Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 495 - 494: Holy Light Monster

Inside the Luan Grand Cathedral, which has a history of centuries, the roar and the clamor of metal shattered the peace within the Sanctuary. The pungent smell of magical flames burning the air filled every hallway and room. Volunteer mercenaries and civilians gathered in the upper levels of the cathedral, causing an upheaval, repeatedly dragging priests and Church Knights from their hiding corners to the plaza outside, this terrifying commotion even penetrated the thick ground, spreading to the underground ruins beneath the cathedral.

Wright led more than a dozen White Knights through the deep catacombs of the Luan Grand Cathedral. The heavy and urgent clanking of iron boots echoed continuously in the ancient stone corridors. The sounds of battle from above occasionally drifted faintly, as if from another world.

Amber’s figure darted through the shadows near the White Knight troop. She caught up with Wright’s pace and couldn’t help but feel curious, "Have you been here before? You seem quite familiar with this place..."

"The underground structure of large cathedrals is generally similar. Extending out from the direction of the Holy Spirit Tower is a rectangular tomb, with one or two crossroads structures in between; these are fixed patterns," Wright explained as he walked cautiously, "Be careful, there might be enemies hiding down here..."

"That’s what you say... but we haven’t seen anyone along the way," Amber looked around, seeing only the corridor and stone pathways illuminated by Magic crystal lamps, "But the feeling here... is indeed a bit strange..."

Wright didn’t respond but silently connected with his sense of the Holy Light. A faint glow rose in his eyes, presenting a different view of the underground facility beneath the cathedral:

He saw countless translucent Spiritual Bodies floating in the deep, long corridors. The timeworn walls flickered with magic symbols that mortal minds found hard to comprehend. The stone slabs on the ground were bathed in a faint glow, and a thin mist rose from the crevices, gradually filling the entire corridor.

Other White Knights also activated their Tactical Scopes, keeping alert for any abnormal energy reaction.

"The Spirits within the Sanctuary have been disturbed..." Wright’s pace gradually slowed, his tone unusually severe, "The energy field here is very active."

Amber seriously pondered for a moment, realizing she didn’t understand at all, "What do you mean?"

"The cathedral gathers people’s mental power, the older and larger the cathedral, the more so. Over hundreds of years, countless devout believers and clergymen have been active within and outside of the cathedral. They prayed devoutly during their lives and, upon their deaths, rested here, their souls forming a strong echo in the cathedral’s catacombs—this echo is not a spirit, but rather a kind of unconscious hollow echo. It is harmless and, to a certain extent, helps stabilize the spirit, which is why people feel slightly relaxed upon entering an ancient cathedral—the priests call it the miracle of the Holy Light, but in reality, it is a naturally explainable phenomenon," Wright explained these concepts to Amber while frowning, "Here too, many echoes are gathered... but these originally dormant Spirits... all seem restless."

Amber suddenly got goosebumps, while Emily’s figure appeared beside Wright from the air. The young girl stared wide-eyed at the corridor, which was apparently empty to normal people, smiling and waving at those invisible Spiritual Bodies.

Wright immediately urged the little girl to go back, "Emily, hide, it might be dangerous here."

Amber swallowed nervously, contemplating the possibility of fleeing, asking, "What’s ahead?"

"It should be the prayer chamber, an underground prayer chamber specifically for the cathedral’s main cleric," Wright glanced toward the corridor’s end, "The Holy Light there... is exceptionally active."

The squad heightened their alertness as they continued to advance deeper into the underground facility. Amber looked around and found no suitable opportunity to sneak off, so she had no choice but to shake her head and bravely follow.

The noises from above gradually faded at some point, as if wrapped in a thick veil, turning into indistinct, low murmurs. Within those murmurs, the corridor gradually reached its end.

An oak door stood quietly ahead, its sides illuminated with soft, warm light by the Magic crystal lamps. On the small piece of land before the door, knelt motionless the figure of a person draped in a black robe.

The White Knights instantly tightened their grips on their warhammers, and Amber also quickly raised her poisoned dagger. Yet the figure kneeling had no reaction—unless he was deaf, he couldn’t possibly have not heard the heavy footsteps approaching from behind.

Wright gestured for everyone to stay on alert, himself cautiously approaching the figure with his warhammer.

The figure had been dead for quite some time.

Wright signaled the others to approach safely, then nudged the black-robed body with his hammer handle, it fell lifelessly without making a sound.

The person was a Disciplinary Monk, tattooed on the scalp, wearing an emblem on the chest, yet his appearance left everyone feeling distinctly eerie—

On his face was no trace of pain, no expression of terminal agony. On the contrary, he wore a smile at the corners of his mouth, his face serene and calm, as if he had basked in boundless peace and joy moments before his last breath, and this serenity and joy continued after his death.

Seeing the eerie condition of the Disciplinary Monk’s corpse, and recalling his posture on the ground earlier, Amber couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat: "Oh my... How... how did this guy die?"

"He was hit by a mental attack spell while he was unprepared."

Wright whispered, then lifted his head to gaze at the tightly shut oak door.

"The underground structures of these facilities are enhanced with magic... should withstand it..." The newly appointed Great Shepherd murmured as if talking to himself, then waved to his subordinates, "Prepare for the purging procedure."

The White Knights swiftly sprang into action; some unfolded barriers, forming a defensive line against impacts in front of the door, while others began to unfasten grenades from their waists and backs. Amber was stunned: "What? What purging procedure?"

No one answered her, and during her questioning, several more White Knights opened the weapon crates carried by the squad, pulling out several sets of single-soldier howitzers equipped with accelerated rail systems and targeting scopes, assembling them in front of the door—judging by their proficiency, these warriors were clearly long-trained in the military before becoming White Knights.

Amber’s ears perked up sharply: "Wait, this isn’t Steel Cavalry..."

"Borrowed from Soldrin," Wright said in a deep voice while directing two team members to set up a noticeably larger howitzer aimed at the entrance, "Don’t worry, the overly powerful ones weren’t brought."

As he spoke, the White Knights had already set up the howitzers, and heavy explosive grenades were being loaded into acceleration rails. These warriors of Holy Light were murmuring prayers as they lined up the artillery: "Holy Light, have mercy...""Holy Light, bless the acceleration rails.""May Holy Light bless this artillery shell and its fuse..."

Amber was immediately aware of the problems with this scene before her: "Hey, wait! You’re not following the procedure! Usually, in situations like this underground, you cautiously disarm mechanisms before proceeding carefully and..."

In the middle of the half-elf’s noisy exclamation, Wright had already raised the mechanically powered warhammer high, and this heavy, destructive weapon crashed against the door of the prayer room with a swooshing wind: "Sacred Punishment!!"

With a resounding crash, the wooden door shattered, and for a brief moment, Amber seemed to see something behind the door lighting up and attempting to rush out. However, in the next second, with the continuous roar of explosions, a barrage of heavy grenades, massive hand grenades, crystal bombs, and streams of Holy Light poured into the prayer room.

"Boom boom boom boom boom boom..."

The deafening explosion echoed, making the entire underground structure of the cathedral tremble violently. If it were an ordinary building, it would only have one outcome facing such a terrible explosion—collapse. However, as the headquarters of the Southern Diocese of the Holy Light Church, Lu’an Grand Cathedral’s underground structure was astonishingly solid—so solid that it was even more fortified than the outer city walls when filled with energy. Within this underground structure reinforced with countless magic, the explosion’s roar was like the ringing of giant bells, continuously rumbling. During the minute-and-a-half-long bombardment, the White Knights unleashed nearly a hundred grenades, bombs, and howitzers, along with even more Holy Light impacts—when the explosion finally subsided, Amber’s entire head was still buzzing, even though she had instinctively covered her ears. Obviously, the excellent hearing granted by her elf bloodline was somewhat of a deadly weakness in such a situation.

Meanwhile, Wright charged into the prayer room with his warhammer the moment the explosions ceased, leading the other White Knights to follow suit.

"Stay alert!!"

Amidst a cloud of smoke and dust, Wright loudly reminded everyone to maintain vigilance, while he quickly scanned the large prayer room.

The prayer room lay in chaos; the Holy Light-enhanced floor, walls, and ceiling were severely damaged by the recent bombing, covered in alarming cracks with stone slabs and bricks precariously teetering everywhere. Between the shattered walls and the floor, faint golden light could still be seen slowly writhing—that was the residual enchantment spell striving to maintain the supporting structure and repair the damage suffered by the construction.

As for the furnishings in the room, aside from the walls and floor, they had all disintegrated in the previous explosion.

"Cough, cough... cough, cough..." Amber coughed while entering the dust-filled room, trailing behind, "You can’t do things like this; you’re considered... cough, cough... somewhat considered clergymen, you know..."

Wright raised a hand, interrupting Amber’s loud complaints, while his gaze fell upon the center of the devastated room, where a mass of writhing flesh, crystals, and fluidic light converged at a noticeable speed.

Amber was taken aback: "What is that?!?"

Wright’s eyes widened as he saw a piece of torn fabric between the writhing flesh and the bizarre crystal-like material. Evidently, it was part of a luxurious robe: "... It’s the bishop!!"