I'm really not a Sanctuary Warlock.

We really can't wait any longer.

Every minute and every second, someone could be turned into a ritual sacrifice.

“When you were interrogating me just now…” Anna took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, “did that priest say what the bishop is doing right now? And… besides him, how many guards are there in the square?”

“There are about two hundred fanatical believers stationed around the obelisk,” Eve said quickly. “About fifty of them are elite, and the rest are cannon fodder. The Abyss Bishop Karthus himself is right below the obelisk.”

She took a small black bottle stained with blood from her bosom and handed it to Anna.

"This was found on that priest. He said it was a life-saving potion given to him by Karthus. It contains a high concentration of abyssal magic that can be released in times of crisis, causing widespread magical pollution and erosion."

Anna took the small bottle and carefully examined it with her holy light, her brow furrowing slightly: "This thing... is very dangerous."

“There’s one more thing,” Eve said, looking at Lynn. “There might be a ‘shadow’ following Karthus. The priest is unsure of the shadow’s level and abilities, but he is known to be very troublesome and adept at sneak attacks and mental interference.”

shadow……

Lynn recalled his left eye, which had been modified by the loli goddess.

Psychological interference? Perhaps he can handle that.

“Let’s go.” Lynn raised his head and looked at the black obelisk that was shrouded in the morning light but still looked menacing. “Since the bishop is already waiting, let’s not keep him waiting too long.”

Eve said no more and nodded.

Anna carefully put away the small black bottle and gripped her staff tightly.

The three of them stopped and walked towards the square.

......

The road to the square is not short.

The closer you get to the city center, the more traces of battle remain on the streets.

Broken stone slabs, charred walls, and dark red bloodstains that had not yet dried.

No more believers jumped out to stop them along the way.

Like the calm before the storm.

"Lynn walked along, observing his surroundings. 'The streets are empty, the buildings are empty. All the forces must have been concentrated in the plaza.'"

"To make a final stand," Eve's voice was cold, "because the Abyss Fruit can forcibly advance the ritual."

Anna didn't speak. She could feel the holy light elements flowing in the air being distorted and repelled by some powerful force, becoming thin and violent.

Finally, the entire square came into view before them.

It was more shocking than I had imagined.

A massive black obelisk stood in the very center, its dark purple runes emitting an eerie light and writhing slowly like living things.

Four thick energy umbilical cords extend from the top of the monument; one of them has dimmed and broken, while the other three still connect to three nodes on the ground.

The square was surrounded by people.

Thousands of men, women, and children, dressed in rags and with blank expressions, were chained together by believers and made to kneel on the edge of the square.

Their eyes were vacant, and their wrists had been cut open, with blood flowing down the chains and forming small streams that were eventually drawn into the two still-functioning magic arrays.

They are using the blood of living people to forcibly prolong the ritual.

In the center of the square, directly beneath the obelisk, a figure stood silently with his back to them.

He was tall, but now he was slightly hunched over, one hand gently resting on the monument, as if listening to something.

Hearing footsteps, he slowly turned around.

It was a face whose age was hard to discern; his skin was pale, his eyes were deep-set, and a faint purple fire shone in them.

"coming."

Karsas's voice echoed throughout the entire square.

“I thought you would have arrived earlier.” His gaze swept over Lynn and Anna in turn, finally landing on Eve, his smile deepening. “The Third Guardian… and a saintess who appeared out of nowhere, and a… um?”

His gaze was fixed on Lynn, his burning eyes narrowing slightly.

“A very interesting little thing,” he said softly. “I can’t even see through you?”

Karthus shook his head. "But it's alright. Once the summoning is complete, I will personally dissect your soul and see just how many secrets it holds."

He raised his hand and gently waved it towards the prisoners chained up at the edge of the square.

"Let's show you our new strength."

The words fell.

The prisoners who had been kneeling in silence suddenly began to tremble violently at the same time. Their eyes widened abruptly, and the emptiness in their eyes was replaced by a violent purple light.

"Uh ah ah!"

A series of piercing screams rose and fell as enormous tumors began to swell beneath their skin, their fingernails grew wildly long and turned black, and their mouths stretched to their ears, revealing sharp fangs.

The originally weak body swelled and mutated in just a few seconds, turning into a half-human, half-demon monster.

"The abyss...the fruit..."

Anna's voice trembled. She saw that each of the monsters had a slightly pulsating tumor on its chest, exactly the same as the one Kazan had swallowed!

“Look, Your Grace,” Karthus said, his tone almost gentle, “they are no longer hungry, no longer afraid, they have gained eternal power and become my lord’s most loyal servants. Is this not a…gift?”

"Are you crazy?" Anna gripped her staff tightly, holy light rapidly gathering at its tip.

"Madness?" Karthus laughed, his laughter filled with madness. "No, I have never been so lucid. The old order is about to collapse, the old gods have fallen silent. Only the abyss, only my lord, can give this world true salvation!"

"You fools who cling to outdated rules have no idea what to do."

“You can’t reason with a madman.” Eve had already drawn her sword.

The monsters that had just undergone mutation roared furiously, their crimson eyes locking onto three figures in the center of the square.

"Kill them!" Karthus gave the order.

"Roar!"

Thousands of deformed monsters surged from all sides of the square. They ran at an astonishing speed, crushing the stone slabs under their feet, spewing corrosive purple mist from their mouths, and creating a whistling sound as their claws swung.

"Spread out, don't get surrounded!" Anna shouted, slamming her staff into the ground. A halo of light spread out, repelling several monsters that rushed close.

Eve had already charged into the monster horde.

Each swing of the longsword precisely severed a monster's throat or heart, the movements clean and swift, without the slightest waste.

Lynn took a deep breath, knowing there was no way to save the residents, and could only grit his teeth and unleash the wind blade.

Three enormous crescent-shaped wind blades swept out in a fan shape, instantly slicing the huddled monsters in half at the waist.

But there were just too many monsters, and these aberrations, though ferocious, seemed to retain at least a minimum of combat instincts.

They no longer charged blindly, but began to consciously spread out and encircle from all directions.

Anna continuously cast Holy Light, purifying wave after wave of monsters.

But her face grew paler and paler; the continuous battles and intense spellcasting were rapidly depleting her strength.

The situation on Eve's side is also not optimistic.

Although she was powerful, these monsters seemed tireless and fearless of pain. Even if her arm was severed, they would still use the remaining limbs to pounce and bite her.

"This won't do!" Lynn thought quickly as he used his wind blades to clear out the monsters.

There are too many monsters, and they keep coming in; we must deal with them as soon as possible.

"Temple Guardian".

Chapter 148 Be Serious

The temple guardian descended from the void, its holy spear radiating a dazzling white light that scorched away the purple mist within a dozen meters.

Those mutants that were just roaring and charging forward suddenly stopped in their tracks under the pressure of the holy light.

But it was only one meal.

"Roar!"

The monsters, whose sanity had been completely corrupted by the Abyss Fruit, showed no sign of retreating, their crimson eyes burning even more fiercely as they surged toward the light source.

Without any hesitation, Lynn immediately prepared to have the temple guards clear the area.

"Lynn! Stop!"

Eve's voice suddenly rang out.

Lynn looked in the direction of the sound. He saw that Eve's gaze was not on the battlefield, but fixed on the direction of the obelisk.

Lynn followed her gaze.

The next second, his pupils suddenly contracted.

The purple specks of light that the mutated beings that were killed transformed into did not dissipate into the air.

Instead, it drifted towards the obelisk in wisps.

The moment the purple light stream entered the monument, the originally dark runes suddenly brightened.

"A calculated scheme..."

Lynn's mind went blank.

Kill them, and the energy will flow back to the obelisk.

If we don't kill them, we'll be torn to pieces by thousands of monsters.

This was a scheme orchestrated by Karthus from beginning to end.

"He forcibly modified these civilians with the Abyss Fruit, not so that they would kill us, but so that we would kill them."

Every death of a mutant energizes the ritual.

"Haha."

Beneath the distant obelisk, Karthus laughed heartily, looking up at the sky.

"Do you understand now?"

“Kill them, and the coming of my Lord will be hastened.”

“Not kill…” he spread his hands, “Then let them tear you to pieces. What difference will the final result make?”

Lynn did not answer, but instead ordered the temple guards to kill Karthus.

The temple guards abruptly retracted their holy spears, which, like a luminous meteor, hurtled towards the abyss bishop beneath the obelisk.

The aberrations along the way were deflected by the aftershocks of the Holy Light, but were not killed directly.

it is good.

Karthus's smile remained unchanged.

He didn't even move.

Because when the temple guards rushed within twenty meters of him, a shadow rose from the ground.

The shadow's outline was humanoid, but it had no face, and its entire body was as black as the abyss itself.

It only stretched out one hand.

The tip of the Holy Light Spear struck the pitch-black hand.

A violent shockwave spread outwards, ripping the stone slabs off the plaza and sweeping away the surrounding aberrations like pieces of paper.

But the shadow remained completely still.

Lynn's heart sank.

The identification technique is automatically activated.

[Race: Shadow of the Abyss]

[Level: 79]

Weakness: Void

Level 79.