Hao Yun with the shortsword," Dream Jia said, visibly relieved, while casting a complex look at the unconscious Eva. Although Dream Jia strongly disapproved of Eva's open and covert attempts to show favor to Hao Yun, she couldn't help but admire Eva's brave act of shielding Hao Yun from a lethal blow.
"Huff! Huff! Eva is mine! Ahahaha! Cough, cough! Eva is mine! Cough, cough!" At that moment, behind the Xibo people, there suddenly came a fierce coughing roar.
Hao Yun and the others immediately frowned upon hearing this, turning to look at Dr. Chu struggling to climb to his feet not far away. They saw that Dr. Chu's face was half a bloody hole, courtesy of Wang De's earlier strike. Yet, this did not prevent him from glaring with wide eyes, displaying a bizarre mix of extreme pain and eerie joy on his face.