Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 411 - 410: Holy Light

Chaos unfolded in the ruins of the village.

The attackers, who not long ago claimed to be the protectors of the land and its people, the practitioners and spreaders of the Holy Light, the warriors upholding tradition and order, were now nothing but a band of ravenous, nearly insane bandits.

Hunger makes one weak, leading to death, but before it fully exerts its power, it can drive one in another direction: madness and brutality.

Wright didn’t know how many attackers there were; he only sensed that behind each ruin, every fence beyond the village, even in the distant grass and behind the earthen mounds, were enemies. Frenzied and almost joyful shouts came from all directions, their voices carrying no hint of humanity.

He wielded his Melting Sword, the blade glowing dazzlingly with a surge of Magic Power. He wasn’t a skilled swordsman; his stance in wielding the longsword was hardly better than a commoner with a pitchfork. But his stature was tall and strong, full of power. Each swing of the longsword was enough to drive those famished and crazed enemies far away. Amidst the swing of his sword, he clearly saw the hideous faces of the attackers—

They wore filthy, tattered armor and robes, with dirt smeared on their faces and even dried blood on some. Their eyes were bloodshot, burning red, glowing with a beast-like glint. They charged towards the bonfire, towards the civilians, even rushing at those Cecil Clan soldiers who had recently overwhelmed and terrified them. They had no reason or fear left in their eyes, only food and firelight.

Countless raiders emerged from the darkness, and the Cecil soldiers present shielded the civilians as they retreated while launching a counterattack using the covers. The blinding beams of Scorching Rays tore through the darkness, leaving path upon path of deadly flames, yet the enemies were too many.

A soldier hurled a Crystal Grenade with might, which exploded violently on the other side of the bonfire. In the blast’s roaring sound and intense flash, several attackers were flung into the sky, momentarily halting the enemy’s offensive. It seemed that such cataclysmic explosions left enough of a terrifying impression on them that even in their madness, they instinctively feared—but their fear only lasted for a few seconds before someone yelled loudly, "They are few! Don’t be afraid, they are few!!" "Kill! Kill!" "They have food! They have lots of food!"

Driven by hunger and tightly wound nerves, these individuals completely lost their rationality, recklessly launching themselves at the temporary defense line formed by the Cecil soldiers. Surprisingly, this chaotic, instinct-driven "tactic" worked effectively: the Cecil soldiers were too few, and there was none of that "Skyfire Explosion" that could obliterate thousands. Under their frenzied assault, Wright and his comrades had to retreat continuously.

A fully armed Cecil soldier was equivalent to a low-level Transcendent, but among the night sky attackers were more than one Transcendent. Wright saw bright fireballs and charged swords flying and flashing in the darkness. He swung his longsword with effort to slice a flying fireball aside, then followed through to cut off a sword thrusting from his side—but in doing so, he overexerted himself, losing his grip on the Melting Sword.

He staggered with the momentum, feeling a chilling breeze sending shivers down his spine. Quickly, he ducked low, reaching back for the attacker—but he grasped only air, though successfully pushing the attacker back a couple of steps.

Wright swiftly turned around and saw the attacker clearly—a knight in steel armor, draped in a now ragged White Cloak with a torn half-cape hanging outside, holding a Longsword emitting a dim Holy Light.

Church Knights of the Holy Light.

Seeing the subtle white glow on that longsword, Wright’s mind paused involuntarily for a moment.

"Facing your church brethren on the battlefield is not the same as getting into a brawl on a country street... Are you ready to confront them?"

The knight, holding the longsword, seemed surprised that the big man before him was so troublesome even without a weapon. Quickly recovering from a brief shock, he raised his longsword and approached. The sword’s holy glow surged in the darkness, emitting heat enough to scorch flesh: "Die now!"

The Holy Light’s searing proximity startled Wright awake. He contracted his muscles to sidestep fiercely, barely dodging a thrust aimed at his chest, then extended his arm to seize the attacker’s wrist, forcefully twisting to snatch away the enemy’s weapon.

A bright holy glow emanated from near the knight’s wrist, instantly forming an iron-hard barrier, deflecting Wright’s hand. Then, the Church Knight summoned a dazzling shimmer around him, retreating with unbelievable speed. He swung his longsword, sending a Holy Light-formed shockwave out from the sword’s tip.

The bright arc collided with the teetering forcefield shield, the dissipating Holy Light turning into scorching particles, leaving burn marks on Wright’s exposed skin. Seizing the last cover of the forcefield shield, Wright charged fiercely, like a tiger, tackling the knight to the ground during the Church Knight’s brief bewilderment.

The Church Knight struggled vehemently, roaring angrily as the Holy Light continually gathered on him, escalating his strength. Wright, however, pressed firmly against this enemy’s chest, one hand gripping the throat, the other seizing the wrist that held the sword, enduring the searing Holy Light burning his palm without releasing: "Why?!"

"I will kill you!!" the Church Knight roared, and the scorching Holy Light surged from his longsword, the scattered flames even burning Wright’s shoulder. Nonetheless, Wright only tightened his grip on the Knight’s wrist, shattered the Holy Light barrier piece by piece: "Why?!"

The Church Knight gazed in terror at the wrathful enemy before him, witnessing the Holy Light searing the enemy’s flesh, the magic symbol glow within the armor overloading and extinguishing one by one, yet the pressure he felt continued escalating. In terror, he cried out loudly, "What are you talking about?!"

"You bully the weak, plunder the innocent, attack civilians, and are insatiably greedy! You’ve committed almost every sin listed in the sacred scriptures!!" Wright completely shattered the Holy Light barrier on the knight’s wrist, even breaking the wrist itself, and, amid the knight’s brutal cries, punched him in the face, "Why?! Why do you, the heinously sinful, still wield the Holy Light?!"

His second punch struck heavily, and as the enemy’s blood splattered, the last bit of magic symbol brilliance in the Magic Transmission Terminal completely extinguished—the protective spells of his magic infantry, long exposed to the high-intensity erosion of the Holy Light, finally reached their limit and overloaded, breaking down.

Just as Wright finally knocked out the Church Knight in front of him, another enemy dressed in a white cloak and wielding a longsword of Holy Light leaped at him from behind.

Wright felt the wind from behind his head, the scorching sting of the Holy Light burning his skin once more. However, he had no time to turn, and could only throw himself sideways as quickly as possible. In that instant, he caught sight of his attacker out of the corner of his eye—it was a second Church Knight.

The second Church Knight didn’t give Wright a chance to regain his footing. As Wright lost his balance completely, leaving no room to dodge, the knight swung his sword down again. But at this moment, a stone suddenly flew out from the darkness not far away.

The powerless stone hit the shoulder of the Church Knight, causing no harm whatsoever, but slowed his sword strike by half a beat. The sword cut a bloody gash across Wright’s face, yet he used this opportunity to roll and get up.

Wright saw who had thrown the stone—from not far, beside the cellar entrance, Emily was standing there in a daze, still frozen in the posture of having just thrown the stone.

The Church Knight let out an angry roar, and with a flick of his longsword, a blade of Holy Light silently sliced through the darkness and pierced the little girl’s chest.

Emily collapsed before Wright’s eyes.

Anger, hatred, or maybe something else... Wright didn’t know what emotion surged into his mind, occupying his thoughts at that moment. He only knew it was something he had always strived to restrain and control while following the path of the holy light. He practiced through discipline, self-control, and tolerance, constantly managing his emotions, but at this moment, his mind was finally overwhelmed by those emotions.

The long-accumulated anger and confusion were finally switched on at this moment.

He seemed to forget the Church Knight who was close by; all he saw at that moment was the little girl lying on the ground. He charged towards the direction of the cellar entrance, towards Emily.

The little girl had one last breath left, breathing with difficulty as her flesh, burnt by the blade of Holy Light, cracked with each inhalation. Blood oozed from her charred wounds, dragging her closer to death with every second. Wright knelt in front of her, but upon seeing those wounds, he knew everything was already too late.

Yet, the little girl merely struggled to open her eyes, looking at the tall figure in the darkness.

She seemed to smile, and Wright only heard a very faint voice reaching his ears: "Big guy uncle, you really have a circle of light around you..."

The Church Knight came up behind Wright, looking with scorn at this enemy who seemed to lose his mind over the death of a little girl. He lifted his longsword high and mercilessly swung it down.

The longsword vanished into ash amidst a clash of light and light.

He stared in terror, eyes wide, as the tall "Cecil Clan" slowly stood up, a layer of flowing, liquid-like radiance enveloping his entire being, covering his armor, his skin, and everything about him.

As if forged of light.

Wright opened his eyes, the Holy Light surging within them, flowing from the shocking wound on his face. He raised his arm, shining like it was forged from light, and grasped the neck of the Church Knight, lifting him slowly into the air, applying more and more pressure.

The Church Knight struggled desperately, the scorching Holy Light causing smoke to emerge from the flesh of his entire body, and in his fear of death, he stared wide-eyed at Wright: "God...curse you..."

"I-curse-it!!"

Pure radiance erupted from the gaps in the Church Knight’s armor. In the unprecedented, clear brilliance, the Church Knight’s flesh and bones were vaporized in an instant.

A broken suit of armor and cloak scattered to the ground.