Chapter 105: A Thousand Ten-Star Undead Gryphon Knights Join the Ranks! Three Million Basic Resources Open the Gates of the Holy Light Church!

Chapter 105: Chapter 105: A Thousand Ten-Star Undead Gryphon Knights Join the Ranks! Three Million Basic Resources Open the Gates of the Holy Light Church!

John opened the scroll and entered the coordinates.

Beyond the silver-blue spatial rift was a swirling mass of misty light. Through it, he could vaguely make out the outline of a stone city on the other side.

"Let’s go. We’ll take a look first."

John was the first to leap through, and the others immediately followed.

The sensation of weightlessness lasted only an instant. By the time their feet touched solid ground, the sounds around them had already changed completely.

Voices filled the air. Wheels rumbled over stone pavement, while the melodious tolling of church bells drifted from a distant bell tower.

Before John could even get a clear look at his surroundings, a system notification appeared.

[System Notification: Hero "Sylvie" has consumed Nine-Star Unit Altar Stone ×1 and Nine-Star Unit Training License: Gryphon to construct a Nine-Star Unit Altar — Gryphon Roost.]

[System Notification: Hero "Sylvie" has activated "Star Coronation." Gryphon Roost star rating increasing... Nine-Star → Ten-Star!]

[System Notification: Hero "Sylvie" has trained Undead Gryphon Knight ×1,000. All units have been assigned to her command.]

[System Notification: Hero "Sylvie" requests to share the unit status panel. Accept?]

John paused for a moment before realizing that Sylvie had finished setting up the altar.

"Accept."

The new unit’s status panel opened.

[Unit: Undead Gryphon Knight]

[Star Rank: Ten-Star (High Tier)]

[Level: Lv1]

[Health: 6,000]

[Attack: 2,600]

[Defense: 900]

[Passive Trait: Undead Body (Immune to mental magic, feels no pain, and never tires.)]

[Skill 1: Diving Assault (Lv1 · Active) — The rider and gryphon dive together from high altitude, dealing physical damage equal to 280% of Attack to a single target, with a 50% chance to knock the target down for 2 seconds. Cooldown: 15 seconds.]

[Skill 2: Windblade Wingstrike (Lv1 · Active) — The gryphon flaps its wings, generating razor-sharp wind blades that deal AoE damage equal to 200% of Attack to enemies within a frontal fan-shaped area and reduce their Movement Speed by 25% for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 20 seconds.]

[Skill 3: Eagle-Eye Mark (Lv1 · Active) — Marks an enemy target. For the next 10 seconds, all allied units gain a 40% increased Critical Hit Chance against that target. Cooldown: 30 seconds.]

[Description: In life, most were elite riders from the Northern Border Scout Corps of the Old Empire. Their gryphons once soared alongside them above the peaks of towering mountains.]

After examining the panel, John nodded with satisfaction.

A Ten-Star flying unit with high HP, powerful Attack, crowd control, and support capabilities.

Diving Assault provided devastating single-target burst damage, Windblade Wingstrike cleared groups of enemies, and Eagle-Eye Mark increased the entire team’s Critical Hit Chance.

Together, these three skills made for an extremely versatile combination.

More importantly, it filled a gap in his army’s aerial combat capabilities.

Previously, he had only possessed one type of flying unit: the Dragon Knight.

Now, with the addition of Gryphon Knights, his aerial forces had become considerably stronger.

He sent Sylvie a message through the private channel.

"Received. Not bad."

A smug emoji appeared in response almost instantly.

...

"May the Holy Light shine upon all, everlasting and undying—"

"Dispel the darkness, cleanse all evil—"

"We are blessed by grace, our oath sworn in light—"

"Protect all living beings, even unto death—"

Waves of singing drifted through the air. The melody carried an ancient, timeless quality. It was sung in the Common Tongue, and every word of the lyrics could be heard clearly by everyone nearby.

Only after closing the system panel did John finally raise his head and look around.

Before him stood a white city.

It was unimaginably enormous, resembling a colossal white Tower of Babel built in countless overlapping layers. Numerous concentric rings of walls and towers were nested within one another.

At its very center stood the Grand Cathedral, its towering spires piercing the clouds.

A massive sphere of light, nearly a hundred meters in diameter, hung from the tip of its tallest spire, radiating a gentle golden-white glow. It could be seen even from dozens of kilometers away.

[System Notification: You have entered a Special Area — "Holy City · Silvermoon City."]

[Warning: This area is the headquarters of the Holy Light Church. All hostile actions are prohibited within the city.]

There was actually a rather interesting mechanic here.

Among the native factions, numerous opposing relationships existed.

For example, if a player wanted to increase their reputation with the Church, they would need to earn its favor by launching expeditions against its enemies. As their reputation increased, they would receive corresponding rewards.

Of course, if a player had a good relationship with the Church’s enemies, they would be prohibited from entering Silvermoon City.

Fortunately, John currently had no ties to any faction, so he didn’t need to worry about that for the time being.

At this moment, a large crowd had already gathered near the city gates. There were local merchant caravans as well as players.

The city gates stood wide open. On either side, a squad of Templar Knights clad in silver-white armor and white cloaks stood maintaining order.

John glanced around and immediately decided where to establish his first teleportation coordinate.

It was an unclaimed patch of land beside the city gate.

"This will do."

He crouched down and pressed a stone against the ground.

A deep-blue pillar of light shot into the sky. Spatial ripples spread outward, and a portal slowly took shape on the ground.

[Spatial Anchor Established: Holy City · Silvermoon City (Outer City)]

[Portal Activated. Currently Available Anchors: 2/2.]

[Access Permissions: Only units belonging to Lord "Tyrant’s" faction may pass through.]

John clapped the dust off his hands with satisfaction. Just as he was about to stand up, he noticed an NPC approaching from the direction of the city gates.

The NPC was an elderly man dressed in white-and-gold robes. His beard was completely white, and he wore a short, rounded cap on his head. A golden sun emblem was embroidered on the chest of his robes, while a string of crystal prayer beads hung from his waist.

He stopped in front of John, placed his right hand over his chest, and bowed slightly.

"Praise the Holy Light! Welcome, Lord from afar. May the blessings of the God of Holy Light illuminate your path."

The old man spoke in the Common Tongue. He had a slight accent, but his pronunciation was remarkably clear.

"Silvermoon City welcomes all visitors who come with good intentions. May I know how to address you, my lord?"

"Tyrant."

John gave him his player ID.

The old man’s smile didn’t change in the slightest. Clearly, he was already accustomed to Lords identifying themselves by their aliases.

"Lord Tyrant, welcome to the Holy City. I am a priest responsible for receiving visitors in the Outer City. You may call me Loman. Allow me to show you around."

As he spoke, he stepped aside, gestured toward the city gates, and began walking slowly.

"Silvermoon City has stood for thousands of years. As its guardians, the Church has protected ordinary people for generations. The responsibilities of the Church are..."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"The Church hopes that every Lord who visits will willingly offer a small contribution."

Everything before that last sentence had merely been an introduction.

The final sentence was what really mattered.

John wasn’t surprised in the slightest. He nodded and immediately selected a portion of his resources from his inventory.

"A small gift for my first visit."

Loman glanced down at the resource list John handed over. His smile immediately became much more genuine.

[Notification: You have donated Basic Resources ×3,000,000 to the Holy Light Church.]

"May the Holy Light bless you forever!"

Priest Loman bowed even lower, his voice filled with barely restrained excitement.

"Lord Tyrant, your generous and selfless act shall surely be remembered by the God of Holy Light!"

He straightened up, his attitude now ten times more enthusiastic than before. Personally escorting John into the city, he continued talking incessantly as they walked.

"My lord, you may not realize this, but maintaining the headquarters of the Holy Light Church requires an enormous daily expenditure."

"We must provide for the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of believers within the city, while also supporting the forces fighting against otherworldly creatures on the front lines. Every single gold coin has to be stretched to its absolute limit."

"To encounter a generous Lord like yourself today is truly a gift bestowed upon us by the Holy Light!"