Chapter 357: Heaven’s Judgment

Harriet rose into the air. Her three pairs of sacred wings spread to their full span, and the color faded from her eyes until they shone pure white.

Chains of order appeared around her, bright with sacred power. They stretched through the Dawnwing army, linking more than a thousand Angels together.

A low hum filled the clearing.

The energy flowing from their bodies began to pulse in time. Within moments, the separate currents had become one. Through Mind Link, Harriet gave the command, and every Angel sent a stream of power toward the space above the army.

For any one of them, the contribution was small.

Together, it became a blade a kilometer long.

It took barely a second to form. Sacred light pierced the dense canopy and thrust into the sky, towering above the forest.

"Heaven’s Judgment!"

The strain was shared among a thousand four-winged Angels. Harriet controlled the enormous weapon with ease, pointing one finger toward the nest.

The blade fell.

Ancient trunks split. The huge knot of snakes came apart beneath a sheet of white light. Then the strike hit the earth, carving a wound a kilometer long and dozens of meters deep into the forest floor.

[Your troop Harriet has slain a Jungle Reaver — Elite One-Star.]

[Rewards: Battle Essence ×160,000; Aether ×6,000; Outer Realm Kill Points ×64; Epic Chest ×2; Serpent Spirit Staff — Epic ×1...]

More notices followed in rapid succession.

Severed pythons thrashed across the clearing, their hisses rising into shrill cries. Among them lay an Epic Jungle Reaver a hundred meters long. Its body had been cut in half. The front half still writhed forward, desperately trying to crawl away from the terrible enemy above it.

The blade did not fade.

Harriet lifted it and brought it down again.

Then again.

Heavy impacts rolled through the forest as the immense weapon chopped into the two halves of the nest. In less than ten seconds, nothing remained of the tangled mass but pieces of flesh, the longest only a few meters across. Blood and torn bodies littered the ground for a kilometer around.

Cassian rubbed his chin.

"That might have been more power than we needed."

He looked up at Harriet.

"Was that Heaven’s Judgment at full strength?"

She considered the question.

"The strongest attack I can control should be about five times as powerful as that, my lord."

Cassian had nothing to say.

——

A hundred kilometers away, dozens of Elven Lords sped over the forest canopy.

Some wore finely worked armor; others flowed through the air in mage robes. Each carried a powerful presence. Behind them flew thousands of Heroes and troops whose strength was scarcely less impressive.

Their thoughts passed between them through the Elves’ own means of communication.

*For our people’s survival, Her Majesty gave up being a Lord to become a Human’s Hero. An outsider’s Hero, at that. Now that she has returned, we must show him she still has our support.*

*With the Orc Court pressing us so hard, we could only gather a few thousand Legendary troops on short notice.*

*That should be more than enough to impress a Human Lord from a new sector. Finding Life Water does not make him our equal.*

*We will treat him with every courtesy. But he must also understand the strength of the people behind our Queen.*

One of the minds in the link suddenly jolted.

*Look! What is that?*

The Lords stopped in midair.

Far ahead, a solid-looking blade of light had burst through the forest and pierced the sky.

*That is condensed energy. Such power!*

*It’s coming from Her Majesty’s position!*

*Hurry!*

Ten minutes later, they reached the clearing.

Several drew sharp breaths. Behind them, their troops immediately went on guard.

Destroying a Jungle Reaver nest was no great feat for these Lords. What shocked them was the scene left behind. They had never seen one dealt with quite so brutally.

"Slaughter. Death..." one Elder murmured, looking over the ruined ground. "Pandora may know little peace from this day onward."

Sylvara flew up to meet them, delight brightening her face.

"Elder Maereth! Elder Caldrin! It’s good to see you all again."

Maereth, the most senior Elder present, belonged to her grandmother’s generation. After a formal bow, the Elder caught Sylvara’s hands.

"Your Majesty. You must have suffered so much."

"Not at all." Sylvara smiled. "The women in the Domain have been very kind to me. Here—this is my Lord, Cassian."

Cassian raised a hand in greeting.

"Good to meet you all. Thank you for coming so far."

The warmth he had expected did not follow.

Maereth studied him closely. The Elder’s words were polite, but there was a familiar Elven pride behind them.

"Greetings, Lord Cassian. May I ask what brings you to Pandora Forest?"

Since they preferred to be direct, he saw no reason to waste time.

"Heaven’s Will has given the Homeworld a campaign to earn Kill Points. For the next few months, I’d like your permission to bring a million Lords here to hunt."

He smiled.

"Naturally, the Homeworld would offer compensation satisfactory to your people."

Every Elder went still.

A million Lords?

The shock quickly gave way to anger.

"We welcome you as an honored guest," Maereth said, visibly holding back that anger. "And you ask to take Pandora from us? The last homeland our people have left?"

The air grew tense. If Sylvara had not been standing between them, they might already have attacked.

"I’m not asking to take Pandora."

Cassian faced the group without a trace of fear. Every one of these Elven Lords was a Legendary above Level 100. That did not prevent him from explaining patiently.

"Think of it as Divine Province renting hunting grounds for a few months. I guarantee that we will leave Pandora’s Lords in peace, and we’ll pay a fair price. A hundred billion Aether, for example."

He continued before they could interrupt.

"I also hear an Orc Court has been troubling you in recent years. Perhaps I can help with that."

Maereth’s expression eased a little.

Another Elder spoke, the voice calm and cool.

"Your Domain is only Rank XVI, isn’t it, Lord Cassian?" Caldrin asked. "How do you propose to help us against the Bloodmaw Court?"