Lord of Prayer

Chapter 136: Chapter 110: Iron Fist Exorcism (Part 2)

A Cursed Dagger, overflowing with calamity and malevolence, appeared in Anna’s hand. She threw it at Chariot.

“I reckon this’ll hit!”

And so, the dagger hit. It defied all logic, passing straight through the Sun Tank’s Coronal Barrier and piercing Chariot’s heart. The immense Curse contained within the blade exploded instantly. The multi-pronged attack—annihilating his body, Essence, and Soul—swiftly reduced Chariot to ash.

But a second later, Chariot revived beside the pile of ash. The one who had just died was merely a decoy doll.

“I reckon you’re an idiot!”

Anna activated her Dumbing Aura once more. This time, however, Chariot was prepared. The Sun Tank’s corona erupted in a burst of scorching light, incinerating the glow that shot out from the Book of My Thoughts.

The terrifying heat twisted and dried the air. Nearby steel rebar, glass, and concrete fragments began to melt—even entire buildings started to liquefy. Inside the shopping mall, the mutated, snow-white maggots began dying off in droves. A piercing high-temperature alarm blared from the Battle Armor worn by Zhou Chen and his team as the metal plating started to dissolve.

“I reckon you’re not allowed to be this hot!” Anna shouted.

Just like that, the light from the Sun Tank’s corona was suppressed. The temperature cooled rapidly, but Anna’s own energy flow became slightly unstable, a clear sign of the significant power she had expended.

“I reckon we can’t fight here!”

A flash of light flared. The figures of Anna and Chariot vanished from the sky, and their Essence Fluctuations reappeared far in the distance.

“Begin the assault!” With the Tier Four combatants gone, the vice-captain took command and issued the order to advance.

Everyone leaped down from the shopping mall, charging toward Jinzhu University.

Thanks to Zhou Chen, all the squad members had previously worn a Concentration Necklace. This granted them a month of Sage Mode, rendering them immune to the Lover’s Charm Ability. An Ascender of Violet’s caliber, for instance, would be powerful enough to overcome the necklace’s effects, but Lover hadn’t gotten the chance to target the team; Anna had blocked her last charm attack.

Zhou Chen glanced toward the spot where Gentleman and Lover had fallen, intending to go and finish them off, but they had vanished. They had likely used the fight between the Tier Fours as cover to escape.

Father Daun followed behind them, his expression grave as he stared at the Cursed Black Sea. His gaze was so profound it seemed to pierce through the churning Darkness, directly meeting the eyes of the Abyss Monarch within.

“This is so troublesome…”

Inside the Cursed Black Sea, the Purgatory Fire Demon’s Clone sighed and looked at Li Xiaoxiao. “How much longer can you hold on? My Lord attempted a Divine Descent a moment ago, and the War God seized the opportunity to land a sword strike. Three True Gods have now gathered near the Abyss. If our Lord attempts another Divine Descent, it will certainly trigger a Divine War.”

“What about the other Monarchs?” Li Xiaoxiao asked.

“You humans call them Great Sages, don’t you? Two Great Sages are weakening the Gate of Hell’s power. The other Monarchs can no longer cross the dimensional barrier; even Tier Fours have a hard time getting through.”

“Then you must take the item and leave at once! As long as our Lord obtains it, none of today’s losses will matter.” Li Xiaoxiao’s expression was feverish with fanaticism; she was already prepared to die.

“I can’t leave.” The Purgatory Fire Demon shook his head, gazing out at the Cursed Black Sea. “A very troublesome fellow has arrived outside. A former Sun Cultist. Things could go badly… even this Clone of mine might be destroyed.”

Li Xiaoxiao fell silent, then asked, “And stalling for time?”

“That soul-less machine is about to destroy my other Clone. The Clone will self-destruct before it dies, which should be enough to turn that thing to scrap. But the Sun Cultist is very strong. I can only stall him for ten minutes…” The Purgatory Fire Demon paused. “Ten minutes should be enough. Other operatives will arrive to take the item away.”

In an instant, his figure vanished. Outside, a ball of pitch-black Chaos Fire erupted, and the Purgatory Fire Demon stepped out from within. He looked at Father Daun, whose gaze was like ice, and grinned to reveal a mouthful of sharp fangs.

“I remember you, human. Many years ago, when we laid siege to the Sun, you killed three of our Evil Fire Knights. Many Monarchs have a vivid impression of you… myself included.”

The Purgatory Fire Demon spread his arms wide and laughed. “You must understand. In this World, there is no Sun, no savior. One day, the Abyss will devour everything.”

“Join us.”

He extended a sincere invitation. “With your talent, it wouldn’t take long for you to attain the rank of Monarch. You might even have a chance to become a True God.”

Father Daun simply rolled up his sleeves in silence, revealing brawny arms as thick as a grown man’s thigh. The taut muscles were covered in countless scars—relics of his former glory.

“Talk is useless.” Father Daun paid him no mind, his aura surging ever higher.

—It was as if a true Sun were rising.

Across the dim landscape, a brilliant, magnificent light shot toward the heavens. It was at once solemn and savage, radiating an immense, majestic glow!

The next moment, an Iron Fist wreathed in golden flames seemed to ignore the constraints of space, smashing squarely into the Purgatory Fire Demon’s face. A thunderous boom resounded as a violent shockwave erupted. The Purgatory Fire Demon’s neck snapped ninety degrees, and then—

—he broke into an excited grin!

“You really are strong,” he marveled, throwing a punch of his own to meet Father Daun’s oncoming Iron Fist.

BOOM! A savage Power capable of shattering the heavens and the earth erupted at that moment.

For a Tier Four and a Tier Five to create such a terrifying spectacle of power was simply unheard of.

Father Daun showed no sign of flagging. He was utterly ferocious, swinging his two Iron Fists amid the rising golden flames, at one point even overwhelming the Purgatory Fire Demon with a savage, unrelenting assault!

By some unspoken agreement, Father Daun and the Purgatory Fire Demon moved their battle elsewhere. Zhou Chen and the others, who had been frozen by the heart-stopping clash, finally regained control of their bodies and minds.

Ahead lay the churning Cursed Black Sea. Everyone could feel the immense despair it contained. Alarms from their Battle Armor’s detection systems blared without end, streams of crimson data flashing on their displays. If they were to enter without protection, they would be assimilated by the Curse in the next second, becoming just another one of its victims.

“Save me… I beg you, save me… It’s so dark here… so cold, so very cold…”

“Won’t anyone save me…”

As if sensing the presence of the living, the Cursed Undead began to consciously surge toward the group.

“Activate the Anti-Curse Array!” The moment the vice-captain gave the order, a surging black tide swallowed them all.

Zhou Chen activated his Anti-Curse Array. An invisible barrier seemed to form over his entire body, holding the Curse at bay.

He tried activating his Holy Emblem. As he channeled Essence into it, a sacred, incandescent white light flared to life, bringing with it a warmth that illuminated the Darkness. Accompanied by countless, soul-tearing screams, the torrent of the Curse receded like the tide in a five-meter radius around him. The Cursed Undead were terrified of this Purification power.

’This thing is good. If the Array’s duration runs out, I can use this to save my life…’ Zhou Chen cut off the flow of Essence, conserving the precious resource.

“According to the map, we need to pass through the academic building and two campus zones to get near the athletic field. In addition to resisting the Curse, we also need to be on constant alert for Abyssal Creatures that have slipped inside.”

As they advanced without stopping, the vice-captain reminded everyone, “Some of the more powerful Abyssal Creatures can enter the Cursed area. Although they can’t stay for long, they are more than capable of posing a lethal threat to us. Your instruments can detect any nearby Abyssal Creatures, so avoid them.

If a Tier Four Abyssal Creature attacks, leave it to me to delay it. The rest of you must continue forward and ensure the mission is completed.”

’With a Curse of this magnitude, any Abyssal Creature that slipped in without protection would have to be at least Tier Three…’ Zhou Chen thought, looking at his Battle Armor’s display screen. It showed that two Abyssal Creatures had infiltrated about a thousand meters away. Their movement speed was extremely slow, and before long, they vanished from the scanner’s detection. He guessed they couldn’t withstand the erosion of the Curse and had fled back to the outside.

Abruptly, Zhou Chen saw two familiar Essence Fluctuations appear on his detection instrument, both logged in the database—Gentleman and Lover!

’They really came in here too!’