I am the heroine's godfather!

As expected, nothing from a thousand years ago is simple. Although he's said to be at the seventh rank, the Fallen Pope's strength is still top-tier even among those at the seventh rank.

Even a top-tier seventh-order expert couldn't possibly have pushed Loran to this point. In fact, anyone familiar with Loran would have been able to see his current state.

He looked disheveled, but in reality, he wasn't seriously injured; it was just some minor scratches that he could recover from at any time if he wanted to.

So, what exactly is he plotting?

Loran lowered his eyes, defending himself against the Fallen Pope's attacks while lost in thought.

Conservatively speaking, apart from Adams, the six paladins all possess the strength of a fallen pope. Add to that Adams, who is at the peak of the eighth rank, and with that kind of strength, the Church of the Evil God can absolutely roam freely on the continent!

If it weren't for Messiah, even the Papacy wouldn't be as powerful as the current Church of the Evil God.

Then the problem is coming.

Why did the Church of the Evil God remain hidden in the shadows before Messiah became a demigod? Why didn't they cooperate with the demons or arrange for someone to ambush Messiah while she was performing her ritual? Even if Adams himself were to take action, the current Fallen Pope would not be able to withstand the completely exhausted Loran, Christine, and Estia from that time.

Why did they allow Messiah, such a great threat, to grow up?

Why was it that the evil god's church, with such strength, couldn't even conquer the Holy City, which was poorly defended at that time?

There is only one answer—at that time, Adams and the others were not in the Church of the Evil God at all!

Perhaps it was sealed away, or perhaps it fell into a deep sleep, but in any case, the Church of the Evil God at that time definitely did not have the strength it has now!

So why did they appear at this time? What is the evil god's church plotting?

Loran narrowed his eyes.

"The one favored by the gods."

He suddenly spoke up: "What you envy is never the Dragon of Destiny; what you hate is yourself..."

The eyeball necklaces trembled in unison.

"Shut up!"

The fallen pope's elegant mask shattered instantly, and black mist condensed into a giant claw that slammed down, shouting, "What do you know, you ant!"

Loran neither dodged nor evaded, letting the giant claw pierce through his left shoulder. In the instant his opponent was stunned, he plunged his right hand into his own wound, his five fingers, stained with holy blood, gripping the Fallen Pope's still-regenerating left arm!

Holy Art: Light Shackles!

This is a sacred technique that was only developed a hundred years ago. Even within the Papacy, very few people have the ability to use it, so very few people know about it.

Given Loran's talent in holy arts, he naturally wouldn't know this level of holy arts, but just because he doesn't know it doesn't mean Messiah doesn't.

A dazzling golden light burst forth from Loran's eyes as the sacred magic from Messiah was fully unleashed.

Golden chains seeped into her body along with her blood. The fallen pope screamed and tried to break free, only to find that the chains were tracing the soul bond between her and the evil god.

Blood trickled from the corner of Loran's mouth, but his smile carried a chill: "Let me see... what exactly you and the Deathly Pope are plotting..."

A scene flashed through Loran's mind: a strange altar with seven bizarre statues placed in seven different directions, and seven groups of worshippers kneeling before the statues.

The scene then zooms out again, and under the cover of dark clouds, a Gothic cathedral is suddenly illuminated by lightning.

This is......

"court death!"

Before Loran could think further, the Fallen Pope's right eye suddenly exploded, and a purplish-black beam of light blasted Loran dozens of meters away.

Chapter 187 Temporary Victory

"Hehehe, your strength doesn't seem to match your tough talk!"

The Fallen Pope revealed a ferocious smile, and in the next instant, her left arm transformed into a viscous, purplish-black fluid, attacking Loran.

However, the attack did not achieve the expected results. The next second, a chill surged, and Loran's wrist trembled slightly. Frost suddenly burst from the sword, freezing the fluid into brittle crystal pillars.

At the same time, he loosely clenched his left hand, and thunderclouds gathered above his head—

"Combined Magic: Ice and Lightning Shackles!"

The instant the ice crystals shattered, lightning coiled around the Fallen Pope's entire body like silver serpents, holy light runes seeping into her mangled form along the lightning. The seven eyeballs of the eye necklace burst one after another, and the Fallen Pope let out a heart-wrenching scream: "You mere ant... how dare you!!"

"You talk too much."

Loran raised his staff expressionlessly, and azure flames ignited at the tip—this was the "Soul Burning Flame" he had learned from the ancient texts of the Holy City, a technique specifically designed to counter regenerative evil magic.

The Holy City's library is open to all gifted individuals, and Loran has been there several times, which is one of his achievements.

The flames transformed into a phoenix and pounced on the enemy, but were blocked by a suddenly rising wall of bones just as they were about to hit.

This doesn't seem like the work of a fallen pope.

Loran narrowed his eyes: So, that dying pope was the "unyielding shield protecting the nation"?

A maniacal laugh echoed from behind the bone wall: "You thought... this was all I prepared?"

The ground suddenly collapsed, and countless rotting arms gripped Loran's ankles. The fallen pope's figure reformed a hundred meters away, the evil god's emblem on his chest glowing with a blinding blood-red light: "Taste this—the Thousand Souls Blood Feast!"

Tens of thousands of undead crawled out from the ground. They were no longer twisted monsters, but elves, humans, and even demons who retained their appearances from their previous lives.

"phantom?"

Loran's pupils contracted slightly. The holy light swept across the area but failed to dispel the undead—these were actually the real souls devoured by the Fallen Pope!

"Choose!"

The fallen pope licked his fingertips: "To slay these wretches... or to be torn to pieces by them?"

Loran was silent for two seconds, then a faint smile appeared on his face: "What makes you think I would... hesitate because of this?"

The soul-scorching flames in his hands burst forth, mercilessly burning the imprisoned soul!

"You bastard, don't you have any mercy at all?"

The Fallen Pope revealed a sinister smile: "I suddenly feel that you are a good candidate to join the Church of the Evil God."

"I once read a sentence in a book that, while not quite suitable for me, is perfect for replying to you."

Flames and holy light intertwined on the Loran Sword, and the All-Encompassing Eye, burning with golden flames, was at full power.

"My heart and my actions are as clear as a clear mirror, and everything I do is righteous!"

--------------

The other side of the battlefield has been transformed into a lava hell.

Lesteringer's greatsword plunged deep into the trunk of the giant tree that the dying pope had become, and Satan's flames scorched its core through the cracks. Estia knelt on the scorched earth, her palms pressed against the ground—she was drawing life from the surrounding land.

"hold onto……"

Her face was pale, but she dared not relax her magic in the slightest: "Just sever three more main roots..."

The dying Pope's wailing shook down withered leaves, and countless roots convulsed like dying pythons. Suddenly, all the undead souls ceased their attack and turned in unison towards the core of the sacred tree. Lestinger keenly sensed the anomaly: "Something's wrong! That old thing is laughing!"

The giant tree trunk suddenly collapsed on its own, and the decaying roots, carrying core energy, rapidly contracted.

Estia suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood—the life force of the earth she was resonating with had been forcibly severed!

"He's going to detonate the roots!"

She screamed hoarsely, "Retreat! Everyone retreat three hundred meters!"

Lester cursed and grabbed Estia, leaping into the air.

Almost simultaneously, a corrupted area with a diameter of one kilometer was blasted open on the ground, and wherever the dark green poisonous fog passed, even the lava solidified into pitch-black crystals.

The next moment, the figure of the deceased Pope was reborn in the domain!

"Hey, hey, hey, really? That's a bit much."

Lester gritted his teeth, somewhat incredulous, while Estia weakly spoke up: "Look closely, his aura is weakening!"

Sure enough, the moment the withered guy was reborn, a huge purple magic circle appeared around him, enveloping all the evil god cultists on the field!

The fallen pope's furious roar echoed through the heavens: "Death! You coward!!"

Loran narrowed his eyes. He was only ten moves away, and within those ten moves, he was confident he could severely injure the Fallen Pope.

But for now, it's best not to act rashly.

Loran frowned. The array didn't seem to be the work of a seventh-tier being; instead, it carried an ominous aura of a higher level.

Lestinger tried to step forward, but was stopped by Lucifer's phantom. The King of Satan could only click his tongue in dissatisfaction as he watched his enemy slip away right under his nose.

The battlefield fell silent.

"We...held the line?" An elven commander slumped on the scorched earth, his greatsword reduced to half a hilt.

"We held on!!!"

Cheers erupted, but Loran knew this was far from the end.

but.......

It might as well make them happy.

And so, Lorian, the great mage of the stars, acting saint, and seventh-order saint, raised his sword high.

Victory!

"Victory!!!"

Cheers resounded through the sky.

Estia smiled somewhat helplessly.

Victory horns sounded in Tinaq City, but Loran, Estia, and Christine knew that the war was far from over.

Chapter 188 Intelligence Summary

Inside the Emerald Temple of Tinaq City, a magical sandbox made of starlight stone floated in mid-air. Loran lightly tapped his fingertip, and the residual images of the corrupted domain reappeared on the sandbox, dark purple lines spreading like veins through the earth's ley lines.

Loran recounted the scenes he had witnessed in the Fallen Pope's memories, and everyone fell into deep thought.

"The previous self-destruction was not a retreat."

Lucifer's phantom appeared, his black hair cascading down like a waterfall: "Those corrupted roots are drawing energy from the earth's veins; they are feeding something."

The Lord of the Fallen Angel Court stroked his chin and frowned: "The fact that such a large amount of ley line energy is needed to nourish this thing, combined with the scene you described, reminds me of... the Demon Race's 'Abyss Altar'."

Lestinger raised her hand: "Wasn't that thing dismantled by the Saintess a long time ago?"

"...I didn't say they were using ours."

Lucifer sighed, realizing he shouldn't have had so much confidence in his colleague's intelligence.

She flicked her finger and conjured a magical projection, in which a uniquely shaped altar appeared: "The four directions, east, west, south, and north, correspond to the four royal courts of the demon race. As long as the power of the earth's veins is drawn, a powerful force can be formed—in fact, this is why the former demon king was so powerful."

"You mean?"

Estia frowned, while Lucifer nodded: "Although it's just speculation, if the Church of the Evil God also had such an altar, their actions would be understandable. But..."

Lucifer frowned: "The power this thing accumulates can only be used once, enough for only one person. Do you think those guys from the Church of the Evil God would willingly give it up?"

"meeting."

Loran, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke, and all the information finally came together. His face was serious: "The Church of the Evil God has a powerful figure who can absolutely suppress others."

"Oh?"

Lucifer looked curious as Loran recounted the information he had obtained in the Silver Dragon Secret Realm, and then said, "If nothing unexpected happens, this altar is intended for the strongest of the Guardian Paladins, the former Radiant Golden Sword Adams."

"This is really troublesome."

Lucifer frowned: "According to you, Adams is very likely at the peak of the eighth rank, even stronger than the former Demon King..."

"With this altar added, no one can be sure whether he has the ability to threaten Messiah."

"But even the Demon Clan's Abyss Altar couldn't achieve a breakthrough to the ninth rank, right?"

Lester raised his hand, but Lucifer said, "That's because even if it draws on the ley lines of the four royal courts, it's only for the demons. If this altar draws on the ley lines of all the races on the continent, no one knows what will happen. Will it explode because it can't withstand the pressure? Or will it unleash even greater power? No one can predict."

"But we can't gamble."

Estia ran her hand over the cracks at the edge of the sand table: "In any case, we can't gamble on whether the altar can withstand it."

"Yes."

Loran sighed. Although many mysteries still remain, it is certain that this is a major event.

He reached out and wrote a letter in the air, which then turned into a golden stream of light and disappeared into the air.

This is his unique way of communicating with the Vatican, and using the Vatican's facilities costs an astronomical sum each time, so it is only used to transmit important messages.