Chapter 76: Holy Sword vs. Divine Strike
"Is this the power of the Goddess?"
Witnessing the divine miracle once more, the Sky-Winged were filled with a fervent zeal. They didn't understand why the Goddess had given them another oracle, to kill every living creature in the dwarven ruins. Could anything have possibly survived a Divine Strike?
When the Sky-Winged army returned to the skies above the ruins and saw Rhodes and his party, they understood. Something had survived.
"An elf, a dwarf, and three... humans," the lead member of the Council of Thirteen said, her voice cold. As a high-ranking member of a long-lived race, she had, of course, seen humans before and had recognized them at once. But in her eyes, other than the elf, they were all insignificant.
But among the council members, a young, blonde-haired woman looked at Serie with a hint of confusion. She didn't know what she was doing here. But even if they knew each other, it wouldn't change the council's decision. She couldn't even ask for a reason.
"Olivia! What are you staring at?" the council leader's sharp voice snapped her back to her senses.
"Honored Leader, that elf... she's a renowned genius mage of the elven race," Olivia said, choosing her words carefully. She didn't understand why the Goddess had given such a command, especially when they were supposed to be allied with the elves. To kill one of their most famous geniuses could very well start another war.
"Obey the will of the Goddess! Olivia, as the blade of the Goddess, you should not have a will of your own."
As the Goddess's most devoted chosen ones, they had to obey her every command without question. Even if she had told them to use the Divine Strike on the Great Elven Forest, they would have had to do it. And Olivia was clearly having thoughts she shouldn't be having. It was a bad sign. She was still too young and needed more training.
The council leader turned her attention away from Olivia and looked at the other members.
"The grand barrier has been deployed."
"All units are ready. Shall we initiate another Divine Strike?"
The Goddess's command had been to kill every living thing in the dwarven ruins. And after the first Divine Strike, only these few were left. It was clear that they were the Goddess's target. They didn't know what crime these creatures had committed to incur her wrath, to make her not only issue an oracle but also use her own divine power to replenish their mana. But it was not for them to question. If one Divine Strike was not enough, then they would just have to use another, and wipe these blasphemers from the face of the earth.
"They've come to silence us," Norne said with a wry smile. They had just acquired the holy sword, Org, and they had already been hit with one Divine Strike. And now they were surrounded by the Sky-Winged army. The first attack could have been explained away as an attempt to take out the demon's nest. But this... there was no other explanation.
Is this the power of a god? It felt as if their every move was being watched from above. A chill ran down his spine.
The leader of the council hovered in the air, her icy voice reaching their ears. "By the oracle of the Goddess, we shall execute the blasphemers!"
Thousands of Sky-Winged cast their spells in unison, and the super-large magic circle appeared once more. Even from such a great distance, they could feel its destructive power.
"Again!?" Eirik's face turned pale. "Can they just use that thing whenever they want?"
"Of course not! The Goddess must have helped them recover their mana!" Serie cursed under her breath. A Divine Strike could not be used consecutively; otherwise, what was the point of even fighting? They might as well just surrender. A Divine Strike left the Sky-Winged in a weakened state for months. A long time ago, a race had taken advantage of this and had launched a surprise attack on their Heavenly Kingdom, causing them grievous losses. After that, they had sworn never to use it again unless commanded by the Goddess herself.
Norne drew his longsword. He and Eirik could also cast a magic barrier. He prepared to stand with Rhodes and Serie against the coming attack.
Serie's face was grim as she deployed her own barrier. But she had no confidence that it would hold. The aftershock alone had nearly wiped them out. If not for Org, they wouldn't be standing here. And now, they were facing the full, unrestrained power of a Divine Strike. She could feel her own heart pounding in her chest, a frantic rhythm in the face of death.
But this time, Rhodes, surprisingly, took a step forward. "Serie, together."
He handed her the 'Light of Ersten' and held Org aloft. The runes on its blade lit up one by one. An unprecedented wave of power expanded from him, and even the air around him began to warp.
Serie immediately knew what he was doing. He was casting the same spell he had used to test the 'Light of Ersten', but this time, with Org. It wasn't just a simple infusion and release of mana; it seemed Org had a special ability of its own.
Without a moment's hesitation, she took the sword and held it high as well. She poured her own fully-recovered mana into it, and the 'Light of Ersten' also began to shine with an unbearable light.
The two powers met above their heads and, channeled through Org, condensed into a single beam of silver-blue light that shot up into the sky.
"Holy sword, unleash!"
He held the sword horizontally across his chest. To unleash its full power, he had to be facing a god or its chosen ones. And the Sky-Winged above fit the bill.
The beam of silver-blue light was even larger than the Divine Strike.
"Wh-what is..." Somme stammered, his eyes wide.
"Is this the true power of the Divine Right Sword?" Norne murmured. "The power to slay a god."
The Sky-Winged high above clearly felt the threat. "All units, release all your mana!" the council leader roared.
Thousands of streams of white light converged into a massive pillar and began to descend upon them. The Divine Strike was here again.
At the same time, Rhodes and Serie swung their holy swords.
BOOM!!!
The silver-blue beam and the white pillar of light collided in mid-air.
In an instant, the world was drained of color, and a terrifying shockwave ripped through the land. What few trees remained around the dwarven ruins were uprooted, and the crater was split open by a network of new chasms.
Norne and Eirik struggled to maintain their magic barrier, forced to their knees by the sheer power of the blast.
After a few seconds of a stalemate, the white pillar of light began to dissipate. The Sky-Winged warriors watched in horror as their Divine Strike was pushed back.
"Impossible!" the council leader screamed. "How can a mortal resist the power of a god!?"
Rhodes gritted his teeth and, with a final surge of strength, pushed forward.
BOOM!!!
The silver-blue beam shattered the Divine Strike and continued on its path towards the Sky-Winged army.
The thirteen council members hastily tried to form a defensive barrier, but it was shattered the instant it made contact with the beam.
A brilliant ball of light exploded in the sky, and a shower of white feathers, like snow, rained down.
When the light faded, the once-orderly formation of the Sky-Winged army was in tatters, their losses catastrophic.
"Did we... win?" Eirik asked in disbelief, rubbing his eyes.
"It seems so," Rhodes said, and collapsed backward, caught by Somme.
"That was amazing!" Somme said with genuine admiration. The Divine Strike of the Sky-Winged was recorded in history, each one destroying a nation or an army. It was, for all intents and purposes, the strongest magical attack in the world. And now, Rhodes and Serie had met it head-on and had broken it. It was a feat of incredible power, one that would surely be recorded in the history books for a thousand years to come.
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