Chapter 169: Chapter 169: Under the Sky, All Are Ants! The Saintess and the Queen! Self-Defense!
He didn\'t have time to think further. Enduring the intense pain, he summoned a burst of terrifying divine flames around him, hoping to force his opponent back.
Luca\'s gaze flickered, and with a twist of his wrist.
Ice lances shot out in an instant, blood splattering as they froze into a blood-red blossom.
"Ahhh!!!" The sudden pain caused Karle to let out a heart-wrenching scream. The agony was so intense he almost lost consciousness right there.
"He killed him!" A terrified scream echoed through the streets as the crowd panicked, fleeing in all directions, desperately trying to distance themselves from this dangerous place.
Of course, there were also some who eagerly found a safe spot to watch the spectacle.
After all, the chances of encountering a Marauder in Dawn City were rarer than winning the lottery. Moreover, this was an attack on someone from the Dawn God Sect—such an event, one that might not happen in a lifetime, was definitely not something to miss!
High above, Karle, severely wounded, clutched his abdomen and staggered backward, his face pale and panic-stricken. He dared not delay. Golden holy light flared from his hands, and he immediately used a healing skill to try to restore his injuries.
Superclass Healing Skill – Divine Revival!
Divine light enveloped his wound, but to Karle\'s astonishment, his abdominal injury showed no sign of healing. Instead, an intensely cold force surged through the wound, freezing his body before the holy light could even begin to heal him.
Such terrifying ice magic!
A deep sense of dread filled Karle\'s heart as he quickly pulled several bottles of Superclass potions from his storage ring and drank them. Only then was he able to barely resist the icy corruption in the wound and stabilize his injuries.
"Dawn God Sect..." Luca didn\'t rush to strike. Noticing the familiar holy aura, a cold light flashed in his eyes.
Earlier, the Solar Divine Spear had shared its conversation with the Lord of the Sun. Since the Goddess of Dawn had already died in the Divine Cataclysm, the one guiding the Solar Divine Spear was most likely an impostor—possibly even an Ancient God in disguise.
If that were the case, the Dawn God Sect might have already been corrupted. What surprised Luca, however, was that before he could go after them, these fanatics had already attacked him first.
"You damned lunatic! How dare you attack a Dawn Cleric! I will take you to court and have you judged!" Karle\'s injuries quickly began to heal. Aside from his pale face and the bloodstains on his abdomen, he appeared to be mostly recovered, even finding the strength to turn the truth upside down.
"Accuse me?" Blood continued to drip from the ice lances in Luca\'s hand as he calmly spoke. "You probably won\'t have the chance."
As his words fell, silver light flashed. His figure instantly vanished, and the next moment, he appeared right in front of Karle. With a twist of his wrist, the ice lances, brimming with unparalleled force, were thrust unhesitatingly toward Karle\'s head!
Now that Luca knew the man\'s identity, there was no need to leave any survivors.
"Madman!" Karle cursed, channeling the power of Dawn within him, about to dodge the attack, when suddenly his face changed. His eyes filled with terror as he looked down at his feet.
Cold mist rose from his legs, and silver-white frost had already frozen his body without him even noticing.
Superclass Ice Skill – Frost Touch!
"Wait..." Karle\'s expression was frantic as he tried to beg for mercy.
But Luca showed no sign of hesitation.
A chilling blue light streaked through the air, its sharp force shooting into the sky!
Boom—!
Blood and bone sprayed in all directions as Karle\'s head exploded with a violent crack!
Frost immediately formed on his body\'s surface, and his headless corpse stiffened for a moment before plummeting from the sky, crashing to the ground in shattered pieces.
Flesh, blood, and bones turned into ice crystals, scattering across the ground and reflecting eerie light under the sunlight!
Witnessing this horrifying scene, the crowd erupted into a chorus of terrified screams.
"Aaaahhh—!"
"He killed him! He killed him!"
"Run! Run!"
"The Enforcers! The Enforcers!"
Bystanders, like headless chickens, scrambled to escape in panic.
All eyes turned to the young man, gazing at him as if he were a demon, their hearts gripped with intense fear.
How dare he kill someone from the Dawn God Sect right here in Dawn City? In all the decades they had lived, they had never seen such audacity—such a ruthless villain!
Luca, as if unaffected, raised his eyes to the crowd, his gaze locking onto seven masked figures in red robes.
With a flick of his fingers, he said coldly, "Your turn, lackeys of the Phillips family."
The leader of the masked figures darkened his expression, but he didn\'t rush to act. Luca\'s strength far surpassed their expectations—he had just obliterated a Dawn God Sect cleric in an instant. With their abilities, they doubted they could complete Young Master Finn\'s task.
He subtly signaled to one of his companions, who immediately understood. The figure cast a wary glance at Luca, then slowly retreated into the shadows, preparing to return and report.
But what happened next stunned everyone. Just a few steps into his retreat, the man suddenly froze, his body stiffening before collapsing to the ground.
"What\'s happening?" The others instinctively looked over and saw that the fallen figure was covered in layers of frost, transforming into a frozen statue within mere seconds.
"This kid\'s ice power is no joke!" The leader, the Ghost King, thought to himself in shock. After all, the man who had just been killed was a Diamond-level professional, and yet, he had been silently and effortlessly taken down in an instant!
He gritted his teeth and said to the few people behind him, "You all hold him off. I\'ll go back and report."
The remaining five were about to nod in agreement.
When they suddenly froze, completely confused.
Wait—what do you mean, you go back and report? Shouldn\'t it be us holding him off while you go back to report?
But unfortunately, this was not the time to dwell on such things.
The leader, the Superclass Ghost King, exuded a powerful aura of bloodlust. His body turned into a streak of blood light, shooting straight into the sky, without a word, turning around to flee.
"Trying to run?" Luca snorted coldly. There was no way he was letting them escape so easily. His eyes flashed with a deep blue gleam, and his overwhelming ice-based power exploded with a thunderous roar!
With a wave of his hand, ice-blue runes appeared in the sky, quickly tracing out paths of rune crafting. In the blink of an eye, they coalesced into a massive blue array.
Sharp ice pillars, covered in thorny patterns, rained down from the sky, trapping the group within.
Superclass Ice Skill – Thorned Ice Prison!
The temperature plummeted, and a dense mist of white vapor swirled around. To avoid harming the civilians, Luca refrained from using direct offensive skills. Instead, he first sought to restrain the group, intending to deal with them properly once the civilians were safely out of the way.
The Ghost King had yet to escape, and the ice-crystal vines shot toward him. Though the Ghost King was fast, stopping abruptly and sidestepping at the last moment to narrowly avoid the thorns, he had already lost the only chance to escape.
"Damn it!" His expression darkened, realizing that getting away was now nearly impossible.
"All of you, attack together!" The Ghost King gritted his teeth, blood-red long blade materializing in his hand. He glared fiercely at Luca, not believing that someone still not even at the high-tier level could possibly trap all of them here!
The others exchanged determined glances, seeing the same resolve in each other\'s eyes. They drew their weapons, fully aware that this was now a fight to the death.
The seven high-tier professionals\' blood energy erupted, their combined aura creating a terrifying, menacing force.
But Luca barely took notice of them, even smirking coldly. "You\'re overestimating yourselves."
As soon as his words finished, dazzling blue light flared from his body. Frost gathered in the air, and he descended like a blue meteor, hurtling towards the seven figures below!
If this had happened before, Luca would have been hard-pressed to handle them.
But ever since emerging from the Divine Ruins, to him, anyone below Sky-level was nothing but ants!
...
Meanwhile, in the Dawn God Sect. As dawn broke, the silent prayer hall echoed with the sound of prayers.
Before the statue of the Goddess of Dawn, a graceful figure dressed in a magnificent royal robe was praying devoutly.
Beside her, the Saintess, Joanna Evan, in her white divine robes, held the Holy Bible, her eyes closed as she recited her prayers.
Both generations of Saintesses were extraordinary beauties, and standing together, they shared similar poise and figures, giving them the appearance of a mother and daughter.
"You called for me at a time like this. I wonder what\'s going on?" After the prayer ritual had finished, Queen Matilda spoke up, her tone curious.
Saintess Joanna kept her eyes closed, speaking calmly, "The Goddess\'s representative has been chosen, but to fulfill the prophecy, we still need the Dreamweaving power of Jormungandr."
"Unfortunately, that person died in the Divine Ruins. Acquiring it will likely take some effort."
"The Divine Court Ruins?" Matilda narrowed her eyes slightly, "That\'s certainly troublesome. The divine essence left behind by the gods still lingers there. If we rush in, we might expose our plans, and retrieving that item will become even harder."
Joanna responded quietly, "You\'re right. The reason I\'ve brought you here is to see if you can come up with a solution to this. If nothing else works, we might have to forcibly invoke the Goddess\'s descent. It would still fulfill the prophecy, but the Goddess might not be pleased with that."
Matilda paused for a moment, then nodded slightly. "I will find a way to resolve this."
"The Goddess will remember your efforts." Joanna gave a small nod and made a five-pointed star gesture in prayer.
"All for the Dawn." Queen Matilda gazed at the Goddess\'s statue with a calm expression, also making the five-pointed star gesture across her chest.
Afterward, she turned to leave, and Joanna began to see her off.
Just then, both of them suddenly froze and looked up towards a street in Dawn City.
A powerful presence surged into the sky, followed by the appearance of a blue magic array. Four thorned ice pillars rained down from the sky, completely surrounding the area, turning it into an icy prison!
"He actually… gained the gods\' approval?" Joanna muttered, and despite her eyes being tightly closed, one could still feel the astonishment in her voice.
"No matter how he managed it…" Matilda\'s eyes narrowed slightly as she observed, "It seems I don\'t need to take the risk of entering the Divine Ruins anymore."