Chapter 016: Stardar

Dwarves are skilled in invention, while halflings excel in manufacturing. When the two groups joined forces, the extremely powerful weapons developed by the dwarves were quickly mass-produced thanks to the halflings’ advanced manufacturing techniques!
In Du Fan’s army this time, there were a hundred thousand Magic Cone troops!
Through negotiations with theBeast commander Tek, Du Fan managed to take away nearly half of the vast amount of magic cores that theBeast forces in the Dusk Mountains had accumulated over time!
The remaining one hundred fifty thousand troops were naturally selected from those soldiers who had followed Du Fan on his campaigns in the south. The combat strength of such an army was not far behind that of the northern legions.
A massive army of five hundred thousand set off toward the Holy Church.
……
The location of the Holy Alliance was in the Gavin Empire, to the southwest of what is now the Bronn Empire. The Holy Church was situated right at the heart of the Holy Alliance!
In the sacred grounds of the Church, within the Pope’s palace…
If Du Fan were to enter this palace, he would surely be astonished. He had seen the palaces of the Gavin Empire and the Lanni Empire, but compared to the Pope’s palace before him, those two empires’ palaces seemed inferior!
Perhaps only the palaces where the gods used to reside, as seen from the Sky City, could compare to it.
Standing in such a palace, anyone would feel a genuine sense of reverence!
The sacred fire burning in the furnace seemed capable of burning away all impurities!
The stream flowing beneath the palace steps was entirely made of milky-white holy water!
The high ceiling was adorned with shiny gems, making it look like a sky filled with stars at first glance.
An old man with white hair and beard sat quietly on a large chair emitting a soft white light.
Suddenly, a figure flashed into view—the weary Fisher appeared in the grand hall.
“My child, have you found it?” The old man’s eyes suddenly widened, glowing with divine light, as if everything in the world was under his control!
“Godfather, following your instructions, I have finally found this last angel statue,” Fisher said with joy. With a flick of his wrist, a lifelike angel statue appeared in his hands.
As the Pope’s godson, Fisher did not address the Pope as “His Holiness” like others; instead, he called him “Godfather.”

“Well, my child, you must have suffered a great deal in that place. Drink this holy water!” As the Pope spoke these words, a thin stream separated from the main flow of water and drifted directly toward Fischer’s mouth out of thin air. Opening his mouth, Fischer drank the holy water. Once it entered his mouth, he immediately became full of energy. “Thankfully! With the guidance of the Light God, I managed to obtain this statue unscathed,” Fischer said right after drinking the holy water. “Finally, all twelve angel statues are gathered. With the Angel Battle Formation, we can summon the Light God directly!” The Pope, usually calm, spoke with slight excitement. “Yes, Your Holiness. When the Light God appears, I wonder what tricks Du Fan still has! Under the power of the God, even those ancient dragon clans that can rival mid-tier gods are nothing but ants!” Fischer also spoke excitedly. It seemed as though Du Fan had already vanished under the immense power of the Light God. … Along the way, Du Fan faced only the armies of the Holy Alliance countries and the forces of the Church. Aside from those priests who boosted morale and some low-level spellcasters, no high-ranking clergy were seen fighting. With such forces, how could they possibly stop Du Fan’s advance! In just two months, Du Fan’s vanguard had reached the location of the Holy Church! The entire Holy Church area was practically the size of a small kingdom! It was inhabited by clergy and believers who were extremely devout! The vanguard was naturally led by George and Allen, along with the light cavalry from the former Northern Legion. Of course, for safety, among these cavalry were 3,000 Black Panther Knights, 1,000 Griffin Elf Archers, 500 Bluebloods, and several hundred elf magicians! For extra safety, as they approached the edge of the Holy Church, Du Fan summoned the Green Shuttle and floated above the vanguard! Sure enough, on the path ahead, there was an army neatly arranged! It was indeed the Holy Knight Order! A Holy Knight Order of nearly 100,000 men! When George and Allen, leading the advance, saw the troops ahead, they had no intention of stopping!

The hundred thousand Sacred Knights still hadn’t caught the two of them’ attention. The Sacred Knight Order was merely slightly stronger than ordinary knights—it was by no means the Sacred Light Knight Order! If it had been the Sacred Light Knight Order, with knights whose average cultivation level was above third grade, George and Allen would have had to be more cautious. But facing just an ordinary Sacred Knight Order, George and Allen exchanged glances, both understanding what the other was thinking! Allen immediately summoned the Frost Armor Beast, while George summoned the Thunder Ape! Fed by George and Allen’s godly strength, these two magical beasts had long since evolved to the sacred class! Magical beasts could evolve based on their master’s strength! Mounting their sacred-class magical beasts and wielding long spears, they rushed toward the Sacred Knight Order without even giving an order! After years of training together, there was no need for words between the two and their subordinates! It was the Church that had persecuted the northern army within the Frozen Alliance—primarily its forces! Seeing their general charge at the Sacred Knight Order, the vanguard troops led by the northern armies all roared like tigers. They spurred their horses frantically and charged at the Sacred Knight Order like the wind! Although this vanguard force consisted of only fifty thousand men! Magical beasts at the sacred class were now much faster than before! Before the leaders of the Sacred Knight Order could react, George and Allen’s long spears had already pierced their heads! They died instantly, killed by these godly warriors! For those two generals, dying at the hands of such powerful beings was a death of great dignity! Under normal circumstances, how could godly masters attack warriors at the sixth level? The two sacred-class magical beasts and the two godly masters charged into the heart of the Sacred Knight Order, instantly destroying the carefully arranged battle formations! As the formations collapsed, Du Fan’s cavalry rushed in like tigers and wolves, slashing through the already chaotic Sacred Knight Order! It wasn’t that the Sacred Knights didn’t want to maintain their formation—it was simply that the power of those two godly masters and the two sacred-class magical beasts was too overwhelming! Magical beasts that evolved beyond their normal class were always stronger than those of the same class. Around the Thunder Ape, bolts of lightning kept flashing. Within thirty meters of it, lightning could strike at will, and not a single Sacred Knight stood within that range!

After advancing to the Sacred rank, the Frost Armor Beast could now emit massive waves of cold energy! The Sacred Knights hit by its cold energy were instantly frozen into ice blocks and fell to the ground! Even if they were rescued, those parts of their bodies that had died from freezing would likely have to be removed, leaving them disabled for life! Even the knights of the Northern Legion, who could match two Sacred Knights in combat, let alone those of the Black Panther Knight Corps! Those blue-blooded warriors were like demons, moving with eerie agility and easily taking the lives of Sacred Knights in the chaos! The elven archers in the air kept shooting their long arrows at the bodies of those Sacred Knights who were clearly more combat-effective than ordinary ones! Those highly skilled knights were all officers and commanders in the army! As these commanders were continuously killed, it further accelerated the collapse of the Sacred Knight force! A force of 100,000 Sacred Knights couldn’t even hold off 50,000 Du Fan cavalry. Soon, under the continuous attacks of 3,000 Black Panther Knights and George and Allen, the entire Sacred Knight force finally collapsed! Seeing George and Allen ready to continue the pursuit, Du Fan quickly stopped them in mid-air. It’s better not to chase a defeated enemy—Du Fan knew this principle well. Moreover, he knew that such a force of Sacred Knights would be of no use in a major confrontation with the Church! Du Fan believed that he hadn’t hidden his marching route at all throughout his journey, so the Church must be fully aware of where his army was heading. By suddenly deploying such a Sacred Knight force to fight him, there might be a huge trap waiting for him behind this! … “Your Holiness, Du Fan’s vanguard isn’t pursuing us, and our ambush wasn’t used,” said a fully armored knight who entered the Pope’s hall, knelt down devoutly, and spoke to the Pope. “If that’s the case, then prepare for a decisive battle against Du Fan,” the Pope said suddenly, opening his eyes wide. “Yes, I’ll prepare right away!” After saying this, the knight bowed to the Pope and immediately turned to leave. “Stardar, how’s the Angelic Battle Formation progressing?” the Pope asked softly again. Suddenly, the air twisted, and a middle-aged man dressed in a snow-white robe, radiating serenity, appeared.

As soon as this middle-aged man appeared, he immediately said to the Pope, “Your Holiness, by the noon of the day after tomorrow, the Angelic Formation will be fully refined. At that time, Your Holiness will be able to summon the Temple of Light.”
“Very good. And are all the materials needed to summon the Archangel Legions ready?” the Pope asked gently again.
“Ten thousand boys and ten thousand girls have already been gathered. Once the priest’s ritual begins, we can immediately summon the Archangel Legions,” the man replied respectfully.
“Hmm, excellent. Stardar, make sure to thoroughly examine each boy and girl to ensure they are pure. Otherwise, the angels in heaven will not descend,” the Pope said, finally opening his radiant eyes once more.
“Each one has been examined three times carefully,” Stardar replied with great respect.
“Good, that’s fine.” After saying that, the Pope closed his eyes again, appearing to be asleep.
Seeing the Pope close his eyes, the man named Stardar immediately bowed respectfully, his body twisting before he disappeared into thin air.