Chapter 369 [Fearless Guardian] and [Double Wheel Slash]

The late-night air remained as freezing as ever.

But the darkness and shadows from the depths of the night were now completely driven away by the brilliant glow erupting from the Church.

It was not Holy Light.

That cloying, demonic pink radiance, which made one dazed and distracted at a single glance, could not possibly be associated with the word "holy."

Even the eulogies gently rippling outward from within carried an indescribably eerie undertone.

"We praise you, Chantier, Mother of Bounty, Nurturer of Life!"

The stained glass window that took up an entire wall was illuminated into a massive expanse of pink, turning into a bizarre background light setting off the Goddess statue behind the altar.

"Your fingertips caress the earth, and waves of wheat surge into gold;"

"Your breath turns into the summer wind, and heavy branches bear rich fruit;"

"Your gaze is like the rising sun, bringing blooming flowers and full granaries!"

Swathed in the pink light, the devout eulogies lingered in the air.

The bizarre atmosphere inside the Church and the pink light surrounding her seemed not to have affected her holiness at all.

The kindly lady, holding a rosebud in one hand and plump grains of wheat in the other, continued to look down upon the world with her usual serene and gentle demeanor.

"In the name of Chantier, our great and merciful mother, shaper of all things—"

"May the land be bountiful;"

"May life be everlasting."

The eulogy seemed to be drawing to a close, the voices echoing through the air quietly rising in pitch.

The elderly cleric in his brownish-green ceremonial robes knelt at the feet of the Goddess. His body trembled slightly from surging emotion, making the holy symbol at his waist sway gently.

Behind him were more than twenty equally devout figures.

They might have been the town's butchers, farmers working in the fields, or sheriffs protecting the townsfolk.

But in this moment, they shared only one identity:

—believers of the Goddess.

"Damn it, what the hell is that!"

This was the first thing the dwarf Thordin said after pushing open the Church doors and seeing the scene inside.

Rich in adventuring experience from a long career, he had traveled to countless places and naturally visited the churches of many gods for various reasons.

Truth be told, the Church of the Goddess of Agriculture in Sheep Horn Town was far from large. It could even be called "cramped." A scene of just over twenty people worshipping together looked especially shabby compared to those grand cathedrals that easily held hundreds or thousands.

From any angle, the scene before him didn't seem worth being surprised over.

But he knew all too well that this Church was the source of the pillar of light blanketing the entire town like a birdcage.

He knew the cleric inside the Church, who enjoyed a prestigious reputation in town, had most likely fallen. He knew the minds of these so-called devout believers had already been rewritten, their consciousness plunging into chaos.

Under these circumstances, seeing this scene of "holy solemnity" bathed in the cloying pink light only sent a chill down his spine. The inexplicable sense of eeriness immediately heightened his vigilance to the absolute limit.

"Careful!"

The warning from a teammate behind him snapped the dwarf back to his senses.

Glancing from the corner of his eye, he saw that the exceptionally strong black-haired young man in their party seemed to be looking at something. Thordin followed his line of sight.

The next second, his short body involuntarily stiffened.

The pink light shining in the air was so bright he hadn't noticed it at first.

Now, thanks to Xia Nan's reminder, Thordin finally noticed the unnatural pink hue radiating from the believers' bodies.

It was a layer of tiny, pink crystalline particles that practically covered every inch of the believers' exposed skin.

The degree of infection was even more severe than the blacksmith from earlier; even their fingertips were covered in the pink crystals.

And right in the center of their chests, a bright, demonic pink glare flashed beneath their clothes.

Whoosh—

From outside the Church doors, the freezing late-night wind howled into the main hall.

The air fell instantly silent.

The elderly cleric seemed completely oblivious, continuing to pray devoutly to his Goddess just as before.

But the twenty-odd crystal-like figures behind him stiffly twisted their bodies in unison. Completely devoid of emotion, their horrifying gazes fell upon the three people at the Church entrance at the exact same time.

"Retreat!"

A sense of lethal danger erupted in her heart. Margaret made a prompt decision and, no longer caring about her volume, roared at the two beside her.

At the same time, she pushed off her feet, bouncing backward toward the plaza like she had stepped on a spring.

Xia Nan reacted even faster than her.

Almost the instant Margaret's shout rang out, a wolf's howl closely followed.

Enveloped by the phantom of a giant wolf, his dark hair whipped fiercely as he vanished from the spot.

In the entire party, only the dwarf Thordin was limited by his race and class. His Perception attribute was inherently inferior to that of typical Class Holders, and because of his role as a frontline meat shield, he always walked at the very front of the team during missions. Coupled with the fact that his Agility attribute was merely average, he simply couldn't react in time.

As a result, while Xia Nan and Margaret rapidly retreated, pulling out of the Church and putting some distance between them with their explosive power, he was still standing right where he was.

Unexpectedly, however, the speed at which Thordin retreated back to the plaza was actually a bit faster than both of them.

Because in the next second, accompanied by the massive crash of hard objects colliding, his sturdy body, gleaming with a metallic luster, was blasted out of the Church like a cannonball.

It was a good thing his skin was thick and rough, and having been warned by Xia Nan and Margaret, he had prepared his defenses in advance; he surprisingly took little damage from the ferocious strike.

After rolling more than ten times on the ground, he climbed up covered in dirt. Only the clothing over his left forearm had torn, the skin there lightly scraped.

Without a shred of hesitation, his short legs pumped rapidly across the ground, and he raised his shield, once again charging to the very front of the team.

"Be careful!"

"Every single one of these things should be much stronger than that blacksmith from earlier!"

His muffled voice boomed like a beating drum. Based on the power he had felt in that split second, the dwarf warned his two teammates behind him.

And just as he finished speaking, figures flashing with pink light filed out from the Church doors.

The black-grey blade of the [Ember Fall] straight sword reflected the pink light from the sky above, drawing an arc in the air.

Xia Nan stared intently at the over twenty hideous figures pouncing toward them as his brain spun rapidly.

'Location: The small central plaza of Sheep Horn Town—wide field of vision, ample space. I can freely use either [Fang Hunt] or [Spinning Slash]. It's the kind of battlefield I'm most suited for.'

'Enemies: Over twenty townsfolk deeply infected by the Pastel Gemstone—considering the previous battle with the blacksmith, these enemies completely covered in gemstone particles should possess terrifying physical defense, with their Strength and explosive power further enhanced. Of course, the exact details will have to be tested in actual combat.'

'Hmm—the old cleric named "Moin" hasn't come out. He should still be inside the Church. We need to watch out for a sneak attack from him during the fight.'

'Teammates: Margaret is a [Swordsman] who leans toward melee burst damage, while Thordin is a [Shield Warrior] mainly focused on defense and drawing enemy aggro—the two have cooperated for a long time, while I'm just a temporary addition. Our synergy is limited. Rushing blindly into a battle of this intensity might actually produce a negative effect.'

'I should utilize my advantage in mobility as much as possible, hit and run, and deal damage while supporting my teammates.'

In the span of a single rushed breath, countless thoughts flashed through his mind, and Xia Nan formed a complete battle plan tailored to the situation.

He believed his considerations were accurate and comprehensive, and Margaret's subsequent command proved it: "Prepare for battle!"

"Thordin, use Taunt! Stall for as much time as possible. Leave the rest to me!"

"Xia Nan, read the situation yourself and be careful!"

Clang! The sharp noise of the Faceted Hammer striking the round shield rang out.

As a crucial frontline member of the team, it was Thordin's duty to draw enemy aggro and create space for his teammates to deal damage. The straightforward dwarf, whose every word and deed perfectly matched the world's stereotypes of his race, didn't hesitate in the slightest upon hearing his captain's command.

He unleashed his Taunt combat technique toward the Church doors, even adjusting the skill's area of effect to encompass the townsfolk who had come out first.

Hum—

In a flash, the crystalized men charging at Xia Nan and the others in a scattered formation suddenly tightened their ranks.

They shifted their gazes, locking onto the dwarf as their target.

With just that single move, Thordin pulled the aggro of a full fifteen enemies.

Although his own danger level skyrocketed, it massively relieved the pressure on his two teammates.

The value of having such a fearless frontline meat shield in a party was obvious.

"Ah!!!"

A furious, blood-pumping roar suddenly exploded across the plaza.

Thordin, having drawn a double-digit number of enemies, showed absolutely no intention of retreating. He knew he had no advantage in Agility; kiting was not his strong suit.

He took a deep breath, then explosively unleashed his power!

Bulging muscles paired with the metallic luster on his skin made the dwarf look as if he were truly cast from steel. The bluestone slabs of the plaza beneath his feet instantly cracked, and a faint light quietly surfaced on the round shield on his left arm.

A pale white light spiraled outward, covering the entire round shield in a flash. It didn't stop there, continuing to spread and expand into the surrounding air.

Finally, using the round shield itself as the core, it formed a massive shield of light that resembled a wall.

—[Fearless Guardian]!

A class combat technique automatically acquired when the [Shield Warrior] class was leveled up to Lv3.

Right now, Thordin had already trained it to "Mastery."

The effect of the combat technique itself was not complicated, but it required certain conditions to cast.

As a [Shield Warrior] class combat technique, [Fearless Guardian] was only effective on enemies affected by a Taunt.

Once the light shield fully unfolded, taunted enemies had to pass a relatively high difficulty Perception check for exemption. If they failed the check, the taunted targets were forced to attack the light shield itself, unable to choose to bypass the defense and attack the dwarf hiding behind it.

As for succeeding the check—in truth, once an enemy had fallen completely into a taunted state, the difficulty of passing this almost targeted Perception check would be raised several tiers higher.

At least for these fifteen or so delirious crystalized men in front of him, it was a practical impossibility.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Pink crystal shards flew from the fists furiously hammering the light shield.

The fifteen crystalized men swarmed forward, practically drowning the entire light shield.

These hideous individuals—formerly just ordinary townsfolk whose minds were now completely controlled—possessed absolutely no combat skills. Relying purely on their Strength augmented by the Pastel Gemstone, they blindly smashed and battered the face of the shield.

One of them might be fine, but when their numbers reached the double digits, even Thordin, with his extremely high Constitution attribute, grew pale in the face and his lips trembled.

He could feel his stamina plummeting at a visible rate.

'How much longer can I hold out?'

'One minute? Two minutes?'

Thordin didn't know.

But he trusted his teammates.

Shhhk!

The silver-white sword light tore through the air and landed on the enemy in front of her, but what rang out was a crisp cling.

The silver-white light swirling over the blade's surface struggled to break through the defense of the crystalline particles, leaving a deep gash on the enemy's waist and abdomen.

Without any hesitation, her long and powerful arm instantly erupted with force. Margaret tightly gripped the hilt, yanking out the longsword wedged tightly in the enemy's flesh.

She didn't even need to charge up again. The blade had barely left the wound before it came crashing down again, striking with pinpoint accuracy onto the very same gash that had just broken their defenses.

Counter-intuitively, it was even faster and fiercer than the first charged strike.

—[Double Wheel Slash].

One of the foundational combat techniques for certain melee classes, and also a prerequisite to taking up the [Swordsman] class.

Margaret had already reached "Novice" when she was fifteen, and by now had naturally maintained "Mastery" for years, seamlessly integrating this combat technique into real combat.

Against enemies with extreme physical defense, a single sword strike might not deal effective damage, but as long as it breached the defense of the crystalline particles on their skin, the vastly more powerful second strike powered by [Double Wheel Slash] could exploit that opening to further widen the injury.

It was an attack strategy Margaret developed on the fly, tailoring her own technical strengths to the enemy's unique traits.

And the result was exactly as she envisioned.

Squelch!

It was the heavy, dragging sound of a sharp blade rending flesh.

The blade angled downward, cleaving sideways across the chest and abdomen. It followed the previous gash and sheared all the way through like butter, only halting when it struck the layer of crystalline particles on the skin of the opposite side.

Margaret flexed her legs and rapidly retreated, dodging an attack from a flanking enemy while smoothly ripping her sword free from the flesh.

The crystalized man before her, struck by the full brunt of [Double Wheel Slash], was cleaved diagonally in two.

Only the outermost layer of gemstone-encrusted skin on the far side kept his upper half attached. His entire body resembled a forcibly snapped banana—severed in two on the inside, barely clinging together by the peel.

At the same time, slightly further away on the other side of the plaza, set against the massive wall-like shield of light and the sharp silver-white gleam of the sword...

...were the slender wolf paws gracefully touching down amid a swaying mane, the silhouette of a dark sword melting into the night—

...and a geyser of blood, alongside a few round heads spinning as they tumbled to the ground.