Book 12, The Descent of the Gods β Chapter 8, The Great Six-Point Battle Formation
A holy light suddenly sprang forth from Heidensβ body, and Linleyβs Bloodviolet sword instantly began to move more slowly, as though it was mired in mud. At the same time, the wellspring of this holy light, the βRadiant Scripturesβ, flew out from within Heidensβ body, hovering above Heidensβ head.
βDie!β Linleyβs face was cold and cruel. Although Bloodvioletβs speed had been lessened and impacted, it still wasnβt slow enough for the likes of Heidensβ to dodge.
βNo!β Heidensβ frantically tried to dodge.
βSlash!β
Bloodviolet chopped down diagonally from Heidensβ shoulder, and half of Heidensβ body, including both of his legs, was chopped apart. That half of his body included his right arm, which had been holding his magistaff. With this chop, even the magistaff tumbled down.
βUghhhh!!!β A suppressed, agonized cry escaped Heidensβ lips.
But then, Heidensβ remaining half of his body flew back at high speed, while the βRadiant Scripturesβ hovering over his head radiated a holy white light that quickly began to repair Heidensβ wounds. His body was visibly regenerating. Actually, Heidens himself was very talented at light-style healing magic, but with this divine artifact, the βRadiant Scripturesβ, his healing speed was even faster.
βHeidens, I didnβt expect you to be able to survive even that. But itβs for the betterβ¦Iβll let you personally witness the true destruction of the Radiant Church.β Linley said with complete confidence.
After his experiences in the Necropolis of the Gods, he now possessed the Pearl of Life and gained insights into the Profound Truths of Velocity. Linley was now far stronger than he had been before entering the Necropolis of the Gods, and he didnβt hold the experts of the Radiant Church in front of him in any regard at all.
βPrepare to die, Linley.β Lehman rumbled in his thick voice.
Including Lehman and Lord Fallen Leaf, thirty-six Saint-level experts had suddenly move outwards, surrounding Linleyβs group.
βHow laughable. You fellows didnβt try to flee.β Lehman, in mid-air, laughed coldly.
Linley, Tulily, Desri, and the others began to laugh as well. How could they not have noticed that the experts of the Radiant Church were surrounding them? Perhaps they were about to set up some sort of new, special battle formation, but Linleyβs group understood a simple principle; no matter how powerful a battle formation is, it is still only as powerful as the people who use it!
Tulily laughed coldly. βThese Saintsβ¦most of them are early stage Saints. More importantlyβ¦your formation doesnβt just surround one of us. It surrounds twenty five of us. The combined attacks of we twenty five Saintsβ¦I wonder if your formation would be able to hold on!β
βWhoooshβ¦.β
Heidens had already rapidly retreated to the door of the Radiant Temple. He raised his head, staring upwards into mid-air. Seeing that Linleyβs group had been trapped within the Great Six-Point Battle Formation, he couldnβt help but feel wildly overjoyed, and he said in a loud voice, βLinley, you and your group came to die. Lehman, hurry up and kill them.β
Just then, he had nearly lost his life. Heidensβ heart was currently swelling with a murderous intent, but he himself wasnβt powerful enough to take action.
βYes, Your Holiness.β Lehman was extremely confident as well.
Heidens took a deep breath, then started watching, slightly nervous. Although he was extremely confident in the power of the βGreat Six-Point Battle Formationβ, the enemy he was facing was Linley!
A person who created miracles!
Linley was currently carefully examining this so-called βGreat Six-Point Battle Formationβ before him. In but a glance, Linley could tell that this βGreat Six-Point Battle Formationβ should be the advanced version of the βAngel Battle Formationβ, which was formed from six experts.
This βGreat Six-Point Battle Formationβ, however, had thirty-six Saints divided into six parts.
Each of the six Saints in each part formed an βAngel Battle Formationβ.
The thirty-six of them then formed a single whole, as the six βAngel Battle Formationsβ once again merged with each other, forming this so-called βGreat Six-Point Battle Formationβ.
βCould it be that they donβt know that the Angel Battle Formation means nothing to me? Could it be that they think I would be stopped by a powered up Angel Battle Formation?β Linley was extremely confident.
The Four-Winged Angelsβ¦the wild Saint-level Zealotsβ¦the cold, merciless Saint-level Special Executorsβ¦the thirty-six Saints were formed into a single whole, and terrifyingly powerful βholy forceβ was constantly flowing through them. Amongst them, the director of this formation, Lehman, clearly had the most powerful holy force.
βRaaaaaaaaargh!β 2.5 meters tall, and as massive and burly as a magical beast, Lehman let out a furious roar, brandishing that long staff of his, covered in holy light.
βBang!β The long staff struck down from far away.
Instantly, a ray of holy energy that was dozens of meters long and as thick as a barrel blasted down from the staff. The holy energyβs main target was Linley, but with a single movement, Linley dodged away from it when the beam of holy energy was still a meter away from him.
Linley was simply too fast!
βEveryone, donβt try to take that beam of light on by yourself.β Linleyβs voice rang out in Delia, Desri, Tulily, and the other expertsβ minds.
Although he hadnβt touched the beam of light, even at the distance of one meter, Linley had sensed that his Pulseguard Defense was faintly trembling. After having been reinforced by the merged power of thirty-six Saints, this attack was definitely comparable to a combination attack of a hundred Saints.
βBoom!β βBoom!β βBoom!β
One pillar of light blasted out after another, but after the beam of light dissipated, the holy energy actually returned to the formation.
βIf this continues, their power will be virtually limitless.β Linley said to himself.
βHaha, everyone, attack together.β Tulily shouted loudly, and then a blood red blade flashed through the sky.
βRooooooar!β The Tyrant Wyrm, the Thunder Lizard, and the Gold Dragon swept out with their draconic tails, smashing viciously towards the enemies.
βDie!β Barker and his brothers, who had been nursing their grief and hatred this entire time, had all transformed into Undying Warrior Saints. With a furious roar, the five brothers all brandished those astonishing greataxes smashing directly down towards the βGreat Six-Point Battle Formationβ with mountain-splitting force!
As for Zassler, he had summoned eight Saint-level undead! Zasslerβs eyes were flashing nonstop with jade green light.
Linley, Wharton, Bebe, Miller, Livingston, Ford, Higgingson, and the other Saints all attacked the formation at the same time as well.
With the Saint-level undead added in, their side had over thirty peak-stage Saints!
βBang!β βBang!β βBang!β βBang!β β¦.
Rips in space appeared and disappeared like an electric snake was tearing through the sky, but that white light endured and continued!
The wild attacks caused the entire formation to vibrate wildly, but in the end, it still managed to stabilize. The faces of a few of those thirty-six Saints had turned somewhat pale, but as the holy light flooded through their bodies, they quickly recovered.
βWhew. Itβs fine!β The distant Heidens felt a surge of joy.
βWe held on. We really held on!β Heidens had worried that this βGreat Six-Point Battle Formationβ wouldnβt be able to hold on in the face of so many experts attacking together.
βLinley, you will definitely die.β Heidens finally felt confident.
If even Linley, when joining forces with all the other experts, wasnβt able to break through, what did they have to be afraid of? After all, the energy of the attacks of this βGreat Six-Point Battle Formationβ which were aimed at the inside of the formation would return to the formation, making the available energy virtually limitless. No matter how long this fight lasted for, the Radiant Church wouldnβt be afraid.
βHahaβ¦β Lord Lehman laughed loudly in his thick, rumbling voice.
The Radiant Churchβs side all had excited smiles on their faces.
βThe power of this formation is quite something.β Linley sighed in praise.
βRight. It really is powerful. Our full power attacks were quickly depleted by the energy of this formation, abrading the great majority of the strength of the attacks. Only ten or twenty percent of our power managed to get through and land on the bodies of those thirty-six.β Desri sighed in praise as well.
The power of their combined attacks, even reduced to ten or twenty percent, was still enough to cause some of those weaker thirty-six Saints to be injured.
The difference in power between the two sides was simply too great.
Only, the duplicative merged power of this formation was simply too great, and it also possessed the healing properties of light-style energy.
βDesri, watch me.β With a flip of his hand, Linley withdrew his adamantine heavy sword.
Linley swept Lehman and Fallen Leaf with his gaze. He praised, βI have to admit, this formation your Radiant Church possesses truly does have incredible defense. Howeverβ¦could it be that you arenβt aware that this sort of formation is useless against me?β
βWhoosh!β With a flash, Linley charged towards Lehmanβs side.
βDie.β Linleyβs eyes were filled with fierceness.
The adamantine heavy sword in his hand struck out gently, like a falling leaf, but its speed was actually as fast and vicious as a bolt of lightning. In an instant, it landed against the white glow, and a terrifying vibrational force passed straight through it, virtually ignoring it as it attacked Lehman.
Profound Truths of the Earth β Throbbing Pulse of the World, 64 Fused Waves!
βHuh?β Linley suddenly frowned.
Linley could clearly sense that the vibrational waves, upon reaching Lehmanβs arm, instantly made it explode, but the holy energy immediately began to visibly repair the damage done at high speed.
βNot good.β Linley instantly understood the difference between this Great Six-Point Battle Formation and the Angel Battle Formation.
The six parts of the Angel Battle Formation were represented by six people.
If Linley were to attack one part of the Angel Battle Formation and his adamantine heavy sword were to land against a person, the vibrational waves would have a high probability of directly destroying that personβs internal organs. The assorted experts of the Angel Battle Formation wouldnβt be able to dodge at all!
But the βGreat Six-Point Battle Formationβ was different. Its six parts were actually made up of six people that were formed into one whole.
Linleyβs adamantine heavy sword hadnβt actually clashed with any weapons. To be precise, this attack of Linleyβs was actually aimed towards the entire group of six people in that unit, but the vibration travelled in a straight line. Whoever it attacked would be the one to be damaged!
This sort of straight-line attack would naturally be avoided by the opponents, especially when Lehman and the others sensed that strange force penetrate the βholy powerβ protecting them.
Although the speed of the vibrations was quite fast, it would only be enough to injure Lehman.
βLinley, so this is that βlegendaryβ technique of yours, the Profound Truths of the Earth?β Lehmanβs eyes were gleaming, and he laughed loudly, βHahaβ¦if this was the Angel Battle Formation, you truly would be able to succeed, but did you think that the Radiant Church would step in the same pit twice? Hahaβ¦β
Lord Fallen Leaf had a hint of a smile on his face as well. βThe Great Six-Point Battle Formation is formed from six groups of six people. As soon as your Profound Truths of the Earth penetrates the holy energy, they will be able to sense it and can instantly move to make sure their vitals are not struck. You wonβt be able to easily kill any one of them.β
βLinley, werenβt you feeling very confident, just now?β One of the Special Executor Saints in the formation said in a cold voice.
But Linley began to laugh.
Delia, Tulily, Desri, and the others all began to laugh.
βBoss, youβve made a fool of yourself.β Bebe laughed.
Linley laughed as well. βI really did underestimate this Angel Battle Formation.β
The Radiant Churchβs forces were all rather angry now, because Linleyβs side was still chatting and laughing amongst each other, as though this formation was nothing to them at all. But at the same time, Lehman, Fallen Leaf, and the others began to feel uneasy. How could the enemy be so confident? Did they have something up their sleeves?
βDo they have some sort of method to break our formation?β Lehman worried.
βLehman, shrink the area covered by the formation. Force them into tighter quarters, then kill them.β Heidensβ voice rang out from afar.
βFine.β Lehman didnβt think about it anymore.
The thirty-six Saints of the Radiant Church instantly began to draw closer together, reducing the volume and space covered by this βGreat Six-Point Battle Formationβ.
βLinley, stop playing around with them.β Desri said mentally to him.
Linley nodded slightly. βDelia, make your move.β Linleyβs voice rang out in Deliaβs consciousness. Delia smiled slightly, then all by herself, flew at high speed towards Lehman, who paid no attention to her at all.
βShe dares to draw near? Sheβs asking for death.β Lehman laughed coldly to himself.
If Linley was to draw near, Lehman would perhaps be a bit nervous, but this was Delia. Why would he care?
But just as Delia was within ten meters or so of Lehman, Deliaβs aura suddenly transformed.
βRumbleβ¦β
An area of several dozen meters around her was affected. Lehman and the rest of his six, who were closest to Delia, suddenly couldnβt move at all, and even the flow of holy energy that was circulating amongst them came to a sudden halt. Because Lehman and his men were unable to move, and the holy energy in their bodies was suddenly separated from the rest of the formation, the entire Great Six-Point Battle Formation instantly shattered.
βSheβ¦sheβs a Deity?!β Lehmanβs eyes were filled with shock, but he couldnβt move.
The other thirty or so Saints were utterly mystified.
βLehman, whatβs going on?!β They didnβt understand why Lehman and the others had stopped using the formation, and had even stopped circulating the holy energy.
βBang!β Bebe ripped the skull of one of the Saints to pieces. βHaha, you have no clue, right?β
βThis Godrealm technique, even an imperfect one, is still able to prevent the opponent from moving for an instant.β Linley and Delia exchanged a glance, and the husband and wife couple both laughed.
The Godrealm was definitely the biggest reason why Deities were able to look down upon Saints with such contempt. Even this imperfect βGodrealmβ which Delia used was able to cause the opponent to be unable to move for a second or two. After all, even Linley, upon being affected by it, had been frozen for one or two seconds.
In a battle between Saints, these one or two seconds would determine life and death!