Chapter 014: Sacred Rank Domain

The Holy Flame Warrior roared. The giant sword in his hand suddenly drew a circle in midair, and a golden light barrier appeared right in front of him. Amidst the swirling combat energy, within that golden barrier, his body remained motionless. Soon after, several beams of light slashed at the barrier, causing ripples to spread across it. Though the slashes generated tremors, they dissipated quickly.
Finally, the last beam of light struck the barrier, and both exploded into fragments almost at the same time. A large crater then appeared in front of the Holy Flame Warrior!
With an angry roar, the warrior stepped forward, seemingly crossing space as he appeared before Francis. He swung his sword downward once again!
Francis raised the blood-red rose in his hand, and the two swords collided once more. This time, the burst of light was even more intense than before.
But just then, the Holy Flame Warrior opened his mouth, and a beam of light composed of sacred combat energy shot out violently, heading straight for Francis.
Francis immediately felt the beam hit his chest. At such close range, he had no chance to dodge. Before he could even cry out, he was sent flying and landed dozens of meters away.
His silver armor was shattered by this attack, revealing a deep wound that showed bone.
He shook his head, stood up, and pulled at his armor. The shiny armor instantly cracked into pieces, exposing the warrior’s clothes beneath.
The pure white warrior’s clothes fluttered in the wind, but there was a huge gap in his chest from which thin streams of blood continued to seep out.
Francis grunted, slapped the wound, and watched as it healed rapidly, returning to its original state in just a moment.
“Is this the power of a Sacred Rank?” Prince Fischer murmured, looking in Francis’s direction. “Even when injured, one can recover quickly. The Sacred Rank truly is an existence that defies the heavens…”
With that, Prince Fischer turned his gaze back to the battlefield.
After all, the Holy Flame Warrior was not human but a magical creature—lacking the sense of camaraderie found among human warriors.

It saw Francis injured and immediately roared as it swung its massive sword, charging at him! Seizing this opportunity, it swung its extremely heavy sword like a storm toward Francis, leaving countless trails of light in the air, like streaks of glowing light… In an instant, sparks flew back and forth between them, and the thunderous sound of metal colliding echoed across the open ground! Francis managed to block over a dozen of the opponent’s attacks in a row, but he was forced to retreat several steps. Although both were at the Saint rank, Francis had already sustained a minor injury earlier—though it had healed, it still weakened his strength slightly. Though seemingly insignificant, such a small difference can often determine the outcome in a battle between masters. Moreover, this Saint Flame Warrior possessed the combat instincts of a War Angel and had a perfect understanding of the nuances of battle. Although Francis had grown up amidst war, his combat instincts still fell short compared to those of the Saint Flame Warrior, so under this onslaught, he inevitably suffered several wounds! Though protected by his Saintly Aura, these wounds weren’t serious, but Francis’s pride made it unbearable for him to accept such a situation. The Blood Rose in his hand suddenly erupted into a red blur, deflecting the Saint Flame Warrior’s final attack. Then, Francis roared, “Have you had enough?” After saying that, he stepped back several times, holding the Blood Rose at an odd angle. Staring at the Saint Flame Warrior, ignoring whether it could understand him, he sneered and said, “You’re good! Very strong! You’re the first opponent in years who’s forced me to go all out! To show my admiration for you, I’ll show you some real skill! Remember this—my sword technique is called Blood Shadows! Like blood and shadows, both blood and shadow!” As he spoke, the Blood Rose in his hand spun and pointed diagonally toward the Saint Flame Warrior, changing direction countless times in an instant!

Countless remnants of blood-red roses could be seen, rapidly merging under the effect of Francis’s Holy Combat Energy. By the end, the golden Holy Combat Energy and the red sword energy had combined into a massive spiral of blood-colored shadows. Gold and blood merged together, carrying endless fury as it shot toward the Holy Flame Warrior!
The Holy Flame Warrior seemed to sense the power of this attack as well. Its roaring ceased, and it took a step back, raising its giant sword high. With Holy Combat Energy burning at its tip, it swung at that spiral of combat energy!
With a thunderous explosion, the Holy Flame Warrior struck at the combat energy with its sword, but it slid aside with a loud crash. Its giant sword couldn’t withstand the power of this attack. Then, the spiral of combat energy crashed violently into the Holy Flame Warrior’s body, tearing it apart and pushing it backward!
By the time the Holy Flame Warrior managed to stop, its golden armor was covered in dents and various skewed cracks, showing just how fierce Francis’s attack had been!
The Holy Flame Warrior roared toward the sky, grabbed its armor, and pulled it aside. The exquisite armor turned to dust under the power of his Holy Combat Energy.
Finally, the body of the Holy Flame Warrior appeared before Francis. Its form resembled that of a highly muscular human, with explosive strength in every muscle. But upon closer inspection, its skin—and even its entire body—was composed of light and fire.
Its face was completely blurred in the Holy Combat Energy, making it impossible to see even the slightest detail.
Seeing this, Francis merely sneered and said indifferently, “Magical creatures are just magical creatures—even their bodies are different!”

But Prince Fischer, who was watching through the light screen, was stunned for a moment. After a short while, he laughed loudly and said, “Lord Francis, you’re truly amazing! As expected! I’ve long heard of your Blood Shadow technique! I originally thought that even if you used that combat energy, it wouldn’t be able to harm this Holy Flame Warrior in the slightest! But I never expected you to actually succeed! Hahaha… However, Lord Francis! Honorable Lord Francis, with your strength, can’t you see? That armor is just a tool to restrict the Holy Flame Warrior’s power! Only by removing that golden armor can it unleash its true strength! I wasn’t planning to let it take off that armor, but who would have thought you could… Hahahahaha…”

Amidst Prince Fischer’s laughter, the Holy Flame Warrior was seen gripping its giant sword tightly once again. Soon after, it raised the sword slightly, and its six light wings burst open violently, expanding several times their size. An astonishing pressure surged forth, making the air around seem countless times heavier in an instant!

The dust floating in the air quickly fell to the ground, creating countless tiny cracks. Even birds flying by were abruptly smashed to the ground, turning into piles of flesh. In this eerie atmosphere, the Holy Flame Warrior moved with seemingly immense weight, inch by inch, slowly approaching where Francis was!

Francis’ expression changed. He couldn’t move at all. When he lifted the blood-red rose, it felt as if it had suddenly become countless times heavier! His face showed confusion, as if he had remembered something, and finally he couldn’t help but exclaim, “A sacred realm! This is a sacred realm!”

“Honorable Lord Francis, you’re right. This is indeed a sacred realm,” came Prince Fischer’s calm voice. “I’ve always forgotten to tell you… War Angels, though they are just ordinary angels in the heavens, their rank isn’t at the sacred level—it’s at the realm level… So how could magical creatures created from their blood and divine wills be compared to ordinary sacred beings?”

As he spoke, the Holy Flame Warrior had already reached Francis. It slowly raised its giant sword, inch by inch, moving it toward Francis’ head!

A hint of madness flashed in Francis’s eyes. He ignored the giant sword before him and fixed his gaze on the Holy Flame Warrior. With a cold sneer, he said, “Is this your Holy Rank domain? Very good! If I’m not wrong, your Holy Rank domain must be gravity control, right? But… if you have a Holy Rank domain, does that mean I don’t?” As he spoke, a mass of gray combat energy rose amidst the golden light. A clear boundary seemed to form between Francis and the Holy Flame Warrior—on one side was an extremely heavy earth, and on the other was a sky filled with gray combat energy…