Chapter 976
Episode 241: Rescue (5)
The first to fall into the pit was Luna’s meteor shower.
Sanna had just closed her eyes again to focus on her prayers, and Airan and Bivol were unable to react. To them, it was nothing more than a sudden flash of light.
If Temar Biment hadn’t intercepted the meteor shower with his sword energy at that moment, everyone inside the pit would have suffered fatal injuries.
“Kahaaak!”
Temar Biment shouted, bracing himself.
Though he struck the sword energy directly against the falling meteor shower, the meteors simply scattered the energy without slowing down or losing their condensed force.
Gritting his teeth, Temar had no choice but to swing his sword again.
“Kuhak!”
The moment his blade touched the meteor shower, a white-hot shock surged through his mind.
It was the most intense impact he had ever experienced since birth, as if his entire body was about to shatter.
Though he appeared as a young man like Temar from a thousand years ago, he was merely a recently completed mine, barely a few years into his full potential.
He had trained alongside other mines and powerful figures from the royal family, but none possessed the destructive power of someone like Luna.
Because of this, the royal family had originally planned to train him slowly over time—awakening Temar Runcandel’s memories bit by bit, having him face strong opponents in sequence to gradually raise his martial prowess.
“Temar!”
Shiiit, tkakak!
As the meteor shower exploded, Temar bounced around inside the pit like a ball, coughing up blood.
The others heard the dull cracking of stone walls fracturing, and Temar himself heard the sickening sound of bones breaking throughout his body.
It was a sound he had never heard before.
When he finally regained consciousness and opened his eyes, the first thing Temar Biment saw were his two legs twisted at unnatural angles.
“Huh?”
For some reason, his rapid regeneration wasn’t activating.
It was because of the red energy mixed in with the meteor shower.
A crimson aura flickered over Temar’s battered body as if it were engulfed in flames.
“Temar, are you alright…?!”
The Emperor shouted.
Thanks to Temar taking the full brunt of the meteor shower, the others had escaped serious harm.
But the Emperor’s eyes widened in shock, fearing Temar might have vanished without a trace.
Though the royal family had survived unscathed since ancient times, they had never directly intervened in major wars of each era.
During the ancient wars of the Myungwang tribe, they fled in panic; during the conquest wars of the Raflarosa Myungwang tribe, they kept silent; and even throughout the thousand-year war between Runcandel and Ziphl, the royal family hid behind a veil of mysticism.
They had only ever schemed from behind the scenes, never facing off directly against true, extraordinary warriors.
So the Emperor couldn’t comprehend how Temar Biment had been so thoroughly broken by a single strike.
After all, he possessed not only the real Temar’s left arm but also the radiant heart of the Cheongmyeong tribe’s Tuwang.
Temar Biment tried to rise instinctively but fell backward, his gaze naturally drifting upward.
A dazzling light struck his blurred vision.
For a moment, Temar mistook the light for warm sunlight.
But it was another meteor shower falling—far more violent than Luna’s sword that had just torn through the pit.
“D-Dodge it…”
Temar Biment could no longer throw himself into action.
Bivol, who was supposed to protect Airan, had already fallen, half his body lost from the first attack, and Sanna was screaming.
If that meteor shower fell into the pit, it would be over.
Temar, the Emperor who had belatedly lifted his head, and Sanna all shared the same grim thought.
Especially for Sanna, it was hard to believe such a disaster had occurred despite Luke’s protection.
“Priestess!”
Zjeong, thud!
The moment Sanna squeezed her eyes shut, Luke, who had been hovering above, thundered down into the pit, blocking the true meteor shower.
“Ugh…!”
But no matter how mighty Luke was, Jin was on the same level.
If they had faced each other head-on, they could have exchanged meteor-level attacks countless times without issue, but in this unstable, rushed stance, Luke was bound to take damage.
“Priest Luke!”
Luke narrowed his brow, scattering the meteor fragments.
“You’re not the type to die so easily, so why the fuss, Priestess?”
Cough…!
Before Luke could finish speaking, Sanna suddenly coughed up black blood and collapsed to the ground.
“Hah, ha. The magic power, the red energy, and Jin Runcandel’s authority all mixed together, disrupting my prayers. That’s why I couldn’t open the dimensional gate in time.”
“Is your condition that bad?”
“This is the worst since I came to Inse.”
Sanna wiped her mouth and looked toward Temar Biment.
Though his entire body was crumpled like a rag, the real Temar’s left arm remained unscathed.
“As the priest said, I’m not likely to die easily, so focus on protecting Airan. If he dies, no one will be able to use Temar’s left arm.”
“How much time do you need?”
“Fifteen minutes if all goes well… thirty if delayed.”
“The delay is because of the magic power and red energy seeping into the pit, like just now?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll make sure that never happens. Finish within fifteen minutes.”
Luke leapt back outside the pit and waved his hand once. A thicker protective barrier than before enveloped the pit.
Two aerial fortresses hovered in the sky.
On the ground were Jin and Luna.
As Sanna had said, this was the worst possible scenario.
Even during his time as a Myungwang warrior or after joining the Sun God cult, Luke had never faced such formidable enemies all at once.
Pibil and Patl’s main cannons fired at Luke. At the same time, blue lightning crackled around Luke’s greatsword.
Myungwang Sword Warrior Technique
Thunder God Sword – Extreme
Two enemy lightning cannons and one sword clashed.
Luke had no choice but to parry; unlike Jin or Luna, he couldn’t avoid the aerial fortresses’ main guns.
He had to protect the pit, so all he could do was counterattack.
“Kahaaa!”
A blue storm pierced through the enemy lightning cannon fire and surged forward.
Luke’s relentless sword energy spiraled into a single point.
It was the condensed martial power of a Sword Warrior. The blade passed through the enemy lightning cannon fire like water, causing continuous explosions from within.
The scattered cannon fire also affected Pibil’s guns.
Patl’s cannon fire veered off course, pushing back Pibil’s shots.
“Damn it, these monsters!”
Rakiman spat out the words bitterly.
Though not at full power, it was simultaneous bombardment from two aerial fortresses. For the enemy Myungwang tribe, it was infuriating to have to defend their allies in place.
Moreover, Luke was closest to the fortresses, so he was most affected by the enemy lightning waves.
His body must have felt heavy, as if underwater, yet his sword was as fast and sharp as blue light.
{Simat, Rakiman comrade, do you copy?}
The unstable communication device of the enemy Myungwang tribe recovered.
{Yes, Bakalun comrade. You’ve decided to abandon Eltiot and retreat.}
{Correct. Eltiot has fallen into the hands of the Bamal alliance. There’s no need to keep fighting here. Though the Bamal alliance and the Sun God cult are also enemies, the risk of hoping for their mutual destruction while holding the battlefield is too great.}
{I agree. But it’s a shame to just retreat.}
{What do you suggest?}
{We retreat, but only after attacking the Sun God cult.}
{Only the Sun God cult?}
{Yes, comrade. The current situation means that unless we fight to the bitter end, either we or the Bamal alliance can retreat whenever we want.}
The aerial fortresses and fleet move too fast for humans to chase, and Jin and Luna could never be caught if they chose to flee.
But as Simat said, the Sun God cult couldn’t do that. They had to fight until the dimensional gate was complete.
{If we only attack the Sun God cult, Jin Runcandel and Baekgyeong won’t bother us. We don’t know why they came here, but it’s clear they don’t intend to confront us directly. Also, Jin Runcandel has to secure Eltiot, so there’s no reason for him to interfere.}
Bakalun nodded.
Simat’s plan was the worst possible outcome for the royal family, who had treated them like dogs, and the Sun God cult trying to save them.
{Agreed. From now on, convert all power used in the main guns to shields. The entire fleet will support Jin Runcandel and Baekgyeong.}
The enemy lightning cannon fire began to subside.
Luke caught his breath and gathered the scattered energy of the Thunder God Sword.
He expected another volley of enemy lightning cannon fire, but none came.
As the dust and red lightning settled, Jin appeared before Luke.
“…Jin Runcandel.”
“Sun God cult priest Luke. How shameless of you to use brain energy after dishonoring the Myungwang’s honor.”
Luke said nothing, shifting his gaze between Jin and the sky.
The aerial fortresses and fleets were repositioning to support Jin.
Jin was aware of this.
‘Simat’s judgment again. Another wise decision.’
A sly smile spread across Jin’s face as he locked eyes with Luke.
“I get the gist, Luke. Looks like you guys messed up some plan the Red Eyes had before we showed up, huh? I never thought they’d decide to go after you alone instead of me.”
Luke deliberately answered slowly, trying to buy time. The dimensional gate would be complete in just twelve minutes.
But Jin wasn’t about to let the Red Eyes get the time they needed.
Before Luke could even speak, Jin unleashed a burst of lightning energy from his radiant heart.
Underworld Sword Spirit Technique: Ten Blades of the Underworld
Underworld Sovereign’s Sword – Unleashed
Before the Awakening, when the Underworld Sovereign’s Sword was drawn, blue lightning would spread the sovereign’s might in all directions. Now, golden lightning surged wildly across the entire battlefield in an instant.
The vast earth beneath them cracked and boiled like soft tofu under that overwhelming energy. Even the Red Eyes’ psychic waves from the sky fortress couldn’t stop the spread of the Underworld Sovereign’s Sword’s power.
The Red Eyes watching from above swallowed hard without realizing it.
If they hadn’t decided to target only Luke, they themselves would have had to endure this terrifying force.
“In contrast, you made a terrible mistake. Before I got here, you should’ve left behind the first head of our clan’s body and torn apart the remaining royal scum.”